frightfiction Chapter 112 A Reward of Praise
Chapter 112 A Reward of Praise
With everyone watching and urging her to finish the manuscript, Shu Yun sped up her work and finally completed the second volume before September. She submitted it, and it was published. Holding the remittance slip sent by the publisher, Shu Yun happily hummed a little tune. The price of each of her paintings had increased, so the money in her savings account had increased considerably.
"Good morning." Shu Yun walked into the office and immediately met several pairs of bright eyes. She hesitated for a moment. "W-what's wrong?"
Could it be that egg crumbs from her breakfast got on her face? After sitting down, Shu Yun secretly looked in the mirror. Hmm, her face was fair, clean, and rosy, with a healthy glow. There seemed to be nothing wrong.
The older comrade sitting opposite Shu Yun chuckled and said, "Comrade Shu has become famous this time, not bad."
"Huh?" During this time, she has been living a very quiet life, going back and forth between two points, and hasn't done anything earth-shattering.
Seeing that she still didn't know what had happened, Kang Xianqin handed her the newspaper. In a column of the literary newspaper, she specifically talked about the revival of comic books, discussing their historical origins, current types, and important social value. Of course, that wasn't the key point. Kang Xianqin pointed to the bottom of the article, "Look, here are the leaders' comments on your 'The Years of Educated Youth Going to the Countryside'!" Kang Xianqin was so excited that she broke her voice at the last few words.
Xiao Zhu grabbed the newspaper and began reading aloud, “This work closely follows the pulse of the times, showcasing the true face of educated youth sent to the countryside with delicate strokes and a unique perspective, demonstrating a profound understanding of social realities…”
"It really is true." Shu Yun's face flushed; this was an unexpected surprise.
Before leaving get off work, Shu Yun grabbed a newspaper and handed it to Gu Jun when he returned, saying, "Take a look."
Gu Jun flipped through it but found nothing unusual. "What's wrong?"
Shu Yun flipped to the designated page. "Take another look."
When Gu Jun saw it, he exclaimed with delight, "It's your comic book, isn't it? It's received such high praise!"
Shu Yun nodded reservedly, "Yes."
As soon as she finished speaking, her face was lifted up, and Gu Jun kissed her heavily on the cheek. "Xiao Yun, you're amazing."
"It's alright, it's alright," Shu Yun said, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.
Gu Jun excitedly held up the newspaper and said, "I have to make a picture frame, put the newspaper in it, and hang it on the wall!"
Shu Yun: "There's really no need for that."
"Yes, I'll have it." Gu Jun was in high spirits when he finished speaking, kissed Shu Yun on the cheek, and immediately went out to find wood to make a wooden frame.
The next day, Gu Jun went out and bought a newspaper, which he took with him to the army base.
"Little Gu, do you still have the beef jerky your sister-in-law made last time?" Zhao Hui asked, familiar with the place as he entered Gu Jun's office.
Last time, Shu Yun made some beef jerky. Besides sending it to a few relatives, she left a lot for Gu Jun to take to the army so he could eat when he was hungry.
The beef is firm and chewy, with a slightly sweet taste at first bite. After a few more chews, you can feel the aroma of beef and the salty, fragrant and fresh flavor of spices in every fiber of the beef jerky. You will fall in love with this taste after just one bite.
Zhao Hui craved it once and couldn't forget it. When he was at home, he urged his wife to try making it, but she failed and ended up wasting a whole piece of beef.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting food, Li Jianqing forced him to finish it all. The beef was tough and fibrous, and Li Jianqing had cooked it until it was old and hard. After eating it, Zhao Hui suffered from toothache for several days. After calming down for a while, his craving for food returned, and he ran over to Gu Jun looking for something to eat.
Gu Jun glanced at him, took a newspaper from his office drawer, and then took a piece of beef jerky from a glass jar and gave it to Zhao Hui.
Zhao Hui took a bite, then excitedly slapped his thigh. Yes, that's the taste!
"Hey, let me tell you something." Zhao Hui looked up and saw Gu Jun seriously reading a newspaper. He raised an eyebrow. "When did you become so studious?"
Gu Jun didn't even look up: "It's always been like this."
Zhao Hui stepped forward. With his sharp eyes, he immediately spotted Shu Yun's name and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, your wife is amazing! The work praised in the newspaper was written by your wife, wasn't it?"
Gu Jun: "Of course."
Zhao Hui glanced at Gu Jun's handsome face, which was feigning modesty but was actually brimming with pride, grinned, stuffed the last bite of beef jerky into his mouth, and began to praise, "Sister-in-law, you truly deserve to be a college graduate. Your career is thriving, and you manage your life perfectly..."
Zhao Hui's praise was witty and eloquent, delivered without pause. His flattery was spot on, and Gu Jun's expression visibly softened. He stroked the name on the newspaper, listening with obvious pleasure.
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, Zhao Hui quickly took out the bottle of beef jerky from Gu Jun's half-open drawer, deftly stuffed it into his pocket, and said smugly, "My sister-in-law's cooking is truly superb. Take this bottle back and have a good taste."
After saying that, he slipped away as fast as he could.
Gu Jun watched Zhao Hui leave, snorted, and took out a full jar of beef jerky from the cabinet. He already knew that this guy was eyeing his beef jerky, so he would just give him the half-empty jar as a reward for his praise.
The second volume of the comic book had been published for some time. While Shu Yun was resting at home with Gu Jun, the two rode their bicycles to the city. She went to the local Xinhua Bookstore and saw that the first shelf upon entering was full of comic books. Shu Yun looked around and only saw her comic book in the hands of a chubby little boy. It had been taken off the shelf.
With this question in mind, she took a few newly published comic books to the service desk and asked, "Comrade, are you out of 'The Rural Years of Educated Youth'?"
"It's sold out last Friday. We haven't received any new stock yet. If you want to buy some, you'll have to come back next week."
Shu Yun: "Oh, I see." The comic books are sold out!
Gu Jun waited for her on his bicycle. When she came out, he took the sketchbook from her and put it in the bicycle basket. Shu Yun looked around and asked, "Where's A-happy?"
That's right, Ah-happy came out with them again. Originally, neither of them wanted to go into the city with the dog, as it would be inconvenient. However, they found Ah-happy following behind them halfway through their bicycle ride, so they had no choice but to take the dog with them.
However, Ah-happy is quite big now, so it definitely won't fit in the bicycle basket. It had to jog along with the bicycle all the way to the city.
Gu Jun: "I saw it ahead just now, so I rode over to take a look."
Shu Yun responded, sat in the back seat, and called out, "A-happy."
Suddenly, a woman's voice came from the alley ahead, "Help! There's a car thief! Help! Stop him!"
A bicycle is not cheap; it can even cost half of a family's assets, which is why the woman's voice was particularly shrill and piercing.
"Woof, woof, woof." Along with the woman's wailing, the barking of dogs could be heard.
Shu Yun asked, "Is it Ah happy?"