House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 195 – A Favorable Turn

“I could reach so high, I could touch the sky.

I could reach so low, I could touch my toes.

I could spin round and round,

Then sit down quietly on the floor.”

Chuntian Kindergarten Middle Class, young Teacher Cai was leading the children in singing nursery rhymes while jumping and singing along.

Although the lyrics seemed childish, the melody was still beautiful, and for children of this age group, singing and jumping in circles was still fresh and fun.

After a while, the children were all sweating and panting from playing, but they were also giggling and having a lot of fun.

“Okay, children, let’s take a break. Teacher Shen has prepared milk for everyone, go find your cups and have a drink!” Teacher Mu controlled the pace of the class, and when it was time, she smiled and said gently to the children.

Every child’s physical condition was different. For example, Xixi and Chen Shiyun had better physical endurance. They just warmed up and still feel that they haven’t had enough fun. However, Lan Xin and Yang Luoqi were a little overwhelmed. When the teacher called for a break, they couldn’t wait to sit down on the ground.

“Xin’er, Qiqi, let’s go drink milk!” Xixi was full of energy, bouncing around Lan Xin and Yang Luoqi.

“Okay!” Yang Luoqi was the first to stand up. After all, she had also practiced dancing.

But Lan Xin didn’t want to move. She reached out her hand pitifully and said, “Xixi, can you pull me up?”

However, how could Xixi lift her up? After trying, the little girl had an idea, “Chen Shiyun, can you come and help me? You pull one side, I pull the other side, and Xin’er can stand up!”

Chen Shiyun ran over upon hearing this, but when she saw Lan Xin, she curled her lips and said, “I don’t want to pull Lan Xin, why doesn’t she stand up on her own? Humph, lazybones!”

“You’re the lazybones!” Lan Xin didn’t get along with Chen Shiyun. At this moment, she suddenly has the strength and argue with her, and with a sudden flip, Lan Xin got up from the ground, “I don’t want you to pull me!”

Xixi, sandwiched between the two of them, could only anxiously say, “Hey, Xin’er, Chen Shiyun, can you please not argue? We are good friends and should not fight.”

“Hmph, look at her, she’s standing up by herself now! She’s lying!” Chen Shiyun turned her head and ran away. She wasn’t like Lan Xin and Yang Luoqi, who are inseparable from Xixi. She also has her own “followers”, as she put it.

Even Nan Zhaoyu didn’t always play with Xixi. At this time, boys and girls actually have some gender awareness. Playing with girls too often can result in ridicule from the boys’ circle!

Children’s tempers come and go quickly. Xixi, Lan Xin, and Yang Luoqi were drinking milk from their small cups at Teacher Shen’s place, occasionally giggling at each other’s little milk mustaches, when Chen Shiyun came running over again.

“Xixi, Xixi! Didn’t you say yesterday that you were going to ask your dad if we can go to your house to play?” Chen Shiyun asked.

“Yes, yes, what did your dad say?” Lan Xin became interested and echoed with her loud voice.

“Oh, I forgot.” Xixi patted her little head and giggled.

“Forget to ask your dad?” Lan Xin became anxious.

Although Yang Luoqi didn’t speak, her eyes were also filled with disappointment. She had been thinking about Xixi’s family’s little kitten all this time!

Of course, Lan Xin was thinking about food, and Chen Shiyun was probably too.

“No, no!” Xixi laughed, “My Papa said you guys can come to our house to play, but he wants me to check how many people are coming and when you guys are coming to play. I forgot about this!”

So that’s what happened. Lan Xin breathed a sigh of relief, and the little foodie immediately raised her chubby little arm and said excitedly, “I can go, I want to go, Xixi, I want to go!”

“I want to go too!” Yang Luoqi also chimed in with a smile and said.

Chen Shiyun became even more enthusiastic. She patted her chest and said, “Xixi, don’t worry, I’ll help you ask. But I also want to go!”

“Uh huh, you guys have to tell your Papa. My Papa said he will contact your Papa and tell them where our house is, so you guys can come over!” Xixi has a good memory and remembered what her father had said.

……

The sales of ‘Xixi’s Bedtime Stories’ were dismal, and Sahara Publishing’s marketing department did everything possible, but it didn’t make a difference. They managed to sell some copies, but it was still far below expectations.

The chain bookstore, which had a slight conflict with Sahara, saw the opportunity and moved the book to an inconspicuous corner as revenge for the accumulated grievances.

However, on this day, a middle-aged woman dressed like a housewife came to the only Shuxiangge chain bookstore in Langya City.

“Hello, ma’am, may I ask what type of book are you looking for? I can recommend some to you.” The bookstore’s unique salesperson greeted her.

“I came to Langya for a meeting and happen to be staying in the hotel upstairs. I thought I’d buy some books as a gift for my daughter.” The middle-aged woman smiled slightly and said.

“Come to Langya for a meeting, are you a teacher from the Writers Association?” The salesperson was also well-informed.

“Um.” Yu Qian smiled slightly and nodded.

The other party obviously didn’t recognize her, but Yu Qian didn’t like to make too much of a fuss, and certainly wouldn’t directly tell the other party that she was Yu Qian, a best-selling author in youth literature or had a more shocking title as the director of the Guangdong Writers Association.

Seeing that the other party had no intention of further conversation, the salesperson wisely returned to her job and asked, “May I know how old your daughter is?”

“She’s only six years old this year and still at the age where she likes to read fairy tales. Can you take me to the fairy tale section? I want to pick some by myself.” Yu Qian smiled and said.

“Okay.” The salesperson could only follow Yu Qian’s request and took her to the fairy tale section before silently leaving.

Yu Qian glanced at the shelves in front of her, many of which were newly released and popular fairy tale books with familiar titles.”

Yu Qian, who often buy books for her daughter to read, has basically read most of them. In recent years, the children’s book market has felt a bit lackluster. Old authors lacked inspiration, and new authors have not been able to produce good works. Even bestsellers, Yu Qian felt, were either not suitable for her daughter to read or of average quality with unoriginal stories.

Influenced by her mother, her daughter who likes to read also has a discerning taste in books, so even if she bought her one, she probably wouldn’t like it.

Since she was staying in a hotel during her business trip and had some free time at night, Yu Qian thought it would be a good idea to browse around and see if there were any good books hidden in the corner of the non-bestseller section.

Browsing for books, perhaps, was also one of the joys of a book lover!

There she saw a storybook with a blue cover, “Xixi’s Bedtime Stories”. The name was quite interesting. Her daughter’s nickname was Princess Sisi, and Sisi and Xixi had a similar pronunciation!

Based on this name, Yu Qian decided to open the book and take a look.

……