Chapter 1: The Translation Team's "Murder on the Nile"

(This work is a period entertainment piece. All times, places, characters, and events... belong to a parallel world. Please do not try to relate them to the real world.)

1978, Autumn.

Shanghai, the City of Magic.

At 8:00 AM, in a state-owned snack shop across from the Shanghai Dubbing Film Studio, a young man in his early twenties was drinking soy milk while enjoying the bustling scene outside the shop.

He had been in this world for almost a month and still found it fascinating.

Jiang Shan, a former new media crossover tycoon, had been a dominant figure since graduating from university.

However, he never expected that on his 40th birthday, he would mysteriously find himself back in 1978.

Fortunately, he quickly realized that although this was a parallel universe, everything here was highly similar to his previous life.

Thus, he decided to turn the knowledge and skills from his past life into a golden finger in this one.

After finishing the last sip of soy milk, Jiang Shan pinched the few banknotes in his pocket, which was all he had to his name.

Looking at the white sign with black letters across the street, Jiang Shan strode over.

"Hello, sir,"

Standing at the gate of the Shanghai Dubbing Film Studio, Jiang Shan greeted the old man in the guardhouse,

"May I ask if your studio is recruiting temporary translators?"

The old man in the guardhouse looked up at him, "Yes, but do you have a letter of introduction?"

Jiang Shan smiled, knowing this would happen, "Here, I'm from the Shanghai Daily."

A few minutes later, Jiang Shan walked into the office of the translation team at the Shanghai Dubbing Film Studio.

The office was quite spacious.

On the white walls hung a red plaque that read, "Script translation should have flavor, and actor dubbing should have spirit."

The dark red wooden floor occasionally creaked as one walked on it.

There were not many employees in the office, only about four or five at a glance.

Some were hunched over their desks, writing and drawing, while others were gathered together, discussing the translation of the script.

At that moment, three young people holding letters of introduction were already standing in front of Jiang Shan.

After reading the letters, the team leader, Mr. Lu, frowned and looked at Jiang Shan, "What is your educational background? It's not mentioned in the letter."

Jiang Shan steeled himself, "I graduated from junior high school."

As soon as he spoke, a man standing closest to him turned and smiled at him.

The other two did not react much, but Jiang Shan noticed their slightly raised chins.

It seemed his arrival had boosted their confidence.

However, the protagonist of his previous life had indeed left school after junior high to become a knowledge youth.

"Junior high?" Mr. Lu frowned, "Have you studied foreign languages?"

"Yes."

"Which language?"

"English and Japanese are both good, and I can speak and understand French, but writing is difficult for me." Jiang Shan answered honestly.

After he spoke, not only Mr. Lu but also the other employees in the office couldn't help but look him over.

Standing at 1.8 meters tall, he looked quite handsome. From the white shirt that had turned yellow from washing, it was clear that his life had not been easy.

"Wow," Mr. Lu couldn't help but laugh, "You're quite confident, young man. Our translators here are not easy to fool."

Jiang Shan also smiled, revealing a row of neat white teeth, his youthful and sunny demeanor evident, "I didn't mean to fool you."

Just as Mr. Lu was about to ask a few more questions, the office door was pushed open.

"Lu Yi,"

A man in his fifties rushed in, waving a script and frowning, "This line still doesn't sound right to me!"

Mr. Lu quickly took the script and looked at it, then smiled bitterly, "Mr. Hu, this version is the one you personally revised. Still not satisfied?"

Jiang Shan curiously glanced at the script, and the title "Murder on the Nile" immediately caught his attention.

"But when I was in the studio just now, it still sounded off..."

Before the man could finish, Mr. Lu interrupted him.

"You came just in time, come, come, come,"

He pointed to the man who had just entered and introduced him to Jiang Shan and the others, "This is our studio director, Mr. Hu Xiao. Everyone, welcome him."

The job seekers immediately clapped, and Jiang Shan clapped the loudest.

Mr. Lu continued, "Now, let Mr. Hu give you a test. Don't be nervous, just do your best."

Mr. Hu was taken aback. He had only come to fine-tune a line, but now he was given a task.

Mr. Lu stood beside him with a smile, as he was truly afraid of this "word nitpicker" Mr. Hu.

A line had to be both meaningful and consider the lip movements, and even that wasn't enough; it had to have a flavor that fit the plot.

It was too difficult, really too difficult. The workload of the translation team had increased several times recently, and he was almost bald from the stress.

Since the second half of 1978, the dubbing film industry had entered a golden age of rapid development.

To meet the unprecedented high demand for films, a large number of excellent foreign films were being introduced and queued up for dubbing at the studios.

"Alright,"

Mr. Hu was not afraid. Selecting qualified translators was part of his job as the director: "I'll handle the recruitment test today."

Just as he was thinking about what test to give, he saw the script in his hand and his eyes lit up, "Has anyone here read the book 'Murder on the Nile'?"

Three out of the four people raised their hands, including Jiang Shan.

"Who has read the original version, the English version of 'Murder on the Nile'?"

One person lowered their hand, but Jiang Shan's hand remained raised, and Mr. Lu's expression was somewhat surprised.

"Very good," Mr. Hu nodded at the two who had raised their hands, "Mr. Lu, play that segment."

Mr. Lu immediately understood the director's intention and turned on the TV on the desk.

As the video player was adjusted, the job seekers were soon captivated by the scene on the TV.

The film cut directly to the end:

[The young Miss Rosalind, holding her boyfriend's hand, ran happily to the main detective, Poirot.

Excitedly, she said, "Mr. Poirot, I want to be the first to tell you that we just got engaged."

Detective Poirot immediately offered his congratulations, "Congratulations to you both."

As he saw the young couple holding hands and running down the spiral staircase, Poirot called out, "Take it easy!"]

The film stopped at this point, and Mr. Lu pressed the pause button.

"Alright,"

Mr. Hu looked at the group and asked, "I want to ask everyone, how should 'Take it easy' be translated?"

As soon as the question was asked, one person immediately answered, "It means 'Don't worry about it!'"

Mr. Hu frowned.

Another person said, "It should be 'Don't be nervous.'"

Mr. Lu also frowned.

"I've read the novel, and I think it should be translated as 'Relax a bit.'"

The man who said this was standing next to Jiang Shan. He was the oldest among the group and the other person who had read the original version of "Murder on the Nile."

His answer made the two leaders nod in approval.

Mr. Lu smiled, "This comrade has clearly grasped the essence of dubbing film translation. Our director Hu translated it as 'Relax a bit.'"

In fact, Lu Yi had initially translated it as "Be careful."

However, when Mr. Hu saw the script, he felt that the character of Detective Poirot would never say such a motherly line.

After much deliberation, he changed it to "Relax a bit."

But when he heard the voice actor say it in the recording studio, it still didn't sound right. It lacked the detective's characteristic coolness.

"Take it easy,"

At this moment, a voice caught Mr. Hu's attention, "What?"

Jiang Shan repeated, "I think 'Take it easy' is more fitting for Detective Poirot."

As soon as he spoke, all eyes in the office focused on him again.

(End of Chapter)