Chapter 181: Shao Xi’s Book Got Published
“It’s none of your business. Don’t get in the way.” Mu Jingzhe didn’t like Zhao Lan and Shao Qiyun’s gazes. Upon recalling that Zhao Lan had even intended to snatch the five kids back, she left directly.
Mu Jingzhe left with the children, leaving Zhao Lan and Shao Qiyun to look at each other.
After a moment, it was Zhao Lan who broke the silence. “Xiao Yun…”
“Mom, tell me about the children first, as well as the things you complained to me about previously.” Shao Qiyun’s gaze flickered.
On the other side, Mu Jingzhe finally calmed down a little after her brief encounter with Zhao Lan and Shao Qiyun.
“Let’s go home first.”
When they got home, Mu Jingzhe shared the good news with the five kids. Shao Dong and the others, including Shao Qiyang, praised Little Bei and Xiao Wu for being outstanding.
Shao Xi praised Little Bei and Xiao Wu, but his eyes were always on Mu Jingzhe. Mu Jingzhe seemed to sense it after feeling his stare for a while.
“What’s wrong, Little Xi? Do you have something to tell me?”
As soon as Mu Jingzhe asked, Shao Qiyang, Shao Dong, and the others smiled and looked at Shao Xi.
Shao Xi coughed. “I have something to tell you.”
“What?”
Shao Xi stood up and ran away. Seeing that Mu Jingzhe was puzzled, Shao Qiyang explained to her, “He went to get something. He placed it in your room to surprise you, but you didn’t see it.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll find out shortly. I helped him get it back today.”
Shao Xi returned quickly. He walked over and coughed before putting the thing he had hidden behind him in front of Mu Jingzhe. “Although my news isn’t as big of a deal as Little Bei and Xiao Wu’s… it’s still good news.”
Mu Jingzhe had already seen the item. It was a book.
The portrait on the cover was very familiar. It was a portrait of the five siblings she had casually drawn previously. On the book was the title ‘My Family’, and the author was Shao Xi.
Mu Jingzhe stood up abruptly. “Little Xi, this is… this is your book? It’s been published?”
Shao Xi looked at Mu Jingzhe’s delighted expression and pretended to be calm. However, his rapidly curling lips revealed his true emotions.
“It’s just a sample book. It’ll take some time for it to be officially published.”
“Wow, that’s great. You’re a published author now. That’s really you, Little Xi. But why were you hiding it from me? When did you submit the manuscript?”
“A while ago. I didn’t think of it either. It was an editor who kept in touch with me that said I could try. I didn’t expect it to succeed.”
“You hid it very well. Thank goodness my heart is fine. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t be able to take it.” It was such a pleasant surprise that good news kept coming one after another.
Mu Jingzhe eagerly flipped it open. Upon seeing the familiar drawings, she asked, “These are the ones I drew, right?”
“Mm, you drew them, Mommy. So this book was actually published with your help.”
“I was wondering why you wanted my notebook previously and even asked if I could let you use it. It had such a use then. I was wondering how you would use it.”
“I think Mommy draws the best.” Shao Xi straightened his back. “This is the first book I received. I’m giving it to you, Mommy.”
“Thank you, Little Xi. I’ll read it carefully. I’ll go buy it when it’s officially published. It’ll be placed alongside the newspaper that published your article.”
Mu Jingzhe couldn’t wait to start reading that night. She accidentally stayed up late and finished reading the entire book in one go.
Fortunately, there was electricity now. Otherwise, she would have had to use a flashlight to read.
As far as Shao Xi’s first published book was concerned, both the content and the fact that it was published so early exceeded Mu Jingzhe’s expectations.
Shao Xi was only eight years old, but he had already published a novel. He was practically a legend. However, when she thought about the fact that he had published many articles in the past, she found it normal.
The content he wrote was also unexpected. It was composed of little stories that he recorded. They had a similar nature to a diary, but they were written in a completely different way. They were very intriguing and full of life and exuded a childlike innocence. There were also many little stories about him living with his siblings and mother.
In addition, there was a record of them being attacked by the snakes, but it was more dramatic and sublimated. It was filled with excitement and adventure and it also had an educational effect—it showed everyone what to do if they were bitten by a snake.
He had written many interesting things to show people how parents and children communicated. His excellent views were reflected in the words of the text.
The only thing Mu Jingzhe thought after reading it was: Fantastic, this book was very worth reading. She had a premonition that the sales of this book would definitely be pretty good. This was a book that could be read by every age group, and there were different benefits to be reaped by every age group. People of the same age as Shao Xi could read it, and adults could also read it. It was wonderful and child-friendly.
Thanks to the addition of the cartoon drawings Mu Jingzhe had casually drawn in the past year, the book became even more interesting. In these cartoon drawings, the five children, their mother, and uncle were all vividly portrayed on paper.
It was adorable, full of childlike innocence, and it made people smile from the bottom of their hearts.
In any case, Mu Jingzhe’s face was sore from laughing. She was afraid that her laughter would be too scary, so she even had to cover her mouth.
Reading the book was also a process of recollection for Mu Jingzhe.
It was only then that she realized that so many things had happened in the year when she had transmigrated. So many things had happened with the children.
Seeing that the sky was still dark, Mu Jingzhe wrote down her review of the book. When Shao Xi woke up, she carefully handed it to him.
“Little Xi, this is what your number one fan, Mu Jingzhe, feels after reading it.”
“Alright, I’ll read it carefully and reflect on myself.” Shao Xi also took it seriously.
In the end, Shao Xi nervously opened it and saw that, other than the first part being quite normal, the rest of the contents flattered and praised him.
In the past, Mu Jingzhe had praised him a lot. However, it had been only verbally. This was the first time he was seeing the written version of someone sucking up to him. Shao Xi had been secretly smiling to himself the entire day before he carefully stored the review away. In the end, he even chased after Shao Dong and the others to make them read the book so that they could pen down their afterthoughts.
He didn’t let Xiao Wu off either. “Xiao Wu, you can use pinyin for words that you don’t know how to spell, but you can’t write less than 1,000 words.”
Shao Dong, Shao Nan, and Little Bei: “You think you’re a teacher giving out homework? No less than 1,000 words to boot.”
“Mommy wrote 2,000 words!” Shao Xi indicated that he had counted the characters one by one. A total of 1,000 words had been simply praising him.
Shao Dong, Shao Nan, and Little Bei: “But you can’t force us to write.”
“You guys have to write. Uncle has to write too.”
Shao Qiyang: “Little Xi, I really like this book, but I honestly can’t write 1,000 words. In the past, I was most afraid of writing essays when I was in school. I won’t be able to come up with that many words.”
“Uncle, parents have to be good role models. You’re the reason my brothers and Little Bei declined. If even Mommy can write, why can’t you?”
Shao Qiyang: “…”
Previously, he had tried to express his feelings to Mu Jingzhe by writing a letter, but after holding it in for three nights, he couldn’t manage to squeeze out even a few words. Now, he had even been asked to write 1,000 words. Wasn’t this a joke?
If he could write so well, he would have written a love letter to Mu Jingzhe long ago!
For the first time, Shao Qiyang, Shao Dong, Shao Nan, Little Bei, and Xiao Wu looked at Mu Jingzhe helplessly.
Mu Jingzhe pretended not to see their accusing gazes and focused on designing Little Bei and Xiao Wu’s tiny gown and tuxedo.