Chapter 90. Upon seeing this news, it was said to be as if one were dead...
The Li family was truly devastated; upon seeing this news, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were as if they had died.
The whole family was gathered around the TV, but suddenly no one said a word.
The only sound in the huge living room was the voice of the TV host.
After regaining her senses, Li's mother slapped her thigh, cried out in pain, and fell to the ground, bursting into tears.
"My God, how could this be? We only had one daughter! This is an attempt to wipe out the Li family line!"
Mr. Li's face was also ashen. Although he did not lose his composure like Mrs. Li, he was still in a very bad state.
He glared at Tang Mingmei, who was holding the child, and, feeling annoyed, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and started puffing away.
Li Dazhu stared intently at the television, not looking away even when other news was playing.
He seemed unable to hear his mother's cries; the host's words about it being good for a couple to have only one child were still echoing in his mind.
Tang Mingmei felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave; her whole body was ice-cold, and her hands holding the child trembled uncontrollably.
Although the experience of giving birth to her daughter terrifies her, she never imagined that she would only have one child in her life.
But what did the news just say?
Both husband and wife are employees and can only have one child.
She didn't understand why such a regulation would suddenly be in place, but she knew that what she saw on the television news couldn't be false.
If she had given birth to a son, that would be fine; at least he could carry on the family line. But she gave birth to a daughter, who will eventually get married.
Does she also want to grow old like her parents, with only the two of them guarding this huge house while watching other people's children and grandchildren surround them?
No, this isn't the life she wants.
In her previous life, she was alone until her death; she absolutely does not want to be like that in this life.
But if I ask myself honestly, although I have children and my husband isn't a workaholic or a blabbermouth, our lives are more lively than my previous life, with small arguments every day and big arguments every three days.
But does that really mean you won't feel lonely?
Tang Mingmei dared not think about it in detail.
Sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night, feeling a despair and confusion she had never experienced in her two lifetimes.
While lost in thought, Tang Mingmei seemed to hear her sister-in-law sitting next to her chuckle.
He turned his head blankly to look over, but all he saw was her usual cold face.
Ever since her husband's younger sister was discovered to be secretly dating Deng Qingyuan, her in-laws have never given her a kind look, and she, who used to be cheerful, has rarely smiled.
It's truly heartbreaking.
It seems there are very few women in this world who can be as happy as they were when they were young after experiencing matters of the heart.
Having lived two lifetimes and met quite a few people, I've never seen anyone who, apart from Tang Mingli, actually got a better life after marriage.
Now that Tang Mingli is doing well, Tang Mingmei is no longer as extreme as before.
In the past, she wouldn't even want to think that Tang Mingli was doing well; she would even deceive herself by telling herself that Tang Mingli was not doing well.
When did your mindset begin to change?
Tang Mingmei had no way of recalling it, but after she stopped viewing Tang Mingli so negatively, she had to admit that Tang Mingli had indeed lived two very successful lives.
She was successful in her career in her previous life, and her family is even happier in this life. She has walked the right path no matter which one she chooses.
With a bittersweet feeling, Tang Mingmei could no longer deceive herself about how much she envied Tang Mingli.
Maybe it's all fate.
Now that things have come to this, she has no choice but to accept that it's fate.
Tang Mingli had been married for several years but hadn't conceived, which must have been incredibly stressful for a married woman. In contrast, this woman had given birth to a daughter in less than two years of marriage—she was definitely better off than Tang Mingli.
However, even that sense of superiority vanished tonight.
What's so great about having one son and then another? You can only have one anyway.
Li's mother sat on the ground and cried for a long time. Seeing that no one came to comfort her, she felt extremely cold and thought that neither her husband nor her children had any conscience.
She stopped crying, wiped away her tears, nimbly got up, and said to Tang Mingmei, "I don't care about any policies, the Li family can't be without a grandson."
These words struck a chord with Mr. Li, and his eyes immediately lit up again.
“Your mother is right. No matter what the policy is, you have to have a son. If a family doesn’t have a son, they will have no one to rely on when they get old.”
Tang Mingmei wanted to laugh when she heard this.
They do have a son named Li Dazhu, but can he be trusted?
But then I thought of myself.
Her parents only have one daughter, so how could they not rely on her?
She has no right to laugh at others.
Seeing that Tang Mingmei remained silent, Li's mother spoke again: "Didn't you hear what I said? You must have a son."
He then muttered, "This ridiculous policy is bound to be ignored by everyone. Throughout history, no one has ever cared how many children someone else has."
However, the Li family soon realized that this time someone was really in charge, and in a particularly strict way.
First, Li Dazhu's meat processing plant organized all employees to study the spirit of the one-child policy documents and made it clear that if any employee openly violated the national policy, they would not only lose their job but also be fined.
When Li Dazhu got home from get off work that day, his face was as black as Guan Yu's.
Tang Mingmei was unaware of the situation and assumed that he had had another unpleasant experience outside and was taking his anger out on her.
During the day at home, her mother-in-law nagged her all day about having a son and urging her to hurry up and conceive. Annoyed by the nagging, she had a big argument with her mother-in-law and was in a bad mood, so when she saw her husband's dark face, she couldn't hold back anymore.
“Li Dazhu, let me tell you, don’t take your frustrations out on me. I’m not your punching bag.”
Li Dazhu was also annoyed. He hadn't even had a sip of water when he got home before his wife inexplicably scolded him, which made him angry.
"Tang Mingmei, what's wrong with you? Did I say anything to you?"
"You didn't say anything, but who are you trying to impress with that sour face?"
"What? I can't even put on a sour face?"
"You can display your things if you want, but don't display them in front of me."
...
The two argued back and forth, getting more and more heated as they went on.
While busy making dinner in the kitchen, Li's mother initially felt a bit smug. She hadn't won an argument with her daughter-in-law during the day, so it was satisfying to have her son teach her a lesson when he got home from get off work.
But as they listened, something seemed off. Both of them were like they'd been hit with a bomb. Li's mother lost all interest in gloating and rushed over from the kitchen.
"Alright, is this ever going to end? He argues with me all day, and now he's arguing with Dazhu when he gets home from get off work. There's never a peaceful day at home."
Tang Mingmei felt a sense of desolation at being bullied by Li Dazhu and his mother, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face.
However, even as she cried, Li's mother impatiently said, "Crying, crying, all you do is argue and cry. You're ruining this family."
When such a huge burden was thrown at Tang Mingmei, she couldn't hold back anymore and retorted to Li's mother, "How did I ruin your family? Tell me!"
Li's mother said matter-of-factly, "Isn't that right? Ever since Dazhu married you, our family has never had a smooth life. Dazhu has been burdened with a bad reputation, and Baohua was unhappy living in this family, so she desperately sought out a partner like this."
Tang Mingmei laughed in exasperation.
All the bad things in her relationship were blamed on her.
"Li Dazhu was being criticized, isn't it because he was greedy and had his cake and eat it too? He was already dating me when we were in the countryside, and as soon as we returned to the city, he couldn't wait to go on blind dates. He deserves to be criticized. And your precious daughter, isn't it because you were too picky and didn't like the men the matchmaker introduced before? And then your good son dragged her down, and the matchmaker stopped introducing her to men, that's why she's still unmarried at this age?"
Being so blatantly exposed, Li's mother, Li Dazhu, and Li Baohua, who happened to have just returned from outside, were all so angry that their hands trembled.
A snap.
Li Dazhu could no longer control himself and slapped Tang Mingmei.
After that slap, the world seemed to fall silent.
Just moments ago, Li's mother was on the verge of exchanging barbs, but she was too frightened to utter a sound. Li Baohua, who was about to explode in anger, also opened his mouth slightly but could not speak.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Tang Mingmei erupted.
She didn't know where she got the strength, but she grabbed Li Dazhu and started hitting and biting him, making him scream in pain.
The scene was chaotic and out of control for a time. In the end, it was only when Li's mother and Li Baohua joined the fray that Tang Mingmei was brought under control.
Once he was safe, Li Dazhu quickly took a few steps back, his face full of anger, and accused Tang Mingmei, saying, "You shrew, just like your own mother, both shrewish and vicious."
Tang Mingmei laughed: "Haven't you heard the saying, 'Like mother, like daughter'?"
In her previous life, her neighbors loved to gossip about her behind her back, but she never expected that in this life, she would actually say those words herself.
Tang Mingmei laughed for a while, then started crying again, sobbing uncontrollably.
She had never cried like this in front of the Li family before, which frightened them all. Even Li's mother and Li Baohua, who were holding her, were so frightened that they couldn't help but let go.
After regaining her freedom, Tang Mingmei went into her room without looking back, quickly packed her and her daughter's things, picked up her luggage bag with one hand and her daughter with the other.
Seeing his wife looking like she was about to run away from home, Li Dazhu angrily said, "Don't try to run away from home again. I don't have the time to play along with your game."
Tang Mingmei gave him a cold look, feeling that saying another word to a man like that would only bring bad luck.
So she didn't say anything in rebuttal, just spat and left without looking back.
There are still buses available at this time, so she can still make it back to her parents' house.
She didn't care whether her sudden return would scare them, nor did she care what the neighbors would say behind her back.
All she knew was that at this moment, she didn't want to stay in the Li family for even a second longer.
In fact, ever since Tang Jianguo and Li Hong heard about the one-child policy from others, they had been feeling very uneasy.
First, Li Hong couldn't hold back and hid at home crying for a whole day, lamenting her daughter's miserable life.
Her daughter, who didn't suffer the same physical damage from childbirth as her, somehow has just as tragic a life.
Although Tang Jianguo's condition is slightly better and he can go to work normally, he is often distracted at work and almost makes mistakes several times.
After finally getting off work and returning home, I opened the door and thought I was hallucinating.
Otherwise, how could I have seen my daughter and granddaughter at their house?
He shook his head with a wry smile and was about to close the door when he heard his daughter, who was hallucinating, call out "Dad."
No, hallucinations don't call out.
Tang Jianguo snapped out of his daze and quickly asked, "Why did you suddenly come back?"
Now that he was clear-headed, he naturally saw the duffel bag still on the chair.
What is she doing...?
Tang Jianguo's first thought was whether the Li family had wronged his daughter, otherwise why would she be carrying her child and luggage back to her parents' home?
At this critical juncture, it's hard for Tang Jianguo not to connect it with the recently announced one-child policy.
The old father's heart ached as if he were being whipped, the pain coming in waves.
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