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Seeing his friend like this, Chen Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head: "Brother, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that this job... you really can't do it."

"You look down on me?" Jin Liang retorted defiantly, his neck stiff. "What you can do, I can definitely do too!"

Chen Zhiyuan had no choice but to tell the truth: "I'm not lying to you. I recently wrote a book and submitted it to a newspaper. This is the royalties."

"Writing a book?! Royalties?!" Jin Liang was completely dumbfounded, his face showing "Are you kidding me?" and "This is impossible."

He had known Chen Zhiyuan for so many years and had never heard of him having this ability.

Chen Zhiyuan knew this matter couldn't be explained in a few words, so he could only say, "I'm telling the truth, believe it or not."

Jin Liang was still a little skeptical, but looking at Chen Zhiyuan's calm eyes, remembering that he had indeed been staying at home a lot lately writing and drawing, feeling the few dozen yuan left in his pocket, and looking at the outline of the cell phone in Chen Zhiyuan's pocket... years of understanding made him feel that Chen Zhiyuan was not joking.

He couldn't help but wonder: When did Chen Zhiyuan learn to write books? How come I had no idea?

Glancing at Jin Liang, who was still in a daze and looked like his worldview had been shaken, Chen Zhiyuan put his arm around his shoulder and shook him vigorously: "Come on, stop spacing out. I'll treat you to ice cream!"

Upon hearing there was ice cream, the light in Jinliang's eyes instantly returned. The initial shock about "writing a book" was temporarily forgotten, and he immediately asked with great interest, "Can I have two?"

Chen Zhiyuan laughed and scolded, "Eat two? Aren't you afraid of getting diarrhea? Just one, that's all!"

Despite saying that, Chen Zhiyuan still turned around and went back to the convenience store to buy Jin Liang another cream ice cream.

This made Jin Liang extremely happy. He ate with one in his left hand and one in his right, taking bites from both sides, beaming with joy. He walked with a swagger and talked much more than usual.

On the way home, the shade of the trees was filled with the two of them laughing and chatting easily.

When Chen Zhiyuan arrived home, he found the house quiet and his mother, Zhang Hui, was not there.

He felt a little strange: she seemed to be going out a lot these past two days and spending less time at home. Could something be wrong?

The thought flashed through his mind, but he didn't delve into it too deeply.

He pulled the brand-new Nokia 3210 out of his pocket and examined it closely.

Although he was used to all kinds of large-screen smartphones in his previous life, holding this square, solid-button old friend now, he still felt a familiar sense of intimacy and the sense of security of owning a "big item", and he still couldn't put it down.

Hmm, I need to call Zhou Shutang first and tell her this new number so it will be easier to contact her in the future, instead of her always calling my home phone and I might not be able to answer.

He dialed the number Zhou Shutang had left behind, based on his memory.

The receiver rang only twice before being quickly answered, revealing Zhou Shutang's crisp and efficient voice: "Hello, who is this?"

Chen Zhiyuan said in a light tone, "Sister Zhou, it's me, Chen Zhiyuan. This is my phone number."

A hint of surprise and delight came from the other end of the phone: "Teacher Chen, you bought a new phone?"

"Yes," Chen Zhiyuan said with a smile, "Thanks to you guys, the royalties have arrived, so I bought a cell phone first, making it easier for us to keep in touch in the future."

"That's great!" Zhou Shutang's voice was also filled with laughter. "I'll just call this number if I need anything in the future."

The two talked on the phone for another three or four minutes.

In addition to providing his phone number, Chen Zhiyuan also mentioned the progress of his manuscript, saying that he had accumulated more than 30,000 words of draft and planned to write about 50,000 words before sending them over.

Upon hearing this news, Zhou Shutang visibly felt relieved.

She was indeed a little worried about Chen Zhiyuan's writing speed, because starting tomorrow, the Jiangnan Daily will officially serialize this novel, with a daily quota of three thousand words without fail, which will put a lot of pressure on the supply of manuscripts.

Chen Zhiyuan's mention of the draft manuscript undoubtedly reassured her.

They chatted happily for a few more minutes before hanging up.

Before Chen Zhiyuan's smile had completely faded and before he could put his phone back in his pocket, he heard the sound of a key turning in the lock outside the door.

The door opened, and the father, Chen Jianjun, and the mother, Zhang Hui, walked in together.

Chen Jianjun, with his sharp eyes, immediately noticed the brand-new object in his son's hand that seemed out of place with its surroundings—it was clearly a cell phone!

He paused, then subconsciously took two steps forward, his eyes fixed on the phone.

"Son, what you're holding... is that a cell phone? Where did it come from?!"

These days, mobile phones are a rare commodity, a symbol of status and power.

Chen Jianjun, who had worked at Shuguang Machinery Factory for nearly twenty years and was a senior engineer, only had a digital pager on his waist; he hadn't even managed to get a Chinese pager yet.

Even so, he still had to make a point of tucking his shirt into his trousers every day so that the pager would show, subtly conveying a sense of "respectable person's" modesty.

Chen Zhiyuan wasn't nervous. He knew his parents were open-minded, not the kind of authoritarian, domineering, and unreasonable parents.

"Dad, what do you think of this phone?"

Chen Zhiyuan confidently handed the phone to his father, his tone tinged with a hint of pride, "Nokia 3210, just bought it, 3280 yuan."

Chen Jianjun's eyes widened instantly, his mouth slightly agape, his face filled with astonishment!

Zhang Hui, who was standing next to her, also saw it clearly and looked equally incredulous.

Shocked, she was mostly worried and hurriedly said, "Son! Where did you get so much money?! More than three thousand yuan!"

Now that he had already shown the phone and mentioned the price, Chen Zhiyuan had no intention of hiding anything.

"Dad, Mom, haven't you seen me writing at home these past few days?"

He spoke calmly, with a hint of a smile, "What I'm writing is a full-length historical novel, which I've already submitted to the Jiangnan Daily..."

He briefly recounted the whole story, including the novel being accepted for publication, the signing of a serialization agreement, the arrival of the first payment of 5,000 yuan, and how he used the money to buy a mobile phone.

Some parents may feel that such a large sum of money must be kept by the parents and not allowed to be spent recklessly by their children.

But Chen Zhiyuan understood his parents, which is why he dared to tell them frankly.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Chen Jianjun's expression was one of skepticism, as if to say, "Son, you're kidding me."

Zhang Hui was even more direct, her eyes clearly saying, "You're my child, do you think I don't know your own worth? You can write a novel? And even have it serialized in the newspaper? I don't believe it for a second!"

Seeing his parents' expressions, Chen Zhiyuan smiled; he had expected it.

He turned around and went back to his room, took out the "Exclusive Serialization Agreement" he had signed with Zhou Shutang, and handed it to the two of them.

The terms and conditions were clearly stated in black and white on the white paper, with the bright red official seal of the Jiangnan Daily stamped in the lower right corner, and Chen Zhiyuan's neat signature and fingerprint next to it.

Chen Jianjun and Zhang Hui huddled together, reading through the text word by word.

The air seemed to fall silent for a few seconds.