Chapter 80: You Look So Much Like Her!

When Zhang Xue received the submission from Yu Zhile, she was utterly stunned!

“I only suggested it offhand, just to see what would happen, but I never imagined that Master Yu would actually go ahead and create works for children!”

She immediately replied to confirm receipt, then hurried to review the five works Yu Zhile had sent.

They were all children’s songs!

“Two Little Tigers,” “Little White Rabbit,” “Pulling Up the Turnip,” “Little Duckling,” and “Good Little Bunny”...

Although there wasn’t the fairy tale or children’s novel she had hoped for, considering how popular and catchy the songs Yu Zhile composed after stopping his novels had been, she still had high hopes for these five nursery rhymes.

He had also sent acapella recordings of the five songs. The first three seemed rather ordinary to Zhang Xue, nothing particularly remarkable.

But “Little Duckling” was quite good, and the most promising was “Good Little Bunny.” She felt that this song might even find its way into school textbooks one day!

She quickly typed her reply: “Master, are you planning to sell the rights outright for these five songs, or would you prefer a royalty arrangement?”

Yu Zhile asked, “Which do you think is better?”

Zhang Xue replied, “Children’s literature works like these are different from novels. If you sell the rights, you’ll only get a pittance. With royalties, I can’t guarantee much for the other four, but if ‘Good Little Bunny’ is made into an animated video, the online subscriptions should perform quite well.

And if you create a few more works, we could publish a book under your pen name, which might sell well too.”

Yu Zhile thought for a moment and said, “Let’s go with royalties, then! About the animated video—if you make it, how long would it take?”

Zhang Xue replied, “Usually it can be done in ten days to two weeks. If you’re in a hurry, we could rush it out within a week.”

Yu Zhile typed back, “No rush. In a few days, I’ll write you a couple of stories, then we can see how the book does.”

“Wonderful!” Zhang Xue was over the moon!

She couldn’t believe she had actually managed to lure Master Yu into the field of children’s literature!

Ah, no, how could she call it a ‘trap’?

After all, children’s literature could also become bestsellers!

Master Yu was already a legend in the publishing world. Who’s to say his children’s books wouldn’t break records as well?

And even if the physical sales weren’t ideal, she believed the online sales would still do well!

...

After finishing their conversation, Yu Zhile thought of a few more works.

He was also curious to see how well a children’s book of his would sell.

To fill a book, he’d need at least a dozen works, and they couldn’t all be songs—otherwise, it would be dull.

So, he thought of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”

That story was a classic and highly educational!

Then there was “The Pony Crosses the River”—another delightful tale, encouraging children to think independently and be adventurous!

Yu Zhile made a note to revisit these stories another day and try to reconstruct them as faithfully as possible.

He also recalled some texts from his childhood lessons.

Like, “When you wake up in the morning, facing the sun, east is in front, west is behind,” and so on...

And “Little Painters in the Snow,” with chicks drawing bamboo leaves, ponies drawing crescent moons...

Now that he thought about it, so many years had passed, yet the memories were still vivid!

Two days later.

The chess tournament sponsored by Bull Yogurt Drink finally came to an end.

Old Yu stomped home, grumbling, “Imagine playing chess with someone who keeps farting! Absolutely despicable!”

Seeing his father’s sour expression, Yu Zhile immediately guessed the outcome. “Don’t tell me you didn’t even make it to the semifinals?”

Old Yu snapped, “It’s all that woman’s fault, farting the whole time! Completely threw me off my game! She couldn’t have beaten me otherwise!”

Yu Zhile said, “Dad, a loss is a loss; don’t make excuses. So, what place did you get?”

“Fifth!” Old Yu said, still disgruntled. “Old Liu took first place! That woman who kept farting took second! She couldn’t even beat Old Liu, and Old Liu can’t even beat me! If she hadn’t distracted me, the champion’s title would have been mine!”

Qin Haiyu consoled him, “Dad, fifth place is pretty good! What about the prizes? Weren’t there several cases of milk besides the cash?”

Old Yu replied, “I gave them away!”

Hearing this, his wife immediately scolded him, “You gave away all those boxes of milk? There’s not even a drink left in the house! If I want some, I have to buy it myself, and you just give them all away?”

Old Yu pulled a box of yogurt drink—endorsed by his daughter-in-law—from his pocket and said, “Look, I saved one for you!”

Qin Haiyu nearly burst out laughing. Her father-in-law was just too adorable!

Yu Zhile teased, “Dad, shouldn’t you be handing over your prize money now?”

Old Yu shot his son a glare. This brat always knew how to hit a sore spot! He’d worked hard in the tournament to earn a bit of pocket money—there was no way he’d hand it over!

He bluffed, “I donated the prize money! Since it was a charity chess tournament, I had to contribute to the cause! Anyway, it’s only a few hundred—nothing we can’t spare.”

Qin Haiyu praised him, “Dad, you’re so generous!”

Yu Zhile patted her head, saying, “Silly wife, you believe that? Dad’s just trying to keep some pocket money from Mom!”

“You brat! Someone needs to teach you a lesson!” Old Yu glared fiercely at his son, feeling a little guilty. Still, he’d won the money fair and square, so his wife wasn’t ruthless enough to demand he hand it over.

A moment later, the doorbell rang suddenly, and Old Liu’s voice called from outside.

Qin Haiyu glanced at her husband and mother-in-law, whispering, “Should I hide for a bit?”

Her mother-in-law went to open the door, saying, “No need. Even if Old Liu sees you, he won’t recognize you.”

Yu Zhile said, “Wait, didn’t Old Liu go to the New Year’s Gala with Dad? With Dad’s personality, he must already know.”

At that moment, Old Yu was in the bathroom, battling constipation, completely unaware that Old Liu had stopped by.

When the door opened, Yu Zhile saw that Old Liu had brought along a chubby little girl, about seven or eight years old, who was struggling to carry a box of yogurt. In a sweet, childish voice, she greeted, “Hello, Teacher Pan!”

Old Liu came in, saying, “Is Old Yu not back yet? The guy’s so proud, he gave away all five cases of milk he won, so I brought one over for you.”

The chubby girl lugged the box of Bull Yogurt Drink into the living room, curiously eyeing the couple sitting there. Then, comparing Qin Haiyu to the endorsement image on the box, she exclaimed, “Big sister, you look just like her!”

At that moment, Old Liu, noticing Qin Haiyu, was struck dumb with disbelief!