Many people harbor the dream of starting a business, turning their ideas into reality and changing society through their hard work. Zheng Lini, who just turned 14 years old, is one of them.

Zheng is a junior middle-school student from Shenzhen Experimental School. In addition to being a student, she is also the head of a cartoon club.

In 2014, Zheng, at the age of 9, founded the Old Man Comic Club, which had 12 members. The club created cartoons revolving around an old man protagonist and around his daily life.

The style of the works is humorous, reflecting a group of children’s unique perspective of life and society through their eyes.

Since the establishment of the Old Man Comic Club, other similar comic clubs have appeared in Zheng’s class. In order to adapt to the competition, Zheng’s club launched a variety of new concepts to attract members. Gradually, her club formed a small society consisting of an “Old Man City Government,” “Old Man Police Station” and “Old Man TV Station.”

In addition to cartoon creation, the Old Man Comic Club also has its own currency and laws. Zheng said there were more than 30 “laws” in the comic club. If the members violated the rules, they needed to pay a fine to the Old Man Police Station.

Members of the comic club even simulated global trade. Each member represented a real country and carried out global trade with other members in the Old Man World.

In 2017, Zheng and her friends graduated from elementary school and went to different middle schools to continue their studies. Though the Old Man Comic Club has closed down, the members’ friendship continues today.

Talking about her dream of starting a business, Zheng said the idea originated on a trip to Monaco with her family last year. “Monaco’s streets are beautiful. Everybody lives and works in peace and contentment. It gives me a feeling of Eden on earth.”

Then a new idea dawned on her: The social system in the Old Man Comic Club is also very well-structured. Why not make the club into a game that lets more children learn and have fun?

With her family’s support, Zheng announced that she was considering the possibility of setting up a Youth Innovation Education Foundation at her birthday party on April 9.

According to Zheng, the money raised will be used to support young people with creative ideas to start businesses. For her first project, Zheng said she plans to turn the Old Man Comic Club into a brand and based on it create an educational game for children.

(Zhang Yu)