1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 54 A Familiar Name

Susanna had heard James Huang tell her about Xu Shengjie's background.

What a poor thing!

She lost her mother at birth.

Uh, not dead, but missing.

Who exactly is this person? James also conducted an investigation after arriving at the Fifth Infantry.

She's a half-French, half-Chinese girl. Her mother came from Chinatown, and her father was a French vagrant who disappeared after a while. Her mother gave birth to Xu Shengjie's mother, a student at the Imperial College of the Arts in New York. Later, she became involved with Xu Jiadong, Xu Shengjie's father. She suddenly disappeared in 74, and in 75, she brought Xu Shengjie to live with Xu Jiadong, never to be seen again. It's said that Xu Shengjie's current appearance is mostly a product of his mother.

"What's Jeffrey's mother's name?"

When Susanna heard about Xu Shengjie's background, she asked him questions out of curiosity.

"Melanie Song, but I'm not sure what her name is now."

……

Now, when Susanna hears Xu Shengjie talk about "the taste of mom's cooking," she feels a pang of heartache.

What a good child!

She glanced at James Huang and Pao, and the father and son looked at Xu Shengjie, who was wolfing down his food, with complicated expressions, remaining silent.

This guy shouldn't come here often anymore.

James Huang Qiangyan laughed and said, "Yes, Pao and Lily are still young and don't know any better."

"Your mom learned this lemon sea bass recipe from a Michelin-starred chef; it's delicious, my favorite."

After saying that, he got up and used a knife and fork to cut off a piece of fish and put it on a plate.

"Don't force yourself to eat it if you don't like it."

"I'm not forcing you; this is from the bottom of my heart."

After seeing James Huang's move, Pao and Lily immediately understood and also grabbed a piece of fish.

Lily glared angrily at Xu Shengjie.

That wretched man! How can he eat this so deliciously with such relish?

But as the most vulnerable member of the family, she couldn't speak, dared not speak, and was unwilling to step forward and expose the lies...

Those despicable Chinatown thugs!

Lily Huang cursed incessantly in her heart.

Susanna's gaze towards Xu Shengjie softened even more.

I was also very happy that her lemon sea bass was completely sold out for the first time today.

Therefore, when it comes to food, it all depends on the diner's taste. James Wong, Huang Pao, and Lily Wong are all people who don't know how to appreciate or savor food.

Susanna wondered if she would no longer need to prepare meals with such care.

No matter how well it's done, it's still "A Bull in a China Shop".

The literal meaning is that a bull barged into a china shop; a more accurate translation would be something like "a bull chewing on a peony."

……

After dinner, James Huang and his two daughters reluctantly took on the responsibility of washing the dishes.

White food... well, especially family meals like this, isn't complicated, but the number of dishes it takes up is astonishing.

Also, cooking utensils.

This is a big project.

Susanna then led Xu Shengjie into the study.

Pao looked at him with a pleading expression, but Xu Shengjie coldly ignored him.

"Your book, *Canal Street Metro Station*, is fantastic!"

Susanna handed him a bottle of beer.

"Aunt Susanna, I'm only nineteen years old, I can't drink alcohol."

"Keep pretending. James said you drank a lot in Chinatown."

"It's alright, drink if you want, make yourself at home, don't be too reserved... Has Robert said anything about when the book will be published?"

Robert believes that it would be best to wait until the results of "Buffett" are in before publishing this book.

Publishing it now would only get us a new price. But if *Buffett* does well, *Canal Street* could get better terms.

"Yes, theoretically, that's true."

Susanna took a stack of documents out of the drawer.

"I have already given Buffett's original manuscript to Diane."

If nothing unexpected happens, Diane will most likely take over this project.

Given her current influence, the TV station's review panel will most likely not make things difficult for her, although the process will take a while.

As you know, the bigger the TV station, the more complicated the processes.

However, I will cooperate, and there should be results before September.

Xu Shengjie asked in surprise, "Isn't Diane the producer of 'Brown Murphy'? How could she have the time?"

"Ha, Brown Murphy has already had six seasons, and the seventh season is in pre-production. Filming will start in September or August. She's the producer, not the director or writer... After the pre-production work is done, she'll have some free time."

And it'll be seven seasons soon!

The initial enthusiasm has almost run out, and since the end of the sixth season last year, Diane has been thinking about new projects.

At the beginning of the year, I heard that she was discussing some fantasy drama ideas with Drew Goddard.

Your book actually aligns perfectly with her thinking, and given her personality, she will definitely push this project through.

Xu Shengjie scratched his head, puzzled, and asked, "Aunt Susanna, what are you doing at the TV station...?"

Susanna laughed and said, "Me?"

I'm just a small manager in the content moderation department.

She fooled me! She fooled me!

The head of the content moderation department is still very young...

Although Xu Shengjie was not very familiar with the structure of American television stations, he could guess the meaning of this review department.

All green light teams are formed by the review department.

All of ABC's productions, whether dramas or variety shows, require approval from the censorship department.

She publicly claimed to be just a "screenwriter".

But in reality, she held the power of life and death over all ABC projects.

This is a very important person!

Xu Shengjie neither knew nor wanted to know about Susanna's family background.

He knew one thing: to reach such a position in the American social system, one either had outstanding abilities or a distinguished family background.

Xu Shengjie immediately straightened his back.

If Kenny Zhang and his friends were the foundation of his survival in Chinatown, then Susanna would become the support for his future advancement.

No money and no connections?

They will always be nothing more than cattle and horses.

ability?

Sometimes it's not that important.

Xu Shengjie felt much more relaxed.

Vanessa is determined to win your song "Colors of the Wind".

Please, what song is that? I'm really curious now... She wants permanent performance rights and is willing to give up 15% of the commercial revenue from this song. She's also asking for a signing bonus of $150,000.

Well, that's a high price for a newcomer.

Her share of the profits from subsequent commercial performances will also be a considerable sum…

Xu Shengjie frowned slightly.

A signing fee of $15 is not low.

Especially for a beginner, the typical buyout is around $5.

Now, Vanessa has only obtained lifetime exclusive rights to perform the songs, which, according to market principles, is already a premium purchase.

This also shows that she really likes this song.

"What if you win an award?"

Susanna was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

"Jeffrey, you're really confident... If she wins, I'll have her put up an extra $20; that can be written into the contract."

"Then I have no problem."

"The situation in Manken is a bit complicated."

He personally likes the song and is willing to recommend it to Disney... but he's not sure what Disney's attitude will be.

That's all I can say for you. If Disney responds, you can have your agent handle the negotiations.

As she spoke, she handed Xu Shengjie a stack of documents.

"These are the agent profiles I've compiled for you over the past few days."

"So, who do you want to choose?"

Xu Shengjie took it and looked through it one by one.

It's clear that Susanna put her heart into it.

The agents on this list are mostly not the kind of agents who are powerful and have a strong background. Such agents would have too much control over Xu Shengjie at present, and Xu Shengjie is obviously not the kind of person who is obedient.

A newcomer with some ability, but not overly assertive.

This type of agent is the most suitable for Xu Shengjie at present.

As Xu Shengjie's fame and status rise in the future, he can change to a more suitable agent without too much trouble.

Susanna did not speak again.

This matter depends on Xu Shengjie's own thoughts.

Xu Shengjie flipped through one document after another, and suddenly saw the information of an agent, raising an eyebrow.

"Does Aunt Susanna know this person?"

Susanna took it and glanced at it.

John Crosby?

"Yes, he's an agent from Los Angeles, with some connections in Hollywood. But he doesn't have much of a foothold in New York. He's been coming to New York frequently lately, apparently to try and get an audition for one of his actors."

Susanna asked, somewhat puzzled, "You want to choose him?"

He seems to have no energy in New York…

Xu Shengjie retrieved the documents but did not rush to answer.

He looked with interest at the list of signed artists at the bottom of Crosby's resume, and one name in particular caught his attention.

……