Chapter 397 A wonderful misunderstanding

Chapter 397 A wonderful misunderstanding

Chapter 397 A wonderful misunderstanding

Excluding the small garden at the back, the French Embassy in China is divided into four areas: office area, confidential area, activity area, and living area.

The banquet was held in the multi-purpose hall of the activity area, surrounded by the AFP and Xinxia Society which had not yet started work.

Previously in Spain, cultural exchange activities between China and the West were also held in the multi-purpose hall of the Chinese Embassy in Spain. This hall often hosts dances, small exhibitions, and banquets.

"I am very depressed."

"Oh my friend, at least we can still cuddle now."

"I'm sure I'll miss working with you."

"Thank you very much for coming to the banquet today."

Wait, no matter how unhappy they are at work, they hug each other at the banquet and look very happy.

The drinks served at the farewell banquet are rum and white wine, and cocktails, sparkling wine and beer are not allowed.

Everything about the banquet was prepared by his wife Camille, so I don’t know if there was anything I should pay attention to about the drinks. Anyway, Camille personally selected them, and the only drink was Alain Milliat apple juice.

On the one hand, it was very official, only inviting people from the French Embassy and diplomats who had more dealings with China. On the other hand, all the participants brought their families, which seemed to eliminate the sense of seriousness from the composition, so it was said to be semi-official and semi-private.

Soon, Bruno, the next owner of the "Big TV", arrived with his wife.

The Big TV is the nickname given to the embassy building by the embassy staff. From a distance, the most eye-catching thing is the protruding shape of the LCD TV on the third and fourth floors. Even Ambassador Dibo often joked that you can't "change channels" at will with the TV remote control.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday. I had an urgent meeting all of a sudden." Bruno shook hands and hugged Dibo, and kissed Camille on the cheek.

"You missed out on meeting a very talented writer," DeBo said.

"That's such a pity." Bruno pretended to be a little sad on his face.

The two exchanged a few more words, then Bruno and his wife went inside, the former with a glass of wine and the latter with apple juice.

There are indeed many Chinese officials present today. Everyone knows that this kind of meeting has a stronger social attribute. Bruno found a director related to foreign trade and had some conversations with him. He will not officially start work until tomorrow, but he can't hold back his thoughts - he must promote the "Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Cooperation between Small and Medium Enterprises" as soon as possible.

France's economic situation has been very worrying since 2017. Especially after the world-famous "Yellow Vest Movement", it needs to find new trading partners.

More than forty minutes into the banquet, Dibo stood in the center and gave a touching speech.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen! Since arriving in Beijing in January 2014, I have served as the French Ambassador to China for nearly five years. As I return to my country after my term of office, I am very happy to meet with friends from all walks of life in France and China again..."

This speech is quite lengthy. To be more specific, this is Dibo's summary of his work. Agence France-Presse and New Summer Agency started their work at this moment, and this is considered a formal resignation report.

"Two unprecedented events also took place during my term. One was the birth of the panda cub Yuanmeng, who has become a new messenger of friendship between France and China. The other was the celebration of Chinese writer Gu Lu's works One Night Genius and The New Great Wall. The singing of the national anthem at the government square was also a representative scene of friendship between France and China."

The resignation report, which lasted more than twenty minutes, finally came to an end.

"I am honored to witness and participate in these historic moments in France-China relations. I feel extremely proud to continue the great cause started by General Charles de Gaulle and Mr. Mao and to contribute to the development of France-China relations."

There was a burst of applause.

Seriously speaking, due to Dibo Pompon's attitude, these five years are indeed the most fruitful years for Sino-French cultural exchanges. A lot of literary works from the two countries have been translated into each other's works.

Entering the next stage, Chinese friends presented gifts.

The value of the gift is not high, but it is very memorable. For example, the director of a foreign trade department who just talked to Bruno gave him a relatively precious tea. Even if you have money, you can't buy that kind of tea...

"The delicious tea in China is as abundant as the delicious cheese in our country. This impressed me deeply. I also know a poem about tea: Tea, fragrant leaves, tender buds. Admiring poets, loving monks. Grinding and carving white jade, weaving red gauze..." Di Bo recited. It's really not easy. Many Chinese have never heard of Yuan Zhen's one- to seven-character poems.

"After I go back, I might be able to write a book about Chinese tea." Dibo took the gift with both hands, looked at it carefully, and then handed it to his wife Camille. Camille also took it solemnly, and after a while, she handed it to the staff and put it in the living area at the back.

When Dibo faces every gift, no matter whether it touches his heart or not, he gives it very appropriate emotional value.

First give a few words of compliment, and if you are capable, quote from classics, if you are not capable, just say a few words of French humor.

Director Zhao from the United Front Department presented a gift, and Dibo did the same thing.

The only difference was that Director Zhao also took out a file bag and said, "Mr. Dibo, this is the gift that Teacher Gu Lu asked me to bring."

Hearing this, Di Bo's curiosity immediately arose. When they parted yesterday, Gu had said that he would give him a special gift.

How special?

A novel... When Dibo saw the title, he laughed out loud "Who Moved My Cheese?"

Especially in the preface, when his name was mentioned, Di Bo understood immediately, "Gu must have felt the charm of cheese and loved it too much. Let me tell you, no one in the world can resist cheese."

The outgoing ambassador thought that the cheese given away must be too little, but the title of the book made everything clear.

When he returns to Paris, he will send more and better cheese. Not too much, just 50 kilograms!

This number is not a random statement. The average French person consumes 30 kilograms of cheese per year. Gu Lu is not young anymore, so he must have a girlfriend. Is 25 kilograms for each of him and his girlfriend reasonable?

"Gu's creative ability really surprises me." Di Bo said to everyone with a smile, his tone boasting, "Gu specially wrote a novel for me, which really surprised me, oh!"

The staff of the "big TV" on the scene all knew Gu Lu's name, after all, they had all seen "One Night Genius". They looked at him with a hint of envy when he wrote a work specifically for him as a parting gift.

Bruno was not moved at all. His expression did not change at all, and he even wanted to laugh. Can he live forever? That's not right. Can he leave his name in history? No. Is this the only thing a senior French politician wants?
But don't let him down, after all, strictly speaking, Bruno will get the remote control tomorrow and control this big TV. With an area of ​​more than 20,000 square meters and more than 800 employees, it is indeed large as an organization.

Why did Bruno think that Dibo had no ambition? Because the latter's attitude towards the gift was too obvious. He put the manuscript directly on the high table at hand without handing it to Camille.

The whole banquet lasted for more than two hours, and everyone dispersed at nine o'clock in the evening.

At this point, Dibo's burden was completely lifted. After the banquet, Bruno did not rest, but had a small meeting with the minister, minister-counselor and ordinary counselor.

He explained his policy and worked for another twenty minutes.

I have to say, this behavior is so annoying. Is there anything that cannot be discussed during working hours? Attending the resignation banquet is considered overtime, and after overtime, you have to make a summary. Damn it!
Several counselors and ministers were in a small group. After all, Minister Jetola had thought that he could take over, but he didn't expect this person to be parachuted in...

"Mr. Bruno is too impatient to change the channel before he even gets the remote."

“I’m eager to achieve something.”

"But it is better to switch to a commercial channel rather than a cultural channel. At present, we in France lack money, confidence and jobs, but we do not lack culture."

"Of course. France has never lacked culture."

……

After returning to the room, Dibo couldn't wait to look at Gu Lu's farewell gift.

His wife Camille invited Dibo to take a shower together, but the latter didn't hear it clearly and refused directly.

Just go with Gu Lu! Camille, whose face was flushed (due to alcohol), was also a little dissatisfied. It is true that the future achievements of Chinese writers are guaranteed by Mark Levi, but not yet!
Dibo didn't see his wife's expression. Of course, even if he saw it, he would pretend not to see it. After all, his wife was ten years younger than him and had much better physical strength.

"Why does Mr. Gu Lu like to use mice as an image? Is it because mice are humans' neighbors?"

A certain writer once had such a point of view, saying that humans can only look at the city at eye level or from above, and the only mammals that can look up at the city are rats living in the sewers.

"That should be the view." Dibo nodded silently, agreeing with his own guess. People who read a lot are like this, it's easy for them to start imagining things.

Besides, Dibo Pengpeng is the type of person who thinks a lot.

Keep looking -

“The more important you think cheese is, the more you want to keep it.

“If you don’t change, you’ll be eliminated.

“Smell the cheese often so you know if it’s still fresh.

“Go in new directions and you’ll find new cheese.”

……

It’s about 40,000 words and I finished reading it in less than an hour.

"An allegorical novella. Gu really treats me as a friend. We are close friends forever!"

Di Bo used the wrong idiom. He probably meant to say "eight sworn brothers". After all, his understanding of Chinese culture was limited. He had memorized the poem by Yuan Zhen in advance. After all, someone would definitely send tea and wine. He could also use the poems about wine at the banquet. "It's so important. This work is so important!" Di Bo was so excited that he couldn't hold back his voice.

The sound attracted Camille who had just finished taking a shower.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes, "Is it that exaggerated?"

"It's not an exaggeration, dear, do you know what this work is about? Do you know the current situation in France?" asked Dubo.

The situation in France is very bad at the moment. Although Camille has been staying in China with her husband all year round, she is still relatively familiar with the situation in her own country.

"The domestic situation started to decline in 2017, and the country tried every possible way to stimulate the economy and consumption," Dibo said. "Last year, they even cancelled the super-rich tax in an attempt to stimulate household investment, but the gap with the expected goal is too far. In order to improve the employment situation, many recruitment restrictions were eased to increase the universality of employment, but there has been no substantial progress."

There are many measures that have been useless, and Dibo does not want to list them all. "After the Yellow Vests incident, the government's credibility plummeted and the fiscal deficit worsened. At this time, we need more sources of income and confidence."

Open source and confidence, so what does all this have to do with Gu Lu's gift? Camille looked puzzled.

"This work is a cultural booster, an allegorical novel that encourages people to work hard," Dibo said. "Gu must have known that I would serve as the first minister of the Ministry of Culture and Communications, so he wrote such a work for me. This is the best gift for me."

Although the position that Dibo will be transferred to after his term expires has not yet been announced and ordinary people have no way of knowing it, it is no secret in the circle.

Think about it, if Gu Lu specially sent such a work, wouldn't that be a slap in his face for his political achievements? How could Di Bo not be moved?

If you put it that way... Camille sighed, "Gu's writing ability is too strong. He can come up with such a work just by eating a meal of cheese."

"I'll take care of Gu's cheese from now on!" Dibo said firmly.

That's as it should be. Camille nodded and asked, "Dibo, what are you going to do?"

"I can't let Gu down, so I translated it into French myself, and then I promoted it with all my strength after I took office as minister!" Dibo said, "I want this work to win all the awards it can win in China!"

This is not an exaggeration. The First Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Communications is equivalent to the top person in charge of the domestic culture and communications department. With such power, it is very easy for him to win awards.

"My dear, I'll have to trouble you to find the specific publisher," said Dibo.

Camille's full name is Camille Jean Lagardere. She is the third princess of the French Lagardere Group. Hachette Publishing Group under this group is one of the six largest publishing groups in the world. It is also a media giant and an aviation giant. In short, in the field of French publishing, the Lagardere Group has a strong monopoly.

You see, as the heir to the famous Peng Pang family, his wife definitely cannot be a commoner.

"I will definitely ask Mog to publish this book with all his strength." Camille knew the seriousness of the problem. Her husband was the head of the Information Department. He certainly couldn't change the country's real economy, and it wasn't his responsibility. But he was able to boost the spirits of the people, which was also a great achievement.

Without further ado, Who Moved My Cheese? is at least SS+ for publicity and promotion…

Dibo is a man of action as he does what he says.

That night, I started to do some basic translation, such as place names, the main title is "Who Moved My Cheese", the subtitle is "Sending a Book to Dibo Pampang"

The original name of the Earth was Cheese Station C, but Gu Lu made a small change to the place name. Station C became Station N. If you insist on saying what it means, it may be the N in South. Southwest is also South!

The names were not changed because the translators on Earth translated them faithfully, accurately and elegantly. The two little mice were translated as Sniff (smell) into "Xiu Xiu" and Scurry (run quickly) into "Chong Chong"; the two dwarfs were translated as Hem (Heng Heng) and Haw (Haw) into "Ji Ji".

Dibo's French translation changed Station N to "Normandie, Cheese Station". Because Normandy is one of the birthplaces of cheese, Gu's love for cheese is really revealed in every aspect. Dibo thought to himself.

Gu Lu wanted to publish "Who Moved My Rice Cake?", but was blocked by President Jian because it looked like the sales would not be very good.

Gu Lu also agreed very much. The book "Earth" was published in 1998. At that time, the global economic environment was volatile, so it was very suitable for this book.

In itself, the content of the book is easy to understand and can be read by people of all ages, but without promotional hooks, sales will not be very high.

To sum up, Gu Lu has stayed until now. He just wanted to avoid wasting money, but he never thought that this would trigger such a misunderstanding...

Currently, Gu Lu is promoting the animated theatrical version.

Bilibili and Weibo both released promotional messages - but Gu Lu felt a little guilty when looking at the former.

We agreed to continue updating the interview series with King Gollum, and Jia Xu helped find someone, but there were too many miscellaneous things, and more than a month has passed without any updates.

"I'm getting old, and I don't have as much energy as when I was young." Gu Lu said.

It's not entirely an excuse for myself, because so many things have happened since my return.

There are even two things scheduled for next year. The first is a gift to the country of Mao, continuing Tolstoy's script. The second is the student festival next year, the lineup is Zhejiang University of Foreign Studies, Beijing Film Academy, and Nanjing University of Science and Technology. Gu Lu was commissioned to help write a short script and shoot it into a short film...

We’ll talk about next year’s matters next year, and we must complete the remaining tasks of this year.

I went abroad to do scientific research with Professor Lu, and I also wrote my second novel this year.

"I'm too busy. In the next few months, I won't take any more jobs, no matter who comes!" Gu Lu said firmly, "I want to concentrate on finishing From the New World."

As soon as he finished speaking, a phone rang.

The caller was the chairman of the Great Diplomacy International Think Tank.

It is not convenient to disclose the details of the call, after all, it is a national event. In summary, the chairman relayed that the country has a problem to consult. Regarding the strategic consultation on cultural exports to Europe and the United States, every expert has to write a countermeasure.

Don’t underestimate this consultation, it can really reach the ears of the emperor. After all, the establishment of the six core think tanks is to gather wisdom. For example, in the previous five years, the think tank (then called the expert group) suggested that we break through through Confucius Institutes and film and television works. Therefore, in those years, the country fully supported the creation of film and television works produced overseas and the establishment of Confucius Institutes.

Chairman Wen also knew Gu Lu’s special circumstances, so he comforted him and told him not to put too much pressure on himself.

There is definitely pressure. After all, the experts and professors in think tanks are really studying diplomatic relations, and they have written books on foreign trade, culture and other aspects.

For example, Professor Zhang Lili has a lot of resumes, and there is not enough space for so many people here. Let's talk about the chief researcher of the "East Asian Strategy and Peace Forum" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His book "Diplomatic Decision-making" is a textbook in most foreign affairs colleges.

"Chairman Wen, how about this, can I show the results directly? Use results instead of words." Gu Lu thought and said.

"Hmm?" Chairman Wen asked with a nasal tone.

"The combined sales of my books, Mr. Holmes and The Little Prince, have exceeded three million copies, and the sales in Asia are even higher," said Gu Lu. "I can directly conduct actual combat and provide some practical experience for this national consultation."

Writing down theoretical knowledge is a waste of time. Now that he has the title of expert, Gu Lu also wants to really contribute.

This is a path I have never thought of. Chairman Wen has been the head of a think tank for two or three years and the head of the "Foreign Affairs Expert Group" for four or five years, but he has never seen this situation before. Direct actual combat?

"If possible, the actual situation demonstrated by expert Gu will definitely provide us with a richer perspective for this consultation." Chairman Wen said immediately.

Okay, okay, since that’s the case, let’s get started.

After hanging up the phone, Gu Lu suddenly realized that something seemed wrong. Why did he accept another task?

It’s not bad, after all, I have done my best to fulfill my responsibilities.

So, how to do it? Gu Lu had a little idea. After all, he dared to say this, so he must be sure of it.

Cultural exports should mainly be exported to Europe and the United States. After all, Annan, Japan, and South Korea are heavily influenced by Chinese culture and have little reference value.

Gu Lu fell into deep thought.

There are currently two ideas, one is to go to Britain via the Cthulhu route, and the other is to go to America via another work in the Armory.

The specific choice depends on the situation.

Purely Chinese popular novels are very rare in Europe and America, but if they only contain Chinese elements, it will be much simpler. For example, up to now, more and more people use wine to commemorate the dead. Even if they don’t know “酹”, they know that this is a custom that has been passed down in China since ancient times. This is the small modification that King Guru made to "Mr. Holmes".

In addition, the media ranked the breeds of dogs around the world. Don't be surprised that Daying likes to rank them in various ways to export culture. In the past, when mentioning Akita dogs, the Chinese rural dogs were not mentioned. But now, even if they don't recognize their fighting power, they will be mentioned... Because after all, rural dogs have bitten the descendants of the Outer Gods to death in the Cthulhu series. If they are not ranked, many British readers will make a fuss.

Gu Lu is quite good at outputting information imperceptibly.

On the other hand, "Kuroko's Basketball: Peak Battle" was released.

The box office performed quite well in its first week, grossing over 85 million, while the market forecast was around 300 million.

Why is it necessary to describe it as "quite"? Let's take an example from Earth to explain: In 2019, the best performing Conan movie in China was "The Fist of Blue Sapphire", with a box office of 2.31 million yuan. But think about it, how well-known is Conan on Earth?

There is no Conan in the parallel world, but there is One Piece, oh, it is called "One Piece" to be exact. The "Frenzy Action" released this year is the best box office performance of "One Piece" so far, with a box office of just over 200 million.

"How can the fame of Kuroko Basketball be compared to One Piece! Why does the box office seem to be better than One Piece?"

Some One Piece fans just don't understand.

(End of this chapter)