"She might not be interested in an ordinary young man; she might only want to marry the regimental commander."

Lu Fangfang glanced at her husband with a smile.

She was worried that something bad might happen when a young, unmarried woman came to take care of her.

It wasn't that she didn't trust her husband; she was just worried that something might happen.

She'd watched plenty of melodramatic dramas in her past life; if a malicious person showed up, she'd have nowhere to turn for help.

"Ahem, then she shouldn't come. Commander Gao is already married and has three children. Although Sister-in-law Shuhua doesn't come often, they have a very good relationship."

Zhuang Mingcheng coughed and immediately regretted mentioning red flowers.

He walked up to the iron stove, shoveled some spruce leaves, and threw them into the stove, making the fire burn brighter.

"snort."

Lu Fangfang rolled her eyes at him and didn't bother to say anything more.

Anyway, those red and white flowers won't come over.

She picked up the two letters from the provincial capital and looked at them. She found the one sent to her by the Fine Arts Publishing House and opened it with great anticipation.

Sure enough, as soon as she opened it, a remittance slip fell out.

"Fangfang, has the publisher's payment for your artwork arrived?"

"Um."

Lu Fangfang nodded happily.

How much is it in total?

"Two hundred and ten yuan exactly."

Lu Fangfang picked it up and looked at the amount on it, and immediately understood.

In addition to the sixty-one illustrations the publisher requested, the manuscripts she sent to the publisher included nine full-body pictures of small animals, along with popular science descriptions.

She didn't expect to get paid for those nine drawings, since they weren't commissioned by a publishing house.

However, it seems the publisher still paid her three yuan per drawing, and for a total of seventy drawings, that's exactly two hundred and ten yuan.

“Drawing comic books can really make money. You can earn in a month what I earn in two months.”

Zhuang Mingcheng took a closer look and was quite amazed.

"Mingcheng, once I get the money from the post office, I'll return the ten yuan to you."

"No rush, no rush, no, cough cough, we're all family. That ten yuan was a gift for your parents, you don't need to pay it back. I had forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it."

Lu Fangfang glanced at Zhuang Mingcheng with amusement; it didn't seem like he had forgotten.

She carefully put away the remittance slip, planning to stop by the post office to withdraw the money a few days later when she picked up Xiuxiu.

I'll go on a big shopping spree at the department store then. It looks like it's going to snow soon, and once the snow closes the mountain, it won't be easy to go out anymore.

She picked up the letter from the publisher and read it carefully.

After reading just a few sentences, a smile appeared on her face. Her idea had been adopted by the publisher, and her animal drawings and educational introductions would be printed at the end of the children's book.

However, due to space limitations, only images of two animals could be printed on one side, and the accompanying text was also shortened.

She looked on with some regret, and said that when she had money in the future, she would definitely publish a popular science book and promote it properly.

At that time, the Chinese people were still very unfamiliar with Qilian, let alone its various animals.

She wanted others to also like the animals here, to like the "Three Silly Animals of the Plateau"—no, the "Four Silly Animals of the Plateau"—so that they could properly protect this place.

"Fangfang, the comic book you drew will be printed before the New Year. That's really fast."

Zhuang Mingcheng leaned close to his wife, looking at the contents of the letter with some surprise.

The publisher has already started typesetting and it will be printed before the end of the year. The first edition is planned to print 5,000 copies.

He secretly did the math and realized it wasn't much; it just showed he lacked confidence in his wife's comic book drawings.

He glanced at his wife and decided to buy more later.

"That's fast indeed. The publishing house probably didn't have any other printing jobs."

Lu Fangfang shook her head, unwilling to think about it any further.

Looking at the 5,000 copies printed in the letter, she thought it was quite a lot. As a newcomer, it was already good enough that she could print them all successfully.

If it sells well, the publisher will probably reprint it.

Holding the letter, she continued reading. In the letter, Vice President Sun praised all the small animals she had drawn and said that he would like to visit Qilian Mountain if he had the chance.

After a while, she put down the letter and opened the letter that Liu Wenhui had sent her.

The two have now become pen pals and often write letters to each other about life and work.

"Oh? Mingcheng, Comrade Wenhui said she'd like to come to the regiment next month to visit the farm. Is it convenient for her here?"

As she spoke, Lu Fangfang looked up at her husband.

By the end of next month, the quails in the farm will all start laying eggs, with a daily egg production of about 40 jin (20 kg). Comrade Wenhui must have come for this reason.

"It's convenient, definitely convenient. You can write to her and tell her that the troupe welcomes her."

Zhuang Mingcheng nodded.

Liu Wenhui works in the military region's propaganda department, so the regiment will definitely welcome her. Her writing an article is also a form of propaganda for the regiment, which is a good thing.

"Okay, I'll write to her and tell her."

After reading the letter, Lu Fangfang picked up a pen and began to write a reply.

After a while, she put the letter she had written into an envelope and handed it to her husband.

She glanced at her wrist; it was only a little past eight. She wasn't sleepy for the time being.

Sitting down at the sewing machine, she stepped on the pedal and started sewing a sheepskin coat for her husband.

There were two rock sheep skins, one large and one small, at home. A few days ago, Zhuang Mingcheng took them to the county town and had them processed.

What she's doing now is using the same large ibex skin as before; the small ibex skin has already been made into a small jacket, which she's wearing.

"Mingcheng, try these on. If they don't fit, I'll alter them."

After a while, Lu Fangfang picked up the jacket and handed it to her husband.

Zhuang Mingcheng took it, put it on, and tried it on. It felt quite comfortable.

He walked up to the wardrobe, looked in the mirror, and found that the clothes actually made him look quite slim.

In those days, ordinary people would make clothes that were very large and baggy; they wouldn't do it that way.

"Fangfang, your handiwork is really good. This little jacket makes my figure look much more balanced."

"Yes, this was made especially for you."

Lu Fangfang stroked her chin as she looked at her husband, feeling quite satisfied.

When her husband dresses well, she feels happy just looking at him.

After looking at it carefully, she had Zhuang Mingcheng take it off and then sewed the buttons back on.