After Gong Mingxia’s restaurant was running smoothly, she hired a cashier specifically to handle the money, only occasionally coming over to inspect things and check the accounts, and that was okay.
One night in July, Gong Mingxia woke from a nightmare, gasping for breath, while Cao Yuan also got up, concerned, and asked,
"I had a dream. I dreamt my dad was sick, and Mom asked me to come back."
In the dream, it was the original owner who told her. This was what truly terrified Tangyuan (self-proclaimed), because ever since she had crossed over, it had been a long, long time since she had seen the original owner’s soul. She hadn’t expected her to appear in her dreams that way.
Could it be that the original owner’s father really had an accident? Was she compelled to communicate through the dream because there was no other way to reach her?
Gong Mingxia furrowed her brow. Although she sent money home once a year, she really hadn’t left any address. If there was an emergency at home, they wouldn’t be able to contact her. If she were to go back home at this time, it would certainly cost her a great deal.
It wasn’t that she was unwilling to spend the money. After all, he was the biological father of this body, and if she could tell her this way, it showed that she cared about them. She had no reason not to help her fulfill this wish.
So she made up her mind, "I’m going back to my hometown tomorrow."
Cao Yuan, worried, said, "Should I go with you?"
Gong Mingxia instinctively shook her head, "No need. You’re so busy with work, how can you leave it behind?"
"I can take my annual leave. I didn’t use it last year, and this year I—"
"Really, it’s not necessary. If you come back with me, who will take care of everything here? You can’t come with me; I can handle it myself. I’ll go there, see what’s happening, and then call you." Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn novèlfire.net
Gong Mingxia was not an only child. She had three older brothers, two younger sisters, and a younger brother. With so many children, naturally, there was less attention to go around for her, especially in her middle position, compounded by the prevailing preference for sons over daughters. In fact, she felt quite invisible at home, receiving little affection from her parents nor any particular resentment—simply because, with so many children, it naturally resulted in the older siblings taking care of the younger ones.
However, the fact that she was able to graduate from high school already proved that the family sufficiently supported her, considering it was no joke to educate several children at the same time.
This was also because her mom was literate and knew the terror of being uneducated, so she and her dad spared no effort in sending their children to school.
Of course, she was the one with the highest level of education. Her three brothers only went to middle school before dropping out. Her two sisters didn’t want to continue after a year of high school, and the youngest brother also didn’t see the end of his studies, as he was performing miserably in his senior year of high school, not to mention his abysmal college entrance exam results.
When she divorced, the Zhang family went around claiming she had an affair, so since then, her family was unable to hold their heads up high. Although her two younger sisters had already married, they were also affected by this; she had noticed it the last time she returned home, even though her parents didn’t say anything, she could tell from the pointing and whispering among the villagers.
From 1997 to 2004, it added up—she hadn’t been home for seven years. No wonder the original owner had suddenly given her such a dream.
Gong Mingxia set out on her journey home with a sense of guilt. If the dream was true, then she definitely wouldn’t leave anytime soon. The last time she had come back from Beijing and made a detour home, it was a short visit and nobody knew, so she didn’t meet anyone from her former in-laws’ house. This time, it could be a different story.