Chapter 30: The Peddler

Whether it is a comic book or a graphic novel, the form is merely a medium; the most essential core remains the story. While stunning visuals can certainly add value, if the content is trash, it deserves to be criticized—and criticized harshly.

Although it would be a few days before he received the professional manuscript paper, Zheng Fei did not spend this waiting period idly. He had already begun working. Creating comics or graphic novels is quite different from submitting novels or poetry; certain essential factors must be considered before one even starts drawing.

The mainstream format for small booklets at the time was 64k, but for comics, this size is far too small. At least a 32k or even a large 32k format is required for a decent reading experience. However, at such a large size, horizontal layouts are impractical; vertical layouts offer a much better experience. In fact, various habits from later generations have proven that vertical reading aligns better with the general user experience. In the domestic market, comics were eventually adapted into vertical "webtoons" specifically for mobile phones, allowing readers to simply scroll from top to bottom.

Zheng Fei used a pencil to draft the layout on scratch paper, roughly sketching the frames and adding speech bubbles. He could draw the drafts now, and once the professional paper arrived, he would use a light table to trace the lines. This approach would ultimately result in a much cleaner and neater final product.

Truth be told, light tables were not something one could buy in this era, but the device itself was simple to make. Since Old Sun was quite skilled with his hands, Zheng Fei bought a pane of glass from the nearby supply and marketing cooperative and asked Old Sun to build him a light table. He would simply need to place a lamp underneath it when the time came.

...

The first chapter of *Wind and Cloud*.

It tells the story of how the World Trade Hall sent men to wipe out the Huo Family Estate for refusing to submit. At the time, Bu Jingyun was still known as Huo Jingjue. Because of his reputation as the "Weeping God," the assassins underestimated him, assuming he wasn't a member of the Huo family, only to be caught off guard by his counterattack. In the end, he was saved by Wu Ming. Later, due to a series of misunderstandings, he left and joined the World Trade Hall, taking the name Bu Jingyun.

After Zheng Fei’s brief organization, the first chapter spanned over thirty pages, with three panels per page, totaling over a hundred panels. Completing this entirely on his own was undoubtedly a massive undertaking. Even if Zheng Fei had the constitution of a natural-born workhorse and worked over a dozen hours a day, he felt he could manage at most two pages of work daily. To finish the first chapter, it would take nearly a month. It was incredibly time-consuming. Zheng Fei desperately wanted to become famous quickly so the publishing house might assign him a few assistants; that would make things much easier.

...

Once he had some money in his pocket, Zheng Fei instantly transformed into a shut-in. Aside from going out in the morning to empty his chamber pot, he barely ever left the house. His daily meals were handled by his neighbor, Auntie Huang. Zheng Fei gave her thirty yuan a month for food expenses and provided her family with the vast majority of his ration coupons. He asked them to buy more vegetables and meat, as he was truly too thin—bordering on malnourished—and needed to build up his strength. Otherwise, if he ever found a girlfriend, the clashing of bones would be painful.

Seeing how much Zheng Fei offered for food, Auntie Huang was reluctant to accept the money, but Zheng Fei was firm: "If you won't take it, I'll give the money to Old Sun and eat at his place instead."

Unable to win the argument, Auntie Huang accepted the money and began stewing meat and buying eggs for Zheng Fei every few days to help him recover. After all, drawing comics was physically demanding. Often, when the rest of the city was already asleep, Zheng Fei was still there, grinding away. If his physical fitness couldn't keep up, he wouldn't be able to stay the course as a "workhorse."

Sometimes, little Xiao Yun would run over to help, and her eyes would widen in shock when she saw what Zheng Fei was drawing. Because Zheng Fei had become such a homebody, many neighbors often sighed with pity when they mentioned him.

"It's a shame he has such a talent for drawing, but he's so lazy, hiding at home every day."

"If the 'Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside' movement hadn't ended, a guy like him should be sent to the border to toughen up."

During this time, Director Wang from the neighborhood committee even stopped by once or twice, trying to invite him to work for the neighborhood production team, but Zheng Fei declined each time. What a joke—he was about to become a comic master; why would he join their production team now? If his comic became a massive hit later, wouldn't he have to split his royalties with the production team? He wouldn't be the biggest sucker in the world; that was absolutely out of the question.

...

Not far away, Tao Tao and Qiusheng were cooking up a big plan. At this stage, the hardest part of being an individual entrepreneur was sourcing goods. Sunflower seeds were a state-monopoly commodity. To sell them, they first needed a supply. After asking around, they finally met a man they called "Second Brother." This man was incredibly resourceful; as long as the money was right, he could get his hands on anything.

With a "try it and see" attitude, Tao Tao and Qiusheng spent forty yuan—without using any ration coupons—and actually managed to get a bag of sunflower seeds with a net weight of twenty jin from Second Brother. Now, the bag sat in Zheng Fei's room. The two of them squatted on the floor, holding a small teacup, doing the math.

They calculated that the twenty-jin bag could fill 1,500 cups. Even if they sold them at the same price as the grocery store—five cents a cup—they would gross seventy-five yuan once everything was sold.

...

Looking at the numbers, Tao Tao and Qiusheng stared at each other in disbelief. "Damn, selling seeds is this profitable?"

And this was with them sourcing the goods through Second Brother; without him, the profit margin would be even higher. Tao Tao then asked, "Brother Fei, we've got the goods now. Where do you think we should set up shop? Should we go to the Bund?"

Zheng Fei, who was busy drawing, thought for a moment and spat out a seed shell. "Probably not. What you're selling conflicts with the nearby shops. If you really go there to set up a stall, you'll definitely be reported."

"Then what should we do? It feels like every street has someone selling seeds. Does that mean we can't sell them at all?"

"You can carry the seeds in baskets on a shoulder pole and sell them as you walk through the alleys. When school lets out, go directly to the area around the school. Don't carry too much at once, and don't stay in one place for too long. Even if you get confiscated, you won't lose too much."

Qiusheng nodded. "I think Brother Fei’s idea is good. A while ago, I saw a peddler carrying goods to sell here in Tanziwan."

"Alright, let's give it a try." Zheng Fei smiled. Among the first generation to get rich, there was no telling how many had started out as peddlers and street vendors. "Oh, and by the way, keep a few newspapers talking about the Reform and Opening-up policy on you. If anyone tries to give you trouble or labels you, just show them those papers."

"Brother Fei is always so thoughtful."

...

Time moved into December.

Shanghai had become quite cold. The leaves on the trees had all fallen, yet there was no such thing as central heating or heated brick beds. If you burned charcoal, you had to keep the room ventilated, but opening the windows let in the biting cold. Zheng Fei planned to build a small fireplace in his room next month and run the flue outside, which would solve the problem.

Wrapped in a quilt, Zheng Fei huddled at his desk to draw, clutching a hot water bottle. Whenever his hands became too numb from the cold, he would hug the bottle to warm up before continuing his work.

By mid-December, Zheng Fei had finally finished the drawings for the first chapter of *Wind and Cloud*, totaling forty pages. He placed the manuscript into a kraft paper envelope, wrote the title *Wind and Cloud* on it, and included his contact information.