Otaku Translation: Literary Genius: This Kid Was Born Smart C161

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Chapter 161: Why Didn’t I Know?

At first glance, Faust looked more like a domestic anime magazine.

[Supercharged Feature]

[A Dreamlike Gathering of Literary Talent]

[The New Five Tigers of Mystery Fiction Unleashed]

[Takagi Kenjin, Takekuni Kitayama, Yuya Sato, Takimoto Tatsuhiko, Yoshikawa Shin’ichi]

Just from this lineup, the differences between this parallel world and Earth were striking. That butterfly must have flapped its wings quite randomly.

In the original Faust—or at least another translation of it—the "Five Tigers" included writers like Otsuichi and Nisio Isin. In this world, two entirely different names took their place.

Gu Lu had read some of Otsuichi’s works but hadn’t delved into Nisio’s. He only knew about him because there was speculation that Nisio Isin might actually be one of the authors behind Death Note, under the pen name Tsugumi Ohba.

His own two pieces in the magazine were placed toward the back.

It made sense. The Faust Five Tigers were already well-known authors in Japan, while Gu Lu was still a newcomer.

“But still, this is way too far back…” Gu Lu muttered before flipping through the pages again. “Wow, all Japanese… Who would’ve thought that even three- or four-year-old kids in Japan speak fluent Japanese? Hmm, I guess I’m just bored.”

Gu Lu the Great’s ability to stay sane in his past life could be attributed to one crucial skill: he never let sadness linger for too long.

After leafing through the magazine for a bit, and given that Gu Lu didn’t understand Japanese, he quickly lost interest.

“If only I could magically learn the language with my cheat!” Gu Lu thought as he tucked the magazine under his arm and headed toward the bookstore.

That was wishful thinking. Even though books on the synthesis list could technically be read directly in his mind, pulling out an original version wouldn’t grant him any special understanding. All he could do was mimic what he saw.

When he arrived at the nearby Sanlian Bookstore, Gu Lu decided to buy the entire Harry Potter series—seven books in total.

He loaded them onto a shopping cart and glanced at the price tag: around a hundred yuan. Feeling a bit taken aback by the cost, he grabbed a few pens as well.

As Gu Lu wandered around the store, he spotted a familiar face—Landlord Geng, the landlord of Jiafu Garden.

Even though they’d only met twice, each encounter involved handing over rent money, so Gu Lu remembered him vividly.

“We’re heading home,” Landlord Geng said, hanging up his phone before turning to his eleven-year-old son, Xiao Geng.

“Didn’t you say I could stay here longer today?” Xiao Geng’s face fell dramatically.

“…”

Landlord Geng felt a pang of guilt. He rarely spent time with his son, and today, when he finally carved out some time, work called him away again.

“I promise next time I’ll make more time for you,” Landlord Geng said, seeing the disappointment on his son’s face. “Don’t you have a bunch of books you want to buy? Go ahead and grab them.”

At these words, Xiao Geng’s frown melted into a grin. He scampered off happily, pretending to act disappointed when really, he’d been waiting for this exact moment!

What good was having his dad around anyway? It wasn’t fun. But a dad who spent money? Now that was excellent. Moments later, Xiao Geng returned pushing a small cart loaded with books.

“That’s quite a lot…” Landlord Geng frowned—not because he minded, but because his wallet certainly did.

“Are you going to finish reading all of these?” Landlord Geng asked. “And isn’t that The Little Prince? Don’t you already have a copy?”

“That’s The Happy Prince, not The Little Prince,” Xiao Geng corrected, pointing to the book covers displayed on the shelf. Then he turned to the cashier and asked, “Do you still give away free book covers?”

The cashier replied, “Free book covers were only available during the first month after the book launched. Now, you can buy one for two yuan, or a set of eight for twelve yuan.”

Xiao Geng looked up at his father, who hadn’t even opened his mouth yet, and said, “Dad, I don’t want this book anymore. Just get me the set of book covers.”

“Alright,” Landlord Geng said, paying and leaving with the bag.

The next customer stepped forward.

“It seems like quite a few people are buying The Little Prince. Sales for related merchandise must be doing well too, right?” Gu Lu asked casually as the cashier scanned his items.

“Merchandise?”

“Yeah, like the book covers.”

“Besides Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf and Boonie Bears, The Little Prince has the best-selling book covers.”

Through this conversation, Gu Lu learned something new and began to reflect. Merchandising profits… he hadn’t seen any of that money.

Who had pocketed it?

With this question lingering in his mind, Gu Lu decided to investigate further by visiting a Xinhua Bookstore farther away before heading back home.

The result was clear: the book covers were no longer freebies—they were being sold.

The sky was clear and blue that day, almost like a scene from a painting, contrasting sharply with Gu Lu’s heavy mood.

The production cost of those book covers was negligible—mere cents per unit. In bulk, the costs would drop absurdly low.

Sold individually for two yuan or as a set for twelve yuan (eight covers), nationwide sales added up significantly, even within a single month.

Back at home, Gu Yu alternated between sitting, standing, aimlessly opening apps, and closing them again.

He needed answers. Even though Director Jian had shown him kindness, this matter had to be clarified…

After much deliberation, Gu Lu dialed Director Jian’s number. “Director Jian, are you busy?”

After exchanging pleasantries, Gu Lu continued, “Chongqing City Drama Theatre purchased the rights to adapt The Little Prince into a children’s play. I wonder if this will boost book sales.”

He then relayed everything about the children’s play project and the information shared by Chairwoman Shen Tiemei.

“A children’s play—it makes sense. The Little Prince is perfect for such a format,” Director Jian mused on the other end of the line. After a brief pause, he responded, “It will definitely help. We could organize a book-signing event while the Drama Theatre promotes the play.”

Gu Lu voiced his concern: signings were risky since readers might not show up, especially given how recently The Little Prince had hit the market.

“In other cities, organizing a signing might be difficult, but in Chongqing, we’re confident it’ll work. Don’t worry; our publishing house will handle the arrangements,” Director Jian reassured him.

Applying for venues and coordinating staff for a book-signing event weren’t tasks a student like Gu Lu could manage alone.

Director Jian, ever the cunning fox, cut straight to the chase. “Little Gu, you clearly have something else on your mind. We know each other well enough now—just say it.”

“It’s about the merchandising of The Little Prince. Today, while browsing in a bookstore, I noticed that what used to be free gifts are now being sold,” Gu Lu explained.

Director Jian immediately understood. “We printed 200,000 book covers as promotional giveaways. But realistically, we didn’t distribute them based on how many books each bookstore ordered. You understand, right?”

Gu Lu nodded slightly. Publishers distributed books to both primary bookstores and secondary distributors, which naturally led to unequal allocations. The specifics remained unclear.

“Generally, secondary distributors don’t receive freebies, while chain bookstores, with their greater bargaining power, get more,” Director Jian elaborated. “Logically, within a month and a half, selling 300,000 copies should have exhausted the 200,000 free book covers. But in reality, only 70,000 to 80,000 may have been handed out.”

“I see. Whatever the bookstores do with the leftover freebies is technically compliant,” Gu Lu realized, piecing things together. No wonder—even in movie theaters—sometimes you had to ask for freebies to receive them. So that’s how it worked.

“Since we’re on the topic,” Director Jian added, “we’re planning to print another 100,000 book covers and include them as freebies during the third printing run.”

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