Chapter 41: Zheng Fei, do you think going abroad is a good idea?

With Editor Mo’s intervention, the money in Zheng Fei’s hands finally became "active."

He had earned over a thousand yuan from painting murals. Aside from giving Mother Huang some money for food, he had hardly touched the rest. After all, he still carried the label of an "unemployed youth." In this era, if you were branded with that tag and suddenly had a large sum of money, you would immediately be targeted. There were so many "Chaoyang masses" back then, and everyone was keen on reporting others. This meant that even though Zheng Fei was a "thousand-yuan household," he didn't dare spend his money freely.

Tao Tao and Qiu Sheng had complained to him just a few days ago about being reported multiple times, with their sunflower seeds confiscated twice. The day before yesterday, they had even been lectured for two full hours by a neighborhood cadre. Yet, they hadn't given up, as both had realized that selling sunflower seeds was genuinely profitable.

But now, things were different for Zheng Fei.

He had become a "comic book artist" in the eyes of others, so it was perfectly natural for him to have some manuscript fees in his possession. In this era, comic book artists were recognized as highly paid professionals. Secure jobs like grain station inspectors, bus drivers, or broadcasters all had to take a backseat compared to a comic book artist.

In fact, ever since news broke that Zheng Fei was going to publish a picture book, many families had begun lecturing their daughters.

"Xiu'er, you and Zheng Fei were junior high classmates. You should visit him more often and warm up the relationship when you have time."
"No way! He told me I was ugly back in junior high."

Next door, Auntie Zhang was also nagging her daughter, Zhang Meili:
"Meili, you'll be twenty-five after the New Year. You used to look down on Zheng Fei, thinking he was an unpromising unemployed youth, but look at him now—you're not even good enough for him anymore."

Zhang Meili, who had been awarded the "March 8th Red Banner," snorted. "A comic book artist? How could that be better than a factory worker? My future partner will definitely be from the working class."

Now that he had a new identity, Zheng Fei no longer had to worry about being investigated for his sources of income and could spend money boldly.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Zheng Fei took his younger sister toward the Yuyuan Garden area to purchase their new clothes and shoes for the New Year in advance. For a comic book artist, most of his time was spent indoors, so there was no need to buy high-end clothes; comfort was the priority. He added a padded jacket and a Zhongshan suit to his wardrobe. They weren't particularly stylish, but whether clothes look good or not has never been about the clothes themselves, but the person wearing them. Even a bulky padded jacket looked stylish on Zheng Fei.

Zheng Fei picked out expensive clothes for his little sister, believing that a girl should dress prettily. Since she was well-developed for her age and didn't look like a typical thirteen-year-old girl, Zheng Fei thoughtfully bought her some necessary feminine items so she wouldn't feel embarrassed at school and would be comfortable.

After buying clothes near Yuyuan, Zheng Fei took her to the Xinhua Bookstore to buy a full set of seventh-grade textbooks. With the help of Director Wang, his sister had already received her enrollment permit; he needed her to focus on her studies so she could catch up with her peers.

Meanwhile, a young woman at No. 14 The Bund was in no mood to work. She spent the entire time pacing the office or slumped over her desk like a salted fish. Her supervisor in the same office was so annoyed that he wished she would just take some time off. When the noon bell rang, Haitang rushed out immediately and, as usual, went to a nearby primary school to wait for her best friend, Li Wenwen.

Upon meeting, Haitang began to pout, "Wenwen, I'm so bored lately. Can you come window shopping with me during lunch?"
Li Wenwen, who had wanted to take a nap, was speechless. "Today it's your turn to go to the bookstore with me. I need to buy some books."
"You only ever think about reading."
"I like it. Are you coming or not?"
"Of course I am."

Just as they finished buying their books and were about to pay, they unexpectedly bumped into Zheng Fei. Seeing the stunned expression on Haitang’s face, Zheng Fei realized he was finally experiencing a "shura field" scenario.

"What a coincidence, you're here to buy books too," Zheng Fei greeted them first.

Haitang, frozen like a statue, had her attention entirely captured by the girl next to Zheng Fei, her mind gone blank. Li Wenwen, however, replied naturally, "It really is a coincidence. Who is this? Care to introduce us?"
"Her? She’s my younger sister."

Li Wenwen frowned slightly. Before she could speak, Zheng Fei continued, "Doesn't she look nothing like me? She isn't from around here; she's my father’s daughter with a local woman from the borderlands."

Li Wenwen frowned again, feeling that the family situation of this "unemployed youth" named Zheng Fei was rather complicated.

Zheng Shuyao, seeing the two women, opened her eyes wide. First, she marveled at how beautiful their clothes were, and then she realized both women were stunning. Zheng Shuyao quickly greeted them, "Hello, sisters. My name is Zheng Shuyao. I just arrived in Shanghai these past two days."

Hearing this, Haitang finally came back to life. But her earlier reaction had been too obvious, as if she were telling everyone how much she cared about Zheng Fei. Thinking of this, she felt her face burning. To save the situation, she pulled Li Wenwen toward the exit, but found she couldn't budge her. Li Wenwen took the initiative and said, "You treated us to pork chops last time. Are you free tonight? Would you like to have dinner together?"

"Tonight?" Zheng Fei pondered for a moment before replying, "I'm afraid I don't have time tonight; I have to go somewhere this afternoon."
Li Wenwen was puzzled. "You're not an unemployed youth anymore, so why are you still so busy right before the New Year?"

Zheng Shuyao, watching from the side, had already noticed that the sister behind them with the blushing face had "major issues." She was quite pretty—not worse than herself—though a bit thin. Overall, Zheng Shuyao was satisfied; at least in terms of looks, she was worthy of her brother. What annoyed her, however, was that they still thought her brother was an unemployed youth—she couldn't stand for that.

"My brother hasn't been an unemployed youth for a long time. His comic book is about to be published, and the editor-in-chief even came to our house to urge him for the manuscript, so he's been very busy lately."

Li Wenwen and Haitang were astonished, almost unable to believe it. The first time they met, he was sketching. Last time they ate, he said he was doing murals. Now he was a comic book artist.

Li Wenwen asked with skepticism, "You can draw comic books too?"
Zheng Fei scratched his head. "I forgot to introduce myself properly. I am indeed an unemployed youth, but my actual profession is that of a comic book artist."

Li Wenwen suddenly realized that if that were the case, it made sense that Zheng Fei possessed so many drawing techniques. After all, there was a comic book artist named Wang in their neighborhood who was proficient in sketching, traditional Chinese painting, and propaganda posters, always calling himself a "jack-of-all-trades."

Zheng Fei continued, "I am indeed busy before the New Year, but after the New Year, I'll have more free time. I'll treat you to a meal then."
"That would be great."

Seeing that they had scheduled it for after the New Year, Haitang grew anxious. Li Wenwen could wait, but she couldn't. This past month, she had feared going home more than anything. As soon as she walked through the door, her mother would nag her incessantly. Before bed, upon waking up, and even during dinner, she would be asked if she had decided yet—pressuring her to go abroad immediately.

Haitang whispered in Li Wenwen's ear, "I might have already gone abroad by the time the New Year is over."

Upon hearing this, Li Wenwen remembered the situation. The group walked out of the Xinhua Bookstore. Li Wenwen, being a teacher, deliberately drew Zheng Shuyao into a conversation about her studies to let Haitang and Zheng Fei walk together.

Haitang, who hadn't said much before, suddenly gathered her courage and asked Zheng Fei cautiously, "My family has been pressuring me to study abroad lately. You seem to know a bit about everything, so I wanted to ask—is studying abroad actually good?"

Seeing Haitang ask this, Zheng Fei thought for a moment and said, "Do you even need to think about it? Being able to study abroad is naturally the best, but the cost of living overseas is very high. If your family isn't wealthy enough, you better be prepared to cry while washing dishes on the side."

Haitang suddenly smiled. "Is it really that scary?"
"I'm not lying to you. You'll find out once you go, won't you?"

After receiving this reply, even though Haitang's face was full of smiles, for some reason, her heart ached terribly.

After bidding them farewell, Zheng Shuyao grinned. "Brother, why do I get the feeling that the short-haired sister likes you?"

Zheng Fei, no longer a naive boy, naturally saw that Haitang had a crush on him. But his new life was currently at the starting stage, and having experienced enough in his past life, he wasn't particularly desperate. Besides, dating was troublesome. You had to please your girlfriend, accompany her to movies, take care of her little moods, manufacture small surprises for birthdays and Valentine's Day, and build a good relationship with her family. All these trifles would severely affect his drawing efficiency.

Although Zheng Fei felt fond of the girl named Haitang, he really didn't plan on dating right now. He pinched Zheng Shuyao's nose. "There are too many people who like me; I don't know how to choose."
"Don't pinch my nose! It's already straight enough; it just gets straighter!"

Watching Haitang's retreating figure, Zheng Fei sighed. She was a very, very good girl.

On the way back, Haitang really wanted to hit her head against a block of tofu and just end it. She told Li Wenwen everything that had just happened. Li Wenwen shook her head and scolded, "Are you a pig? Why would you ask him a question like that?"
"I thought... he might be reluctant to see me go."
Li Wenwen said speechlessly, "If I were going abroad, how would you answer that?"
Haitang’s eyes were already filled with tears. "If you were going abroad, I would definitely be reluctant to let you go. There's no way I'd let you go alone; if we go, we go together."

Li Wenwen sighed and murmured to herself, "It looks like this New Year is going to be a difficult one."