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

Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li prepared a simple meal: a plate of stir-fried cabbage, a plate of peanuts, and two pieces of salted pork that Yu Li had borrowed from her parents' home, sliced ​​as thin as cicada wings, stir-fried with green peppers. There was also some vermicelli soup, a few eggs, some pickled vegetables, shredded potatoes, and a few pounds of pig ears.

There was also salted fish, cornmeal, and rice distributed by the Youth Mutual Aid Association—Yan Jiecheng made everything that could be used.

Even a miscellaneous meal like this has six dishes and a soup on the table.

The liquor is bulk white spirit.

Yan Jiecheng picked up his wine glass, his eyes slightly red.

"Brothers and sisters, I, Yan Jiecheng, thank you for coming today."

"I'm not capable enough to prepare good wine and food, please bear with me."

Xu Damao picked up a peanut, popped it into his mouth, and grinned.

"Jiecheng, you're being too polite."

"We're brothers who grew up naked since we were kids, we know each other perfectly well."

"I admire you for being able to handle the pressure from your father and put on this banquet."

Liu Guangqi also raised his glass in agreement.

They've all been through it all, so they're not picky. They're okay with Maotai, even if it's just loose liquor, as long as it's not like the watered-down kind that Uncle San drank.

There wasn't much meat in the meal, but when we eat together, we don't care about that; what matters is Yan Jiecheng's attitude.

You only have so much, and you're a shrewd shrew, but you've given it all away—that's to give everyone face!

Yan Jiecheng put down his wine glass, walked up to Zhang Dabiao, rubbed his hands together, and seemed a little awkward.

"Da Biao, besides celebrating your baby's one-month birthday, I have another favor to ask of you."

"Da Mao and Guang Qi's children have both recognized you as their godfather."

"My daughter also wants to share in your good fortune. If you don't mind, why don't you take Xiaochen as your goddaughter?"

Looking at Yan Jiecheng's earnest expression, Zhang Dabiao understood how oppressed he had been living in the Yan family.

Although this kid inherited some of his father's scheming ways, he's not entirely bad at heart.

As for Yan Xiaochen... well, it's fine if we accept her, we'll just feed her more snacks, so the kids won't learn to be stingy and calculating in the future.

Zhang Dabiao nodded readily.

"Sure, what's there to complain about? I'd be happy to have another goddaughter."

As he spoke, Zhang Dabiao took out a red envelope that he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and handed it over.

"Rules cannot be disregarded; this is a small token of my appreciation as your godfather."

Yan Jiecheng took the red envelope, felt its thickness, and his heart skipped a beat.

There's definitely no less than ten yuan in there.

His eyes were completely red, and he bowed repeatedly.

"Brother Biao, you're a true friend!"

"If you ever need my help, Yan Jiecheng, just say the word, and I'll do it without hesitation!"

"I, Yan Jiecheng, may not have anything else, I may be poor, but I keep my word!"

"In the past two years, we've been farming in our courtyard, and the youth mutual aid association has been going out to dig for wild vegetables and fish—I, Yan Jiecheng, have never been ambiguous about it, have I? I haven't been shirking my duties or shirking my responsibilities, have I?"

"Da Biao, if you need anything, just call me. If I, Yan Jiecheng, am stingy and calculating when it comes to our brothers, I'm just a girl's son!" As he spoke, Yan Jiecheng's eyes turned red, and he even raised his little finger to show off.

【Hey, what have the Yan family done to their child?】

Zhang Dabiao waved his hand, telling him to sit down and continue drinking, and not to get all emotional and crazy.

Now, all three of the younger children in the courtyard became Zhang Dabiao's godparents.

Xu Damao's son, Xu Xiaojun; Liu Guangqi's daughter, Liu Xiaoqing; and Yan Jiecheng's daughter, Yan Xiaochen.

This inadvertently tied the interests of these young people completely to those of Zhang Dabiao.

Unity is essential; only by uniting can we safely weather the storm.

Unity is strength!

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

It was already late September.

The weather in Beijing is starting to cool down, and the autumn wind sweeps through the fallen leaves in the alleyways.

The atmosphere was unusually tense in the special studio of the arts and crafts school.

Zhang Dabiao sat at the long table, looking at the row of people opposite him dressed in Zhongshan suits with serious expressions.

Leading the group was Lao Li, the chief editor of the People's Fine Arts Publishing House.

Behind Lao Li were four senior editors, each with a stack of the original manuscript of "Heroes and Daughters" in front of them.

Zhou Muyi and Teacher Chen stood behind Zhang Dabiao, not daring to breathe.

Zhang Dabiao was puzzled.

When the previous book, "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King," was published, Lao Li only came over to take a look, said hello, and then took it to be printed.

This scene today looks like a trial.

"Editor-in-Chief Li, is it really necessary to make such a fuss over this comic book?" Zhang Dabiao offered him a cigarette.

Old Li waved his hand in refusal, his expression solemn.

"Da Biao, you don't understand."

"This book, 'Heroes and Daughters,' has been designated by the authorities as a key project of our publishing house to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China."

"It must be rolled out nationwide before National Day."

"The book is full of pictures of volunteer soldiers, they are heroes."

"The character's appearance, the details of the clothing, even an expression or a line of dialogue, cannot have any evidentiary deviations."

"If anything goes wrong, we'll both be in deep trouble."

Zhang Dabiao understood.

This is being treated as a political task.

For the next four hours, Lao Li and the editors reviewed the document frame by frame and sentence by sentence.

"On page eighteen, the expression of this handsome prisoner should not be drawn too pitifully; it should highlight their outward bluster but inner weakness."

"On page 35, the posture of Comrade Wang Cheng holding the demolition charge should be further strengthened with the force of his fingers, to reflect that resolute determination to die for his cause."

"On page 50, this narration changes 'enemy' to 'Great Beauty, Deliverance, Main Wing, Invader'."

Zhang Dabiao took a pen and, based on their feedback, made minor adjustments to the original manuscript on the spot.

His hand speed was extremely fast; he could change a person's expression with just a few strokes, which secretly amazed the editors.

If major changes are absolutely necessary, redraw the original using a lightbox, then paste the new draft over the original to cover it up smoothly.

The review finally ended at 9 p.m.

The song arrangements have also been made. As soon as Zhang Dabiao sang it, everyone knew it was going to be great music!

Not to mention Zhang Dabiao's composing ability, everyone knows that; as long as it's a main theme, it can't be bad.

The author wrote another song, so what?

Although there's no precedent, as long as the content is good, that's all that matters! The key is that it fits perfectly!

Old Li breathed a long sigh of relief and signed his name heavily on the final draft comments.

"Alright, Da Biao, you've worked hard."

"This set of drawings is outstanding; both the style and the spirit of the artwork are impeccable."

"I'll take it back immediately for typesetting and plate making. The machines will run non-stop to ensure it's on the counter of Xinhua Bookstore before National Day."

Old Li then carefully put the manuscript into his bag and hurriedly left with his men.

Zhang Dabiao stretched lazily and thought, "Let's wait and see how sales go after the National Day holiday."

It shouldn't be too bad, right?