The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 34 - Hospital Stay

Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Hospital Stay

Chapter 34 -34: Hospital Stay

Zhou Lanping had been undergoing conservative treatment in the hospital for some time, and Lu Jingqiu had been running back and forth between home and hospital every day. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

Children’s Publishing House

The chief editor looked at the recently published children’s books which had received a tepid response, sighed, and furrowed his brow, his expression towards the editorial department not so pleased, “Although our publishing house has only just recovered for a year, it’s still the most comprehensive in the entire province. Out of the two editorial departments, only the picture book sector is selling somewhat better, the rest, not making losses is already not bad, now you few editorial groups quickly come up with a reform plan.”

After the meeting was dismissed, Deputy Chief Editor Yang Ting whispered, “Chief Editor Zhang, we don’t need to worry about the picture book sector, right?”

Master Zhang looked at her with irritation, “Although I complimented you guys just now, within your sector it’s only the newly released Children’s Rhymes that is selling better, the other two are barely satisfactory. You should also reflect on this, and see where the actual problem lies.”

Yang Ting dared not feel relieved anymore and hurriedly assured, “Yes, we will definitely find out the reason.”

After the meeting ended, the smaller meetings of each group began. Yang Ting called the people in her group to her office, took out the recently published picture books, and had them all analyze why there was such a big difference, “Our picture book group is comprised of young backbones, and in terms of thinking, we should be ahead of the other groups. Ban Dalin, Editor Qin, you both have children at home, you should understand better what children like nowadays.”

Ban Dalin, holding the recently published picture books, said, “Deputy Editor Zhang, these books are of different types; it’s not fair to compare them. ‘Nursery Rhymes’, ‘Everyday Knowledge’, trivial stories like buying soy sauce, shooting the breeze, eating dumplings on the evening of the thirtieth, and then there’s ‘Battlefield Red Tassel’. Our direction is not wrong.”

Yang Ting said, “Since the direction is not wrong, let’s look for other reasons.”

Wang Meilian said, “Could it be a pricing issue?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhao Wencai retorted from the side, “The prices of the three books are not wrong by a dime. To speak of it, ‘Nursery Rhymes’ is even priced higher than the other two.”

Zhang Miao, who had not spoken for a long time, said, “Deputy Editor Yang, I think it has something to do with the illustration style. Besides the content, our picture books are about the pictures above; it’s also very important for the illustrations to be full and rich in content. ‘Nursery Rhymes’ chose the right cover illustration, but it’s a pity there’s just that one; the other illustrations inside don’t have a unified style, and that’s also a major flaw.”

Qin Xuehua nodded in agreement from the side, “My six-year-old daughter likes ‘Nursery Rhymes’ the most out of the three books I brought back for her. It’s not because she likes singing nursery rhymes, in fact, compared to nursery rhymes, she prefers the stories in ‘Battlefield Red Tassel’. But she just likes to look at ‘Nursery Rhymes’. One day I was curious and asked her; she said the cover illustration was pretty. Deputy Editor Yang, it’s not that I’m saying this, but those two illustrators we newly recruited, honestly, they are not that great, especially Luo Xinyue inside; to be blunt, her level is just a tad better than my niece’s.”

Wang Meilian snorted softly, “Sister Qin, there’s nothing we can do, who let people have connections.”

Yang Ting naturally knew this but did not say it outright, she asked the others, “Do you think it’s a problem with the illustration style?”

Ban Dalin pondered for a moment and replied, “That’s a possibility.”

Qin Xuehua suggested, “Why don’t we try that comrade, Lu Jingqiu? Recently, I and Miaomiao contacted an author to write a war story.”

Zhang Miao said, “Sister Qin, that wouldn’t be appropriate, Luo Xinyue has already started drawing.”

The meeting fell into a deadlock, and the room was instantly steeped in thought.

Yang Ting had looked over the short story solicited by Zhang Miao and calculated the manuscript fees; without hesitation, she nodded and agreed, “Editor Zhang, go find Lu Jingqiu. If she can have it out by next week, that would be best. Luo Xinyue’s side can be paused for now.”

Zhang Miao internally exclaimed, over twenty pages in one week; she herself found it challenging but still assured Yang Ting, “I will go ask her this afternoon.”

…

After returning from the hospital, Lu Jingqiu rested for a while, put the nutritious soup she had prepared for her mother on the stove, and then went out into the yard to wash her mother’s laundry.

When Zhang Miao knocked on the door, Lu Jingqiu was hanging up the clothes: “Is Comrade Lu at home?”

Lu Jingqiu hurriedly went to open the door, and after seeing Zhang Miao, she paused in surprise, “Editor Zhang, please come in.”

Zhang Miao smiled and said, “Sorry to disturb you, Comrade Lu. I’ve come to discuss a commission for some illustrations with you. Would you welcome such a discussion?”

“Welcome, welcome,” Lu Jingqiu said with a smile, leading her inside to talk.

Zhang Miao had a story about a little war hero, and the content was very rich; the layouts were all arranged: “The text has been carefully selected, and the layout is also finalized. Now we just need the illustrations. Our chief editor admired your style of painting, did you see that ‘Nursery Rhymes’ book you worked on? Your cover art was used, and it’s very popular with the children.”

Lu Jingqiu had not had the chance to see it, but still, she felt very happy hearing about it, “It makes me happy to be recognized. I’ll take on the illustrations if you trust me, Editor Zhang. I won’t disappoint you.”

Zhang Miao loved to hear that assurance, and she quickly clarified the specific requirements to her, including the payment, which would be the same as last time: “Including the cover, there will be a total of twenty-six drawings. Time is quite tight; we need them in one week.”

Lu Jingqiu: “One week, that’s quite tight.”

Zhang Miao smiled but did not speak. She certainly knew how urgent it was, but this was an order from the deputy editor, and she could not offer an extension.

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After carefully analyzing the content, Lu Jingqiu looked up and proposed to Zhang Miao: “The picture book illustrations can be presented as full double-page spreads. This way the content is rich and not repetitive, and children will also like it. Additionally, for a full spread illustration, I will charge three dollars, which will also save you some costs.”

Zhang Miao said, “Double-page spreads? We’ve never published in that format. By your pricing, three dollars for a large illustration, aren’t you at a loss?”

Lu Jingqiu said, “The original intention of making picture books is to present the entire world that children see and experience through simple and vivid drawings. The images express content, and at the same time, they can learn other things from the rich pictures. That is what adults want to show to children and what children like to look at. I won’t allow my work to be flawed for the sake of a few dollars’ gain.”

These words were taught to her by an old master in her previous life. Unfortunately, the master only appeared in her life for a few months, yet she benefited immensely from his teachings.

It was the first time Zhang Miao heard such meaningful words, and she couldn’t help looking at Lu Jingqiu with new respect. After signing the contract, Zhang Miao went back and discussed the situation with Yang Ting.

Yang Ting was also very curious about how to present twenty-six drawings’ worth of content with only thirteen drawings.

Lu Jingqiu had not expected such an unexpected gain either. After seeing off Zhang Miao, she quickly went upstairs to prepare her paints and paper.

Although she had been painting for dozens of years in her previous life, it was limited to tinkering at home on her own, so she needed to think carefully about the composition.

In the afternoon, Lu Jingqiu took her drawing paper and colored pencils to the hospital. Her mother could only take small amounts of food before suffering from indigestion and occasional abdominal pain, the most severe being in the liver area, and when the pain struck, Lu Jingqiu could only cry beside her, heartbroken.