Chapter 153 Bamboo Strips: if Line

“That’s true. Not everything can be said. We have to wait for the right opportunity,” Song Zihang said.

Song Zihang completely agreed with Qin Yizhou's words; there was no point in saying anything now. His mother had only recently returned to the country, and naturally, she needed to demonstrate her capabilities to others, not indulge in romantic relationships.

If Song Zihang understands this principle, then Qin Yizhou certainly does as well.

Because several members of her family had been summoned for questioning, Qin's mother had been very unhappy these past few days. She had already read the news in the newspapers; she truly hadn't expected Song Fenglan to suddenly become a talent the country urgently needed, and that the nation was paying such high regard for her.

How could this happen?

How could someone like Song Fenglan become so capable?

Qin's mother was unhappy; things shouldn't have turned out this way. She believed Song Fenglan deserved to suffer, to remain trapped in the mire. Now, with Song Fenglan becoming so formidable, it made her own family look foolish.

It's all the fault of our own family, not Song Fenglan's fault.

How ridiculous!

It was clearly Song Fenglan who abandoned Qin Yizhou and went abroad, yet now everyone is praising Song Fenglan.

Tian Keshu fell silent for a long time. She had spoken ill of Song Fenglan in front of Qin's mother earlier. If she had known Song Fenglan was so capable, she definitely wouldn't have said anything to her. Now that things had turned out this way, Tian Keshu could only say as little as possible to avoid Qin's mother's resentment.

"It's all your fault." How could Qin's mother not blame Tian Keshu? "You never know how to do things properly, I don't know what you're thinking, you don't act like a sister-in-law at all."

“Song Fenglan isn’t my sister-in-law anymore,” Tian Keshu muttered.

“Even if she’s not your sister-in-law anymore, you should still refrain from grumbling,” Qin’s mother said. “She’s completely useless; all she does is cause trouble.”

Tian Keshu really wanted to roll her eyes. It wasn't her who went to the Song family to say those things; it was Qin's mother who went and said them. And when something went wrong, it became her, the daughter-in-law, who was at fault. Tian Keshu felt disgusted just thinking about it; Qin's mother had really gone too far.

However, Tian Keshu still had to live in this family, so she couldn't speak ill of Qin's mother. Tian Keshu didn't want to divorce Qin's older brother; if she did, her life would be difficult.

A few days ago, Tian Keshu's younger sister, Tian Kexian, wanted to marry Song Erge, but was rejected. The man Tian Kexian married wasn't very good. Tian Kexian often spoke ill of Tian Keshu in front of the Tian family. The Tian family's attitude towards Tian Keshu was only good because she was still Qin's daughter-in-law. If Tian Keshu weren't Qin's daughter-in-law, their attitude towards her would definitely not be so good.

"Mom, can't we just avoid Song Fenglan?" Tian Keshu said. "I'm telling you, she could never like us, she'd only despise us. Now that she's doing so well, she might be secretly plotting to kick us while we're down."

Qin's mother thought the same way. When she went to say those things to Song's mother, she was quickly taken away. Qin's mother felt that Song Fenglan was not easy to deal with now. Fortunately, Song Fenglan was no longer her daughter-in-law, and Qin Yizhou had not remarried.

Qin's mother thought that as long as Qin Yizhou remarried, Qin Yizhou and Song Fenglan would never be able to be together again.

So Qin's mother invited Qin's eldest aunt over, wanting her to introduce Qin Yizhou to a potential partner. Qin's eldest aunt wasn't stupid; if Song Fenglan hadn't returned to China, she might have introduced Qin Yizhou to someone, but even if she had, Qin Yizhou would never have agreed.

"It's not that I want to criticize you, but Song Fenglan has returned to China, hasn't she? I think Yizhou still cares about her," Aunt Qin said. "You two shouldn't try to break them up. Isn't Fenglan doing well now? She's a top talent the country needs!"

Talented people are talented, and top talents are even more so. Qin's mother was really unhappy when she heard this. She was not happy at all.

"Her?" Qin's mother said, "Who knows, after a while, the country will find that she is useless and get rid of her."

"You can't say that. If she didn't have any talent, would she be so famous?" Aunt Qin said. "You need to change your temper. Things are different now. The Song family has long been exonerated and is living a good life. Look at you, standing still and making no progress. You're still thinking of causing trouble for Song Fenglan..."

"We didn't bother her, just so Yizhou could remarry," Qin's mother said. "Song Fenglan divorced Yizhou before she made a name for herself, so now she's even less likely to remarry him. You're Yizhou's aunt, do you want to watch him embarrass himself over there?"

"What's so shameful about love and marriage?" Aunt Qin said. "If he really likes Song Fenglan, he should pursue her and win her back. And you, you're always thinking about the past. She wants to study abroad, and Yizhou is in the army, so they have no choice but to divorce, right? If they don't divorce, it will affect Yizhou, and you still criticize them. Is it acceptable for your family to take all the advantages?"

Aunt Qin couldn't possibly side with Qin's mother; it was clear that Song Fenglan had the upper hand. Song Fenglan hadn't even come to the Qin family to say anything unpleasant, yet Qin's mother had already gone to their house to say the opposite.

"You should relax and not worry about those things. Yizhou is an adult; he knows what to do," Aunt Qin said. "If you interfere so much, it will only make others think there's something wrong with you."

"I……"

"You really are out of touch with the times," Aunt Qin said. "Don't always think about things from a special era. Now, their social class is quite good, very good, even better than yours. Don't always act so high and mighty, they don't owe you anything."

"Yizhou helped her so much back then..."

“That was Yizhou Gang, not your gang. You even tried to stop them from getting married and being together,” Aunt Qin said. “Many people know about these things. Things change, and in less than thirty years, they’ve become so powerful. We have to acknowledge their strength and not always think badly of them. I think Song Fenglan is quite good, and her children are good too.”

“Song Zihang, that’s his name. He hasn’t come over since he returned to China,” Qin’s mother said. “He doesn’t treat us like his family.”

"Isn't that all your fault?" Aunt Qin said. "You only have eyes for Li'an, not Zihang. Zihang isn't stupid, why would he come to see you? When he meets you, it's already a good thing if he can still call you grandpa and grandma. I advise you not to think too much about it."

"I...no, whose side are you on?" Qin's mother asked. "Your surname is Qin."

"Yes, my surname is Qin. It's because of my surname that I'm saying this to you," said Aunt Qin. "If it weren't for my surname, I wouldn't say these things and would let you run into a brick wall. It's not that I'm being mean, but Song Fenglan is so outstanding that she must have many admirers. If she wants to get married, many people will flock to her. She's not even thirty-five yet, just a little over thirty."

Aunt Qin was telling the truth. Song Fenglan is outstanding and young, so many men would definitely want to marry her. None of their mothers would be as difficult as Qin's mother. If Aunt Qin had a daughter-in-law as excellent as Song Fenglan, she would definitely cherish her and not let her suffer. It's just that Qin's mother is always trying to make things difficult for others.

“I think you’re just feeling inferior because you’re uneducated and come from the countryside, which is why you’re trying to mess with Song Fenglan, who is more educated than you,” Aunt Qin said.

"No, I didn't." Qin's mother never expected her eldest aunt to say such a thing.

"Whether that's true or not, you know it in your heart," Aunt Qin said. "You keep saying you want Yizhou to marry a girl from a good family, but isn't someone like Song Fenglan good enough? You're just too picky, and you're worried that your daughter-in-law will be better than you. What more do you need for a daughter-in-law? Your son has children, that's enough. Your son can stay single for life."

Aunt Qin, being such a weathervane, would never side with Qin's mother; Qin's mother was no longer useful. Aunt Qin thought that if it weren't for her own mother's meddling, the relationship between the Qin family and the Song family wouldn't be so bad. Even at this point, Qin's mother was still speaking ill of Song Fenglan.

"Song Fenglan hasn't come over, nor has she clung to your son. What are you worried about?" Aunt Qin sneered. "Do you really think Yizhou is a hot commodity, that even a fairy in heaven would marry him? Even Yizhou wouldn't dare to think that way, yet you're making that thought for him."

"You..." Qin's mother was angered by Qin's eldest aunt. "I asked you to find a suitable partner for Yizhou, not to say these things."

“We’re relatives, that’s why I’m saying all this to help you clear your head,” Aunt Qin said. “With a brain like yours, tsk tsk, it’s utterly useless.”

Qin's mother also said that Tian Keshu was useless, and now Qin's aunt is also saying that she is useless.

"Stop causing trouble and just live your life properly," Aunt Qin said. "Don't you know how dissatisfied Yizhou is with you? He bought a house outside, but he doesn't live there. Isn't it because you have a bad mouth and poor character?"

"I'm not good?" Qin's mother pointed to herself with trembling hands.

"Yes, it's your fault." Aunt Qin nodded. "If it's not your fault, then it's mine. I've never been Song Fenglan's mother-in-law, and I'm not here to criticize her. You're the one criticizing her and saying bad things about her. She hasn't even done anything yet, and you're acting like she wants to remarry Yizhou. Please, look in the mirror. With a mother-in-law like you, how could she possibly want to remarry Yizhou? She definitely doesn't want a mother-in-law like you."

Aunt Qin's words were truly unpleasant, and Qin's mother felt a headache coming on. How could Aunt Qin say such things?

Aunt Qin didn't think she was wrong; she was just stating the facts.

What era are we living in? Qin's mother is still clinging to the past, insisting that Song Fenglan has a bad family background and that she covets Qin Yizhou's status.

Bullshit! Song Fenglan is so successful, capable, and respected by everyone. Why would she bother suffering with Qin Yizhou?

Indeed, Aunt Qin believes that Song Fenglan's remarriage to Qin Yizhou is nothing but suffering. Song Fenglan has money, looks, and talent. Even if Qin Yizhou is a regimental commander, so what? He's no match for Song Fenglan now.

Aunt Qin didn't understand those things, but she was good at reading people and knew which people were more important to the country. Aunt Qin overheard her family saying that Song Fenglan was now very powerful.

In that case, they should just side with Song Fenglan.

Although Song Fenglan may not know about these things, and the Song family is unlikely to help them, they have said so that others will not make things difficult for them.

"Honestly, you really need to change your temper," Aunt Qin said. "Stop making such a fuss. It's all up to Yizhou now. He can be with whomever he wants. He's a grown man, surely he knows what he wants? Does he really need us to introduce him to potential partners?"

"I……"

"Alright, stop saying those unpleasant things," Aunt Qin said. "If those words get out, people will start talking about you. You're not Song Fenglan's mother-in-law anymore, why do you care so much? As for whether Yizhou and Song Fenglan have remarried, I don't think you need to worry. It's unlikely they will remarry."

Just as Aunt Qin had thought, Song Fenglan had no intention of remarrying Qin Yizhou. The Qin family was no good; they were a mess. With a marriage certificate, others could legitimately cause trouble for Song Fenglan. Without a marriage certificate, even if Song Fenglan and Qin Yizhou were together, Qin's mother couldn't act like a mother-in-law in front of Song Fenglan.

Song Fenglan had long been fed up with the Qin family. She wasn't going to go out of her way to suffer. She had her own brain and knew how to analyze things.

At the research institute, some people were concerned about Song Fenglan's marriage. Someone asked Song Fenglan if she wanted to find a partner, and offered to help introduce potential partners.

They said it in front of Song Fenglan during a meal.

“At your age, and with your outstanding qualities, you should be able to find a good match. I have a relative who’s also quite good; he’s a university professor and still single,” my colleague said. “Why don’t you consider him?”

"I'm not considering it," Song Fenglan said bluntly. "I have no plans to get married in my entire life."

"Is that so?" The colleague had initially thought that Song Fenglan was being too picky, but after thinking about it, he realized that wasn't the case. She was so capable, so what if she was a little picky?

“I have one son, that’s enough. Why get married and deal with all those household chores all day?” Song Fenglan said.

"Yes, yes." The colleague immediately understood what Song Fenglan meant, but didn't dare to force her to go on blind dates.

It's important to know that Song Fenglan held a very high position within the research institute; she was a top talent sought after even by foreigners. Everyone in the institute treated Song Fenglan with utmost respect, though a few individuals were dissatisfied, feeling she didn't possess the necessary abilities. However, after Song Fenglan resolved several problems that had long troubled them, they had to admit that she was indeed remarkable.

No one else could compare to Song Fenglan. Even some older professors seemed quite ignorant in her presence. It's not that older people know more; education level isn't determined by age.

When Song Fenglan got off work, she saw Qin Yizhou, and they went to pick up Song Zihang. When they arrived at the school gate, Song Fenglan didn't get out of the car; Song Zihang came over.

Song Zihang saw his parents sitting in the car, one in front of the other, and he sat down in front of his mother.

“Mom, Dad,” Song Zihang said.

"Hmm," Song Fenglan responded, "Can you keep up with the school's pace?"

"It's alright," Song Zihang said. "I've learned most of what the teacher taught, and I'm doing well in math and foreign languages. It's just that I'm a bit weak in Chinese."

When Song Zihang was studying abroad, he didn't learn any classical Chinese. Song Fenglan hired tutors for him, mainly to teach him STEM subjects like math, physics, and chemistry. "Master math, physics, and chemistry, and you can go anywhere in the world."

When Song Zihang returned to China, he found it somewhat difficult to study classical Chinese with other students.

“The character ‘之’ sometimes means ‘的’ with the white radical, sometimes it means ‘地’ with the earth radical, and it has other meanings as well, whether it’s a preposition or not.” Song Zihang got a headache just hearing about these.

"No?" Song Fenglan asked.

“It’s not that I can’t learn it, it’s just that there are many problems,” Song Zihang said. “We have to analyze each problem specifically. We have to see what kind of words are before and after the character ‘之’, whether they are verbs or nouns. Words of different parts of speech have different meanings.”

“That’s right,” Song Fenglan said. “If you work hard, you’ll have to learn these things when you return to China. When it comes to the exam, these questions won’t get you very high marks. Even a blind cat can stumble upon a dead mouse. If you answer some correctly, it will be enough.”

"Yes, the teacher gave us a dictation test," Song Zihang said. "I got most of them right, although not all of them. But I'll definitely try to get them all right next time."

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself," Song Fenglan said. "Everyone has their own expertise; you don't have to be a jack-of-all-trades."

Song Fenglan didn't have high expectations for Song Zihang, nor did she insist that he achieve high scores. In her view, as long as Song Zihang's overall grades were good enough to get into high school and then university, that was enough. That was the most important thing. Constantly obsessing over classical Chinese was foolish. Classical Chinese was important, and reading it was good, but aiming for perfect scores was unrealistic.

Not everyone can understand the meaning of those words, and the meanings of those words may differ in different versions of textbooks.

Song Fenglan herself was well-educated; she understood these things all too well. In a few years, when new textbooks came out, the pronunciation of words might have changed, making people wonder if they had remembered them incorrectly.

“I know, but I still have to work hard, don’t I? This is our motherland, and I still have to learn from it,” Song Zihang said.

"How are you getting along with your classmates?" Song Fenglan asked again.

"Everything is fine. Nobody bullies me. They even asked me what it's like abroad," Song Zihang said. "When they asked, I told them."

Song Zihang thrived at school; not only was he not bullied, but many classmates were willing to be his friends, and the teachers also valued him highly. This made Song Zihang very happy; he played and studied with his classmates.

Qin Yizhou remained silent, listening attentively. He was there to escort and protect Song Fenglan, not to say anything more. He was also worried that if he spoke too much, Song Fenglan would be displeased.

"Dad," Song Zihang looked in Qin Yizhou's direction, "Have you had dinner?"

"I ate before I came," Qin Yizhou said.

"..." Song Zihang wondered if his dad could just say he hadn't eaten anything. "What did you eat?"

"The food is pretty good, eaten at the company cafeteria," Qin Yizhou added.

Song Zihang didn't want to say that the food in Qin Yizhou's cafeteria was bad; his father's words left him no choice but to respond.

"The weather's been quite hot lately, and there are a lot of mosquitoes outside." Song Zihang looked at Qin Yizhou, then at Song Fenglan. "Dad, won't you get a lot of mosquito bites when you're outside?"

"It's alright, much better than when I was in the wild before," Qin Yizhou said. "It's bearable."

“Dad, you can tolerate it, but I can’t. There are already a lot of mosquitoes at home, let alone outside,” Song Zihang said. “There are so many mosquitoes, they’re little red, and sometimes they even ulcerate, it’s really uncomfortable. Wait a minute, I’ll get you a mosquito repellent sachet. We have a lot of mosquito repellent sachets at home, they work very well.”

"Okay," Qin Yizhou said.

"Mom, let Dad go to the house to get the mosquito repellent sachet later," Song Zihang said.

"Whatever you want," Song Fenglan said.

Song Fenglan knew that Song Zihang still harbored some expectations towards Qin Yizhou, his biological father. When Song Fenglan spoke of Qin Yizhou to the Song family, they told Song Zihang that Qin Yizhou was a heroic figure who dedicated himself to the people. Song Zihang had seen Qin Yizhou infrequently, but he was capable of making judgments and knew how to assess him.

Qin Yizhou felt a warmth in his heart when he saw that Song Fenglan did not refuse.

Song Zihang smiled; he knew his mother wouldn't stop his father from going in. His mother, his maternal grandparents, and everyone else were very satisfied with his father; otherwise, they wouldn't have spoken so highly of him.

When they arrived at their doorstep, Song Zihang and the others got out of the car, and Song Zihang asked Qin Yizhou to follow them inside.

When they arrived home, the servants had already prepared the meal.

"Dad, do you want something to eat? You're on night shift tonight, right?" Song Zihang's eyes darted around. "Don't worry about not having enough food. There will be enough. If not, we can cook noodles."

What was Qin Yizhou supposed to say? Was Song Zihang being too enthusiastic?

"Mom, can Dad have dinner with me?" Song Zihang asked. "Dad rarely eats with me. It seems like I haven't eaten with you for many years. I can't remember anything from when I was little."

"Then let's eat something," Song Fenglan said.

Song Fenglan didn't refuse her son's small request, as long as the Qin family didn't come and make a scene. Qin Yizhou and Song Zihang were father and son after all. Now that her son was older, Song Fenglan didn't know how to continue teaching him, while Qin Yizhou could indeed teach Song Zihang some things.

"Dad, did you hear that?" Song Zihang said, "Mom said you should eat something too, so please have some."

"Okay." Qin Yizhou nodded; how could he possibly refuse? It had been a long time since he had sat down for a quiet meal with Song Fenglan and her son, and he truly missed the feeling of being together with them.

In the south of the city, Fatty Sister chased after Zhang Xiaohu in the yard with a bamboo stick, intending to hit him. Zhang Xiaohu was playing with the bad students in his class and wasn't doing his homework properly. Fatty Sister was called in by the teacher, and she became furious when she heard the teacher talk about Zhang Xiaohu.

"Don't run, Zhang Xiaohu! If you're so capable of not doing your homework, then don't run!" Aunt Pang gritted her teeth. "It's such a waste of money to send you to school, you little rascal."