Chapter 138 (Second Update) 1983 - He can...

Tang Mingli did not refute Tang Mingmei's words, after all, the two were in different situations.

She simply told Tang Mingmei, "Whether you have children or not, how you live in your later years is largely up to you. So we all need to work hard and plan for ourselves."

Tang Mingmei only vaguely understood what she was hearing, but considering the Fu family's circumstances and Fu Ci's competence, she realized that her concern was indeed excessive.

So even though she didn't understand, she smiled and nodded.

Mingli's words definitely make sense; it's just that she can't understand them yet.

It was almost noon when I returned from the Tang family.

After a quick lunch, the Fu family left with their luggage.

He went out with his luggage on New Year's Eve, which surprised his neighbors.

At first, I thought Fu Ci and Tang Mingli weren't home for the New Year. But when I asked them out of curiosity, I was even more surprised to learn that the whole family had gone out to play.

Going out for fun during the Chinese New Year is simply unbelievable.

But this is ultimately someone else's business, and it's not appropriate for outsiders to say anything.

Even if you want to say something, you can only say it behind someone's back.

That year, the Fu family experienced a different way of celebrating the Spring Festival outside, and their actions became the focus of everyone's discussion back in the compound.

In the blink of an eye, the Spring Festival is over.

The Fu family reluctantly ended their trip and returned to their residential compound.

The older women who were on good terms with Madam Fu had been eagerly anticipating her return, wanting to know how she felt about spending the New Year away from home.

I wanted to ask how she was doing outside, but seeing that Madam Fu was radiant and glowing, I knew without asking that she was doing very well.

It would be a lie to say I'm not envious, but it's hard to say I'm really envious either, since I don't know what it's like to spend the New Year away from home.

"What's it like to spend the New Year away from home?" When asked by her neighbors, Mrs. Fu thought for a moment and replied, "I can't quite describe the feeling, but I'm very happy. Every day, after I wake up and eat, the children take me around. Oh, let me tell you, I never knew that spending the New Year without having to prepare three meals or visit relatives was so relaxing."

This answer made several of the neighboring elderly women feel a pang of sadness.

One of them asked, "Where did you go this time? What new things did you see?"

"Wow, there are so many new things to see, it's hard to explain in just a few words."

"Tell us about it."

“We’ve lived our whole lives and haven’t been to many places. Tell us about them.”

"Alright then." After a moment of contemplation, Madam Fu recounted to her neighbors what she had seen and heard during the New Year.

After hearing this, the neighbors were so jealous that they felt like they were about to lose all their remaining teeth.

They couldn't help but exclaim, "Your children really know how to enjoy life and are so filial."

"Oh dear, don't say that. Your children are very filial too." As she said this, Madam Fu smiled so broadly that her eyes disappeared.

The neighbors couldn't really argue that their children were unfilial, since at least they were willing to take care of them when they were sick, and they had never beaten or scolded them.

If it weren't for Madam Fu as a comparison, they would definitely be satisfied with their current retirement life.

Living in such a nice house, with no worries about food and clothing, what is there to complain about?

But who doesn't yearn to go out and see the world?

An elderly woman sighed, "That's true. It's not that our children are unfilial, but they just don't know how to enjoy life as much as your Fu Ci and Mingli. The only time I've ever gone out to play in my life was when I went on a trip with you last time."

An older woman immediately chimed in, regretting, "I really regret not signing up last time. If I had gone with them, I wouldn't be this old and still haven't traveled."

"So, it's important to know how to have fun in life, otherwise life is meaningless."

"That's right." The old woman said regretfully, "It's also my fault. I was afraid of hardship in the past, so I taught my children from a young age to be frugal, hardworking, and down-to-earth, and not to always think about having fun."

Madam Fu disagreed with this statement: "Playing around doesn't mean being unfrugal, lazy, or unsteady. Our Fu Ci and Mingli are good children. They have always been down-to-earth and hardworking."

When it comes to hard work, no one can argue with that.

Fu Ci excelled in his studies from a young age and was also outstanding in his work. Later, he resigned from his job to start his own business, which was very successful.

Even after he got married, he married a wife who was quite different from others.

At first, everyone thought that Fu Ci had made a mistake marrying this woman.

Although Tang Mingli is beautiful, she has no family background, no education, and doesn't even have a job. No matter how you look at it, she is not a good match for Fu Ci.

However, as time went on, people gradually came to appreciate her good qualities. Although it's hard to pinpoint exactly how good she was, no other daughter-in-law could match the harmony she displayed with her in-laws.

What is most important for a family?

Of course, family harmony is the best.

Harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things.

So it's all fate. Other people just have such an outstanding child, and they're just lucky to have married such a good wife.

The only thing that could make everyone feel a little better was that Tang Mingli hadn't had any children after being married into the family for so many years.

She should be giving birth soon, though. She used to say she was young, but now she's in her twenties, not young anymore.

I can't even imagine how outstanding the children of people like Fu Ci and Tang Mingli, who are both beautiful and intelligent, must be.

Good heavens, you're being way too unfair!

Amidst the secret envy of others, Tang Mingli and Fu Ci, the two parties involved, were discussing when to go to the hospital for a check-up.

Fu Ci felt that since he had just returned from outside, he should rest for a few days before going.

Tang Mingli certainly didn't object, but she was worried that Fu Ci would also be going to Shenzhen in a few days. If he rested for a few days before going, it would be fine if he could get a medical check-up smoothly, but if he couldn't, she would have to postpone his departure.

Fu Ci smiled and said, "It's alright, postponing it for a day or two won't hurt."

Tang Mingli shook her head: "That's not how it works. Businesses are all about auspiciousness. Since we've chosen a lucky day to open, it's best not to postpone it."

Fu Ci agreed with her statement, but...

Alas, he can deceive others, but he can't deceive himself.

He was a little nervous about the medical check-up.

He wouldn't dare to think about the details if he wasn't experiencing it firsthand. He, who remains calm in the face of any unexpected situation at work, is now nervous about a physical exam.

However, he said that he was not trying to escape in a few days, but rather wanted to rest for a few days and wait until his physical condition was better so that the medical examination results might be better.

After much discussion, the two finally chose a compromise – to rest for one more day before going for a medical check-up.

This way, if a test cannot be done on the same day, it can be done the next day.

A day passes quickly, and the things that need to be faced still need to be faced.

That day, Tang Mingli and Fu Ci got up early, washed up, and went to the hospital on an empty stomach, heading straight to the reproductive department.

After a brief inquiry, the doctor ordered tests for both of them.

He added happily, "To be honest, it's rare to see young people like you who come to the reproductive medicine department so openly, especially men. When it comes to fertility issues, men seem particularly resistant to looking for the cause within themselves, always pushing everything onto women. In all my years in the reproductive medicine department, I've only seen a handful of men come to see me."

Fu Ci smiled faintly and replied, "Perhaps due to the influence of thousands of years of thought, women have always been burdened with a bad reputation when it comes to childbirth."

His composed demeanor made it impossible to tell that he was nervous.

"Yes," the doctor said with feeling, but also optimistic about the future: "I believe that as education progresses, everyone will understand this issue more and more. The ability to have children can be a problem for both men and women."

Fu Ci hummed in agreement and said four words: "A long and arduous journey lies ahead."

Holding the examination report, Fu Ci and Tang Mingli spent almost the entire morning completing the examination.

The results would take a few days to arrive, and the two left the hospital after completing their examinations.

Tang Mingli asked her husband with a smile, "How does it feel?"

Fu Ci took a deep breath. He had nothing to hide from his wife and said frankly, "I'm a little nervous."

"It's normal, I'm nervous too."

As she spoke, Tang Mingli raised her hand and opened her palm to show him the sweat on her palm.

Who isn't nervous at all during a physical exam?

Fu Ci laughed and said honestly, "I really couldn't tell."

Tang Mingli smiled and said, "I couldn't tell either. It seems we really are old hands."

They both laughed after saying that.

The two of them ate lunch out today.

After lunch, the two went to the Liren Clothing Store as planned.

Without calling ahead to let them know, the two of them weren't sure if Li Zhengdao was actually there.

However, clothing stores usually open on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, so even if Li Zhengdao isn't there, Zheng Hao will definitely be.

However, when they arrived, they saw not Zheng Hao, but a completely unfamiliar face.

Upon seeing them, the other person assumed they were customers looking to buy clothes and approached them with a smile: "What kind of clothes would you like to buy? Our store has a wide variety of styles, good quality, and reasonable prices."

His smile was friendly, and his sales pitch was very practiced, but Tang Mingli felt a little resistant.

She dislikes excessive enthusiasm when buying things.

At this point, she simply assumed the shop had hired an extra person and asked with a smile, "Is Zheng Hao off today?"

When she mentioned Zheng Hao, the other person's smile faltered for a moment, but they quickly put on a warm smile again and told her, "You must be a regular customer of our store, but Zheng Hao no longer works here."

"You're not working here anymore?" Tang Mingli asked, her surprise barely concealed.

She has a heavy burden and is working hard to save money to open her own shop, so why would she quit?

Could it be that there has been better development?

It's not impossible.

Since Zheng Hao wasn't there, Tang Mingli asked again, "Is your boss, Mr. Li, here?"

"Our boss's surname isn't Li." The other person probably realized they weren't there to buy clothes, and wasn't as enthusiastic as before.

"The boss's surname isn't Li?"

This surprised not only Tang Mingli, but also Fu Ci.

He asked the other person, "Isn't the owner here named Li Zhengdao?"

"No, Li Zhengdao was the former boss, but he later sold it to our boss."

Sold?

Tang Mingli and Fu Ci exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.

If clothing stores are so profitable, why did Li Zhengdao sell them?

What happened?