Chapter 44: Aerospace-Themed Pencil Case

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In the courtyard of the stationery factory, stacks of freshly printed pencil cases were piled high. The blue tin surfaces were stamped with silver rockets, accompanied by a small red tomato on the side, underneath which were printed the four delicate characters: "Space Breeding." Lu Yuxuan squatted nearby, turning a pencil case over and over in his hands, a radiant smile stretching across his face. This was the design he had developed in collaboration with the stationery factory; it had just come off the production line today and would be delivered to the county department store for sale tomorrow.

"Yuxuan, your design is truly wonderful, much better than the plain pencil cases we used to make," Factory Director Wang said, walking over with a sample in his hand. "My boy saw it yesterday and made such a fuss demanding one, saying no one else at school will have the exact same style."

Lu Yuxuan smiled with pride. "Director Wang, my design ties right into Xingchen's space seed project. Everyone is interested in aerospace these days. Print rockets and tomatoes on them, and the children are bound to love them."

"Priced at 1.2 yuan, do you think it will sell?" Director Wang asked. "The ordinary models used to sell for just 8 fen, so being 4 fen more expensive makes me worried the common folk might not accept it."

"It will definitely sell!" Lu Yuxuan replied with full confidence. "I've asked the people at the supply and marketing cooperative. City children nowadays love novelty items, and aerospace-themed pencil cases are rare. Even if they cost a bit more, parents will still be willing to buy them for their children."

Early the next morning, Lu Yuxuan accompanied the stationery factory's truck to the county department store. The stationery counter had already set up its display shelves, with several blue pencil cases placed in the most prominent spots, next to a small note reading: "Aerospace theme, limited edition."

As soon as the department store opened, customers began to trickle in. A woman in a dress leading a small boy walked over. The child caught sight of the pencil cases on the shelf immediately, tugging at the woman's hand and shouting, "Mom, I want the one with the rocket!"

The woman picked up a pencil case, inspected it, and asked the clerk, "How much is this?"

"1.2 yuan," the clerk replied.

"That's quite a bit more expensive than the ordinary ones." The woman hesitated for a moment, but seeing the expectant look in her son's eyes, she took out her money anyway. "I'll take one, and an eraser as well."

The little boy took the pencil case, jumping up and down with joy. He immediately loaded his pencils inside on the spot and started showing off to a nearby child, "Look at my box! It has a rocket and a tomato, and it's space-themed!"

Before long, a crowd had gathered around the counter, mostly parents buying stationery for their children. When some children saw others making purchases, they made a fuss demanding them too. Even though the parents felt they were a bit pricey, they couldn't withstand their children's appeals and readily pulled out their money.

Lu Yuxuan stood nearby, watching the pile of pencil cases steadily shrink, feeling wonderful inside. By noon, all 500 pieces on the shelves had sold out, and customers who missed out crowded around the clerk asking, "When will you have more? We want them too."

When Manager Zhang of the department store heard the news, he hurried over to find Lu Yuxuan. "Young man, these pencil cases of yours are immensely popular! You sold 500 on the very first day and still don't have enough. You must get the stationery factory to make another batch immediately, as many as possible—all the kids in the city are scrambling for them!"

"Don't worry, Manager Zhang, we've already arranged for production. They should be delivered in about three days," Lu Yuxuan smiled. "Next time we'll print a few more patterns. Besides rockets and tomatoes, we'll add satellites and stars to give the children more choices."

"Splendid!" Manager Zhang beamed. "Just let me know in advance, and I'll reserve the best shelf space for you to guarantee they sell even better."

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After delivering the goods, Lu Yuxuan rode back to the village on the truck. Along the way, he did the math: he could earn 2 fen on every pencil case, which meant 100 yuan for 500 pieces, and with the subsequent orders, he would make a handsome profit. He wanted to buy some things for the twins at home. He had always bought stationery for Xingchen and Shihua, but this time he felt it was only right to get some nice things for Qingmiao and Suisui as well.

Upon returning home, Lu Yuxuan went straight to check on the twins. Qingmiao and Suisui were sitting on the brick bed playing with toys, and seeing him return, they both reached out their little hands to be held. Lu Yuxuan picked up Qingmiao and pinched his chubby cheek. "Little brother, big brother bought you something good, and I'll bring it home in a few days."

Su瑶 was cooking in the kitchen, and seeing him return, she asked with a smile, "How did the pencil cases sell? Did anyone buy them?"

"They sold incredibly well!" Lu Yuxuan said excitedly. "We sold 500 on the first day, and Manager Zhang even wants to increase the order. I earned a bit of money and want to buy two tins of milk powder for Qingmiao and Suisui. They're right at the age for growing and need proper nourishment."

"You are very thoughtful," Su Yao smiled with gratification. "However, don't just buy for them; Xingchen and Shihua need things too. We mustn't show favoritism."

"I know," Lu Yuxuan replied. "I plan to buy four tins—one each for Qingmiao and Suisui, and the remaining two for Xingchen and Shihua. They study hard and need nourishment too."

The next day, when Lu Yuxuan went to the county town on business, he made a special detour to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought four tins of Shanghai-made milk powder. The milk powder came in tin cans with the words "Whole Milk Powder" printed on them, representing the best quality available on the market at the time. At 8 yuan a tin, four tins cost 32 yuan—a considerable chunk of his profits—yet he felt not the slightest ache in his heart.

Back home, Lu Yuxuan distributed the milk powder to everyone. Lu Xingchen took the tin, looking somewhat bashful. "Brother, I'm already so old, I don't need to drink this. Give it to the younger ones."

"Nonsense, you're growing fast and studying hard, you need something to build up your strength," Lu Yuxuan insisted, pushing the milk powder into his hands. "This is money your big brother earned, and I bought it for all of you. Everyone gets some; I won't play favorites."

Lu Shihua accepted her tin and said happily, "Thank you, Brother! I'll study my drawing hard from now on and paint pictures just as pretty as the ones on the pencil cases to help you make money."

Watching the children yield to one another, Su Yao's heart was filled with happiness. She put the milk powder away and said to Lu Yuxuan, "From now on, keep the money you earn for yourself. You don't always have to buy things for the family; treat yourself to something you like."

"Mom, I don't need to buy anything, we have everything we need at home," Lu Yuxuan laughed. "I just want to earn more money so I can buy even better things for the little ones in the future, letting them have milk powder and nice toys just like the city kids."

Over the next few days, the stationery factory worked overtime to keep up production, and Lu Yuxuan frequently went to help, inspecting the print quality of the patterns to ensure every single pencil case looked attractive. Three days later, the second batch of 1,000 pieces was delivered to the county department store. Featuring newly added satellite and star patterns alongside the first batch, they were snapped up the moment they hit the shelves, prompting Manager Zhang to urgently place an additional order for 2,000 pieces.

As the pencil cases soared in popularity, Lu Yuxuan became the "little boss" of the village. Whenever the villagers saw him, they would smile and say, "Yuxuan is truly capable. So young and yet he knows how to do business—he's bound to go far."

Upon returning home, Lu Zhanyue heard about the pencil cases and was equally pleased. "This boy Yuxuan is observant and meticulous, and he knows what children like. He's much better than I was at his age."

"He learned it all from you. Whenever you taught him about bookkeeping, he remembered every word," Su Yao smiled.

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Lu Yuxuan did not let his success make him proud; instead, he poured even more effort into refining his designs. Discovering that some children favored bright colors, he consulted with the stationery factory to replace the plain tin with colored ones—red, yellow, and green—printed with various aerospace motifs, making the pencil cases even more appealing.

One day, while delivering goods to the county department store, Lu Yuxuan spotted a little boy holding an aerospace pencil case and explaining space seeds to a neighboring child: "The tomato on my box was grown from seeds that went into space. They grow huge and sweet, and one day we'll all get to eat them."

Hearing this filled Lu Yuxuan with profound joy. The pencil cases he designed not only delighted the children but also introduced them to the concept of space breeding—an unexpected and wonderful bonus.

That evening, Lu Yuxuan sat recording sales figures and profits in his ledger, a wide smile lighting up his face. He made plans that once he earned enough money, he would donate a batch of pencil cases to the local school so every child in the village could use aerospace-themed stationery and enjoy the same favorite items as the city children.

Su Yao stepped into the room and, seeing her son engrossed in bookkeeping, quietly withdrew. She knew that despite his tender age, Lu Yuxuan already possessed his own ideas and goals and was destined to accomplish even greater things in the future. All she could do was continuously support and encourage him, letting him travel as far as he wished along the path he loved.

Outside the window, moonlight spilled into the courtyard, illuminating the sign for the medicine factory. Lu Yuxuan laid down his ledger, walked out into the courtyard, and looked up at the stars, his heart brimming with anticipation. He could almost envision the pencil cases he designed being cherished by countless children, the space seeds returning safely to sprout large, sweet tomatoes, letting everyone taste the flavor of space.

In the days that followed, the sales of the aerospace pencil cases climbed ever higher, thriving not only within the county but expanding into neighboring counties as well. Director Wang of the stationery factory sought out Lu Yuxuan specifically, proposing a long-term partnership to develop a broader line of aerospace-themed stationery items, such as notebooks, erasers, and rulers, creating a complete series of products.

Lu Yuxuan gladly accepted, setting to work designing notebook covers intended to illustrate the life cycle of a space tomato—from seed to sprout to fruit—allowing children to absorb botanical knowledge while using their stationery.

Lu Xingchen chipped in as well, supplying research materials on space breeding and assisting with the notebook artwork. Lu Shihua took charge of coloring, rendering the illustrations in vibrant hues to make the stationery pop with visual brilliance.

Working together as a family, they soon produced a complete set of aerospace stationery. The notebook covers featured lifelike illustrations of growing space tomatoes; the erasers bore tiny rockets; and the rulers were marked with a scale reading "From Earth to Space," brimming with childlike wonder.

Once delivered to the county department store, this new collection of stationery enjoyed another runaway success. Parents praised the items, noting that such stationery was not only attractive but educational, far surpassing ordinary stationery in quality.

With the money he earned, Lu Yuxuan not only purchased milk powder for his household but also bought stationery for impoverished students in the village so they too could use aerospace-themed pencil cases and notebooks. Overjoyed upon receiving the stationery, the children declared they would study diligently so that one day they could follow Lu Yuxuan's example and contribute to the nation's aerospace industry.

Watching Lu Yuxuan grow up, Su Yao felt a profound sense of peace and satisfaction. She knew that although the boy was generally quiet, he possessed clear conviction and a strong sense of responsibility, ensuring he would grow into a useful member of society. And her children—whether it was Xingchen pursuing scientific research, Shihua devoted to painting, Yuxuan engaged in business, or the young ones Qingmiao and Suisui—were all striving in their respective directions. For an independent and strong-minded woman like her, this was the ultimate happiness.

Late into the night, the lights of the medicine factory remained lit. Lu Yuxuan was still tallying sales in his ledger, with newly designed stationery samples resting beside him. He firmly believed that as long as he kept striving, he could design even more stationery beloved by children, helping more people discover aerospace science and doing his part for the country's space program. This conviction would accompany him throughout his growth, serving as an enduring driving force in his life.

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