Chapter 394 A Strange Uncle
Zhuang Qin quickly went over to help Jiang Zhizhi pick up Shang Shang, and Shang Shiying also picked up Xiao Zhouji: "Xiao Zhouji, be good, Mommy is sick and can't hold you today."
Jiang Zhizhi smiled at Zhuang Qin and reached out her hand: "It's okay, I can carry you."
Fang Hua had lost a lot of weight, and her hair had turned quite a bit white. She forced herself to come over and asked, "Zhizhi, are you feeling any better?"
Seeing Fang Hua's appearance, Jiang Zhizhi felt a pang of heartache: "Mom, I'm fine. You should take good care of yourself too."
Fang Hua wanted to cry when this was mentioned: "Don't worry, I'm fine. For our little Zhou Ji and Shang Shang, I'll have to endure two more years."
Shangshang was annoyed that her mother hadn't greeted her, and kept calling out "Mom, Mom!"
The tender little voice dispelled the adults' sorrow.
Life goes on as it always has to be.
One year later
Border conflicts have broken out again, thanks to thorough prior preparations, effective defenses, and the excellent fighting by Zhou Xiye and his vanguard.
Therefore, the casualties this time were not as severe as in history.
After calmly listening to the radio broadcast, Jiang Zhizhi packed her things to leave work when an unexpected guest arrived at her office—Song Man.
Song Man recovered well after giving birth, but she looked tired and older than her actual age.
The once bookish and artistic woman is gone, replaced by weariness and haggardness from the daily grind, and the traces of time are visible around her eyes.
Jiang Zhizhi was taken aback: "Sister Song Man? When did you get back?"
She knew that Song Man had given birth to a daughter. Now that the one-child policy was strictly enforced, her in-laws, who favored sons over daughters, never showed up again after learning that Song Man had given birth to a daughter. Song Man's husband also disliked that it was a daughter. Their marriage, which was already not very affectionate, became even colder.
So Song Man had to take care of her child and go to work, and in just over a year, she became so haggard.
Song Man gave a bitter smile: "I'm divorced and transferred back to Beijing."
Jiang Zhizhi asked in surprise, "Divorce? What about the child?"
"I brought it back, Zhizhi. Are you off work? I want to talk to you about something."
Looking at Song Man's pitiful appearance, Jiang Zhizhi nodded, suppressing her surprise: "It's time to get off work. Let's talk as we walk. I still need to go to the lab later."
Song Man nodded, and the two left the hospital. Song Man said directly, "Zhizhi, can you help me find a place to live?"
Jiang Zhizhi asked in surprise, "Looking for a place to live? Where are you living now?"
Song Man frowned: "I live with my mother, but I don't want my daughter to grow up in that kind of environment. My mother's temper is even more eccentric than before. She's always being sarcastic and complaining that I was disliked by my in-laws for giving birth to a daughter."
"But whether it's a boy or a girl isn't something I can decide. The newspaper doesn't have any housing right now, and if you want a house, you have to wait in line."
Jiang Zhizhi frowned upon hearing this: "Sister Song Man, housing is in short supply everywhere now. Our unit doesn't have any spare housing either, and it's difficult to apply for dormitories."
Song Man was a little worried: "I also asked my brother, and he's nervous too."
Jiang Zhizhi nodded: "That's how it is now. A large number of educated youth have returned to the city, their jobs have been reassigned, and their houses have been redistributed, so housing has been particularly tight in the past two years. In the past, a family of three could get two rooms, but now they can't even get one."
Song Man was even more worried: "I really don't want to live with my mother. She hugged my daughter and said to her, 'Look, your mother is disobedient. This is what happens to her. She made you a child without a father too.'"
“I even told my daughter, ‘Don’t be like your mother. If you don’t listen to her and marry someone randomly, you’ll be the one who suffers in the end.’”
Jiang Zhizhi believed that Chen Limin could say such things, but it was too vicious to say such things to a child who was just over one year old every day.
But she couldn't help Song Man: "I can't find a place to live either, and Sister Song Man, if you move out with your child, who will take care of the child while you're at work?"
Song Man frowned: "I've already thought it through. I'll hire a nanny to take care of the child."
Jiang Zhizhi shook her head: "Sister Song Man, are you really comfortable entrusting such a young child to a stranger to look after? Although your aunt is not a good person, she won't abuse the child. You should have a good talk with her."
Song Man sighed: "I've had that concern too, but I just can't stand the current atmosphere."
“I got divorced because I gave birth to a daughter. It’s like I became a sinner. My husband’s family all hate me and my daughter. They even discussed giving my daughter away and then having a son.”
“My ex-husband actually agreed and even came back to discuss it with me, saying that we should send our daughter to the countryside, where family planning is not yet in effect and she can be given to any family.”
“I disagreed. Later, his family came up with another solution for him: find a woman to have a son outside the home, and then bring him back when he comes of age.”
“I definitely disagreed, and in the end we got divorced. At first he didn’t agree to the divorce, after all, the divorce would affect his professional title evaluation. Anyway, it was a big fight, and it was not easy to get divorced.”
"Because of this, my mother felt that I was wrong. Why didn't I tell her about such a big thing as divorce? I just decided to get divorced on my own. She also said that it's not wrong for the man to want a son, and what's wrong with sending the daughter to the countryside to be raised for a few years?"
"Listen to her..."
When Song Man mentioned her mother, she was so angry that she was trembling and couldn't bring herself to say anything more hurtful.
Jiang Zhizhi could only comfort her: "Don't think too much about it. You can't change your aunt's personality. Why don't you talk to Uncle Song?"
Song Man shook her head: "That's even more impossible. My dad can't control it at all, and he also has opinions about my divorce. He thinks my ex-wife is still a good person, and it's not wrong for her to want a son. It's not worth getting a divorce over such a small thing."
Jiang Zhizhi was speechless after hearing this, thinking that most people probably have this kind of thinking nowadays.
Because she was in a hurry, she didn't chat with Song Man any further and left in a rush after saying goodbye.
Given Chen Limin's character, Song Man really couldn't help her find an apartment; otherwise, Chen Limin might cause a scene at her home.
...
Two-year-old Zhou Ji is very cute with his chubby face and agile movements. He runs around even faster and can't stay still for a minute.
The small courtyard at home has been completely abandoned because of Xiao Zhouji. As soon as a vegetable seedling grows, he will try every means to pull it out, and there is no way to prevent it.
Later, I simply stopped growing vegetables and let them go off and play as they pleased.
Shang Shang is a bit lazy; she'll sit on a small stool and watch Xiao Zhouji run around, clapping her hands and cheering him on.
When Zhou Xiye entered the courtyard, he saw two children. One was sitting on a stool, clapping his hands and laughing as he watched the other child putting a bucket over his head.
This scene was exactly the same as when he returned more than a year ago!
Shangshang noticed someone entering the yard first, stood up, tilted her little head, her little braid swaying on top of her head, and looked at Zhou Xiye strangely: "Uncle, are you coming to my house for dinner?"
Upon hearing Shang Shang's voice, Xiao Zhou hurriedly removed the bucket of water from his head, turned around, tilted his little head back, and looked at Zhou Xiye with a naive expression. He then echoed Shang Shang's call, "Uncle... are we eating?"
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