Chapter 77 The Opportunity Cannot Wait

"This..." Madam Zhao did not expect Gao Xiuxiu to make such a request. At this moment, Gao Xiuxiu wanted Grandma Fang to leave.

“Even in my condition, can’t I let her go back to her hometown?” Gao Xiuxiu said. “My husband will still send her money when she goes back to her hometown.”

This is a personal family matter, and it's not appropriate for others to interfere too much.

Gao Xiuxiu's current state is indeed largely due to Grandma Fang. If Grandma Fang hadn't insisted on making Gao Xiuxiu drink those folk remedies, Gao Xiuxiu might not be in this state now, not to mention Grandma Fang's previous shady actions, which also harmed Gao Xiuxiu's daughter.

"I can only talk to your mother-in-law and your husband. As for whether your mother-in-law wants to go back to her hometown, that's her decision," Mrs. Zhao said.

These people couldn't possibly force Grandma Fang to go back to her hometown. Anyone with a brain would realize that Grandma Fang is old and simply wants to live with Fang Xudong in her old age. Even if others told her otherwise, she might not be willing to go back.

Everyone still vividly remembers Grandma Fang sitting on the ground and throwing a tantrum. If we were to talk to her now, she probably wouldn't listen.

“As long as you go and talk to her, that’s enough. If she has any shame, she should go back,” Gao Xiuxiu said. “It’s fine if she doesn’t go back. If something happens to me, I’ll haunt her even as a ghost.”

Just then, Grandma Fang was at the door of the ward and overheard these words.

"Fine, I'll go back!" Grandma Fang gritted her teeth. She had done a lot for these people, and now they didn't need her anymore and just wanted her to get lost. "You can raise your daughter yourself. Don't even think about me taking your daughter back to our hometown."

Gao Xiuxiu hadn't expected Grandma Fang to be at the door, but she didn't regret saying those words.

"Go back," Gao Xiuxiu said. "Your son will send you money. When are you going back?"

“You just can’t wait for me to go back today,” Grandma Fang said. “I have to wait for my son to come back so I can tell him and then I can go back.”

These past few days, Grandma Fang has been feeling uneasy. She keeps feeling that her son's gaze towards her is off, and she wonders if he's upset with her. But she's only doing this for her son; she wants Gao Xiuxiu to give birth to a boy. If her son doesn't have a successor, everyone will laugh at him. What's the use of her son being so capable if there's no son? Who will inherit everything?

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao didn't say anything more. Things shouldn't have escalated to this point. Grandma Fang had indeed given Gao Xiuxiu many folk remedies, and Gao Xiuxiu herself also had problems; this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were both desperate for a son.

Grandma Fang entrusted her two granddaughters to Sister Pang's care. She had to come out; she couldn't just leave her granddaughters there like before. Grandma Fang knew Fang Xudong would definitely object if something happened to her granddaughters again.

After returning home, Grandma Fang started packing her things. After a while, she went to the house of her neighbor, Sister Pang.

"I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you to take care of Da Niu and Er Niu for a while," Grandma Fang said.

"Can't you take care of them yourselves?" Fat Sister frowned. She could take care of Da Niu and Er Niu for a few days, but it wouldn't be appropriate for her to take care of them for a long time. Fat Sister also had two sons at home. Although her eldest son was more well-behaved and her younger son often went to Song Fenglan's house to play, Fat Sister still had a lot of things to do.

“They all want me to go back to my hometown, so I will go back, so I won’t stay here and get in their way,” Grandma Fang said. “They’ve been talking about it for so long, I can’t not go back, I still have to go back.”

"That's good, it's good to go back," said the plump woman. Grandma Fang is too much of a troublemaker.

Because Grandma Fang was a generation older than Sister-in-law Pang and the others, they didn't say much bad about her.

Despite what Sister Pang said when she went to Gao Xiuxiu's house, she's still willing to help take care of Da Niu and Er Niu now that Gao Xiuxiu is in this state. Everyone has difficult times, and now that Gao Xiuxiu is sick and unable to care for the children, if Sister Pang doesn't help, Gao Xiuxiu's family will be even more helpless.

“Gao Xiuxiu just wanted her mother to come; she didn’t intend for me to stay here,” Grandma Fang said. “If I had known, I should have gone back earlier and let her mother come to see if she would still be like this. If it were her mother, she wouldn’t be able to blame me for being like this.”

"..." Sister-in-law Pang didn't say anything. Everyone knew that it was Grandma Fang who kept making Gao Xiuxiu drink the folk remedies, and Gao Xiuxiu really did drink so much medicine.

"I haven't packed my things yet, so I'll leave the two children with you for now," Grandma Fang said.

Grandma Fang really didn't want to get involved in these things anymore. She had initially thought she should stay, but now, how could she stay? There was simply no way for her to stay. If she stayed, people would only laugh at her, and how could she possibly live like that?

When she walked down the street, people looked at her strangely, as if she were trying to kill her daughter-in-law.

Grandma Fang really didn't want to kill Gao Xiuxiu. She just wanted Gao Xiuxiu to get pregnant with a boy so that Gao Xiuxiu could carry on the Fang family line. What wrong could she have done? As women, they have to carry on the male family line and can't just think about themselves.

“Okay,” said the plump woman.

Grandma Fang, seeing that the plump woman was unwilling to speak, left. Grandma Fang hoped the plump woman would agree with her, but the plump woman was unlikely to do so.

If Fatty Sister dares to agree with Grandma Fang, rumors might spread that she wishes Gao Xiuxiu were dead.

When Fang Xudong learned that his mother was going back to her rural hometown, he had no objections; he was also tired.

"Your wife insists that I leave. If I don't leave, she'll have to get Commissar Zhao's wife to persuade me, and everyone will try to persuade me," Grandma Fang said. "Your wife is so sick. If I still refuse to go back, and she gets so angry that she dies, won't everyone say it's my fault?"

"Sigh." Fang Xudong sighed, "Mom, when you go back, I will send you money every month."

"Money, money, money, all you ever think about is money. Of course, you still have to send money back home; I can't let your brother support me alone. He doesn't earn much in the countryside, unlike you in the city, where you're doing so well," Grandma Fang said. "I'm going back tomorrow. I told Sister-in-law Pang to take care of Da Niu and Er Niu. She doesn't go to work anyway; she stays home taking care of the children. Taking care of two children is the same as taking care of four. But Da Niu and Er Niu will be eating at their house, so we'll have to bring some rice and flour over."

These days, everyone's food is scarce, so why would anyone give food to someone else's child for free? They're neighbors, not relatives, so why should anyone take such good care of them?

Even if Grandma Fang was immature, she still understood this point.

"I know, we'll provide food," Fang Xudong said. "I'll take you to the train station tomorrow."

"You don't need to take me there, I know how to get there," Grandma Fang said. "Just keep an eye on Gao Xiuxiu's side."

Grandma Fang looked around and couldn't help but say, "If it's really hopeless, if there's no cure, and even if we treat it, the child won't live much longer, then we shouldn't treat it. We still have to think about the children; they're still so young."

"Let's talk about it after the surgery." Fang Xudong wasn't going to give up so easily; he couldn't let others think he was an ungrateful person. Gao Xiuxiu had been with him for so many years; Fang Xudong couldn't just abandon her like this.

When Song Fenglan returned home, she heard a noise next door; it was Da Niu's voice. Song Fenglan thought she had misheard, and then she saw Madam Su come out of the house.

“Gao Xiuxiu’s child lives next door,” Madam Su said.

Grandma Fang didn't dare ask Madam Su to help take care of the child. Madam Su was more imposing, and besides, Madam Su's husband was Professor Su, whom many people respected. Grandma Fang was afraid that Madam Su would refuse, and she was also afraid that Madam Su would say something unpleasant. So, she thought it better to send the child to Sister-in-law Pang's place.

Fatty Sister-in-law may have a sharp tongue, but she's kind-hearted. If you really need her help, she'll definitely do it.

"The child's grandmother is going back to her hometown, and there's no one to help take care of the child, so we can only ask the neighbors for help." Mrs. Su did not go to help.

Some people are simply not worth helping, regardless of whether they are cold-hearted or not.

Mrs. Su is elderly and understands reality. If she helps now, she might be taken advantage of later. Besides, their relationship with the Fang family isn't very good. If it weren't for Fang Xudong being somewhat decent, they probably wouldn't even be able to remain neighbors.

"Are you going back?" Song Fenglan thought Grandma Fang was going to stay here longer.

"Yes, we should go back." Madam Su nodded. "It's good to go back. After so much has happened, how can we have the face to stay here?"

Grandma Fang should have gone back to her hometown when Da Niu drowned, instead of insisting on staying. Now that this has happened, it's even less likely that Grandma Fang and Gao Xiuxiu will get along, and even Fang Xudong might have some resentment.

What Grandma Fang's youngest son and daughter-in-law thought when she went back to her hometown was another matter entirely.

"..." Song Fenglan didn't know how to comment on this matter; it was too distressing, extremely distressing.

"I told Hangbao not to go to Sister Pang's house for a while," Madam Su said. "You should also avoid going there as much as possible."

Madam Su had objections to the Fang family; Grandma Fang had even suggested that the Fang family's daughter become Qin Zihang's child bride. Song Fenglan and her husband naturally couldn't agree to this. What if Qin Zihang went too far and the Fang family started to cling to him?

“Okay, we know.” Song Fenglan nodded. They knew what to do; they couldn’t just run over and take care of Da Niu and Er Niu.

Song Fenglan herself has many things to do, so she has no time to take care of her two daughters.

What Grandma Fang and Gao Xiuxiu did wasn't illegal, but it was somewhat disgusting, leading some people to have a negative view of Da Niu and Er Niu. If Da Niu and Er Niu were older, it would be better; they're still so young and need a lot of care.

It's only because Fatty Sister-in-law is so enthusiastic about helping to take care of the child that Song Fenglan would have refused outright and told the Fang family to find someone else.

"Aunt, please come inside," Song Fenglan said.

Qin Yizhou returned a little late tonight, and Madam Su had left him some dinner. Madam Su has already gone home, and Song Fenglan is in the living room with the child.

Fang's eldest daughter and second daughter are still at Fatty's house, while Zhang Xiaohu and his brothers have come to Song Fenglan's house.

Qin Yizhou rarely saw Zhang Xiaohu's older brother, Zhang Wen, at home; Zhang Wen mostly stayed at home.

“Da Niu and Er Niu are next door,” Song Fenglan said.

"Where is their grandmother?" Qin Yizhou asked instinctively.

“They said they were going back,” Song Fenglan said. “After so many things happened, it wouldn’t be good if they didn’t go back.”

Going back now would be like leaving without a care in the world, leaving behind a lot of trouble. But what else can we do if we don't leave?

"Their family's affairs." Qin Yizhou shook his head at the thought. With so many things happening in Fang Xudong's family, Fang Xudong would be busy for a while.

However, since

Fang Xudong's family didn't have much time to take care of his family members, so they had to rely on themselves to get through it.

“Political Commissar Zhao’s wife went to see Gao Xiuxiu,” Song Fenglan said. “I heard about it on my way back. Gao Xiuxiu has lived here for so many years, and even now that something like this has happened, there are still people who will go and help her.”

"Mm," Qin Yizhou replied.

Seeing that Qin Yizhou was staring at her, Song Fenglan looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"No, don't let this affect you," Qin Yizhou said.

"I'm fine," Song Fenglan said. "Da Niu and Er Niu are at Pang Sao's house. Pang Sao can't manage everything by herself, so she simply let Xiao Hu and his brother Xiao Wen come over. It's good that they're here; they can watch TV here, and it'll be quiet."

When Gao Xiuxiu fell ill, people came to Fatty Sister for help. Fatty Sister was essentially put on a pedestal and couldn't refuse.

"There are still a few roasted sweet potatoes at home, I'll go get them," Song Fenglan said, so that the children could have some.

"I'll go get it," Qin Yizhou said.

The two girls, Da Niu and Er Niu, are still young. Their mother, grandmother, and father aren't around. If they had a relative with them, it would be alright, but without one, they just cry loudly. Da Niu is okay, but the younger one is the worst off; she cries especially hard.

This gave Fatty a headache. Her own child was getting older, and she was hoping she wouldn't have to listen to the baby cry all the time. But now, Fatty had to take care of the Fang family's child, which was no easy task.

Zhang Chenghai heard Erniu crying loudly over there. He had no way to find somewhere else to hide, so he had to lend a hand.

"Did you tell me when the surgery is?" Zhang Chenghai asked.

"I don't know," said the plump woman. "If things go slowly, it will take ten days to half a month. They say we have to wait for the abdominal fluid to be drained and for her to get better."

"Are these two children staying with us?" Zhang Chenghai asked again.

"It'll be like this for a while," said the plump woman. "The child's grandmother went back to her hometown, and no one else from there is coming, so it's difficult. We'll just have to wait. Gao Xiuxiu needs to recover after her surgery. There's nowhere to take care of the child, and we need someone. I don't know who they've called."

No wonder so many people hope their children will marry someone nearby, so that the bride's family can offer more support. If the bride marries too far away, it's harder for the bride's family to help.

"Who cares who they call, as long as someone's there, that's fine," Zhang Chenghai said. "If they leave their kids with us and our kids go to Qin Tuan's place, isn't that the same as Qin Tuan's family helping to take care of the kids? It's not good in the long run."

Zhang Chenghai wasn't so oblivious to this. On the surface, it was Fatty Sister who was helping the Fang family, and others praised her. But in reality, his own child had gone to Qin Tuan's house. Zhang Chenghai didn't want things to continue like this; people would talk. Zhang Chenghai was a man, and he cared too. More importantly, he knew Song Fenglan's important position.

A few days ago, our country's fighter jets confronted foreign fighter jets at sea, showing no less imposing presence and comparable, if not superior, performance. These jets can fly higher and faster, and are not as prone to crashing as they used to be.

Since they were all in the same war zone, it was relatively easy for Zhang Chenghai to find out things, especially since this particular incident had been reported in the media. The country needs to give its people confidence and let them know that the country is gradually becoming stronger.

Everyone thought Song Fenglan's business trip was just an ordinary one, and no one thought she was particularly remarkable, because secrecy was required. Everything had to be kept secret; everyone assumed Song Fenglan was just an ordinary student, an ordinary researcher.

It's important to understand that in certain eras, it wasn't necessarily the highly educated who could become researchers; there were even people who hadn't attended university who became scientific researchers.

It would be even more difficult for such a makeshift team to catch up with foreign ones.

"Don't always bother the Qin family," Zhang Chenghai said.

"I know, it's just for a while. We have to wait for Gao Xiuxiu's family to come," said the plump woman. "She's in this condition, and the child needs someone to take care of her."

"The children need to go back to sleep tonight, right?" Zhang Chenghai asked. "Or will they sleep here with us? Both children are..."

Zhang Xiaohu and Zhang Wen both need to rest, and it's impossible for such young children as Da Niu and Er Niu to sleep alone.

Zhang Chenghai clearly didn't want Da Niu and Er Niu to sleep in his room; he felt a little awkward. Zhang Chenghai and Da Niu and Er Niu were of different genders and not related by blood.

Unless Zhang Chenghai goes to sleep in another room, Fatty Sister-in-law will sleep with Da Niu and Er Niu.

“The child’s grandmother is leaving tomorrow, so she should be able to pick the child up to sleep tonight,” said the plump woman. “In the next few days, we’ll have to see when Gao Xiuxiu’s husband gets off work. They should be able to pick the child up to sleep; it’s unlikely they’ll let the child sleep with us.”

To be honest, my wife doesn't really want to sleep with both kids. They're so young, and they tend to be restless at night. The older one is a little better, but the younger one is just too small.

Fang Xudong knew it was never good to trouble other people too much, so he went to pick up his two children around 8 p.m.

"You've come at the right time. You pick up Da Niu and Er Niu, and I'll go pick up Xiao Hu and Xiao Wen." As soon as Fatty Sister saw Fang Xudong, she opened her mouth.

"Aren't Xiaohu and Xiaowen home?" Fang Xudong asked.

"They're not at home, they're at Qin Tuan's house," said the plump woman. "There are too many children at home, and it's noisy and disruptive, so we can't keep an eye on them all. Qin Tuan's house has a TV, so we let the children go over and watch TV; that way, they'll behave a bit better."

Fang Xudong didn't dare suggest that his two daughters watch TV, as he knew his family's relationship with the Qin family wasn't good. Fang Xudong himself hadn't done anything to wrong the Qin family, but he didn't completely stop his family from saying those things, which didn't feel right.

"I'll take them back first," Fang Xudong said.

“Go ahead, go ahead,” said the plump woman.

“My mother-in-law will be here in the next few days,” Fang Xudong added.

"That's good. Now that she's here, Xiuxiu will have someone to take care of her, and the children will have someone to take care of them too," said the plump woman.

Given Gao Xiuxiu's situation, she definitely needs someone by her side; otherwise, she would feel even more distressed.

Fatty went to Song Fenglan's house to pick up Zhang Xiaohu and Zhang Wen, so Song Fenglan could ask them a few questions.

"Will the child sleep at your place?" Song Fenglan asked.

"No need," said the plump woman. "Gao Xiuxiu's husband just took the child back."

“That’s true. There are other people at home, so it’s better to take the child back.” Song Fenglan disagreed with the Fang family leaving the child with other people’s homes.

"They said Gao Xiuxiu's mother would be coming in the next few days, but we don't know the exact date," said the plump woman. "Yani is also sending her mother over; she should be arriving soon too."

Even though Li Hui didn't want Guo's mother to come, it was no use. Guo's mother didn't stay at Li Hui and her husband's house, but at Fan Yani's house.

This time, Li Hui didn't intend to prevent Guo's mother from coming; she wanted to adopt a child. Her cousin suggested adopting a child from her own family, and her brother and sister-in-law might agree—Nancheng was a city, after all, much better than a small county town. But Guo Peng would definitely prefer to adopt a child from the Guo family, so this matter needed to be discussed with them.

Li Hui was worried that adopting two children would disrupt her family's life, so she preferred to adopt one child separately, then the other a few years later. Guo Peng likely wanted to adopt a boy, so Li Hui could adopt a girl from her parents' home.

Her family members wouldn't be too unhappy.

It's rare for married women to adopt their older brother and sister-in-law's children; most of the time, they just help raise the children, and the children still call them aunts.

"Wasn't she going to set up a stall to sell cookies and such?" Song Fenglan asked.

"Yes, we're selling them. We're selling them today, and business is pretty good. Quite a few people have come to buy them," said the plump woman. "Her cookies taste pretty good, just as good as the ones sold outside."

“If you have a skill, you can always make a living,” Song Fenglan said. “Hardworking people will never starve.”

“Yani is really capable. I saw that she sold all the cookies she made,” said the plump woman. “People buy them like they’re free, and they buy a lot of them, saying that their children and elderly relatives love them. I think they love them themselves too.”

"Who doesn't love delicious food?" Song Fenglan considered whether she would like to eat the food she made. If she liked it, she would make more; if she didn't like it, she would make less or even none.

The fat woman took her two sons back home and told them to take a bath and go to bed.

Right now, Fan Yani is looking at the money she earned today. She calculated that after deducting costs, she still made a considerable profit, more than she had earned working in the cafeteria. Fan Yani felt that this business could continue, and she needed to earn as much money as possible so that she could buy several houses when prices were still low in the future.

“We can open a shop next year,” Fan Yani said. “We’ll just renovate this courtyard and build a shop here. Our road is close to the main road, so we get quite a few customers. Although it’s not right under a tenement building, it’s still within a residential compound.”

Fan Yani was thinking that she wasn't very good at bricklaying, so she would have to ask her husband to help her.

“I set up a stall over there today, and no one said I couldn’t buy anything. Even the people from the Revolutionary Committee saw me and didn’t stop me,” Fan Yani said.

"Keep it up for as many days as you can. If you can't keep it up, come back," Yue Hongwei said. "Was it hard today? You had to carry the child out."

"It's alright. As long as I can make more money, it's not too hard," Fan Yani said. "Besides, if making money isn't hard, everyone will be doing it, and how much money will I make? When my mom comes, she can take care of the child, and I'll have a much easier time."

"Okay," Yue Hongwei said. "If you need anything, just say so. I'm your man, and I should do what I can."

"I know," Fan Yani said. "I'll definitely call you when I really need you."

Fan Yani doesn't plan to ask her husband for help for the time being; at most, she'll ask him to bring the flour back for her. She has to select the flour herself, as well as other ingredients, and none of them can be too bad. If they're too bad, others can taste it, and if they know she's using inferior ingredients, they won't buy from her again.

In doing business, you still need to be honest and ensure quality.

In my past life, everyone said that it was easy to make money in this era, that even a fat pig could fly to the sky, because this fat pig was standing at the forefront of the trend.

Two days later, Gao Xiuxiu's older sister and Guo's mother arrived. Since Gao Xiuxiu's biological mother was old and everyone was worried that the elderly woman could not handle it, they simply asked Gao Xiuxiu's older sister to come instead.

Sister Gao and Guo's mother came in the same car. After they got off the car, they walked a while and then realized that they lived very close to each other.

Fan Yani was going to pick up Guo's mother, but Guo's mother said it wasn't necessary, as she already knew how to get to Fan Yani's house. Fan Yani was busy, and after hearing what her mother said, she didn't go to pick her up.

Sister Gao went to Fang Xudong's house, tidied up the house a bit, and prepared some food for herself and Gao Xiuxiu to take to the hospital. Fang Xudong was too busy; he had a lot of things to do at the police station and couldn't get away.

At the hospital, Sister Gao placed food in front of Gao Xiuxiu.

"My mom was originally going to come, but we were worried she wouldn't be able to handle it, so we sent me instead." Sister Gao lives near her parents' home. "Your mother-in-law made you drink medicine, and you just drank it? You're stupid. If folk remedies really worked, would anyone still be having daughters? Everyone's having sons!"

"I...I just...it was just a moment..." Gao Xiuxiu's face was haggard.

"Forget it, those things are all in the past. Things have turned out like this now," Sister Gao said. "As long as we can stay alive, that's all that matters."

"The doctor said... said..." Gao Xiuxiu couldn't bear to say it.

"What did you say?" Sister Gao asked.

"If the situation is serious, they may have to remove her uterus and then she won't be able to have any more children." Gao Xiuxiu closed her eyes. The doctor said they would do their best to save her uterus, but she knew it would be very difficult to do so.

“If you can’t save him, you can’t save him. As long as you can live, why think about this? You have two daughters. If it really doesn’t work out, you can have them find husbands for you.” Sister Gao said, “What era are we living in? You’re still thinking about your son. You’ve become like this because you’re obsessed with your son. Mom and the others said that if you can’t live like this anymore, then get a divorce.”

“This… I’m already like this, how can a divorce possibly help?” Gao Xiuxiu said.

“If you’re not divorced, then live well together,” Sister Gao said. “Your mother-in-law is not allowed to come over anymore, and you shouldn’t listen to her nonsense.”

“I’m not listening anymore,” Gao Xiuxiu said.

“You should have stopped listening a long time ago,” said Sister Gao. “It’s not now that you’re not listening. We’ve told you before not to rush, not to rush, that having a child depends on fate, but you just wouldn’t listen.”

Sister Gao sighed. She knew her sister had become like this, and what good was feeling sorry for her? Things had already turned out this way; she could only leave it to fate.

When Guo's mother arrived at Fan Yani's house, she said that when she met Sister Gao, Fan Yani told her about Gao Xiuxiu's surgery.

"Last year, she seemed perfectly fine, didn't she?" Guo's mother said.

“She was fine until her mother-in-law made her drink all sorts of medicine, which led to this state,” Fan Yani said. “She was willing to drink any medicine in order to have a son. The human body is not a machine, and even a machine cannot withstand such abuse.”

Fan Yani thought Gao Xiuxiu was too late to regret it now. What about folk remedies? Some folk remedies do work, but ordinary people don't have the ability to tell the difference.

“My sister-in-law was also taking medicine before, but I noticed she’s afraid to take it now,” Fan Yani said. “Yesterday, she even asked me if you were about to arrive.”

"She asked?" Guo's mother thought that her daughter-in-law couldn't possibly care about her.

"Maybe he's figured it out," Fan Yani said. "His own life is more important than the child, so he doesn't dare to mess around there. If he can't have children, then he'll adopt one. My brother probably wants to adopt a child from the Guo family, which is why my sister-in-law asked."

Fan Yani could tell what Li Hui was thinking after a little thought; Li Hui wasn't a complicated person.

"It's up to the children themselves to decide," said Guo's mother. "I've asked your younger brother, and he still doesn't want to give the child to your older brother for adoption."

"Oh?" Fan Yani didn't expect the people from Guo's hometown to think that way.

“Your sister-in-law is willing to raise your brother’s child now, but they may not think so in the future,” Guo’s mother said. “It would be better not to let them raise the child, but to let them adopt other people’s children. That way, there won’t be so much to say.”

“My older brother is in the city,” Fan Yani said.

“We know they live in the city, and we know they’re well-off,” Guo’s mother said. “That’s precisely why it’s difficult to let them support us. If something really goes wrong, your younger brother and sister-in-law won’t have much say in the matter.”

“That’s right. Other people have better conditions, and when their children get a little older, they don’t want to go back to their hometowns anymore, which is very awkward,” Fan Yani said. “But if they make this decision, will the children resent them when they grow up?”

"Whether they resent it or not, they never had that much ability to begin with," said Guo's mother.

“Actually, it doesn’t matter. We can let them work in the city later,” Fan Yani said. “With the policy relaxed, it will be much easier for them to come to the city, and there will be many more opportunities.”

"Jobs are not so easy to find," Guo's mother sighed.

"Save some money, and then open a shop to sell breakfast or other things," Fan Yani said. "If you seize the opportunity and can make money, life won't be too bad. The problem is that if you don't know how to seize the opportunity, it will slip through your fingers. Big cities are indeed big cities; the countryside is not as good as these big cities. How much money can you make farming in the countryside?"

Nowadays, farming in the countryside isn't high-tech anymore. Even if high-tech farming were available, there would still be costs involved, making it truly difficult.

“Mom, you don’t need to worry about those problems. We can wait until next year at the latest,” Fan Yani said. “People can make a way out by walking on it.”

"Yes." Guo's mother nodded.

At the flight base, Song Fenglan and others went to check on the test flights. People like Tang Lu and Jian Lili would definitely not be able to participate in the test flights. They were still learning, and even if they did fly, they wouldn't be flying alone; there would be others flying with them.

Pilots encounter many problems in the sky, and they have to solve them themselves, especially test pilots, as no one knows what problems they might encounter.

“This year, a test pilot who has been testing for many years came here,” the base commander said. “You should have heard of that test pilot. He’s the one who landed in the field during a test flight. He preserved important data for the country. He’s recovered enough to come here.”

“He is a hero,” Song Fenglan said.

Without these skilled test pilots, researchers might not have been able to discover those problems. Test pilots, through simple maneuvers, can uncover issues that researchers cannot, demonstrating a mutually beneficial collaboration.

This test pilot's name was Che Yunfei, and he was much older than Song Fenglan. Che Yunfei was very experienced; after recovering, he wasn't afraid of test flights and even wanted to continue. He believed that with his extensive experience, if he didn't test fly, who would? Many young test pilots might not be able to handle those problems, and even many experienced pilots could still encounter issues.

Heroes deserve to be respected and remembered.

"Greetings, Commander." Just then, Che Yunfei arrived. "Che Yunfei reporting for duty."

Song Fenglan looked at Che Yunfei. The man in front of her was capable and full of heroic spirit; he was a true hero.

"This is Engineer Song, Comrade Song Fenglan," the officer said. "Yunfei, the fighter jet you test-flew..."

It was designed by Engineer Song.

"Yes." Che Yunfei did not doubt his superior's words. Regardless of Song Fenglan's age, he only needed to complete the tasks assigned by the organization.

Besides test-flying, Che Yunfei also had to instruct the pilots. Although Che Yunfei hadn't flown the latest fighter jets before, he had a lot of experience, and the pilots weren't limited to just one type of fighter jet.

Tang Lu rarely saw Song Fenglan, as Song Fenglan was not primarily responsible for teaching them; other researchers provided the relevant instruction. Tang Lu had hoped to encounter Song Fenglan more often, but the two met far too infrequently.

Just like this time, Tang Lu knew the researchers were coming, but she couldn't go over without permission.

Last year, after Tang Shaotao learned Song Fenglan's home phone number, he called Song's father once, and then twice more. After that, the Tang family stopped calling. Firstly, Song's father had returned to the capital from the south, and secondly, relevant departments contacted the Tang family. The Tang family was frightened and dared not call Song Fenglan's home again.

"Those are new fighter jets!" Jian Lili drooled as she looked at the jets in the distance; she wished she could be on one. She nudged Tang Lu, "They look so cool."

Jian Lili wasn't talking about people, but about fighter jets.

"It's very cool," Tang Lu nodded in agreement. "The performance is also good."

Not to mention Jian Lili, Tang Lu herself longed to sit in one. Every time she saw the test pilots flying, Tang Lu wished she could be in it. However, Tang Lu hadn't yet had the chance to fly the latest fighter jets. Tang Lu and the others flew fighter jets that had already been mass-produced after test flights. Although those fighter jets were considered the newest, they still envied the test pilots; those were the truly newest aircraft.

Even though test flights are risky, many people still want to become test pilots.

"The instructors are doing this on purpose, making sure we can see them but not touch them," Jian Lili muttered.

The instructors knew how to motivate these guys and push them to work even harder.

"Watch carefully," the instructor reminded them. "After you've watched it, reflect on why others are so excellent while you are so terrible. If you don't work hard, you think you can fly a plane? I think you should go drive tractors; tractors are on the ground, not falling from the sky to the ground."

Jian Lili looked ahead, pretending not to hear. Tang Lu wondered just how important Song Fenglan was; she felt that Song Fenglan was easily spotted at important events. Even from a distance, Tang Lu could recognize Song Fenglan.

These people had heard the instructors say these things many times. At first, they would be hurt and upset, but after it happened a few times, they felt it was nothing special. Once they got thick-skinned, they didn't care how harsh the instructors' words were; they just needed to do their best.

The residents of the family compound were already used to fighter jets flying overhead. They went about their business as usual and didn't need to keep staring at the sky. Anyway, they couldn't tell the difference between these fighter jets; appearance is appearance, not substance.

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Song Fenglan and the others left the flight base. Tang Lu, as before, just watched.

"Actually, you guys are quite good. Those researchers don't get to sit in the fighter jets they're researching as much as you do," the instructor said. "Don't let people look down on you. If you can't even do this little thing right, they might directly oppose you flying fighter jets. Those are the result of other people's hard work and dedication, and they're also important weapons for protecting the country. If you don't study hard, you might not even be able to drive a tractor in the future."

"..." Jian Lili was speechless. The instructor had just said that they should drive tractors, and now he was saying that they couldn't even drive tractors.

Jian Lili thought the instructors were just trying to put them down and test their mental resilience. If someone couldn't handle it, the instructors would say they lacked mental fortitude and shouldn't be standing there; they should be hiding under the table.

Sister Gao went back to Gao Xiuxiu's home from the hospital. She didn't have time to care about how Gao Xiuxiu got along with the neighbors. Sister Gao went to Sister Pang's house to pick up Da Niu and Er Niu. She had to take care of the children and Gao Xiuxiu while she was there.

"Wasn't it said that Xiuxiu's mother was coming?" Fat Sister asked with a hint of doubt when she saw Sister Gao.

“My mother is too old to see these things, so it’s the same for me to come,” said Sister Gao. “It’s not too late for my mother to come after my sister’s surgery. I still have to go back home later; there are many things to do there.”

Sister Gao can't stay at Gao Xiuxiu's house indefinitely; she has her own child. For now, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law will help take care of the child. If it goes on for too long, those people will have complaints.

"Big girl, let's go." Sister Gao hugged Second Girl.

The plump woman had initially wanted to suggest that Sister Gao have a proper talk with Gao Xiuxiu, but then she thought better of it. Sister Gao and Gao Xiuxiu were sisters, and it wasn't her place to say such things.

When Song Fenglan returned, she brought her son a model airplane, which she had made in the laboratory.

"Wow, an airplane!" Qin Zihang was overjoyed when he saw the airplane model. "Mom, I want an airplane that can fly."

That night, Gao Xiuxiu's condition worsened, and the doctor, realizing they couldn't wait any longer, rushed her into the operating room.