ebookland Chapter 100: A Slap and a Sweet Treat?
Chapter 100: A Slap and a Sweet Treat?
"You drew well; you certainly have an artistic background."
Kang Xianqin seemed to remember something and clapped her hands. "I feel like you can graduate without my guidance. Well, I'm currently busy with this month's artwork, but it's almost the end of the month, and I need to start preparing for the next issue. Why don't you start working on the next issue?"
It wasn't that Kang Xianqin wanted to exploit the newcomers, but after Ye Shufen and Wang Xiang were fired, a lot of work was left behind, and they had to clean up the mess. You could tell just by looking at the dark circles under her eyes that she hadn't had a good night's sleep in the past few days!
"Huh?" Shu Yun felt it was too sudden. Usually, new employees need a few days to adjust. She was planning to be a couch potato for a few days.
Kang Xianqin thought she was worried, so she comforted her, "It's okay, just draw the sketch first, and we can revise it later."
And so, on her very first day at work, Shu Yun got a job.
This was Shu Yun's first job, and she took it very seriously. She revised the first draft several times. Only when Kang Xianqin started urging her did Shu Yun rush to finish the drawing.
Seeing her flustered appearance, Kang Xianqin thought she was not used to the style of the propaganda posters, so she patted her shoulder and comforted her, "It's okay, it's okay, we can just revise it again. Let me tell you, when I had Director Huang review my previous drafts, I revised them thirteen times."
Kang Xianqin emphasized the number thirteen, which shows how much she still cares about it.
"What are you talking about?" Speak of the devil and he appears; Huang Ju was in a good mood after Ye Shufen and Wang Xiang left.
Seeing the painting in Shu Yun's hand, she raised an eyebrow and took it directly. "You painted this?"
Shu Yun nodded, and Huang Ju said, "Let me take a look first."
And so, Huang Ju took her painting back to the office. Kang Xianqin patted Shu Yun on the shoulder with great sympathy, "Be prepared. If she scolds you, just pretend you didn't hear it."
Shu Yun raised an eyebrow. "Is it that scary?"
"Of course." Seeing that the others were busy and hadn't noticed them, Kang Xianqin lowered her head and whispered in Shu Yun's ear, "You see the young man sitting diagonally in front of you, right? Xiao Zhu, such a fine young man, but when he first came here, he was scolded by Director Huang and came out of the office crying."
Shu Yun: "You cried?"
“Absolutely true.” Kang Xianqin nodded. “I saw it with my own eyes. Director Huang has high standards, and she speaks very frankly. You’ll understand once you get to know her better. But although our leader is strict about work, she also cares a lot about her colleagues…”
Kang Xianqin was talking enthusiastically, but little did she know that Director Huang, whom she was talking about, had come back again. "Shuyun, come here for a moment."
Upon seeing Huang Ju's expressionless face, Shu Yun jumped up and immediately stood up. "Okay."
This felt somewhat like being called in by the homeroom teacher, and she was a little nervous. She looked at Kang Xianqin, who silently returned to her desk and gave her a helpless look.
Shu Yun forced herself to step forward and said, "Hello, Director."
Unexpectedly, Huang Ju smiled when she saw her, her wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, and the distance between them lessened. She smiled and invited Shu Yun to sit on the sofa, and poured her a cup of hot tea. Shu Yun was flattered; was she being given a sweet treat before she was supposed to slap her?
Huang Ju placed her painting on the coffee table. "I've seen your painting. Overall it's good, but some details need to be improved..."
Huang Ju pointed out several details in the drawing, saying, "The first principle of our publicity work is to be rigorous and conscientious; we must never make mistakes on matters of principle."
Shu Yun nodded, indicating that she had learned something.
Huang Ju laughed and said, "Don't be so nervous with me, Shu Yun. I admire you very much. After seeing your work, I feel even more that my decision was right. The publicity department needs talents like you."
The people in the main office were also watching the commotion. Seeing that Shu Yun hadn't come out for a long time, they thought, "Director Huang probably has high expectations for Shu Yun."
An elderly man wearing glasses took a sip of tea and said, "Young people, how can they see a rainbow without experiencing wind and rain? Criticism is the only way to make progress."
"Comrade He, you should really worry about yourself. The publicity draft is due tomorrow. Are you alright?"
Old He pushed up his glasses and slowly opened the book. "No rush, no rush, slow and steady wins the race."
Kang Xianqin glanced at the closed office door with some concern. After all, it was she who brought Shu Yun along and it was she who asked Shu Yun to draw the picture. If the little girl really cried, she would have to comfort her.
After waiting for a long time, the old, heavy wooden door opened with a creaking sound. Kang Xianqin immediately straightened her back and looked inside. Hmm? It wasn't what she had imagined.
Seeing that both of them looked normal, Huang Ju smiled and patted Shu Yun on the shoulder, clearly showing her approval and appreciation.
As soon as Shu Yun returned, she dragged a chair over and asked, "How was it?"
Shu Yun: "Fortunately, Director Huang was very kind and didn't say anything. She just pointed out some mistakes in my drawing, and I corrected them and showed them to her."
"Really?" Is this still the Director Huang she knows? When did Director Huang change his persona?
However, after seeing Shu Yun's artwork, she couldn't help but sigh again that comparisons are odious. The artwork was truly excellent. The first impression was one of striking color, followed by a sense of patriotism.
No wonder Director Huang looked at Shu Yun like she was a treasure. She gave Shu Yun a thumbs up and said, "You're amazing."
Although Huang Ju was very satisfied with Shu Yun, Shu Yun still revised the manuscript three times before handing it over to Huang Ju. Only after receiving Huang Ju's satisfied nod did Shu Yun finally breathe a sigh of relief and get some rest.
At night, the courtyard was dark, except for one room where a light was on.
Gu Jun was called back to the army late at night, which was a common occurrence for Shu Yun. She was used to it and went to her study to draw comic strips. She became engrossed in her drawing, and by the time she finished a drawing, it was already 8 p.m.
Shu Yun's stomach rumbled twice, so she went to the kitchen, cracked two eggs, and prepared to make a bowl of steamed egg custard for a late-night snack.
Just as she placed the steamed egg custard on the pot, she heard a rustling sound. Shu Yun's nerves immediately tensed up, and she called out, "A-happy?"
No dog responded; Ah-happy was fast asleep in the doghouse.
In the darkness, the rustling sound did not weaken but became clearer. Shu Yun stiffly turned her head and looked in the direction of the sound. By sheer coincidence, she met a pair of red eyes. In an instant, Shu Yun felt the blood rush to her head and a scream burst from her throat.
Shu Yun practically tumbled and crawled out of the kitchen. Her slippers had fallen off, her feet were covered in mud, and her knees slammed into the ground, causing her excruciating pain that almost brought tears to her eyes.
Axi was awakened by its owner's voice, barked loudly a few times, and ran towards Shuyun. Shuyun only felt alive again when she hugged the puppy's fluffy and soft body. She reached out and rubbed Axi's head to soothe the somewhat restless puppy.
The lights next to them came on, and an anxious voice came from outside the door, "Shuyun, what's wrong? What happened?"