Chapter 40: A Letter from Hushi (Part 2)

As Mu Fugui was still marveling at his daughter’s brilliance, Mu Mian had already opened the envelope.

Liu Shuangcui leaned in close to her daughter. “This doesn’t look like the one you sent out.”

Mu Mian’s eyes crinkled with joy. “Hehe, it got accepted!”

It wasn’t a rejection after all! Her long wait had paid off!

Just then, Zhao Meihua, who had just returned from visiting a neighbor, walked in. Seeing the family huddled together, she asked curiously, “What are you all looking at? Why haven’t you set the table? Aren’t you hungry?”

Mu Fugui stepped aside to make room. “Looking at Mian girl’s book. The publisher sent back the children’s book she submitted—it got accepted!”

Zhao Meihua let out a surprised exclamation. “Really? What does the letter say?”

Mu Mian handed the sample book to her grandmother. “I haven’t read the letter yet. I’m checking the remittance slip first.”

Her little money-loving nature was on full display.

Mu Fugui was just as eager. “Oh, right, the remittance slip! How much did they pay this time? This one is much thicker than the two articles before—should be at least thirty…”

He trailed off mid-sentence. As his gaze landed on the remittance slip, the rest of his words got stuck in his throat.

He had meant to say “at least thirty yuan.”

But what did he just see?

Mu Fugui’s eyes widened in shock, and his voice turned shaky. “Th-this… How much is this? D-daughter, I think my eyesight is failing me. Am I seeing… three… three digits?!”

As he spoke, Liu Shuangcui and her mother-in-law had already stretched out their fingers and started counting carefully.

Liu Shuangcui muttered under her breath, “Ones, tens, hundreds—is this how you count? I remember it this way. So this is…”

Mu Mian filled in, “One hundred and ten yuan!”

Each word was firm and clear. Her parents were not mistaken—it was indeed one hundred and ten yuan!

Zhao Meihua clutched her chest. “Oh my goodness, why is it so much? Wasn’t it just a dozen or so yuan before?”

Mu Fugui exclaimed, “I thought thirty yuan would already be a lot! Who knew that scribbling and drawing could be worth this much?!”

Liu Shuangcui hesitated. “Could there have been a mistake?”

Mu Mian spread out the letter she had already opened in front of her parents. “Look! It says right here, the entire book is one hundred and ten yuan. But when it’s published, it’ll be split into two volumes. Only the first volume has been printed so far, and the second volume isn’t out yet.”

The payment had already been sent in full. As expected of a big publishing house—they handled things efficiently!

She would definitely submit more in the future!

Mu Fugui squeezed between his wife and daughter. “Let me see. Does it really say one hundred and ten yuan in the letter?”

Mu Mian grinned and nudged the letter toward her father. “Yes, Dad, look! I’m not lying!”

Liu Shuangcui also leaned in, practically pressing her eyes against the paper. “Oh my, it really says so!”

Zhao Meihua was still in disbelief. “How does writing and drawing make so much money?”

It was understandable why the three adults were so shocked. Their only understanding of manuscript fees came from Mu Mian’s previous article submissions.

They had no one else to compare it to.

They already thought the payments for her articles were generous. It had never crossed their minds that it could reach this level.

Mu Mian patiently explained, “It’s different. Last time, my article only took up one page in the magazine. But this picture book? The whole thing is drawn by me—no one else contributed—so of course, I get paid more.”

“Plus, I’ve done my research. Publishers in big cities pay more!”

A little over a hundred yuan for a whole book was normal—not particularly high, but they hadn’t deliberately underpaid her just because she was a newcomer. That was the standard price for picture books at the moment.

Even though Mu Mian made a logical argument, the three of them still felt like they were dreaming.

Just like that, over a hundred yuan landed in their hands?!

It felt unreal! Even more surreal than when they dug up that wild ginseng!

Mu Fugui rubbed his daughter’s head and, just like last time, said something similar. “Daughter, tell me—if I start learning this stuff now, do you think it’s too late? When I can’t butcher pigs anymore, I could sit at a desk every day and write and draw to earn some retirement money.”

Last time, Liu Shuangcui had thought her husband was just talking nonsense. But this time, she nodded in agreement, her eyes showing the same sentiment.

Thinking of her parents’ terrible handwriting, Mu Mian responded tactfully by handing the remittance slip to her father. “Dad, you can keep this. You can withdraw it tomorrow on your way out.”

Liu Shuangcui hesitated as she looked at the slip.

If it were just twenty or thirty yuan, she would have let her daughter keep it, just like before. But this time, it was over a hundred yuan.

What if Mu Mian accidentally lost it? Or what if some kid sneaked into her room and found it?

She didn’t even want to think about it—it hurt just imagining the possibility.

Mu Mian understood instantly. “Mom, you keep it for me.”

She still had over twenty yuan on hand and didn’t really have anything to spend it on.

If she held on to that much money, she would just end up hiding it anyway. But compared to her mom, she definitely wasn’t as skilled at stashing away money.

Adding this to what her mom was already keeping for her, she had saved up five hundred yuan!

Over five hundred yuan in just half a year—not bad at all!

If she kept saving, when the economy opened up, she’d have enough to buy a house!

The future was looking bright!

—

Since her picture book got accepted, all her hard work hadn’t gone to waste. Mu Mian had been in a great mood for several days.

While she was basking in her joy, the villagers were just as excited because…

The brigade was going to slaughter a pig!

This was a huge event, second only to grain distribution.

Every year, there was a set quota of pigs to be handed over to the state. After fulfilling that, whatever was left belonged to the brigade.

A few days ago, Qingfeng Brigade had already sent in their quota. The remaining pigs wouldn’t grow much heavier if kept any longer, and feeding them would just be a waste of fodder.

Once winter set in and fresh pig grass was no longer available, there were fewer things left to feed the pigs.

So every year, as soon as the state quota was met, they immediately slaughtered the rest.

Besides, with the cold weather and snow everywhere, the meat could be preserved naturally.

Of course, the task of butchering the pig was given to Mu Fugui—no one in the brigade could do it better than him.

—

That Sunday.

Early in the morning, snowflakes drifted down from the sky.

It wasn’t a heavy snowfall, but it kept falling, blending with the snow already covering the ground.

Mu Mian’s internal clock didn’t shift much despite the arrival of winter. As soon as daylight broke, she woke up.

She had just turned over in bed when the elderly woman beside her also stirred.

Ever since it got cold, Mu Mian had moved into her grandmother’s room to sleep. Her and her brother’s room didn’t have a heated kang bed—just wooden plank beds.

Her grandmother’s room, however, had a heated kang. When the house was renovated, the kang was built to connect with the one in Liu Shuangcui and her husband’s room. It was a linked kang system.

Although they slept in separate rooms, the partition between them was just a thick wooden board, and the kang was still one continuous structure.

Once the fire was lit, both sides stayed warm.

Outside, there were faint sounds of movement—Liu Shuangcui had already gotten up.

Mu Mian quickly pulled her hands out from under the blanket and grabbed the clothes she had warmed under the covers overnight.

Zhao Meihua tilted her head and looked at her granddaughter. “It’s still early. You don’t want to sleep a little longer?”

Mu Mian shook her head. “I’m already awake and don’t want to lie down anymore. Lele said yesterday that she wanted to go early to watch the pig slaughter.”

Zhao Meihua yawned. “You kids are really not afraid of the cold.”

As Mu Mian got dressed, she chatted idly with her grandmother. “Aren’t you going to watch, Grandma?”

Zhao Meihua shook her head. “It’s too noisy. There’s nothing interesting to see.”

Mu Mian grinned. “But that’s what makes it fun! What’s the point if it’s quiet and dull?”

Zhao Meihua sat up and waved her hand. “Too much noise gives me a headache. I’d rather go to your Grandma Li’s house for a chat.”

Mu Mian chuckled. “I don’t mind the noise. I’ll take Shiyi with me too.”

She wanted to let the puppy see the world!

Sleeping near the edge of the kang, Shiyi’s ears perked up when he heard his name. He excitedly scratched the wall and let out a few whimpering sounds.

After more than a month, the little pup had grown a bit, though not by much. He was still far from adulthood, and his whimpering still carried a puppy-like softness.

Mu Mian got off the kang and rubbed the dog a couple of times. “I’ll take you out after breakfast.”

Shiyi had already learned the word “food.” Thinking it was time to eat, he became so excited that he started circling around Mu Mian’s feet.

Trying not to step on him, Mu Mian nearly tripped and burst into laughter. “What are you doing?! Spinning around like that—aren’t you dizzy?”

Zhao Meihua also laughed. “He’s like a donkey walking in circles at the mill.”

Mu Mian lifted her foot and gently tapped Shiyi. “Did you hear that? Grandma says you should go grind some grain.”

She was quite skilled at passing on messages.

Shiyi: “Woo woo woo, woof woof, hmm hmm…”

He didn’t understand. Not a single word.

All he cared about was food!!