Chapter 61 The Power of Differences to Attract Hatred

Zhang Xiaohu was watching TV the other day and saw someone boiling a frog in lukewarm water. The frog wouldn't jump out, and it would get cooked. Since the goal is to cook an egg, why can't the egg be eaten?

"There's no fire burning down here, so it's not for boiling eggs," the plump woman explained.

In the countryside, this is how people check the eggs that the hen has incubated—to determine if the chicks inside are alive and if they can hatch.

The plump woman handled the eggs very carefully, afraid of accidentally breaking them. After quickly checking the eggs, she dried them and let the hen continue incubating them, making sure they weren't left outside. It was too cold outside, and the eggs would easily lose their warmth.

Zhang Xiaohu was a little disappointed when he saw his mother put the eggs back in the hen's incubator.

Ever since Qin Zihang had a conflict with other children at school, his mother has been teaching him that it's not that others are ignorant, but rather that some people simply don't know those things. Qin Zihang no longer talks much about his mother going to university; she's already in university, and the college entrance exam is in the past; soon, someone else will be taking it again.

Qin Zihang can be a bit mischievous at times, but thankfully he knows to listen to his family, especially Song Fenglan. In Qin Zihang's eyes, his mother couldn't possibly do anything wrong; she was absolutely wonderful, and listening to her was always the right thing to do.

However, just because Qin Zihang didn't speak up doesn't mean the other children didn't.

The other children seemed a little uncomfortable when they saw Qin Zihang and stopped talking about his mother.

"Zihang, how is your mother?"

"Zihang, why aren't you talking about your mother today?"

"Zihang, your mother is so beautiful, and she likes you so much, you..."

...

"I'm not talking about my mom anymore." Qin Zihang found it strange that the other children were asking him about their mothers. Before, when he talked about his mom, some of the children didn't like it. Now, even though he stopped talking about his mom, they were asking about her on their own initiative.

Actually, Qin Zihang hadn't mentioned his mother for two days when the other children started asking.

"Did you have a fight with your mom? Did you make her angry?" a child asked.

"No," Qin Zihang said. "Mom said we're all kids, we can't always talk about Mom, we have to study."

"Why don't you talk about it? You can." Some children really enjoyed listening to Qin Zihang talk about his mother, and some even wondered if they could switch mothers with Qin Zihang.

That evening, when Song Fenglan went to pick up Qin Zihang, a little boy ran up to her.

"Mom!" the little boy called out to Song Fenglan directly, but Song Fenglan naturally didn't respond. The little boy rushed in front of Song Fenglan, but was stopped by Cao Fang.

"Mom, I won't make you angry. I'll be your son." The little boy said to Song Fenglan.

The little boy was Tian Junhua, who had a conflict with Qin Zihang before. After learning that Qin Zihang's mother was really, really amazing, he wanted Qin Zihang's mother to be his mother.

Zhang Xiaohu had thought about it, and he had mentioned it, but he didn't directly call Song Fenglan "Mom." Tian Junhua, on the other hand, directly called Song Fenglan "Mom," and couldn't wait to go home with her right then and there.

"..." Song Fenglan obviously didn't expect another child to call her "Mom". She recognized the child and thought that he should be in the same class as her son.

"This is my mother." Qin Zihang didn't expect someone to call his mother "Mom." It was too much; they actually wanted to take his mother away.

“Auntie is Zihang’s mother, not your mother.” After saying that, Zhang Xiaohu added, “She’s not my mother either.”

“Mom, I’ll be your son, and I’ll be a better one than Zihang,” Tian Junhua said.

"No, no, this is my mother, not your mother." Qin Zihang quickly hugged his mother's leg. This was his mother, and no one could take her away from him.

“I can be your brother, and we can have a mother.” Tian Junhua didn’t think there was anything wrong with his statement.

"Tian Junhua!" Tian Junhua's mother came to pick him up and overheard these words. Tian's mother was speechless; listen to what her son was saying!

Just two days ago, her son was saying that he had argued with Qin Zihang, and today, her son wants to steal Qin Zihang's mother.

Mother Tian never expected her son to be like this. She quickly went over and said to Song Fenglan, "I'm sorry, this child is just being unreasonable."

"I'm sensible, I want to..."

"You don't want to!" Mother Tian covered her son's mouth. "You already have a mother, don't think about having someone else be your mother. Go back, or else you'll want to eat bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork."

Sure enough, if you don't discipline the child for a day, he'll start trying to climb on the roof and tear off the tiles.

As soon as Tian's mother loosened her grip slightly, her son said to Song Fenglan, "Mom, she's going to hit your son. I'm not going with her."

Tian Junhua plopped down on the ground and started yelling that he wanted to go with Song Fenglan.

"Mom, hurry up, hurry up!" Qin Zihang urged his mother to leave quickly, not wanting her to actually bring Tian Junhua home.

Zhang Xiaohu also helped Qin Zi

Hang pushed Song Fenglan forward, telling her not to look at Tian Junhua.

Song Fenglan watched the scene with amusement. First-graders really do tend to become unruly. It turns out it's not just her own child who's unruly; other people's children are too. But she still needs to properly guide Qin Zihang and prevent him from going in a bad direction.

"I'm so sorry, that's just how this child is, just ignore him," said Tian's mother.

"We're going back now," Song Fenglan said.

"Let's go back," said Mother Tian. She stood there watching her son throw a tantrum on the ground, wanting to see how long he could keep it up. Song Fenglan was gone; who was her son trying to impress?

Tian Junhua desperately wanted to go with Song Fenglan, but she didn't acknowledge him as her son, so he couldn't go with her. Tian Junhua sat on the ground crying for a while, but he quickly got up on his own, without his mother having to help him.

On the way back, Tian's mother asked Tian Junhua, "Why do you want Zihang's mother to be your mother?"

“Didn’t you all say that Zihang’s mother is amazing?” Tian Junhua said. “If she can be Zihang’s mother, why can’t she be my mother?”

"..." Mother Tian was speechless.

“Mom, you still say that I was picked up from the garbage dump by you, so I’m not your son. Can’t I be Zihang’s mother’s son?” Tian Junhua still felt that what he said made perfect sense.

“You…” Mother Tian reached out and gently tapped her son’s head. The adults were joking, but the child took it seriously.

"Don't expect Zihang's mom to be your mom." Tian's mother knew that her son and Qin Zihang had argued. That's how kids are; they might be arguing a few days ago, but things could change drastically later. As long as nothing serious happens, there's really no need to take children's little squabbles to heart.

"Why not?" Tian Junhua said, "If not today, then tomorrow is fine."

"Don't even try," said Mrs. Tian. "If you want to play with Zihang, then don't try to steal someone else's mother."

“I didn’t invite Zihang to our house; I went to their house,” Tian Junhua said. “I want to become their child and be Zihang’s older brother.”

"Let's go home." Tian's mother thought that her son was not as smart as Qin Zihang, and no one wanted such a brat.

On his way home, Qin Zihang told his mother not to be another child's mother.

“Mom, you can only be my mom, not their mom,” Qin Zihang said.

Zhang Xiaohu has already gone back and is not here.

"What mother?" Mrs. Su brought out the food. Song Fenglan had gone home early today, so Mrs. Su didn't go to pick up Qin Zihang, but instead cooked here.

“Tian Junhua, who is my classmate, wants my mother to be his mother. He even calls my mother ‘Mom, Mom’. It’s so annoying,” Qin Zihang said. “He said before that my mother couldn’t get into a university in the capital. He, he… he looks down on my mother.”

Qin Zihang was a little angry. This was his mother, not someone else's mother.

"He thinks your mother is great and envies you," Mrs. Su said with a smile.

“Then I can’t give my mother to him,” Qin Zihang said. “His mother wants him to eat bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork.”

Don't underestimate Qin Zihang just because he's young; he knows what "bamboo shoots stir-fried with meat" means—adults using bamboo to beat children. It wasn't just one child being beaten here; adults used bamboo strips to hit the children. Sometimes, when the children played together, they would even burn the bamboo strips to prevent the adults from finding them.

Qin Zihang didn't like burning things. His parents had told him he couldn't play with fire. They were still young and couldn't control fire; they might accidentally burn the house down. If the house burned down, they would have nowhere to live, and the precious gifts his mother had given him would be burned too. Qin Zihang didn't want that to happen.

While other children were playing with fire, Qin Zihang would stay far away, afraid of getting burned himself and his belongings.

Other children said Qin Zihang was afraid of fire, but Qin Zihang didn't care about them.

"You also know about stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork?" Song Fenglan asked.

"I know, my classmates told me. They even tried to trick me into asking my mom to make bamboo shoot stir-fried with pork, hoping I'd get a beating too," Qin Zihang said. "I'm not stupid."

Stir-fried bamboo shoots with pork is both a dish and a game; let's see what the final result will be.

"The bamboo shoots are delicious with their sour and spicy flavor, and they're also a little sweet," Qin Zihang said.

"Here." Madam Su happened to have stir-fried bamboo shoots today.

After a while, Qin Yizhou returned. He usually came home on time now, as he had to take over from Cao Fang in protecting Song Fenglan.

"Is everything ready?" Qin Yizhou asked.

"Today, Fenglan went to pick up the children, and I cooked at home," said Madam Su. "Please sit down and eat."

Qin Zihang glanced at his father, Qin Yizhou, who was puzzled; his son had glanced at him several times.

"What's wrong?" Qin Yizhou asked.

"Why doesn't anyone want their dad to be their dad? They all want my mom to be their mom." Qin Zihang didn't quite understand.

“What if they want your father to be their father?” Song Fenglan asked.

"Give it to them, do you think I'm such a petty person?" Qin Zihang said generously.

"You're really something, giving way to Dad instead of Mom," Qin Yizhou said.

"With Mom here, I'll be fine," Qin Zihang said. "It's the same even without Dad."

"..." Qin Yizhou felt a little sad when he heard this. When Qin Zihang was with Song Fenglan in the capital, it was true that it didn't matter whether he had a father or not.

"Let's eat," Madam Su said. The past cannot be changed; they can only look forward.

After Fan Yani returned home from the hospital, Li Hui didn't come to see her even once. Li Hui couldn't bear to see Fan Yani, especially after what happened at the hospital; she harbored a lot of resentment towards her. Li Hui kept thinking that if Fan Yani hadn't come to the family compound, Guo Peng's affair with his child bride wouldn't have been discovered, and her own situation wouldn't be so awkward.

When neighbors see Li Hui, they will ask her a few questions.

"Have you visited your sister?" the neighbor asked.

Li Hui knew that the neighbor was referring to Fan Yani. "I had my husband deliver the eggs over there. I went to the hospital earlier, but it just so happens that I'm not feeling well these days, so I haven't gone yet. I plan to go over in a few days."

"Your mother-in-law is over there, it's okay if you go a few days later," the neighbor said. "Didn't I see your mother-in-law come over?"

“She’s with Yani; she has to take care of Yani,” Li Hui said. “We don’t have anything to do here, so we didn’t ask her to come over.”

The neighbors thought that Li Hui and her husband probably didn't want Guo's mother to come over. Guo's mother had been here for several days, and Li Hui and her husband hadn't invited her over for a single meal. They said they were cooking and eating at Fan Yani's place, but it wasn't actually at Li Hui and her husband's house, so it was different.

However, the neighbors didn't feel comfortable telling Li Hui and her husband that they absolutely had to invite Guo's mother over; it was best to say less about other people's family matters.

Li Hui disliked hearing her neighbors say these things. Every time she heard them, she wondered if they were trying to stab her in the back. It wasn't their business, so why were they asking so many questions? Whether she had invited Guo's mother over or not was none of their concern.

Li Hui was very unhappy when she told Guo Peng what the neighbors had said.

“These people keep asking these questions every now and then? Am I preventing your mother from coming over? It’s your mother who has to take care of your sister; she doesn’t have time to come over,” Li Hui said. “Besides, we don’t have any spare rooms for her here. If she stays here, we’ll have to clean out the storage room, and she’ll have to keep going to your sister’s place, which is too much trouble.”

"Mom lives in Yani"

"That's fine. We agreed on this beforehand, so you don't need to worry about what those people think," Guo Peng said.

“I don’t care what those people think, it’s just that what they say is unpleasant to hear,” Li Hui said. “It’s like I’m bullying your mother.”

“No, Mom didn’t say anything like that, you don’t need to worry. Mom has a very good temper,” Guo Peng said.

Guo's mother didn't come over to talk to Li Hui, nor did she point fingers at her. Li Hui still felt that Guo's mother was more like Fan Yani. Guo's mother took such good care of Fan Yani that Li Hui thought Guo's mother must wish Fan Yani were Guo Peng's wife, then Fan Yani's child would be Guo Peng's son.

No one dared to lose their temper in front of Li Hui, but Li Hui herself would get angry, so she just wanted to make things difficult for Guo Peng.

"Good temper? That's how it seems on the surface, but who knows what it's like in private?" Li Hui pouted. "I wonder what she said about me when she was with Fan Yani."

"She won't tell," Guo Peng reassured her. "Don't worry, Mom will be back in a while."

“Fan Yani is really something, making your mother come and take care of her. She really treats her like your mother’s own daughter,” Li Hui said. “Doesn’t she have her own parents? Why doesn’t she let her own mother come and take care of her?”

“Well… she’s lived with us since she was very young,” Guo Peng said. “Although her biological mother lives in the next village, she doesn’t have much contact with her and always calls us ‘Mom.’”

“She calls you Mom when things are tough, but when things get better, she won’t call you Mom anymore, she’ll call her own mother.” Li Hui sneered. “Do you really think Fan Yani is a good person? If she were, would she have come here without your permission? She’s very scheming.”

Li Hui insisted on speaking ill of Fan Yani. What's wrong with a woman planning for her future? Fan Yani didn't force Li Hui to divorce Guo Peng; at most, she deliberately annoyed them a few times, but she didn't do anything more egregious. Even so, Li Hui still resented Fan Yani, even more than she resented Song Fenglan.

Fan Yani is, after all, the female lead, and her ability to attract hatred is extremely strong.

“I’m telling you, be careful when you interact with Fan Yani in the future,” Li Hui said. “She has a son now, and we don’t have any children. Who knows what she’ll say about us later? She definitely wants you to regret marrying me, she…”

"That's not true." Guo Peng couldn't stand it anymore. Fan Yani didn't say anything more in front of Guo Peng, and Guo Peng had a decent impression of her.

After all, when Guo Peng wasn't home, Fan Yani took care of Guo's parents and did a lot of work. And Guo Peng? He didn't go back, and he wasn't willing to marry Fan Yani, leaving her quite old and still unmarried. You know, girls in rural areas tend to marry and have children early. Regardless of whether they've reached the legal marriage age, they dare to marry and have children early.

"You're always saying things that aren't true." Li Hui pinched Guo Peng's arm hard. "Why are you siding with them instead of me?"

"No, no, I'm not on their side. I mean they didn't mean that, you don't need to worry about them making things difficult for you. If they did, I would definitely say something to them." Guo Peng was a little tired.

For some time now, Li Hui has been in this state, leaving Guo Peng speechless. She's become somewhat hysterical, her face contorted in a grimace. She's nothing like the sunny, outgoing Li Hui of the past. Guo Peng still prefers the old Li Hui. He doesn't want her to stay like this, but what can a grown man do? His wife just can't let him be at ease.

Guo Peng thought he had to be patient. His wife had lost her child due to a miscarriage and was having difficulty conceiving, which was why she was in this state. He figured that after a while, her condition would naturally improve, and then he wouldn't have to worry so much.

Fan Yani didn't care what Li Hui thought of her; all she knew was that she needed to take good care of her health. Sometimes, Fan Yani felt that Guo's mother was doing something wrong, and she would say a few words, not to criticize Guo's mother, but because she was very careful with her words.

An adoptive mother is still an adoptive mother, and Fan Yani still had to be polite to her. Guo's mother didn't think Fan Yani was wrong; they were now in the city, and there were significant differences between the city and the countryside.

When Guo's mother was taking care of Fan Yani, she rarely went out except for grocery shopping. Guo's mother didn't think about chatting with others; the conversations were always the same, and she didn't want to keep hearing about Li Hui.

After hearing what those people said, Guo's mother wondered why her eldest son had married Li Hui, and also thought that her eldest son must really like Li Hui. Therefore, Guo's mother couldn't say anything bad about Li Hui in front of her eldest son. Before, over a small matter, her eldest son had even come to tell her, as his mother, not to speak ill of Li Hui. Guo's mother felt wronged, but she still had to nod and say that she wouldn't make things difficult for Li Hui and that she was very satisfied with Li Hui.

"Mom, do you miss Dad? Should we call him?" Fan Yani lay on the bed, looked at her sleeping son beside her, and turned to ask Guo's mother, "My husband and I will pay for the phone call, you don't need to pay."

"No need to call. We can call again when we get back." Guo's mother didn't want to waste the money on the phone call.

“Mom, please stay for another ten or twenty days after the baby is a month old,” Fan Yani said. “This baby is too young, I don’t know how to take care of him.”

"this……"

“There are so many people in the family, we don’t need you,” Fan Yani said. “Please help me out.”

"We'll see," said Guo's mother.

"Mom, are you worried that my older brother and sister-in-law will be unhappy?" Fan Yani said. "You can stay here with me and help me take care of the children. You don't need to go over there to eat and stay, and you don't need to put up with their attitude."

"I'm not worried," said Guo's mother.

“Since you’re not worried, it’s settled then,” Fan Yani said. “I have no one else to rely on, so I can only think of you and ask you to help me out.”

When Qin Zihang was on vacation, Song Fenglan brought him to visit Fan Yani. Qin Zihang kept saying he wanted to see the baby.

“He’s been thinking about the baby for a long time,” Song Fenglan said with a smile.

Qin Zihang didn't dare to get too close to the baby. He stood to the side, peeking in once, then peeking in again.

"It's so small." Qin Zihang exclaimed. He wanted to reach out and poke it, but he didn't dare, so he could only withdraw his hand.

“You can touch it,” Fan Yani said with a smile. “It’s a baby, not a balloon, so it won’t pop.”

"No, no, that won't do. My hands have germs, and the baby is still very small; I can't touch him." Qin Zihang quickly shook his head. "Mom said that we have a lot of germs on our hands. We have to wash our hands before eating, and we have to be careful when touching the baby. Even after washing our hands, there are still some germs that can't be washed off."

Qin Zihang was afraid something might happen to the baby, so he dared not touch the baby too much.

"I'll touch the baby after he's grown up," Qin Zihang said.

Looking at Qin Zihang's adorable appearance, Fan Yani smiled again and couldn't help but ask, "Sister-in-law Fenglan, how did you raise Hangbao to be so cute?"

Fan Yani thought that Qin Zihang was the kind of child who grew up on cuteness, while her own child, after glancing at the baby, probably wasn't that cute.

"Milk, food." Qin Zihang counted on his fingers, "Mung bean cake, sponge cake, layered cake..."

Qin Zihang's mouth watered just thinking about all this food; it was all so delicious.

"So cute," Fan Yani said. "I wish my child could be like Hangbao."

“Different children are cute in different ways,” Song Fenglan said. “Many people think other people’s children are cute.”

"Mom, do you also think other people's children are cuter? Am I not cute?" Qin Zihang asked quickly.

"No, no," Song Fenglan said. "Of course I like our Hangbao more. Ask your aunt if she likes her baby more too."

“Auntie.” Qin Zihang looked at Fan Yani.

“Yes, mothers all love their own babies more, and Auntie loves her own baby more too,” Fan Yani said. “You can’t bring other people’s children home and stay with them all the time.”

"But... other people's kids just want to come back with their mothers." Qin Zihang looked at me like I was lying, but the truth was that it wasn't like that.

“At first, I thought that after they stayed for two days, they would still want to go back to their own parents,” Fan Yani said. “Their own parents are the best.”

"Yes, I love my mom too," Qin Zihang said, putting his father aside for now.

"Did you make formula for the baby?" Song Fenglan asked, noticing the baby bottle next to her.

“I made some,” Fan Yani said. “Sometimes I’m very tired at night, so I just have my mom make formula for me. My breast milk is still a bit insufficient, so it’s good for me to drink some formula.”

The baby would cry incessantly in the middle of the night, crying when hungry, crying when wet; crying is how babies express their needs. Fan Yani was exhausted and felt that taking care of a child was too difficult, which was why she wanted Guo's mother to stay a little longer, so the child could grow a bit older.

Looking at the tiny child, Fan Yani worried that something was wrong with him and wanted to keep an eye on him all the time, but she was too exhausted and her body told her that she couldn't keep going for that long.

Qin Zihang stared at the baby for a long time. The baby's mouth moved, the baby's little hands moved, the baby's face was chubby...

"Mom, was I like this before?" Qin Zihang asked.

“That’s how it is,” Song Fenglan said. “You’re just a tiny little thing. As you grow up, you’ll become like you are now. And you’ll continue to grow.”

"That's amazing!" Qin Zihang said. "The baby is lying down now, and he can't even walk yet."

"She'll be able to walk when she's older," Song Fenglan said.

After watching the child for a while, Song Fenglan took Qin Zihang back home. The baby had pooped, and Guo's mother changed the diaper. Song Fenglan didn't want to keep watching other people's children with Qin Zihang; it was better to go home first.

"Mom, did I cry a lot when I was that little?" Qin Zihang asked.

“Children cry, of course they cry. What child doesn’t cry?” Song Fenglan explained. “Children can’t talk, so they cry and shout so that adults know they need something. If a baby doesn’t shout or cry, adults won’t understand.”

"I don't even remember what I was like as a child," Qin Zihang said. "I used to scream so much when I was little, didn't my voice get hoarse?"

"No, everything's fine," Song Fenglan said. "He's calling out very loudly, so even if I wanted to pretend I didn't hear him, I couldn't. I can only take extra care of our little Hangbao."

“I’m not making noise now. If I yell and scream, it will be noisy,” Qin Zihang said. “I’m a good baby now.”

“Babies, if you call them, they are good babies too. Babies can’t control themselves, they can only do it this way, and it doesn’t mean they are naughty,” Song Fenglan said.

"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore, right?" Qin Zihang asked.

“If you can walk and jump, you’re not a baby anymore,” Song Fenglan said. “Would you like some fruit? I’ll have your dad cut some for you.”

Song Fenglan wanted Qin Zihang to go find Qin Yizhou, so that Qin Zihang wouldn't have to ask so many questions.

In the capital, Tian Keshu's younger sister, Tian Kexian, was pregnant. She had little food and her room was in poor condition. Tian Kexian went back to her mother's house.

Her family didn't cook anything special for her at home, and even hid the good food they had at home.

When Tian Kexian returned to her parents' home, she went to the place where she used to keep food to look for cookies, but she couldn't find a single cookie.

"Mom, didn't you buy any cookies?" Tian Kexian asked. "Why are there other things here?"

“Now that you and your sister are both married, we’ll tidy up the house,” said Tian’s mother.

"Mom, you're not wary of me and don't want me to eat, are you?" Tian Kexian frowned.

"You're all married now, why are you still coming to your parents' house for food?" said Mother Tian.

“The food there isn’t good,” Tian Kexian said. “We live outside, not at my mother-in-law’s place. The place we live in now is a tiny room, and it’s rented.”

Tian Kexian had thought that once she got married, she would have her own house. But it turned out she didn't own a house and still had to pay rent. Initially, her husband hadn't mentioned that the house was rented, which made Tian Kexian feel deceived.

But the two were already married, and Tian Kexian was pregnant, so she had no other choice.

Tian Kexian thought of Song Erge again. If her sister hadn't caused all that trouble, everyone would be doing well. It's all her sister's fault for messing things up and turning the family into this mess.

“Before, when my sister came back, you would steam egg custard for her and cook her delicious food. Now that I’m back, there’s nothing to eat, just a glass of plain water.” Tian Kexian looked at Bai Kaixin on the table, feeling heartbroken.

“Your sister used to live with the Qin family,” said Mother Tian. “Things are not what they used to be.”

If the family were better off, Tian's mother would naturally give Tian Kexian more to eat, but unfortunately, the family was not well-off. Tian's mother wanted better things, but if they didn't save now, they would starve later. Tian Kexian was a married woman, and her husband's family was poor, so they had no way to support her family.

"Your sister brought a lot of things back home, but what about you? You only thought about taking things from your parents' home, not taking anything back to your parents' home." Tian's mother was quite dissatisfied with Tian Kexian, feeling that she had raised this daughter for nothing.

“My sister brought things back. She brought back the chickens that her sister-in-law was using for her postpartum confinement, and she also brought back the money that was given to her sister-in-law and nephew,” Tian Kexian said. “If my sister hadn’t done those things back then, she and her former brother-in-law wouldn’t have gotten divorced.”

Tian Kexian rolled her eyes. What do you mean by bringing things back to your parents' home? Bringing your own things back to your parents' home is what really shows ability. Bringing things back to your parents' home that you're going to give to others will eventually have to be returned.

"You think I'm your older sister, thinking of getting a divorce and remarrying, following another man?" Tian Kexian's first words were sarcastic.

Just then, Tian Keshu returned to her parents' home and overheard Tian Kexian's words. "Tian Kexian, what did you say?"

“I told you you shouldn’t take other people’s things. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have needed a divorce,” Tian Kexian said. “Is your current brother-in-law any better than your previous one?”

"..." Tian Keshu was very unhappy. Her current man was naturally not as good as the previous one.

Both of them were in their second marriages, and second marriages are often considered less desirable than first marriages. If Tian Keshu did even the slightest thing wrong, her husband would criticize her. Because Tian Keshu had previously taken things from her husband's family and her younger siblings' belongings back to her parents' home, her current husband kept a close eye on her, fearing she might move all her belongings back to her parents' home.

Tian Keshu had to be extremely careful in everything she did, lest her husband criticize her. Tian Keshu didn't have a job and relied on her husband for support, but with the scandal that had happened to her family, she couldn't assert herself in her husband's family. If the Tian family hadn't had a spy involved, and Tian Keshu had simply remarried, she could have managed to control her husband.

“Sister, you’ve made your life like this by yourself,” Tian Kexian said. “With you as a cautionary tale, I naturally can’t follow in your footsteps and live the same kind of life.”

"Alright," Tian Keshu said, "I'm fine with whatever kind of life I want, you don't need to worry about it."

“You’re my sister, let me say a few words.” Tian Kexian took a sip of water. “We’re sisters, what’s wrong with saying a few words?”

"Stop saying things that are unpleasant to hear," Tian Keshu said.

“That’s the truth, not just something unpleasant to hear,” Tian Kexian said. “Sister, because of what you did, I…”

"Are you going to bring up Song Fenglan's second brother again?" Tian Keshu said. "Don't even think about it. Even without those things, he would never have been interested in you."

“That’s not necessarily true,” Tian Kexian said.

Brother Song is still unmarried, not because he doesn't want to, but because he hasn't met the right person. Brother Song has been through a lot, and he doesn't want to marry just any woman, nor does he want too many conflicts after marriage. He'd rather wait.

Song's mother considered having someone introduce her second son to a potential partner, but some of the women introduced were truly unreliable. Some of the women were already married with children in the countryside, yet the matchmakers still tried to introduce them. Song's second son could never marry such women, and the Song family would never allow such people into the family.

Those female educated youths who abandoned their husbands and children—if they didn't want to live a hard life in the countryside and wanted to return to the city to remarry, that was fine. The problem was that they should marry into other families, not the Song family.

Brother Song's children are studying in the city, and they're keeping up with their classmates. When they were in the countryside, the Song family taught them; they couldn't let them become illiterate. At first, the children had some difficulty adjusting to school in the city, but they gradually adapted.

In the initial period after the Song family was exonerated, the children were in school, and other children were afraid to play with them. Their parents also told them not to play with the Song family's children. Now, those children's parents no longer say that to their children, but the Song family's children still don't like playing with those who avoided them from the beginning; they play with other people.

Occasionally, Song's mother would ask if her second son had a girlfriend. When he said no, she would not continue the conversation.

That evening, Brother Song called Song Fenglan to tell her that he had transferred the rent to her. Brother Song wasn't short of money, and transferring money every month was a bit of a hassle, so he and Song Fenglan agreed to transfer the money every six months.

Brother Song and Sister-in-law Song didn't get involved in these matters; Song Fenglan and her husband simply rented out the house the Qin family had given them. The house the Song family had given them wasn't rented out. It contained many belongings, and the Song family would occasionally go over to check on it and clean it.

"Have you thought about letting Zihang come back to the capital to study?" Second Brother Song asked, since the conditions in the capital were better than in the southern part of the city.

“He’s still young, there’s no rush.” Song Fenglan couldn’t bear to part with her child, nor was she comfortable leaving him alone in the capital. Although Song’s mother and others would take care of Qin Zihang, his maternal grandparents couldn’t compare to his biological parents, and he would still miss them. “He can still study in Nancheng. As long as he has the ability, he won’t be without a school to attend.”

“We can decide in a few years,” said Brother Song. “It doesn’t have to be decided now. Maybe you’ll come back to the capital on your own later.”

"That's possible." Song Fenglan wasn't sure if she would stay at the research institute in Nancheng forever; who knows, she might go to a research institute in the capital someday. Song Fenglan did indeed prefer the educational conditions in the capital. In her previous life, Song Fenglan heard from classmates from the capital that they only needed a certain score to get into Tsinghua or Peking University, which made Song Fenglan very envious.

If you could get into a good university with just a few less points of effort, who wouldn't want that? It's just that a Beijing residency permit isn't something everyone can get just by wanting it.

“Zihang just started first grade and will be in second grade next semester, it’s still early,” Song Fenglan said. “I still think I should take care of him myself.”

"Uncle, Uncle." Qin Zihang called out quickly when he heard his mother mention him, "Uncle, are you the eldest uncle or the second uncle?"

Song Fenglan handed the phone to Qin Zihang so that he could talk to Song's second brother.

"I'm your second uncle," said Song Erge. "What has Hangbao been up to lately?"

"I went to see the baby," Qin Zihang said.

"A baby?" Brother Song asked, puzzled.

“The baby next door is so tiny,” Qin Zihang said. “My mom said I looked like that when I was little, like a monkey.”

Qin Zihang was gesturing, and even though his second uncle couldn't see him, he was still very happy.

"It's still a little red," Qin Zihang said. "His little face is much redder than mine. I don't dare to move it. My aunt said that babies aren't balloons that you can poke. I won't poke it because I'm afraid the baby will cry, and I don't want to scare him."

"Our Hangbao has grown up." Second Brother Song thought to himself that he hadn't even seen Qin Zihang when he was just born. Back when they were on the farm, they couldn't help Song Fenglan much. "Hangbao is a big baby now."

"Yes, I'm all grown up now!" Qin Zihang nodded. "Second Uncle, why don't you come play with us?"

Qin Zihang wondered if other people's families could have relatives come over to visit, and if so, his own family could too.

"I took my mom to register for university. We went to the university classrooms, ate in the cafeteria, and went to so many other places," Qin Zihang said. "The university is so big, so very big."

Just as Qin Zihang was talking on the phone with Song Erge, Zhang Xiaohu fell from a tree. Zhang Xiaohu wasn't at Song Fenglan's house; he had gone to play at someone else's house. Then, a few children went to climb trees, and without warning, Zhang Xiaohu fell from the tree, screaming loudly.

"Oh no, my foot is broken, I can't walk!" Zhang Xiaohu cried, frightening the other children.