Chapter 270 (Second Update) There are labor laws now...
Women's mindset will definitely change after giving birth.
This is a truth that Tang Mingli deeply understood after having her daughter.
The focus of life unconsciously shifts towards the child. The child's happiness becomes one's own happiness.
When Nuwa created humans, she probably already understood that without giving women motherhood, life would be difficult to propagate.
-
Two days later, Fu Ci and Tang Mingli began their first English class.
Since the classes were to be held directly at her home, Tang Mingli tidied up the few square meters of the entrance area in advance.
It used to be used to store some odds and ends, but now it's furnished with tables, chairs, and a coffee table, and is used specifically for classes.
When Tang Mingli finally saw the person, she realized that the English teacher her husband had hired was actually Xiao Chen, who had been their translator at the trade fair.
Seeing Tang Mingli's surprised look, Xiao Chen asked somewhat uncertainly, "Didn't President Fu tell you it was me?"
Tang Mingli smiled and shook her head: "I didn't ask in detail."
Students who are forced to study are unlikely to be very curious about their teachers.
It's just Xiao Chen, we've worked together for a few days, so there's no need to go through the process of criticizing him.
After classes started, Tang Mingli, who had a foundation, found it easier, while Fu Ci, who had no foundation, struggled.
However, he was never one to be afraid of difficulties, and after a few lessons, he gradually got the hang of it.
Tang Mingli witnessed firsthand what a top student truly is.
Among my classmates from my past life, there were some who were good at studying, but they were all insignificant compared to Fu Ci.
They have an incredibly strong ability to learn.
With such an outstanding classmate as Fu Ci, Tang Mingli no longer dared to be complacent because of her existing foundation. She began to take things seriously and would secretly work hard at home.
I don't expect to amaze everyone; I just hope that I won't be dismissed and left far behind in a year or two.
However, Tang Mingli and Fu Ci made an unexpected discovery while learning English: their daughter, Fu Yu, seemed to have a talent for learning languages.
I only occasionally listened to their classes, yet I was able to utter a sentence or two in English.
A mother's love can blind a person, and Tang Mingli was no exception.
Although her daughter could only utter a few words of English, Tang Mingli, who viewed her daughter with prejudice, felt that her daughter was already so outstanding that she had the potential to become a diplomat.
Of course, she doesn't necessarily want her child to become a diplomat, but if the child has the talent, she can really explore that talent further.
After I told my husband about my idea of having my daughter learn English from elementary school, he gave me his strong support.
Tang Mingli then discussed it with her daughter, asking her if she was interested in English.
Unexpectedly, Fu Yu's answer was no.
Tang Mingli's enthusiasm was instantly dampened.
No, it's a basin of ice water.
It was completely cold.
But the next sentence rekindled her enthusiasm.
"Mom, can I take English classes with you and Dad?"
I have no interest in them, but I want to take classes with them?
This logic seemed absurd to Tang Mingli, and for a moment her brain's CPU almost burned out.
She asked, puzzled, "Honey, aren't you not interested in English?"
To her surprise, when faced with her earnest question, Fu Yu retorted, "Mom, does that mean we can't take classes together if we're not interested? Did Mom and Dad learn English because they're interested?"
This question finally brought Tang Mingli to her senses.
Yes, neither she nor her husband learned English out of interest, so why did they subconsciously feel that their daughter had to be interested in it?
Perhaps she wanted to be a democratic and cheerful mother and didn't want to force her daughter to do things she wasn't interested in.
But what if the daughter thinks like her father?
That means you either want to or you don't want to.
It seems he took after his father.
After figuring it out, Tang Mingli's feelings were quite complicated.
Genetic inheritance is truly powerful. The old saying, "Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and rats beget rats that can dig holes," is not just a joke.
Who knows, in ten or twenty years, she might have a remarkably outstanding daughter.
Thinking about this possibility, Tang Mingli became even more motivated to study.
She can't be too bad.
-
It's late August now.
Tang Xin's exam results are out.
Fifth in the entire grade.
With these grades, it's impossible not to get into the top high school.
The happiest person about Tang Xin's admission to the No. 1 Middle School was Tang Mingmei, who insisted on hosting a banquet for her daughter.
This was mealtime, and the Fu family arrived at the pre-booked hotel on time.
Seeing the large dining table filled with people, chatting and laughing, Tang Mingmei was deeply moved.
After my mother passed away, the family's dining table became deserted and quiet.
But today is a happy day, so she doesn't want to think about those sad things.
After all the dishes were served, he was the first to raise his glass of juice to congratulate his daughter.
Tang Mingli didn't come unprepared; she had prepared a gift for her niece.
—A Little Tyrant game.
The child was so excited when he saw the Little Tyrant (a popular children's game console), he took it and hugged it tightly.
"Auntie, how did you know I really wanted this? Thank you so much."
Tang Xin, who is introverted, rarely uses such strong words to express her feelings.
How did I know? Of course, I heard it from my good daughter, Fu Yu.
However, Tang Mingli wouldn't say that; she just smiled and asked, "Which kid these days doesn't want to own a Little Tyrant (a popular Chinese game console)?"
The only two children present, Tang Xin and Fu Yu, nodded vigorously.
Tang Mingmei felt heartbroken. Her child so desperately wanted a Little Tyrant learning machine, and she hadn't even noticed. She was such an irresponsible mother.
She said with some self-reproach, "I'm so careless, I don't even know what kids these days want."
Tang Mingli didn't give this gift to make her cousin feel guilty. She deliberately joked, "Sister, you're so busy every day, and I'm always busy with the kids. If I can't even understand what kids want these days better than you, then I'll really look like I'm worthless."
This might have been true before. But after moving to Shenzhen, Tang Mingli actually has a lot of trivial things to do every day.
Especially recently, with new house renovations, trade fairs, English classes... one thing after another, each taking up a little bit of her time, she feels like there aren't enough 24 hours in a day.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Tang Mingmei laughed and scolded.
However, after her cousin said that, she did feel less guilty.
Tang Xin added, "Mom, although I really want a Little Tyrant (a popular Chinese game console), it's not absolutely necessary, which is why I didn't tell you. If it were something I absolutely needed, I would definitely ask you."
"Okay, you don't need to comfort me. It was my fault, and I will reflect on it."
She could tell that Tang Mingli's tone had relaxed considerably, so she didn't offer any more words of comfort. Instead, she advised Tang Xin, "Although your aunt gave you the Little Tyrant (a popular children's electronics brand), I still hope you won't become addicted to it. Middle school is different from elementary school; the knowledge in the textbooks is much more difficult, so you need to spend more time studying."
Tang Xin nodded emphatically: "Don't worry, Auntie, I'll play around with it on the weekend."
Fu Yu quickly told her cousin, "I can only play on weekends too."
She's still in elementary school, but she's already the same age as her older cousin.
Tang Xin said with a grin, "Then we can play together this weekend."
"Okay, okay." Fu Yu thought it would be more fun to play with the two of them, but when she thought about moving to a new house in the future, she said sadly, "But, once I move to a new house, we won't be able to play together on weekends anymore."
These words led Tang Mingmei to mistakenly believe that the Fu family's new house was almost finished. Somewhat surprised, she asked Tang Mingli, "Didn't they just hand over the keys not long ago? Can we move in so soon?"
Tang Mingli laughed and said, "It's still a long way off. The renovation has only just started, and it might be half a year before it's finished. After airing it out and letting the smell dissipate, we don't even know if we'll be able to move in by the end of next year."
She looked at her daughter as she spoke, "Kids don't have a concept of time yet, they're getting sentimental ahead of time."
Tang Mingmei laughed, "It is indeed still a while before we get busy, but time flies when you're busy."
That's spot on.
In the blink of an eye, it's Chinese New Year again.
That year, neither the Fu family nor the Tang family returned to their hometown of Guangcheng for the Spring Festival.
The two families booked a tour together and went to Hainan for vacation.
It's not a report, it's a package.
This was the first time the travel agency had encountered such a situation, and they couldn't believe it at first.
You should know that booking a group tour would cost much more.
Keep in mind that they need at least twenty people to form a group, meaning that even though they are traveling as a group of six, they have to pay for twenty people.
However, this amount of money is negligible for Fu Ci.
This year, their factory secured several deals at the trade fair, doubling their profits. Moreover, these profits are ongoing, not just going to disappear after this year.
Fu Ci paid the money without batting an eye and even upgraded his hotel.
Tang Mingmei also had her own pride. Since the tour fee was paid by her family, she insisted that they bear all the expenses after arriving in Hainan.
Tang Mingli didn't want to argue with her cousin about this, so she let her have her way.
Accommodation is already included in the tour fee; the only expenses might be food and drinks.
However, I underestimated my cousin's determination to repay this favor. On the first day in Hainan, the group started a feast.
Regardless of whether I had a good time on this trip, I definitely ate my fill of seafood.
Moreover, perhaps it's because of the warm weather in Sanya. In previous winters, Madam Fu would often be somewhat listless, but during her time in Hainan, she was full of energy every day, and her speech was more forceful than usual.
Tang Mingli suddenly understood why so many people liked to spend the winter in Hainan.
The cold environment is indeed very taxing on the body.
Seeing how energetic the elderly and children were in Sanya, Fu Ci suddenly had the idea of buying a house in Hainan.
Tang Mingli quickly advised, "No, it's better not to buy it."
The real estate market here is in a bubble period, and eight or nine out of ten houses that haven't been delivered yet are likely abandoned projects.
Although Fu Ci had no experience in the real estate industry, he occasionally heard others talk about it while working in the business world, so he actually knew more about the current real estate market in Hainan than his wife did.
He told his wife, "We can buy a house that's already built."
Tang Mingli still disagreed.
"Although the winters here are warm, everyone is happy to spend the Chinese New Year here this time. But believe me, it's nice to come once in a while, but if we want to come every year, the first person to disagree will definitely be Grandma. There's really no need to buy a house just for this."
Fu Ci thought about it and realized that his wife's words made sense, so he gave up the idea of buying a house.
Indeed, for my parents and grandmother, no matter how comfortable Hainan is, it's not as good as home.
In that case, buying a house here wouldn't be very worthwhile.
Calling Hainan's real estate a bubble is an understatement; it's practically rotten. Unless there are major national policy interventions to support it, it's unlikely to recover. Once you buy, even if you never need the property, you're stuck with it.
-
Tang Mingli and her group stayed in Hainan until close to the Lantern Festival before returning to Shenzhen.
After two days of rest, the two children went back to school.
The renovation of the new house is nearing completion. Because the workers have all gone back to their hometowns for the Chinese New Year, they won't be back for a while and will have to wait until after the first month of the lunar calendar to start work.
Tang Mingli got a short period of free time.
That day, I woke up when the sun was high in the sky, only to find my mother-in-law staring blankly at the phone receiver after dropping her child off at school.
Tang Mingli misunderstood and asked, "Mom, are you trying to call someone but can't remember the number?"
Fu's mother then came to her senses and quickly put down the microphone.
"No, I just received a phone call."
Whose call was it?
It was so good that my mother-in-law even forgot to hang up the phone.
Fu's mother said somewhat shyly, "It was edited."
That expression clearly indicates good news.
Mrs. Fu nodded, and when she spoke again, her eyes lit up.
"The editor told me that he wanted to select twenty stories from the ones I've written over the years and compile them into a collection."
Tang Mingli understood, exclaimed "Oh!" and said happily, "Is this for publishing a book?"
Fu's mother nodded again, "It's like a dream. When I talked to the editor last time, she told me that the publishing industry is not as good as it used to be."
When she first picked up a pen, she never imagined that she would one day be able to publish a book.
Tang Mingli laughed and said, "Mom, this is what you call a dream come true."
Although the publishing industry is not as prosperous as it was a few years ago, we will see in retrospect decades from now that it is still in its golden age.
Decades later, with the widespread use of the internet and almost everyone owning a smartphone, coupled with stricter censorship, that will truly be a winter for the publishing industry.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were chatting when the doorbell suddenly rang.
Tang Mingli quickly stuffed the leftover bun into her mouth and said as she walked towards the door, "Dad and Grandma forgot their keys?"
However, when they opened the door, they found that it was Gu Lin who rang the doorbell.
As Tang Mingli smiled and let them in, she asked in surprise, "Don't you have to work today?"
Gu Lin called out to everyone first before explaining, "I took the past two days off. I was thinking that staying at the factory would be boring, so I thought I'd come and see you all."
As he spoke, he handed over the fruit he had brought.
Tang Mingli took the tea and put it away, then poured her a cup of hot tea before asking with concern, "Why did you take leave? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, no, I'm just a little tired and want to rest for a couple of days."
These words made Tang Mingli even more worried.
Are garment factories so busy that workers don't even have time to rest? Has Fu Ci, after navigating the business world for so long, gradually learned to act without conscience?
That won't do; there are labor laws in place now.
Worried that the garment factory was exploiting its workers too much, Tang Mingli quickly asked Gu Lin, "How many hours do you work each day now?"
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