The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

After thanking the staff, Zhao Shi'an went to the comic book and picture book section and saw his younger siblings craning their necks to look at the barely visible pictures. There were also a few other children standing behind the four of them.

He spent at least half an hour looking for books, reading them, buying them, and paying for them, but the line not only didn't shrink, it actually grew larger.

These little guys are really persistent; they're still having a blast even when they can't see anything, which shows how appealing comic books are to children.

"How many pages have you read?"

Zhao Shi'an squatted down and patted the little sister.

"Big brother, have you bought the books?"

Zhao Xiaoyue turned her head and was pleasantly surprised to find it was her older brother. Her voice became much louder. When she saw many children turning to look at her, she felt a little embarrassed and quickly covered her mouth!

"Alright, what about you guys?"

Zhao Shi'an picked up the test paper in his hand and waved it.

"Finished one book, now starting the second!"

Zhao Xiaoyue replied, seeing the test paper in her older brother's hand, knowing it was time to leave, and immediately begged:

"Brother, could you please finish reading this book before you leave?"

"Yes! Which book are you reading now?"

Zhao Shi'an affectionately pinched the little girl's cheek.

"Big brother, you're so kind! You're reading 'Chicken Feather Letter,' Haiwa is so clever!"

Hearing that she could finish reading before leaving, Zhao Xiaoyue was very happy and eagerly shared the comic book she was reading with her older brother.

"The Chicken Feather Letter? You think you can even read it from here?"

Zhao Shi'an looked in the direction his little sister was looking and found that all he could see were the backs of her heads. Even though he was squatting down and taller than his little sister, he couldn't see much of the view, so the little girl naturally couldn't see anything either.

"Hehe! I can't see it. My second brother told me there were posters on the wall!"

Zhao Xiaoyue leaned shyly against her older brother and pointed to the large propaganda poster on the wall.

Zhao Shi'an looked in the direction his younger sister was pointing and found that there were many colorful promotional posters for "Chicken Feather Letter" on the surrounding walls.

Seeing these promotional posters, it became clear that the movie of the same name, "Chicken Feather Letter," had just been released a little over a month ago. It is the first domestic film on the theme of children's resistance against Japan.

Following "Chicken Feather Letter", there were subsequent films such as "The Shining Red Star" and "Little Soldier Zhang Ga".

He had watched these old movies when he was a child, but he didn't expect that "Chicken Feather Letter" would be released so early.

Seeing these promotional posters, Zhao Shi'an glanced at the picture books the children were holding. Most of them were "Chicken Feather Letter," while others included "The Generals of the Yang Family" and "The Legend of Yue Fei." There were also "Sima Guang Smashes the Jar" and "Cao Chong Weighs the Elephant," as well as some children's picture books for early literacy.

Zhao Shi'an squatted down for a while and noticed that the children were watching very attentively, carefully, and very slowly.

Seeing his younger siblings craning their necks to read intently, he leaned close to his little sister's ear and whispered:

"Xiaoyue, how about I buy you a copy of 'Chicken Feather Letter'?"

"Big brother, really?"

Hearing her older brother's words, Zhao Xiaoyue was very excited, and her voice unconsciously became much louder.

The children who were reading together glared at Zhao Xiaoyue when they heard her shout!

This time, Zhao Xiaoyue didn't cover her mouth. Hearing her older brother's words, she was so happy that she didn't care about anyone else and immediately pulled her older brother to confirm.

"Big brother, are you really going to buy me 'Chicken Feather Letter'?"

"Big brother, is what Sister Xiaoyue said true?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaole pulled his older brother aside and asked.

Upon hearing their sister's words, Zhao Shijie and Zhao Shixiong, disregarding the presence of others, also sought confirmation from their elder brother.

"Brother, are you really buying?"

The children who were just glaring angrily at Zhao Xiaoyue now showed expressions of envy, wishing they had such an older brother!

"You can fake a purchase? Shijie, go tell the sales clerk to bring out a new one!"

Seeing his younger siblings' reactions, Zhao Shi'an stopped teasing them and immediately told his younger brother to go and call for help.

"Hey! Big brother, I'm going right now! Make way, let me out!"

"Big brother, I'm going too!"

As Zhao Shijie spoke, he squeezed his way out, and Zhao Shixiong followed suit.

Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole wanted to go too, but Zhao Shi'an grabbed them and said generously to the two little ones:

"You two don't need to go. See if there's anything else you like? Pick another one!"

"Oh! Big brother, you're buying more? One book is enough!"

Zhao Xiaoyue was very happy to hear this, but then shook her head, thinking that she would soon have a copy.

"Big brother, one book is enough! Sister Xiaoyue and I will read it together!"

"Our Xiaoyue and Xiaole are so sensible! Choose them, your big brother has money!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he affectionately patted the heads of the two little ones.

"Big brother, I really don't want to!"

Zhao Xiaoyue hugged her older brother's arm and shook her head repeatedly.

Hearing this, the children around them became even more envious of the two little girls, and the children reading books felt that their own books were no longer appealing.

Seeing everyone's envious looks, Zhao Xiaoyue was very happy.

Just as Zhao Shi'an was about to continue persuading him, he heard his younger brother's voice and turned to look at him.

"Big brother, big brother, they're here!"

Zhao Zhipeng and Zhao Zhifeng quickly found a shop assistant.

"Is it you who want the 'Chicken Feather Letter'?"

The shop assistant looked at Zhao Shi'an and asked.

"Yes! Comrade, could you please get me a new one?"

"Okay, wait a minute!"

As the clerk spoke, he got up and went to the bookshelf, opened the glass case, took out a palm-sized book, and handed it to Zhao Shi'an.

"Comrade, why have those books gotten so much bigger?"

After Zhao Shi'an took the book, he saw several books on the bookshelf that were half the size of ordinary comic books. He realized that they were also "Chicken Feather Letters" and figured they were hardcover editions. He then asked a question.

"Oh! These books are published by People's Fine Arts Publishing House. They are illustrated by the comic strip master Liu Jiyou. They are 48mo in size, with exquisite illustrations and thick paper. They are high-quality picture books and are quite expensive, costing four thousand yuan per book."

This book was published by the Youth Publishing House. It's a small 64mo book with nice illustrations, and it's half the price.

Aside from the difference in paper and illustrator, the stories in these two books are exactly the same!

Seeing that Zhao Shi'an had noticed the premium art book, the shop assistant casually explained that most people would choose the regular version when faced with the price.

"That's good, I'll take a look first!"

As Zhao Shi'an spoke, he opened the "Chicken Feather Letter" and began to read it. Zhao Shijie, Zhao Xiaoyue, and the other four little ones all crowded around their eldest brother and stood on tiptoe to read it.

The surrounding children also gathered around.

The illustrations, which Zhao Shian considered somewhat rough, were being enjoyed by a group of children.

After quickly flipping through it and finding no errors or omissions, I prepared to buy it!

The exquisite art book caught his eye, and considering his limited funds, he thought that when he had more money, he would buy a few more for his younger sister.

Thinking of all this, he closed the book and looked at the shop assistant, saying:

"Comrade, I'll take this one. Please issue the invoice! Shijie and Shixiong, you two should also choose one!"

"Brother, one book is enough, why did you buy so much candy?"

Zhao Shijie quickly shook his head. He had already spent a lot of money on candy and comic books today, and he couldn't spend any more.

"Shijie is right, brother, don't buy it!"

Zhao Shixiong nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'll remember that. I'll buy it for you guys when I have the money! Comrade, please issue the receipt!"

Looking at his sensible younger siblings, Zhao Shi'an was very pleased and handed over the "Chicken Feather Letter" in his hand.

"Wow! Your older brother is so good to you, he even bought you comic books."

"I bought two copies at once! My brother won't buy me any!"

"My brother too!"

The surrounding children exclaimed "Wow!" and looked at Zhao Shijie and Zhao Xiaoyue with envy.

"That's right! Big brother is the best!"

Listening to everyone's words, Zhao Shijie and Zhao Shixiong proudly puffed out their chests.

"My older brother loves me so much!"

Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole were overjoyed to hear their friend's praise!

"good!"

The clerk nodded, took the book, and skillfully issued a ticket. After issuing the ticket, he handed the stub to Zhao Shi'an.

"Big brother, I'm going to pay the money!"

Zhao Zhipeng took the ticket stub and volunteered to pay the money.

"Here you go, take the money carefully, be careful not to drop it!"

Seeing this, Zhao Shi'an smiled and stuffed two thousand yuan into his younger brother's hand.

"It won't fall!"

Zhao Shijie ran out as he spoke, and Zhao Shixiong followed him.

"Comrade, my brother went to pay the money. Could my two younger sisters watch while I wait?"

"Of course, little one. This is a new book, so please take good care of it!"

The shop assistant smiled and agreed, handing Zhao Xiaoyue the copy of "Chicken Feather Letter" and giving her a word of advice.

"Thank you, Uncle! I'll take good care of it and won't get it dirty!"

Zhao Xiaoyue readily agreed, thanked them, and carefully took the book, holding it in her arms as if it were a precious treasure!