Chapter 7

"Xiao Si, be honest, did you do something sneaky last night? Why are you so sleepy today?" Ma Jun leaned in close.

At this question, Su Shichen couldn't help but recall last night. After Aunt Wang went to bed, she fell asleep quite easily, but Su Shichen couldn't sleep at all. Every time he moved his left hand, he would touch Aunt Wang's body, so Su Shichen didn't know where to put his hands. He was afraid of waking Aunt Wang up if he moved around, so he spent the whole night in this state. This state directly led to Su Shichen coming to class with panda eyes today.

"Hey, snap out of it. I was just asking casually, but from your reaction, you didn't really do something sneaky last night, did you?" Curiosity is a universal trait.

"What are you talking about? After school, I want to buy a computer, but I don't know where to get a cheap one."

"Buy a computer? I know about that. Xiao Si, what kind of configuration do you want? I usually divide computer configurations into three types. The best one can play any large online game and support multiple game instances without crashing. This kind of computer is quite expensive. Are you interested?"

"No, I don't play games much."

"Then the mid-range one can support general online games, which is the typical configuration for students. The lowest configuration can only be used for reading novels, watching videos, and playing simple online games. It's very laggy for general online games. Which one do you want, Xiao Si?"

"Big Tiger, how do you know so much about computers?"

"Of course, my dad sells computers."

"That's perfect. I'll take care of your dad's business."

"We're best friends, so I'll ask my dad to give you a discount. By the way, Xiao Si, which configuration do you want?"

"The lowest one, I don't play games."

"The lowest one? What do you need a computer for, Xiao Si?" In Ma Jun's mind, students buy computers not for studying but for gaming.

"I'll tell you later."

"Big Tiger, how much does the lowest configuration cost?" "The lowest one is very cheap, definitely less than 4,000 yuan. The exact price, I'll have to ask my dad."

"Almost forgot, I already asked my uncle yesterday. If you want to learn, just follow him. No need to pay, hehe, how's that for a favor?" Ma Jun had a look on his face that said, "Praise me."

Su Shichen took a deep breath. At his mental age of over thirty, he couldn't genuinely consider Ma Jun a best friend, just a kid. However, Ma Jun's help was completely unconditional.

"I'll treat you to KFC today." Su Shichen said generously.

"KFC? Can I order a burger?" Food was Ma Jun's weakness, so he immediately perked up at the mention of it.

"Sure, as long as you can finish it."

The contract for "Journey to the West" had been signed, and Wang Ni had given Su Shichen the money. It was supposed to be transferred to his card, but since Su Shichen didn't have a card, Wang Ni gave him 5,000 yuan in cash this morning. Normally, the money should have been transferred to his parents' account, as he was only fourteen.

If that happened, his parents would save the money, and his plan to buy a computer would be indefinitely postponed. Of course, his parents wouldn't really care about the money; they just didn't want him to waste it, like with New Year's money. So Su Shichen decided to act first and buy the computer, then deal with the consequences.

The homeroom teacher, Zhou Bi, stood at the podium. "Before class, I have some good news. Su Shichen's micro-novel 'Feed—Come Out' has been selected for the school magazine and has been unanimously chosen as the main article by the editorial staff. Let's give Su Shichen a round of applause."

Suddenly, the classroom erupted in applause.

Although Su Shichen wasn't particularly excited about being the main article in the school magazine, he stood up and bowed politely.

"Su Shichen, don't be proud. Keep writing better works. Now, let's start the class."

During self-study, Su Shichen tried drawing comics. In forty minutes, he only managed to draw two characters, not even a complete panel. Without any drawing experience, just copying from memory was extremely difficult. On Earth, Japanese manga artists could produce a chapter in a week, but at his current speed, it would take a month to produce one chapter, if that.

It seemed he couldn't delay learning how to draw.

Based on the information Su Shichen gathered over the summer, the comic industry in this world was decent, though the major players were still Japan and the United States. This world's Japan didn't have popular series like "Naruto," "Dragon Ball," "Bleach," or "One Piece," but the comic industry was still thriving, producing many excellent works that rivaled "One Piece." As for the United States, the most famous series on Earth were the superhero comics, which influenced the 80s and 90s generations. Who among the 80s and 90s generations doesn't know Spider-Man or Batman?

However, in this world, the United States focused on educational and comedic comics, like "Tom and Jerry" and "Cars," and with their high production quality, many were made into animated films.

The two major comic powers, the United States and Japan, remained dominant, but there were significant changes in China's comic industry.

In the previous world, China's comic industry was in a sorry state. One reason was the impact of piracy, and the other was that Chinese people didn't have the habit of buying comics. Unlike Japan and the United States, where a single comic could sell over ten million copies, China's only notable animated series was "The Legend of Qin," which was well-received but not commercially successful. The only profitable series was "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf," which alone supported the entire industry.

In this world, there were a few popular comics, but they were far behind Japan and the United States. The domestic comic industry was also far behind the literary industry. Su Shichen felt the responsibility to revitalize China's comic industry by "borrowing" from other works.

After school, Su Shichen followed Ma Jun to his uncle's training center.

"Eight Great Mountains Training Center"

"Isn't that a strange name? People might think it's a farming school."

"That's not bad," Su Shichen nodded thoughtfully.

"It's not bad. When I first saw the name, I thought it was a school for digging and farming."

"Eight Great Mountains is actually Zhu Da, one of the Four Monks of the early Qing dynasty. Eight Great Mountains was his late-life pseudonym. Big Tiger, your uncle must be a big fan of Zhu Da's paintings."

"Haha, this student is right. I always tell you to read more. If you had, you wouldn't have made such a mistake. It's not a farming school, you brat." Ma Jun's uncle, Ma Zhongni.

"I didn't expect this student to be so knowledgeable. Zhu Da isn't as famous as Wu Daozi, but I do have a preference for his works." Ma Zhongni praised Su Shichen. Zhu Da wasn't as well-known as Wu Daozi or Qi Baishi, and even adults might not know who he was. For a middle school student to know about him was impressive.

"That's not surprising. Xiao Si is very knowledgeable. He just wrote an article that was selected for the school magazine." Ma Jun said proudly, as if it were his own achievement.

"What are you boasting about? It's not your achievement. You said a friend wanted to learn painting. Is it this student?"

"Yes, this is my best friend, Su Shichen." Ma Jun introduced him. "Xiao Si, this is my uncle."

"Uncle, I've always wanted to learn painting but never had the chance. I heard Big Tiger's uncle runs a training center, so I asked him to bring me here."

"Calling me uncle, I can't refuse. Classes are on Saturdays at 2 PM, for three hours. If there are no issues, we can start this week."

"No problem, of course not. How much is the tuition? I can pay it now." Su Shichen had 5,000 yuan in cash.

"Since you call me uncle, why mention money?"

"That's not right," Su Shichen hesitated.

"Xiao Si, don't be formal. My uncle's school has eight or nine teachers and seventy or eighty students. One more or less doesn't matter. Besides, my uncle is a wealthy man. This small amount of money is nothing to him. You should see the famous paintings in his house. Any one of them could feed me for a long time."

"Brat, always thinking about food. But you're right. Eight or ninety students, one more doesn't matter. And since you're introduced by this brat, I won't charge you. Otherwise, he'd complain again." "Hehe, my parents gave me life, but my uncle knows me."

"Stop quoting ancient texts."

"My uncle is like that. I'm going home now." To thank Ma Jun, Su Shichen treated him to a big meal at KFC, with burgers, ice cream, and egg tarts. Su Shichen was amazed at how much Ma Jun could eat in one sitting, more than he ate in a day.

After eating, they went to Ma Jun's father's store. Before entering, Ma Jun shouted, "Dad, I brought you a customer."

"What kind of business?" Ma Jun's father asked.

"This is my classmate and best friend, Xiao Si. He wants to buy a computer. Following the principle of keeping business within the family, I brought him here. Isn't that a customer?"

"Little student, are you buying a computer for gaming or something else?"

"I don't play games. I want to use it for research and writing."

"Not playing games, that's better than this brat. Uncle will recommend this computer to you. It's fast, with a 1TB hard drive. The regular price is 3,500 yuan, but I'll give you an internal price of 3,200 yuan."

"Thank you, Uncle. Can you deliver it?"

"Of course. Give me your address, and I'll deliver it right away."

Su Shichen wrote down his address, and the computer was on its way home!

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**End of Chapter**