1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

An accident occurred in Chapter 117, and the foreign manuscript of "The Horse Shepherd" was withdrawn!
The sister-in-law became sweet-talker and accepted a two-dollar bounty from her sister on the condition that she washes the dishes and pots tonight. The sister-in-law was very happy!
"Xuemin, this is your pocket money!"

Then Feng Jiayou did not forget her man and carefully put away the 2,000 yuan manuscript fee bill. This was the largest amount of manuscript fee bill they had received so far.

He took out his wallet from his pocket and gave Cheng Xuemin a Big Unity banknote and ten yuan in pocket money.

"Thank you, my wife! With your reward, I have more motivation to make money!"

Cheng Xuemin rolled up his sleeves and got to work, continuing to work on his illustration piggy bank in front of Feng Jiayou!
With just a few tips from her, when will Cheng Xuemin's little treasury become powerful?
"Sister, you are so biased! Why does Big Boss Cheng have ten dollars in pocket money, but I only have two dollars?"

Cheng Xuemin looked down on the ten yuan reward from the woman, and shouted, "Don't be too greedy for your sister-in-law Feng Jiamo!"

"Go away, it's good enough that I can give you two pieces! Are you still biased towards me?"

"Feng Jiamo, if you can hand me a 200 yuan bill for the manuscript, I will give you 100 yuan in pocket money, believe it or not?"

Feng Jiayou gave this heartless woman an unpleasant look, and she was still being partial to him?

He immediately encouraged Cheng Xuemin and said, "Keep working hard and strive for new heights!"

“But don’t be too stressed!”

Maybe she felt that she was putting pressure on her man, so she quickly added a sentence.

As for setting new highs?

A two thousand yuan manuscript fee should be the ceiling for them. It can't be higher than two thousand yuan unless Cheng Xuemin can write a five hundred thousand word novel.

But he won't force it. If he can earn another 2,000 yuan in the next year or two, Feng Jiayou will be very satisfied!
When they went out to eat, at the dinner table Feng's mother also knew about today's audition, so she asked Cheng Xuemin what he thought!
The mother-in-law is now very considerate of her son-in-law!
With her strong and proud personality, she would definitely not agree to let her son-in-law go to Yanying Studio to film and waste his time.

However, when asked about Cheng Xuemin's meaning, he told the couple to handle it themselves!
If you feel that you have run out of inspiration and can't write any good manuscripts, you can go there to shoot a movie to relax. It will only take one to two months anyway.

Not to mention worrying about the young Feng children at home. Now the old Feng family is almost complete, how can they not take care of a debt collector?

However, Cheng Xuemin really had no plans to go, at least he definitely wouldn’t be able to go before the New Year!
Not only does he have a lot of illustrations to draw, he also owes several manuscripts. By the way, during the winter vacation, Cheng Xuemin may have to go back to northern Shaanxi to bring his parents over to spend the New Year.

I wrote a letter before, asking his parents to come over to celebrate the New Year, but they refused!

So Feng Jiayou thought about asking Cheng Xuemin to go over and bring his parents over to live with him for a while.

Before the winter vacation, Cheng Xuemin might have to go back.

If Xie Jin starts joining the crew before the New Year and goes to the Northwest Farm for field trips and filming, then Cheng Xuemin really won't have time.

"Xuemin, your article "Director Qiao" may need to be submitted to the Foreign Language Bureau first, and in line with the spirit of the meeting above, it should be publicized to the outside world!"

"The manuscript of The Wrangler may have to be changed after the New Year!"

My father-in-law, Mr. Feng, also suddenly mentioned something, that is, the manuscript "The Shepherd", which had already been translated and passed the review and was waiting to be published in China Literature, was temporarily withdrawn and replaced by "The Record of Director Qiao's Taking Office".

In fact, it was not a temporary withdrawal, but a complete replacement of the issue, with the entire page filled with reports to publicize our reform and opening up.

The previously scheduled edition may not be published in the next issue and will have to wait until after the New Year!
"Really?! Xuemin's article is also going to be published!? Should we ask Lao Qian to translate it?"

Mother Feng's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she asked a question.

"This article is needed urgently and is sensitive. The bureau has set up a special translation team!"

This issue of Chinese literature is no joke. Not a single individual manuscript was submitted to the public. A special translation working group has been set up to carefully translate the spirit of the conference and the important speeches.

The only personal manuscript was his son-in-law's "Record of Director Qiao's Taking Office", which strictly implemented the above spirit and declared to the outside world that it was not just talk, but was really about to begin!

The drastic reforms that Director Qiao carried out in the record of his taking office are the signal they want to convey to the outside world.

Therefore, the higher-ups really attached great importance to his son-in-law's manuscript and immediately ordered their Foreign Language Bureau to translate it and publish it.

"A special translation working group has been set up?!"

This not only shocked Feng's mother, but also the other members of the Feng family were stunned, and they all looked at Cheng Xuemin in confusion.

"Well! After the manuscript is completed in two days, Xuemin may have to go to our Foreign Language Bureau with me, and the working group will also need to communicate with you, the author, in person!"

When Mr. Feng mentioned this, he actually wanted Cheng Xuemin to make preparations first. He might have to go to their Foreign Language Bureau so that he could have a better idea of ​​the situation.

"Okay, okay, Dad. I'm fine. I'm always available!"

Cheng Xuemin nodded. In fact, he was quite looking forward to visiting the Chinese literature section of the Foreign Languages ​​Publishing Administration. He was still thinking about how to submit his manuscripts to the outside world and earn some foreign exchange coupons as a small treasury.

I have a chief editor of Chinese literature at the Foreign Languages ​​Bureau in my family, so I can actually ask my father-in-law for advice in person!
But it’s still the slush fund that’s causing the trouble!

Feng Jiayou's personal piggy bank had less than 5,000 yuan, while his was only a few hundred yuan, which seriously hindered their performance.

So if it was possible, Cheng Xuemin would definitely start from the small treasury.

That night, Cheng Xuemin and Feng Jiayou celebrated cautiously for a while.

The next day was Saturday, but it was not a day off.

We had to wait more than ten years before we had a double-day weekend. Now, people still have to go to work or school on Saturdays, and the only day of rest is Sunday.

As usual, Cheng Xuemin sent Feng Jiayou to school in the morning, and then spent the whole morning in the library to complete the remaining illustrations.

It took me the whole night of yesterday and this morning to complete all 15 illustrations for "The Grass is Full of Love".

In addition, Cheng Xuemin also painted three more pictures, which were either given as gifts or waiting to be selected, making a total of eighteen pictures.

There are fifteen illustrations, each one costs twelve yuan, so the total cost is one hundred and eighty yuan.

Converted into a manuscript, Cheng Xuemin had to write nearly 30,000 words, but it took him all night last night and this morning, almost ten hours in total!
If you calculate it this way, although making illustrations is a little faster, it is actually not much faster than writing manuscripts.

After all, Cheng Xuemin’s manuscripts are all tributes, and he basically doesn’t think much about them, but it’s different when he draws illustrations!
Although Cheng Xuemin has a good foundation in painting and has the original pictures to copy, it is still a little more troublesome and brain-intensive than copying text.

Therefore, doing illustration completely is not a shortcut, but fortunately it is safe, and I can set up a secret fund in front of Feng Jiayou openly.

After having lunch with Feng Jiayou and sending him to the dormitory to rest, Cheng Xuemin took the illustrations and immediately delivered them to the People's Literature Publishing House.

After all, the royalties have been paid in advance, so the illustrations must be sent over as soon as they are finished.

"No, Xuemin, you finished the painting so quickly? Is that true?" The head of the art editing team of Renwen Publishing House, Lao Pan, was very happy to welcome Cheng Xuemin into the office at first, but when he heard that he was here to hand in his manuscript, he was stunned and asked in surprise.

"Teacher Pan, the painting is finished! Can you help review it?"

Cheng Xuemin took the illustration out of his briefcase, placed his hands in front of Lao Pan's desk, and smiled shyly.

"Are you really done with all the paintings?"

Now that everything was in front of him, Lao Pan was so confused that he had nothing to say. He could only pick up the manuscript in front of him and take a look!

But after seeing this, Old Pan's eyes lit up and he asked, "Xuemin, have you inherited the true teachings of Old Bai?"

"I had this doubt when I saw the illustrations of the Wrangler before! Now looking at your manuscripts... they are not simple!"

The more Lao Pan read, the more fascinated he became. It didn't seem like he was reviewing a manuscript at all, but rather appreciating the beauty!

"Well...I just like to copy Mr. Bai's paintings. They are not worthy of being displayed in a formal setting!"

Cheng Xuemin nodded repeatedly, thinking that Old Pan must have asked this question.

The Mr. Bai he mentioned is none other than Professor Bai Xueshi, the current director of the Chinese Painting Department of Qingmei University.

The reason for this question is that the original illustration copied by Cheng Xuemin should have been from a student of Qingmei University, and his teacher should have been Professor Bai.

Therefore, it is inevitable that Cheng Xuemin's imitation has heavy traces of Bai's landscape paintings, but he is touted as having inherited Professor Bai's true teachings, which is a huge exaggeration!
Cheng Xuemin's painting skills are very diverse and cannot be classified into any faction. He is just an amateur.

"No wonder then!"

"But Xuemin, your painting skills are no worse than those of Qingmei's old students... Alas, you drew three more pictures, so I won't pay you any more!"

After looking at the illustration manuscript in his hand, Lao Pan was quite satisfied. He counted the sheets and found that there were eighteen, so he joked with Cheng Xuemin again.

"No, no, I was just worried that you wouldn't be satisfied, Teacher Pan, so I drew a few more as backup!"

"Then Mr. Pan, can I use these illustrations?"

Although he already knew from Lao Pan's tone that the illustration manuscript should have been approved, Cheng Xuemin still confirmed it.

"It's passed! We will use your illustrations, Xuemin!" Old Pan sorted out the manuscripts and said with a narrowed smile, "I didn't expect that you are such a good writer, Xuemin, and your painting skills are so impressive!"

"If I hadn't known that you had rejected Lao Zhang's invitation, I would have wanted to recruit you into our art editing team and make you our art editor for People's Literature!"

Lao Pan is indeed considering hiring an art editor who can draw by himself, so that if there are any temporary manuscripts, it will be easier to find an artist to do the illustrations!
And judging from Cheng Xuemin's speed, Old Pan also admires his talent!

It's only been a few days since I gave Cheng Xuemin this assignment?! It seems like only two days? He has already submitted the manuscript, and even made a few extra drawings.

But if we ask Qingmei's students to draw, they are so arrogant that they can't submit the manuscript within ten days or half a month.

No matter what, painting also requires inspiration, and it takes time and effort to produce fine work!

At that time, Lao Pan thought it made a lot of sense. Writing articles and making illustrations are both mental work, which really requires inspiration and slow work!

But now it seems that it’s all bullshit!

Those students from Tsinghua and the United States are just lazy and not even proactive in earning royalties!
Old Pan has seen through everything. In the future, if there is any illustration distribution task, he will give priority to Cheng Xuemin.

This young comrade is a really good guy. Not only does he draw quickly, but he can also draw a few more for backup. Such a good comrade is rare!

"Teacher Pan, I can't be a full-time art editor, but I still have time to help with some painting in my spare time!"

"Teacher Pan, are you recruiting artists for the comic books?"

Cheng Xuemin said this politely and modestly, then he saw the notice on Lao Pan's desk, which was about recruiting some painters for the comic books.

This kind of worker is not even a temporary worker. He just comes to Lao Pan to get the task of drawing picture books and then takes them home to draw.

Please submit the painting after it is finished and the fee will be settled after the draft is reviewed.

In essence, it is still the author's submission, but it is a little different here for comic books. You have to go to the humanities publishing house on Lao Pan's side first to get the blank text sample manuscript of the comic book.

Based on the draft, create corresponding comic strips according to the text content of each page.

Relatively speaking, comic book illustrations are actually much easier to make than illustrations.

But the content requirements are high!

After all, comic books are aimed at primary school students, and the pictures should be interesting rather than exquisite.

Of course, this does not include picture books designed for adults.

"Why? Xuemin, are you also interested in drawing comic books?"

"It just so happens that our company is in urgent need of a batch of sketches for comic books. How about you, Xuemin, give it a try?"

When Old Pan heard Cheng Xuemin mention comic books, his eyes lit up and he became excited!
Because drawing picture books is different from illustrating books and magazines. It looks simple but refined, and it has to be interesting so that children will love to read it and be fascinated by it!

After all, the target readers of comic books are children, most of whom are illiterate, so they read the pictures rather than the words on them.

This requires the small pictures in the comic books, which can make the little friends understand what they mean at a glance!
This seems simple, but among those professional art students at Tsinghua University of the Arts, few can make a living from this, and the manuscripts they submit are more or less unsatisfactory!
Old Pan was so anxious that he really needed a good and high-quality comic book artist, that he even thought of advertising the recruitment!

So if Cheng Xuemin can do it, that would be great!

"How is the fee for this comic book calculated?!" Cheng Xuemin certainly wanted to try, but the prerequisite was that the fee had to be appropriate. If the price was too low, it would be more cost-effective for him to pay tribute to a few more manuscripts.

"I give others between four and six dollars. How about I give you seven dollars, Xuemin?"

"Your drawing is great. Later on, I'll raise your price to eight dollars, the highest price for comic books!"

Seeing that Cheng Xuemin was moved, Lao Pan quickly quoted his price and spoke in a rapid voice.

……

(End of this chapter)