There was war.
There was humanity.
There was life.
There were feelings.
There was history.
A single work could amaze the world with a single hit.
This was it. There was nothing more suitable than this!
As Zhang Ye thought about it, he made up his mind. Although he wasn't sure if he could win this world's Nobel Prize in Literature with this last-minute work, he still had to give it a try. After all, this was the closest he could get to the international celebrity rankings, and it was also his only chance.
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the study's door.
Zhang Ye looked up with a smile. "Come in."
Wu Zeqing opened the door with a cup of iced coffee.
"I said there's no need to knock," Zhang Ye said.
Wu Zeqing smiled. "Alright, have some coffee."
Zhang Ye took it from her. "My wife is still the best. Is the child asleep?"
"She just fell asleep." Wu Zeqing looked at his computer screen. "What are you busy with?"
Zhang Ye said, "I'm preparing to write a book."
Wu Zeqing smiled. "Other people write books, so what do you mean by 'writing' when it comes to you?"
Zhang Ye laughed. "Something like that, something like that."
Wu Zeqing was the person in the world who understood him the best. "You're eyeing the Nobel Prize?"
"Yeah." Zhang Ye said, "I'll give it a try."
Wu Zeqing nodded. "Don't tire yourself out. Rest early."
Zhang Ye said, "Alright, you and the child go to sleep first. Don't worry about me. I'll probably have to work overtime for the next few days since the Nobel Prize is only a few days away."
Wu Zeqing asked, "Are you confident of winning?"
Zhang Ye gave a wry smile. "I think I have a 20% chance of winning."
Usually, he would not fight a battle unprepared. But it was clearly different this time. The Nobel Prize was too big and there were too many uncertainties. Of course, he couldn't guarantee that he would win it 100% of the time. Moreover, things had happened too quickly and did not give him much time to prepare. As such, Zhang Ye could only take it one step at a time.
After Old Wu left, Zhang Ye got busy.
He downed his iced coffee in one gulp, then rolled up his sleeves and began to read up on American history in detail, especially the period of American history described in Gone with the Wind. Although there were some differences in the names of some of the characters, the general direction of history in this world was similar to that of his previous world. Some of the histories were even shockingly similar, so there were fewer obstacles to the publication of this work. At least, Zhang Ye did not need to make too many changes to it. He only needed to make some minor changes to the details, and that should not be a problem. He would definitely not destroy the integrity and literary quality of the original work — this was also what Zhang Ye valued the most. He needed the original novel to be as authentic as possible. Otherwise, if the history was really too different, he would rather change to another book than make any changes to it.
Information.
History.
Then, he checked the preferences of the previous Nobel Prize winners for their works.
There were even members of this year's Nobel Prize jury.
After finishing his preparations, Zhang Ye finally created a file on the computer and created a title for Gone with the Wind. Then he typed in the original English version on the keyboard. He had read many versions of this novel, including the Chinese and English versions. He had also read the Russian version in college, so he could easily recreate it using the Memory Search Capsule.
…
Gone with the Wind.
Chapter 1:
A Beautiful Secret Lover
(English Version)
Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men would not think that way when they were mesmerized by her charm like the Tarleton twins. Her face had two characteristics. One was her mother's delicateness from the French aristocracy, and the other was her father's coarseness from the foppish Irish. These two characteristics did not mix well together, but the sharp chin and square gums on this face were very eye-catching. Her pale green eyes were so pure that there was not a hint of brown in them. Paired with her dark lashes and the corners of her eyes, they gave off a very charming air. Above them were two thick black eyebrows that slanted over her magnolia white skin. Such fair skin was extremely precious to Southern women. They often used hats, veils, and gloves to protect their skin from the hot Georgia sun.
…
One page.
Two pages.
Three pages.
Gone with the Wind was about 800,000 words long.
The original English version might have more characters, but the page count was about the same.
With Zhang Ye's speed, he wrote it very quickly. After all, he had eaten the Fruit of Agility before. Moreover, every word of the original version was already imprinted in his mind, so there was no need for him to think too much. The characters were already typing on the computer screen, and he was progressing very quickly.
Five pages.
Ten pages.
If Zhang Ye could type out more than 10,000 Chinese characters in an hour, then it should not be a problem for him to write 200,000 characters in a little more than a dozen hours. Even if he did not work overtime, he could probably finish writing it in less than four days. However, Zhang Ye clearly hoped that it could be done faster. This was because writing a book was not enough. It still needed to be published, distributed, and made a name for itself in the world. All of these required time. Right now, the biggest competitors for the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Indian and Japanese authors, were all releasing new books and making their final push for the Nobel Prize. Of course Zhang Ye could not fall behind. He had to at least get on the same starting line as them.
…
The first day.
Zhang Ye had written 180,000 characters.
He wrote so much that he was dazzled.
…
The second day.
Zhang Ye had written another 270,000 characters.
He had written for a total of 17 hours.
…
The third day.
Zhang Ye had been working non-stop for 20 hours.
He had written more than 300,000 characters.
He had finished writing the original English version of the book!
…
Sometimes, people needed to be pushed a little. If they didn't push themselves a little, they would never know where their limits were. Zhang Ye deeply understood this saying at this moment. Back when he wrote Fortress Besieged, he didn't even write it this quickly. Furthermore, he was working on it continuously, which required even more willpower and stamina.
It was a great success!
Gone with the Wind had finally been published!
Zhang Ye felt a great sense of accomplishment.
He had read this book no less than three times in his previous world. Each time he read it, he would gain a deeper understanding and sublimation of it. After so many years, he was revising this book again in this world. The description of war and the weight of life in the text gave him a deeper understanding of it. He felt that writing was a very beautiful and wonderful thing.
This was truly a great book!
No matter how many years had passed.
No matter which world he was in.
No matter which language it was translated into!
This was truly a great book!
Immediately, Zhang Ye called the studio. "Contact an overseas publishing firm."
Ha Qiqi said, "Ah?"
Zhang Ye said, "I've finished writing it."
Ha Qiqi said, "What?"
You've finished writing it?
An extra-long novel?
Three days?
Everyone in the studio was stunned!
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