Chapter 103 What exactly was the purpose of this visit today...?
"You ask me how I take care of my child? Okay, then I'll tell you."
Tang Mingmei recounted in detail that she hadn't had a full night's sleep since her child was born. She had to wake up every one or two hours to feed the baby and change the baby's diapers several times a night.
After my mother-in-law finished her postpartum confinement period, she stopped washing the baby's diapers. Her wounds hadn't even healed yet, but she insisted on washing the baby's things.
When her child was three months old, she went back to work at the brown sugar factory.
Working during the day and taking care of the child at night is exhausting, not to mention having to put up with her mother-in-law's attitude.
She tolerated it all because her mother-in-law helped take care of the child. However, even so, her mother-in-law didn't take good care of the child.
For the first three months, when I took care of the child myself, the baby was very well-behaved, eating and sleeping constantly. But after leaving the baby with my mother-in-law, the baby's voice was often hoarse, and I don't dare to imagine how long the baby cried during the day.
She had complained to her mother-in-law many times, but each time her mother-in-law would blame the child for crying.
Thinking about all this made Tang Mingmei very angry.
Her child was clearly the most well-behaved; as long as he was fed and his diapers were changed promptly, he rarely cried or fussed.
If a child is crying, it's definitely because the adults aren't taking good care of them.
However, when confronted with her revelation, the mother-in-law became angry and said that the child was spoiled.
She was clearly his own granddaughter, yet he coldly uttered such heartless words as, "She has the airs of a princess but not the life of one."
Later, because the diapers were not changed in time, the child's genitals and bottom became red and swollen, and he cried out in pain all day long.
There was nothing she could do but continue to ask for leave from the factory to take care of her child.
But her mother-in-law showed no remorse or repentance whatsoever. Instead, she made sarcastic remarks, saying that she was using the excuse of taking care of the child to avoid going to work, and even said that like mother, like daughter.
Yes, she did say that working at the brown sugar factory was hard, and she really didn't like the job, and even considered quitting.
Even as these negative emotions swept over her, she persevered because she truly cherished having a job.
But her mother-in-law spoke so sarcastically to her, implying that her mother had relied on her father for support her entire life. No wonder she couldn't swallow this insult.
As Tang Mingmei spoke, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
She and her child suffered too many injustices along the way.
However, Li Dazhu and his mother-in-law, true to their mother-son bond, mocked, "With your job, you only get twenty or thirty yuan a year for half the year. If you hadn't married me and I had supported you, could you have supported yourself?"
“How many people are in your family? Yet you don’t even spend twenty yuan a month on food. You can all survive, so why can’t I, who only supports myself? Besides, I have my parents. My dad is a skilled worker, and his salary is much higher than yours. Even if I don’t have a job, he can still give me several tens of yuan a month for pocket money.” Tang Mingmei’s rebuttal was reasonable and well-founded.
But Li Dazhu, a shameless person, is used to only hearing what he wants to hear.
"Your dad earns a high salary, so why doesn't he give you a few dozen yuan every month after you and I got married?"
"Li Dazhu, do you have any shame?" Tang Mingmei gritted her teeth.
Actually, her parents had considered helping her out each month, especially after she had a child. But the Li family was just too annoying, and she wasn't going to use her parents' money to support them.
Li Dazhu said, "I don't care about my reputation anymore. I'm exhausted every day, but I still don't have any money. What's the point of having a reputation?"
"Is it my fault that you're broke? Your lack of money is your incompetence. If a man can't even support his wife and children, he might as well die childless."
After the implementation of the one-child policy, his parents would frequently utter the words "no descendants" in front of him. They even said he was a sinner of the Li family, that the family's three generations of only sons had been ruined because of him.
It's fair to say that these four words have almost become his Achilles' heel.
Li Dazhu immediately exploded, "Tang Mingmei, if I, Li Dazhu, am childless, it's all because of you. Your womb is useless; you gave birth to a daughter, and you still refuse to give up that half-dead job."
Even if my job is barely lucrative, it's still more reliable than yours.
Tang Mingmei had actually considered the suggestion from Li Dazhu's family to quit her job and secretly have another child. However, the Li family's attitude towards her and her daughter was so disheartening that she dared not make the final decision.
Although she also longed to have another son, she loved her daughter just as much, but the Li family did not.
They don't even have a son yet, and they already treat their daughter like this. If they actually have a son, won't their daughter be treated even more like dirt?
Due to various concerns, Tang Mingmei remained hesitant.
But it was precisely her indecisiveness and procrastination that made her completely lose faith in the Li family.
Li Dazhu blushed with embarrassment after Tang Mingmei's words, and with the other patients in the ward returning one after another, he, being a man, couldn't be as open as Tang Mingmei, and in the end, he could only leave in a huff.
Before leaving, he said fiercely to Tang Mingmei, "I, Li Dazhu, am truly cursed for eight lifetimes to marry a woman like you, making our home a living hell."
Everyone in the ward heard Li Dazhu's words, and after he left, they couldn't help but secretly peek at Tang Mingmei, as if they were examining what kind of woman she was.
In the past, Tang Mingmei would definitely have been angry, but now she doesn't care.
What right does a piece of trash like Li Dazhu have to judge her?
Tang Mingmei was stunned as soon as she thought that.
Why can she be so disdainful of how Li Dazhu and the Li family view her, but not in the way she viewed the Fu family in her previous life?
After a moment of stunned silence, she had to admit that she knew in her past life that the Fu family were upright gentlemen whose character was superior to her own.
She disdains and even despises petty people, but when it comes to those of higher moral character than herself, she feels more powerless and angry.
-
A week later, Li Xin's pneumonia finally improved.
During this past week, neither Li Dazhu nor his family has shown up. Instead, Tang Mingli and Madam Fu have visited the child at the hospital.
So, after being discharged from the hospital, Tang Mingmei took her child and went straight back to her parents' home.
Li Hong had no idea that her granddaughter was hospitalized. When she saw her daughter carrying the child back, her heart skipped a beat. As she took the child, she asked with concern, "Did you and Dazhu have another fight?"
Tang Mingmei stopped hiding things and told her mother everything that had happened during this period.
When Li Hong heard that her granddaughter had been sick in the hospital for a week, she was heartbroken.
“My poor child, so young, has suffered so much.”
Then he started cursing the Li family: "That family is heartless. She is their own granddaughter. How can they be so heartless as to ignore her?"
Hearing the words "granddaughter" made Tang Mingmei feel ironic.
Despite her scolding, Li Hong was still worried that her daughter and son-in-law might really fall out, so she said, "You've worked hard taking care of the child at the hospital these past few days, so stay at your parents' house for a few days."
In the past, Tang Mingmei would remain silent upon hearing this.
Even if she wanted to stay longer, she knew she was already married.
But this time, she said to her mother with a serious expression, "Mom, I plan to stay here this time."
"What do you mean?" Li Hong had a bad feeling.
What I mean is, I'm not going back to the Li family.
"How can this be?"
"Why not? Are you really going to kick me out?" Tang Mingmei felt a pang of sadness, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Even so, she firmly told her mother, "Even if you want to kick me out, I won't go back to the Li family. I'll just rent a place to live outside."
"What are you saying?" Li Hong felt as if her heart was being torn apart. How much injustice must she have suffered to say such a thing?
The Li family really went too far this time; they should be taught a lesson.
Li Hong gritted her teeth and said to her daughter, "Fine, you can stay here as long as you want. If the neighbors dare to say anything, I'll shut them up."
She figured that if enough time passed, even if her daughter didn't want to go back, Li Dazhu would come and coax her. She'd see what to do then.
However, Li Hong did not expect that so much time would pass before the Spring Festival was approaching, and Li Dazhu still had not come to visit.
She felt both heartache for her daughter and resentment towards Li Dazhu and his family.
That night, after putting the child to sleep, Li Hong couldn't help but tell her husband about it.
Tang Jianguo just smiled after hearing this, looking at his sleeping granddaughter with a loving expression.
At first, he was more anxious than happy about his daughter and granddaughter coming back to live with him.
As a father, he naturally hopes his daughter's married life will be harmonious and happy. How can it not be worrying when things escalate to the point where she takes the child back to her parents' home?
But as time went on, he came to a complete understanding of what kind of person Li Dazhu was.
Since that's the case, he didn't want to rush into marrying his daughter to someone like that. Besides, he could see his daughter every day after work and play with his adorable granddaughter, and he gradually felt that this kind of life couldn't be better.
Li Hong rambled on and on, then noticed her husband was still staring at the child, so she couldn't help but nudge him.
"I'm talking to you."
Tang Jianguo smiled and said, "I'm listening."
Why don't you reply to me?
"What are you going to say back to? Don't you think it's nice to have your daughter and granddaughter by your side?"
"Of course it's good, but..."
Tang Jianguo knew what she was going to say, but interrupted her, "Look, after you took care of the child, hasn't the child become even more chubby and healthy?"
"Of course," Li Hong said proudly. Putting everything else aside, she was indeed very good at taking care of people.
"And with you taking care of the child, our daughter can go back to work at the factory, and she's much happier now, isn't she?"
"really."
“If we go back to the Li family, my daughter’s mother-in-law will make the child sick and weak again, and my daughter won’t be able to concentrate on her work and will probably have to take time off frequently. So, isn’t it better for my daughter and granddaughter to stay here than to stay at the Li family?”
"That's true, but..."
"You want to say that your daughter is someone else's wife after all?" Tang Jianguo sneered. "Li Dazhu is a piece of trash. Even if my daughter wants to divorce him now, I will support her."
Li Hong gasped, "The child's father, you..."
Divorce was too shocking to her.
"Okay, just focus on taking good care of the child for now, and let everything else take its course, okay?"
It seems like this is the only way.
Li Hong finally nodded slowly.
The key to this matter is Li Dazhu's attitude.
-
During the time Tang Mingmei spent visiting her parents' home, Li Dazhu actually had a difficult time.
He was genuinely annoyed by Tang Mingmei's constant trips back to her parents' home, so this time he was determined not to back down.
But he didn't expect that people from the neighborhood committee would come to his door.
When the people from the neighborhood committee asked where Tang Mingmei had gone, Li Dazhu said in a curt tone, "What? Now the neighborhood committee is meddling in other people's marriages?"
This nonchalant attitude displeased the comrades from the neighborhood office, who reprimanded him: "Comrade Li Dazhu, watch your attitude. Please answer properly, otherwise being criticized is a small matter, losing your job is a big one."
Hearing that he might lose his job, Li Dazhu became nervous and hurriedly asked, "No, how can a conflict between husband and wife affect my work?"
"A conflict? Is it a real conflict, or is this just a ploy by you?"
Li Dazhu was completely bewildered and didn't understand what those words meant.
Not to mention him, Li's father and mother were equally confused.
What exactly is the purpose of the neighborhood committee staff coming to our door today?
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