Chapter 260 There's no need to force it.

"...It's just walking a part of the journey together. They have their path, and we have ours, like my son..."

Old Qiu's wife paused, her gaze gentle yet sorrowful, "He left so suddenly, leaving us, the old couple, to bury our child. How can you even talk to him about filial piety?"

"Aunt Qiu..." Li Banxia didn't know how to comfort her for a moment.

Old Qiu's wife smiled and said, "So many years have passed, but it still makes me sad when I think about it. In the face of life and death, whether he is filial or not is no longer important to me."

"Grandma, I will take good care of you."

Arno stood to the side, looking at Old Qiu's wife with a firm gaze, "I will take care of my parents as well. You didn't raise them in vain. I am the gift they left to you."

A hint of emotion flickered across Old Qiu's wife's eyes as she smiled and spoke to Li Banxia.

"Look, there's another one..."

Li Banxia smiled too.

Arno said earnestly, "I really will be filial to you and my grandpa, Grandma, you can believe me."

"I know."

Old Qiu's wife looked at her granddaughter with a gentle expression, tucked her stray hair behind her ear, and said softly, "I just wanted to show your Aunt Li that when it comes to filial piety, if you think it through, the world is a vast expanse; if you don't, it's a dead end. Don't force it too much."

Arno seemed to understand, but Li Banxia did.

In her past life, she was too fixated on her children's filial piety, which trapped her within that framework.

Living life as I please and following my heart's feelings has actually reduced a lot of troubles.

Aunt Qiu is right. Whether someone is filial or not is not that important. She didn't raise them expecting them to take care of her in her old age or see her off in death.

There's no need to force it.

Li Banxia let out a breath and smiled at Old Qiu's wife, "Auntie is right."

When the three arrived at the hospital, Zhang Haijun was actually waiting in Su Hongying's ward.

Upon seeing Li Banxia, ​​she smiled and called out, "Mom, you're here."

Li Banxia frowned slightly.

Zhang Haijun hurriedly said, "I took a day off specifically to visit the postpartum nanny that Mom hired for Hongying. I wanted the nanny to take good care of Hongying; she's suffered so much these past few days, and it's my fault for not taking good care of her..."

Li Banxia, ​​impatient with his sweet talk, interrupted him calmly, "Have you finished looking at the person and completed all the formalities?"

Zhang Haijun choked for a moment, then forced out an awkward smile.

"Not yet, I'll go and get it done right away..."

He paused, glanced at Arno who was standing next to Old Qiu's wife, and frowned, revealing an unexpected displeasure. "Is this young girl also going to stay here? Didn't you say that two people were coming..."

"She doesn't live there."

Li Banxia said, "She'll come home with me later."

Zhang Haijun breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, you guys talk first, I'll go take care of the formalities."

He turned to look at Su Hongying, who nodded at him with a smile in her eyes. Zhang Haijun also smiled and nodded slightly to Li Banxia before leaving the ward.

As soon as the man left, Su Hongying's smile vanished instantly. She rubbed her face and cursed, "You dog of a man."

Old Qiu's wife was stunned.

Su Hongying slumped against the pillows at the head of the bed, looked at Li Banxia, ​​and smiled as she called her "Mom."

This smile is different from Zhang Haijun's.

Old Qiu's wife could tell at a glance that the other one, though smiling brightly, had no real smile in her eyes, while the other one, though smiling, had a smile in her eyes.

Li Banxia hummed in agreement, sat on the edge of the bed, and tucked her in. "How are you feeling? Are you feeling any better?"

Su Hongying shook her head.

"I can't eat or sleep well, and I'm constantly thinking about how to kill their whole family. It's exhausting."

Li Banxia, ​​"..."

She frowned and glanced at Su Hongying. "Why don't you just get a divorce and stay far away from them? Isn't it more important to get your health back on track? I think you've got the priorities backwards."

Su Hongying hummed in agreement twice.

“Mom, you’re right, but I’m not reconciled, and I’m not willing to let them off so easily. I thought Zhang Haijun and I were truly in love. It’s one thing that he was indifferent to what his mother did to me, but he even dared to give up my chance to save my life, just to protect that unborn boy. Mom, don’t you find that ironic?”

Su Hongying gritted her teeth and patted her chest.

"I! A living, breathing human being, am no match for a man who can carry on his family line!"

Su Hongying was emotional and took a few quick breaths after saying these words.

Seeing this, Li Banxia reached out and patted her on the back.

Su Hongying's eyes reddened, and she leaned against Li Banxia's shoulder, nuzzling him, and said, "Mom, I won't let their family get away with this."

Li Banxia hummed in agreement.

"Then you decide what to do. Safety first, no matter what. Get out of there as soon as you find an opportunity. Don't let those rotten people from the Zhang family ruin your life."

Su Hongying smiled and nodded, saying no.

"I saw through their true colors a long time ago, and I will no longer be fooled by simple sweet words."

Li Banxia hummed in agreement and said nothing more. She then introduced Old Qiu's wife to Su Hongying. Su Hongying looked at Old Qiu's wife with surprise and said, "I know you. My eldest brother and third brother have always praised you, saying that you take good care of your sister-in-law. My mother has probably told you about my situation. I am weak and have to deal with my in-laws. I'm afraid you will have to suffer along with me."

"You're too kind," Old Qiu's wife smiled, her attitude somewhat distant.

Su Hongying knew that she was probably only there because of her mother, so she didn't think much of it and just greeted her with a smile.

After Zhang Haijun arranged for Lao Qiu's wife to have a caregiver, Li Banxia took Arno home.

Arno and his eldest son's wife take care of the child, with Li Banxia assisting. They usually buy groceries and cook. Su Laosan and Fang Erniu start getting busy on the first few days of the lunar month, and become even busier after the fifteenth.

The two of them kept looking around for shops, hoping to find a cheap, spacious place in a good location.

The two children's one-month celebration and 100-day celebration were combined into one event.

No one else was invited, only close relatives, the eldest daughter-in-law's family, Li Banxia's family, and the family of the soon-to-be second daughter-in-law, Fang Erniu.

The three families got together for a meal.

Erniu's mother prepared two silver locks for her two children. The two children liked them very much when they were hung up, and the younger one even put it in his mouth and drooled all over it.

The eldest son's wife's sister-in-law prepared small gold bracelets for each of them; they were so shiny and dazzling.

Fang Erniu's mother said, "Look how generous they are! Our family is so stingy, we only gave two little silver locks. Mom, when my third brother and I have our baby, you have to prepare these for us."

Erniu's mother almost couldn't catch her breath.

If it weren't for the fact that it was in front of her in-laws, she would have wanted to pull this girl's ears and ask her if she knew how much those two little gold bracelets cost together.

Fang Erniu didn't know and shook her head, "A lot?"

Erniu's mother, "..."

"Gold is now worth 138 yuan per gram. Those two small gold bracelets look solid, at least ten grams each, so two of them would be twenty grams. You can calculate how much they cost."

Fang Erniu started counting on her fingers, then frowned and looked at her mother, "It's only a little over two hundred, isn't it?"

Erniu's mother, "..."

She stared at her daughter speechlessly and incredulously, but couldn't help herself. She raised her hand and poked her forehead, saying, "You may lack knowledge, but you should have some common sense. Is that over two hundred? That's over two thousand!"