1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 27 An Encounter

In the afternoon, Xu Shengjie first met with the lawyer introduced by James Huang.

She was a woman in her thirties, of average appearance, named Jessica Aguirre.

She comes from a large law firm, Wachtell Lipton, which specializes in working with ABC.

However, Jessica Aguirre is a junior lawyer who has just obtained her license.

That's enough!

Being able to understand the contract is enough.

The two had a brief exchange, after which Jessica drove Xu Shengjie to her law firm in Midtown.

Robert's lawyer was already waiting for their arrival.

He is a typical elite white man.

He took out the agency contract he had prepared beforehand, and Jessica Aguirre carefully checked it over. After confirming that there were no legal oversights, Xu Shengjie signed his name on the agency contract in a flamboyant manner.

The whole process took an hour and a half.

Xu Shengjie needs to pay $200.

I only saw one contract, it was only two hundred dollars?

Lawyers really make a killing!

However, this is an unavoidable expense.

Afterwards, Xu Shengjie consulted Jessica about some things.

He made a request to Jessica, asking her to register a studio for him as quickly as possible.

There's no way around it, the taxes in the United States are just too high!

Registering a studio can help him reduce a lot of taxes.

However, he will need to hire an accountant to help with the bookkeeping, otherwise he will face a lot of trouble with the IRS in the future.

Jessica said she would complete the commission as quickly as possible, and the bill would be mailed to Xu Shengjie after the commission was completed.

After finishing their business, Xu Shengjie took the subway home.

I bought a bento box at the convenience store downstairs, ate it quickly, and then sat down at my worktable to start working.

I was busy all day and didn't write a single word, so I feel quite guilty.

I'll write for two hours to calm my nerves first, and then continue to refine the outline of "Sniper Phone Booth".

We aim to start work immediately after finishing "Canal Street Metro Station" and complete the creation by August if possible.

Also, what should I write for The New Yorker?

During his break, Xu Shengjie sat on the windowsill, lit a cigarette, and fell into deep thought.

The phone rang suddenly.

He paused for a moment, then jumped down from the windowsill and picked up the phone.

"Hello, are you Mr. Jeffrey?"

"Yes, who are you?"

A pleasant female voice came from the phone.

She's very alluring, quite seductive.

Xu Shengjie frowned, finding the voice very unfamiliar.

"This is Quad Recording Studios. You previously scheduled a recording session with Mr. Alan Menken. Mr. Menken will have an hour and a half to record for you next Monday, June 20th, at 6 PM."

Please bring your sheet music and lyrics when you come to record.

If you are unable to come, Mr. Menken may not be able to make time until the end of the month...

Do you need to confirm the recording time?

"Sure!"

Xu Shengjie thought for a moment and then gave his answer.

Aunt Zhang had previously introduced him to this recording studio and even contacted the producer, Alan Menken.

But Alan Menken is very busy; he's not just a producer in a small recording studio, but also a composer for Disney. He spends most of his time in Los Angeles rather than New York, so his schedule is very full.

Even with Zhang Disha acting as a go-between, Xu Shengjie still had to follow the rules.

He had previously submitted a reservation request, providing the sheet music and lyrics... He thought he would have to wait a few more days, but he didn't expect to receive a reply so soon.

However, today is Tuesday, next Monday...

It seems like there's still a long time to go!

It seems that Alan Menken is really busy.

After hanging up the phone, he wrote down his schedule on the calendar.

It's really troublesome not having a cell phone... But without a cell phone, it seems very peaceful, without so many hassles, and I can write quietly.

There are advantages and disadvantages!

But to be honest, he's quite enjoying this peace and quiet right now.

He sat down at his workbench and glanced at the table. There were many bills and a letter on it.

He took it from the mailbox when he went upstairs and didn't notice it.

Water bills, electricity bills, cleaning fees... all sorts of miscellaneous charges add up to a bill of over a hundred dollars that needs to be paid as soon as possible.

This is no small matter; it must be paid on time.

Otherwise, if you fall behind on your bill, it will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.

A week ago, Xu Shengjie would probably have had a headache.

But right now... he still has at least a few thousand dollars to use, so he doesn't need to worry for the time being.

And a month later, when the World Cup ends, he will be financially free!

Thinking about it that way, he still felt that he should try to save money as much as possible.

……

That evening, James Huang called.

I was planning to come see you, but something came up and I was delayed!

Well, your Aunt Susan heard that you wrote a book and that Mr. Gottlieb took a liking to it, so she's very curious about what you wrote.

"Wow, you're really something! I only found out today that Gottlieb is a big shot."

Judging from the situation, James Huang was still not entirely at ease, so he specifically investigated Robert Gottlieb's situation.

This is not difficult for a branch office director.

Before James Huang could finish speaking, a woman's voice came from the side.

"Jeffrey, if it's difficult, then forget it."

"What could be difficult for him? His aunt is just reading his book..."

"James, you don't understand!"

Susanna, being a gentle person, immediately defended Xu Shengjie.

Xu Shengjie quickly replied, "It's no trouble at all. If Aunt Susan wants to see it, I'll just send it over later."

"Don't look back, I'll find some time to come see you tomorrow."

When are you coming?

"I can't say for sure!"

"That way, if I'm not home, I'll give the spare key to the administrator."

I'll print out the manuscript and put it on your desk; you can just take it... Also, I received your ticket.

"Haha, enjoy the game."

The two ended the call, and Xu Shengjie shook his head with a smile before returning to his worktable and sitting down.

I don't know what the original owner was being so stubborn about. Having a police chief uncle who was willing to help was something that many people dream of.

Xu Shengjie put away tomorrow's game ticket, then sat down at his typewriter and continued writing.

Today's writing went fairly smoothly; the fourth chapter is finally finished.

Atubo put on the cheap suit that Joshua had bought for him and combed his gray hair in front of the mirror.

This is also a symbol of Atubo finding herself again and living with dignity, and an important step for her to begin accepting herself and others.

This scene is also one of the most touching and classic scenes in the movie.

When describing this part, Xu Shengjie used a vivid, cinematic style of writing...

After finishing writing, he breathed a sigh of relief, proofread the manuscript, and then printed it out.

I need to go out tomorrow to buy some printing paper; I've been using a lot of paper lately.

……

The next day, I woke up at 10 a.m.

Xu Shengjie was too lazy to go out, so he called a nearby Chinese restaurant and ordered a four-treasure rice and a daily soup.

Then he continued writing at his worktable.

As a result, Zhang Ping'an called when he had only just begun writing the fifth chapter.

"Jeffrey, come out and play soccer!"

"Play football?"

"I met a few international students from mainland China at the bar yesterday."

Well, the World Cup is coming up, so we started talking about football. Then this guy from Po was really arrogant, so we arranged to play a match this afternoon. His mother is usually incredibly arrogant, and when it came down to it, they couldn't even get everyone together.

"Hurry, I need your help urgently!"

"You're such a grown man, how could you..."

Xu Shengjie couldn't help but laugh and said, "Alright then, I'm not feeling too well today, so I'll play some football to clear my head. I'm heading out now."

"Come on, we're waiting for you!"

Xu Shengjie didn't think much of it, rummaged through the closet for his jersey and sneakers, stuffed them into his bag, and then ran out the door.

In the lobby, he gave a spare key to the administrator.

"If Chief James Huang from the Fifth Precinct comes to me, just give him the key."

Upon hearing this, the administrator didn't dare to say anything more and quickly put the key away.

"Jeffrey, don't worry."

Xu Shengjie rushed out of the lobby with his backpack, jogged to the motorcycle, and jumped onto it.

The court that Zhang Ping'an and his friends agreed to meet was on one side of the City Hall Park.

Although soccer is not a popular sport in the United States, the public stadiums are quite well-built.

Furthermore, for the World Cup, the New York City government renovated some of the stadiums in the city, making them comparable to professional stadiums.

When Xu Shengjie arrived at the stadium, quite a few people had already arrived.

Zhang Ping'an stepped forward, put his arm around Xu Shengjie's neck, and whispered, "The situation has changed!"

……