Chapter 33

Qiao Keli first saw "Shuke and Beta" on Children's Day. At that time, the school had bought a stack of "Children's Literature," and her teacher, Jingjing, read the story to her. The little girl, who usually remained indifferent to the outside world, suddenly felt a different emotion when she heard this story.

After the story was read, Keli looked anxiously at Teacher Jingjing, tugging at the teacher's clothes and pointing to the magazine, saying, "Jingjing teacher, read the story to you."

This meant, "Read the story to me." The little girl was a bit confused with pronouns, for example, after school every day, Teacher Jingjing would say to her, "Say goodbye to your classmates, Keli."

She would wave to everyone, saying, "Goodbye, Keli..."

At that moment, it was rare for her to show interest in something, and Teacher Jingjing was very happy. She quickly found other issues of the magazine and read all the serialized parts of "Shuke and Beta."

In the afternoon, when Qiao Keli's mother came to pick her up from school, Teacher Jingjing told her about the situation. Qiao's mother was naturally very pleased, as her daughter, since she understood things, had only been fascinated by painting and showed no interest in anything else. She then remembered the title of the book, "Shuke and Beta."

After returning home that day, Qiao Keli started drawing mice, planes, and tanks. The school had various types of toy planes and tanks, and she had seen the image of mice in pictures and cartoons.

At first, the clothes she drew for the mice were very simple, roughly similar to human T-shirts, with a few small red flowers on the head. Later, with her mother's guidance, she finally completed the creation of the flight suits and tank uniforms.

Qiao's father, an engineer, thought his daughter had become interested in planes and tanks. He thought to himself, "Indeed, she is my daughter," and immediately went to the toy store to buy all the models of planes and tanks. When he placed a box of toys in front of his daughter, she pointed to her drawing and said, "Plane, Shuke, tank, Beta."

The story of Shuke and Beta had just begun. Although the editor, Mai Mai, had mentioned to Liu Jingtang about developing merchandise, the story was still short, and its popularity and recognition had not yet spread widely. Therefore, neither the magazine nor Liu Jingtang was in a hurry.

Qiao, the engineer, began to feel anxious. He could stand in front of a towering skyscraper and command with confidence, but when it came to his daughter's requests, he could never remain calm. He often told his colleagues that if his daughter ever wanted the moon, he would seriously consider building a ladder to the sky.

Qiao found the magazine's phone number on the back cover and called them sincerely to inquire about the situation. Upon learning that the toys had not yet been developed, he could not hide his disappointment. The chief engineer's tone and expression immediately revealed his frustration, and he suggested six or seven potential development projects for the magazine.

After hanging up, he immediately called a toy manufacturer friend.

In this world, many buildings, schools, libraries, toys, and stories exist because a father wanted to give his child a gift.

Qiao's mother, of course, did not sit idle. Like many other mothers, she left a message for the editor-in-chief of "Children's Literature," requesting that the serialization of "Shuke and Beta" be extended and subtly hinting that she could pay a large sum for the subsequent stories.

Qiao and his wife, like many other couples, received an apologetic explanation from the magazine. As top professionals in their respective fields, they naturally could infer certain justifiable conclusions from the response and had to accept the reality.

By the end of June, Qiao, the engineer, had just completed a major project. The couple decided to take their daughter on a trip. They took out a travel brochure and placed it in front of their daughter, letting her choose.

This time, Qiao Keli chose Guilin because she found the elephant's trunk very interesting.

...

At the same time, the administrative department of Qianhong Company was also selecting a travel destination. After the self-disclosure post was released, the discussion about Gu Yongsheng had achieved a complete victory. Additionally, Han Shuo's "Yuan Shang Cao" was selling like hotcakes, and it was racing with "Dajianghu" to surpass "Ding Xiaoshuo."

Boss Lu Yichou was in high spirits and immediately assigned the task to the administrative department to plan an additional trip.

The administrative department selected several places and put them in the work group for discussion, including Guilin, Lijiang, Phoenix, and the western grasslands.

After nearly a morning of discussion, the options were narrowed down to Guilin and the grasslands. Lijiang was eliminated because it was overly influenced by literary culture, and the editors, who were already full of literary bacteria, wanted to avoid it. Phoenix was eliminated because it had become the place with the highest rate of one-night stands in domestic tourism, which was a major attraction for male editors but strongly opposed by the female editors.

Next, Han Shuo and his "Yuan Shang Cao" team strongly recommended the western grasslands, for obvious reasons. Han Shuo was the undisputed top author at Qianhong, with a high status. After his team proposed this idea, others naturally had to take it seriously and could not oppose it, except for one person, Yi Shui'an.

Yi Shui'an, who rarely spoke in the group, might have been influenced by the joyful atmosphere and rarely said, "We can go to the grasslands when it gets hotter for a summer retreat. Now, going to Guilin, we can climb the Gudong Waterfall and ride bamboo rafts."

As soon as Yi Shui'an finished speaking, Han Shuo was the first to agree, which meant that the destination for the additional trip was decided.

Boss Lu Yichou, who had been quietly following the discussion, said, "Let's go to Guilin to climb the waterfall first, and for the summer routine trip, we'll go to the grasslands for horseback riding."

"Right, remember to invite Gu Yongsheng," Lu Yichou added.

With the boss's decision, everyone immediately cheered and started throwing flowers.

...

"Our textbook says that Guilin's scenery is the best in the world, and it's very beautiful, so let's all go together."

After the exams, Liu Jingtang, after some consideration, also chose to go to Guilin. During dinner, he was trying to persuade his parents.

"The office is busy now, and we can't take leave."

Hearing his son's suggestion, his parents did not oppose it, but taking leave specifically for a trip did not align with their views.

"Um... On weekends, I'll take you and your dad to the city center park," his mother quickly added, seeing his disappointed expression.

Liu Jingtang suddenly wished he could throw the 500,000 yuan savings on the table and say, "Let's forget about all the work and just go play." But then he thought about the trouble it would cause. According to his mother's temperament, within three days, his name would spread throughout the town, and relatives, neighbors, and town leaders would come to visit him one after another.

Liu Jingtang intensified his disappointed expression and muttered, "Dad, you always tell me to balance work and rest. This work will never be finished anyway."

"It's almost July 1st, and the town will organize activities. The cultural station has a lot of work to do, and Dad really can't leave. How about this, in August, before you start school, Dad promises to take you and Mom on a trip. We'll go to Huangshan."

Liu Jingtang had to agree, and a thought crossed his mind: Should he invite Mi Hu?

Before he could call Mi Hu, he received a call from Tang Nan:

"In a few days, the company is planning a trip to Guilin. Do you have time?"

"What a coincidence," Liu Jingtang laughed. "Will Mi Hu go too?"

"Uh, yes, he will."

The plan did not originally include Mi Hu, but since the company's top author asked, and he had a good relationship with Mi Hu, he took the initiative to agree.

"That's great." Liu Jingtang readily agreed.

...

In the summer, the weather changes like a child's face, with clear skies in the morning and heavy rain in the afternoon, which is not uncommon in this hot season.

"He is Gu Yongsheng?" Except for Lu Yichou and Mi Hu, everyone was shocked when they saw the little boy with a blue backpack smiling and walking over.

"Yes, he is the real Gu Yongsheng, who can make a million enemies retreat with a single 'hehe,'" Lu Yichou explained with a smile, walking up quickly.

"Sorry for keeping everyone waiting," Gu Yongsheng apologized to everyone.

"No problem, being late is a characteristic of our Qianhong male writers," Lu Yichou said. "Let me introduce you."

"Yi Shui'an," Lu Yichou said, walking to a woman in a light green dress.

The woman, about 23 or 24 years old, had a calm and elegant demeanor. She smiled faintly and nodded to Liu Jingtang, who humbly replied, "Nice to meet you."

"Mo Yang," Lu Yichou continued to introduce the others.

...

"I am Kuang Heng," a boy introduced himself before the boss could. "I was one of the first editors to read your 'Longhu Dou Jinghua,' and it was amazing."

Liu Jingtang felt even more embarrassed and humbly responded.

"Sorry for being late," Lu Yichou was about to introduce the last girl when Han Shuo's voice came from behind.

"We're used to it," a few editors chimed in.

"Is this... Is this Gu Yongsheng?" Han Shuo walked up to Liu Jingtang, looking equally surprised.

"Yes," Liu Jingtang turned to look at Han Shuo and softly replied.

"Han Shuo, nice to meet you," Han Shuo extended his hand.

"Likewise," Liu Jingtang also extended his hand.

Many editors, including Lu Yichou, took out their phones to record this moment.

This was the first handshake between the once legendary and consistently popular young genius Han Shuo and the rising young genius Gu Yongsheng!

Seeing everyone taking photos, Gu Yongsheng felt uncomfortable.

"Please don't post the photos online," Lu Yichou, noticing Gu Yongsheng's hesitation, immediately understood the shy boy's meaning.

"The photos can only be circulated internally, I'm not joking."

The people present, either seasoned professionals or keen observers, could tell that Lu Yichou was not joking.

"Okay," everyone responded seriously.

"Alright, let's go!"