Chapter 278 (Second Update) Revealing what she's always been...
No wonder Tang Mingli thought this was a prize for distributing pork.
Based on past experience, the total number of participants in calligraphy competitions is usually not large; thirty to fifty people is considered good.
Even assuming fifty people participate, half of them would win a prize.
However, a calligraphy competition typically awards four prizes: Merit Award, Third Prize, Second Prize, and First Prize. The First and Second Prizes are generally considered more prestigious, while the Third Prize is more of an encouragement award.
She doesn't care which award she receives; winning an award is always a happy thing for her.
However, the person sitting next to her seemed a little nervous, and kept muttering to himself, "Why didn't the organizers tell us the rankings in advance?"
Fortunately, when the organizers began announcing the winners, his name was the first one they read out.
Award of Excellence.
However, he was also very excited and happily went on stage to receive the award.
One prize, twelve winners, that immediately made up half the total.
Next up is the third prize, with six winners in total.
Tang Mingli thought she should be included, but after her name was read out, she found that she wasn't.
Goodness, a guaranteed second prize.
She felt like she had found a fortune, and the excitement was indescribable.
Three people won the second prize, and Tang Mingli was indeed among them.
She happily went on stage to receive the award and took a group photo with the leaders.
Back at your seats, immediately announce the first prize.
However, just before the awards ceremony, the association's representative suddenly said, "Actually, we judges discussed whether to award two first prizes, because there was another truly outstanding work. We discussed it for a long time, but finally decided that there should only be one first prize, and that excellent work should only receive second prize. That work is Ms. Tang Mingli's 'Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River.' Here, I want to say to Ms. Tang Mingli, your work is truly excellent, and we look forward to seeing more of your outstanding works. Let's all give Ms. Tang Mingli a round of applause."
As soon as he finished speaking, applause broke out.
Now that things have come to this, Tang Mingli can no longer sit there pretending to be dead.
She could only stand up and bow slightly to thank the people who applauded for her.
With this approach, her second place will likely attract more attention than the first place.
The most regrettable things are those that have been overlooked.
But what surprised Tang Mingli even more was yet to come.
After awarding the first prize, the association chairman stopped Tang Mingli and said he had something to discuss with her.
What can I possibly discuss with her?
Tang Mingli was full of suspicion, but she still followed the association chairman to his office.
After sitting down, the other party didn't keep us in suspense and directly stated their intentions.
"Teacher Tang, we want to set up a calligraphy and painting museum. But as you know, the initial stage is always more difficult. Currently, the works our association has are far from enough to support a museum."
so?
Tang Mingli was completely confused.
Did they know their family was wealthy and wanted her to buy some calligraphy and paintings to donate?
Fortunately, the other party quickly continued, "Therefore, we hope that Teacher Tang can keep the award-winning work in the association, and we will send it to be exhibited together when the calligraphy and painting museum is established in the future."
So that's what it was about.
Tang Mingli said there was no problem, but she was not sure whether her work was good enough to be exhibited.
"Of course, Teacher Tang's copy of 'Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River' is truly excellent; it's the best I've seen since I became president."
As the president of the calligraphy association, he naturally has some experience in this field.
Such high praise from someone with such experience was too much for Tang Mingli to bear. She was somewhat flattered and said, "If you praise me like that, I'll become arrogant."
The president, in a very old-fashioned way, advised: "Avoid arrogance and impetuosity, and continue to work hard."
Tang Mingli, being quite perceptive, echoed, "I will definitely continue to work hard."
After saying that, there's nothing more to talk about.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Tang Mingli made an excuse that her daughter might be waiting for her at home and left.
-
Although it was an excuse, Fu Yu was indeed waiting for her mother.
She was very anxious, worried that her mother wouldn't be back before she went to school in the afternoon.
She seemed to want to look at her mother's award certificate before going to school.
During the wait, she anxiously asked her mother and Mrs. Fu several times, "How much longer until Mom comes back?"
Even Madam Fu and her mother couldn't say for sure, so they could only worry along with her.
Fortunately, Tang Mingli finally returned around midnight. As soon as she entered the door, she couldn't wait to tell everyone, "My work won second prize!"
The rest of the Fu family were overjoyed to hear this good news.
Fu Yu rushed forward to see her mother's award certificate.
She already knows many words and can read the words on the certificate without any problems.
After reading it, it provided a lot of emotional value, and the child kept praising the mother for being great.
Tang Mingli was initially quite indifferent to the second prize, but hearing her daughter praise it so highly changed her feelings.
A mother's excellence can also have a positive influence on her child.
Fu Yu immediately declared that she would also practice calligraphy in the future, and that she would write as beautifully as her mother and grandmother.
-
Two days later, on the weekend, Tang Mingli kept her promise and took her whole family to a resort hotel in a neighboring city, where they spent a very pleasant weekend.
Back in Shenzhen, life returned to normal, and everyone went about their business as usual.
Tang Mingli started working on the interior decoration of her new home, spending three days a week running around to furniture stores.
After running around for half a month, I selected the basic furniture for the whole house.
As for other trivial matters, she plans to deal with them after she moves in.
Although she was only on the go three days a week, after half a month, she felt like she had been exhausted for half a month and decided to do nothing for the next week and just rest at home.
On the second day of my stay-at-home period, Gu Lin, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, came to visit.
Gu Lin's overall demeanor has changed a lot since this visit.
After chatting for a while, Tang Mingli learned that she had attended a fashion design training course. She was surprised but also very happy for her.
Regardless of how well one has learned, the fact that one is considering taking fashion design training means that one wants to improve.
Wanting to improve is about having a positive and proactive attitude towards life.
However, facing the praise from Tang Mingli and the rest of the Fu family, Gu Lin said somewhat shyly, "I did attend the classes, but I only realized after taking them that fashion design is not as simple as I thought. At first, I thought that to design clothes, I had to understand materials and cutting, but after taking the classes, I found that it's much more than that. Materials and cutting are just the most basic things. To become an excellent fashion designer, you also have to understand fashion trends."
But she doesn't even understand fashion, let alone fashion trends.
Tang Mingli comforted her: "Fashion designers don't start out knowing fashion trends. They all learn and understand gradually as they work in this industry."
Gu Lin hummed in agreement, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Tang Mingli: "Sister-in-law, you don't need to worry that I'll be discouraged because of this. Actually, I think this training course wasn't a waste of time. Although I can't become a designer, I've improved. I feel happy about that improvement. I haven't felt like I've improved in a long time. The last time I felt like I'd improved was probably when I was in elementary school. This feeling of improvement is so wonderful."
Hearing this, Tang Mingli was especially happy for Gu Lin.
"Sister-in-law, do you know what? I never dreamed that I could still make progress at my age. This kind of progress is more reassuring than having ten children."
This analogy made everyone present burst into laughter.
Tang Mingli tried hard to suppress her laughter and said sincerely, "Your analogy is a bit novel, but it is really very accurate."
The person you can rely on most is always yourself.
Only those who understand this principle can become powerful.
A person with a strong inner self cannot possibly have a bad life.
It's not too late for Gu Lin to understand this principle at her age.
Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye, so fast that it catches people off guard. But everyone seems to have changed, which is very gratifying.
Among them, Tang Mingli felt that the biggest changes were seen in her cousin and Gu Lin.
When Fu Ci returned home that evening, she told him about her feelings that day, and joked, "It seems like it's just me who, because you're supporting me, has no fighting spirit and makes no progress."
Fu Ci was not happy to hear his wife's evaluation of him.
What actions are needed to prove that one has fighting spirit and is making progress?
Isn't his achievement hers?
If she hadn't taken care of the elderly and children at home, if she hadn't always been there to encourage and empower him, if she hadn't occasionally cleared away the confusion in his heart, would he have achieved what he has today?
Although his achievements may not be considered particularly significant on a global scale, he believes they are enough to make his trip worthwhile.
So how could she say that she had accomplished nothing?
Tang Mingli never expected that a single sentence from her would elicit such a long speech from her husband, who racked his brains and used every word to praise her greatness.
She was pleased that her husband was able to give her a full and objective evaluation of her early experience as a full-time housewife.
"...Besides, didn't your calligraphy work win an award a while ago? It was also collected by the calligraphy association and will be exhibited in the calligraphy museum later. Isn't that a great achievement?"
With her husband so self-righteous, Tang Mingli could only keep saying that she was agreeing with him.
"Yes, yes, you're right. I shouldn't have underestimated myself. But whether my work will ultimately be exhibited in the calligraphy museum is still uncertain."
Even decades later, she rarely heard of calligraphy museums.
However, despite her attitude, Fu Ci was still not satisfied.
He grabbed her shoulders with both hands and said with a serious expression, "I'm serious."
"Okay, I know. Actually, I was just joking." Tang Mingli touched her husband's still handsome face and earnestly revealed the feelings she had never dared to face: "I long for a warm and happy home. My family loves me, and I love them too, and we are a loving family."
Tang Mingli choked up as she finished speaking.
There's a saying that's true: people spend their entire lives healing from childhood trauma.
The misfortunes of her previous life made her subconsciously resist. It took her twenty years in this life to finally dare to face her own heart.
She longs for the warmth of a family.
In my past life, I simply knew I couldn't have it, recognized the truth, and resolutely gave it up.
“My wish has come true. For the past twenty years, I have built an incredibly happy home. I am not only very happy, but also very proud.”
Everyone has their own aspirations; some pursue academic success, some pursue a career, and some pursue family happiness.
Being the best version of yourself is success.
Having a happy family is probably less likely than winning the lottery.
She achieved it; how can it not be considered a fulfillment?
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Author's Note: [Laughing and crying with facepalm] Sorry, my darlings. I've run out of several thousand JJ coins. I tried to redeem them in the backend, but found I could only get 0.52 cents. So, I'll have to recharge... You might not believe it, but I really didn't earn much money during the serialization of this book. I was actually spending more than I earned, and my balance was only enough to cover this month's social security deductions (this is because of renovations; life wasn't too hard, just the renovations cost a lot of money). [Laughing and crying with facepalm] So, the promised red envelopes will have to wait until next month after this month's earnings are settled and the remaining balance is redeemed.
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