Chapter 144: Is 1 Million Enough?

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Creating hand-drawn posters for a movie would be a great experience. Especially if the movie had some big-name creators. For a regular art student to receive such a job, they would happily do it without pay.

Meng Fan didn’t wait for Qin Jiao to respond and quickly said, “Hang on. Do they pay a lot? I have a lot of work right now. If the money is not good, I’m not going to do it.”

“When did you care if they paid a lot or not?” Qin Jiao immediately began to gossip. “Are you in a relationship and don’t have enough to spend? And you don’t want to trouble your mom and your sister? Is it Wu Tong? Are you really short on money? Why don’t I give you some first?”

Meng Fan’s head throbbed when he saw this message. He couldn’t tell her he was earning money, so he could distribute it back out. “Why can’t I be at peace with money? Who doesn’t want more money?”

Meng Fan had indeed started to collect money for the [Wealth Distribution Cherub] and [A Million Merits] tasks. Aside from ensuring his manga updates remain consistent, Meng Fan thought about taking some new illustration jobs. After all, he had no trouble drawing twenty or thirty a day. And with his credibility in the novel illustrations circle, he had no problem finding more jobs and would even be able to raise his rates.

It was just that novel illustrations could only pay so much. Meng Fan more or less felt his drawing skill was being taken for granted by charging a few hundred per drawing.

But then again, this seemed to be the only way to make money quickly.

Hence, he was quite happy to take the task of illustration posters for a movie promo. However, he had to make sure how much they would pay.

“Fine, don’t tell me. Either way, it’s probably just you and Wu Tong.” Qin Jiao retorted. “The pay is not bad; they will pay you 50,000 for the first ten manuscripts. If you think about it, this is the pay for a top-notch illustrator. Of course, you have to draw more than that just in case.”

Meng Fan heard this. It really was a lot. “Alright, send it over.”

Qin Jiao hung up the phone and sent the contents to Meng Fan. He didn’t look at it before calling Qin Jiao again. “Is it easy for you to find this kind of work? I mean this kind of illustrations for movies and TV series. The kind that pays above 1000 or so.” He paused for a moment. “I really am short on money recently. As long as the pay is good, I’m willing to take it. I promise it’ll be good quality!”

“You really need money?” Qin Jiao sounded surprised but did not press further. She smiled and then replied, “This kind of thing, you really shouldn’t be asking me. I only have some friends who come to me occasionally looking for artists. If you really want to find this kind of work, you should ask your sister!”

“You’re already so gossipy. My sister would be impossible, okay! Alright, I’m gonna look at the contents. Oh right, when do you want me to sign the NDA?”

“Tomorrow morning… nine or ten. I’ll be in my office, so I’ll tell them to send it over.”

“Alright.”

Meng Fan hung up and looked at the contents Qin Jiao had sent over. As he glossed over it, he decided to call Meng Cai Wei. For this kind of work, he really had to go to her.

“I’m sleeping. If it’s not important, then call me tomorrow.”

Meng Cai Wei muttered a few words after picking up and hung up the receiver immediately.

Meng Fan was speechless as well but did not continue to call. He decided to send her a Wechat message instead. “Can you ask around for me about any movie posters that need illustrators? My drawing skills are top in the country; you can confirm that with Qin Jiao. If you want samples, I can send them as well. So if you could, it would be great to find ones that are willing to pay a lot. There’s no limit.”

Meng Fan was hesitant to say that he was one of the best in the world.

Shortly after he sent the message, Meng Cai Wei responded with a voice message as well. She sounded extraordinarily energized, not like a person who had just woken up. “You need money? Not enough to spend? Are you in love? Is it with that Wu Tong? You secured her? That fast? You don’t want mom to know so you didn’t ask her?”

These words were no different from Qin Jiao’s.

Meng Fan was speechless. “Weren’t you sleeping? Your voice sounds almost too awake!”

At the same time, Meng Cai Wei’s second message came in. “How much do you need? I’ll give it to you first! Is one million enough?”

Meng Fan responded, “????”

He received another message. She completely ignored Meng Fan’s words, talking to herself. “You have to be generous in a relationship, not only to the girl but to yourself as well. Dress well, don’t be so scraggly. The house is near the school, so it’s convenient at least. Oh right, don’t be afraid to buy what you need! You have a house, and if you want to go out, you’ll need a car. But don’t buy a really nice one, a 10,000 HXB van should be enough….”

Meng Fan immediately called to interrupt her. “It has nothing to do with being in a relationship! Just think of it as me wanting to test my money-making skills, okay?”

“You aren’t in a relationship?” Meng Cai Wei’s interest dropped to zero. She then chuckled and changed the topic. “Test your money-making skills? What kind of skill are you going to get, finding work through me? Even if your drawing skills were garbage, people would still be willing to pay you 10,000 for your art through me, okay?”

Meng Fan almost spat out blood. If he hadn’t built up a tolerance over the last twenty or so years, the blood would have spurted out already. He took a deep breath and said, “I’m providing a mutually beneficial service!”

“Mutually beneficial service?” Meng Cai Wei responded. “You can just call me sis and tell me I’m beautiful then I’ll give you one million HXB. That is mutually beneficial as well!”

“Don’t boast Meng Cai Wei. I can say that as much as you want until you’re bankrupt!” Meng Fan took the words back and said, “I didn’t ask you to sell your soul, finding me a job! How about this, can you keep it in mind for me? When the time comes, give me a contact. I’ll take my portfolio to them. You don’t need to appear!”

“Psht. You’re rushing me now? Alright alright alright. I’ll keep that in mind for you.” Meng Cai Wei’s tone revealed an inconsolable sadness. “You already don’t want our help. What’s the point of Mom and Dad and me making so much money? You could have relied on your family, but you chose to work hard yourself, and you’re not afraid of burning out!”

As she hung up, Meng Cai Wei’s face revealed a full smile. It didn’t matter if he made money or not, but she was happy that Meng Fan finally had the heart to improve himself.

She was so happy she could cry!

Suddenly, she broke out into laughter and sent a WeChat to Liang Qing. “Mom, you gotta be careful; that kid suddenly went on a whim and was trying to make money. It’s very likely he’s preparing to break his relationship with you!”

She thought about it and called Qin Jiao as well. “Jiu er, is that kid’s drawing skill really top-notch in the country?”

“Mhmm, indeed.” Qin Jiao was already in bed and had her silent mode on. She had been doing her nighttime yoga routine as she told Meng Cai Wei about her encounter with Meng Fan. “In the last month, he’s changed a lot. Does liking a girl empower a person that much? Do people really give their lives for the person they like?”

“You’re asking me, who do I ask? I’ve never liked anyone that much. Usually, it’s just people liking me. Sigh, speaking of which… it’s actually so frustrating. Those cringey people tell me how much they like me and whatnot, but when I finally started being interested in them, they just stopped talking to me?”

As this subject was brought up, they began to chat. They completely forgot what they had been gossiping about before.

“Maybe they didn’t like you that much, to begin with, so there was no perseverance. After all, you’re just average. Maybe they interacted with you for too long and realized you had too many problems, so they stayed far away. After all, you’re the kind of person that nobody wants to spend time with for long. First sight makes you happy, long term makes you bored. You’re the one this quote is talking about.”

“Then why aren’t you bored of me yet?”

“First of all, I’ve already accepted my fate regarding our relationship. Secondly, shouldn’t you know if I’m bored or not? Third…”