Chapter 83, Chapter 83, is all learned from Mingli...

Fu Ci understood his grandfather's feelings very well.

When he first arrived in Hong Kong, he, like his grandfather, experienced a great shock.

Before going, he had already learned a thing or two from his friends, but he still did so, let alone his grandfather who knew nothing about it before.

The gap between Hong Kong and the mainland is so vast that he could never have imagined it based on his more than 20 years of experience if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

Skyscrapers stand tall, neon lights flash. People come and go on the streets, and goods are displayed in abundance. Tradition and diversity coexist, openness and inclusiveness prevail, and the area is full of vitality.

As he stood in Victoria Harbour and looked out at the towering skyscrapers, he even wondered if he was in another world.

Of course, it's not all glamour. Behind the glamour, poverty still exists.

It was the lives of those ordinary people that made him strongly feel that this was a world under the same sky.

After the initial shock, a powerful desire to make a big splash emerged like a geyser.

Fu Ci understands that they cannot catch up with Hong Kong in the short term, or even in the next few decades, but they still strongly want to make a change.

As long as it's a road leading forward, even if it's a long one, we should keep going.

If he reacted this way, it's no wonder Grandpa reacted this way.

However, he believed that once his grandfather recovered, he would undergo the same transformation as he had.

His grandfather was a man who had lived through the war years.

That evening, Fu Ci talked to his family about Hong Kong's cityscape, economic development, and cultural environment. They chatted about many things, but he didn't mention his other purpose for the trip.

In fact, one of the main reasons he was so determined to go to Hong Kong was that he heard from his friends that there was a top-ranked medical institution there, especially renowned for its world-class obstetrics and gynecology department.

He thought of his wife and her surgery.

For this reason, he overcame all difficulties and even used his connections to obtain this pass.

In the past, he would never have done such a thing.

If it were just a matter of wanting to go there and take a look, I might not have had such a strong determination.

But he didn't say anything, and even Tang Mingli didn't know.

He doesn't plan to talk about it; it's not the right time to talk about it yet.

That night, the family sat in the living room until late into the night before gradually going back to their rooms to rest.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and those who know, know. In short, Tang Mingli was the second to last person in the family to fall asleep.

As for who sleeps last, it goes without saying.

I thought that after being away on business for so many days and staying up late last night, Fu Ci would definitely rest at home for a day or two.

However, when Tang Mingli woke up the next day, she found that no one was beside her.

I checked his temperature; he'd obviously been up for a long time.

Is this man made of iron? He's so tired, why doesn't he take a nap?

At that moment, she still thought that Fu Ci was just getting up early.

Despite her inner grumbling, Tang Mingli lingered in bed for a while before finally getting up lazily.

After washing up and changing my clothes, I slowly went downstairs.

First floor living room.

As usual, Madam Fu sat on the sofa reading the newspaper, with a cup of hot tea on the coffee table.

Tang Mingli glanced around and found that her grandfather was not there; he had most likely gone out for a walk.

However, Fu Ci was not there either, which was something she hadn't expected.

I thought it was just getting up early, but it turns out it's going to work without fail.

This man is made of iron.

Tang Mingli called out "Grandma!" Hearing the voice, Madam Fu looked up, adjusted her reading glasses, and smiled indulgently, "Awake?"

"Um."

The "hmm" sounded somewhat embarrassed, because it had been a long time since she had gotten up this late.

Fu Ci slept until after 10 a.m. the day after he returned... Sigh, Tang Mingli dared not think any further.

Fortunately, in Madam Fu's eyes, there was no difference between sleeping until eight, nine or ten o'clock.

"Should we have breakfast first, or just have lunch later?"

Tang Mingli nodded, and said shyly, "I still need to eat breakfast."

She was already starving after expending too much energy last night.

Today's breakfast is a simple bowl of porridge and steamed buns, which Tang Mingli loves.

However, thinking that lunch was coming soon, she didn't dare to eat too much and stopped when she was about 60% full.

Tang Mingli finished her breakfast, and just then, Madam Fu finished reading the newspaper in her hand.

Seeing her come over, he folded the newspaper he had finished reading and put it aside, then started chatting with Tang Mingli.

"Fu Ci left early this morning, and told me before he left that he wouldn't be back for dinner tonight."

Tang Mingli shook her head and sighed, "I've only just gotten back and I'm already so busy. I wonder if my body can handle it."

"That's right." Madam Fu had the same concern, but seeing her grandson's complexion in the morning, after a night's rest, he was no longer as haggard as yesterday, and even looked radiant. She felt that he wouldn't be unable to cope.

After thinking it through, Madam Fu joked with her daughter-in-law, "Maybe we shouldn't have agreed to his resignation from his job. Even if he was busy with his previous job, it wouldn't be like this now."

Tang Mingli knew, of course, that her grandmother was just joking and shouldn't be taken seriously.

She didn't respond with a joke, but answered seriously: "Given my determination at the time, I felt that there was no point in opposing it."

"That's true," Madam Fu agreed. "Fu Ci has always been very opinionated since he was a child. You generally can't stop him from doing what he wants, unless..."

Tang Mingli naturally continued, "Unless you resort to unreasonable demands and risk everything."

But what normal person would do that?

After hearing this, Madam Fu laughed heartily. Although she originally wanted to joke that "unless you threaten to kill yourself," her granddaughter-in-law's meaning was pretty much the same, and even more elegant.

They're all reasonable people in their family; no one in that family would do something like that.

But these were just jokes. Last night, after hearing her grandson recount his experiences in Hong Kong, Mrs. Fu truly felt that his decision to resign and start his own business was the right one.

Since the country has made such a firm decision to reform, it certainly needs to appoint such talented people to carry it out.

As the two were chatting, Grandpa Fu returned.

Madam Fu looked at him with a smile, but noticed that his expression was not very good.

After decades of marriage, she immediately noticed the problem and guessed that something unpleasant must have happened to him outside.

So after Grandpa Fu went into the study, I followed him in and even closed the door behind me.

Tang Mingli didn't notice anything wrong with Grandpa Fu; in her opinion, her grandfather usually had a stern face. However, she did find it a bit strange that the two old men entered the study one after the other, but she didn't think much of it and picked up the newspaper that Grandma Fu had been reading.

Inside the study.

Looking at her husband, who was sitting in a chair sulking, Madam Fu asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

Grandpa Fu replied in a less-than-friendly tone, "It's nothing."

They sounded so angry, who would believe them if they said nothing was wrong?

Madam Fu glared at him and guessed, "Did you have a fight with another old man?"

"No."

"So you lost a game of chess?"

"No." After being wrongly accused by his wife time and again, Old Master Fu grew anxious. "It was Old Li, that...that..."

However, even after opening the mouth, he still couldn't say it.

"What did Old Li do to you?" Old Madam Fu was confused. In the entire compound, she and Old Li had the best relationship.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh dear, you're really driving me crazy."

Madam Fu was genuinely curious and kept pressing her husband for answers, until Mr. Fu reluctantly gave her a rough explanation.

Simply put, when Fu Ci went out in the morning, Old Li saw him and started talking to Old Master Fu about Fu Ci.

Knowing that Fu Ci was busy outside most of the time, he started nagging, saying that Fu Ci had been married for several years and was never seen, and when he would be able to hold his grandson.

Grandpa Fu didn't want to talk about these things with him at all, but Old Li felt that he was just trying to offer some helpful advice, and in the end, they parted on bad terms.

After learning the whole story, Mrs. Fu said to her husband, "You should have just ignored him when he started this whole thing. Why argue with him?"

"I just feel that this is my family matter, and it's none of his business to interfere."

Even so, people can say whatever they want, and you can't control that.

Grandpa Fu was speechless for a moment.

“Am I wrong? Arguing with him will only make you unhappy in the end.” Madam Fu said earnestly, “Have you forgotten what Fu Ci told us about Mingli’s situation? In a few years, there will definitely be more gossip outside. If we, as elders, can’t handle it, the two children will be under even more pressure.”

Mr. Fu remained silent. He had taken his wife's words to heart and thought she made sense.

Old Li only mentioned it a few times today, and he got angry; that's an overreaction. If Mingli were more observant, she would have noticed.

Madam Fu shared her tips for dealing with such situations with her husband: "You should learn from me. Whenever someone asks you a question, just go along with what they have to say."

Grandpa Fu asked, "How do we go about it?"

Grandma Fu gave an example: "For instance, if they say, 'When are your grandson and granddaughter-in-law planning to have a child?' you just say, 'We're preparing.' If they say, 'Your granddaughter-in-law has been married for several years now, why isn't she pregnant yet?' you just say, 'I'm wondering the same thing, do you know why?' If they say, 'Look at so-and-so, they've already had a great-grandchild, when will it be your turn?' you just say, 'I'd like to too.'"

Grandpa Fu was stunned when he heard this, but after he understood, he burst into laughter.

"Old woman, I never knew you were so mischievous."

Madam Fu smiled as well, "Perhaps it's because he spends a lot of time with Mingli."

She did indeed learn this method from Mingli.

The grandmother and granddaughter stay at home every day; how could they not go out all day long? Since they were going out, they were bound to run into their neighbors.

Not every neighbor is so conscious of not being gossipy, especially some who take advantage of their age and speak without thinking.

At first, she was worried that Mingli would be unhappy to hear these words, but to her surprise, Mingli not only didn't get angry, but also handled the situation with ease.

After witnessing it once, she learned it and used it to deal with anyone who said it to her in the same way from then on.

Not only that, she also applied what she learned to other areas, with excellent results.

Sometimes, when you argue with someone, it only makes them more agitated and want to continue arguing with you.

If you go along with what she says, she'll feel like she's punching cotton, and she'll find it boring if you keep talking to her.

After hearing his wife's reasoning, Grandpa Fu gave her a thumbs up.

"high."

Madam Fu waved her hand, her smugness tinged with pride.

"Sigh, I learned it all from Mingli."