Washing clothes.
Cooking.
Drawing comics.
The days went by one after another.
Other people usually had nothing to do when they took time off. But for Zhang Ye, the more he rested, the busier he got. This fellow just couldn't stay idle and would always find something to do when he had nothing better to do. As a matter of fact, this fellow seemed to have gotten addicted to cooking. He would come up with new ways to cook for his wife every day.
Zhang Ye's friends and family were suffering from this.
On the film set.
At a film set.
The director said, "Alright, let's get ready to start filming."
The assistant director said, "Put your cell phones on silent mode."
Everyone switched off their cell phones. Only Yao Jiancai shouted, "Wait, wait, let me take a call." Then he answered in a speechless manner. "What is it?"
On the other end, Zhang Ye said, "How do you stir-fry the eggplant?"
Yao Jiancai: "You called me three times today!"
"I don't know how to stir-fry it."
"Add some oil and fry it."
"That won't work. The oil will disappear as soon as it's cooked and the eggplant will dry up."
"Aiya, why are you so stupid? The eggplant eats oil, so add more oil."
"Damn, you should have said so earlier. I'm hanging up!"
After putting down the phone, Yao Jiancai saw that everyone in the film crew was looking at him. He couldn't help but wave his cell phone. "It's from Zhang Ye. This fellow has learned how to cook."
When everyone heard this, they were all amused.
Shanghai.
Backstage at a concert.
"Teachers, get ready to go onstage."
Xiaodong and Amy were both ready.
Only Li Xiaoxian was still on the phone. "Teacher Zhang, I'm about to go onstage."
Zhang Ye said anxiously, "Tell me first. I've already heated up the pot. Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Li Xiaoxian could only say, "You have to blanch it first to get rid of the blood."
Zhang Ye said, "I'm still blanching it?"
"Of course. Otherwise, it won't taste good."
Xiaodong rolled her eyes.
Amy urged, "Xiaoxian, hurry up. It's time to go onstage. Don't bother about Teacher Zhang. He's called eight times in the past few days. He's just not cut out to cook!"
Beijing.
At the venue of a commercial performance.
Fan Wenli had just finished singing a song and had not even had a sip of water when she received a call.
"Old Fan, how do you cook the squirrel mandarin fish?"
"Ah?"
"Hurry up and tell me, I just killed Gui Yu!"
"Come on, you. You haven't even made scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and you still want to make squirrel mandarin fish? You want to go to space when you haven't even learned how to walk? "
"Hey, are you looking down on me?"
Li Xiaoxian.
Zhang Xia.
Fan Wenli.
And so on.
As long as it was one of Zhang Ye's friends who knew how to cook, they had all been harassed by him for the past few days. Almost every time it was mealtime, his phone would ring. Everyone was annoyed, but the key was that they could not attack Zhang Ye. If they were impatient or said that he couldn't do it, this fellow would get angry with them. What do you think we should do?
Zhang Ye himself was having a lot of fun.
Every day, he would cook a few dishes and watch as Old Wu praised him after eating them. Whenever this happened, Zhang Ye would feel very satisfied and feel a sense of accomplishment.
Of course, he didn't forget about proper business either.
Zhang Ye was aiming for the Asian S-list rankings.
Every night after Wu Zeqing went to bed, he would come to the newly built studio and drink a cup of coffee or strong tea before starting to paint. He would paint until the wee hours of the morning. When his condition was average or he was tired, he would just draw one chapter a day. When he was in good condition, he could draw two or three chapters a day. The stock of One Piece was also increasing. However, the distribution in Japan was too slow, so it was still being serialized at a rate of one chapter a week. In the end, Zhang Ye felt that they were too overloaded, so he got the studio to communicate with them and see if they could publish two or three chapters a week.
…
Elsewhere.
Japan.
The new issue of Shōnen Publishing went on sale.
The second chapter of One Piece had been serialized.
If the first chapter only introduced the background and mixed with memories to bring out the main plot, then the second chapter would officially introduce the plot to the main plot.
"Wow!"
"They've started fighting!"
"It's a rubber man!"
"This is fun, this is fun!"
"Luffy is so cute!"
"There's a new character."
"It's getting better and better."
"This comic is quite good and worth reading."
"This new serialization is very fresh. I've already recommended it to my friends."
"Hai, the character design is too ugly."
…
A week later.
The third chapter of One Piece was serialized.
"It's a good read!"
"I'm looking forward to it more and more!"
"I'm dying! I suddenly feel that the character design is very good! "
"Me too. I've actually gotten used to it!"
"This character design is too unique."
"We'll return this issue's popularity poll votes to it."
…
Shōnen Publishing.
In the editorial department.
The new issue's popularity poll results were out.
All of the editors, including Seto Kyoko, came over to have a look in anticipation. When they saw it, all of them roared with laughter.
"It's One Piece again!"
"It's in first place again?"
"It's been in first place for three consecutive issues."
"This is the biggest dark horse of the year."
"Kyoko, treat us to a meal."
Kyoko was laughing on the inside, but she said, "Why are you treating us? I'm so worried. Teacher Aoi has been rushing us several times, saying that the weekly serialization rate of one chapter is too low. He hopes that we can increase it to two or even three chapters a week. There's never been such a precedent before."
When the editors heard that, they nearly vomited blood!
"What?"
"He still thinks that it's not enough?"
"Three chapters a week?"
"Kyoko, you've struck it big this time!"
"Why don't I have such a dedicated cartoonist under me!"
"Kyoko, I'm so envious of you. The cartoonists under me are all experts at procrastinating their manuscripts. Every time it's not the deadline, they don't even know how to work hard. I have to visit them one by one to urge them to submit their manuscripts. Sometimes, I even have to stare at them and get mad at them. W-Why can't I get to know such a good cartoonist!"
"Ahhh, comparisons are odious!"
"Kyoko has made a big comeback this year!"
"One Piece is showing signs of becoming a big hit. It's already a standalone volume. If the sales are good, it'll definitely be made into an anime."
At this moment, the editor-in-chief arrived.
Kyoko hurriedly said, "Editor-in-chief."
The editor-in-chief nodded. "First place again?"
Kyoko smiled and said, "Yes."
The editor-in-chief thought for a moment. "How many chapters have we submitted for One Piece?"
Kyoko said, "We've already submitted 30 chapters. I wonder how many assistants Teacher Aoi has hired. The speed at which he writes is too fast, and I've read every single chapter several times. The quality is extremely high."
The editor-in-chief nodded and said, "We've already discussed the matter you mentioned in a meeting. There really isn't a precedent, but it's not impossible."
Kyoko said in surprise, "You mean …?"
"We can give it a try." The editor-in-chief said, "We've just stopped a serialization this week. We can give that portion of the serialization's page space to One Piece. Let's see if it works. If it doesn't, we can take it down."
Just like that, One Piece began its weekly serialization of two chapters.
The explosive popularity of One Piece swept through all of Japan at lightning speed!
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