Just as Zhou Hexuan was about to return to Tianjin, Pearl Race and Buck suddenly came to him to resign. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"Are the two of you ready to leave because Peking University is often in arrears of wages?" Zhou Hexuan asked in surprise. In fact, he also felt a little guilty for fooling other couples into coming to Peking University, but he often did not pay his salary for two or three months.

"It has nothing to do with salary, we still have some savings," Pearl said. ”

Zhou Hexuan asked, "Then why did you decide to leave?" ”

"I miss my children, especially my daughter Kaino, who is mentally retarded," said Pearl Sai, "and when I was in Nanjing, I entrusted my daughter and adopted daughter to the care of my friends in China for fear of being attacked by the rioting soldiers." Now that the situation in Nanjing has stabilized, I plan to go back and have a look. ”

"You can bring your two daughters to Peking University, and as for the salary, I guarantee that it will be paid on time." Zhou Hexuan said.

Buck interjected, "Well, I talked to Pearl about taking my daughter back to the U.S. and finding her a mental health home where she could live permanently." ”

"Then I wish your daughter a speedy recovery." Zhou Hexuan couldn't say anything more.

"Thank you for your blessings." Pearl Race smiled reluctantly. She had sent her daughter to the United States for treatment a few years earlier, but the doctors could not do anything about it, and the baby had problems developing in her belly.

Pearl Sai's family is a disaster in China, her mother gave birth to three children in a row, all of whom died due to the poor medical standards in China. When her mother was pregnant with Pearl Sai, she was so frightened that she hurriedly returned to the United States to give birth, and finally raised her successfully.

Pearl Sai's parents were pure-hearted missionaries who refused to live with the rich and spent their days mingling with the Chinese poor. Their ideal is to preach the gospel of God to every poor Chinese people, and even the spurning, threats and beatings by the locals have never changed.

Zhou Hexuan can still accept Pearl Sai's departure, because Peking University has no shortage of literary talents.

Buck is one of the top agronomists in China today, who was the dean of the College of Agriculture at Jinling University and wrote and published the book "China's Agricultural Economy" after years of field research. The departure of this person is undoubtedly a huge loss for Peking University.

But the people who should leave can't stay, and Zhou Hexuan can only feel regretful.

Buck smiled: "Zhou, the academic environment of Peking University is very good, and I like it very much. When I come back from the United States this time, I may come to Peking University to be a teacher. ”

"That's great," Zhou Hexuan said happily, "The gate of Peking University will always be open to the two of you." ”

Pearl Sai also took out a stack of manuscripts and said, "Mr. Zhou, I have translated your "Goddess" into English. When I go to the United States, I will recommend this novel to the publisher, and whether it can be published or not depends on the publisher's opinion. I would like to ask you to write a letter of authorization authorizing me to help you translate and negotiate for publication. ”

"That's no problem," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "Let's go back to Tianjin together, and I will entrust you with the English version of "The Rise of a Great Power" to help with the operation." ”

Pearl said yes, and she and her husband returned to Nanjing with the manuscript and the power of attorney, and then took their mentally handicapped daughter and adopted daughter to leave Shanghai by boat. It took more than a month to land on the West Coast of the United States.

They first searched for a mental health care for their daughter, and then began to run on their own.

With his academic monographs and papers, such as China's Agricultural Economics, Buck went to foundations and companies to seek financial support. He needed money for his agricultural research, and the Chinese government had no hope but to seek help from American foundations.

It is also ridiculous to say that a foreigner is studying China's agricultural economy in China, but the Chinese government ignores this kind of good thing, forcing the person to go to the United States to apply for research funds.

Buck nearly broke his legs, but he didn't get anything to gain, and the Foundations weren't interested in his research.

Historically, he did not receive financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation until the spring of 1929, and the amount was very large. Buck was so overjoyed that he threw himself into agricultural research, wandering the fields all day long, completely neglecting his wife and daughter.

So Buck went green, and Pearl fell in love with a publisher, and the two ended their marriage a few years later.

Pearl Sai was also hitting a wall everywhere at this time, she took the English manuscripts of Zhou Hexuan's "The Goddess" and "The Rise of a Great Power", as well as her debut novel "Guilan", and found more than 20 publishers in a row, but found nothing.

Well, Pearl Sai's "Guilan" is "East Wind: West Wind", which was later renamed and published. This is a chapter hui novel, and the heroine is called Guilan...... The protagonist is called Guilan's chapter back novel, and it's also in English, so I'm drunk when I think about it.

As for Pearl Sai's famous work "The Earth", it was not finished at this time, and only a part of it was written.

Zhou Hexuan's "The Goddess" was treated in the same way, and was not favored by American publishers, who felt that American readers were not interested in China and that publishing such a novel would definitely lose money.

On the contrary, "The Rise of Great Powers" was favored by some publishers, but when asked about the author, the other party immediately shook his head and refused when he heard that it was written by Chinese. It's not just that they look down on the Chinese, but because the monographs of Chinese authors don't have any gimmicks, and if they are the works of famous European and American historians, publishers will better publicize and operate.

As early as 1901, more than 8,000 books were published in the United States every year, among which New York, Philadelphia and Boston belonged to the three major centers of the American publishing industry.

Because of the ability to make money, publishing houses are opening more and more, which leads to extremely fierce competition in the industry.

Mac-Raul is one of the most inconspicuous publishing houses in the United States. Mike Howard, a former editor of The New York Times, founded the publishing house with his friend Raul Wood seven years ago, and the two of them worked together to grow the publishing house to nearly 20 employees.

"Boss, there's a lady who wants to see you, and she has a few book manuscripts in her hand." The secretary knocked on the door.

Mike Howard did not miss any opportunity to discover good books, which was the secret of his success, and immediately said, "Invite her in and make another cup of coffee." ”

Pearl Race walked into the office with a stack of manuscripts and greeted with a smile: "Hello Mr. Howard, my name is Pearl Pearl, and my Chinese name is Pearl Race." ”

"Chinese name? This is rare. "Mike felt a little funny.

Pearl put the manuscript on his desk and said, "Although I was born in the United States, I grew up in China, and this is my novel 'Guilan', which I wrote in a rural Chinese setting. The other two are the novel "The Divine Woman" by the Chinese scholar Mr. Zhou Hexuan, and his historical monograph "The Rise of Great Powers". ”

Due to the translation of the title, Mike had no impression of "The Rise of a Great Power", and when he heard that it was a work with a Chinese background, he immediately felt a little hopeless. But out of work habits, he still said, "Let me see first." ”

"Okay." Pearl sat down and waited.

Mike Howard first read "Guilan" and frowned when he looked at it, not only was he not interested in the story in the book, but he also felt that the narrative of the novel was also terrible. Before he finished reading it, Mike put down "Guilan" and continued to read "The Goddess".

"Hey, this novel has a bit of a flavor." Mike muttered to himself. He is also not interested in the plot of "The Goddess", but the narrative technique of the novel is refreshing.

But Mike still has some doubts, and it is difficult for him to predict whether this kind of work will be sold in the United States, which is set in China.

After reading the first five chapters, due to time reasons, Mike put down "The Goddess" and read "The Rise of Great Powers" instead. After reading only the beginning, Mike found that the content was very familiar, and when he flipped through some of the later chapters, he suddenly exclaimed: "Isn't this the world history treatise that is sought after by the academic community!" ”

The first foreign language version of "The Rise of Great Powers" was translated by British journalists and spread sporadically to Europe and then to the United States. Although the content is incomplete and the translation is rather messy, it still caused a sensation in European and American academic circles.

Of course, this sensation is confined to historical research circles, and ordinary civilians do not know anything about it.

Mike Howard, a former reporter for The New York Times, also has a knack for history – many historians turned journalists in the early 20th century. Mike first read the American chapter, and when he saw it, he asked a friend to collect the English chapter, the French chapter, and the Dutch chapter.

The fragments of the four volumes of "The Rise of Great Powers" made Mike worship the author so much, and at this moment he was pleased to find that what was in front of him was actually the whole book!

Mike Howard is a businessman after all, he quickly concealed his excitement, and asked indifferently: "Can you call the shots in this "The Rise of Great Powers"?" ”

Pearl Sai took out the authorization letter and said: "Of course, the original author has given me the authorization, but the scope of copyright is limited to the United States." ”

Mike smiled: "Then let's talk about the publication of "The Rise of Great Powers". ”

"What about Guilan and The Goddess?" Pearl asked with anticipation.

Mike smiled, "Those two novels, we'll talk about them later." If "The Rise of a Great Power" can be a hot seller, then the author Mr. Zhou's novel "The Goddess" can be published, and when "The Goddess" is recognized by readers, you, as the translator of "The Goddess", your novel "Guilan" can naturally be considered for publication. ”

Well, this is a businessman, who is very good at calculating, and even thinks about the follow-up operation.

Pearl Race was a little disappointed, but he finally had some hope, and immediately talked to Mike about the publication of "The Rise of a Great Power".

"The Rise of a Great Power" can get three or four percent of the royalties in China, but it is very low in the United States, because the publishing industry here has a heavy tax. Mike only gave 6% at the beginning, and after repeated efforts to win the pearl, he only talked about 8% in the end.

There is no way, no matter how harsh the conditions are, you have to agree, who says that only this publishing house is willing to help.

The Rise of Great Powers really met a wide audience in the Western world until the end of December 1927. As for the huge impact it has achieved, Zhou Hexuan, who is far away in China, has no idea that the conditions for international communication have been too bad in recent years.