Tao An smoothly signed the contract, feeling absolutely thrilled, and talked extensively about the publishing house. Tao An shared all he could, helping Xu Nianhua understand the current state of the publishing house better.
Xu Nianhua felt inexplicably that if she had known earlier it was like this, she would have submitted her manuscript to the publishing house sooner, and by doing so, she could have earned more money.
But quickly, Xu Nianhua felt that the timing was just right now. Her academic performance at school had stabilized, and the family business was on track. Now, she finally had more time to translate manuscripts.
Lunchtime.
Zheng Jin and Tao An kept praising Ji Ying’s culinary skills.
"People who’ve tasted my mom’s cooking always praise it." Xu Nianhua said proudly. It’s not just Zheng Jin and Tao An who praised it; Pei Yining also did, and so did Cheng Hao. They all gave a thumbs up.
In the afternoon, after Zheng Jin and Tao An left, Xu Nianhua returned to her room and started working on translating the manuscript. She first read through the manuscript several times, trying to fully grasp the book, because if she didn’t understand it thoroughly, she wouldn’t be able to fully convey the book’s message in her translation.
Everyone knew Xu Nianhua had been busy lately, so no one disturbed her. Even Zhuangzhuang, who loved to cling to Xu Nianhua, was consciously taken to play with companions in the village by Zhou He.
During the day, Xu Nian’an followed Du Chang in the clinic, and at night, he came home to do the accounting for the Chili Sauce Factory and the furniture factory. He needed to tally the numbers and see how much profit the furniture factory made over the year.
As the year-end approached, there was plenty of work to do. Aside from visiting Grandpa Du, Xu Nianhua stayed at home translating the book and didn’t go anywhere. She hadn’t deliberately inquired about the Gu Family either; even her brother and Shuyuan never mentioned anything about the Gu Family.
Until the Gu Family came knocking.
"Nianhua, has Mingcheng come looking for you?" Fang Yue hurriedly approached Xu Nianhua upon seeing her, her eyes scanning the Xu Family, still not believing even after Xu Nianhua shook her head, saying Gu Mingcheng hadn’t come looking for her.
"How could it be? Mingcheng hasn’t contacted the family for half a year. How could he not have come here?"
Fang Yue muttered, continuing to search around the Xu Family.
"No, no, it’s not possible that we’re hiding a big living person here, right?" Xu Nianhua blocked Fang Yue’s path, but Fang Yue insisted on searching.
Xu Nianhua followed closely behind, watching her check every room and then wanting to search the closet, Xu Nianhua stepped forward and said, "Are you here to find someone, or to look for things in my house? Can a living person be hidden in a closet?"
"This big closet can certainly hide a person!"
Fang Yue had had a rough time the past half-year; the medicine factory of the Gu Family didn’t open successfully, and even though it was eventually sold, the Gu Family was still severely weakened. Their fabric, once the best-selling, now had business dwindling a lot. The Xie Family wouldn’t purchase the Gu Family’s fabric, and with the Xie Family leading, other families wouldn’t purchase it either.
The Gu Family’s days were increasingly going downhill. After facing numerous setbacks, Gu Hai was no longer as spirited and driven as before, but instead would get angry easily.
Gu Mingzhu and Jiang Jing ended up getting divorced, even though Gu Mingzhu attempted suicide once afterward. She still couldn’t keep Jiang Jing.
Their only son, Gu Mingcheng, had been absent since a fight in the hospital. Over the past six months, Gu Hai and Fang Yue went to the school, where they were told Gu Mingcheng did come, but then left on a trip with his teacher.