Chapter 37 (Second Update) Finally, it seemed that Madam Fu had made up her mind...
With Madam Fu's strong intervention, Old Master Fu finally gave his approval regarding Gu Lin's matter.
In fact, both Tang Mingli and Fu Ci could see that Old Master Fu was very anxious about Gu Lin's situation. However, his integrity was ingrained in his bones, which put him in a dilemma.
Strangely enough, after nodding, Old Master Fu became the most dedicated one.
The matter was resolved in less than two days.
It was an extra number; it didn't squeeze anyone out.
When talking about this with his family, Mr. Fu sighed and said that it wasn't as painful as he had thought.
Not only did I not feel uncomfortable, I even felt much more relaxed.
He didn't know if not helping this time would cause him the same distress he felt back when he was sent to the countryside.
Not regretting something doesn't mean you won't feel bad about it.
Madam Fu was surprised by the high efficiency and joked with him, "As expected, Old Master Fu still has a lot of influence."
"Old Fu" is a respectful title some outsiders use for him.
Old Master Fu grunted, but he didn't enjoy the praise. Instead, he sighed and said, "I never thought that one day I, Fu Zhenhua, would become someone who abuses power for personal gain."
"That's a complete exaggeration," Old Madam Fu immediately spat. "You really think adding someone to the queue is an abuse of power? What about those who rely on public funds for treatment and occupy medical resources year after year? Since you're so righteous, why don't you protest? Go teach them a lesson?"
The question was so sharp that Old Master Fu blushed deeply.
He naturally despised these kinds of people, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Tang Mingli never expected her grandmother to say such things, or rather, she never expected that her grandmother knew these things.
But then I thought, Grandma wasn't some ignorant old woman; she was a senior teacher before she retired. It's just that she was so kind that people forgot she was one of the few well-educated women of that era.
After several seconds, Mr. Fu said to his wife, "Just because others do it this way, does that mean you have to do it too?"
If this topic were to escalate into an argument, it would never end. Not wanting to debate, Madam Fu quickly walked to the telephone and called Fu Caiping to tell her the news.
Upon hearing this good news, Fu Caiping, on the other end of the phone, could be heard choking up. She awkwardly expressed her gratitude to her elder brother and sister-in-law.
Grandpa Fu felt awkward listening to this and said to her stiffly, "We're not strangers, why are you thanking me?"
Fu Caiping on the other end of the phone was also stubborn: "Fine, I won't say it. Do you expect me to thank you?"
Tang Mingli, who was standing to the side, didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
They are indeed siblings; in some ways, they are quite evenly matched.
Fortunately, fearing they might argue over the phone, Madam Fu turned the receiver away, preventing her husband from speaking into the phone again, and said to Fu Caiping on the other end, "Alright, thanks aren't important. Just remember to make sure Gu Lin goes to the doctor tomorrow, don't miss the appointment."
"Okay, definitely, I won't forget something so important."
Fu Caiping was clearly not in the mood for a chat anymore, and hung up after saying "That's all for now".
After hanging up the phone, Mrs. Fu decided to have a serious talk with her husband.
"You're already this age, how come you still can't learn to talk to your younger sister properly?"
Grandpa Fu felt somewhat aggrieved: "She didn't speak to me properly either, did she?"
"You two are truly siblings." Old Madam Fu was speechless.
Tang Mingli stood up with a smile at the opportune moment and said to the old lady, "Grandma, let's go for a walk in the yard. It's been so long since we've been out, I really want to go for a walk."
She hadn't left the house for two days. It wasn't because she was lazy; it was because she had been resting at home for the past two days. Although there was a little incident in between, she was still completely exhausted that night.
Madam Fu never refused Tang Mingli's invitations.
She understood that this was because her granddaughter-in-law didn't want to see her and the old man really argue.
Taking Madam Fu's arm, Tang Mingli smiled and said to Grandpa Fu, "Grandpa, you should rest at home. I'll go out for a walk with Grandma."
-
The sun outside was still scorching hot, so the two of them consciously chose to walk under the trees.
I had only walked a short distance when I ran into an elderly lady who was familiar with my grandmother, and we stopped to chat for a while.
"I haven't seen you out for a walk for several days. What have you been up to?"
Madam Fu: "I'm not busy at all, I'm just too lazy to come out."
These past two days, she's been preoccupied with Gu Lin's situation and hasn't felt like going out. But these kinds of family matters are not convenient to discuss even with the closest friends.
"That won't do. We need to get more active as we get older." She then instructed Tang Mingli, "Mingli, you have to take your grandma out for walks more often. Walking is good for her health."
Tang Mingli touched her chin, somewhat guiltily replying, "Grandma Zhao is right. I will definitely take Grandma out for walks more often in the future."
Grandma is more like the lazy one; everyone in the family knows she's the laziest.
Grandma Zhao changed the subject and told Madam Fu, "By the way, have you heard? Old Zhou has become a great-grandfather."
Old Mrs. Fu hadn't heard about it, so she was very surprised: "Didn't his grandson just get married at the end of last year? How come he's already..."
She wasn't an ignorant young girl, so Madam Fu shut her mouth and didn't ask any more questions.
What else could it be? She was already pregnant when they got married.
However, both elderly people were quite well-mannered and naturally wouldn't deliberately bring up other people's less-than-honorable deeds.
But Tang Mingli felt that she was a bit unlucky.
The two grandmothers didn't mention that the Zhou family had a great-grandson, but she was suddenly asked by Grandma Zhao when she would also be able to hold her great-grandson.
Having experienced being asked about marriage in my past life, am I going to be asked about having children in this life?
To be honest, she has lived a comfortable life and has never thought about not having children, but so far she has not thought about having children.
She's only twenty-two; becoming a mother at that age is really too early.
But from the grandmother's perspective, she must really want to hold her great-grandson.
However, Madam Fu spoke up for her: "You have no idea how busy my grandson is. I guess he won't be considering having children anytime soon."
Then he added to Grandma Zhao, "We've lived to this age, so we should be more insightful than young people. We should support young people in pursuing their dreams while they're young, instead of just focusing on whether or not they have children."
The moment Tang Mingli lowered her head, Grandma Zhao realized she had said the wrong thing. Hearing what Madam Fu said, she quickly followed suit.
A comfortable conversation always knows when to change the subject and when to end it, instead of being long and tedious like a foot-binding cloth.
After chatting for a while, they went their separate ways.
Mrs. Fu was worried that Tang Mingli would mind, so she comforted her: "Don't care too much about what others say, and don't feel pressured."
Tang Mingli knew that she always listened to the pleasant things people said and ignored the unpleasant ones.
She wasn't under any pressure at first, but the more lenient her grandmother and the others were, the more pressure she started to feel.
If her grandparents were to suddenly meet with misfortune and pass away with the regret of never being able to hold their great-grandchildren, she would also regret it for the rest of her life.
In the fourth year of their marriage, Tang Mingli felt for the first time that she should seriously consider this issue.
Bringing a new life into the world is a very important matter that requires careful consideration.
Neither of them mentioned it anymore, and Tang Mingli then started talking to her grandmother about her grandfather.
"Grandma, don't say anything about Grandpa when we get back. Grandpa really helped Aunt and Cousin a lot this time. We should praise him a lot, preferably to the point that he's so confused that he'll believe whatever we say from now on."
Fu Ci once said that it's actually very difficult to change a person. Grandpa is already this old; it's best to let him live out the rest of his life happily. Don't try to change him.
The last remark made Madam Fu laugh, but she didn't think her husband would be praised for being confused.
Do you know what your grandfather used to say to your dad most often?
Tang Mingli thought for a moment, then guessed somewhat uncertainly: "Could it be 'resolutely resist all sugar-coated bullets'?"
Madam Fu was surprised: "How did you know? Did Fu Ci tell you?"
Although it's not the exact quote, that's roughly the gist of it.
Tang Mingli smiled and simply accepted the misunderstanding.
Actually, everything was just her guess after analysis.
She had just said she wanted to praise Grandpa to the point of being confused when Grandma said he was determined and that if he asked that kind of question again, it was most likely related to these things, and she immediately thought of sugar-coated bullets.
I can't believe she guessed right. She's really smart.
Tang Mingli jokingly replied to her grandmother, "Maybe Grandpa is a completely different person now?"
And there's a saying, "Softness overcomes hardness," which might be what Grandpa is all about.
Madam Fu understood what Tang Mingli meant and said to her, "Don't worry, your grandfather and I have been together all our lives. I know his personality and he will know what he's doing."
Tang Mingli nodded.
She was worried.
They say that one can become young again, like an old child.
This shows that as people get older, they become more like children.
However, after returning home, Madam Fu and Master Fu did not argue again, which put Tang Mingli's mind at ease.
-
A week later, on my day off, I received another call from Fu Caiping.
The call came in the afternoon. Coincidentally, only three women were home at the time, as Fu Cheng'an was accompanying Grandpa Fu to visit his old comrade-in-arms.
Hearing that her elder brother was not there, Fu Caiping on the other end of the phone seemed even happier. She excitedly told Madam Fu that after a thorough examination, the doctor said that Gu Lin's problem was not serious and that as long as she took good care of herself, getting pregnant would not be a problem.
The sword that had been hanging over the two elderly people in the Fu family and Fu Caiping and her granddaughter was finally lowered.
Perhaps relieved of her worries, Fu Caiping finally had the leisure to care about others, and before hanging up the phone, she suggested that Tang Mingli should also get a check-up.
Tang Mingli thought to herself that in the few years since she came into this world, she had indeed never had any gynecological examinations.
It's actually quite necessary for married women, especially those with normal marital relations, to have regular checkups, so I casually agreed.
Fu Caiping finally hung up the phone, satisfied.
Tang Mingli put down the microphone and turned around, only to find her mother-in-law and grandmother sitting on the sofa looking at her nervously.
Tang Mingli was completely confused.
Fu's mother: "Don't listen to your great-aunt's nonsense."
Madam Fu: "Your great-aunt's mouth sometimes really deserves a beating."
Tang Mingli then realized that they had misunderstood.
Indeed, at that time, people didn't have the awareness of physical examinations and thought that they were only necessary when there was a health problem. So when she agreed to her aunt's suggestion on the phone, they assumed that she was under pressure.
How should I explain this to them?
For her, it was simply a matter of needing a medical check-up.
Tang Mingli had a hard time explaining the true meaning of the physical examination to her grandmother and mother-in-law—to prevent problems before they arise.
She even suggested that her grandmother and mother-in-law could have a gynecological check-up together.
Madam Fu and her mother exchanged complicated glances for a long time.
Finally, it seemed that Fu's mother had made up her mind.
"Okay, I'll get a checkup too."
Her ears turned red after she finished speaking.
Madam Fu: "I...I'm too old for that."
Even just refusing made her face turn completely red.
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