When the telegram from Britain came, Li Yu was about to finish his observations at the Harvard Observatory. The telegram was first sent to Liang Cheng and then forwarded to Harvard University.
"What a shame!" Sierra took the telegram to the observatory and found Li Yu.
"A telegram from England?" Li Yu guessed it when he saw the telegram in her hand.
"Yeah," Sierra said,
"It's really unexpected that you can become a foreign academician of the Royal Society." The Royal Society generally elects up to 40 academicians each year, but at the beginning of the 20th century, the number was far less than that in most years; foreign academicians could only elect at most 40 academicians. There are four, and the British status is still quite aloof these days, so qualifying is very difficult.
Li Yu took the telegram and it was indeed signed to the Royal Society of England. This is just a notification, and the formal letter will be signed by recommenders such as President Huggins and Lord Kelvin.
"By the way, why don't you go to class?" Li Yu suddenly asked.
"Me? I've graduated." Sierra said.
"It's really leisurely to have money." Li Yu said with emotion. Now the Carnegie family is really rich.
"By the way," Sierra asked again,
"Did you come up with anything extraordinary during the past few days at the observatory? Sister LeWitt wrote to me privately and said that you were always beaming with joy. She said that it shouldn't be like this based on the direction of your observation. So there must be someone else. Something you don’t know.”
"Hey!" Li Yu said in surprise,
"You are really well informed."
"Of course!" Sierra said,
"Are you going to publish these results in the UK?"
"No, since I borrowed the observatory of Harvard University, I am going to publish it here." Li Yu said.
"In the United States?" Sierra asked. Li Yu nodded: "But it's not that simple. I just want to ask you, are you familiar with American publishing houses?"
"You want to self-publish? No need!" Sierra said,
"If you publish it yourself, it will cost a lot of money and it will be too troublesome."
"No," Li Yu said,
"I also have a science fiction film that I want to find a publisher to publish." Sierra blinked hard: "Science fiction...!" Li Yu smiled and said, "Yes, science fiction."
"Are you kidding me?" Sierra obviously couldn't believe it. Li Yu had no choice but to take out the manuscript of "Star Wars".
"It's already written." Sierra was shocked: "Does it really work!?" Sierra took it over and looked at the beginning and found it very interesting.
"I thought those who engage in science were all dull people, but I didn't expect you to have so many ideas in your mind. However, it is not easy for a Chinese to publish books in the United States, but I can really help with this matter. We are working with HarperCollins has great connections and I can definitely talk to their president.”
"You?" Li Yu asked in surprise.
"I mean, we're the Carnegie family," Sierra explained. Li Yu said: "Well, I do know HarperCollins Publishing House. It would be best to be published by it." The United States will usher in the golden age of the publishing industry in twenty years. That's when Boo and Silverman Publishing Group grew.
But when it comes to the more established early publishing groups, HarperCollins is definitely one with a century-old heritage.
"American time-honored brand". Just to name a few of the world famous artists it has released, you will know its influence: Agatha Christie, Mark Twain, the Bronte sisters, Dickens, Martin Luther King, and John F. Kennedy.
"Wrap it around me," Sierra stood up.
"As long as you really publish your paper in the United States, I will go to New York to help you get it done." Li Yu thought for a while: "New York? I happen to be going there too."
"Are you going too?" Sierra asked. Li Yu said: "Yes, I happen to have something to do." There are many big names in New York now, such as Edison at the height of his fame.
"Then when will you leave?"
"I still have something to do tomorrow." Li Yu needed to sort out the papers and data. Sierra said: "Then I'll wait for you at the train station tomorrow." The first draft of the paper at hand has almost been written, but with so much data, it really needs to be checked again.
Fortunately, Li Yu has a computer in his hand, so it won't take long and there will be no mistakes. For astronomical papers at this time, data is very critical. Otherwise, if others cannot observe according to your method, no one will believe it.
After doing these things, Li Yu felt that he could relax his head. During this period of time, he deliberately kept his hair in the front, and finally felt free to cut it off.
With his status, he has long been much better than ordinary international students. A letter of appointment from the Royal Society can shut up all the royal family and nobles in the capital.
So even in the capital, he didn't have to worry about his hair style at all. When the barber trimmed the hair, Li Yu felt so happy that he finally looked like a modern person.
After cutting his hair, Li Yu bought a suit. In this day and age, the price of suits is still relatively high, and suits are also very popular in the upper class.
Those who have watched the movie "The Great Gatsby" must remember that DiCaprio often wore suits with a high-society flavor.
Most of the popular suits in the early 20th century were designed without shoulder pads. Li Yu is 1.8 meters tall, so the upper body effect will be better after wearing them.
Rich Americans generally prefer light-colored suits, such as white, to show off their status.
But Li Yu would definitely choose the more common black, and the fabric is also the more common wool. The suits sold in suit shops are generally three-piece suits, which means there is a vest inside the top.
This kind of complete suit is not cheap, but fortunately it is suitable for many occasions, whether it is weekends, parties, dinners or formal occasions, it can be qualified.
But one thing that is different from later generations is that except for three-piece suits, most of today's suits and trousers have suspenders.
Considering that he would meet the President of the United States in the future, Li Yu did not have time to customize it, so he had to buy the best ready-made suit in the store, plus a pair of leather shoes and a leather bag. The price was as high as 130 US dollars, which was more than 60 taels of silver.
Of course, if it is customized, the price will increase several times. As the saying goes, a person is judged by his clothes. When you put on such an upright suit, you will instantly look classy.
The "original" style. In fact, at this time, students in Europe and the United States basically wore suits, but the fabrics were slightly different.
Something like this, which costs hundreds of dollars, is naturally different. When Li Yu
When he arrived at the train station "radiant", Sierra didn't recognize him at all, but Li Yu went over and said hello: "It's still morning for you."
"Are you... Li Yu?!" Sierra said in shock.
"Yes," Li Yu said with a smile,
"You can't recognize it now?"
"Good guy!" Sierra was immediately confused.
"You look quite... spirited now. You look like a person from the new era!" Li Yu said, "You don't think long braids are a tradition?" Sierra said, "It's not that I don't understand Chinese history. What kind of tradition is that?" Needless to say, after I restored my short hair and put on a suit, at least the number of heads turning when I walked on the road was much lower than before with my braids.
Harvard is not far from New York, just a short train ride away. Today, New York has surpassed Philadelphia and Boston to become a super metropolis in the United States. High-rise buildings with more than ten floors are not uncommon.
The iconic Statue of Liberty already stands at the entrance to New York Harbor, on Liberty Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.
"Have you been to New York before?" Sierra asked suddenly.
"Not really." Li Yu said. This is true. Although Li Yu has seen New York occupied by bad guys countless times and saved by heroes countless times in various American TV series and movies, and is very familiar with New York, he has never been there.
"Then why don't you seem surprised by the prosperity of New York?" Sierra looked at Li Yu's calm face, which was completely different from the reaction of ordinary people.
Even people from other cities in the United States are filled with exclamations of surprise when they come to New York. Li Yu laughed and said: "Why, do I have to act like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden?" Sierra said: "No, but you are really too calm..." Although New York is one of the earliest cities in the world to start building skyscrapers. One, but now the highest ones are only about 20 stories, which is incomparable with later generations. By Li Yu's previous life, residential buildings with more than 30 stories were common.
Moreover, construction technology is also developing rapidly, and the improvement of various design concepts has made the reinforced concrete urban forests of later generations too spectacular.
In today's New York, I'm afraid even if Spider-Man comes, he won't be able to swing. Of course, at this point in time, being on the twenty-something level was already an incredible achievement.
In fact, in the construction of skyscrapers, in addition to the well-known rise of reinforced concrete technology, a more critical factor must be the emergence of elevators. Otherwise, who can climb up and down such high buildings every day?
Li Yu said: "This is just the beginning." Sierra said: "Okay, so that's what you meant." Li Yu knew that their thoughts must be different, but as a time traveler, Li Yu didn't need to worry about this.
The technology of reinforced concrete can indeed be promoted early and vigorously in China. After all, the materials are not difficult to obtain. The only thing that needs to be solved may be steel bars. As for cement, it is already available in China, but at this time it is called
"Cement". People like Zhan Tianyou who have studied civil engineering abroad are familiar with this.
"I'm going to HarperCollins Publishing House. Since I'm here, let's go together." Sierra said.
Li Yu nodded: "Okay." After all, it is his own work, so I should go there, and maybe I can make a lot of money from it.
Sierra said: "I asked them yesterday... um, my family, and they said they could also ask Mr. Pulitzer to help with publicity." Okay, Pulitzer.
Li Yu said: "Want to place an advertisement in Le Monde?"
"Of course," Sierra said,
"The current circulation of "World" is unrivaled in the whole of New York." The famous "Time" and "Newsweek" in later generations had not yet been born at this time. The largest newspaper in New York was "World" under Pulitzer. 》.
In addition to Le Monde, the New York Times also has an amazing circulation. Pulitzer not only made The World a major newspaper, but he also made a lot of money. The new Pulitzer Building completed in 1890 became the tallest building in New York City.
The 20-story building was the tallest building in New York until almost a decade later.
Moreover, this building is Pulitzer's own private property, with an investment of more than 2 million US dollars. Li Yu also didn't expect that the family behind Sierra was so powerful. Sure enough, in the United States, money is king.
The two went directly to James, an editor-in-chief of the publishing house. After a brief introduction, Sierra said: "We have already read this science fiction book, and it has great potential." Although the publishing industry in the United States is not as brilliant as it will be twenty years ago, Americans have money and other entertainment activities. Before it took off on a large scale, there were still many people buying and reading books.
As a professional editor, James still needs to take a closer look first. After only reading a few pages, James felt that it was indeed unusual. The story was so new that he had never read it before. Moreover, the setting was very grand from the beginning. If he could handle it, it would be a rare and good book. , can definitely become a best-selling work.
"Who is so talented and can write such excellent works?" James asked. Sierra pointed at Li Yu: "That's him, the scientific giant, Li Yu."
"Li Yu?" As a publisher, James had obviously heard of this name.
"The great scientist who wrote "Fractals and Chaos"?" Li Yu smiled and said, "Yes." James couldn't name Li Yu's scientific achievements, but his name is indeed very famous now.
"It turns out to be Mr. Li Yu. We had contacted Sweden earlier and wanted to win the rights to publish "Fractals and Chaos" in the United States. I didn't expect you to come in person."
"Issuance is easy to talk about," Li Yu said.
"There is no problem in publishing both books together." The circulation of the mathematics book is still limited anyway, but Li Yu is very optimistic about "Star Wars" because with his scientific insights and scientific knowledge that transcends more than 100 years, he wrote science fiction The work is quite hardcore.
James was also very interested in this: "Great! Wait a moment, sir, I have to read this science fiction work again before I can make a follow-up evaluation." Li Yu said: "No rush." After being the editor-in-chief for so many years, James read the book very quickly, and it didn't take him long to reach the last page.
"That's great!" James couldn't help but admire,
"The subsequent development has completely inherited the grand beginning, and unfolded the magical world of the Milky Way so perfectly. The plot is fascinating and the story is compact. It is really a rare and excellent work! I am sure it can be a big seller!" It seems that Lu Bicheng has polished it. Translation with De Ling is indeed online.
Science fiction is no stranger to today's readers. After all, Verne and other writers have been writing it for decades, and the audience is also huge.
China has martial arts, and for Europe and the United States, the most representative ones are fantasy and science fiction. James has naturally read many science fiction works, so he can fully see the value of this book and directly offered a price: "Our publisher can provide you with a 15% royalty on the publication of this book!" This royalty is not low. Yes, Mark Twain had almost the same ratio.
Of course Li Yu agreed: "Okay."
"However," there will be a follow-up to James Talk, and we need to obtain the distribution rights for the sequel at the same time. "Li Yu had already guessed that he would say this, but since he found a large publishing house when he came up, there is nothing wrong with doing so.
"I accept." James immediately took out the contract template.
"I will sign a contract with sir now." Well, Americans are really efficient in doing things now. Soon James handed over the contract: "Sir, please take a look." Li Yu picked up the contract and said, "I want to add another clause." James asked: "What clause?" Li Yu said: "You guys The publishing house can only obtain the right to distribute books, and any subsequent film or drama adaptation rights are not included." James was stunned for a moment. Movies have just appeared in New York in the past few years, but they are mainly short films, and generally they are short films. It only lasts for ten minutes. How can a movie handle such a large-scale work?
And now Edison is working on various film patents in New York. Within six or seven years, a lot of independent producers will be forced to a small town far away from New York and Chicago.
It's just that the natural conditions there are unique and it's close to Mexico. Once Edison in New York wins the patent lawsuit, they can quickly hide in Mexico.
Edison never dreamed that this town would become synonymous with movies in the future, because its name is Hollywood.
James didn't know Li Yu's specific idea, but since the author himself proposed it, of course he couldn't refuse, and they were indeed not involved in the film and theater industry, so he said: "No problem." James quickly wrote down Li Yu signed the new terms.
After getting Li Yu's authorization, James breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry, sir, if the work sells well, we can discuss the royalties for the sequel." Li Yu shook hands with him: "I hope so." Leaving HarperCollins, Sierra pointed to the new Pulitzer Building ahead.
"Let's go, let's take you to the second tallest building in New York to see it!" Li Yu smiled bitterly. Sierra didn't forget to add: "Don't be afraid of heights! It's 20th floor!" Li Yu looked at the building. It was really scary. The 20th floor was simply more exciting than riding a car in London at 18 kilometers per hour. …
