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Xu Qingfan’s voice was not loud, but at that moment, the only other sound in the room was from the television, so everyone clearly heard what he had just said.
A smile finally appeared on Zhang Chunxue’s face as she introduced him to the crowd, "This is Yiyi’s classmate, a very outstanding child."
Seeing that all the adults in the room were staring at him, Xu Qingfan hesitated for a few seconds before smiling with his hands clasped and said, "Hello grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunties, my name is Xu Qingfan. My parents have confiscated my red packets, so I shamelessly came with Aunt Zhang to scrounge up some red packets. Happy New Year to everyone, ha."
"Pfft~" The adults burst into laughter, and Xu Qingfan’s words broke the ice that had settled over the room.
With Xu Qingfan as a topic, Zhang Chaoqun vividly recounted the incident when their "three little ones" were accused of feigning injury in the park.
"That kid is sly as can be, and in the end, not only did that old lady fail to extort any money, she ended up paying them three thousand yuan in compensation for emotional distress."
Everyone looked as if they were hearing something fantastic, regarding Xu Qingfan with the same curiosity they would have for a giant panda.
Xu Qingfan nodded and gave an awkward smile, his hand under the table was firmly held by Zhang Yiyi.
With Xu Qingfan by her side, Zhang Yiyi suddenly found that the uneasy feeling she used to have had completely vanished.
Zhang Yiyi recalled leading Xu Qingfan by the hand last semester, going from class to class to accept apologies from those who bullied her, feeling a warm sensation linger in her heart.
[I want to hold your hand like this indefinitely.] She silently recited the lyrics from "Simple Love" in her heart.
Fortunately, the Zhang family did not have the bad habit of prohibiting speech during meals, so Xu Qingfan enjoyed a relaxing meal.
"Eat now, read later!" In the middle of the meal, a little brat reading a comic book while eating was lightly tapped on the back of the head by his mother.
Out of the corner of his eye, Xu Qingfan saw, [He’s actually reading "Hilarious Daily."]
Zhang Yiyi also saw it and exchanged a knowing smile with Xu Qingfan when he looked towards her.
Xu Qingfan suddenly remembered the idea he had at Gualv Square — to create an anti-scam edition of "Hilarious Daily."
Zhang Chaoqun worked for the police, so it would be mutually beneficial to do a co-branded issue with Licheng Police.
With everyone present, Xu Qingfan also wanted to take the opportunity to boost Zhang Yiyi’s status, so he started off, "Uncle Chaoqun, Yiyi and I encountered a group of scammers at Gualv Square the week before last..." He explained the scammers’ techniques to everyone in detail.
"Very good. You should call 110 immediately if you encounter a scammer; if the scammer gets away, then only the Bureau of Industry and Commerce can be notified," Zhang Chaoqun affirmed.
"It’s like this, uncle. Yiyi, Wanningyi, and I have published a comic book. I want to create a series about scam prevention and think of co-branding with your police station. Oh, and our comic book is the one your sister-in-law just put away. Excluding pirated copies, it has already sold over five million copies!" Xu Qingfan said, pointing towards Zhang Yiyi’s little aunt.
"Hilarious Daily is drawn by you?"
"Holy shit, you’re the author of Hilarious Daily?"
"..."
Before the adults could react, several children had already gotten excited and stood up, bombarding Xu Qingfan with questions.
"Yes, including pirated versions, we estimate over ten million copies have been sold domestically," Zhang Chunxue said as she watched her parents with squinted eyes, as if to say: Look, the child you wanted to abort, the one you felt ashamed of, see how outstanding they are now.
"It’s that popular? Let me see..." Little Aunt, curious, picked up her son’s comic book and started flipping through the pages.
"Ha ha... this is quite good, ha." She could not help but laugh after reading just the first joke.
"This is super interesting, our teachers even read this comic book at school!"
"Exactly, our entire grade has it, and I even have a copy the size of a matchbox at home!" a group of kids clamored.
"Xiao Fan, what exactly do you mean by co-branding?" Zhang Chaoqun asked, glancing at the noisy children, seeking clarification from him.
Xu Qingfan then remembered that the term ’collaboration’ did not exist in 2004, "It means that you, uncle, provide some common fraud cases, and Yiyi and I will draw them out, then you guys in the police station endorse it. We’ll write ’Co-published with Licheng Police’ in large letters on the cover of the book."
"Alright, I’ll talk to people about it when the time comes." Zhang Chaoqun felt it was a simple matter and agreed without a second thought.
At that moment, he was unaware of the publicity power of "Hilarious Daily," and he could not imagine how much his casual agreement today would help his future career.
After lunch, once the children learned that Xu Qingfan and Zhang Yiyi were the authors of "Hilarious Daily," they somehow managed to find dozens of comic books for them to sign, with both of them becoming big brother and big sister figures among the children.
Zhang Chunxue watched the scene with satisfaction, thinking it was good she brought Xiao Fan along.
[This kid is really likable.] Zhang Chunxue withdrew her gaze and continued stubbornly facing off with her parents.
This was after all an educated family; the sort of dramatic scenes with sisters-in-law quarreling, like in over-dramatized TV shows, did not occur. Xu Qingfan shamelessly roped in Zhang Yiyi and the fifth child to ask for red packets, and they obliged.
This New Year visit yielded not only a bag full of red packets but also gained a few die-hard fans for their fan group.
...
It was already past eight in the evening when they returned to Li City.
Zhang Chunxue drove the car into Lianhua Courtyard and got out with Xu Qingfan, "Xiao Fan, thank you for today." She bent down to hug Xu Qingfan, smiling as she spoke.
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