Chapter 266 Picture Book Release

Before going to bed, Hou's mother gave each of the children two yuan of pocket money, but they were unexpectedly spoiled.

Hou Wei, such a young child, actually got some too!

Panpan and Tiantian got some as well as Hou Wei, but Lu Ping and Lu An also got some!

Lu Ping refused to take it and wanted to return it to Hou's mother, but was stopped by her.

"You eat, go to school and sleep together every day, just like brothers. Of course I have to give it to Hou Bo as well. Good children, don't be shy and keep it to buy snacks."

The children thanked Hou's mother and put the pocket money in their pockets.

Sister Lin went back to her room and saw the envelope and note on the cabinet, and then saw how much money was inside. She was really shocked.

She had thought that her parents-in-law would give her some subsidies, but she didn't expect it to be so much.

If she didn't work to earn money, the family would be a little tight just relying on Hou Jianwen's salary, but with her salary, it would be OK. If her parents-in-law gave her another ten or twenty yuan, they would be very comfortable

. She wanted to return it, but she was afraid that her father-in-law gave it to her without her mother-in-law's knowledge. If she pushed it back and forth and got into trouble, she would wait until tomorrow.

The next day, Sister Lin got up early to cook. Seeing her mother-in-law go out, she took the envelope and wanted to return it to her father-in-law.

Hou Deming: "This is for you. Just take it to supplement your household expenses. Buy whatever you need. Don't let yourself and the children suffer."

Seeing that he was so determined, Sister Lin said: "Dad, have you told Mom about it? It's better not to hide it from my mom."

Hou Deming said: "I will tell her. She knows that it's eighty yuan every month."

Sister Lin was relieved and accepted it with peace of mind.

The family has savings and confidence, and besides, they really need to buy a bicycle for going out.

After lunch, Sister Lin took the children home and told Lin Shu about the 500 yuan.

Lin Shu was happy for her, "Uncle Hou and Auntie are reasonable. They know that it is not easy for you to raise children and support the family. You should keep it. Spend it when you should, and buy things for the elderly."

Sister Lin completely stopped worrying. Thinking that her parents-in-law still give her an extra 80 yuan a month, she became more confident. When she was drawing the draft, she didn't rush, but strived for perfection.

Seeing that her elder sister wanted to buy a bicycle, Lin Shu thought that she should buy one too.

In this way, they have two bicycles to go out, which is convenient, and Lu Ping and others can also ride bicycles.

The family had plenty of money, so they could ask for help

in getting a bicycle ticket. Living in the Revolutionary Committee's family compound, anyone had connections, no matter if it was Old Lady Guan, Zheng Jie, Madam Zhan, or Yang Shumin, it wasn't difficult to get help getting a bicycle ticket.

After getting the ticket, they would take the money to a department store, and as long as they had stock, they could ride back the same day with a bicycle tied with a red ribbon.

Considering that they had to bring people and even heavy objects, they all bought Phoenix brand 28-inch bicycles instead of 26-inch women's bicycles.

The children were very excited when they bought the bicycles. Lu Ping, Lu An, Hou Bo, Yingying, and a few others could ride a bicycle, but Pan Pan, Tian Tian, ​​and Hou Wei could not.

So the kids got up early and went to school late to learn how to ride a bicycle.

Panpan was very careful about things and was afraid that it would look bad if it was broken , so he didn't use his new bicycle to learn, but used Lili's half-new one.

Lili's two brothers rode their bicycles very fast and liked to show off. They would do some fancy riding, so they would fall.

At first, Yan Zhendong and Chen Huilan felt sorry for the bicycles, but later they got used to it, so their bicycles depreciated much faster than others.

The brothers first helped to support them, and then they tied sticks to them and let them learn by themselves.

Panpan learned the fastest among the kids. He pedaled a few times, and when he felt that he could control the balance of the bicycle, he stretched out his right leg and rode by holding the bottom of the beam.

Guan Ze was inspired by Pan Pan and always wanted to compete with him. Although he was a little slower, he learned it in half a day.

Lili learned it for a whole day. At the end, she was crying and riding very fast, which scared the children and made them shout to slow down or they would fall!

Hou Wei and Li Li were a little slower. They learned it in two days, at noon and in the evening.

Tiantian...didn't learn it because she was afraid. She always felt that if the bicycle tilted, it would fall, and if it fell, she would lose control and fall with it.

After dinner, she also dragged Pan Pan to learn overtime, vowing that she must learn it and not let others laugh at her for not being able to ride a bicycle. After

learning for three or four days in a row, she still didn't learn it. Tiantian's face turned black, she was depressed, and tears fell down.

"Am I a fool?" She began to doubt herself.

Panpan: "Nonsense, riding a bicycle doesn't require your brain, and it has nothing to do with being stupid or not. You won't be afraid when you grow taller and stronger."

If your legs are long enough, like your father and godfather, you don't need to step on the pedals to lift your legs to get on the bike. You can just sit on the seat, hold the handlebars and step on the pedals, and you can ride out in an instant.

He thought Tiantian was not tall enough and not strong enough, and she couldn't hold the 28-inch bicycle steadily, so naturally she didn't dare to ride.

You know, it still hurts a lot if you fall.

He chattered to Tiantian to comfort her, and Tiantian finally burst into laughter, "Yes, I won't learn anymore. I will learn it when I grow taller. Anyway, it's not my turn to ride a bike now, my brother always takes me out."

After knowing this, Lin Shu and Lu Shaotang did not encourage the girl to learn to ride a bike. It doesn't matter if she falls. She is not as resistant to falls as a rough boy. Besides, it is easier to learn when she is older.

Doctor Shao was more able to comfort Tiantian, "I can't ride a

bike either, but it's fine." Tiantian thought, that's right, Grandpa Shao can't make so much money in a month by riding a bike.

It's not necessary to know how to ride a bike!

A few days later, cold air arrived, and a heavy snow fell. The children were outside playing snowball fights and making snowmen, while Lin Shu was at home writing articles by the heater.

She was not fooling people when she promised to help the old leaders write their autobiographies. She was really doing it.

A few days ago, she went to the family compound of the provincial military region every day and took turns to interview several retired old leaders who had drunk with Uncle Lu.

During the interview, she took notes of the stories and the old leaders' thoughts, and sorted them out when she came back.

Documentary literature is different from fictional literature. Documentary literature does not require too much imagination. It is necessary to integrate the interviewed materials and write them in readable words. At the same time, it would be better if it can take into account the artistry.

For Lin Shu, writing this is a no-brainer and relatively simple task. The trouble is that the interviewees’ memories are not coherent, and their recollections are not all focused. They are more focused on some interesting things and regrets from their childhood, and most of the things after growing up are vague or not particularly deep.

Especially some important events they have experienced, they are easy to mention in a few sentences, which requires Lin Shu to inspire and guide them to recall more and narrate more.

Their entanglements, embarrassments, final choices, regrets, and reparations at some important moments, and the emotions and thoughts entangled in them are the most important part of the memoir.

This kind of emotion needs to be captured, continued, and reasonably sublimated by the author.

"Mom, Aunt Wei is here!"

Several children and Panpan shouted downstairs.

Afraid that it was too cold and Lin Shu couldn't hear them with the window closed, they shouted in unison, echoing the clouds.

Lin Shu opened the window and looked out, and saw Wei Ling, wearing an olive green military uniform, a warm cotton military hat, and a big red scarf, riding a bicycle towards them.

Because it was still snowing, no one went to sweep the snow, and the yard outside was a little slippery from the children playing.

Wei Ling slipped as she rode by, and the bicycle tilted to one side, "Hey, hey——"

She was wearing cotton pants and her movements were not so flexible, so she screamed in fear.

The children rushed over and supported her in an instant, laughing: "Auntie Wei, don't be afraid!"

Wei Ling quickly got off the car, "I'm so sorry for you."

She took candies from her pocket and stuffed them into Panpan and Tiantian, asking them to share them with the children.

She stopped her bike, slung her schoolbag over her shoulder and walked quickly to the yard. She looked up and said to Lin Shu who was waving at her: "Our picture books are all printed and on the market!"

Lin Shu was very happy to hear that, "It's cold outside, come upstairs to warm up."

Wei Ling ran upstairs and saw Lin Shu standing at the door waiting for her, so she took out a pile of picture books from her schoolbag and handed them to her, "Both books are very popular. Not only children like them, but adults also like to read them. The first edition printed a thousand copies of each, and they were sold in the provincial The Xinhua Bookstore in the city had the books in stock, but they were sold out in a few days. The printing factory urgently printed another 5,000 copies. In addition to bookstores and bookstores, students from schools also placed collective orders. "

She paused, followed Lin Shu into the house, and continued: "The director of the Xinhua Bookstore said that he wanted to take a batch to bookstores in other provinces for trial. If they are popular, he will print more."

Although there is no mention of royalties at this time, it is a one-shot deal for the author, but the publisher will double the royalties for the second volume!

So popular? Lin Shu was very happy to hear this

. She poured hot tea for Wei Ling, then took out the picture book and looked through it carefully.

One was "Life Images" for the two children, and the other was an X enlightenment education picture book she made for the children.

When you open the book, you can still smell the ink in the pages.

Paper and ink are valuable these days. Except for the special teaching materials bought by art students, which have color pictures on the pages, the rest are basically color pictures on the cover and black and white inside.

This saves money, and you can buy a book for only 12 cents.

Wei Ling brought several books for Lin Shu and the children to collect.

Lin Shu called the children home to prepare dinner.

It was snowing today and it got dark earlier. Lin Shu didn't cook yet, just wanted to call the children back early to make them happy.

Sure enough, when they got home and saw the picture book, they were stunned.

It took a full minute for them to jump and jump with joy.

Panpan: "Aunt Wei, I thought you were joking and lying to us."

Lin Shu: "When have I ever lied to you? If you say it's published, then it's definitely published."

The children gathered together to look through the books, praising them excitedly.

"Go and call Auntie to come and see!"

"I'll go get Grandpa Shao!"

"Oh, why didn't you just call them just now? Let Guan Ze and the others come up to see, hehe." They had to show off.

Hou Bo went to call Sister Lin, and Lu Ping and Lu An were responsible for welcoming Doctor Shao.

As a result, Panpan couldn't help but call Guan Ze and a few friends who were close to him.

Soon, the house was crowded with children, all wanting to see the paintings of Panpan Tiantian and Aunt Lin.

Lili: "Oh, the drawings are so good, but it's a pity that I didn't know you at that time, so I didn't draw me."

Guan Ze also pursed his lips, looked at Tiantian and Panpan, "If you draw again, can you draw us in it?"

He saw that the cover said the first volume, which means there will be a second and third volume!

Li Li, Huang Han and others also said that they wanted to draw themselves in it.

Huang Han took Tiantian's hand, "Okay Tiantian, you should draw me too."

Tiantian smiled, "Panpan draws more now, you can ask him."

Tiantian now spends more time reading medical books and thinking about her meridian figurines, while Panpan draws more.

Panpan is drawing a little doctor recently, and of course Tiantian helps draw together.

Panpan agreed with a smile, "Draw, draw all of them in!"

Especially the fight between them and Guan Ze, they can't miss it.

Sister Lin was also very happy and said that she would reward the children with a new set of brushes and special drawing paper.

Lin Shu also gave the children spiced melon seeds and sugar-coated peanuts to celebrate.

When the children left reluctantly, Lu Ping and his brother also took Dr. Shao back.

He was wearing thick cotton trousers, a large cotton jacket with a small cotton jacket inside, cotton shoes made by Aunt Li and others, and a cotton-padded hat bought by Lin Shu from a department store. It could be turned down to cover the ears and mouth, and a thick woolen neck was put on. It was really warm.

The old man was sweating a little from walking.

When he got home, he couldn't help but brag about his cotton shoes to everyone, "This hand-knitted thousand-layer sole is really good, it doesn't slip at all."

Lujiazhuang now has its own hemp thread, and the old women are more diligent in sewing the soles of shoes. Moreover, the stitches are particularly thick, and the stitches are fine, which is really non-slip.

Lin Shu asked Wei Ling to stay overnight.

Wei Ling was familiar with them and had stayed here several times, so she naturally did not refuse.

Lin Shu decided to have hot pot.

Before, there was no suitable pot for hot pot, so we cooked it in one pot and brought it over to eat.

Now Lu Shaotang brought back two old-fashioned copper pots with a chimney in the middle, where red-hot charcoal can be placed, and vegetables and meat can be dipped in the circle around it.

They made a hot soup pot and a clear soup pot.

There is no need to boil bone soup as the base of the pot, just throw in the hot pot base that Lin Shu had prepared before and boil it.

Add a handful of dried shrimps to the clear soup base to enhance the flavor, and then use sesame sauce, sweet noodle sauce, farm sauce, chopped green onions and garlic, and make your own dipping sauce, which is also very fragrant.

Now that the conditions at home are good, and Lin Shu loves to think, she usually makes bacon and various sauces whenever she has time. People who have good relationships with the family courtyard can't help but come to her to make or learn after buying meat.

Although there are not many vegetables in winter, cabbage hearts, leeks, spinach, bean sprouts, tofu, bean curd sheets, radishes, etc. can all be hot pot. There are also soaked fungus and kelp at home.

The meat is pork, mutton, and rabbit meat frozen outside the balcony. Some are sliced, and some are cut into strips and put directly into the pot.

Be careful of carbon monoxide poisoning when eating hot pot with charcoal, so they opened the window halfway for ventilation.

As soon as Lu Shaotang and Chen Yanming entered the courtyard, they keenly caught the white air rolling out of the window.

Yes, it is white air, not white smoke, not a fire.

Chen Yanming ran away, "Let's eat hot pot!"

Although Lu Shaotang didn't run, his long legs quickened his pace and he didn't lag behind Chen Yanming much.

As soon as they entered the door, Panpan immediately handed two small cups of scalded home-brewed wine to his biological father and godfather, "Our book has been printed and released, everyone is celebrating, dad and godfather are back late, let one go first."

Lin Shu: "..."

There is nothing you don't learn from this kid, right?

Why are you learning things about the wine table so early?

Chen Yanming didn't take it either, he sat down and drank it from Panpan's hand, "Ah, delicious!"

Lu Shaotang didn't refuse, he took it over and drank it all, this wine was like sweet water to him.

The two washed their hands and sat down. Lu Shaotang said to Doctor Shao, "Would you like to drink something strong, old sir?"

The wine brewed by Lin Shu was not dry red, because her own grapes were too sour, she added white sugar and rock sugar to brew it, and the wine was orange.

Most of this wine was reserved for Fang Lao Niang and Fang Dihua. Lin Shu brought a barrel here, and she and her elder sister drank a cup a day.

Doctor Shao was happy and nodded, "Then drink a little."

He didn't drink with women and girls, but Lu Shaotang and Chen Yanming had a good alcohol tolerance, so they could accompany him to drink a few glasses.

Hou Wei picked up the sweet water and clinked glasses with Panpan and Tiantian, whispering: "Let's bring the book with us next time we go to my grandpa's house. I want to show it to my grandpa and grandma."

Panpan: "How about we add your name to the second volume, so that it will be better for my grandpa and grandma to read it."

He turned to Wei Ling and asked: "Aunt Wei, is that okay?"

Wei Ling smiled and said: "Our publishing house has no objection."

Hou Wei shook his head: "No, I didn't draw, so I can't make it up."

Tiantian: "Then you can help draw? Auntie draws so well, but you and your brothers and sisters can't draw. People will definitely think you are not serious about learning."

Tiantian was not talking nonsense, after all, there are always those who like to compare children.

Hou Wei immediately said it was difficult.

Tiantian: "What's so difficult about drawing? You are not asked to draw anything particularly complicated. If you have never seen it before, you can just copy it."

She thinks drawing is simple. You can draw as long as you pick up a pen. Anyway, they don't want to become great painters. They just want to be able to draw.

She thinks it is interesting to be able to draw and sing. You can perform programs and make blackboard newspapers in school. Teachers like you more and give more rewards.

She encourages everyone to learn.

Sister Lin smiled and said, "Tiantian is right. Learn the basic skills of painting and learn to copy. You will not be unable to pick up a pen when drawing something in your daily life."

She encouraged the girl to try.

Yingying and Lu Xiuxiu learned to make hair ornaments and clothes, and also learned to draw accessories and clothing diagrams from Lin Shu. They were not good at the beginning, but after drawing more, they mastered the structural characteristics of the human body and clothes, and practice makes perfect.

Yingying nodded and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll learn it too."

Lin Shu then told them some basic principles of painting, such as far away and near, perspective, light and shadow to create a three-dimensional sense, etc.

The children listened with great interest.

After the snow, the weather was getting colder and colder. After the children had snowball fights, there was nothing new. They disliked going out because it was wet and cold outside. Except for morning exercise, they basically stayed indoors after school.

Now they like to go to Dr. Shao's house.

At first, Lin Shu picked out two large tables from the furniture she had moved back and sent them over. They could be used as desks and dining tables. If there were many people staying overnight, they could be covered with quilts and used as beds.

The children gathered around the two large mahogany desks, doing their homework, reading, drawing, or playing games, as long as they didn't shout and disturb others.

Dr. Shao bought them a lot of brushes, crayons, colored pencils, gouache paints, and drawing paper, and also brought back two wooden boards from the hospital for them to use as drawing boards.

Now Panpan and Hou Ying are mainly learning to paint. Tiantian found so many medical books, and she was interested in every one of them and read them with great interest.

Dr. Shao was surprised that she could actually read boring professional books as leisure books. Her happy little look was really pleasing to the eye.

Which teacher doesn't like such a student?

He taught Tiantian everything he knew.

When the days were full and happy, and they had good friends to accompany them, they hardly felt the time passing, but more than a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Today is the Winter Solstice.

In the morning, Lin Shu told them that they would eat dumplings today. Hou Wei and the others were very happy, but Panpan was stunned for a moment and said, "Ah, is it the Winter Solstice again? Time flies so fast!"

"Haha." Old Doctor Shao laughed and touched Panpan's head. "Children are looking forward to growing up and complain that time passes too slowly. Why do you complain that it passes too fast?"

Old Doctor Shao's feeling is that people feel that time flies after they are forty years old, and it urges them to grow older year by year with almost no response. After they are fifty years old, the feeling becomes more urgent, even making people feel breathless.

So he likes to work, as long as he works like he did when he was young, it's as if he is still young and needed, not an old man who is despised by others.

But when he thinks back to his childhood, he was looking forward to growing up, so that he can control his own destiny and go wherever he wants...

Panpan is reluctant to let time pass so quickly because he feels happy and wants to keep those happy times.

The more Dr. Shao interacts with Panpan and Tiantian, the more he feels that the hearts of these two children are particularly soft. They don't want to grow up quickly, because if they grow up, it means that grandpa and grandma will get old and great-grandma will die. They would rather time go slower so that everyone can live longer.

Eating dumplings during the winter solstice, Panpan and Tiantian miss their grandpa and grandma.

Last winter solstice, they made dumplings with grandpa and grandma. They didn't like the dough dumplings, but grandpa and grandma ate them for them and said they were delicious.

Since coming to Qizhou, it is not very convenient to go back to their hometown. If Lu Shaotang doesn't have time, they have to take the train and then the bus, which is quite troublesome. So Lin Shu took them back twice when Lu Da Ge came to deliver goods. They

stayed for one or two nights at most and came back again. The children were not satisfied and their attachment to grandpa and grandma accumulated.

Sitting in the classroom in the morning, Panpan was staring at the blackboard with his chin in his hand. He whispered to Tiantian: "What kind of filling did grandma make for the dumplings today?"

Tiantian whispered: "It must be cabbage and pork."

In winter, there is a lot of cabbage at home.

It may also be leeks and eggs.

Great-grandmother's stuffing is also good.

When they got home from school at noon, their friends noticed that they were in a low mood.

Guanze asked a few questions what happened and whether they were bullied.

Hou Wei: "I know, my brother and sister miss grandpa and grandma."

Guan Ze: "That's nothing, just go home and stay for a few days."

Li Li: "I'll go back during the winter vacation."

The children talked and entered the family yard. Hou Wei patted Panpan, "Grandpa, Grandpa!"

Panpan: "You are not Calabash Brothers, why are you calling me Grandpa! I am not your grandpa!"

Tiantian: "Is it Grandpa Hou who came to celebrate the festival with us?"

Hou Wei: "It's Grandpa Lu!!!"

Panpan and Tiantian looked over. Oh, the old man with a straight back walking on the road over there is their real grandpa, isn't he?

Panpan and Tiantian's hearts were filled with a warm current, haha, so happy.

The two of them ran forward happily, "Grandpa, Grandpa!"

Uncle Lu was here to pick them up from school. Seeing a group of children coming over, Panpan, Tiantian and Xiaoyanzi running towards him, he also ran a few steps happily, "Grandpa's darling grandchildren!"

He held them in each hand, touched their hats and faces curiously, and rubbed his hands, "Are you cold? Are you hungry?"

Panpan and Tiantian hugged him on the left and right, "Not cold or hungry, Grandpa, we miss you and grandma so much."

Uncle Lu's eyes became moist, and he smiled, "Grandpa and grandma miss you too, let's go home and see who else is here."

"Grandma is here too?" Panpan and Tiantian happily pulled Uncle Lu home immediately.

"Grandma, Grandma!"

Soon they saw a little old lady at the door, leaning on a stick and looking over here.

Oh, the great-grandma is here, grandma must be cooking dumplings upstairs!

The two kids were instantly happy and doubled! !