Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Zhang Dabiao stared wide-eyed at Teacher Zhou: "What? You're going to be my assistant?"

Teacher Zhou blushed slightly, but immediately retorted defiantly, "What? You think my skills are outdated? I'm a graduate of an art academy, after all. I can paint clouds, waves, mountains, and trees without embarrassing you!"

The surrounding students gasped. A professional course teacher, a young backbone teacher in the department, and a class advisor, was being an assistant to a first-year student? If this got out, the roof of the arts and crafts school would be ripped off.

Zhang Dabiao quickly waved his hands and backed away, saying, "No, no, no, Teacher Zhou, please don't make me feel bad. This job is very demanding, and you also have teaching duties and have to manage that big project at the publishing house..."

"To hell with publishing house assignments!" Teacher Zhou cursed, spitting as he spoke, the veins on his neck bulging with excitement. "Those same old model opera comic books, let whoever wants to draw them, draw them! Your 'Nezha Conquers the Dragon King' is going to be a groundbreaking work! If I, Old Zhou, can leave my mark on this, I'll die happy!"

Well, Teacher Zhou has gone a bit crazy.

Before Zhang Dabiao could reply, a middle-aged man wearing thick-rimmed glasses squeezed in from the side. This was Mr. Chen, the teacher of architectural perspective. He was usually so quiet that he wouldn't say a word, but now his eyes were frighteningly bright.

"Count me in!" Teacher Chen stared intently at the East Sea Dragon Palace and the Chen Tang Pass General's Mansion on the drawing. "The perspective of the ancient buildings is amazing! But Da Biao, the shape of your brackets is a little rough. If you gave it to me, I guarantee I could draw it so perfectly that even Lu Ban himself couldn't find a fault with it!"

Zhang Dabiao's lips twitched. Good heavens, another one's gone mad.

At this moment, the long-haired senior who had been nitpicking earlier came over, his face turning as red as a pig's liver. After a long pause, he finally managed to stammer out, "Junior Da Biao... no, Brother Biao! What... what can I do? I'm a pro at string placement! You point, I'll place, I'll never cross the line!"

Zhang Dabiao glanced at him. This guy's name was Ma Changfeng. Although he had been rude earlier, his basic skills were indeed solid, judging from the line drawing he had just done. The thing most needed in comic book drawing is the hard work of coloring and hatching.

"Alright," Zhang Dabiao nodded. "Count you in. We still need one more for Danmo."

As soon as she finished speaking, a second-year student with two braids raised her hand and said timidly, "I... my name is Lin Wan. I'm okay at Danmo. I just don't know if I'm qualified..."

With a wave of her hand, Teacher Zhou made the decision: "Lin Wan's skills are outstanding among second-graders, she's the one! The five of us will make a perfect group!"

Swift and decisive. Teacher Zhou went directly to the principal—who was his second uncle—to apply for permission. The principal led everyone to clear out a separate studio at the end of the corridor, which was originally used to store plaster statues. They hung up a sign that read "Special Studio" and prohibited unauthorized personnel from entering.

As for the comic book assignment from the publisher? Teacher Zhou simply passed it on to a few teachers in the next class, euphemistically calling it "giving young people more opportunities to hone their skills." The teachers in the next class were furious and cursed, but after taking a look at Zhang Dabiao's artwork, they all shut up and slunk back to lead their students in drawing those rigid model operas.

In the studio, five people sat around a large table.

As the lead writer, Zhang Dabiao began assigning tasks: "Let me be clear from the start. This job is tiring, extremely tiring. I'm in charge of storyboards, drafts, and main character sketches. Teacher Zhou is in charge of natural scenes; Teacher Chen is in charge of architectural backgrounds; Ma Changfeng, you're in charge of hatching and blackening; Senior Lin Wan is in charge of the final touches of light ink. It's an assembly line operation; if anyone drops the ball, the whole process will be stalled."

"Regarding compensation..." Zhang Dabiao stroked his chin. He had money on hand, but these days, directly handing out cash could easily cause trouble.

Teacher Zhou glared at him and waved his hand dismissively: "What's with the money! How tacky! As long as you can print 'Assistant: Zhou Muye' on the title page when it's published, I'll even give you money back!"

Teacher Chen, Ma Changfeng, and Lin Wan nodded repeatedly. For them, the right to be credited for participating in such a groundbreaking work was more precious than gold bars.

"Okay. Everyone will definitely get a share of the credit." Zhang Dabiao didn't mince words. "But we can't just work without eating. Mental work is the most exhausting. I'll take care of the meals. I'll have someone deliver food to us every noon and evening. I can't guarantee anything else, but there will be plenty and good quality food."

None of them took it seriously. These days, being provided with meals might just mean a few more cornbread buns; what good could that be?

The next day at noon, when Qin Jingru, He Yushui, and Mu Wanqing each carried two huge three-layered aluminum lunchboxes into the studio, the four assistants were completely dumbfounded.

Lifting the lid reveals a dozen or so large, shiny white steamed buns on the first layer; the second layer is a full lunchbox of braised pork with potatoes, the pork cut into bite-sized pieces, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, glistening with oil; the third layer is tomato and egg soup, with bright yellow egg flowers floating on top, the aroma filling your nostrils.

Ma Changfeng swallowed hard, his eyes almost popping out of his lunchbox: "Brother Biao... Brother Biao, is this... is this Chinese New Year?"

Zhang Dabiao grabbed a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth: "What's with the New Year? This is a work lunch. Eat! Eat your fill and get back to work! Anyone whose hands shake while laying cables this afternoon, I'll take a piece of meat off their plate!"

Teacher Zhou picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth. It was so soft, sweet, and delicious that he almost swallowed his tongue. He looked up at Zhang Dabiao and secretly clicked his tongue in amazement.

He knew Zhang Dabiao was rich and influential, but he didn't expect him to be so generous and magnanimous, paying for the entire group's meals all by himself.

atmosphere!

Qin Jingru smiled and served soup to everyone: "Brother Da Biao said that drawing takes a lot of brainpower, so you need to replenish it. Teachers and students, please don't be shy, I'll make more tomorrow if it's not enough."

He Yushui nodded in agreement, but her eyes kept glancing at the sketches on Zhang Dabiao's drawing table. She had heard Zhang Dabiao tell the story of Nezha last night, and now seeing these vivid images leaping off the paper, she was deeply moved.

As for Mu Wanqing, her eyes were full of love—[My man is the best!]

With this top-notch meal as a foundation, the atmosphere in the art studio that afternoon was absolutely explosive.

Ma Changfeng, wielding a dip pen, moved with lightning speed, his fingers blurring as he drew lines with a sharp, rhythmic swishing sound—he was working incredibly hard. Teacher Chen, with a ruler and a ruling pen, meticulously worked on the upturned eaves of the Dragon Palace, leaving no tile untouched.

Zhang Dabiao was overjoyed to see his assistants acting like they were on steroids.

In exchange for four top-notch artists and all their food and drinks, this deal is a steal!

And so began my days of working myself to the bone.

Zhang Dabiao originally thought that having four assistants would make things easier for him. He only needed to draw the drafts and the line art of the main characters, and then he could just leave the rest to them.

But he seriously underestimated the stubbornness of these artists.

Especially Teacher Zhou and Teacher Chen, these two old-fashioned intellectuals can be deadly once they get serious.

They were not only assistants but also Zhang Dabiao's teachers, so they naturally took on the role of quality inspectors.

What's more terrible is——

They also have obsessive-compulsive disorder!