The publishing house not only sent her a reply, but also sent her a heavy package.

Pei Manning was really surprised.

She opened the package and found a stack of white paper of the same specifications. The paper was made of a special kind of fine paper that did not easily allow ink to penetrate. There was also a sample copy, a book, and a set of professional painting tools.

Pei Manning unfolded the letter and read it slowly.

"Comrade Pei Manning, hello. First of all, the editorial department of our publishing house has received your manuscript. We regret to inform you that due to the instructions from the higher authorities, the publishing house and related departments have temporarily put the adaptation of the comic book on hold.

However, in recent years, the National Cultural Comprehensive Education Conference has raised the issue of "solving the spiritual food of young people". Publishing houses are in need of publishing a number of young people's reading materials, among which comic books are in short supply.

Your painting style is simple, vivid and delicate, which is very suitable for the series of books "Long March Stories" that our publishing house is about to adapt. After discussion with the editorial department, we sincerely invite you to join the adaptation of the illustrated version of this series of works.

As for the royalties, after research by the publishing house, it was decided that each story adopted would be paid 22 yuan.

If you are interested, please refer to the attached sample magazine and books to adjust the drawing layout to the format that suits printing. In addition, the publisher has also included special drawings and brushes...

If you have any other opinions or requests, please contact Comrade Lin Yu from our editorial department. ”

…

Pei Manning understood after reading it that only manuscripts that passed the review and were adopted would be paid.

But she was still very happy, because as long as the publishing house accepted her drawings, she would have a legitimate source of income in the future.

Pei Manning opened the sample issue in the package and saw that it was a comic book that had been adapted and illustrated. It told the first story in the series of books and had a very positive spirit of dedication.

She wasn't sure if the publisher was casting a wide net to catch as many fish as possible. If it wasn't adapted by one person, they would choose the best one.

After calming down, Pei Manning put the letter away, thought about how to proceed, and then went to the flea market while it was still early.

Last time Zheng Geng broke some things, she planned to buy some stuff to replace them.

At this time, the flea market mostly sells old furniture, electronic components, "three-turn and one-ring" parts, pottery pots, rusty door handles, thermos bottles with broken plastic shells, old-fashioned pure copper charcoal pots, woodworking planes and saws...

In addition to selling second-hand goods, there are also various "disposed goods", such as defective overshoes, enamel basins with the surface chipped off, bath towels and toothbrushes that are exported and sold domestically, and defective products produced by various factories.

Practical, affordable, and “ticket-free”, these second-hand markets were extremely popular in an era when supplies were scarce and supplied by tickets, and were bustling with people every day.

In addition, you can also find some strange and weird items here.

Ever since being brought here by Mrs. Xu once, Pei Manning would come here from time to time to shop, wearing a rustic large scarf with floral patterns, covering half of her face.

She is not interested in second-hand goods, she is interested in "weird" things.

Most of these "weird" things are useless, but occasionally people can find something good.

For example, she would buy pottery jars with unique patterns and shapes, and Chu stones with a soft and delicate texture and deep and quiet colors, all of which were interesting toys.

Pei Manning covered her face with a scarf as she wandered around various places selling bottles and jars. Then her eyes became fixed on an emerald porcelain bowl.

The glaze on the porcelain bowl is particularly thin, plain and bright, with a "ice-like" beauty, and as clear and moist as the surface of a lake.

She carefully examined it for a long time and was sure that it was indeed a silver-rimmed secret-color porcelain bowl with bird and floral patterns. This kind of porcelain was originally a fine product specially made to be presented to the imperial court. The craftsmanship has always been kept secret. It is the pinnacle of Yue kiln celadon during the Five Dynasties period.

Later, as the craft was passed down, this kind of porcelain became extremely rare.

Her father spent so much money, but only collected four pieces, four secret-color porcelain plates with five-petal sunflower-shaped rims and concave bottoms.

Pei Manning looked at the stalls again. The porcelain there was also very beautiful, but the workmanship was a bit crude. They were all plates, dishes, bowls, basins... with bright colors and colorful colors. The simple and elegant secret color porcelain did not seem so bright and eye-catching among them.

Pei Manning frowned and became a little uncertain again.

If it really is secret color porcelain, how did it end up here?

However, even if it was a fake, it was a very realistic imitation. Pei Manning bought it along with several porcelain bowls, plates and dishes of similar colors, preparing to take them home for a closer look.

"Comrade, where did you get these bowls?" Pei Manning paid the money but still couldn't help asking.

The person in charge of collecting the money looked at her in confusion and said, "They are all defective products from the porcelain factory. But don't worry, there is nothing wrong with them. It's just that the patterns on them are a little blurred."

Pei Manning could only nod and left with full of doubts.

She went to look at some inkstones, old brushes, paperweights, pen holders and other things. Just as she was about to leave, she saw a familiar figure in the bustling crowd.

It turned out to be Zheng Geng.

Now his eyes are no longer swollen, and he has a resolute square face, a high nose bridge, thick eyebrows and big eyes. There is a scar running from his left eyebrow to his temple. He is tall and strong, and looks a bit fierce and not to be messed with.

He had a bit of a bandit air about him, and was completely different from the big man with swollen eyes who cried like a frog at night.

But Pei Manning still recognized Zheng Geng through the scar.

A tall man wearing a felt hat and a thick military coat stood on the steps and looked around. Then another tall man came up to him, and the two whispered something and went to a second-hand shop selling spare parts for bicycle owners.

Pei Manning was stunned for a moment, perhaps because most of her face was covered in her scarf and she was relatively tall, she looked around but couldn't find herself in the gray-blue crowd.

Pei Manning was still frightened and for a moment wanted to turn around and leave.

But when I think about it, she hasn't done anything shameful!

On the contrary, Zheng Geng seemed to be discussing something with the tall man in secret, which looked a bit suspicious.

She hesitated for a moment, but did not leave. She went outside the second-hand store that sold bicycle parts and pretended to pick up something. While she was choosing, she kept her eyes on Zheng Geng.

…

After Zheng Geng and his companions entered the second-hand shop, they skillfully selected from a pile of spare parts.

These parts were all dismantled from old bicycles. Some were still usable, while others were so rusted and damaged that they were completely unusable. With good eyesight and experience, I was able to quickly pick out all the usable parts and start opening them.

Yes, this thing is also sold in a second-hand store.

Bicycle tickets are hard to come by now, and you may not be able to get one even if you have money.

Many people go to second-hand shops to look for parts, collecting them bit by bit. When all the parts are collected, they assemble their own bicycles. Then they take the license plate issued by the second-hand shop to the traffic police station to "register the license plate". In this way, the assembled bicycle becomes a regular vehicle.

This is a craft that requires good skills and not everyone can do it.

Moreover, the whole bike costs at least 120 yuan, but the total cost of assembling a bicycle is only 70 yuan, less than a "ticket". Many people have seen a "business opportunity" from this.

That is to assemble bicycles by themselves, then sell them at a higher price, or sell them to rural areas. Some people even get "orders" from rural areas or other places first, and then go to find parts for assembly.

However, these cannot be done openly, but must be done quietly in private, where the profit is high and the risk is low.

After buying the bicycle parts, Zheng Geng went to a second-hand electronic component store with his companions and bought some diodes, capacitors, resistors, and even precious silicon tubes.

As soon as he walked out of the second-hand shop, he frowned and looked back sharply.

"What's wrong?" asked the companion.

Zheng Geng looked at the crowd, clenched his back teeth, and looked unhappy. He always felt like someone was staring at him.

But the crowd was so crowded, and everyone was wearing either gray or blue work clothes, as if they were printed out of the same mold. Looking around, they were all gray and it was hard to tell who was who.

"It's okay, just take your things and go first." She gestured to her companion.

The companion immediately nodded in understanding, and without asking any further questions, he blended into the crowd and left.

Zheng Geng watched his companions leave, and stood there for a long time. After making sure that no one was following them, he went in another direction. After walking around for a long time, he still didn't find anyone following him.

With doubts in his heart, Zheng Geng went to the old place he had agreed to meet with his companions.

…

For fear of being discovered, Pei Manning did not follow Zheng Geng and went home with her things. As soon as she reached the door, she saw a big jeep.

She was stunned for a moment, then she remembered that it was the weekend, and Han Jingchen and Jiang Ye seemed to have a half-day off, which was originally used for them to rest and sort out their internal affairs.

"Comrade Pei, you're finally back!" Jiang Ye waved quickly when he saw her.

Jiang's eyes were swollen, and Pei Manning couldn't help but take another look at them. She asked hesitantly, "Comrade Jiang, are your eyes okay?"

Jiang Ye shook her head. They say curiosity kills the cat. She shouldn't have crushed the seed. She cried for a long time and was severely beaten by Brother Shen. "It's okay, Comrade Pei. I just came to ask, do you have any more seeds?"

Pei Manning nodded, but her eyes couldn't help but glance at Han Jingchen, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat with red and swollen eyes and a stern face, as if he didn't want any strangers to come near.

Pei Manning couldn't help but pursed her lips.