After asking the question, Liu realized she had been too blunt.
Such words could hurt a person’s self-esteem.
News quickly spread throughout the family compound that Battalion Commander Zhou had already prepared his divorce application.
Everyone was saying that he wanted to divorce Tang Rubao because he thought she couldn’t read well and wasn’t as talented or beautiful as Tu Xiuxiu.
At that moment, Tang Rubao must have been in pain, and might even have said hurtful things to him…
With a gentle, apologetic look, Liu handed the book in her hands to Tang Rubao.
Her gaze lingered on Tang Rubao’s face, silently hoping that the girl wouldn’t take offense.
Tang Rubao took the book, ignoring Liu’s concerns, and spoke sincerely: “I’ve always admired people who can write stories using words they know.”
Chen Xiaomin and Liu exchanged a glance, both surprised and a little embarrassed.
Tang Rubao looked at the cover of the book: a light blue background, a soft gray landscape painting, and three bold characters: Story Collection.
She opened the book, which contained some current news and mostly short stories. “Sister Xiaomin, which article did you write?”
Chen Xiaomin stood up, gently flipped through the pages, found her article, and chuckled, “This one.”
Tang Rubao looked at the title, then at Chen Xiaomin’s pen name, Caihuazi .
Her eyes widened in surprise!
Caihuazi would become a famous romance novelist in later generations!
Eight out of ten of her novels would be adapted into TV series, all achieving astonishing viewership ratings.
After Zhou Jingran sent Tang Rubao back to her hometown to give birth, she had to take care of the child, her mother-in-law, and her mentally challenged sister-in-law.
It consumed her entire youth and her prime years for “making a fortune.”
But she never gave up on herself or became despondent.
While caring for them, she began learning. She learned pinyin, used a dictionary, even taught herself English. Later, with the rise of phones and the internet, she became an online author.
Though she didn’t become a top-tier figure, she changed her life through writing.
Seeing the words in the book now, she felt a deep sense of familiarity.
She asked Chen Xiaomin, “Sister Xiaomin, may I take this book home to read?”
Chen Xiaomin smiled warmly. “Of course.”
Knowing Tang Rubao didn’t know many characters, she added cryptically, “I have a Xinhua Dictionary at home. Do you want it?”
Tang Rubao looked up at Chen Xiaomin.
Chen Xiaomin gave off a scholarly aura. She understood that Tang Rubao, like many in the military dependents’ compound, was thought to be illiterate, and kindly lent her a Xinhua Dictionary so she could look up unfamiliar characters while reading.
Tang Rubao gave her a silly, grateful smile. “Yes, I want to read and write. I want to be like Sister Xiaomin.”
Chen Xiaomin smiled, went inside, and brought out all previous issues of Story Club. She handed them to Tang Rubao along with the Xinhua Dictionary.
Tang Rubao accepted them happily and thanked both Chen Xiaomin and Liu. “Thank you, Sister Xiaomin. Thank you, Auntie. I’m going back to read now.”
Chen Xiaomin and Liu watched her, stunned by the sheer joy on her face.
“Why is she so happy, like she found treasure?” Liu asked. “This girl isn’t timid or weak like before. She’s completely different.”
Chen Xiaomin said, “She must be a girl who loves stories but can’t read. Once she dedicates herself to learning, she’ll definitely become outstanding.”
Tang Rubao returned home with the book and immediately began reading.
Reading truly made her happy.
She spent two hours going through every issue of Story Club.
Caihuazi wrote a short love story of three thousand words. Her writing style was delicate, literary, and immersive.
She could craft vivid stories using simple words. Humorous tales made you laugh out loud, while sad stories brought tears to your eyes.
She truly deserved to be hailed as a master of romance novels by later generations.
The last page of Story Collection explained how to submit articles and included an address. It also noted when the manuscript had been selected and when it would be published in Story Club.
Stories in the collection varied in length: some were as long as Chen Xiaomin’s works, three to five thousand words, while short ones ranged from 800 to 1,000 words.
Tang Rubao guessed that royalties were probably linked to story length. A 3,000-word story would earn about nine yuan.
Nine yuan seemed tiny compared to doing business, but she simply loved writing stories.
She had previously worried that, since she wasn’t good at business, she should find a job or start a small business.
Now, she had no worries.
She wanted to reignite her dream from her past life of becoming a writer and dedicate herself to what she truly loved.
She felt that being able to pursue her passion and even earn money from it, was a true happiness.
When inspiration strikes, you have to act immediately.
Seeing that Zhou Jingran had not returned, she went into his room, took a notebook and pen, and returned to her own space.
With the light bulb on, she began to write.
She planned to create a story of three to five thousand words, just like Chen Xiaomin had done. Once she established her name in Story Club, she would move on to writing serialized stories.
In her past life, back in her hometown, there had been no television or other entertainment. After learning to read, she would borrow old newspapers from the village chief every day. Those newspapers contained serialized stories, each issue offering just one chapter.
Finding a story you loved was addictive, like a drug. She would wait every day for the postman to deliver the newspaper to the village chief, then borrow it once the chief’s family had finished reading. That agonizing wait for updates was excruciating.
Tang Rubao became addicted to writing. Perhaps because she had slept well during the day, she didn’t feel tired even when writing until the early hours of the morning.
In her past life, she had used a computer to write. Now, writing a 3,000-word story by hand caused her fingers and wrists to ache. She gently rubbed her wrist while checking for typos.
After correcting any mistakes or sentences that didn’t flow well, she recopied the story neatly, making the handwriting more beautiful. Once finished, she put the draft away, stretched comfortably, and returned to bed, falling asleep instantly.
Without love in her heart, there was no distraction. She could fall asleep the moment she lay down, a truly wonderful feeling.
The next day, she took the story-filled letter to the town post office, spent two cents, and mailed it to the address she had copied from Story Collection.
She didn’t take the oxcart, walking was good exercise and saved her 40 cents in round-trip fare. She still had rice and flour at home, so she only brought five yuan. After paying postage, she planned to use the remaining money to buy snacks.
At the supply and marketing cooperative, she bought fifty cents of sunflower seeds, two yuan of rabbit milk candy, one yuan for ten bags of sour plum powder, and spent three yuan on a can of malted milk powder.
Carrying the groceries, she walked straight home to the family compound. By the time she arrived, it was already three in the afternoon.
The compound was quiet, as the soldiers were all training at their units. Some military wives sold small items in town for extra income, or worked in local factories.
Back home, Tang Rubao set down the groceries, sat down, and bent over to rub her aching feet. Her gaze wandered toward her room.
She rubbed her feet while glancing suspiciously. Hadn’t she closed the door when she left?
Zhou Jingran had returned at noon. If so, why had he opened her room door? He had never cared to intrude on her space before.
Suddenly, her eyes fell on her duffel bag, placed inside the bed. Although the bag appeared to be in its original position, Tang Rubao’s sharp eyes noticed that it had been tampered with.
She quickly got up, ran to the room, grabbed the duffel bag, and unzipped it.
Sure enough, the neatly arranged clothes inside had been disturbed.
And the envelope she had hidden at the very back, containing two hundred yuan, was missing!