Chapter 6

Although Yan Shao’s reputation was not yet very prominent, Talis had high hopes for him based on the quality of his previous two books. So, after receiving the manuscript, Talis found a spot in the room and began to read it carefully. Yan Shao, standing beside him, wore a confident expression...

The manuscript Yan Shao handed to Talis was the first part of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Fellowship of the Ring." As a highly renowned fantasy work in the future, the quality of the trilogy was naturally very high. In fact, Yan Shao himself was well aware that although the "Tarzan" series was of high quality, it could not bring him what he wanted. Therefore, after buying a typewriter, he began working on "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

The efficiency of the typewriter was much higher than handwriting. While continuing to write "Tarzan," starting the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy was not a very stressful task for Yan Shao—after all, his job was just to transcribe the novel from his mind.

Although Talis only had the first part, it still took him more than an hour to finish reading it. When he closed the manuscript, he understood that this was exactly what he was looking for...

After a moment of contemplation, Talis spoke.

"This book seems to be unfinished..."

"That's right," Yan Shao nodded and explained. "This is just the first part. I plan to make this novel as long as 'Tarzan,' so there will be more to come..."

"Will this book also be published by our publishing house?"

Since he already knew it was a long novel, Talis shifted the topic to what he was most concerned about.

"Of course," Yan Shao replied without hesitation.

On one hand, Talis had paid him a lot more money initially, so he felt he should return the favor. On the other hand, since their cooperation was pleasant, he was too lazy to switch to another publishing house—Yan Shao was indeed very lazy.

Hearing Yan Shao's response, Talis's face lit up.

With such a good book in hand, Talis was confident he could revive his publishing house and newspaper.

Since he had already read the manuscript and was satisfied, Talis and Yan Shao then discussed the issue of remuneration.

"By the way, there's one more thing..."

After discussing the remuneration and other matters, just as Talis was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead.

"Our publishing house is not specialized in publishing English books. The manuscripts you send over are handled by an employee who used to work at the newspaper, but his English level... well, it's not very high, so his work efficiency is also poor, and the translation quality is not good. Readers have a lot of complaints about this, so I plan to hire a dedicated translator for you..."

This was inevitable. The employee at the publishing house was indeed not very skilled, but the fact was that Yan Shao's English level was also not very high. When the two of them worked together, the result was...

Although Yan Shao's "Tarzan" series was selling well, there were many complaints, and 90% of them were about the translation. This was why Talis decided to hire a dedicated translator this time.

After all, Talis was planning to save his publishing house and newspaper with this novel, and he did not want to lose any benefits due to poor translation.

"Will I have to pay for the translator?"

Hearing Talis mention hiring a translator, Yan Shao scratched his head and asked cautiously.

Although he was now somewhat wealthy, hiring someone to work for him was still a bit of a burden.

Hearing Yan Shao's question, Talis smiled.

"Don't worry, the publishing house will cover the cost..."

Hearing this, Yan Shao breathed a sigh of relief.

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During this time, Yan Shao had heard others talk about Talis's publishing house, so he expected that Talis would hire a translator quickly.

However, he never imagined that Talis's efficiency would be so fast, and...

"A woman?"

To be precise, a beautiful woman, whose beauty could be described as breathtaking.

Her long, slender legs and slim waist, combined with her height, which was only a few centimeters shorter than Yan Shao, made her appear very slender. Her skin was smooth and fair, and her long, black hair, which reached her waist, was only slightly styled and fell behind her, with a strand of hair draping over her full chest...

As for her face, Yan Shao thought that even in the entertainment industry of the future, few could match this woman. What impressed Yan Shao the most, however, was her demeanor—her serene and elegant aura was something he had almost never seen...

"Who is this?"

Yan Shao had expected Talis to find a man, but a woman appeared, which surprised him.

While Yan Shao was still surprised, the woman stepped forward and smiled. "My name is Eleonor, Eleonor de Mes..."

Talis also introduced her.

"This is my niece. She is still in university, proficient in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and is currently learning German and Russian. Due to the lack of available personnel, I asked her to help..."

As he said this, Talis was a bit uneasy.

In human history, the rise of women's status began with the First World War.

During the war, a large number of men in the warring countries directly participated in the front lines, leading to a significant reduction in the domestic labor force. Most of the positions for producing military supplies, weapons, and logistics support were taken over by women, increasing their importance.

Before that, very few countries had women's suffrage. New Zealand was the first country to grant women the right to vote in 1893, followed by Australia in 1902. The United Kingdom, the colonial master of New Zealand and Australia, did not grant women the right to vote until 1905, when two suffragettes were imprisoned...

It was not until the end of the First World War that this situation changed.

Russia granted women the right to vote in 1917 (which was considered a withdrawal from the war at the time). The United Kingdom granted the right to vote to women over 30 in 1918. Germany, Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia followed in 1919, the United States in 1920, and France in 1944.

Because women's status in France was relatively low during this period, Talis was worried that Yan Shao might have some objections—of course, if it were Talis, he would be a hundred percent willing, as everyone would want a beautiful woman by their side. However, he did not know what Yan Shao thought, and with the fate of his publishing house almost depending on Yan Shao, he could not help but be anxious.

Compared to Talis, Yan Shao did not have any extra thoughts.

In the era he came from, the status of Chinese women was almost on par with men. If someone were to look down on women, they would be in big trouble. So, after being slightly surprised, Yan Shao's expression returned to normal.

This pleased Eleonor greatly.

As mentioned earlier, women's status was still low in this era. Although women could go to school, it was difficult for them to find work. Most women, after graduating from school, stayed at home to take care of their husbands and children.

Eleonor's decision to help Talis was partly out of curiosity about Yan Shao and partly to escape this predicament—she had read the manuscript and believed that if this job went well, it would add a beautiful entry to her resume, making it easier for her to find a job in the future, rather than getting married early like many of her classmates.

After introducing them, Talis left Eleonor behind and departed.

Eleonor's job was simple: to translate Yan Shao's manuscript from English to French and to remind him to submit new chapters.

As for whether Yan Shao would assault Eleonor during the work period, neither Talis nor Eleonor was worried about it—or rather, if Yan Shao really did assault Eleonor, Talis felt he should be more worried about Yan Shao...

"My niece is not easy to deal with..."

With this thought, Talis shook his head and walked towards the publishing house.

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