Chapter 154

Chapter 154

Wu Yaozu was so happy that he was practically dancing with joy.

"Mom, Zhi Wei said he is pleased that I am willing to turn over a new leaf and start anew. If possible, he hopes to collect the original manuscripts of my paintings. My answer to him is: Yes!" Wu Yaozu felt extremely honored, his eyes sparkling. "He called me Mr. Wu, and from now on, all my works will be signed as Mr. Wu."

It sounds much better than Wu Yaozu.

Mrs. Wu nodded, smiling through tears, "Good, Mom will give you a seal stamp engraved with the three characters 'Mr. Wu.'"

"Thank you, Mom!" Mr. Wu was thrilled.

After his father recovered from illness, he divorced his mother, ashamed of him, and quickly remarried, starting a new family.

His mother had anticipated it, but he struggled to move on.

Now, it's time for him to move on.

After a long time, Mr. Wu's mood still couldn't calm down, so he read Zhi Wei's reply again and told Mrs. Wu, "Mom, I will definitely make you proud! When I get my first royalty, I will buy you a big pearl to complete your pearl set."

Mrs. Wu thought it would be quite a challenge.

The large pearl she bought from Lu Mingzhu was flawless and beautiful, making it hard to find a match on the market.

If the quality was met, the weight might not be.

If the weight was met, the quality might not be.

Finding one that was perfect in both aspects was extremely rare, highlighting the quality of Lu Mingzhu's pearls.

"Good, Mom will wait for it," Mrs. Wu said.

For a son who is reforming, encouragement is needed, not discouragement, to prevent him from falling back into despair.

Wu Yaozu happily enlisted two good friends to accompany him to Hong Kong Press in search of publication. If they declined, they would look elsewhere.

Hong Kong isn't limited to just Hong Kong Press.

Li Ke and Zhang Hui were both pleased for him, having seen this mentioned in Zhi Wei's responses to them.

Luckily, Editor Wang had briefed He Long, who personally welcomed the three wealthy young men, suggesting they review the works before discussing publication.

Mr. Wu agreed without hesitation.

The outcome was clear; He Long decided to publish Mr. Wu's comic book series after reading just one.

"You need to get Zhi Wei's permission first," he reminded.

Mr. Wu's face lit up with excitement, "Zhi Wei agreed to publish and gave me his contact info. What's next? How do we sign the contract?"

He Long sighed, giving in, "I'll take care of it."

He contacted the lawyer who frequently worked with their publishing house and newspaper, requesting a standard contract where Zhi Wei, author of "The Swordsman," would authorize Mr. Wu to adapt and publish the comic books. Mr. Wu would pay Zhi Wei 50% of the royalties for life.

The lawyer and witness signed, He Long signed and stamped as editor-in-chief, and Mr. Wu signed and fingerprinted, using both his pen name and real name, while Zhi Wei wasn't required to use his real name, as some authors prefer anonymity.

Three copies were prepared and sent to Zhi Wei. Upon his signing and returning two copies—one for Mr. Wu and one for the press—the agreement would officially commence.

Being all in Hong Kong made the process quick and convenient.

It arrived almost the same day.

When she received it, Lu Mingzhu signed and stamped the contract, kept one copy, and mailed back the other two.

After that, she threw herself into writing her new novel.

Even though Xie Junyao was back, he still had to go to work and help his older brother with the pile of tasks, so Lu Mingzhu had plenty of free time every day.

To make the most of her time, she started brainstorming a new story.

This one was another martial arts novel.

Unlike Jin Fenghuang, who came from a wealthy family, the main character Li Kunpeng was a country boy. His father, who lived with him, was a teacher who made a living by educating village children.

His father made him memorize books every day, but he was always looking for ways to skip school.

He’d climb mountains to catch birds and chase rabbits, dive into rivers to catch fish and shrimp—he was quick and never came back empty-handed, making him the king of the village kids.

One day, after a long day of playing in the mountains, Li Kunpeng spent the night in a treehouse. The next morning, he came down the mountain to find the village reeking of blood. He didn’t dare go straight into the village and instead hid, watching for a while. Seeing no one left behind, he finally ventured in.

What he found was the entire village slaughtered, each person killed with a single sword stroke.

His father, his neighbors, his playmates—a total of one hundred and thirty-seven people—none survived.

Li Kunpeng cried as he dug graves and buried everyone.

Finally, as he laid his father’s body in the pit and collapsed on top of it, sobbing, he noticed his father’s right hand was clenched so tightly he couldn’t open it. Between the fingers, a strand of red tassel was visible.

Li Kunpeng exerted more force and, following the red tassel, pulled out a jade pendant.

It was made of white jade, carved into the shape of a sword, with a red tassel tied at the hilt, and the name "Li Chengtian" engraved on the back.

The red tassel was snapped, as if ripped from someone’s grasp.

Li Kunpeng tucked the jade sword into his robe, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and pushed all the excavated soil back into the pit, burying all 137 villagers, forming a massive grave mound.

He left no tombstone, only a vow of vengeance.

After searching the entire village and finding no clues, he returned home, packed a change of clothes, and retrieved the money box his father had hidden. Taking the ruler his father often used to discipline him, the thirteen-year-old boy fled the village as the rain poured down in torrents.

He braved the elements, traveling far and wide in search of information about the jade sword.

Finally, one day while taking shelter from the rain in a dilapidated temple, an old beggar who had long resided there saw the jade sword he was holding and immediately became very respectful. He then inquired, "Has a disciple of the Yujian Sect traveled far to address some injustice here?"

"Yujian Sect?" Li Kunpeng asked in return.

The old beggar was startled. "You're not?"

"It was left by my father," Li Kunpeng said, not exactly lying.

The old beggar then understood that he was not a disciple of the Yujian Sect and pointed to the jade sword, telling him, "This is the token and identification token of a Yujian Sect disciple. If it was left by your father, then he must have had a close relationship with the Yujian Sect."

With the jade sword in hand, Li Kunpeng embarked on the journey to Kunlun Mountain.

This road, naturally, was not smooth.

Blades clashed, blood spilled, and storms raged—this was the life of the jianghu.

Lu Mingzhu was in the midst of writing about Li Kunpeng being severely injured while saving a little girl when, halfway through, he encountered a disheveled old man who, upon seeing him, said he had an extraordinary bone structure and wanted to take him as a disciple. Suddenly, a knock interrupted the scene.

Lu Mingzhu's thoughts were abruptly interrupted.

She put down the fountain pen and opened the door angrily. "If you don’t have a good reason, don’t be surprised if I get mad!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she found Lu Pingan standing at the door.

With a fair complexion, sharp eyebrows, red lips, and white teeth, he was as handsome as the boy she had seen when she first arrived in this time, but with a bit more heroic air. Gradually shedding his childishness, he now looked more like a young man.

"Auntie," he said politely, "Did I come at a bad time?"

Lu Mingzhu answered without hesitation, "Not at all."

She led Lu Pingan to the study, had him sit down, and poured him a cup of tea.

"You’ve been away for a while—did something happen?" she asked. He had left before Xie Junyao but returned after him, but since the capital is farther from Hong Kong than Shanghai, it all seemed reasonable.

Lu Pingan didn't know how to start, hesitating for a moment.

Lu Mingzhu gave him a gentle look and encouraged him, "What can’t we talk about, aunt and nephew? Just tell me."

"Auntie, I want to take out some money from the investment company," he began.

"Of course!" Lu Mingzhu replied without hesitation.

Lu Pingan added, "Not just once or twice—it might be ongoing."

Lu Mingzhu became curious. "As long as the company can handle it, ongoing is fine. I trust you won’t waste it, but you’ll need to tell me what it’s for."

Lu Pingan hesitated for a moment, then said softly under Lu Mingzhu's still gentle gaze, "I went to the Revolutionary Cemetery in the capital to pay my respects to my mother, whom I’ve never met. I met Zhang Shuo, Comrade Zhang’s youngest son, but what I want to do isn’t about him—it’s about an old woman."

"Go on, I’m listening," Lu Mingzhu urged.

Lu Pingan's voice grew softer. "I met an old woman who I thought was in her seventies or eighties. Seeing her clutching a tombstone and sobbing uncontrollably, I went to comfort her and learned through our conversation that she’s not even sixty. Auntie, it’s hard to imagine—this woman who looks older than Grandpa, despite her humble background, she sent all six of her sons to fight against foreign invaders. None of her six sons returned. She was visiting the sixth son, who died in the final battle of the Anti-Japanese War."

As Lu Pingan described the old woman weeping over the tombstone, Lu Mingzhu’s smile faded. After listening, she said sorrowfully, "Pingan, you must remember, our current peace was forged by the blood of countless heroes. Although your mother and father didn’t raise you, they were heroes. They, like many others, sacrificed their small family for the greater good."

For them, Lu Mingzhu always held a deep respect.

Without their sacrifices, how could there be a prosperous and peaceful future?

"Auntie, I understand," Lu Pingan said, then added, "Grandma told me many stories about the heroes of the Anti-Japanese War when she was alive. I just don’t want him to get too proud."

Just returning and gaining the understanding and love of his children—how wonderful for him!

This 'him' naturally referred to Lu Changsheng.

Seeing his proud expression, a hint of a smile flashed in Lu Mingzhu's eyes. She then asked, "How is that old woman? How is her later life arranged? Did you find out clearly?"

Lu Pingan said solemnly, "She declined the state’s compensation and monthly subsidies, saying she has two daughters-in-law and two grandsons, one fifteen and one thirteen, with land allocated by the state. They are not worried about livelihood. Then I sent someone to inquire about her family and found that they live very poorly, without money. Both grandsons are illiterate, only knowing how to farm and support the family. At the same time, it was discovered that there are very few able-bodied men in their village. Upon asking, it was learned that most sacrificed their lives on the battlefield. Some left descendants, while others left home to join the army before getting married. The whole village is now made up of the elderly, the weak, women, and children."

"How do you want to help them?" Lu Mingzhu guessed his intention of wanting to withdraw a sum of money long-term.

Lu Pingan looked up at her, his eyes firm. "I found that education in the mainland is very backward. The number of illiterates is something I couldn’t have imagined while living in Shanghai. I remember you once said the illiteracy rate was as high as 80%, but actually, you overestimated the situation. In the countryside, the illiteracy rate is as high as 99%, or even more! I want to fund schools, teaching only primary and junior high, and call for boys and girls under eighteen nearby to attend for free."

"But, for the sake of farm work or even household chores, many families might not send their children to school, especially girls, who naturally don’t get the same treatment as boys. Some don’t even get the chance to be born and live," Lu Mingzhu said, not to discourage him but to state the facts. "Also, we need to consider the busy farming season."

"Then have farming season holidays! Let them study when it’s not busy. It doesn’t have to be summer and winter vacations," Lu Pingan thought it through. "If there are rewards, would they send their children to school?"

"What kind of rewards?" Lu Mingzhu guessed. "Setting up scholarships? Or rewarding books and stationery?"

"Neither one," Lu Pingan shook his head, and as Lu Mingzhu reached out to hit him, he quickly added, "I won’t keep you hanging, I’ll say it right away. The reward is food!"

Lu Mingzhu exclaimed, "Food?"

Lu Pingan nodded, "Labor and materials are dirt cheap in the mainland. Setting up a school wouldn’t break the bank—just a few rooms, some desks and chairs, a blackboard, and chalk. Textbooks and stationery are also inexpensive. My idea is that the school would provide all these for free, but the textbooks cannot be taken home. Once a grade is completed, the books should be passed on to the next group of students. We’ve got to cut costs wherever possible! If funds are insufficient, we could even prepare just one set of textbooks per class for the teacher to use during lessons. These are all flexible solutions."

Lu Mingzhu agreed deeply, "And the reward? You mentioned a food reward."

Lu Pingan cleared his throat and continued, "Every month, there will be exams. For those who can, it’ll be a formal test; for others, just an in-class quiz. The top three students will get thirty pounds of grain every month, the top ten will receive twenty pounds, and the top twenty will get ten pounds. If students attend school regularly, each will receive five pounds of grain per month. To get this benefit, I bet even girls would be sent to school by their parents. After all, they might not earn five pounds of grain a month by working at home."

Lu Mingzhu thought he was a bit idealistic but still expressed support and encouragement, "Where’s the food coming from? Are you buying it?"

Lu Pingan snorted, "Isn’t he planning to start a grain and oil company? He can buy and store locally, then hand it out as rewards. I think he would be very willing."

Lu Mingzhu's eyes widened instantly.

"Wow!"

Lu Changsheng's grain and oil company hasn’t even been acquired yet, and its future has already been planned out by his own son.

Is taking advantage of the elders really a family thing?

Lu Mingzhu couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

Lu Pingan continued to chatter, "Education is the foundation of everything. The mainland desperately needs rebuilding, and the more talent we have, the better. Even if ordinary people only learn a few characters, it can reduce the chances of being deceived. Let’s start in the Land of Abundance, where there are countless families of martyrs and fertile land. With diligent farming, there will be plenty of grain. When he buys grain, it benefits the common people and promotes economic development. Then, it can be fed back to the children, which would be a virtuous act for him."

As for them, all they need to do is provide the school and textbooks. The local authorities would surely be willing to arrange for teachers.

"If you want to do it, go ahead. Just give Comrade Zhang a heads-up in advance. I will support all your decisions from behind, and all expenses will come from our company," Lu Mingzhu didn’t tell him that the planned economy policy would be implemented in two years, maybe even sooner, which would definitely affect his plans. But the young man’s heart is sincere, and it’s rare to see such passion in him.

Whether it’ll last is up to fate.