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

Jia Zhangshi let out an even more piercing scream than before, her voice filled with heartache and humiliation.

Qin Huairu trembled all over, her lips shaking with anger. If this got out, wouldn't the Jia family have any face left?

Just then, the curtain was lifted, and Banggeng rushed in excitedly. He was clutching a brand-new copy of "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" tightly in his arms, the cover brightly colored, and he looked very satisfied.

"Grandma, Mom, I bought it! I managed to snag one of the last two!" Bang Geng was completely oblivious to the two women in the room who were about to explode with anger.

Qin Huairu grabbed the door-supporting stick from behind the door, while Jia Zhangshi casually pulled out the awl used for sewing shoe soles. No, that's for her eldest grandson, so she replaced it with a rolling pin.

"You little brat! I'll beat you to death, you ungrateful wretch!"

"Bang! Return this book to me! Return it to me!"

The next second, a mixed doubles match broke out in the Jia family. The screams of the stick-wielding man echoed through the house, mixed with Jia Zhangshi's curses and Qin Huairu's cries, and could be heard clearly throughout the entire courtyard.

Meanwhile, Zhang Dabiao, who lived in the east wing of the central courtyard, was lying in bed, listening to the noise coming from the Jia family next door. He turned over, smacked his lips, and slept soundly.

What do I care! Beat them to death!

These past few days, Zhang Dabiao has been living a very comfortable life.

The first print run of "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" was 10,000 copies, which sold out in three days.

The other 100,000 copies are foreign language versions, which are specially supplied for the Canton Fair.

Therefore, the publisher urgently printed an additional 100,000 copies.

Meanwhile, good news came from the Ministry of Foreign Trade.

This picture album shone brightly at the Canton Fair.

Several cultural buyers from the Soviet Union and Europe immediately took notice of this unique form of Eastern art.

On the spot, a multilingual overseas distribution order of 50,000 copies was signed, and all of it was settled in foreign exchange.

The Ministry of Foreign Trade took the lion's share, and Zhang Dabiao also benefited, with Director Zhao giving him a large credit.

Money was no longer of any concern to Zhang Dabiao.

This book cemented Zhang Dabiao's status as a "master" in the domestic comic book circle! It also secured the copyright for "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" in advance.

If the government really wants to revise this comic book, even with a contract, Zhang Dabiao can't stop it—but if he goes along for it, he can easily become an assistant director, right?

That's how he got into the film industry, wasn't it?

An animation director is still a director!

It's still possible to use unspoken rules!

------------

After class that day.

Zhang Dabiao rode his motorcycle back to the courtyard house. He had been busy drawing the comic book "Heroes and Daughters" by himself recently, and he had slowed down the pace so he wasn't as tired.

He was carrying two roast ducks and several bottles of good wine.

He planned to have a big dinner party in the east courtyard that evening, inviting Mu Wanqing, He Yushui, Qin Jingru, as well as Teacher Zhou, Teacher Chen, Ma Changfeng, and Lin Wan to celebrate.

No matter what, we're all from the same project team. Now that it's been published and in high demand, and the results are set, we should definitely get together.

When the matter was mentioned at the school, the principal immediately approved 50 yuan and gave a lot of receipts—the school paid for the meal paid for with public funds!

He's really gaining prestige among his peers lately!

The Education Bureau specifically praised him at a meeting!

He paid for the project team to have dinner out of his own pocket, on behalf of the school!

Private funds used for public purposes!

Since someone was already paying, Zhang Dabiao naturally had no objection and even brought Sha Zhu over to be the cook.

In the courtyard.

The three girls and Sha Zhu were busy washing vegetables and cutting meat in the kitchen. Xu Damao, Liu Guangqi, Yan Jiecheng and others also came over to chat and joke with the teacher and the two group members.

Zhang Dabiao hummed a little tune as he prepared some fresh vegetables in the yard.

Just then, a low, rumbling sound of a car engine came from the alley entrance.

These days, cars are a rarity.

Especially when parked in an ordinary hutong like Nanluoguxiang, it stands out even more.

The car engine stopped at the entrance of No. 95 courtyard.

The three women who were washing clothes in the front yard peeked out and were startled.

Parked at the entrance was a military green Jeep.

Judging from its boxy shape and thick doors, anyone in the know can immediately recognize it as a Soviet-made GAZ-69.

What's even more frightening is the license plate.

White background with red lettering—a special kind of license plate!

This is not a car that an ordinary cadre can ride in.

The car door opened.

A young man in a gray Zhongshan suit stepped out of the passenger seat; he looked like a secretary.

The young man opened the back door of the car.

An elderly man with gray hair and black-rimmed glasses came down.

Although the old man was advanced in years, he was in good spirits, stood ramrod straight, and exuded the aura of someone who had always been in a position of power.

But in his eyes, there was a pure fervor, like that of an old artist.

"Excuse me, does Comrade Zhang Dabiao live in this compound?"

The secretary politely inquired with the third aunt.

The three women wiped their hands on their aprons, stammering nervously.

"Yes...yes, yes, yes!"

"He lives in the east wing. You can walk in from here and through the middle courtyard."

The old man nodded and thanked him.

He was clutching a copy of "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" tightly in his hand, the edges of which were already worn from being read so many times.

He strode into the courtyard house.

At this moment, Zhang Dabiao had just finished harvesting a batch of chives, while Xu Damao still needed to replenish his strength.

He put down the axe and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He heard footsteps, put down his two shoes, looked up and saw an old man and a young man outside the gate.

Zhang Dabiao squinted his eyes.

These two people have an aura that is definitely not that of ordinary people.

The secretary quickly stepped forward.

"Hello, are you Zhang Dabiao, the author of 'Nezha Conquers the Dragon King'?"

"Yes, that's me." Zhang Dabiao nodded.

The old man pushed his secretary aside and walked up himself.

He looked at Zhang Dabiao with excitement, his eyes burning as if he were looking at a priceless treasure.

The old man reached out and grasped Zhang Dabiao's hands, which were covered in sawdust.

"Comrade Zhang Dabiao! I've finally found you!"

The old man's voice was loud and clear.

"I am Te Wei from Shanghai Animation Film Studio."

"I've read your book, 'Nezha Conquers the Dragon King'."

"You understand film storyboarding! You understand animation language!"

"We, Shanghai Animation Film Studio, would like to purchase the animation adaptation rights to your work!"

"We want to make it China's first full-length color widescreen animated film!"

When Zhang Dabiao heard the name "Tewei", his heart skipped a beat.

This is truly a towering figure in China's animation industry!

The historically renowned films "The Proud General" and "Little Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother" were written by him.

In Zhang Dabiao's "little nest," there's even a green "Proud General" T-shirt!

My idol!

Sixty years ago, he completed "Little Tadpoles Looking for Their Mother," and now, at this point in time, he should be preparing to produce "The Shepherd's Flute."

In addition, Shanghai Animation Film Studio released the first part of "Havoc in Heaven" at the end of December 1961, and Zhang Dabiao even took several girls to see it. It is said that this first part will be submitted to the 12th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in Czechoslovakia this year.

In short, in this era, Shanghai Animation Film Studio is among the top tier, even in the world!

Zhang Dabiao's lips curled up slightly.

He held onto the film and television adaptation rights tightly in the contract he signed at the time.

Now, it's finally time to cash in. The amount of money is probably not much, and Zhang Dabiao doesn't care about it anyway.

But what if I could become the assistant director of "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King"? That would be my official entry into the world of animated films!

The comic book "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" was Zhang Dabiao's ticket to fame!

At this moment, Zhang Dabiao's cultural IP business empire officially began.