Chapter 4. The way they valued her family so much filled her with a sweet warmth…
When Nie Qingqing returned to Huazhi Lane, she was greeted by familiar neighbors who asked, "Qingqing, why are you back alone? Where is Factory Director Song?"
After walking for a while, she had calmed down a lot. When she got home and told Song Zhao about the argument, her mother and brother would definitely come to her defense and have a good talk with Song Zhao. If they could reach an agreement, they couldn't let the family scandal get out, otherwise the two of them wouldn't be able to live together in the future.
So she pretended to be nonchalant and changed the subject with a smile: "I went home to pick up Tangyuan, and he went to pick up his daughter. He also said he was going to invite my mom, my brother and sister-in-law to dinner."
Even if she's angry, she's still saving face for both sides in public. Isn't that reasonable enough? It's Song Zhao who's being petty. He didn't go to the room to sleep last night, and when he went out this morning, he didn't even chase after her. He's just being unreasonable.
As soon as she entered the house, her mother was even more surprised. She hurriedly put down her chopsticks and ran to the door to look, but didn't see Song Zhao. Realizing something was wrong, she quickly turned around and asked, "Qingqing, why did you come back alone? Where is Song Zhao?"
Nie Qingqing went to the kitchen by herself, filled a bowl with porridge, added some pickled vegetables, and ate it in a sullen mood.
Nie Weibin asked anxiously, "What's going on? Tangyuan is looking forward to going back with you, but Song Zhao doesn't agree to take Tangyuan with him?"
“No, that’s not it.” Nie Qingqing was a straightforward person and wouldn’t make things up out of thin air. She shook her head and said, “I had a fight with him.”
The newlyweds had a fight that hurt their relationship, and Tang Guizhi couldn't eat breakfast.
Tang Guizhi was actually happy that she didn't let Tangyuan come over last night. She heard that Song Zhao's eldest daughter wasn't there either. She thought that if the young couple had a sweet first night, things would go smoothly afterwards. She should have let Tangyuan come over with them. With the child there, the two of them wouldn't argue.
Tang Guizhi was filled with remorse. She stomped her foot and snatched the bowl and chopsticks from her hands: "Are you still eating? Why did you and Song Zhao quarrel?"
When asked about the reason for the argument, Nie Qingqing felt even more aggrieved in front of her mother.
“Everything was fine last night. I had just taken a shower when he said he wanted to talk to me. I thought it was probably about everyday things, so I thought we should talk. But the first thing he said was that I should find a job. I was so angry at that moment. I really wanted to yell at him. If I could find a job, would I be in such a hurry to go on blind dates? So we started arguing.”
Who lets their wife go to work on the first day of their wedding?
Nie Weibin clenched his fists tightly. He couldn't let his sister be bullied so soon after her wedding. He couldn't hold back and cursed, "You can know a person's face but not their heart. I'll teach him a lesson!"
Tang Guizhi was the calmest person in the family. With most of her life experience, she knew what was right to do.
She scolded her son: "If you go out and teach Song Zhao a lesson now, what will our relatives and friends think? Song Zhao is a factory director. If his brother-in-law beats him up on the second day after his wedding, will he still be able to leave the house? You may feel good now, but Qingqing will have a hard time turning back. Don't make things worse!"
Hearing this, Nie Weibin calmed down a bit. His mother made a lot of sense. If his sister wanted to live a good life, she couldn't act impulsively.
"What did Song Zhao say when you came back?" Nie Weibin asked his sister.
It was precisely because he didn't say anything that Nie Qingqing became even angrier. She snatched the bowl and chopsticks back into her hands. No matter how angry she was, she was going to eat!
"When I went out, the neighbors asked me what was going on. They said they heard us arguing last night. I tried to cover it up and said no, I was just going home to pick up Tangyuan. But he didn't even come after me. I'm so angry!"
Tang Guizhi figured out the problem: "Song Zhao must have given a reason why he wants you to work."
Nie Qingqing took it for granted: "Is there even a question? He feels he's losing out by supporting me and wants me to earn more money. If he could help me find a job, I wouldn't object. But why didn't he say this before we got married? Why did he bring it up after we got married? Isn't that lying?"
That's right, why didn't you say that before the marriage?
Tang Guizhi felt nauseous. These days, jobs are assigned, and there's no such thing as a secure job. Does this mean that even though Qingqing has married the factory director, she still has to do odd jobs, work as a waitress, or do manual labor?
My daughter has a bad temper and can't stand many things. She speaks her mind when she sees something wrong. When she works odd jobs, she either argues with her boss or customers. She wants to change, but she can't swallow her pride. If she could, she wouldn't have argued with Song Zhao last night, and she wouldn't have run back home this morning.
But the matter still needed to be resolved, and Nie Weibin was at a loss: "Mom, what do we do now?"
Even if you want to seek justice, you need to get to the bottom of things.
Tang Guizhi said, "Fortunately, Qingqing said she's coming back to pick up the child. When Tangyuan comes back later, we'll all go. I'm going to have a serious talk with Song Zhao. This is not fair!"
With her family backing her up, Nie Qingqing felt more confident and even ate better. She was prepared that if they couldn't reach an agreement, she could always go to the special economic zone to work.
Grandpa Liu's fourth daughter from Huazhi Lane works in the special economic zone and sends fifty yuan back every month, so she earns at least seventy or eighty yuan a month! The factory provides accommodation, isn't that pretty good?
"Mom, if Song Zhao doesn't apologize, I really don't want to make do. I've made up my mind. If it doesn't work out, I'll go to Shenzhen to work. There are many factories there. You can bring me some tangyuan (sweet rice balls) when I come back. I'll come back as soon as I've earned some money."
Tang Guizhi was unwilling to go that far. The special economic zone was so far away; she couldn't bear to leave. By the time she earned money and came back, Tangyuan wouldn't even recognize her own mother anymore. So, she still needed to have a good talk with her son-in-law.
"Talk to Song Zhao first. If things don't go well, then we'll deal with the problems. Anyway, don't worry, with your brother, your sister-in-law, and me, how could we not take good care of Tangyuan?"
Nie Qingqing didn't want to leave her child, but if she couldn't get along with Song Zhao, there was nothing she could do. However, if she divorced again, it would be her second marriage, and the thought of it was just too much.
...
Tangyuan was taken by her aunt and her sister Tanggao to the aquatic products department of the supply and marketing cooperative. They watched as the villagers brought eels, loaches, and live fish to the city to sell. In fact, in the past few years since the economy was liberalized, anyone who catches something in the fields can take it to the city to sell.
Zheng Fanghui bought a bighead carp weighing over two pounds from a fellow villager for only 50 cents. She was overjoyed. When she entered the house and saw her aunt arriving so early, she was even happier. Holding up the still-jumping fish, she said, "Mom, the fish was cheap today, only 50 cents. I want to eat glutinous rice balls and sweet cakes. Auntie, stay home and have lunch before going back."
Tangyuan was overjoyed and couldn't wait for noon. She hurriedly put on her packed backpack and pulled her mother to leave, saying, "Mom, let's go back quickly. Don't keep Dad waiting. I don't have to eat fish."
Nie Qingqing was really sad. Tangyuan seemed to really like Song Zhao, his new father. If things didn't go well, he would definitely cry. But thankfully, the child was carefree and would be fine after crying a couple of times.
Nie Weibin pulled his wife into the kitchen and said that his younger sister had come back after arguing with Song Zhao. He told her to go to the electrical appliance factory's residential compound later to find Song Zhao and ask her what had happened.
When she came out again, Zheng Fanghui couldn't hide her sadness. Why was her aunt so difficult? If Song Zhao was unreasonable, she should let her aunt stay at home instead of going back to suffer!
...
They couldn't go too early either; around 10 o'clock, the whole family set off.
After those who went to work in Huazhi Lane left, the neighbors who stayed at home stood at their doors and asked Tang Guizhi, "Guizhi, are you all going to your son-in-law's house?"
Tang Guizhi didn't want anyone to know that her daughter had argued with her the day after her wedding. She replied with a smile, "Yes, Qingqing came back to pick up Tangyuan, and Song Zhao invited us all over for dinner."
Mr. Liu's wife was very envious: "He's so lucky to have found such a good wife in his second marriage!"
Grandpa Liu chuckled twice: "You think you can compare to Qingqing? You're old, Qingzhi is still young, of course she has a chance to find someone better."
Nie Qingqing lowered her head and pursed her lips. Grandpa Liu and his wife looked loving for decades, but only the old neighbors in Huazhi Lane knew that the two had long since grown tired of each other.
Could she and Song Zhao end up like that too? Sigh, there's no such thing as an easy life.
...
The factory workers had all gone to work, leaving mostly elderly people and children at home. Nie Qingqing wasn't familiar with them, and besides, her family members were with her, so no one bothered to ask her anything.
The sixth-floor apartment is nice, but it's a bit high. Tanggao and Tangyuan ran fast and arrived a step ahead of her, but Nie Qingqing's pace slowed down. She was starting to worry: would they be able to have a good talk when they got home? What if they didn't?
As soon as she reached the door, Tanggao sniffed and exclaimed, "It smells so good! It smells like meat!"
She said to Tangyuan with envy, "Tangyuan, your dad is making delicious food. You're so lucky."
Tangyuan couldn't wait any longer. He pounded his little fist on the door and shouted, "Daddy, Daddy, it's me, Tangyuan! Open the door and see your round son!"
Such a heartwarming child, even if not their biological child, would melt anyone's heart.
Song Zhao wiped his hands and came to open the door. Little Tangyuan rushed over, and he picked her up. The child was adorable and not shy at all; she had called him "Dad" on the day they got their marriage certificate.
He led the sugar cake in, then put down the glutinous rice balls, and pointed to the coffee table, saying, "Go find some sugar on the coffee table yourselves."
Nie Qingqing could already hear Song Zhao talking to the children. He didn't seem angry at all. Had he recovered so quickly?
She was still half a step away from climbing when she looked up and, to her goodness, there was a factory manager wearing an apron, the door was open, and the aroma of the kitchen was wafting out.
Nie Qingqing never expected that a factory director like him would cook for himself.
Once everyone was present, Song Zhao warmly greeted them and invited his mother-in-law, brother, and sister-in-law in. He immediately apologized, "Mom, I was planning to stew the meat and steam the rice before inviting you and my brother and sister-in-law over for dinner. Please sit down first, I'll get it ready quickly, and we can eat in a little while."
Tang Guizhi was taken aback. Was she really inviting them to dinner?
She followed him to the kitchen, where a pot of braised pork weighed at least two or three pounds. It was stewed until it was glossy and incredibly fragrant. Judging by the skill, this was definitely not the first time he had cooked.
Overjoyed, she forgot the purpose of her visit and hurriedly tried to snatch the spatula from Song Zhao's hand: "What kind of image does it have for you, the factory director, to wear an apron? Take it off quickly, I'll do it."
Nie Weibin originally came to confront his sister on her behalf, but he was also bewildered by the situation. His sister-in-law, the factory director, was treating him to a stew, so how could he possibly confront her?
Zheng Fanghui quietly tugged at the man's clothes and pulled him to the balcony, looking rather uneasy: "What's going on? Judging from Song Zhao's attitude, it doesn't seem like we've had a fight."
That's right, who would cook meat after a fight?
Nie Weibin looked at Tangyuan, who had already made this place his home, and said in a low voice, "Let's find out the situation first."
Nie Qingqing was also bewildered by Song Zhao's attitude. During her half-day visit to her parents' home, Song Zhao bought meat, cooked meals for her mother, brother, and sister-in-law. She really didn't expect that her second husband, a factory director, would value her family so much. She felt a warm glow inside.
But she couldn't understand why she would have run away in a huff if Song Zhao had acted that way last night.
In short, now that they've offered a way out, you have to accept it if you want to live a good life.
She's no longer angry; her face is beaming with undisguised joy. She even takes the initiative to wash the rice and cook, giving Song Zhao a way out.
Tang Guizhi, unable to snatch the spatula from Song Zhao, asked, "Song Zhao, let's talk openly among family. Qingqing is angry because you made her go to work on your wedding night. Talk to your mother, what were you thinking? If you incurred debt for the wedding, talk it over and we'll think of a solution together. Our family is reasonable."
A note from the author:
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