Mother and son both had obtained their driver’s licenses in mid-August. As soon as Cao Yang got his license, he began packing his things, taking his admission notice, and reported to University C.
When Cao Yuan offered to take him, he was rejected, "I’m already grown up, where’s the need for anyone to see off? Besides, the family is so busy, I don’t want to add to the chaos. While I’m gone, help out my mom a bit more."
Gong Mingxia was so moved she shed tears. Of course, she wouldn’t give less pocket money. Although the child didn’t refuse, he said,
"Mom, I’ll accept the money this ti, but you know, our school’s miscellaneous fees are all waived, and there are many subsidies. From now on, don’t send any more money. These one thousand yuan I’ll take, it’s enough for one sester. Please, don’t send more."
Gong Mingxia nodded at this, "Alright, but at least let your dad take you to the airport, right?"
Since the child had never taken a plane before, and the journey was one thousand kiloters away, traveling by train would take several days. Although there were fast trains in that era, they were far from the high-speed rails of later generations. The plane would save a lot of ti and allow him to get acquainted with the city, so Gong Mingxia generously bought him a plane ticket.
On August 20th, Cao Yang left on a plane. This ti, he would probably not return until the National Day holiday in October.
After that, ti flew to October. The restaurant’s business could not be said to be good, nor could it be said to be bad; it was in a half-dead state, sotis even losing money. If there was a profit, it wasn’t more than two thousand yuan. Cao Yuan felt pained to see his wife work so hard for so little return.
"Why don’t we rent it out for rent money? This can’t continue. Look at you all, a dozen people working so hard every day, and we’ve even put in a house, but we ended up losing money these last few months. How can we go on like this?"
While calculating accounts, Gong Mingxia responded without lifting her head, "This is normal. Don’t worry just yet. Wait until the comrcial district around our new house picks up. Do you see the office building opposite? Business, ah, it won’t be bad. But before that, we must be able to keep our composure."
Though the police station was not so dangerous, there were always many trivial matters, and overti had now beco frequent. So, to spare him the hardship, Gong Mingxia, once she got her driver’s license, took over the task of buying groceries.
By the end of September, Gong Mingxia had successfully weaned her son, and for his first birthday feast, his elder brother couldn’t co back. The journey was long, and to save money, he stayed at school. Although everyone felt a bit down, they also understood his excitent about his first ti traveling far away.
This year, she did not collaborate with ng Xiuying, as she was too busy with the restaurant and couldn’t manage anything else. ng Xiuying was now mainly writing special features for magazines, earning a decent inco that could take care of the mother and daughter’s living expenses with so to spare—a good start. By the beginning of next year, she could start serializing online.
Xiao Xiao passed her piano Level 7 and ethnic Dance Level 6 this August. Her self-discipline made her mother feel extrely guilty. Howork that could be done at school would never be brought ho. After school, she would co to the restaurant, finish her howork by lying on the table, then help with washing dishes or picking vegetables, sotis even serving plates.
She would only go ho for als, because the restaurant’s food was greasy, so Mingxia usually didn’t let her stay to eat, preferring that she had als at ho with Grandma.
Now in fourth grade in primary school, Xiao Xiao was already a ten-year-old girl. Her daily life consisted of practicing the piano, dancing, studying, taking care of her brother, and helping at the restaurant, especially on weekends, when she was even more eager to help. They say poor children mature early; although they were not poor, this conscientiousness still moved her deeply.
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