Is this cartoonist mentally ill?

"Another year is almost over."

Ayumi Ito exhaled a breath of hot air, blew a circle on the glass, and then drew a smiley face on it with her finger.

It is the winter solstice again. There has always been a saying in the mainland of the Republic that "the winter solstice is as important as the New Year". After all, it is an important solar term in the 24 solar terms that combines the two connotations of nature and humanity. It is also a traditional festival shared by all regions and ethnic groups in the Republic.

The winter solstice is regarded as a major festival in winter. Since ancient times, there have been sayings that "the winter solstice is as important as the New Year" and "the winter solstice is as important as the New Year". Therefore, the winter solstice is also called "Little New Year". When the winter solstice arrives, the New Year is not far away, so the ancients believed that the importance of the winter solstice is no less than that of the New Year.

The Japanese region and the peninsula region are also affected, and this day will be specially celebrated.

The temperature in the Magic City after entering winter is not too cold. Anyway, Ayumi Ito feels that the temperature in the Magic City in winter is even slightly warmer than that in her hometown.

Although the geographical dimensions of the two are similar, Southern Kyushu is also the warmest region in Japan.

But the Magic City doesn't seem that cold, and it rarely snows. Kyushu Island always has a little snow in winter.

Before she knew it, she had been working here for nearly five years. Ito Ayumi looked a little dazed.

"Ding Dong--"

The prompt sound of the elevator door opening in the apartment building interrupted Ito Ayumi's thoughts. She immediately came to her senses and walked into the elevator.

She took out her mobile phone and began to browse the mobile phone messages casually.

It's great... At the winter solstice, those fragmentary and complicated work messages were completely gone.

It has to be said that working in the local area has such benefits. The benefits and salary are very good. Not only do you have two days off, but you also get off work on time.

Even if you work overtime, it will not be unpaid overtime, but double overtime pay on weekdays and triple overtime pay on holidays.

Although some people say that the welfare benefits of the local area are now obtained by squeezing non-local areas outside the Republic.

This does sound quite reasonable.

But Ito Ayumi doesn't think so.

After becoming a great power, the Republic focused on developing the economy in its native areas and put forward the idea of ​​"the rich first drive the poor later", which led to the prosperity and strength of the Republic today.

The Japanese region and the peninsula region were also driven by this, which led to such a good level of economic development.

Otherwise, she didn't think that after experiencing the scars of war, the two major regions could once again have today's level of going from insufficient food and clothing to gradually approaching a well-off level.

It is true that the economic level is much worse than that of the native area, but there are still many areas in the native area with similar economic development levels as them.

The most important thing is that, in her opinion, the overtime, workplace, and senior-senior culture in her hometown that are criticized are all created by her hometown, so how can she blame the native area?

After she came to work in Shanghai, she found that the culture in her hometown was purely created by her own people exploiting her own people.

This is not popular in the native area. Although there are many overtimes, workplace bullying and senior-senior culture are almost unheard of.

Even if some seniors are pretentious, it is not so deeply rooted in people's hearts that the bullied juniors dare not speak out and can only do as they are told.

Even the seniors... really take care of the juniors.

Ito Ayumi feels the happiness of being taken care of by the seniors. No, it should be said that not only the seniors, but also the juniors and colleagues are very considerate of each other.

Of course, as long as there is no mistake in something too important.

If there is a mistake in something important, it is a dereliction of duty at work. No matter how good your temper is, you will never be considered.

However, Ito Ayumi never makes any mistakes at work. She is a very careful person. She entered the comic world company entirely because of her work ability and resume.

This is probably due to her work experience in her hometown.

After all, she will check work information on weekends. Among all the editors in the comic world company, she is the only one who does this.

Ayumi Ito looked at the work information sent before the holidays, and after confirming that there was still something that needed to be completed after the holidays, she looked at the information on her personal life account.

In the group chat called "Comic Migrant Workers' Home" that she pinned.

Aqiang: "The teacher made fried chicken steak! Come on! It's delicious!"

Aqiang: "[Picture] [Picture]"

This group was naturally formed by Lin Qingshan, and the members of the group chat were naturally Lin Qingshan himself, three assistants, Gu Qianli, and Ayumi Ito. In addition, there were Gu Qianli's two good girlfriends-Yang Zhihan and Li Zhiqiu, and...

The small account that Lin Qingshan created for Pochita was named Pochita.

Although this account was for Pochita, Pochita didn't know how to use a mobile phone, so naturally Lin Qingshan was using it.

It's just that he often used this account to send a bunch of confusing "woof woof woof" words in the group, and the key was that Gu Qianli and others were embarrassed to ignore him.

Every time this happened, the group was a little awkward.

The "A Qiang" who was talking in the group at this time was naturally Chen Chunqiang, but when he first joined the group with his personal account, his account name was actually "The Stronger, the More Merciless"...

It felt a bit like a middle school student, a self-proclaimed black person.

But in fact, everyone also knows that Chen Chunqiang's character is relatively middle-class. He will say to himself all day long, "I am the one who kills all vain people", "It is not me who is wrong, it is the world", "Only I can "Know how lonely it is to be invincible" and other such silly words.

Every time after being discovered, he would suddenly grab his hair in embarrassment, and his toes would seem to be able to dig out three bedrooms and one living room on the ground...

So his online name was very middle-class at first.

Then when Chen Chunqiang found out, he immediately changed his nickname back to the simple "Aqiang"...

The picture he posted was of course Lin Qingshan's fried chicken wings. To use a familiar saying, it was like - both adults and children were so greedy that they cried after seeing it.

Soon, other people's chats appeared in the group.

Jie Jianxiaxia: "Now! Chunqiang, don't finish eating!"

Little Crocodile: "Hahaha! Yuta, you are late. Chunqiang and I ate several of the first batch of chicken wings that the teacher fried!"

Hanshen was full of energy today: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-he didn't even tell us and just started eating! We're going over right now!"

Qiuqiu doesn't want to go to work today: "I'm just telling you why I smell a very fragrant smell!"

Pochita: "Woof woof woof woof woof [picture]"

…

Ayumi Ito saw the account "Pochita" send out a photo that seemed to be a first-person view of eating chicken wings, and then made an unclear "woof woof woof" comment.

Everyone actually saw that when Lin Qingshan posted such a photo and what he wanted to say, he was actually pretending to be Pochita and said, "I'm eating chicken wings too!"

However, the group chat was still awkward for a moment.

She chuckled, Teacher Aoyama... he is always so interesting!

She immediately typed and said in a funny way, "Pochita, come and open the door for me! Leave some chicken wings for me!"

Pochita's account appeared again in the group chat and immediately responded: "Woof woof woof!"

Then as the elevator arrived, Ito Ayumi arrived at Lin Qingshan's apartment, and then saw the door opened. It was really... Pochita bit the chicken wing, but flexibly pushed the door open with her front paws.

In fact, the most important thing is that the apartment door has a rotating door handle, and a smart dog can still open it.

"Ayumi! You're here!"

Lin Qingshan emerged from the kitchen with a smile and said.

"Teacher Qingshan, everyone, hello winter solstice."

Ayumi Ito changed her shoes skillfully and said with a smile.

"Ayumi."

Gu Qianli, who was also helping with the work, also greeted Ayumi Ito with a smile.

"Qianli, do you want my help?"

Immediately, Ayumi Ito took off her coat, rolled up her sleeves and walked into the kitchen.

…

Soon after, Yuta Akumi, who was the last one to arrive, also arrived.

A group of people immediately got busy together, helping Lin Qingshan make dinner.

This is something that everyone understands tacitly. Although Lin Qingshan is always the chef, everyone does the work of washing vegetables, preparing dishes, cleaning up garbage, and handling the aftermath together.

Lin Qingshan would not be allowed to do it all by himself, or be responsible for most of the work.

Another sumptuous table of meals appeared in Lin Qingshan's apartment.

"cheers!"

Lin Qingshan, Gu Qianli and others raised their cups and clinked them together, cheering and saying.

"Wow! Teacher's craftsmanship is as good as ever!"

Yuta Akumi said with some envy, "I feel like I haven't eaten the food cooked by the teacher for a long time, and I regret it a little."

He was the first one to "make a career" and is currently preparing for his debut comic book. He stopped serving as Lin Qingshan's assistant a long time ago. Naturally, he has not enjoyed Lin Qingshan's craftsmanship for a long time.

After all, only on holidays would Lin Qingshan hold special dinner parties.

However, there are only one or two public holidays in the second half of the Republic, and it was already two months ago since the last gathering.

"You kid, you know how to be a teacher's assistant!"

Chen Chunqiang smiled and said.

“Being a teacher’s aide would be a really good job, if not for what I wanted to pursue my dream.”

Akumi Yuta nodded and said, "I also want to always be the teacher's assistant."

"Oh, Yuta... not only Yuta, but also Shiqing and Haruqiang, you will all be great cartoonists in the future."

Lin Qingshan gave a thumbs up and said, "There is no need to be my assistant all the time."

"By the way, Yuta, how's your manga going?"

Wu Shiqing also remembered it at this time and asked curiously.

"I plan to participate in the Comic Industry's Newcomer Awards soon."

Yuta Akumi said with a smile, "The most important thing is that the teacher gave me very good suggestions, which helped me complete the manga smoothly."

"Are you going to participate in the Comic Awards next year?"

Ayumi Ito asked curiously.

"Yes, Ito-san."

Yuta Akumi immediately said, "Like my teacher, I plan to debut and become famous in the manga industry's Newcomer Awards, and I heard that the requirements for the works of the manga industry's newcomer awards have changed."

"changed?"

Gu Qianli on the side also chimed in and asked curiously.

"Yeah, it's changed. The previous Newcomer Award was for novellas."

Ayumi Ito said, "But the system was restructured last year and there is no limit on the length of comics. That means that now both short and long comics can be entered into the competition. At the same time, the number of entries will also increase. However, at the beginning of the competition, comics It can only be serialized online, and new artists’ works will no longer be serialized in paper magazines.”

This is also affected by the era of intelligence. After all, comics can now be serialized online and are no longer limited to serialization in paper media.

Of course, there is no need to limit the length of the participating comic works, or even eliminate most of the comic works submitted for competition, and only serialize a few or so newcomer comics in the magazine.

In fact, this is also influenced by Lin Qingshan.

Because Lin Qingshan's original debut work "Edge Walker" was only a medium-length comic, but now it has become a huge success. Not only has the comic's reputation exploded, but so have the sales of single volumes and animation broadcasts. It has also been remade into a movie, breaking box office records.

At this moment, the top executives in the comic industry feel like they are losing their blood.

If only "Edgewalker" was not limited to the work requirements of the Newcomer Grand Prix, but directly became a full-length comic.

The top management in the comic industry dare not think about how much profit they can make from the current sales of single books and copyrights.

So it's really a shame that "Edge Walker" should not have been subject to the length limit and continued to be serialized.

Therefore, they no longer limit the length of entries in the Newcomer Grand Prix. In this way...if a super newcomer comes out and draws another super popular comic and turns it into a long series, they will make a lot of money in the future.

Moreover, works from the Newcomer Grand Prix no longer need to be limited to being serialized in comic magazines.

But let’s not talk about it...the idea of ​​​​reforming by the top management of the comic industry really made them wait for a popular comic work that will definitely be super popular-"Spell Return"!

"It just so happens that Yuta's work will be a long-form comic, so that's just right."

Lin Qingshan said with a smile.

"Where...even though it has been restructured, there are still serialization restrictions for long-form comic works. That is, by the time the voting results of the competition are announced, if the voting does not reach more than 200 votes, it will be cut in half."

Akumi Yuta said nervously.

After all, this is his debut work, so it is possible that he will be cut in half.

"Do not worry!"

However, Lin Qingshan felt relieved and gave Yuta Akumi a thumbs up again, saying, "Yutaichi is absolutely fine."

He knows very well that the popularity of "Spell Return" is so strong. In his previous life, it ranked 6th in popularity in a new comic contest such as the "Next Popular Comic Award".

Later, the animated adaptation became a phenomenal work.

You can say that the one-eyed cat teacher is behind the scenes, but in the front... his popularity is frighteningly high.

"Thank you teacher!"

Akumi Yuta was confident again at this time and said.

"Okay, let's start our last supper! Let's eat first!"

Lin Qingshan suddenly laughed, and then greeted everyone.

"Eh?!"

"ah?!"

"Wait! Teacher, what did you just say?"

…

Everyone present was stunned when they heard Lin Qingshan's obviously ambiguous words.

"Qingshan, what are you talking about..."

Gu Qianli was speechless and looked at Lin Qingshan helplessly.

"It's the last supper..."

Lin Qingshan scratched his head and said, "After the winter solstice is New Year's Eve... Well, everyone will probably go home for the holidays by then."

The Spring Festival holiday in this parallel world is exceptionally long, both locally and regionally... at least that's what the official announcement says.

The key is that there is no need to take time off.

So a few days after the winter solstice and two days before New Year's Eve, everyone goes back to their hometowns for the holidays.

And among this group of people...there really aren't many locals.

Needless to say, Yuta Akumi and Ayumi Ito from Japan are definitely going back to celebrate the New Year.

Wu Shiqing and Chen Chunqiang are not locals from the Magic City. Among those present... only Lin Qingshan can barely be considered a half-local, and he probably spent the Chinese New Year with his uncle Lin Pinzhang and the others.

They have become quite familiar with each other during this period of time, and with the experience of celebrating the New Year together last year, of course his resistance has been slightly reduced.

"Qingshan, what you said is really scary..."

Yang Zhihan said helplessly.

"Ah...my question..."

Lin Qingshan scratched his head and said sheepishly, "Okay, everyone, let's eat!"

"Then...we won't be polite!"

Everyone immediately started moving together, but they were still talking and laughing, and eating while talking and laughing.

At this time, Gu Qianli looked a little strange.

She looked at Lin Qingshan beside her and remembered the conversation she had with her parents on the phone the day before yesterday——

"Hello, dad, mom."

"Qianli, how are you doing over there lately?"

"Fortunately, although there is still a lot of work and postgraduate entrance examinations, I have been able to have a little more leisure recently..."

"Then you and Qingshan will come to our house for dinner in the next two days?"

"ah?"

"Ah what? You and Qingshan have been together for so long, why don't you bring us back for a meal?"

"But we had a date with friends that day."

"Then since this is the case, you young people's gatherings really can't be postponed directly, so let's do this, bring Qingshan to our house for a reunion dinner this New Year!"

"ah?!"

"Ah what! That's it. Come back with Qingshan then!"

"Hey! Mom! Dad!"

"Dudududu——"

…

Gu Qianli suddenly felt a little embarrassed, because she always felt that... she was already meeting her family.

But...is it reasonable for them to meet their parents so early?

Although they had met last time, it was different that time... She and Lin Qingshan were not sure about their relationship that time.

But...let's give it a try.

then……

"Green Mountain."

"Um?"

Lin Qingshan blinked, looked at Gu Qianli, and asked.

"Is such that……"

Gu Qianli stretched out his index finger, scratched his face like Lin Qingshan's usual habit, and whispered with some embarrassment, "My father and my mother... they told me some time ago, asking if you want... for the Chinese New Year. Then go to my house and have a reunion dinner together.”

Lin Qingshan was stunned for a moment. Just when Gu Qianli thought that Lin Qingshan would be a little tactful and embarrassed...

"OK."

Lin Qingshan said with a smile, "When the time comes...I will show my uncle and auntie a lesson!"

Gu Qianli was stunned for a moment, and his expression became weird again. Could it be that...Qingshan thought she was asking him to be the chef?

But how could it be possible? It was impossible for their family to cook their own reunion dinner. They usually hired professional chefs to cook their meals at home.

The New Year's Eve dinner will naturally be like this.

But... no matter what, Qingshan agreed.

And she does sometimes feel that Lin Qingshan's cooking skills are better than the chefs at home.

Lin Qingshan continued to look at her with a smile.

They have confirmed their relationship, and since they have made up their minds...then he will naturally not back down.