After reading through the one hundred thousand-word manuscript, Gong Mingxia was shocked. Not only was she surprised by Meng Xiuying’s writing ability, but also by the fact that Meng had added many foundations to the original work and hadn’t simply followed her lead. Instead, Meng infused her thoughts into the story, which deeply moved Gong Mingxia and made her increasingly feel guilty about keeping fifty percent of the profits.
For the next book, she decided she couldn’t take advantage of Meng again; she would have to reduce her share to thirty or forty percent.
After finishing Meng Xiuying’s final edited manuscript, Gong Mingxia immediately approved it. It was a printed version; it appeared Meng had spared no expense in the effort to write the book. Thinking it over, Gong Mingxia transferred ten thousand yuan to Meng as an initial operating fee, concerned that Meng might be too embarrassed to ask the Xiang Family for money now that she was independent. Since they were partners, loaning money to each other shouldn’t be an issue.
Upon receiving Gong Mingxia’s response and the bank transfer slip of ten thousand yuan, Meng Xiuying was deeply touched and slowly began to kindle hope for the future.
Gong Mingxia was very busy and found no spare time to think about taking the Chef’s exam; she just focused on clearly narrating each Chapter of "Daqing Concubine" according to the outline before considering anything else.
Life was busy yet fulfilling. By the end of the year, Xiao Xiao had passed the Level 1 piano examination. Both her diligent teacher and she herself recognized her hard work. The child had never complained and diligently kept up with her studies and practice each day. Although she felt tired at times, she pushed through whenever she thought about how hard her mother worked to earn money.
It must be said, the struggles of growing up made Xiao Xiao far more mature than her peers, especially since she understood that they had borrowed a lot of money from others to buy their house. Knowing this, and that her mother still financed her piano lessons, she was determined to work even harder.
Considering Xiao Xiao’s perseverance, Gong Mingxia really wanted to reward her with a piano. But their purchase of the apartment had already made them well-known in the neighborhood, and Gong Mingxia knew that buying a piano would inadvertently increase their perceived wealth and potentially endanger them. After much thought, she had to painfully forego the idea and continue to let Xiao Xiao practice at the training center.
Due to her caution towards others, Gong Mingxia was worried that she might be targeted. Being a vulnerable woman without the ability to protect herself, she enrolled in a women’s Sanda and boxing training class, attending two-hour sessions from six to eight every evening.
After class, she would pick up her daughter and they would head home together.
Fortunately, the route home was along major roads within a residential area, so their safety was relatively assured. However, Gong Mingxia understood the saying, "It’s not the theft but the thief that’s worrisome." Ever since she bought the apartment, the neighborhood ladies had become much friendlier, and though they tried to set her up with relatives in hopes of arranging blind dates, she consistently turned them down.
Her focus was solely on earning money, raising her daughter, and paying off their house. She wanted nothing else. Follow current novels on NoveI-Fire.ɴet
Perhaps because Cao Yuan had taken his annual leave early in August, he couldn’t return for the Lunar New Year festivities. As a result, the Gong Family and the Cao Family celebrated together, which included Cao Yuan’s son, Cao Yang, a fourteen-year-old boy who was doing exceptionally well in school and was graduating from junior high. He was polite, respected elders, and Gong Mingxia liked him a lot.
During the New Year, she consistently made delicious meals for them, and Aunt Wang even acted like a tour guide, showing them around the attractions of H City.
The two children got along very well. Despite the ten-year age gap, Cao Yang was genuinely affectionate towards Xiao Xiao, which touched Gong Mingxia.
Toward the end of the year, she reviewed her finances...