This sense of unease persisted until Jiang Lei placed a newspaper in front of him.
“Come, come, take a look at this newspaper. Don’t say I didn’t think of you. As soon as I came across something good, I rushed straight here to share it with you.”
Chen Hu, the captain of the neighboring brigade: “…”
How hypocritical can you sound! He didn’t believe for a second that Jiang Lei had come all this way just to show him a newspaper.
On the surface, the two of them greeted each other with smiles, but deep down, they were always competing. What on earth was this Jiang guy up to now?
“Heh, you’ve really gone out of your way, haven’t you?”
In the end, Chen Hu still glanced at the newspaper. The brigade leader even thoughtfully pointed out the article written by Song Wei.
“Hey, look at this. The educated youth in our brigade is just too talented. She took some photos, wrote an article, and it got selected by the newspaper—our city’s biggest newspaper, no less. Look at how well these photos are taken, how well this article is written.”
Chen Hu: “…”
He knew it. This was just a show-off move.
But to be honest, Jiang Lei had every right to show off. Chen Hu couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy.
Why didn’t their brigade have someone who could write like that? Someone who could include their brigade in an article and bring them some glory?
No, tomorrow he’d have to ask the educated youth in their brigade if any of them could write. Ideally, they’d write about their brigade too, and then he’d go show off to this old man Jiang!
After successfully showing off, Brigade leader Jiang Lei sauntered off to other places.
Similar scenes played out elsewhere.
Early the next morning, a large number of people headed to town, all rushing to buy newspapers.
Newspapers didn’t cost much, and most people could afford them, but they usually didn’t bother spending the money. Today, however, they were more than willing.
Some of the more enthusiastic and outgoing individuals even struck up conversations with others who had come to buy the newspaper. They proudly pointed to Song Wei’s article and the photos, bragging about them. Even those who couldn’t read had something to say.
Honestly, even the city folks were envious. Who wouldn’t want to be featured in the newspaper? It was a matter of pride and honor!
Soon, word spread that this issue of the newspaper featured an article about a brigade in their town, and more and more locals came to buy it.
By the end of the day, the town’s newspapers were completely sold out.
The news spread even further.
The villagers discussed it fervently, and some even started writing articles, inspired by Song Wei, and submitted them to the newspaper.
However, Song Wei herself wasn’t paying much attention to all this.
She had gone hunting in the mountains with her two wolves and encountered a wolf pack again.
This time, the wolf king actually left a wild goat for them.
Well, more specifically, for the two wolves.
Good. Song Wei was now certain that the two wolf pups were the wolf king’s offspring. The wolf king must have recognized them too.
Only Wolf One and Wolf Two were still clueless, but they were happy as long as there was food.
Carefree and blissfully ignorant, they acted like a pair of goofballs.
Later, Song Wei had another stroke of luck and discovered a wild ginseng plant.
It was over a hundred years old.
Wild ginseng over a century old was quite valuable, with some even being collected as treasures.
Such a good thing, of course, she’d keep it for herself.
It had been another fruitful day.
The two wolves, along with the cats and dogs, followed Song Wei back to the village.
They were warmly welcomed by the entire village once again.
Song Wei was surrounded.
“Song Zhiqing, how did you write that article?”
“Song Zhiqing, are you going to write more? Next time, take a photo with me in it too!”
“Song Zhiqing, how much did you earn from the article?”
Aside from the curiosity about the article, many were also interested in the payment.
Song Wei gave a modest figure.
“Ten yuan. I’m just a beginner writer, so the newspaper didn’t pay much.”
She didn’t want to say too little, as the educated youth could easily find out the newspaper’s rates if they inquired. If she underreported, it would raise suspicions and cause trouble later.
Ten yuan wasn’t a small amount, and many people were envious.
But no matter how jealous or resentful they were, Song Wei had earned it through her own skills. At most, they could grumble a bit, but they didn’t dare say it to her face because she wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
The girl could fight—hadn’t she even killed a wild boar? Not to mention, she had Lin Zhen backing her. Lin Zhen might seem honest on the surface, but he was cunning. There was no doubt he was behind the incident where Lin Youfu got beaten up in a sack.
“I used to think studying was just a waste of money. If I’d known earlier, I would’ve made my son continue his education.”
“Exactly. Ten yuan for an article is no small amount. It’s almost as much as a temporary worker’s salary.”
Temporary workers only earned fifteen yuan a month. Song Wei’s article earned her ten yuan, which was quite a sum by comparison.
Parents with children in school now urged their kids even more fervently to study hard, hoping they could earn money through writing like Song Wei. That would truly bring honor to the family.
In the crowd, seeing that no one was causing trouble for Song Wei out of jealousy, Zhao Yuyin was extremely dissatisfied.
Wasn’t it said that poverty breeds troublemakers? She thought these people were plenty troublesome.
In her view, their hesitation was solely due to their fear of Lin Zhen, given that he was a soldier, wealthy, and strong.
Song Wei was just riding on Lin Zhen’s coattails.
“Since you used everyone’s photos and images, shouldn’t you give them some compensation?”
She couldn’t resist stirring up trouble.
She couldn’t stand seeing Song Wei so smug.
As everyone’s eyes turned to her, Zhao Yuyin lifted her chin, pretending to be righteous.
“Song Zhiqing, the people in the photos are the children of the brigade and the dogs. The article revolves around them, which is why it got published. You used their images without their consent, which is a violation of their right of publicity. It’s unfair for you to profit from their images. You’re being selfish.”
Hearing this, some people in the crowd began to show signs of greed and calculation.
Song Wei glanced at Zhao Yuyin and smiled.
She thought she had figured out what was off about Zhao Yuyin.
“Oh? Why don’t you call the police and have me arrested then?” She crossed her arms, completely unfazed.
Zhao Yuyin was momentarily speechless.
Calling the police? She wouldn’t dare. At this time, their country didn’t even have laws about right of publicity.
Song Wei simply shrugged. “If everyone feels the same way, then next time I’ll just avoid taking photos of people.”
Hearing this, the crowd immediately protested.
They were counting on Song Wei to write articles and take photos of them for the newspaper. This couldn’t happen.
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Auntie Huniu, who was on good terms with Song Wei, gave Zhao Yuyin a shove with her hip, sending her stumbling back a few steps.
If it weren’t for the people around her blocking the way, she might have fallen flat on her face.
“What’s all this about right of publicity? I’d be thrilled if Song Zhiqing took my photo and wrote an article about me for the newspaper. It’s such an honor. How come everything that comes out of your mouth smells like crap?”
Zhao Yuyin’s face turned red with anger.
“I was just looking out for you all. How can you not recognize a good person when you see one?”
“Cut the crap. You’re no good person. Your eyes have been glued to Lin Zhen this whole time. Do you think no one notices what you’re after? Calling yourself a good person? How shameless can you be to say such things?”
Leave a Reply