Chapter 33
Autumn in Taocheng always passes by in a flash, and winter comes unexpectedly.
When Wang Mengmei got up in the morning and saw the gloomy weather, she quickly reminded Jian Li.
"Wear something warmer before you go out today, and wear a hat. It looks like it's going to snow."
Jian Li loves to stay in bed in winter. She was woken up early in the morning and put on her clothes in a daze. She only woke up after being splashed with cold water.
She held a braised pork bun in her mouth and put her head towards the door.
The biting cold wind blew up at once, and Jian Li shivered and cried, "Can I not go to school?"
After saying this, he realized that Wang Mengmei couldn't agree, so he said to himself: "Why hasn't the winter vacation started yet? I'm really going to die..."
Wang Mengmei was scooping porridge out of the pot. When she heard her half-dead look, she was speechless: "Come over and eat!"
Breakfast consisted of thick millet porridge, steaming steamed buns with meat sauce, stir-fried spicy and sour lotus root slices and a plate of green vegetables.
After Jian Li finished her breakfast, she was obediently taken to school by Jian Feng on his bike.
Halfway through the journey, it started snowing.
Jian Li reached out to catch a snowflake, but Jian Feng told her to put on gloves quickly.
Jian Li asked him, "Dad, are you still going to learn how to drive today?"
It's snowing.
Jian Feng pedaled his bike with a grunt: "Go, why not go?"
Even if he can't practice driving, he can still follow the coach to learn how to maintain the car, and ask what to do in this kind of weather and whether he needs to use snow chains.
Jane Li, wearing thick gloves, gave her father a thumbs up.
She doesn't remember much about her father's driving lessons in his previous life, but now she realizes that there was a reason why her father didn't get into an accident. Not everyone has such a strong desire to learn.
When they arrived at the school gate, Jian Li, who was wrapped up like a bear, jumped out of the car, luckily she didn't sprain her ankle.
After she stood firmly, she waved goodbye to Jian Feng. Only when she saw Jian Feng pedaling away gradually did Jian Li let out a breath of air.
"Boss, give me some intestines!"
Winter is coming, and the canteen at the school gate has also stocked new goods.
In the summer, the ice cream freezers were removed and fried sausages began to be sold in the canteen.
In such a cold winter, that fragrance is simply everyone's nightmare.
Jian Li could not resist this temptation. She comforted herself that winter was coming and animals had to store up some fat to survive the winter. She was a living person and all she needed to do was eat some starch intestines!
The pink starch sausage was cut into small pieces on the left and right, and turned over in the oil pan. After frying, it had a crispy outer shell and was sprinkled with a little chili powder, which gave it the taste that Jian Li remembered.
After finishing a starch sausage, Jian Li rushed to go to school.
The man in the mailroom still had an impression of Jian Li, and thanks to Jian Li, she told the teacher about the submission and composition competition. Teacher Fang naturally told the grade group leader, and soon the school launched a series of submission activities. Although the teachers said it was voluntary, they actually hoped that someone in their class would be able to submit an essay and be selected.
During this period of time, I have won five prizes for my submissions to the school.
Three of them were submitted to the tofu block in the journal, and the other two, one was submitted to the poetry module in "Children's Literature" and the other was submitted to the joke column in the magazine.
Teacher Fang: …
It's okay as a joke, at least it's an honor.
With the endless stream of accepted manuscripts, Jian Li's name has gradually been forgotten, and what people are talking about most now is the fat boy who became a laughing stock.
Xia Liu secretly encouraged Jian Li to also vote in the joke column.
"You scolded me very well that time. You must have won the target."
Jian Li didn't vote, she was counting the time in her mind.
It had been a long time since she submitted her comic, and she thought that if the other party didn't give her any news, she would have to find another way out.
Just as she was thinking about the pending comic submission, the doorman's greeting interrupted her thoughts.
"There's a letter for you!"
Jian Li had a hunch, and after seeing the address of a certain magazine publisher on it, she couldn't wait to tear open the envelope.
The mailroom boss cheerfully asked her if she had written any new articles.
Jian Li suppressed her inner excitement and said, "Where can I find that?"
After saying that, he quickly ran into the classroom.
Her manuscript was accepted!
Along with the acceptance envelope came a heartfelt handwritten letter from the editor.
The editor explained in the letter why he contacted her so late - communication was difficult.
Jian Li's submission did not have a phone number, only an address and name of the school. If the editor wanted to communicate with her about some content issues and discuss some royalties, they could only do so by sending a letter.
Jian Li couldn't wait to look down and didn't even respond to Xu Yanan in the front row who was knocking on her desk.
[After discussion, I would like to ask you to write an article for 20 yuan per page. Please indicate the specific payment method in your letter. If it is convenient, please contact me by phone... My contact information is...]
Twenty bucks!
This price was beyond Jian Li's expectations.
Her expectation was fifteen dollars, and she thought she would have to argue with the other party several times before she could achieve her goal!
Twenty yuan per page, and she updates about twenty pages a month, which means that she can earn four hundred yuan a month just from the income from comics!
Jian Li had a clear idea in her mind and wrote down in detail the questions mentioned by the other party in the letter regarding the following plot.
In her reply, she planned to give the editor a copy of the story outline along with the manuscript for the next issue.
There is also the royalties. Previously, the royalties were paid via remittance checks, but this time, Jian Li decided to apply for a savings account.
Her little piggy bank has grown to several hundred, so why can't she have a savings book?
The request to open a passbook was quickly approved by Jian Feng.
In Jian Feng's words, Jian Li was much better than those kids who just took the money and spent it recklessly because she thought of opening a savings account.
Jian Li took the fresh and hot passbook and wrote the remittance information on the letter paper.
As for telephone contact?
Let's wait.
Jian Li secretly wondered, when will there be an Internet cafe in Taocheng?
It would be nice if there was an internet cafe.
In the second episode, Jian Li drew the first encounter between the hero and heroine, and before the pink bubbles dispersed, they officially entered the first copy.
Sect competition.
Jian Li devoted a lot of space to writing the background of the sect competition and also fully explained the levels of cultivation.
At the same time, the supporting female character came out and started the trials for the sect competition.
The heroine was not qualified to participate, but her pet spirit gained intelligence and brought her to the audition site.
After Jian Li finished the painting, she checked it carefully before sending the manuscript out.
After sending the manuscript, Jian Li made a special trip to the newsstand and ordered a copy of "Mei Hua" magazine from the owner of the newsstand.
She told the editor in the letter that it was not convenient for her to receive the sample copies and asked the editor not to send them.
Jian Li didn't even dare to think about what the school's reaction would be if they knew she had started drawing comics.
She doesn't want to be called a "little painter" after being called a "little writer".
Jian Li signed her comic strip as Zhili.
From now on, she has to keep her vest well!
*****
When the first issue of "Mei Hua" magazine published her works, Jian Li was preparing for her final exams.
Looking back on the past six months, Jian Li felt that she had completed her KPIs quite well after her rebirth.
Her mother has now started a small restaurant.
Her father also successfully obtained a driver's license and got a job.
As for her, she lost more than 40 kilograms and now weighs only over 130 kilograms.
Although the road ahead is long, at least we have taken the first step.
Jian Li was leisurely drawing comics in class, while Xu Yanan, who was sitting in the front row, was nervous and kept looking at Jian Li out of the corner of her eye.
It's the end of the semester, but Jian Li is still so relaxed. Did she review well? So she doesn't need to study anymore?
Xu Yanan was extremely worried. She was afraid that Jian Li really studied better than her, but she was also afraid that Jian Li was just pretending not to study at school, and was actually studying hard after returning home.
Xu Yanan has been having nightmares recently, and in her dreams, Jian Li did better than her in exams. After waking up, she dared not even sleep, and stayed up late every day reading books and memorizing exercises.
It’s not that Jian Li doesn’t study, but she feels that she doesn’t need to be too stressed.
The same goes for studying. She works hard on a regular basis and is more efficient than many people, so she doesn't have to worry every day when it comes time to review.
After reading the final draft of "Charming Painting", Jian Li was still satisfied with the printing and was just waiting for the sales results from the magazine.
However, this period is not very good. The students are about to go on vacation, and the second semester is stuck during the winter vacation.
During the Chinese New Year, all newsstands are closed.
Jian Li and Jiang Rou, who was far away in Beijing, were both worried.
After the final exam, Jian Li sent out the manuscript for the third issue, and then she began her happy winter vacation.
I don’t have to get up in the cold wind every morning. I can stay in bed in the warm quilt until noon, and then get up slowly to help in the store.
In winter, Wang Mengmei was even more grateful that she had bought the store. When the weather got cold, the stalls facing the outside of the vegetable market could no longer be run.
The few families who followed her example and sold lunch at noon, the dishes they cooked in the wind at noon, were cooled in the wind in just a few minutes. Soon these families stopped selling lunch and went back to their old business, those who sold salted meat sold salted meat, and those who sold steamed buns sold steamed buns.
Wang Mengmei's business is getting better and better as the weather gets colder.
Sometimes Xue Ling was too busy to handle everything by herself in the front, so Jian Li would go and help out for a while at noon or in the evening, after all, it was their own business.
After finishing her lunch, Jian Li was not in a hurry to go home. She lay by the stove in the store to do her winter vacation homework, then wandered to the kitchen for some snacks. After being busy for a while in the evening, Jian Li went home.
While my parents are not back yet, I draw some comics and then turn on the TV to watch some TV.
A few days passed like this, and it was the day to receive the admission notice from school.
Jian Li took first place.
Xia Liu ranked eighth in the class and jumped for joy.
The teacher stood on the podium and saw everyone's excitement and frustration.
After all, this final exam is directly related to whether you can have a good winter vacation.
It goes without saying that those who did well in the exam will be fine, but those who did poorly will most likely be nagged when they get home, so they can forget about having an easy year.
Teacher Fang called out the names one by one and asked them to go up and receive their certificates.
The top three are "Three Good Students", the next five are "Excellent Students", the next ten are "Good Students", and there are no more after that.
Each three-good student will receive a notebook and a pen, each excellent student will receive a notebook, and each good student will receive a pen.
When Jian Li took the notebook, Teacher Fang smiled and reminded her: "Keep it up and keep working hard next year."
Xu Yanan followed behind with a pale face. At the end of the semester this year, she couldn't even get first place, let alone second place.
Teacher Fang handed Xu Yanan a notebook and a pen, and said to this student who has always been excellent and never admits defeat: "Go back and have a good rest, summarize and work hard again."
Xu Yanan didn't want to accept the book of the three good students. She felt that the third place on the cover was a joke on her.
She actually had a premonition in her heart that she didn't get the first place, but when the second place was snatched away by someone else, she was really devastated.
She never took third place.
Jian Li returned home with the first place, and Wang Mengmei finally stood up straight this year.
"I'll give you this certificate and put it on the wall!"
Jian Li wouldn't do that. Why would she stick it on? Who knows, she might move into a new house in two years, and then she won't be able to tear the certificate off, so it would have been a waste of time.
Jian Li found a box, put the certificate and prize in it, and went out to play with Xia Liu happily.
Aunt Lijuan greeted Jian Li warmly when she saw her and asked her if she wanted to drink coconut milk.
Jian Li quickly refused: "No need, Auntie, I'm here to play with Xia Liu."
Li Lijuan: "Okay, you two can just play inside. It's cold outside. I bought some Lulu for Xia Liu. You can heat it up on the stove before drinking it."
Xia Liu took out two cans of Lulu from the box and placed them in a copper kettle to warm them.
Jian Li brought a comic book to share with Xia Liu.
Xia Liu whispered to Jian Li: "What did Xu Yanan's mother do yesterday?"
"She pushed Xu Yanan out of the house and refused to let her in, leaving her frozen all night!"
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