Chapter 47: Published in Hong Kong?

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From the basket of New Year provisions, Zheng Fei picked out two pig’s feet and wrapped them in kraft paper.

Then he went to visit Old Uncle Sun next door.

“Uncle, you introduced me to the people in Daxi Village to paint their murals. I promised I’d give these to you.”

Looking at the two enormous trotters, their hair not even fully scraped off, Old Uncle Sun knitted his brows tightly. “Take them back at once. I was only saying that casually back then.”

But Zheng Fei said earnestly, “I truly owe you a great deal for looking after me all these years. If you hadn’t taken me in, I don’t know whether I could have made it through.”

“Must you get so sentimental during the New Year?” Old Uncle Sun sighed.

Then he accepted the pig’s feet. “Fine. You’ve made something of yourself now, so eating two of your trotters won’t hurt. Oh, that’s right—your Auntie Wang made quite a lot of eight-treasure rice and glutinous rice dumplings. Hurry and take some home.”

“That I can accept.”

Eight-treasure rice and glutinous rice dumplings were practically indispensable during the Spring Festival. The table could be missing anything else, but these two dishes absolutely had to be there. Otherwise, the New Year would feel as though it lacked a proper sense of ceremony.

As Zheng Fei prepared to leave with the dishes, Old Uncle Sun said solemnly, “Now that your younger sister has come to Shanghai, you’re no longer alone. You must make a good life for yourselves.”

“I will.” Zheng Fei nodded.

Seeing his foolish expression, Old Uncle Sun suddenly added, “By the way, it’s New Year’s, and you’re another year older. Shall I introduce you to someone?”

“I’d better go home. I still have things to do.”

When Zheng Fei turned and ran, Old Uncle Sun snorted. “You never let me finish! You’ll regret it one day. That girl is not only beautiful, she’s highly educated too... Don’t come crying to me afterward!”

Zheng Fei merely smiled.

If he truly wanted a partner, he would never have rejected such a wonderful girl as Haitang. Regret it? How could he possibly regret it?

Marriage was what he would regret.

...

From the original owner’s memories, Zheng Fei learned that the Spring Festival had always been the time of year when he felt most miserable.

After his grandfather passed away, Zheng Fei had been left entirely alone, and what he feared most was the festive, jubilant atmosphere of the New Year.

To say he felt no hatred would have been a lie. He hated the father who lived far away on a frontier ranch, the birth mother who had abandoned him, and all those heartless relatives.

But hatred changed nothing.

Life still had to go on. Fortunately, he had met these kind neighbors: Old Uncle Sun, Auntie Huang and her family, Uncle Ma at the entrance of the alley, and Taotao and Qiusheng, who had grown up alongside him.

It was because of them that Zheng Fei had not lost faith in the world.

Back in the house, he saw his younger sister still cleaning the room.

“That’s enough. It doesn’t need to be spotless,” he said.

But Zheng Shuyao grew serious. “Papa said that only a clean house feels like a real home. This is the home of you and me, Big Brother. Since it’s New Year’s, of course we have to clean it properly.”

Home?

The word stirred something in Zheng Fei. It was a simple word, yet to the original owner, it had once been unbearably heavy.

Zheng Fei gently pinched her nose. “What would you like to eat for the New Year?”

“I’m easy to feed. I’ll eat anything.”

Zheng Fei thought for a moment. “In that case, since you have plenty of meat where you come from, I’ll show you my cooking skills during the New Year.”

Zheng Shuyao nodded again and again like an adoring little fan. She had no idea that Zheng Fei’s skill at drawing was matched only by his utter incompetence in the kitchen.

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After that New Year’s Eve dinner, the kitchen became an area Zheng Fei was forbidden to enter.

...

Just then, a fat man rode an old twenty-eight-inch bicycle into Lane Thirty-One of Tanzwan. But the moment he turned into the narrow path, he nearly fell on the slick stone road.

After that scare, he no longer dared to ride.

He could only push the bicycle along.

A boxed cream cake hung from the handlebars.

In those days, for Shanghainese people, this was the most prestigious New Year’s gift of all.

Once this was brought out, even Moutai would have to step aside. The cake in Mo Changshan’s hands was from Kaisling, and during the New Year season, even money and ration coupons could not guarantee you one.

He had called in countless favors and gone through the back door before finally managing to obtain it.

At the entrance to the alley, several children from the surrounding streets were playing. When they saw the cream cake hanging from the bicycle’s handlebars, their eyes widened, and some even swallowed audibly.

A boy named Zhang Youli asked curiously, “Who’s that fat man taking the cake to?”

Wang Haoran stared at the box without blinking. “I know who he’s looking for. He came here once before too. He’s probably going to see Zheng Fei.”

Zhang Youli frowned. “Has he got rocks in his head? That fat man is taking a cake to Zheng Fei, an unemployed young man?”

Hearing him speak of Zheng Fei that way, Wang Haoran said sternly, “My father said we’re not allowed to call Zheng Fei unemployed anymore. From now on, whenever we see him, we have to call him Teacher Zheng.”

“Why do we have to call him teacher?”

“I only heard this myself, but that comic that’s been so popular lately, Storm Clouds, was drawn by Zheng Fei.”

“Really? Haoran, you’re not fooling us, are you? Storm Clouds was really drawn by Zheng Fei?”

Wang Haoran spoke with certainty. “I pass his house every day on my way to school. How could I not know? Besides, don’t you ever look at the author when you read comics? Zheng Fei’s name is written in huge letters on the back cover.”

“Damn, it really is him! Then when I get to class, won’t I be able to tell everyone that I know the author of Storm Clouds?”

Wang Haoran’s brows suddenly drew together. Then he covered his mouth.

“I was lying. You actually believed me?”

“Hmph. You let it slip.”

...

When Editor-in-Chief Mo arrived at Zheng Fei’s home and had just parked his bicycle, Old Uncle Sun called out, “Editor Mo, here to see Zheng Fei again?”

Mo Changshan immediately handed him a pack of Red Peony cigarettes. “Uncle, happy New Year!”

Old Uncle Sun accepted the cigarettes and shouted at once, “Xiaofei, Editor Mo from your publishing house is here to see you!”

“Coming! I’ll be there in a moment.”

When Zheng Fei saw Mo Changshan, the latter handed him the cream cake and said with a smile, “Teacher Zheng, congratulations on your comic’s outstanding sales. The publishing house bought this especially for you. Consider it a celebration cake.”

Zheng Fei stared at the cream cake in his hands and was momentarily stunned. It felt almost surreal. In an era when oil and rice were both in short supply, how had something like this even appeared?

“Thanks, Editor Mo. Would you like to come in and sit for a while?”

“Certainly. There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you.”

Seeing Zheng Fei accept such a large cream cake so calmly, Auntie Zhang, standing nearby, was speechless.

What was wrong with this child? Couldn’t he show a little more enthusiasm? He was making himself look terribly impolite. Still, with such a big cake, perhaps he would share some of it with them.

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After entering the room, Mo Changshan glanced at the drafts spread across the desk and immediately guessed that Zheng Fei had already begun drawing his next book.

“By the way, I have good news. The publishing house has decided to print a second edition. Since the response after publication was so positive, we’ve decided to go straight to fifty thousand copies.”

“Wow, that many?”

Zheng Fei appeared genuinely astonished, but inwardly he remained as steady as an old dog—unruffled and utterly unmoved. If anything, he was slightly dissatisfied.

The people in charge were still too conservative. In this era, printing one or two hundred thousand copies should hardly have been a problem.

Mo Changshan continued, “There’s something else. The leadership asked me to find out whether you’d be interested in publishing in Hong Kong.”

“Several of our editors think your comics resemble the kind of comics popular in Hong Kong. They suggest we try entering that market.”

At those words, Zheng Fei immediately brightened. His long-awaited shield against trouble had finally arrived.

If Storm Clouds were published in Hong Kong, the money it earned would count as foreign exchange. And what did the country lack most in those days?

Foreign exchange!

It had nothing to do with anyone’s political loyalties. With foreign exchange, the country could purchase advanced equipment.

So regardless of one’s position, no one would willingly turn away foreign currency. As long as Storm Clouds could be published in Hong Kong, the publishing house would cling tightly to this foreign-exchange-generating asset of theirs. Even if someone tried to make trouble for him, the publishing house would step in to protect him.

Having understood the implications, Zheng Fei smiled and said something that left Editor Mo deeply at a loss for words.

“That would be fine. Publishing in Hong Kong would be excellent. But, Editor Mo, may I ask who the foreign exchange earnings would belong to?”

Faced with Zheng Fei’s pointed question, Mo Changshan genuinely had no idea how to answer for a moment.

“Ahem. I’ll do my best to discuss it with the leadership. You’ll certainly receive some benefit from it.”

With that, Mo Changshan took out an authorization agreement.

“Teacher Zheng, we need to sign this first before we can discuss anything further.”

Zheng Fei carefully examined the agreement. Fortunately, Editor Mo was quite meticulous. The document granted rights only for publishing Storm Clouds in Hong Kong.

It was nothing like the capitalist platforms of his previous life, which loved to play word games. Once you signed, they took every overseas right in existence—traditional characters, English, Thai, everything.

“All right. I don’t see a problem with it.”

After reading the agreement, Zheng Fei pressed his red fingerprint onto it.

To be honest, Mo Changshan was deeply frustrated. In the past, matters concerning publication rights had always been decided by the publishing house.

Who could have imagined that this young man named Zheng Fei would seize nearly all the rights for himself?

Because of this, Mo Changshan had been harshly reprimanded by his superiors. They accused him of setting a terrible precedent and placing the publishing house in an extremely passive position.

They had even warned him that if everyone followed Zheng Fei’s example in the future, the publishing house would be left in a humiliatingly weak position.

As Mo Changshan was leaving, Zheng Fei asked with a smile, “Editor Mo, the studio at the publishing house is quite far from here. About that bicycle voucher this year...”

Mo Changshan regretted making the trip. But Zheng Fei was now the publishing house’s favored star, so all he could do was smile and say, “Once spring arrives, I’ll report the situation to the leadership immediately and do my best to secure one for you.”

“I’ll have to trouble you, Editor Mo.”

Mo Changshan beamed. “No trouble at all. None whatsoever.”

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