Chapter 52: Going Home, Invitation to Serialize

"Asheng! Where did you get so much money?"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, his father’s brows furrowed tightly. As he asked this, his hands trembled slightly, his face turned pale, and he stared intently at Cao Sheng, his voice dropping low. "Did, did you do something bad? Your mother and I worked ourselves to the bone to send you to university; you must not go down a crooked path!"

His mother’s face also turned pale.

"Asheng, don't scare us! You're in university now, and there will be opportunities to earn money in the future. You must not go astray at a time like this!"

Seeing his parents so nervous, Cao Sheng felt a bit like laughing.

He shook his head. "Mom, Dad! Don't worry! This money is perfectly clean, and I haven't done anything bad. Wait a moment, I’ll go get something else to show you."

Saying this, he returned to his bedroom.

When he came back today, he had brought two suitcases with him.

One suitcase contained clothes, shoes, and cash he had bought for his parents, while the other held his own clothes, some manuscripts, blank notebooks, pens, and sample books.

A moment later, he returned with three sample books.

The first and second volumes of *I Wish to Become an Immortal*, as well as *Days Living with a Flight Attendant*.

He placed the three sample books on the eight-immortal table, right next to the five stacks of hundred-yuan bills he had just dumped onto the table.

"Asheng, why, why did you bring some books here? Your father and I aren't literate."

His mother was puzzled.

His father’s gaze also held questions.

Cao Sheng flipped to the last page of *I Wish to Become an Immortal* and pointed to the fold of the cover. There was an introduction to the author’s information here, and both his pen name, Central Point of Ash, and his real name, Cao Sheng, were clearly printed there.

Cao Sheng gestured for his parents to look at where his finger was pointing.

He knew his parents couldn't read many characters, but they would certainly recognize the two characters "Cao Sheng," because this was their son's name.

These two characters were written on every one of his old textbooks and exercise books.

There was no reason for his parents not to recognize them.

Sure enough, when they saw these two characters, they were both astonished.

Cao Sheng spent some time explaining that this semester, he had written two novels, both had been published, and he had earned royalties; the fifty thousand yuan he brought back today was his royalty payment.

His explanation left his parents completely bewildered.

They couldn't believe it.

Yet they had no choice but to believe it.

"We sent you to study, and you, you actually went off to write books?"

His mother asked, looking dazed.

His father’s originally furrowed brows slowly smoothed out, and his back, which had been somewhat hunched, straightened up silently.

Then, he suddenly coughed forcefully twice to clear his throat, and the voice he used to speak was much louder than before.

"Asheng! Read a few lines for us to hear! Let your mother and me hear what kind of book you wrote. Hurry up and read a few lines!"

Cao Sheng: "???"

His mother also became interested and chimed in with a smile, "That's right! Asheng, since your father wants to hear it, just read a few lines!"

Facing his parents' expectant gazes, Cao Sheng was caught between laughter and tears. He flipped to the first page of *I Wish to Become an Immortal*. Looking at the opening text, he opened his mouth, but he just couldn't bring himself to read it aloud.

It wasn't that the opening text was unreadable or unsuitable for his parents.

It was just that he felt reading his own novel aloud to his parents was inherently a very shameful thing.

With his level of thick-skinnedness, he simply couldn't open his mouth.

Therefore, he changed the subject.

Putting down the sample book in his hand, he looked up at his parents and said, "Mom, Dad, there’s something I want to discuss with you. Since I have money now, I want to rebuild our house. I want to build a two-story building. Do you agree?"

"Build a house?"

The couple looked at each other, then back at the fifty thousand yuan Cao Sheng had dumped on the table.

"Will you come back to live here in the future? If you don't plan on coming back to live here, this old house is fine for your mother and me to live in; there's no need to build a new one."

His father thought for a moment and stated his opinion.

His mother hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "That's right! Your father and I are getting older. Having these three flat-roofed rooms to live in is just fine. But you still need to get married and start a family in the future. You should save this money for your future wedding! Who knows how much money you'll need when you get married!"

His father nodded.

But Cao Sheng wanted them to live more comfortably.

As for himself?

With the speed at which he was earning money, did he need to worry about not having money for his wedding in the future?

Besides, he felt that when it came to filial piety, the sooner one could act, the better; it shouldn't be put off.

So, he told a lie. "Mom, Dad, look, I'm writing novels very well now, and my income is quite good. So, after I graduate from university, I plan to write novels full-time and not go out to work. If that's the case, I should be coming back here to get married in the future."

He paused, and without waiting for his parents to respond, he added, "So, our house not only needs to be rebuilt, but it needs to be built as well as possible. Otherwise, if a girl doesn't like it in the future, it will be hard for me to get married."

The couple looked at each other again.

"You don't plan on going out to work after you graduate?"

His mother frowned, her expression full of worry.

His father furrowed his brows again. "Are you really planning to come back to get married?"

Cao Sheng nodded.

His mother was still worried. "Can you make a living without a job? Are you sure you can keep earning money by writing these novels?"

His father: "Can't you work while writing your novels?"

Cao Sheng: "I could, but if I work while writing, I definitely won't be able to compete with those who write novels full-time. By then, I might not achieve anything at work, and I won't be able to make a name for myself with my novels either."

Hearing him say this, his parents were left speechless, not knowing how to persuade him further.

Cao Sheng spent some more effort before finally convincing them to agree to build the new house.

He didn't want to drag out the matter of building the new house.

He knew his parents' personalities; some things would change if they were dragged out too long.

Therefore, the next morning while eating breakfast, he urged his father to find a builder and tear down the old house as soon as possible to start construction.

And he himself did not plan to stay at home for too long.

Before coming home, he had planned to stay for only a few days before returning to school.

It wasn't that he didn't want to help while the house was being built.

It was that during this summer vacation, he wanted to concentrate his time and energy on writing more manuscripts and earning more money. When school was in session, his time for writing every day was very limited.

He had almost no time during the day.

After writing manuscripts at night, he still had to find time to go to an internet cafe to convert them into electronic documents.

The efficiency was very low.

But during the summer vacation, he could have plenty of time. If he worked harder, he could earn enough for another house in just one summer.

Therefore, on the day his old house was torn down, he took his luggage and boarded the train back to school.

During the summer vacation, their school dormitory did not forbid students from staying.

When the dormitory manager saw Cao Sheng return to the dormitory, he just came over to take a look, asked a few questions, and then left.

That night.

Cao Sheng took a stack of drafts to an internet cafe for an overnight session, preparing to convert some of his stored manuscripts into electronic documents.

After the computer started up successfully, he habitually logged into his email to see if Banyan Tree or the publishing house had sent him any messages.

As it turned out, he actually saw an unread email.

The email was sent by Banyan Tree.

The sender was still Wang Jing.

"Hello Cao Sheng, we have recently noticed in your book review section that fans have frequently mentioned another one of your works, *I Wish to Become an Immortal*. We heard it was published in traditional Chinese in Baodao. We would like to confirm with you, is this true?

Do you really have a book called *I Wish to Become an Immortal*?

If you do, I, on behalf of Banyan Tree, solemnly invite you to serialize this book on our website. We will provide you with preferential recommendation resources for this book, and we will also strive to help you publish the simplified Chinese version in the mainland. What do you think?

——Wang Jing."