Chapter 16 sets the outline: A woman starts a new life after being divorced...
After getting the newspaper from Manager He, Yao Xiaoyu continued to spend only the morning copying it to earn money, and the entire afternoon reading the newspaper.
Newspapers of that era were in traditional Chinese characters and vertical format, read from right to left. Yao Xiaoyu found it difficult to read at first, but people can change. After reading more and more, she got used to this layout.
"Little Fish, come here and help me peel the potato skins."
Wenrou was calling for someone again. Yao Xiaoyu sighed, put down her newspaper, squatted down next to Wenrou, and used another piece of broken porcelain to peel the potato.
Their family has a well. In the past, they lacked food but not water, and potatoes were eaten with the skin on, or at most washed a little cleaner. Now that conditions are a bit better, they are willing to peel them.
"Mom, could you please ask me to do chores when I'm free next time?"
Yao Xiaoyu suppressed her irritability and said that the language of this era was somewhat archaic and difficult for her to understand. Every time she managed to get into a bit of it, Wenrou would suddenly interrupt her to do housework. The feeling of being abruptly interrupted was really unpleasant.
Although the tasks Wenrou assigned him weren't particularly difficult, it felt like someone had finally fallen asleep, only to be woken up repeatedly, and even though it wasn't anything serious, which would be frustrating even for a saint.
"You're already reading the newspaper, is there something else going on?"
Yao Xiaoyu stared at Wenrou with wide eyes, and after confirming that she was not joking, she finally realized that her mother had a misunderstanding of some things.
...
"Of course your grandfather's reading of newspapers was useful; how can you compare him to him?"
Wenrou has a self-consistent logic: the newspaper is unrelated to Yao Xiaoyu's work, and Yao Xiaoyu does not need to continue studying after graduating from middle school, so Yao Xiaoyu only reads the newspaper when she has nothing to do.
Yao Xiaoyu is already thirteen years old, a sensible young lady. Since she has time to read "leisure books," she naturally also has time to help with chores.
Yao Xiaoyu tried to use Yao Daniu's newspaper reading as a point of contention, but Wenrou also had her own interpretation: Yao Daniu was in business, so the information in the newspaper was useful to him; Yao Xiaoyu, on the other hand, wasn't in business, so she was probably just reading the newspaper to pass the time.
Yao Xiaoyu: ...
After failing to change her mother's mind despite her best efforts, Yao Xiaoyu gave up on the idea of a quick fix and adopted a more direct approach. When she went to Manager He to hand in her task, she spent four copper coins to buy a notebook and a pencil. In the afternoon, while reading the newspaper, she would hold the pencil in her hand and occasionally write or draw in the notebook.
Reading the newspaper was just something to do when there was nothing else to do, but taking notes was the real business. Wenrou didn't know what Yao Xiaoyu was writing down, but she had a certain awe for people who wrote. Although she would still ask Yao Xiaoyu to do things, the frequency was much lower than before.
Even if Yao Xiaoyu pretends not to hear, or genuinely doesn't hear, she won't keep calling out, but will instead go and do the work herself.
Yao Xiaoyu copied down the addresses and contact information of platforms where she could submit her work. Watching the gentle figure picking vegetables, she felt little joy, only a renewed understanding of that saying—
You must have your own room when you're writing.
When Yao Xiaoyu was reading the newspaper, she didn't just copy down the information about submitting her work; she also copied down daily prices, shop advertisements, and compiled statistics on the types of novels serialized in the newspaper to determine the positioning of her first book...
Another half month passed in the blink of an eye. The two-copper-coin notebook was already on its third volume. Manager He had long since returned the newspapers, and Yao Xiaoyu, flipping through the rather impressive pile of old newspapers she had bought twice more of, finally began to plan the genre of the novel she wanted to write.
These days she has read through most of the novels in the best-selling newspapers. Contrary to her estimate that martial arts novels would dominate the market, the more popular genres now, besides romance novels, are detective and urban novels, followed by revolutionary stories about national salvation and enlightenment.
After thinking it over, Yao Xiaoyu's first choice to give up was the revolutionary and enlightenment genre. It wasn't that she didn't want to write about it, but that she couldn't. It was one thing for her to write alone, but now there was a whole family in the Yao family. She could write freely, but what if people in the family saw it?
Let's wait a bit longer. Once she's made a name for herself and has no shortage of writing material, she can change her identity and write some articles for free, giving those who deserve to be criticized a good scolding.
After eliminating one, there are three left. The second one Yao Xiaoyu gave up on was detective novels.
Modern detective fiction is not about an eternally young elementary school student, but rather resembles the Western Sherlock Holmes. Some tabloids even openly proclaim the detective as the "Eastern Sherlock Holmes," imitating the logical narratives of Europe and America. There is also a type of comedic detective, which takes an unconventional comedic approach.
Yao Xiaoyu can write both of these types of stories, but they are not her forte. She might be able to get the manuscript approved smoothly at the beginning, but she will only find it more and more difficult to write later on. If she were to plagiarize, that would be a different story, but Yao Xiaoyu has a high moral standard and can't get over that hurdle.
If her manuscript had been repeatedly rejected, Yao Xiaoyu might have still given it a try, but now...
Urban fiction is another style. Yao Xiaoyu feels that this positioning is somewhat similar to story collections. Most of them are short stories, followed by jokes. Some are made into series, similar to "A P's Story Collection", but the main characters are relatively fixed, like two bears and a flock of sheep, and each time it is a different story.
These short stories are within Yao Xiaoyu's area of expertise, but she can't find a place to fit in yet—the series of urban fiction has already been commissioned for columns, and unless her manuscript, as a newcomer, has an absolutely overwhelming effect, the possibility of her getting a column is almost like a dream.
So, through the process of elimination, the most suitable option for her was still the romantic love story between men and women. Although she had never been in a relationship in modern times, she had at least tasted the realities of romance and was very familiar with the tropes in novels!
Yao Xiaoyu confidently wrote down a few keywords... then got stuck on the female lead's character design.
Yao Xiaoyu frowned as she wrote a few words on the paper, then erased them with an eraser, then wrote and erased again. After an entire afternoon, apart from making her wrists sore, she made no progress whatsoever.
What troubled her most in the modern world was the creation of the main characters, because Yao Xiaoyu was used to writing outlines based on the characters' personalities. She didn't expect that it would still be the same in this new world. There were ladies from noble families, girls from ordinary families, common people, and village girls. Everyone could write a wonderful story, but because there were too many choices, Yao Xiaoyu found it difficult to make a decision.
In modern times, she could easily choose one story, finish one, and then write another. In the internet age, there is no shortage of readers. Although marketing is useful, good wine needs no bush. Moreover, the cost of living in the 21st century is very low. If she only needs to find a job that meets her basic needs, it would not be difficult.
But here... in a few months it will be winter, and six people can't even fit under one quilt. Coal needs to be stocked in advance. Without enough charcoal, people can really freeze to death in winter.
But you can't skip meals. If your body doesn't accumulate enough energy on a regular basis, you might fall asleep one day and never wake up again.
Moreover, the local custom is to collect debts during the Lunar New Year. The Yao family doesn't have to pay back all the money, but each family has to give a little to show their sincerity, which is another expense.
Yao Xiaoyu frowned and calculated again and again, but apart from making herself more and more anxious, she had no way to find any way to improve her family's ability to withstand risks.
"Dinner's ready."
Yao Xiaoyu responded and rubbed the paper with an eraser, creating a hole in the paper after repeated rubbing.
Dinner was winter melon porridge. Yao Tianrui brought back some braised pork, which Yao Xiaoyu ate with relish, and her anxious mood eased considerably.
The next day, Yao Xiaoyu got up in a hurry, ate some winter melon porridge with the pickled vegetables on the table, and then followed Zhou Chunhua's footsteps—today was the day she went to Manager He's place to hand over the copying paper and then collect her money.
The sky was already bright, but the sun hadn't risen yet. People hurried to and fro, making the streets seem rather deserted. Yao Xiaoyu followed Zhou Chunhua with her head down when she suddenly heard a cry and a curse:
"You'll only let that vixen into the house if I'm dead!"
Yao Xiaoyu subconsciously turned her head to look, her gaze meeting the high courtyard wall. Before she could react to what was happening, a male voice came from behind her:
"Our union is feudal dregs, an arranged marriage. We cannot be happy if we are forced together!"
Yao Xiaoyu only heard those two sentences before the voice lowered. She strained her ears but could only catch some indistinct sounds, followed by the woman's soft sobs.
"Grandma, what's going on with that family?"
Yao Xiaoyu asked with some curiosity. Although she already had a rough guess in her mind, she still wanted to hear the gossip.
"That one..."
Zhou Chunhua didn't hide it from Yao Xiaoyu. She had seen the abilities her granddaughter had shown during this time. Her son and daughter-in-law thought Tianrui was the pillar of the family, but Zhou Chunhua always felt that her second granddaughter was obviously more reliable than her eldest grandson.
The story in the walled courtyard is a very clichéd one, which can be summarized in no more than five sentences:
Childhood sweethearts, a perfect match in terms of social standing; a wedding night filled with mutual affection; the high spirits of studying abroad; the cold indifference upon their return; and finally, a seemingly harmonious relationship ending in a true love.
A story that was commonplace in this era caught Yao Xiaoyu's eye. She seized the inspiration that flashed through her mind and immediately set the core of the article.
A woman whose husband returned from studying abroad and changed his mind, divorced her, and started a new life.
From the Boxer Indemnity onwards, overseas students have always been a hot topic of the era. Although the old-fashioned concept of women is no longer popular, it is not uncommon for men to divorce and remarry, making it a naturally hot subject.
Moreover, besides writing novels, she also read them. The stories of wives who endured hardship in the Republican era had fixed templates, and when she applied them, they became very fresh in this era.
The more Yao Xiaoyu thought about it, the brighter her eyes became. When she took on the new job from Manager He, Manager He asked her if she had encountered something good and was acting so happy. Yao Xiaoyu casually brushed it off, her mind filled with fragments of the story outline.
"You vixen, how dare you show your face in front of me?!"
The sudden female voice startled the absent-minded Yao Xiaoyu. She looked up and saw two women standing opposite each other in front of the gate not far away, while the man next to them looked hesitant and embarrassed.
Yao Xiaoyu took two seconds to match the voice with the one she remembered, and her eyes lit up immediately—there was actually a follow-up to what happened this morning?!
A note from the author:
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Keep your first book under wraps; once you've gained some fame, you can write whatever you want.
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