The wronged aunt tries to rewrite her life, part 2. (Second update, muah!)

After listening to Chen Xia's analysis, Song Yuan also realized that his previous considerations were indeed inadequate.

In fact, the two-child policy has been largely relaxed now, but the couple is determined not to have a second child because they are afraid of upsetting their daughter, Tian Tian.

If you're worried about neglecting your daughter by having a second child, why not take in other people's children to raise, and raise two at once? Wouldn't that be even more unfair to your sweetheart?

After dinner, Song Yuan offered to wash the dishes. Chen Xia's phone rang; it was her older sister calling to say that they had arranged to discuss the issue of the two children together the next day.

Midterm exams are just around the corner. Chen Xia teaches fifth-grade art, and the Chinese, math, and English teachers are all busy taking up class time for review.

She sent a message to the homeroom teacher of the class she was teaching, explaining that she had something to do back home the next day and wanted to reschedule her get out of class with her.

The reply came immediately: no need to adjust, she'll be teaching tomorrow, so focus on handling things and don't worry about the class.

They've been colleagues for several years and have a good relationship. They also knew about her brother's accident.

She said she needed to reschedule her classes and ask for leave, and that her colleagues and superiors were all very kind to her, allowing her to focus on her work.

The original owner was the same way in her previous life. Even when her nephews and nieces transferred to her school, the school leaders made things very easy for them.

Elementary schools like theirs, which are directly under the city government, admit students based on their designated school districts. If you're not within that district, you either need to pull strings or pay a school selection fee.

The original owner hadn't paid the fee in her previous life, and the school, considering their family's situation, resolved the issue directly.

The next day, Song Yuan rode his electric scooter to take his daughter, Tian Tian, ​​to kindergarten, while Chen Xia drove back to her hometown, dozens of kilometers away.

This time, she followed in her two older sisters' footsteps in everything. Just like in her previous life, the two children huddled around her, calling her "Auntie" this and "Auntie" that.

She pouted and said she missed her sweet little sister and wanted to go back to the city with her. Chen Xia refused, saying she was too busy with work to take care of them.

Chen Xueying pouted, looking unhappy. Chen Huai'an, who was more shrewd than her, tugged at her sleeve and smiled, "Then let my sister and I go stay at Aunt's house when Aunt isn't busy."

Chen Xia smiled but didn't say anything. When she wasn't busy, well, sorry, she was busy every day.

Many people online are saying that children are being raised too meticulously and should have more contact with nature, etc.

Therefore, every winter and summer vacation, the original owner would take her daughter, Tian Tian, ​​back to her hometown to stay for a period of time.

In the future, during winter and summer vacations, you can send them to the Children's Palace, just to have fun. With teachers supervising and other children playing with them, it's much better than running around wildly in their hometown.

When they sat down to discuss who would raise the two children, Chen Huai'an's maternal grandfather mentioned that Chen Xia was a teacher in the city, where the education level was much better than in the countryside.

They even played the emotional card, saying that when their son-in-law Chen Shan and daughter Zhao Qing were alive, they had thought about sending their child to study in the city.

The eldest sister, Chen Li, and the second sister, Chen Ping, looked at Chen Xia, who bluntly gave everyone a breakdown of the costs: "Going to study in the city, the school selection fee starts at least at 20,000 yuan, not including other miscellaneous expenses."

I'm just an ordinary teacher at the school; I'm neither a leader nor related to any leader. My relatives don't enjoy any preferential treatment.

To be honest, my wife and I only earn enough to support our family of three each month.

"If these two children go to school in the city, the expenses will easily exceed 50,000 yuan a year. As their grandfather, you're surely willing to cover that cost, aren't you?"

Chen Xia thought for a moment and then added, "Ever since I gave birth, my health has been poor, and my husband does all the housework. Our home is an old, dilapidated two-bedroom apartment left by my in-laws."

There's definitely not enough room for two children there, and I can't take care of them either. So, since your uncle and aunt are still in good health, they can rent a place near the school to help take care of the two children while they attend school.

I usually take care of things, like helping my child with their homework. All things considered, the annual expenses aren't actually that high.

Aside from the first year's school selection fee, which might be a bit more expensive, around 30,000 yuan should be enough each year thereafter.

Chen Huai'an's maternal grandparents looked extremely grim. They were getting old and relied entirely on their three sons for support. How could they afford to rent a place in the city to accompany their grandchildren to school?

Chen Li and Chen Ping breathed a sigh of relief. It was really good that their little sister wasn't stupid or a hindrance at the crucial moment.

It's not that they, as aunts, are heartless and don't want to raise their own nephews and nieces. It's just that raising a child is too expensive these days.

For the two of them who are older, to put it bluntly, they really have elderly parents to care for and young children to raise.

They and Chen Xia only have one daughter, and their salaries are different. The eldest daughter, Chen Li, has two sons and a daughter, while Chen Ping has both a son and a daughter.

Take Chen Li for example. She's the eldest in college now. The tuition is a small part of the cost; the real expense is living expenses, which is around 1,500 yuan per month.

But in reality, it's almost never enough each month. The key is that this 1,500 yuan is only for food; buying clothes, going out with classmates, etc., are separate expenses.

My second child is in the first year of high school and won't be going to college for many years, while my youngest just started elementary school. Back then, when the elders kept nagging about how having more children meant more good fortune, they were completely out of their minds.

I haven't seen any good fortune yet, but I've certainly suffered a lot of anger. My two older sons are going through their rebellious phase; each one is incredibly difficult and can drive you crazy.

Nowadays, the employment rate for undergraduate students is extremely low, and almost everyone goes on to graduate school. These three in her family will need to study for many years in total.

The eldest brother studied medicine, five years for his undergraduate degree and three years for his graduate degree, eight years in total.

My second child has loved art since childhood and I plan to pursue an art education, studying something like animation design. Just thinking about the tuition fees gives me a headache.

She was a housewife who farmed and took care of her children, and her husband earned money entirely by driving a taxi.

With her qualifications, is she qualified to adopt nephews and nieces?

The second daughter, Chen Ping, was not as well off as her. One reason was that their economic conditions didn't allow it, but their own unwillingness was also a major factor.

Speaking of this, the two sisters, Chen Li and Chen Ping, were filled with grievances. Back then, their academic performance was average, and they went to work after graduating from junior high school.

They admitted their poor grades were due to a lack of talent. They had worked in an electronics factory for several years, earning a decent wage, but back then they were young and naive, blindly following their parents' every word.

Their parents said they'd send the money back to them to save it, so they wouldn't squander it. They also said they wouldn't spend their money, but would save it for their future dowries.

They both believed it; at that time, the wages in the electronics factory were very high. They sent most of their wages to their parents.

As a result, their parents used the money to build a two-story house for their younger brother, Chen Shan, in the village, and decorated it exquisitely.

Then the remaining money was gone too. What did they do with it? They used it to pay for the bride price when they got married.

The two sisters were pitiful. After working away from home for several years, they had nothing left except for the little bit of money they saved each month.

When they got married, they asked their in-laws for a large dowry. If they hadn't been clever enough to keep the money to themselves and not give it to their parents, it probably would have gone to Chen Shan.

Even so, their parents got angry with them, saying that as older sisters, couldn't they care about their younger brother? What's wrong with buying him a car?

They both saw through their parents' favoritism and rarely returned to their parents' home after getting married.

The fourth child, Chen Xia, was a bit luckier than the others. She had good grades and was pretty, which made her parents proud, so they let her finish high school.

With her college entrance exam scores, she could have gone to a better school. But her parents, in order to save money, insisted that she apply to a teacher's college as a government-funded student.

Tuition was completely free, and living expenses were covered by student loans, which she would repay gradually after graduation. In other words, Chen Xia's family didn't contribute a single penny to her education; she relied entirely on herself.

These incidents have deeply hurt them; how could they possibly adopt the two children of Chen Shan, the beneficiary of the system?

When they heard that none of the three Chen sisters wanted to adopt the two children, their grandmother became anxious.

“An’er and Yingying are children of your Chen family. Now that your brother and sister-in-law are gone, it’s your responsibility as sisters. How can you, as their aunts, be so heartless as to abandon them?”

Chen Li rolled her eyes: "As aunts, how can we bypass you, our own grandmother?"

I consulted a lawyer before I came. Legally speaking, you, as the child's maternal grandparents, are the first-priority guardians and have priority in guardianship.

So these two children will have to be raised by you two, since the three of us sisters are not capable of raising them.

If you ask me, let's stop dragging our feet and discussing it. If all else fails, let the court decide who should have custody.

"If you really don't want to raise it, that's fine too. We can send it to an orphanage; there's one in our county anyway."

Chen Xia followed closely in her two older sisters' footsteps, nodding in agreement with whatever they said, her main goal being to avoid standing out.

The original owner regretted this in her previous life: her child had a closer maternal grandparent and three maternal uncles.

They rely on their mother's and uncles' families, but which of their three uncles isn't better off than theirs?

She also had two older sisters, and for some reason, she insisted on taking them in, which resulted in the destruction of her family.

Unable to reach a consensus, Chen Huai'an and his sister had no choice but to go back to their maternal grandparents' house with their maternal uncle.

A few days later, Chen Huai'an and Chen Xueying's maternal grandparents went to the village secretary of Chenjiazhuang Village, hoping he could help resolve the matter.

After questioning the three sisters, the old Party Secretary said to the children's maternal grandparents, "Chen Li and her two sisters are indeed not as well off as the children's three uncles in terms of living conditions."

Even for the sake of the child, it's better for them to stay with their maternal grandparents.

However, this is just my suggestion; you'll have to discuss the specifics yourselves. But Chen Li is right, you are, after all, the maternal grandparents, and you have the closest relationship with the child…”

After mediation by village officials, the two children's uncles also consulted lawyers, and their accounts were similar to those of Chen Xia's older sister, Chen Li.

In the end, the maternal grandparents moved to Chenjiazhuang to take care of Chen Huai'an and Chen Xueying. The restaurant in town was taken over by their third uncle.

The shop is rented, and the lease has a year and a half left. The appliances and tables and chairs are worth some money.

In addition, Chen Shan and his wife had some savings. The village secretary was Chen Xiatang's uncle, and he handled the matter fairly. He asked the sisters what they thought.

Chen Xia and her two older sisters had already reached a consensus: they wouldn't take advantage of the situation, nor would they meddle in other people's business and take on this hot potato.

Back in the city, Chen Xia's life returned to normal, but during this time, she often had to drive back to her hometown.

My school colleagues helped a lot, but my husband, Song Yuan, took care of all the housework and childcare.

On the first day back to school, Chen Xia took out some spiced melon seeds, peanuts, and some milk candies that she had processed herself from the space warehouse and filled a whole bag.

I also filled a bamboo basket with a few kinds of fruits that are currently popular in the market, about ten of each kind, until the basket was full. I put it on the footrest of the electric scooter, and Tian Tian sat on the back seat with the soft cushion attached.

She chattered incessantly with Chen Xia the whole way. When they arrived at the east gate of the kindergarten, their homeroom teacher, Ms. Guo, was already waiting at the entrance.

Seeing Tian Tian walk over, I picked her up from the back seat and said, "Tian Tian, ​​say goodbye to Mommy."

Sweetie hugged her teacher's neck, smiled and waved to Chen Xia. Chen Xia handed a nice bag to Teacher Guo: "These are fruits I bought from my hometown. They taste good. Try a few."

As fellow professionals, Ms. Guo was quite relaxed around Chen Xia compared to other parents. She thanked her directly, accepted the gift, and led Tian Tian through the door.

Chen Xia watched them walk away, then rode her bike another fifty meters before turning into the gate of Mingde Elementary School.

I parked the electric scooter in the shed in front of the office building and took out the charger from my bag to charge it.

That's one of the good things about government-run institutions. To make it easier for our teachers to charge their devices, the carports are beautifully built and there are plenty of power outlets.

Mingde Primary School has standard classes, with 45 students per class as stipulated. However, if there are transfer students, there will be one or two more, but the number will never exceed fifty.

All courses are fully open. Primary schools stipulate that there must be at least one physical education class every day, and students' activity time must be at least two hours through extended breaks or after-school services.

Therefore, most of the after-school extended learning activities at Mingde Primary School are related to physical education. Of course, there are also courses such as painting and music.

Art tutoring classes are open to any school art teacher or teacher with a basic art background.

Teachers like Chen Xia, who teach art as a minor subject, don't have morning reading sessions or lunch breaks with their students.

If you don't even participate in after-school extended services, you basically won't have any extra income besides your salary and performance-based pay.

However, the original owner considered that her husband was busy with work, and if she signed up for after-school tutoring, not only would she be short on time to pick up her child, but she would also have to make her daughter wait in the office for an hour.

This may seem like you're earning a few hundred or a thousand yuan more each month, but the price is that your child suffers.

Previously, a teacher whose child attended kindergarten signed up for after-school extended care, which conflicted with the kindergarten's closing time.

She either had to ask a colleague to bring her child over, or she would have to make her child wait at the kindergarten for an extra half hour. After much deliberation, she decided not to enroll. Some money can be earned without earning it, and adults can make compromises, but children shouldn't suffer.

Chen Xia entered the office building carrying a large bag of melon seeds and peanut candy in her left hand and a basket of fruit in her right.

The art department's office was on the third floor. I climbed all the way up to the third floor and collapsed on my seat, panting for a long time before I could catch my breath.

"No, she needs to lose weight. My sweetie is only in kindergarten, and she's already out of breath after just climbing three flights of stairs. When she gets old, she might not even be able to move!"

Zheng Huixia laughed and said, "Xiaxia has been saying she wants to lose weight since last year. I see that you haven't lost any weight all year, and you seem to be even rounder than last year."

Chen Xia picked up her teacup and went to the water dispenser to get a cup of hot water: "Sis, I didn't make up my mind last year, but I have to lose weight this year. I weighed myself a while ago and I've already broken through 150 pounds. I reckon I'm almost 160 pounds now."

Tang Jing pinched the "spare tire" around her stomach: "I'm about the same as you. These days I often see posts on Xiaohongshu from people who failed to lose weight and said they have insulin resistance. Do you think I'm getting fatter the more I try to lose weight? Could it be insulin resistance?"

Chen Xia grabbed the peanuts, melon seeds, and candy from the bag and put them in the middle of a large cardboard box on her desk.

"We're eating sunflower seeds and peanuts, chatting as we go. But honestly, don't scare yourself unnecessarily. Why don't you just go to the hospital for a checkup?"

When I had corneal inflammation before, I searched online and became more and more scared because I felt that my symptoms matched those of glaucoma.

When I went to the hospital, I asked to have my eye pressure checked. The doctor pried open my eyelids, looked at me, and gave me some anti-inflammatory eye drops with a disgusted expression.

He even told me, "Don't search online unnecessarily. If you could find the right treatment just by searching online, what would be the point of having doctors?"

Wang Nana closed the office door with a sly look on her face: "Let me tell you, there's some big news from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital."

A female nurse was caught red-handed by the director's wife and the nurse's husband while they were running a hotel together.

I heard that the nurse's husband is also a teacher, I think he's from No. 3 Middle School or No. 1 Middle School.

This was revealed by my high school classmate, it's absolutely reliable. I don't know if the nurse's name was Li Xiaomei or Li Xiaomei, but her husband's surname is Zhao, and he teaches physical education.

Chen Xia swallowed hard. His surname was Zhao, he taught physical education, and his wife was a nurse at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital named Li Xiaomei. Could he be Zhao Xin, Song Yuan's high school classmate?

While using the restroom, Chen Xia called Song Yuan. Song Yuan scratched his head and said, "It's him. He stabbed that hospital director. The old guy is still in the ICU. I don't know if he'll wake up."

Chen Xia was taken aback: "That serious?"

Song Yuan sighed: "That's right, Xinzi is unlucky to have met a woman like Li Xiaomei."

I heard from Haozi and the others that this wasn't the first time Li Xiaomei had cheated on her husband; she had an ambiguous relationship with the head of their department before.

Xinzi endured it for the sake of her two children, but she never expected the woman to become even more ruthless. Xinzi is such an honest person; she wouldn't have acted so cruelly if she hadn't been provoked.

After leaving the restroom, Chen Xia washed her hands and went back to her office. She then took the fruit, melon seeds, and peanuts she had distributed to the fifth-grade office on the third floor of the central teaching building.

The fifth-grade Chinese, math, and English teachers share a large office, which conveniently saves Chen Xia from having to travel.

I put the things directly on the large desk in the office, chatted with a few teachers who didn't have classes for a while, and then went back to the front office building.

Back in the office, the teachers were still discussing what had just happened. Chen Xia took out her tablet from her bag and listened to them while drawing illustrations she had taken on the internet.