The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead
Chapter 172 - 168: Talking about Career Ha

Chapter 172: Chapter 168: Talking about Career Ha

A few people agreed that tomorrow, Uncle would first visit Xue Jianian’s place before heading over to the residence where Lu Jingqiu lived. At that time, Lu Jingqiu would wait for him directly at Fish Tail Street.

Afterwards, she also went to take a look at that apartment. If it was carefully dismantled, many bricks could still be used.

But there was no rush. After returning home, she checked her own work and, feeling that there were no problems, she headed to the agency in the afternoon.

This time, she ran into Deputy Editor-in-Chief Yang at the entrance, who greeted her with a smile, "Editor Lu... Jingqiu, oh, I’m so used to calling you that. Now that you’ve left, the illustration department has been very quiet. I heard Luo Xinyue is in the same class as you. How’s school life? Is it wonderful?"

"Deputy Editor-in-Chief Yang, we’re all getting along well over there."

Seeing the portfolio of drawings in her hand, Yang Ting smiled and said, "Are your works completed?"

"Yes, please take a look first."

Yang Ting took the portfolio, gestured to Jingqiu to follow, and then turned back into the office. Jingqiu followed her in. On the way, Yang Ting had already flipped through the dozen or so illustrations.

It was difficult even to find anything inappropriate. Despite being a deputy editor-in-chief, if she were asked to draw, Yang Ting really couldn’t imagine creating such imagery or how to compose the pictures. The key was, she didn’t know how to draw.

"Every picture book you handle hardly needs any changes. These drawings, you can directly hand them over to Zhang Miao, they don’t really need any changes."

"Okay, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Yang."

"By the way, the picture book from our agency that entered the competition has now made it to the finals. There’s a good chance of winning a prize."

Lu Jingqiu was thrilled to hear this news. In her previous life, she had never even dreamed of such a thing. In this life, she had just started working and already achieved such great results. Whether she won a prize in the end or not, it was a huge encouragement for her.

"Deputy Editor-in-Chief Yang, if my work can bring honor to our agency, that’s something to look forward to."

Yang Ting loved hearing this, as their agency had just started recovering, and they indeed needed some achievements.

Therefore, with Lu Jingqiu being such a talented prospect, they didn’t want to let her go.

Lu Jingqiu took her artwork to the editorial department, and once Zhang Miao heard that Deputy Editor-in-Chief Yang had already seen them and couldn’t find any issues, there was no need to take them back for revisions.

"Jingqiu, when it comes to the tasks entrusted to you, our department has no concerns. The illustrations Xinyue worked on have also been corrected, and there are no issues. By the way, when do you start school?"

"Well, the day after tomorrow."

"Tsk, I’m really envious."

"What, Comrade Zhang, you want to go back to school too? Why not try taking the exam this year?"

"Hey, don’t even mention it. I haven’t touched a book in so many years, besides..." At this point, Zhang Miao suddenly touched her stomach, and with that tender expression, even Lu Jingqiu, who had never had a child, knew what it meant. "Sister Zhang, you... are you pregnant?"

Zhang Miao nodded, "Just two months. I found out a few days ago."

"Wow, congratulations, Sister Zhang. How do you feel, any reactions?"

"Not much reaction, just always sleepy. The agency also understands my situation as a pregnant woman. When there’s nothing to do, I take naps, and no one says anything. Oh, by the way, Wang Meilian got married."

"...That fast?" There was no news when she left her job.

"Yeah, it’s a pity you all left. On the day of the wedding, we didn’t go either, we just contributed fifty cents each as a wedding gift."

"Oh." Lu Jingqiu had never contributed to a wedding gift, so she really didn’t know that now fifty cents would suffice.

After staying in the agency for a while and seeing that there was no work for her, she left to go home.

When she got to the entrance of the courtyard, she saw Liu, the editor from West City Daily. "Sister Liu? You..."

"Ah, Xiao Lu, I’m here to find you."

"To find me?" Lu Jingqiu was surprised. In the past, it was always her who went to the West City Newspaper Agency to submit articles. If Sister Liu came here, it must be for some urgent matter. She quickly offered, "Sister Liu, why don’t you come to my home? We can talk while walking."

"Alright, I thought I wouldn’t be able to see you today. It really would have been troublesome."

"What’s the matter, Sister Liu?"

"Sigh, our newspaper has just added a new section for story essays. The layout changes start tomorrow, but the text for the story we collected can’t be expanded any further. Our editorial team agreed unanimously that adding an illustration would be better. We’re in a rush because we have to layout by this afternoon, so I thought of you."

Lu Jingqiu looked at the time and said, "If I start drawing now, I can only use quick sketches, but there’s still time. I’m not sure what kind of article it is."

When Editor Liu heard it was going to be a quick sketch, she frowned and said, "Quick sketches are a bit too rough. Xiao Lu, do you have any drawings that you did in your spare time?"

"Yes, quite a few actually."

"Then I’ll pick one of them, anything close would do."

Lu Jingqiu felt this was a good idea, and after picking for a few minutes, she still had time to make it back to the office.

Once home, she immediately led Editor Liu up to the second-floor study and took out all her casual artworks: "Editor Liu, have a look and see if there’s anything suitable."

Editor Liu, anxious about getting the issue resolved, was also very forthright with Lu Jingqiu. She didn’t even have the time to observe the Lu Family’s house upon entering.

Originally, they sought Lu Jingqiu as a last hope, thinking that if there were no stored paintings at home, a quick drawing could be made in half an hour. But she had already been waiting at the doorway for Lu Jingqiu for half an hour, and there wasn’t much time left. Lu Jingqiu surprised her by having so many paintings stored. "Oh my, what a pleasant surprise," she exclaimed, "The theme of our story is A Worker’s Decade. Xiao Lu, help me pick one out."

"A worker’s, huh." Lu Jingqiu sifted through a few relevant drawings and gave them to Editor Liu, who finally picked a few.

After reading the article, Lu Jingqiu chose one, "I think this one is quite suitable."

"I think so too. But, for the next issue’s article, this one is also pretty fitting," Editor Liu said, picking another drawing. "We’ll take both of these drawings for our newspaper. Xiao Lu, we’ll pay you two yuan and fifty cents for each this time."

"Really, Editor Liu?" Lu Jingqiu naturally felt happy hearing her drawings had increased in value.

"Yes, I’ve already filed a request for you. Here’s the slip, and here’s the money. Xiao Lu, I won’t be courteous today as I’m in a rush. I’m heading off now."

"Alright, Sister Liu, I’ll see you out."

Editor Liu was genuinely busy. Their newspaper wasn’t like their publishing house, where they could spend one or two months, or even as much as half a year, fine-tuning a single book.

"Xiao Lu, Sister Liu knows about your drawing skills, but I don’t know how you are with writing articles. You’re currently studying, right? You must have a lot of free time. Try submitting some articles to our newspaper when you can. Ah, we don’t have many writers nowadays. We’ve collected many submissions but also rejected many. However, our story collection pays well for articles," Editor Liu mentioned, jotting down a number for her. Lu Jingqiu quickly agreed, "Sure, I’ll give it a try when I have time."

Ten yuan for a thousand words was quite tempting.