4
In the USA, what should you do when you move into a middle-class high-end community? You need to think carefully. The most important thing at the moment is to maintain your image as a writer and teacher, and then make money.
Ms. Pepper told him on the phone that this is a stable and peaceful community, very suitable for single writers like him to write happily. If he needs to stay at home for a long time to concentrate on writing, someone will deliver daily necessities every three days.
It is said that Ms. Pepper has instructed the company to hire a personal assistant for him, and all expenses will be paid by the Stark Group News Department.
Rick picked up the newly published "A Study in Scarlet" on the table and lamented his impending corruption and degeneration in capitalist life.
In fact, Ms. Pepper was not very familiar with the book publishing business, and at Rick's suggestion, the publishing business of this book was contracted to Clarion Publishing House.
That morning, Editor-in-Chief James wrote the newspaper's headline article himself: **The New King of Literature Conquers the New York Aristocracy**.
Ms. Pepper personally attended the signing ceremony of the relevant documents and generously bought back the copyright of "Treasure Island" for $100,000.
Rick never saw Ms. Pepper in person again after that. All matters were communicated to him by Lloyd Jones, the head of the press office of Stark Group.
According to Director Jones, Ms. Pepper is not in the same world as us.
---
"Knock, knock, knock. Hello, I'm a representative of the community neighborhood alliance. I'm sorry to come visit you. Is it convenient for us to have a chat?"
Rick quickly came to the door, opened it politely, greeted everyone, and had a brief and friendly conversation with Ms. Bree Van der Kamp.
Ms. Bree first welcomed Mr. Smith to Wisteria Street, and then proposed that according to community tradition, there would be a small welcome party at the weekend.
She sincerely hopes that Mr. Smith can join the Neighborhood Alliance family.
Rick responded enthusiastically to Ms. Bree's invitation and took the apple pie she brought. Then, amid Ms. Bree's surprised cry, he presented her with his signed new book, and finally said goodbye happily after giving her a gentle hug.
Oh. Also, she insisted that Rick call her Ms. Bree instead of Mrs. So-and-so. It was said that this was to support the recent rise of the women's independence movement.
Throughout the afternoon, Rick opened the door again and again, enthusiastically responded to visits from nearby neighbors, and accepted a series of welcome gifts that reflected the housewives' culinary skills, including cakes, snacks, freshly baked cookies, cheese sandwiches, salads, etc.
Of course, everyone also received a signed copy of Rick's new book.
Well, this was the first hurdle of moving into a middle-class villa community in the 1980s and 1990s: the enthusiastic neighbor housewives.
Please note that this is only the first level.
After that, there will be small gatherings on weekends, and the male hosts of each family will appear one after another.
In fact, there was a pile of newly published copies of "A Study in Scarlet" in the trunk of the car, waiting to be sent out.
This was a special instruction from Jones, the head of the Stark Group's news department. He repeatedly stressed that you must bring enough books with you. As a newly published author, you must always be ready to give books to people around you.
Look, this is the experience of the old predecessors. I don't know how many books Jones has published.
After dealing with all kinds of neighbor ladies, the exhausted writer really collapsed on the sofa this time. With his skinny body, he perfectly reproduced the image of Youyou lying down.
On the first day of moving into the new home, Rick didn't plan to cook in the kitchen.
He took a short nap, and it was getting dark. He took out the orange juice from the refrigerator and drank some apple pie from Ms. Mary. The dinner was over quickly.
Rubbing his bloated belly, he staggered into the study and poured himself a glass of fruit wine.
Rick began to think quietly about the future. Thanks to the help of the editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, he could freely check a lot of surface information about this world.
In addition, he still retains his identity as a special correspondent for the Daily Bugle.
This is a world dominated by Marvel, and there are many characters from other movies and TV shows here, but the Marvel protagonists are too powerful, and most of the protagonists of other movies and TV shows are suppressed by Marvel. After all, the Aegis/SHIELD still has something to do at this time.
It was 1988, a long time before the birth of Iron Man in 2010. Just live and make money while you can.
---
[How can I, as a false prophet, develop openly? I still have to continue writing books, not talking about money. In this capitalist world, a best-selling author's vest must be maintained.]
Rick began to write his diary seriously.
---
**July 3, 1988, sunny**
Everything is for the purpose of living better and improving life.
I have finally settled down and don't have to worry about basic living security. Thank you, Ms. Pepper, for your dedicated help.
It has been a month since the new book was published. Treasure Island and A Study in Scarlet were released simultaneously. The sales volume is not very hot, but it is still a best-seller.
With the help of Manager Jones, I colluded with major media in Europe and America to publicize the project. I heard that I will also give several exclusive interviews later.
The Wisteria community is going to hold a party this weekend to welcome a respectable person like me, and I'm a little nervous.
I wondered if a nonbeliever like me would be excluded. Lloyd Jones, the head of the news department, suggested that I join the community church as soon as possible, because weekend worship in this high-end community is a basic social etiquette for everyone, and not participating would make me look out of place.
Although I have become a so-called superior person, I still feel lonely. The most terrible thing is that I have no ability to protect myself. I need the protection of the group and rules.
I was a little confused. After all, I was sure there were many gods in this world. Would it be impolite if I pretended to join them?
Or... just pretend to join first, and then get the recognition of the community neighborhood alliance. The neighborhood alliance in this "special time" is still very powerful. I want to merge into the ocean like a drop of water. The more vests... (crossed out). The better the personality... (crossed out)
I will consider mailing the new book to Phoebe and Papa tomorrow. They are really good people. The good people who have helped me will be rewarded by me.
That's it, I'm going to conceive a new work, a new story of Holmes and Watson, "The Sign of Four".
Oh, I asked Director Jones to look into the admissions application for New York Community College for me. I hope my "sincerity" can impress the president.
---
End of diary.
It was around one in the morning of the next day.
"Knock, knock, knock… knock, knock, knock…"
"Rick? Mr. Rick Smith? Please open the door. I'm Bree from the Neighborhood Alliance. Are you home? Please open the door."
The hurried knocks on the door downstairs and Ms. Bree's anxious calls quickly brightened up the dark villa. Rick, in his pajamas, quickly moved to the hallway.
He inquired through the door, "Is that Ms. Bree? What happened?"
"Mr. Smith, I think we need your help. This community hasn't seen anything this horrible in the past five years. Lillian's family has just been murdered, and the police said it would take three hours to arrive. We don't know how to respond properly. Please forgive my rude request, but I just had the pleasure of reading your work this afternoon. Everyone needs Sherlock Holmes' expertise now."
Ms. Bree outside the door pleaded loudly.
"Okay, give me five minutes. I need to change."
The sudden incident made Rick realize the opportunity to establish his own personality in the new community, and perhaps the opportunity to gain the right to speak. After all, group identity and the right to speak are crucial.
When he was writing in his diary before going to bed, he thought that his current situation was not the worst among the time travelers, and his life was still acceptable. But this was Marvel after all, and cultivating a pseudonym and gradually making the pseudonym persona stable was crucial to his own safety. Of course, he had to be steady. He had to observe the specific situation.
Rick suddenly realized something while getting dressed. Maybe Bree really needed someone with professional knowledge to guide everyone, but she was more concerned about eliminating the suspicion of a "stranger" like him. Thinking of this, he picked a slim-fitting half-sleeved pullover. This made him look more like a straw, the kind that would fall over if the wind blew.
When he opened the door, Bree was not alone. There were two adult men behind her. Rick was sensitive to the scrutiny of the two men. But when they saw the great writer's stubby figure, they quickly relaxed their attitude.
"Perhaps these people have grasped the basic physical characteristics of criminals," Rick thought as he analyzed the situation.
"Ms. Bree, has the victim been confirmed dead? I mean, maybe he could still be saved."