“If you are submitting a comic, maybe I can give you some advice, for example, you can find a suitable comic magazine (must be a formal one) according to your subject matter and style to increase your success rate. After finding a suitable publisher, take a look at the quality of their recent comics. If there are no famous cartoonists recently, the chances of newcomers’ drawings being accepted will be higher. -X”
Both sides of the small piece of paper were filled with tiny handwriting. It seemed that X was really teaching him how to increase his success rate and get admitted smoothly.
An Yinong suddenly became curious about what X did for a living. Did he work in a publishing house?
“What does your master do every day?” he asked the parrot.
“Him? He’s a very boring biped. He goes out in the morning and comes back in the evening. He used to bring a lot of food home, but recently he hasn’t brought any prey home. I’m worried that one day he will starve to death because he’s too weak.”
The parrot was really worried: “Maybe because he is too weak, female bipeds don’t like him. Even though the nest has been built, no female biped is willing to lay eggs with him.”
The parrot’s concern was very serious, and An Yinong felt that he couldn’t smile too obviously, as it would seem very impolite.
He wrote on the paper: “Xiexie told me that you have been leaving early and returning late lately without bringing back any food. He is worried that you will starve to death without the ability to survive. Is this the reason he was in a bad mood before? – H”
X, who received the letter, was completely confused: What is this? Was this the naive imagination that only belonged to youth?
Although An Yinong did not say it, the free time from six to nine o’clock already said it all. Adults needed to work overtime, socialize, do housework, etc. Only students have such fixed free time.
The second piece of evidence was the note with occasional missing or typos – it seems that this child’s Chinese was not very good.
The man was also surprised that he could chat so well with an underage child, but that was the fact and the communication made him happy.
“But how did he know that I used to bring some restaurant take-out boxes home?” There was a time when he really liked the food from a certain restaurant and would take away the food every day.
Unfortunately, someone later set up a honey trap for him, and he lost interest in packing dinner.
The man thought that this was the innocence of a teenager, but when he got off work the next day, he somehow brought some dishes with him – yes, he took an expensive private car, went to a nearby restaurant, and brought back the dishes and meat himself.
“I must be crazy to believe something like this,” the man couldn’t help but think.
As a result, that day, the man saw “relief” in the eyes of his parrot. While his pen pals’ world views were shattered and reconstructed, An Yinong received the first reply letter from the publishing house.
Within less than a week, three of the five magazine publishers replied, expressing their willingness to sign a more stable, long-term contract with him, and also revealed the range of their salary.
The first one offered to provide manuscript fee of eight dollars per page, and after the buyout, the copyright would belong to the publishing house.
The second company said it would provide manuscript fees of five dollars per page. If a single edition is published in the future, the publishing house will provide a 5% royalty on the first edition (unit price × number of publications × 5%), and the copyright will also belong to the publishing house.
The third publisher offered to provide manuscript fees, 5 yuan per page, but the copyright would belong to the author. If the book is published in their publishing house in the future, they could provide 5% to 10% of the royalties.
Judging from the salary and the responses he received, his comic book has been successful – people were willing to spend money on it.
“X is right. The three comic magazines are all martial arts comic magazines, and there are no serialized works by famous cartoonists recently.”
The third one was the publishing house of “Hua You” magazine, so he skipped the first two and made an appointment directly with the editor-in-chief of “Hua You”, which was this weekend, to go to a famous restaurant in Hong Kong to discuss the signing of the contract. He then called the restaurant to make a reservation.
“I can do it.” After hanging up the phone to make a restaurant reservation, An Yinong was very calm all the way until he returned to the room. His steps became brisk. It turned out that career was a variant of youth potion.
“I have good news for you. My manuscript has been accepted and the contract will be signed in a few days. – H”
In this environment, An Yinong was “He Tiantong” in the eyes of all of them. Only here, when he was communicating with a person whose name and appearance he did not know, he was “An Yinong”. Perhaps that was why he wanted to find this person to share his joy.
“Not surprising, your efforts deserve such a reward. -X”
The reply came quickly, but An Yinong noticed something strange because the handwriting suddenly became weak.
“Is your hand injured? Please take care of yourself. I hope our communication will not bring any burden to your hand. -H”
“Huh?” The man sitting in the study and unpacking letters was stunned. He looked down at his wrist.
He was indeed injured, and he had just bought a piece of land to build a hospital, but was attacked by vagrants from that area. They believed that he bought the land to build a hospital, which resulted in them losing their last living space. But the wound was tightly wrapped by his sleeve, and he left no trace, so no one around him noticed that he was injured.
“I have so many business partners and so many people in my family, but I didn’t expect that the one who knows me best is a little guy I have never met.” If he hadn’t paid attention to his letter and read it carefully, how would he have noticed this little bit of handwriting error?
The man reached out and touched the parrot, with a long-lost smile on his face.
He suddenly wanted to talk to the kid about his troubles. He bought the land and built the hospital. Everything was legal. Why was he attacked? Of course, he sympathized with the vagrants, but their misfortune could be blamed on the government, not on a legal businessman like him.
He was very unhappy about the injury and even thought about finding some people to drive away the homeless. But if he did so, a bunch of Hong Kong media would write him off as “rich and unkind” and “violently driving away the lower classes of society.”
He then sent a letter to H. He originally just wanted to find someone to talk to, but he didn’t expect H to mention other solutions in his reply.
“Dear X, I don’t have any particularly good suggestions on this matter. But have you ever considered providing a job for the homeless man while the supermarket is being built? For example, cleaning up some construction waste, or helping out? If he is too old to work, you can also help find a government welfare home.
“Although this is not your responsibility, doing this can help both you and the homeless person. Give others a chance, and give yourself a chance. I like to call this model a ‘win-win’. -H”
“Maybe I should try it.” The man in the study made a decision.
His hospital opened again, but this time without any hindrance. He sent those who had caused trouble before to the government’s nursing home because they were too old. Some of the young and middle-aged people became construction workers, some were responsible for cleaning up garbage, and some were responsible for carrying food.
There were also those who refused to work, but they were a minority. Seeing that the majority had “surrendered to the enemy”, they had no choice but to leave in disgrace.
He didn’t spend much money, but the effect was very good. The man couldn’t help but reflect that maybe he had done something wrong before. He had decided that if these people did a good job, he could work as a cleaner in the hospital or something else in the future.
Thinking of the criticisms he had received for his usual tough style, the man suddenly thought: “I should go to various industries to see the real situation, instead of sitting in the office and listening to the fluctuations of data on paper.”
Soon, it was the weekend and An Yinong took the tram to the agreed location by himself. This was a three-story Western-style building that was tastefully decorated and is a place that many wealthy people like to visit.
The restaurant was in a great location, right by the port, and at night you can enjoy the beautiful view of the lights and the reflections on the sea. It was usually difficult to book a table at such a place, so you must make a reservation in advance.
“One thirty in the afternoon, double bed, by the window.”
The counter staff checked the registration and smiled their signature smile: “Mr. He? The seating is ready.”
An Yinong was led to the window by the waiter. There was a row of small square tables for four people, with silver bells and menus on the tables. The original body had been here several times, but this was An Yinong’s first time here. He walked very slowly, looking around as he walked. Except for the few places he had been to, everything in this world was new to him.
The previous world was still too far away for modern people, but what was before his eyes is the ‘past’ that he has seen before, and he seems to be walking in a video. Interestingly enough, he even wanted to draw a comic book about this era from the perspective of a future person.
The restaurant had a classical Western style, with many golden relief patterns on all four sides. The floor was paved with pieces of natural marble, with the black and white combined into exquisite patterns and filled with gold edges, making it magnificent.
The beautiful ladies’ high heels and the men’s shiny leather shoes made clicking sounds on the smooth marble, as well as the crisp sound of clinking glasses , the whispers of people talking in low voices, and the sound of the rollers of the dining cart turning as it passed.
Looking up, there were sparkling crystal chandeliers, which complemented the guests’ sparkling jewelry, sparkling high-heeled glasses, and reflective bone china tableware on the dining table.
One side of the restaurant faced the sea, and in order to share this beautiful sea view, the wall on that side was almost pure glass, so the brightness inside was sufficient. But the lights were still on in the restaurant, and every table was covered in light.
At this time, a violinist in a suit vest passed by An Yinong. He walked over and played music for a young couple. On the other side, a waiter brought out flowers and pushed out a cake covered with rose petals on a cart. How romantic.
An Yinong walked past another small table for two people, where a lady was sitting. She was trying to communicate with the waiter using sign language, but then she switched to writing. The waiter had a hint of impatience on his face.
The waiter didn’t really read the words. He just kept looking at those ‘noble’ guests out of the corner of his eye with a longing look in his eyes.
Yes, there were many blond and blue-eyed guests sitting here, and the waiters who served them have very straight backs. They communicated in English, and occasionally in French and other languages. The other waiters secretly look at these waiters with envy and jealousy.
This small restaurant, like the entire port city, seemed to be divided into different levels based on the different types of people they served. An Yinong’s mood suddenly became a little complicated: in their own country, they were second-class citizens.
Finally he arrived at the reserved seat. This small table was separated from other seats by green plants, so it had a certain degree of privacy.
“Thank you.” He sat down and picked up the menu beside him, but the waiter did not leave. Instead, he looked at him expectantly.
“……” He remembered, tip.
An Yinong, who seldom eats out, was still not used to the “tipping” custom in this world. He took out a five-dollar bill. The waiter took a look at it and the smile on his face froze a little, as if to say, “Why is it so little?”
“Call me if you need anything.” The waiter squeezed out a dry sentence and turned away. An Yinong also heard him mutter: Poor guy.
Poor guy?
Looking at his back, An Yinong was puzzled. Did he misremember the current prices? The salary of an ordinary clerk seems to be just over 100 yuan, and a bowl of wonton noodles on the street costs only 3 yuan.
He knew that the basic salary in the service industry in this world was very low, and that money was basically earned through tips and commissions. However, the tips from twenty customers were equivalent to someone else’s monthly salary, so was five dollars a small amount?
An Yinong raised his eyebrows, but he did not make a fuss. He just planned to complain after the meal.
“Deaf man!”
A slightly loud voice attracted An Yinong’s attention. He turned his head and saw the waiter he had seen before serving the speechless lady on his back and complaining to his companion.
In fact, their voices were very soft, but An Yinong was close and had sharp ears, so he heard them.
“Shh, keep your voice down.” One person covered the other’s hand. He looked around and lowered his voice even lower, almost inaudible.
“Pah, another poor fellow. I only got a three-dollar tip, and she’s deaf. What a hassle. When the dish is served, secretly add some toppings to her.”
“You want to spit again?”
“Hey, let these rich people eat my saliva too.”
An Yinong looked at their lips and “read” them in his mind. He understood lip reading because he had also been “deaf”.
From where he was sitting, he couldn’t see the lady’s face. He only saw her gesticulating awkwardly and writing on paper with a pen – both the pen and paper were brought by her. She has tried very hard to adapt to others and try not to cause trouble to others.
For people with physical disabilities, it took a lot of courage to go out, because once the physical defect was exposed, others will look at them strangely.
But honestly speaking, when An Yinong was in modern times, most of the people he met were kind-hearted. At least when he went to a restaurant, the waiters there would not despise him for being deaf and deliberately spit in his food. Being ‘deaf’ was not a sin, especially since she had already paid for the services she needed.
An Yinong looked at her back in silence for a few seconds. He picked up the service bell and rang it directly, and the waiter came over.
“Hello, what can I do for you?”
“I’m not happy, call your manager.”
After a while, the manager came. He was a middle-aged man with oily hair and powdered face. He was friendly and said, “Hello, what can I do for you, sir?”
“I want to know if your store has any customer threshold?” An Yinong asked.
The manager was confused: “What do you mean?”
“For example, are the poor people who only give a five-dollar tip to the waiter unworthy of setting foot here? Are people with disabilities and hearing loss unworthy of eating your food?
“If so, please put a sign at the door saying that guests with monthly income less than 10,000 yuan and physical disabilities are not allowed to enter. I will definitely not come over to humiliate myself.”
WhiteMoon x BlackSun 
thn
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