Chapter 86

Lu Wenchan took half a day to go from collapse to rebuilding her faith.

On the other side, Shi Tingyu received a letter from Beijing Art Publishing House, along with five volumes of the comic book “Loyal Dog”.

When she heard the broadcast to collect the package, everyone looked at the thick bundle with eyes seemingly glued to it, as if they could see the money inside through the package.

Once Shi Tingyu took the package and left, the surrounding sisters-in-law started gossiping, each offering their opinions.

“Did you see that? Xiao Lu’s wife got such a thick package.”

“How much money could that be?”

“Captain Lu is really lucky to have married such a money-making wife.”

“That package must contain a lot.”

At that moment, Jiang Yun, who had just come to pick up her package, overheard their conversation.

Originally, she didn’t want to deal with these people, but after taking a few steps, she couldn’t help but stop.

“I say, sisters-in-law, when publishing houses send royalties, they do it by bank transfer. They send a remittance slip for royalties received. Who would blatantly send money in an envelope like that?”

“With that thickness, how much money could it be? Anyone who would send money like that must be out of their mind.”

The sisters-in-law looked embarrassed.

Jiang Yun glanced at the mail carrier and asked, “Comrade, am I right?”

The mail carrier nodded vigorously, “Yes, that’s exactly how it is.”

With a professional dispelling the rumors, any talk of Shi Tingyu receiving another large royalty payment was squashed before it could spread.

Jiang Yun then left quietly, hiding her talents and fame.

Back home, Shi Tingyu opened the package.

At a glance, she saw the brightly colored cover of the comic book.

On the cover was her drawing of Sword.

Next to Sword was a flag added by the publishing house.

A typical patriotic image.

She flipped through it and found that the first batch of printed comic books looked better than she had imagined. They weren’t as rough as she had feared.

There was some slight color variation, but given today’s printing standards, it was within acceptable limits.

The pagination was also quite accurate, leaving Shi Tingyu very satisfied.

In September of 1975, she received her first comic book since crossing over, and the feeling was comparable to publishing an art collection before her crossover.

After reading the comic book, Shi Tingyu looked at the letter from the publishing house.

The letter stated that “Loyal Dog” had been released according to the contract’s schedule and was available at Xinhua Bookstores.

This time, the main distribution was in major cities.

Such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and some other provincial capitals.

Jinling also had it.

They will tally the sales figures at the publishing house. If the sales are good, they will arrange for a reprint later.

When they signed the contract, the royalties for the first printing and subsequent reprints were different.

The royalty for the first printing was 10%, and for reprints, it was 12%.

Now that the publishing industry was stagnating, her successful publication was also due to choosing a good subject matter.

After reading the letter from the publishing house, Shi Tingyu was quite emotional.

Who could have imagined that she would be able to publish a book during the tumultuous years, and with royalties at that.

Shi Tingyu thought for a moment and planned to visit Xinhua Bookstore over the weekend to check on the sales of “Loyal Dog”.

She had confidence in her comic book because of the current lack of spiritual sustenance among the Chinese people due to the Great Movement.

If not, the Beijing Publishing House would not have set the initial print run at one hundred thousand copies.

They were confident that these could be sold.

When Lu Weiguo came back, Shi Tingyu was busy painting.

The publication of the first story made her excited, so she needed something to occupy herself.

What she wanted to do was draw.

Lu Weiguo walked into the room, hands on either side of the desk, encircling Shi Tingyu between the desk and chair, and asked softly, “Why so diligent today?”

Shi Tingyu put down her brush, instinctively slipping her hand into the man’s clothes, touching his familiar abdominal muscles, and felt better, “The publishing house sent a letter and five sample books. ‘Loyal Dog’ has started selling at Xinhua Bookstore.”

Lu Weiguo’s hand held her hand, which was groping randomly, and his lips curled with a smile, “That’s great news. When I’m off duty, I’ll take you to Xinhua Bookstore to have a look?”

Shi Tingyu nodded.

She had planned to go and see for herself.

Seeing that she had no intention of continuing to draw, Lu Weiguo lifted her up, “To celebrate, I’ll be in charge today.”

Shi Tingyu kissed him once, “Or let me do it. It’s a happy day today, and good food can only add to the joy.”

Lu Weiguo couldn’t help but mutter in his heart. Was his cooking skills despised by his wife?

When they entered the main hall, Shi Tingyu disengaged herself from Lu Weiguo’s embrace.

Their house was separated by just a wall from the Second Battalion Commander’s house, and the doors of the main hall were usually left open. If someone shouted across the wall for help, it could be quite awkward.

Shi Tingyu went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, with Lu Weiguo following closely behind.

Lijian glanced at the two of them, then obediently settled back into his nest.

Tonight, Shi Tingyu prepared a dish of Sweet and Sour Mandarin Fish, Shredded Pork with Beijing Sauce, Stir-fried Three Fresh Delicacies, and Corn Rib Soup.

The little cakes in the Shredded Pork with Beijing Sauce were also made by her hands.

She added milk to the dough for the cakes, giving them a subtle milky fragrance that paired well with freshly sliced cucumbers, crisp and tender.

Lu Weiguo was someone who appreciated food and never left any leftovers, whether there was more or less.

But no matter how much he ate, his stomach never seemed to bulge.

Shi Tingyu often used this as an excuse to touch his abdomen.

Each time, it left the man feeling warm all over, leading to a passionate night.

Tonight was no exception.

When Lu Weiguo felt Shi Tingyu’s hands becoming more restless, he began to feel somewhat restless himself, but he restrained himself from showing it.

At one point, Shi Tingyu thought her usual tricks weren’t working.

The man who used to blush at her touch now seemed quite accustomed to their adventurous married life.

However, after he carried her to the bathroom and they indulged in some playful intimacy, she realized he was still the same man who couldn’t resist her teasing, just now more adept at hiding it.

Afterwards, she learned to be more observant — facial expressions could be disguised, but the body couldn’t lie.

She found great interest and endless enjoyment in this.

Lu Weiguo looked at his wife nestled in his arms, his eyes filled with affection.

He knew her little preferences well.

He indulged her, and truth be told, he enjoyed it just as much.

That’s why he paid extra attention to his physique, determined to make her completely enamored with him.

In truth, Shi Tingyu had no resistance to Lu Weiguo at all. Those who had never experienced the allure of their partner’s coveted physique and appearance wouldn’t understand how soul-stirring it could be.

In some short video platforms of later times, there were often posts with pictures of handsome men, asking, “If your husband looked like this, what time would you come home?”

Initially, she hadn’t felt much seeing those posts. But ever since Lu Weiguo came into her life, she often found herself wanting to emulate those comments from women in the comment section: “She didn’t want to get out of bed.”