\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 9\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 9\u00a0<\/p>\n
After Gabriel\u2019s troubles, my life actually became more peaceful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Business at the little shop kept getting better, and combined with the court-ordered child support, my baby and I were basically worry-free. Of course Gabriel stopped paying once he lost his job, but we were managing just fine without him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The village accountant often came by the shop to chat, and we gradually got to know each other well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She suggested I get an accounting certificate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re so smart, accounting wouldn\u2019t be hard for you,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are lots of businesses in our town that need accountants, and the pay\u2019s decent too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was tempted. Running the little shop could sustain us, but long-term I needed a stable career.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I started studying accounting on my own, reading books and doing practice problems under the lamp every night after the baby fell asleep. Aunt Martha volunteered to watch the shop so I could find time to attend training sessions in the county.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Six months later, I got my basic accounting certificate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then the textile factory in town was hiring a finance assistant. I applied on a whim and surprisingly got accepted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The factory manager was a woman in her forties named Ms. Miller. After looking at my resume, she said: \u201cBeing a single mom isn\u2019t easy \u2013 I\u2019ve been there too. I can tell you\u2019re reliable and hardworking.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
On my first day of work, I dropped my son off at the village daycare, then hopped on my used electric bike to head to work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My coworkers were all friendly and very supportive once they knew my situation. Especially Molly from accounting \u2013 she often volunteered to help with my workload so I could get off on time to pick up my son.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After three months on the job, I received my first official paycheck \u2013 $2,800.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Holding those crisp bills, tears almost fell from my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was clean money I\u2019d earned through my own abilities, with no one\u2019s charity and no strings attached.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That night, I bought my son new clothes and got myself a lipstick. Even though it was just a cheap $20 one from the drugstore, when I put it on, I felt like I was coming back to life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My child turned one and could say \u201cmama\u201d and toddle around. Every day after work, seeing him run toward me was the happiest thing in the\u00a0<\/p>\n
world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One day at lunch, the manager called me in for a talk. \u201cElena, your work is very solid. I\u2019d like to promote you to head accountant. Are you interested?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could hardly believe my ears \u201cMs. Miller, I\u2026 can I handle it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course you can.\u201d Ms. Miller smiled. \u201cSkills aren\u2019t born, they\u2019re developed. Besides, I believe in you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After becoming head accountant, my salary went up to 4,500, and with the year-end bonus, I could make over 50,000 a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I started planning to buy a small house in town to give my child a better environment to grow up in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That weekend, I took my son house hunting. The sales rep was very enthusiastic and showed us several floor plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
13.696\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 9\u00a0<\/p>\n
My child ran around the model unit laughing happily. I squatted down to hug him and said: \u201cSweetie, do you like it here? Mommy will work hard and buy us a new home, okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He kissed my cheek and said in his little voice \u201cI love mommy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tears instantly welled up in my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over this past year, I\u2019d never once regretted leaving that cold household.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though my child and I only had each other, our life was full of hope and warmth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was the life I wanted \u2013 simple, clean, and full of love.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2661 (0)\u00a0<\/p>\n
(0)\u00a0<\/p>\n
You Thought Cilantro Was Just a Flavor? It\u2019s Actually My FU, Cheater! by Mark Twain 18 \u00a0 Chapter 9\u00a0 Chapter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cilantro-taste-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20268\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}