Chapter 9, Chapter 9. Judging by this level of affection, does that mean I really like you...?
On this unusual evening, in Nie Qingqing and Song Zhao's bedroom, there was no chattering from Tangyuan and Xiaoyuan.
As soon as they got home, Tangyuan said, "Mom, I want to sleep in my own room with Xiaoyuan, I don't want to sleep with you anymore."
Nie Qingqing and Song Zhao slept with the two children for a week. The two children were happy, but she and Song Zhao didn't even get a chance to sit down.
Thinking that Xiaoyuan would soon be taken away by her biological mother, she decided to take her in for a while. She had no objections. Tonight, Tangyuan asked to sleep alone, so something must have happened.
She hurriedly asked, "Why don't you sleep with Mom and Dad anymore?"
Tangyuan said, "Grandma said that a real man should sleep by himself, and she asked me if I am a real man. Of course I am!"
Xiao Yuan wanted to shake his head, but seeing his father and Aunt Qingqing so happy, he also wanted to be praised. He grabbed Nie Qingqing's hand and shook it, saying, "Aunt Qingqing, I'm a little man too. I'll sleep by myself too."
Nie Qingqing praised him: "Xiao Yuan is as brave as Tang Yuan. Okay, starting tonight, you can sleep by yourselves."
Xiaoyin was very sensible. She took a basin, mixed hot water, and taught her two younger brothers how to wash their faces and feet. Nie Qingqing felt quite embarrassed about being a stepmother.
But Song Zhao agreed, saying that it was a good thing for children to learn practical skills and do things early on, and Nie Qingqing liked him even more.
If you like someone, you should express it. She squeezed next to Song Zhao, wrapped herself around him, and asked, "Song Zhao, am I good to you?"
"very good……"
Is there even a question? Song Zhao was completely satisfied. His second marriage, with three children, was more harmonious than his first marriage. He was overjoyed.
He dared not express the feeling of excitement, but it was stronger than his first marriage. He liked her but dared not go too far, and could only restrain himself and wait for her to take things further, but he was very impatient.
Nie Qingqing was dissatisfied: "If it's really good, then it's not like this. I can't tell if you like me. Just tell me the truth. As long as you hand over your salary and treat me well, whether I like you or not at night doesn't matter much."
Song Zhao couldn't let her misunderstand. He had never been asked for anything like this in his first marriage. Compared to Qing Qing's enthusiasm, he could be sure that there was a world of difference between liking and disliking someone. When you like someone, you are passionate as fire, and when you don't like someone, you are cold as ice. No wonder his ex-wife wanted to go find her first love.
Fortunately, he understood that Qingqing was passionate, so she liked him and needed him, and he felt the same way; he liked being needed by his lover.
After a long silence, Song Zhao brazenly asked, "Does this mean I really like you?"
"I like it, I understand now, don't feel wronged, go to sleep."
Nie Qingqing was extremely satisfied. Song Zhao was perfect, good-tempered, reasonable, had a high salary, and was even more normal in that area. She had nothing to worry about. This remarried family was the best she could ask for. As for her mother-in-law's temper, compared to Song Zhao's good qualities, she could certainly accept it.
...
Nie Qingqing went to work for a week, and she looked radiant. She was in a good mood every day on her way to and from get off work.
She has an outgoing personality, and within a few days she got to know several neighbors and colleagues, and also figured out the relationships between the people upstairs and downstairs.
The other houses are fine, nothing to say. Her neighbor across the hall is the deputy factory director's house. His late wife loved to grow flowers and vegetables. The large terrace upstairs used to be planted with melons and vegetables, and all the neighbors in the building had shared with her. It had a very good reputation. However, the small rooftop garden across the hall is now abandoned.
A while ago, the deputy factory director hired someone to clean up the area, and everyone sighed, hoping that Nie Qingqing would create a small vegetable garden so that the neighbors could benefit. But Nie Qingqing wasn't cut out for it and couldn't manage it.
The deputy factory director was thirty-nine years old, not yet forty. He had a daughter who had just gotten married. His position, income, and family situation were considered very good by matchmakers, and many people introduced potential partners to him.
My brother-in-law, the deputy factory director, also works at the electronics factory. He was assigned the best apartment on the fourth floor, which also has three bedrooms and a living room, but without an attic or terrace.
Coincidentally, the deputy factory director's sister was the director of the Women's Federation. Nie Qingqing's new job was in the same office as her. When chatting at work, she overheard gossip about the deputy factory director's family several times, which made her very curious.
She asked Song Zhao, "I heard that He Tonggui, the purchasing manager of your factory, has a younger sister who is only 26 years old, the same age as me, and unmarried. How could she be willing to become Director Yu's second wife?"
Song Zhao had been transferred to the branch factory for less than a month and didn't know enough about personnel matters. He Tonggui married his younger sister to his brother-in-law who had been married before. Wouldn't a normal person be afraid of being disgraced?
He didn't believe it: "It's probably a rumor, don't spread it."
Nie Qingqing said, "If it were a rumor, I wouldn't say anything. Director Yu himself said at work that he's been worried about it for several days."
The Women's Federation department is full of women. Half the day is spent either knitting or reading newspapers and gossiping about family matters. Yu Wenhui's husband must have made up his mind that his unmarried sister-in-law is willing to marry her divorced brother. That's why Director Yu is worried at work.
"It was Yu Wenhui herself who said it, asking whether her sister-in-law should call her 'older sister' or 'sister-in-law'? And they'll be living in the same apartment building, it's weird."
Song Zhao thought further: "He Tonggui's wife is already the deputy factory director's older sister. He's in charge of the factory's purchasing, so he's probably not clean. He wants to add another layer of protection to strengthen the relationship."
That explanation makes perfect sense. Nie Qingqing quickly said, "You've just been transferred here and don't know the depth of interpersonal relationships in the factory. Don't rush to investigate these messy accounts; you won't be able to find out."
Song Zhao knew there was a disciplinary committee, and he wouldn't overstep his authority. He smiled and said, "I know. I'm only responsible for keeping my post clean."
...
Tangyuan's personality is just like Nie Qingqing's. While brushing her teeth and washing her face, her ears are never idle. She listens to the adults' conversations and even takes them to heart. She runs to the breakfast table where breakfast has already been set out and asks, "Dad, what is 39 minus 26?"
Xiao Yuan blurted out, speaking on behalf of his father: "It equals 13."
Tangyuan didn't believe his younger brother was smarter than him. He couldn't even figure it out, so how could his brother? He must be wrong.
He asked his older sister, who was in fifth grade, "Sister, is Xiaoyuan's calculation wrong?"
Song Xiaoyin couldn't understand Tangyuan's purpose, but it wasn't surprising that Xiaoyuan could do such simple arithmetic: "It's 13, why are you calculating this?"
Tangyuan exclaimed in surprise, admiring her younger brother's cleverness, and asked Xiaoyuan, "How did you know that?"
Xiao Yuan said innocently, "It's in my sister's second-grade textbook, look, you know it too."
Nie Qingqing couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Tangyuan, don't even think about catching up with your brother in your studies anymore. You'd better take another path."
Song Zhao quickly corrected, "Qingqing, we can't label the child now."
He held Tangyuan in his arms and said solemnly, "Tangyuan, no one can say you can't study, not even your parents. You decide for yourself. We'll work hard and you'll definitely get into university."
Tangyuan felt sleepy while reading. He thought his mother was right, but his father's words sounded even better. He liked his father's encouragement, so he picked up his chopsticks and handed them to Song Zhao: "Dad, let's eat."
Nie Qingqing regretted her careless words, but fortunately Song Zhao rectified the situation in time. She was too tactless with her own children, and she really needed to be more careful when talking to Xiaoyin and Xiaoyuan.
...
She called Xiaoyin, who was cleaning up the mess her two younger brothers had made of the bathroom, to come eat, and then asked Tangyuan, "Why are you calculating the age difference between Director Yu and He Tonggui's sister?"
Tangyuan counted on her fingers: "Mom is seven years younger than Dad, and He Tonggui is thirteen years younger than Uncle Yu. Mom, do you know that my dad is so gentle with that aunt who is nine years younger than him? Will he marry her in the future?"
Nie Qingqing slammed her chopsticks down on the bowl and grabbed his ear, asking, "Why are you only telling me this now?"
Tangyuan hid in Song Zhao's arms for protection: "I saw Dad talking to that aunt. Then Dad said that if I told Mom, she would tie him up and whip him, and he wouldn't be able to go to work. Then we would get a divorce. That's why I agreed not to tell."
Does she really have a history of tying people up? Song Zhao immediately stated, "I will never speak alone with an unmarried young woman."
Nie Qingqing didn't want Song Zhao to think she was fierce, so she chuckled dryly and changed the subject: "That's not true, don't listen to children's nonsense."
Tangyuan was so upset. On the way to preschool, her dad kept assuring her, "Dad, before Mom divorced my biological dad, she really tied him up, put a pain-relieving plaster on his mouth, and beat him up badly. I heard it. After Mom got tired of beating him and ran away, I even went to see what happened."
Song Zhao: "...Yes, Dad believes you're not lying. Your mother is really amazing. She protected herself and you in her own way. You should be grateful to her and cherish her."
"Yes, I love Mom the most."
...
Xiaoyin didn't quite believe her stepmother would dare to hit her husband; she didn't seem that fierce to her.
"Aunt Qingqing, is what Tangyuan said true?"
Nie Qingqing said smugly, "Of course it's true. Tangyuan's father said that we have a big difference in education, we can't talk to each other, and we have no feelings for each other anymore. I know he has changed his mind and can't be won back. So I had to beat him up to vent my anger. He even wanted to take Tangyuan away. I put a knife to his neck and asked him if he wanted to die together or give Tangyuan to me and he would find another woman to have a child with. The next day, he obediently agreed to my divorce terms."
Song Xiaoyin was full of admiration: "Aunt Qingqing, I never expected you to be so amazing. If Tangyuan's father doesn't agree, are you really going to die together with him?"
Nie Qingqing laughed loudly: "Who would want to die with him? If he doesn't agree, I have a backup plan. I'll go to his workplace and make a scene. He has a bright future ahead of him. I have nothing to lose. I just want a child, not his life. See, if I'm ruthless, he'll agree. But don't tell your father. I don't want him to be afraid of me."
Song Xiaoyin felt that so what if someone was uneducated? In this matter, even someone who was educated might not be able to handle it as well as Aunt Qingqing.
...
When Nie Qingqing arrived at work today, she noticed that the women's director looked a little different; she was wearing a beautiful silk scarf around her neck. She complimented her, "Director Yu, where did you buy that silk scarf? It's so pretty."
Yu Wenhui touched the pinch marks covered by the silk scarf and smiled rather insincerely: "I bought it at the department store. I'm going to a meeting. Don't just focus on knitting. If any people come, you need to greet them promptly."
"Understood, Director."
This is the Women's Federation office. They don't wash their dirty linen in public, so very few people come to them for help. They don't even make many phone calls, especially in the morning. There are hardly any people they need to receive.
A colleague next to Nie Qingqing grabbed a handful of roasted peanuts she had brought from home and gave her pointers:
"You know, don't ask Director Yu about the scarf next time. It's definitely a fight between the couple, and she got the short end of the stick. Her husband..."
A note from the author:
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