Chapter 57: Zhu Lin's Rendezvous

Wei Ming had no objections. As long as it wasn't more expensive than a new one, he wouldn't be at a loss. Going to the trust store would just mean letting them take a cut.

"And one more thing," Feng-ge added, "Your uncle and aunt both have to work overtime tonight, so they asked me to pass on a message: go pick up Xile and the others if you get off work early."

"Sure, I miss them too."

Afterward, Feng-ge was about to leave with the two goods behind him. Wei Ming asked what they were going to do.

Seeing Biaozi said happily: "We're patrolling from now on too!"

It turned out Seeing Biaozi felt that waiting for a rabbit by a tree wasn't as good as taking the initiative. He felt that the opportunities for heroic acts while standing guard definitely weren't as many as while patrolling, so he once again submitted a transfer application, dragging Mei Mei Wenhua along, who didn't want to stand guard either.

The two begged repeatedly, and even agreed to work more night shifts, so Feng-ge finally agreed. He was taking them to handle the paperwork now.

After parting ways with them, Wei Ming came to the library and saw Liu Liu Rulong sitting on the steps waiting for him.

"A-Ming, you're actually adapting *The Tale of Flatting Demons*? That's too ambitious, and the character Egg-born is quite interesting!"

Wei Ming: "Don't be in a hurry to praise. Do you have the confidence to draw it?"

"I'll draw the character design first. I'll do the illustrations after seeing your main text."

"Sure." Wei Ming brought him back to the dormitory, and the two lay on the table and began to explore the character design draft.

Wei Ming intended to cultivate A-Long, so he didn't intervene too much at the beginning, letting A-Long freely create the first draft.

Liu Liu Rulong was a bit nervous. He had basically been copying his grandfather's serial picture books or copying animations before; this was his first time creating an original.

There was a place in the Hengzhou area called Wuqiang, right next to Ping'an County, famous for producing New Year pictures. The Birth of Nezha designed by A-Long clearly hadn't shaken off the influence of New Year pictures, and he looked a bit like a Ginseng Baby—chubby, wearing a bellyband.

He realized his originality wasn't strong enough himself and was too embarrassed to let Wei Ming see it, preparing to crumple it into a ball and throw it aside.

Wei Ming laughed: "Don't be discouraged. Many times, originality starts from imitation. As long as you can walk your own path later, the traces on the road to maturity are all meaningful."

Afterward, Wei Ming offered some revision suggestions, and A-Long drew a second draft.

"Hmm, still lacking some innocence and liveliness." Wei Ming wasn't pursuing an exact replica of the animation version; it was just a magazine illustration after all.

"Why don't we discuss Yuan Gong and the three foxes first?" Wei Ming said.

"Since Yuan Gong comes from the White Ape, it's best if he's in a white robe, thin, with long arms. As for the three foxes, I suggest using elements of Peking Opera facial makeup during creation."

A-Long's mouth hung open in surprise. Peking Opera facial makeup—he didn't understand that!

So Wei Ming gave him a sample: "For example, Hu Hu Meier..."

He took the pen and notebook and drew Hu Hu Meier's human form based on his memory.

"It's about like this. It has the flavor of a Peking Opera young female role facial makeup. The eyes should be charming and seductive. The old fox should be an old female role, and the lame fox should be a clown role."

Looking at the Hu Hu Meier taking shape, A-Long was dumbfounded, his confidence completely shattered.

"A-Ming, how, how can you draw better than me!" A-Long felt this wasn't scientific.

Wei Ming laughed: "I also learned a few tricks from our grandfather, and I'm the one who writes the story. The characters are all in my head, so I can definitely draw them more vividly."

Liu Liu Rulong had a flash of inspiration: "Then why don't you draw the character design, and I'll draw the scene design? This could also improve efficiency."

That was naturally a good idea. In animation, character and scene design were usually handled by different people. However, Wei Ming had high hopes for A-Long.

He said: "How about this: I'll draw the supporting characters, and you keep Birth of Nezha. If you just imitate, when will you become the Wan brothers?"

The idols of animation people in this era were the four Wan brothers, especially the elder Wan Wan Laiming, the director of *Havoc in Heaven* and the pioneer of Chinese animation.

Looking at A-Long's watch, Wei Ming said: "Time is about up. You come with me to pick up the kids first."

"Ah, pick up the kids?"

At the kindergarten gate, Wei Ming picked up Xizi and Lele, who were holding hands. Most of the time, they were still affectionate siblings.

Seeing Wei Ming, Lele hurriedly said: "Ming-gege, I learned another tune!"

Then she fished out the harmonica Wei Ming had bought for her from her schoolbag, while Xizi and Liu Liu Rulong stared at each other.

"Let me introduce you. This is my brother's classmate. You can call him Long-ge. He's a painter."

"A painter? Then can you draw Nezha?" Xizi asked.

"I can draw Nezha too, but I'm better at drawing Sun Sun Wukong." Saying this, A-Long took out his notebook and showed Xizi a short manual animation, completely shocking the four-year-old brat.

Then Xizi started pestering Liu Liu Rulong, calling him "Long-gege" and begging him to draw a Nezha for him.

"I can draw it for you, but Xizi, can you do me a favor?" "What favor?"

Liu Liu Rulong's eyes shone: "Be my character prototype!"

Xizi was definitely a good-looking little boy; after all, he looked seven-tenths like Lele.

To make Xizi agree, A-Long even fished a piece of chocolate out of his pocket.

Seeing this black, evil-looking thing, Xizi immediately took several steps back: "Don't scare me, okay? I'll agree

Seeing that this thing was pitch black and looked very evil at first glance, Xizi immediately took several steps back: "Don't scare me, okay? I promise you, will that work?"

A-Long: "..."

Wei Ming didn't expect A-Long to have such good things; this must have been bought at a Friendship Store or an Overseas Chinese Store, as ordinary people have no access to such channels.

"A-Long, Xizi has already agreed, don't scare him anymore." Wei Ming stepped forward, took the chocolate, and then pulled Lele aside.

"Lele, here!" Wei Ming broke off half for her, and the two of them ate it secretly.

After one bite, Lele's eyes were shining. She had eaten ordinary candies before and didn't find them rare, but this special sweetness was a first-time experience.

!

At this time, A-Long began his painting work by the river in Yuxiuyuan. After he finished the third draft of The Birth of Nezha, Xizi suddenly felt that Nezha was no longer appealing.

"Is he Nezha? He looks just like me! Can you give me this one? Brother Long~"

This kid really knows how to act spoiled. A-Long first let Wei Ming review it: "How is this one?"

Wei Ming nodded with satisfaction. Although it was different from the animated version, the feeling was right—very cute and likable.

"Congratulations, A-Long, you passed!"

So A-Long readily gave it to Xizi as a souvenir. The image of Nezha was already engraved in his mind. By now, it was getting late, and he said: "Then I'll head back to school first. I'll draw according to this template."

"Alright, you can draw an illustration of Nezha breaking out of the egg when you get back," Wei Ming added, "By the way, I'm going back to my hometown the day after tomorrow. Do you want to write a letter to Teacher Yang and Grandpa?"

A-Long waved his hand: "No need, I always just call."

Wei Ming: This guy is still rich!

He could actually afford to make calls now, but the key was that the village phone could only be used within the commune; it belonged to a "local area network."

After another half hour, Uncle Ping'an returned, and Wei Ming finally completed his mission.

"Xiao Ming, sorry to trouble you. Come on, go upstairs and eat; I'll cook."

"No need, Uncle, I have to work the night shift in a while."

"Oh, alright then. By the way, that pilot's family is coming to school tomorrow afternoon to thank you, don't forget."

"Tomorrow afternoon, right? Got it."

As soon as Wei Ming left, Xizi hurriedly reported an important piece of intelligence to Wei Ping'an: "Dad, Lele ate poop!"

"I did not!"

"If you don't believe me, look at her teeth, they're still black!"

Lele was furious, baring her teeth and saying: "This is chocolate!"

Xizi was bewildered: "Chocolate? What is chocolate?"

Wei Ping'an laughed out loud: "Xizi, chocolate is a foreign candy. It's usually black and doesn't look very good, but it's delicious. Even Dad has only eaten it once."

"What!" At this moment, Xizi's world collapsed; even Nüwa couldn't fix it.

Back at the dormitory, Brother Feng told Wei Ming: "I've set it up for you. Meet at the Wang Fujing Department Store tomorrow at nine. After the transaction, you buy the watch and she buys the tape recorder; both can be done right at the department store."

"Then how do we meet up?"

Qiao Feng: "She'll be holding a radio, and she's very pretty. When you look around in the crowd, the prettiest one is her. Besides, she knows your name, just remember her name."

"Oh, and how should I address this lady?"

"Zhu Lin."

(End of chapter)