The Versatile Master Artist

In the morning, journalist Du Wen arrived at the Good Fortune Orphanage, carrying a bag of chocolates with a bright and cheerful demeanor.

Ever since his interview project started,

Du Wen had been extremely busy. From the Spring Festival till now, he had visited a total of thirty-one orphanages of various sizes across the districts of Yangon, writing almost 5,000 words of writing outlines, which he submitted to the editorial department with great reception.

After reading, the editor-in-chief gave high praise.

Especially the photo of the local high school student dancing with a girl with AIDS, which had topicality and artistic value without posing ethical and political risks like some images depicting famine and war.

It’s simply one of the favorite types of shots for newspapers and magazines.

If operated well, this kind of photograph could be aimed at winning a news award.

The editor-in-chief looked at the printed photos, grinning widely.

Drug orphans are a major issue in Myanmar.

After a discussion, the editorial department decided to launch a special edition in the name of the Myanmar Mirror, specifically to publish Du Wen’s news reports a few weeks before this year’s International Day Against Drug Abuse.

The premise was that the content of his completed report had to be of high quality.

It’s a special edition!

Even Du Wen didn’t expect to have the opportunity to publish a special edition.

Printed media magazines are divided into main editions, supplements, and special editions.

Supplements are more common in magazine journals and often have lower content quality. Special editions are different; they are only published for significant international news or various national memorial days.

This is a more substantial special section than the regular front-page headline.

The Myanmar Mirror is the most important national newspaper in Myanmar, with its issues quickly spreading across a population of millions. Even major political leaders might not each make it to the special edition.

The reason the editorial department gave Du Wen this opportunity, besides his excellent choice of cover news photo,

was mainly because this year marks the 25th anniversary of the special edition issued by the editorial department after the famous drug lord Kunsha surrendered to the government in the Golden Triangle.

It’s a retrospective report on the generational pain caused by the drug wars.

The topic choice, the timely occasion, and that compelling news photo—without any of these, Du Wen wouldn’t have had the chance for a special edition. It was a result of both effort and luck.

Du Wen was both in pain and joy now.

The news article for the special edition had to include numerous interviews with individuals related to the events, adding up to over a hundred thousand words. Thinking about the deadline made his liver ache.

If other reporters from the editorial department, who would get green-eyed just hearing about a special edition, joined in and collaborated with him on the news,

Du Wen absolutely wouldn’t agree.

Investigative journalism is a tough and high-risk occupation—getting shot, imprisoned, mugged, or even tossed into a river in a sack. In times like these, as long as you keep writing and gathering material, it’s worth the liver pain for a special edition.

Recently, Du Wen often visited the Good Fortune Orphanage.

This orphanage, though financially strained, had a great reputation. Volunteers ranged from underage high school students to elderly grandmas in their sixties and seventies, making the personnel very diverse.

This facilitated him in conducting background story interviews with people.

After arriving at the orphanage, Du Wen casually worked for a while before wandering around the yard, chatting with anyone he found interesting.

The chocolate he prepared was for this purpose.

In journalism school, his teachers taught interview techniques—offering a man a cigarette or giving chocolates to women or children could easily close the relational gap.

The chocolates Du Wen carried were all brought back from abroad by colleagues in the editorial department. Though not expensive, they had colorful foreign alphabets on the packaging. In a third-world region like Yangon, imported chocolate could sometimes be more effective than Marlboro cigarettes.

Today, after making rounds, he discussed many trivial matters but didn’t uncover much valuable news.

Feeling a bit frustrated, Du Wen noticed in the corner of the yard the Fitz High School student who frequently came, holding a dirty-looking chubby kid of about five or six years old, their heads together as they babbled.

This scene was also pretty good.

Since it’s not suitable to bring a professional camera for covert interviews, Du Wen first took a few photos with his phone, then casually strolled over as if unintentionally.

He had always been very interested in and fond of this high school student named Gu Weijing.

Unfortunately, this guy was quite reticent usually.

Except when interacting with the children, he didn’t speak much and would paint alone.

Most of the information Du Wen had about him was gathered from the female director of the orphanage.

”Hey buddy, want some chocolate?” He pulled out a piece of milk-flavored triangular chocolate and handed it over.

Du Wen could only try to get closer.

The Fitz student came from an elite school and a wealthy family, having seen much, so Du Wen didn’t quite expect his chocolate trick to work.

However,

This time, Gu Weijing didn’t refuse as usual.

He glanced at the chubby child on his lap who was eyeing the chocolate eagerly, then took the chocolate.

He tore open the foil packaging, broke off a piece, and stuffed it into the child’s mouth.

”What’s the situation with this kid?”

Seeing the opportunity, Du Wen leaned over and started a conversation.