After the college entrance exam, he began to become a male god of extraction.

Chapter 114: Mid-Autumn Festival Preparations with Family - Negotiating Comic Copyright

Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the few times that Xu Qin's family can reunite, apart from the Spring Festival.

Around 9 p.m., the neighbor's children had all gone to bed.

Xu Qin, who was just playing with the children, now simply sat under the sycamore tree outside the yard, watching his father and grandfather play chess.

"Old man, I won."

The old man smiled.

"Haha, Ah Chong, this old man is just letting you win a round!"

Grandpa, however, remained calm. "Come on, let's start the next round."

"Okay, next round."

"Ah Qin, come on, let's deal with your dad together."

"Okay!"

So the three of them played under the sycamore tree until after 11 p.m.

Family reunions are not easy. Xu Qin's family is actually quite large. Only his father, Xu Chong, has him as his only child, but his three uncles each have at least three children, especially his eldest uncle's family, which has five children.

It's just that it's Mid-Autumn Festival now, and the three families are in different cities. They won't come back until the Spring Festival, then it will be lively.

There are only five people in their family tonight, so it does feel a bit lonely.

Time quickly moved to the next day.

My father is leaving tonight to go to Beihanzhou for work.

In Xu Qin's memory, his father had been quite busy ever since he started high school, and he often didn't see him much throughout the year.

"Dad, do you still wear that suit you left here?"

Xu Qin mentioned that his father's formal attire was a gift from someone two years ago, costing over 100,000 yuan.

"You want to wear it?"

"I'm thinking of buying it, but I'm too lazy to. I'm going to attend an exchange meeting in a few days—"

Xu Qin briefly described the New City Entertainment Creators Exchange Meeting that Guo Zhenyun mentioned.

He thought that since it was an exchange meeting and it was his first time attending, he should dress more formally.

So he thought of formal attire.

As for formal wear, it really depends on the fabric and design. A suit costing a few hundred thousand yuan might not look good, but my dad's suit that cost over ten thousand yuan was just right.

If you're talking about high-end, a set costing over 100,000 yuan isn't considered high-end.

My mom was eating sunflower seeds when she looked over and said, "Your clothes are probably going to get moldy if you keep them. You might as well let him wear them."

Dad laughed and said, "Take it and wear it. Actually, I've never worn this outfit before."

"Then I'll wear it!"

Xu Qin was quite excited and soon came out after changing his clothes.

Wearing a black suit, Xu Qin's entire demeanor changed, and he became much more handsome.

He and his father were almost the same size, and their heights were also similar. He was 1.9 meters tall, and his father was 1.87 meters tall. It was only a difference of three centimeters, which was negligible when it came to clothes.

So once you put it on, it actually fits you perfectly.

When Dad saw it, he said, "You'd look better with a slicked-back hairstyle or something more eye-catching. Your current hairstyle doesn't suit you."

Xu Qin now sports a fluffy and natural youthful hairstyle.

"Okay, I'll get one then." Xu Qin nodded.

Then he looked at his mother and asked, "Ms. Lin, what do you think? Aren't you blown away by his handsomeness?"

"As expected of my offspring!"

Seeing how handsome Xu Qin is, Mom is very proud.

Xu Qin is a village with a large population, and it is the most populous village in the vicinity, without exception.

But if we're talking about a bunch of young people, who's the most handsome?

That must be Xu Qin.

Even if you include the boys from his three uncles' families, they are all descendants of the same grandfather, but none of them are as handsome as Xu Qin.

My mom used to always win when she showed off her kids; she'd never seen a boy more handsome than her own Xu Qin.

Especially considering how tall Xu Qin is.

At 1.9 meters, my mom thinks he's just right—not short, but not too tall either.

Dad laughed, "Don't forget I got a share too! Hahaha—"

His mother glared at him: "Hmph! You heartless wretch, you're hardly ever seen all year round!"

The old man just smiled and didn't say anything, he just lit a cigarette.

Then he said to Xu Qin, "Xu Qin, don't follow his example in the future. At least be more family-oriented than him."

"No problem!"

Xu Qin understood that the old couple were just flirting.

A dozen minutes later.

"Ah Chong, Ah Qin, come with me up the mountain to check out the land."

At this moment, Grandpa came out with his cane and a cloth bag on his shoulder, inside which you could see a compass.

Xu Qin's grandfather knew a little about feng shui.

Furthermore, many older people in rural areas also know how to do this.

As for whether feng shui is real or fake, it seems no one can really say for sure.

Many wealthy people consult feng shui and fortune tellers, even more superstitious than you rural folks. They even choose auspicious dates for major national projects.

So it's really hard to say.

At noon, Xu Qin and his father followed his grandfather to the foot of a mountain a few kilometers away.

Because this involves the relocation of Great-Grandma's grave, Grandpa plans to find a date next year to move Great-Grandma's grave to another location.

Relocating graves in rural southern China is quite common, but it depends on feng shui; you can't just move a grave anywhere.

Along the way, Grandpa was worried that Xu Qin wouldn't believe him, so he told him about a village nearby. Last year, they wanted to develop a tourist attraction there, so they built a bridge that faced the village directly. They said it ruined the feng shui, and as a result, more than a dozen elderly people in that village died in a row for a period of time.

"Ah Qin, don't disbelieve me. Look at our village. Why is it so prosperous? None of the surrounding villages are like ours. Moreover, our village has big merchants and high-ranking officials. There are also a lot of people who aren't as capable. Which of the surrounding villages is as powerful as ours? There are some things you just can't explain."

Grandpa smiled and said, "But you don't need to believe it too much. 'As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement.' This is the first hexagram of the I Ching. 'First is fate, second is luck, and third is feng shui.' First, strive for self-improvement, and then discuss fate, luck, and feng shui."

"I understand, Grandpa."

An hour later, the three arrived at the mountain.

"Should we leave Great-Grandma here next year?"

Xu Qin stood there, looking ahead. Grandpa said the feng shui here was good, that there was water on the left and no obstructions in front, the feng shui was perfect. "Not only will your great-grandmother be placed here, but I will be placed here too!"

Grandpa pointed down a little and said, "You can leave me here from now on. I want to stay with my mom."

Snapped!

The old man lit a cigarette, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and said, "This place is good, the view is great. I'll bury you here someday, then you can enjoy the scenery."

As he spoke, the old man tossed the cigarette case and lighter to Xu Qin.

Before long, the grandfather, grandfather, and grandson sat down in the open space and started smoking.

"I am already 81 years old this year. Although I can still climb mountains, I don't know how many more years I have left. Our village is not a longevity village. Most of the elderly people pass away in their 80s. On average, only one out of a dozen elderly people can live past 90."

Grandpa didn't shy away from discussing life and death, and continued, "Ah Qin, your great-grandfather lived a long life, over ninety years old. However, he started digging his own grave when he was over seventy. I went with him to look at the burial site at the time, thinking that he would leave in his eighties, but he lived to be over ninety."

But he passed away peacefully. He let our family gather together for a meal, and after we finished eating, he gave us some final instructions, sat there, and left. Isn't that amazing?

Xu Qin sighed, "That's comfortable, no pain or injury."

He never met his great-grandfather.

Since ancient times, dying peacefully in one's sleep has been considered a great blessing.

The three of them didn't descend the mountain until almost sunset, and by the time they got home it was already past five in the afternoon.

Around 6 o'clock, the family started eating, because the old man was leaving later.

Not long after they finished eating, Dad packed up his things, came out, patted Xu Qin on the shoulder, said goodbye to Grandpa, Grandma, and Mom, and then drove away.

"Ah Qin, when are you going back to Ningcheng?"

My mom is going back to Ningcheng tomorrow; she has to go to work.

Grandma then came over and asked Xu Qin.

"I'll do it the day after tomorrow, Grandma. I'll stay here with you for one more day."

"OK!"

Grandma was very happy.

Unlike her grandfather, who was so easygoing, her grandmother was much more sentimental. After all, she had four sons, two daughters, and more than twenty grandchildren and great-grandchildren, including her eldest uncle who was already a grandfather. She also had a great-grandchild, but she was never around, which inevitably made the old lady feel sad.

In fact, Grandma would often visit her eldest, second, and third uncles' homes. Although all four of Xu Qin's brothers were filial and wouldn't try to drive the elderly away when they came, the old folks were ultimately not used to staying in the city. They would feel uncomfortable after a few days, and the countryside seemed to be their true home.

"Qin, come play chess!" Grandpa called out to Xu Qin under the sycamore tree.

"Grandpa's here."

Xu Qin immediately went over.

Xu Qin could sense that his grandfather was also somewhat sad. Although he was easygoing, it didn't mean he had no feelings. His son had just returned yesterday and left again today. Even if the eighty-year-old man didn't burst into tears, he would still be heartbroken.

The grandfather and grandson played chess until 11 o'clock before the grandmother urged them to go to bed.

Xu Qin returned to his room, and his mother came in.

"Xu Qin, look, your heartless dad has run away again. It's only been less than thirty hours since we met."

My mom isn't in a good mood.

"Then Mom, you can go to Beihanzhou."

"I'm too lazy to go, it's too far, and the water isn't suitable." Mom shook her head and sat down on Xu Qin's bed. "Xu Qin, don't you feel that our house is very quiet?"

"That's true, there are too few people. It's only lively when my uncle and his family come back for Chinese New Year."

"If only I had had another child back then," Mom said.

"It's not too late for me now."

"Go away, I'm over forty. Taking me out would be like taking me a grandchild. My colleague is a year older than me and she's already a grandmother."

"Awesome."

"So, Xu Qin, you should have a few more children in the future, maybe two or three, so the house will be more lively," Mom continued, clearly setting her sights on Xu Qin.

Xu Qin joked, "I was even thinking of having seven or eight."

"Do you think your wife is a pig? How can she have so many babies?" Mom said irritably.

"I'll just marry a few more, and each of them can have one or two children, so we might have ten kids in the family."

"You want to marry a few more? Fine, go ahead and marry if you dare. If the house isn't big enough, your dad and I will chip in to buy you a villa."

In a modern society with a monogamous system, why would you marry several women?

The mother thought Xu Qin was joking with her. Her son sometimes liked to make her happy, so she couldn't believe everything he said.

This kid has always been good at making women happy; sometimes his words are as sweet as honey.

"Ms. Lin, you said it."

"You should marry her first, then we'll talk."

Mom continued joking with Xu Qin, then added, "But first of all, let me make it clear that not just any woman can come into our Xu family. If she's not good-looking or too short, I'm worried that our family's genes will be dragged down."

"I thought it was something else, is that all? Ms. Lin, you have to trust my judgment."

The mother and son chatted for half an hour before the mother finally went back to her room to sleep.

Xu Qin typed for two hours straight in the middle of the night.

He had thought he could finish the essay during the holiday, but it seems that it will be difficult in fact. Plans can't keep up with changes, and he still has to spend time with his family.

The next day at noon, my mother drove back to Ningcheng.

As for Xu Qin, he stayed in the village to accompany his grandparents, enjoying the tranquility unique to the countryside.

However, this peace did not last long.

Gatherings are a minority in life; partings are the norm.

Life is about using a little sweetness to wash away nine parts bitterness.

Happiness is ultimately fleeting.

On the morning of the 8th, Xu Qin packed his bags, ready to leave.

"Grandpa and Grandma, I'll come back for the Chinese New Year, and I'll stay for at least a month!" Xu Qin said.

"Okay, okay, I'll play chess with Grandpa then."

Grandpa was a little sad.

"Ah Qin, Grandma is giving you a red envelope. May your journey be smooth."

"Grandma, you too, take care of yourself at home."

"Okay, Ah Qin, take care of yourself while you're away from home, and also—"

Grandma said a lot, giving Xu Qin all sorts of instructions, afraid that Xu Qin would suffer outside.

A mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles, and isn't a grandmother the same way when she faces her grandson?

Finally, Xu Qin parted ways with the two elders, composed himself, and began his journey home.

Today is the last day of the holiday. Xu Qin did not return to Ningcheng, but took a taxi directly to the airport and boarded a plane to Xincheng.

Around 4 PM, Xu Qin had already returned to his dormitory.

Everyone had already arrived at the dormitory.

"Old Xu, you were really something on the 1st! You actually participated in that Hanfu march. I initially thought you were just going there to take a look."

Liu Nanfeng was quite amazed; Xu Qin looked very handsome that day, and he even trended on social media.

But after Xu Qin trended on social media that day, the group chat was almost buzzing with excitement, mostly with messages from Liu Nanfeng, Zhou Botao, and Ding Ruipeng, who were not officially part of the group.

However, Xu Qin only replied with one sentence: Yes, it's me.

Then, the day before yesterday, on Mid-Autumn Festival, he sent another message: "Brothers, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival."

In other words, he only said these two sentences throughout the entire holiday.

Zhou Botao also said, "Yeah, that's amazing. That's the first row. I heard that even rich people can't get into the first row; they have to draw lots. Old Xu, you actually got in."

"Some people online are even saying you have powerful connections," Liu Nanfeng added.

Xu Qin was unwilling to talk about this matter too much, because it was in the past, and it didn't necessarily bring him any benefit now.

If he were a celebrity, being ranked first would carry more weight than being at the top of the trending searches for ten days and ten nights.

But Xu Qin is not.

Therefore, Xu Qin only vaguely replied, "It's alright. Maybe it was because I had a good image that I was drafted on the spot. As for my background, I come from an ordinary family. Where would I get any powerful connections?"

"Xu Qin, I'm so envious! I wish I had gone to see him back then. I wonder if I would have been drafted."

Ding Ruipeng tidied his hair.

He got a new hairstyle, a foil perm, so he no longer has to keep flicking his bangs to the side.

Ding Ruipeng couldn't help but say, "But speaking of which, Xu Qin, you looked fucking cool riding that horse back then!"

"That's all in the past, there's nothing to talk about. Let's talk about something else."

Next, the group started talking about what they had done during the holiday.

Like Ding Ruipeng, who went with his father to discuss business during the holiday, but he was just there to take a look. Liu Nanfeng was in Hangzhou learning makeup and styling from a beauty blogger, and Zhou Botao was in the village with his grandparents, just like Xu Qin.

Seeing everyone chatting and laughing, Jiahao realized that he had been ignored again.

In fact, apart from Xu Qin doing something big on the 1st, the things that Ding Ruipeng and the other two did were insignificant in Jiahao's eyes.

During this holiday, Jiahao successfully completed the Aotai Line solo.

This excited him.

However, no one asked him.

This prevented Jiahao from showing off.

"No one is asking me, but that's exactly what I've been pursuing. Now I'm a hidden dragon in the abyss; it's not wise to reveal myself!"

With this in mind, Jiahao decided to continue reading pretentious online novels to hone his skills.

But Xu Qin came over and asked, "Jiahao, what did you do this holiday?"

Xu Qin just said something casually when he saw Jiahao was silent.

Jiahao, who was initially thinking about the hidden dragon in the abyss, was taken aback for a moment, and then said haltingly, "I'm going to go mountain climbing."

He was asked!

And it was Xu Qin, whom he respected the most.

As expected, I hadn't misjudged Xu Qin!

Perhaps Xu Qin had already vaguely discovered his extraordinary qualities.

Jiahao thought to himself.

But Ding Ruipeng suddenly asked, "Ye Jiahao, you climbed Baiyun Mountain in Guangzhou?"

I'm climbing the treacherous Azores Line, where crises lurk!

What Baiyun Mountain?

Is Baiyunshan even worthy of being compared to Aotai Line?

Having already conquered the Aotai Line, and even done so in a one-on-one battle, Jiahao felt that he was being provoked by Ding Ruipeng once again.

At this point, Jiahao became furious.

He had studied martial arts and possessed a strong physique; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to take on the Aotai Line one-on-one.

Jiahao thought to himself that he could make Ding Ruipeng tremble with fear and beg for mercy with just one punch!

But he quickly suppressed his anger.

Because such petty people are not worth mentioning!

Besides, a true dragon is not afraid of being tested by fire!

The true dragon need not concern itself with the provocations of these petty villains.

Which of those men who have achieved great success hasn't been cursed and condemned by countless people behind the scenes?

So, what is Ding Ruipeng anyway?

snort!

Soon, the dormitory started talking about other things, but Jiahao didn't participate; he felt lonely.

But that's exactly how true dragons are; they are destined to be lonely at the top and cannot easily integrate into the secular world.

No one knows what Jiahao is thinking.

Not long after, Xu Qin tidied up some things and then thought about the comic book copyright he was going to discuss the next day.

Zheng Fanghong had previously contacted Tian Kaiyi, the owner of a company called Zhuguang Comics. Tian Kaiyi gave Zheng Fanghong another phone number, saying it was the number of a manager in the other company, and had already instructed Xu Qin to call this number later.

Zheng Fanghong then gave the phone number to Xu Qin for easy contact.

So Xu Qin went outside to the balcony in the corridor and made a phone call to confirm the time and place of the meeting tomorrow.

A dozen seconds later, the call was connected.

"Hello, this is Zhuguang Comics Company. I'm Zhu Feiyu, the copyright manager. May I ask who you are?"

"Hello, I am Mr. Xu, the author of the work 'New City Year 1 Part 2'. I have a collaboration with your company on comic adaptation. My friend has already contacted your company before."

"Oh, it's you."

Zhu Feiyu got straight to the point: "How about we discuss a comic book collaboration for your work tomorrow morning?"

"Sure, but where?"

"How about we meet at our company? The address is 135 Huating Road, at 9:00 AM."

"Okay, I'll contact you then? I won't bother you now."

"Haha, it's nothing."

Zhu Feiyu was quite polite. Over the next few minutes, the two talked in more detail before ending the call.

Besides confirming the time and location, regarding the copyright price for the comic adaptation, Zhu Feiyu revealed that they were willing to offer 1.5 million yuan.

This price surprised Xu Qin.

As Zheng Fanghong mentioned a few days ago, even if there is a premium for masterpieces, the copyright of novels adapted into comics is not worth much, even for good works. In addition, Xu Qin is not famous yet, so the price Zheng Fanghong mentioned for comic adaptations is only around one million.

"If it's around 1.5 million, then I'll have to dress more formally tomorrow. I can't just go in casual clothes."

People are judged by their clothes, and Buddhas are judged by their gold plating. When traveling, it is especially important to show respect for clothing before respect for people.

During the evening class meeting, Xu Qin casually asked her counselor for leave for the next day.

Then came the next morning.

Xu Qin then changed into the formal attire his father had given him.

Looking in the mirror, he felt his hairstyle was no good, too boyish, so he simply asked Liu Nanfeng to use a straightener, hair clay, and hairspray to give him a slicked-back, dragon-beard hairstyle.

"Holy crap, Lao Xu, you changed your hairstyle, and with this outfit, you look absolutely stunning!"

Liu Nanfeng exclaimed in surprise, then asked, "Why all this formality? Where are we going today?"

"I wrote a book on the Chiyu Forum, and the comic book rights have been released. I'm going to discuss the copyright today."

Xu Qin didn't hide it from him.

"Old Xu, you've published the copyright?" Zhou Botao asked in surprise.

Liu Nanfeng pressed, "Wow, Lao Xu, you finished writing it? How much is the copyright? A few million?"

To many laymen, copyright might only be worth a few million or tens of millions.

Xu Qin didn't say it was 1.5 million.

They just downplayed it: "Only a hundred thousand or so, not a lot."

"Wow! Over 100,000 yuan in copyright revenue, and he's already earning over 100,000 yuan a month in his second month of freshman year! Old Xu has a bright future!"

Zhou Botao gave a thumbs up.

Liu Nanfeng continued, "That's really impressive, earning over 100,000 a month. And what's Lao Xu's work? I'll go support him."

"Let me become more famous first. Right now, Little Karami's writing is too embarrassing. Brothers, please understand."

Xu Qin brushed it off vaguely.

Only Jiahao, who remained silent, understood perfectly. He knew that Xu Qin's book couldn't possibly be worth that little bit of money just from a comic book copyright.

Even if the comic's copyright holders themselves were unaware, Jiahao knew this.

But how could the comic book rights to Xu Qin's book only cost a few hundred thousand?

They're trying to get rid of beggars!

Therefore, Xu Qin was hiding his true abilities.

As a true dragon lurking in the abyss, Jiahao understands that Xu Qin is also a dragon lurking in the abyss.

"There's actually someone else lurking in the abyss alongside me—"

"I am not alone on this path!"

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