Chapter 134 It’s Your Own Fault, Suddenly I Understood
"Are you making fun of us?" Shi's mother asked directly.
"That's not true," Aunt Zhao said. "I'm just concerned about you. Look at you, you're so lifeless. Your son isn't dead, he's just in jail. He'll be able to get out someday. If you can live longer, you can see him. No, you can still visit him in prison."
"It's better for the child to live with his biological mother. His grandmother still has some money, and he can go to a good school." said Shi's mother.
The two granddaughters transferred to a nearby public school, and the children were very uncomfortable adapting. Shi's mother could only tell herself that it was better for the two granddaughters to go abroad, because they would receive better treatment abroad. If they stayed in China, she would not be able to provide them with better treatment.
Shi's mother wondered if she shouldn't have divorced Pan Yun and Shi Nan, but since her eldest daughter had said so, she had no better solution. She figured her daughter's words couldn't be wrong. She had been thinking about them, too, and had suggested that Pan Yun keep one child. Unfortunately, Shi Nan wanted Pan Yun to take both children.
"You have to go to a good school, or you'll fall behind," Shi's mother said. "There are many excellent schools abroad, and you can learn foreign languages. It will be easier for them to find jobs when they return home."
"Will they return?" Aunt Zhao asked. "Maybe they'll stay abroad. And your daughter-in-law, her mother will definitely let her remarry. There's no way she'll stay with Shi Nan. You let them go abroad. You shouldn't have let them go."
"It's better to go abroad," Shi's mother said. "If you don't go abroad, you'll all be saying in front of the children: 'Your dad is in jail, your dad is in jail.'"
Shi's mother knew what the neighbors would say. She herself used to like saying those things and she herself had a bad mouth.
"We won't tell." Aunt Zhao felt guilty. They would indeed tell it, but they couldn't say it in front of Shi's mother. They couldn't admit it directly. Of course, they still had to say that they didn't tell it.
"You will tell." said Mother Shi.
Whenever Shi's mother thought of Shi Nan in the cell, she felt distressed. She had originally thought that once Shi Nan got into college, the family's life would be better, but who could have imagined that life would turn out like this? This forced Shi's mother to reflect on herself. Was she really wrong?
If she hadn't tortured her son so much, would he not have become like this?
At this time, Shi's mother thought that it was not bad for Shi Nan to be with Jiang Moli. Actors are actors, but at least Jiang Moli can still go on stage to make money. Jiang Moli has a decent job, and the Jiang family has not done anything illegal or criminal. It was too late for Shi's mother to think about those things now. She always thought that what she thought was right, and as long as she thought, things would develop according to her wishes. This was impossible.
No matter how much Shi's mother thought, it was useless. She made a mistake, and Shi Nan was twisted. This has become a foregone conclusion.
"Aren't you going to buy vegetables?" Aunt Zhao didn't chase after Shi's mother when she saw her leave.
Jiang's mother went to the street to collect rent and then visited Niu Cuihua and the others. She heard others talking about the Shi family, but she just listened. Someone asked Jiang's mother if she was happy about the Shi family's situation.
"Why should I be happy? Is it an honorable thing that such a person appeared in the street?" Jiang's mother asked.
Jiang's mother didn't think this was a happy thing. She really didn't like the Shi family. But what Shi Nan did was really shameful. It was sad to see the first college student on the street become like this.
Jiang's mother didn't stay on the street for long; she quickly returned. She knew Pan Yun had taken the children abroad, and she thought it was a good thing. If Pan Yun and the others had stayed in China, they would have had some problems. She was surprised that none of the Shi family had left behind any children.
Although people outside were saying that Shi Nan wanted Pan Yun to take both children away, they still said that Pan Yun should keep one child. The child was Pan Yun and Shi Nan's, and even if Shi Nan was in jail, there were still other people in the Shi family, so Pan Yun should not have taken both children away.
"Both children were taken away." Jiang's mother sighed as she sat in the living room.
Jiang Moli had just finished her meal and sat down. When she heard what Jiang's mother said, she didn't think Pan Yun did anything wrong.
"If we have to take them away, it's best to take them all away." Jiang Moli said, "If we don't take them away, who knows how much the children will suffer if they stay with their family."
If Shi's mother had taken the child with her, would she have thought that the child's biological mother was from the Pan family? Would she have thought that if her son had not been with Pan Yun, he would not have made such a big mistake. It was obvious that Shi Nan had been involved in smuggling before he met Pan Yun, and he had calculated everything about Pan Yun. Otherwise, Pan Yun would not have been with Shi Nan.
"It's not good to keep any child." Jiang Moli said, "The child who is left behind will definitely ask his mother: Why did you keep me?"
Jiang Moli didn't want to be left behind. It was always better to follow her mother. Pan Yun's mother still had money. Mrs. Pan was such a smart person. She would definitely make sure they all lived well.
"That's right." Jiang's mother said, "It's not good for anyone to stay, so it's better not to stay."
"That's right," Jiang Moli said. "We're all human beings. If we can, we should take both children away. It's not like we don't have the financial means. If we have the means, we should take both children away. Pan Yun's biological mother is no pushover. She's such a powerful person, she will make sure everything is arranged properly."
In other words, Pan Yun wasn't very smart and was easily fooled by Shi Nan. Shi Nan had already gone to look for another woman, so Pan Yun should have left instead of staying to support Shi Nan. Shi Nan's sentence had already been handed down, and there was no need for Pan Yun to do anything else.
Pan Yun had suffered a lot in the past. If she hadn't suffered, she wouldn't have been able to leave the country so easily. Perhaps she was thinking about visiting Shi Nan more often in China. Fortunately, Pan Yun was not stupid enough to stay in China. She took the children to find Mrs. Pan, which was the best choice.
"Husband and wife are birds of a feather, but when disaster strikes, they fly away separately." Jiang Moli said, "It's good that Pan Yun can stay for a while. Pan Yun even came to me for Shi Nan. How could I possibly help Shi Nan? I can't."
"You never told me that before." Jiang's mother said.
"Jasmine thinks it's just a small matter, so she won't talk about it." Sheng Jiahao said.
"You know." Jiang's mother looked at Sheng Jiahao and said.
"Pan Yun came to me after my performance, and Jiahao happened to be there at the time," Jiang Moli said. "Pan Yun couldn't find any other solution, so she came to me. What can I do? Of course I don't have any solution. What happened in the past has already happened, and I can't change it."
"That's unchangeable." Jiang's mother nodded. "Pan Yun still came to you... She's a rich girl who's never suffered..."
"It was just that period of hardship that she suffered." Jiang Moli said, "She lives with her biological mother, and her biological mother will still take care of her. Pan Yun is still relatively good, she didn't have to suffer so much."
Sheng Jiahao peeled a banana and handed it to Jiang Moli. It was naturally impossible for Sheng Jiahao to help Shi Nan and others with their affairs. It was good enough that he did not add insult to injury.
The time for the college entrance examination soon arrived, and Miao Guifeng's eldest son went to take the college entrance examination. Yang Tianlang's grades were not good to begin with, and he also said that he had stomach discomfort during the exam, which led Miao Guifeng to scold Daya again.
Daya could only lower her head. She was just doing things as usual, but she didn't expect there would still be problems. Daya didn't think about whether Yang Tianlang was pretending to be unwell. She only knew that she was scolded. She was wondering if she had done something wrong, which led to her mother scolding her. She had to be more careful in the future.
"You can't even do the little things I asked you to do." Miao Guifeng said, "I shouldn't have asked you to cook these past few days. Who knows if you're jealous of your brother and did it on purpose."
"No." Daya didn't like her brother very much, but her mother said that she had to be good to her brother. If her brother was good, the whole family would be good. How could Daya dare to touch Yang Tianlang's food? If she really did that, her mother would definitely not let her go.
"No?" Miao Guifeng didn't believe Daya. "Did you deliberately give your brother the leftover food? You know your brother's health condition, he..."
"I ate it myself and didn't give it to my brother." Daya said quickly.
Daya really didn't dare to give Yang Tianlang the leftovers from the previous night. Even if those dishes were put in the refrigerator, Yang Tianlang would eat good food. Daya tried to explain, but it was useless. Miao Guifeng still kicked Daya with quite a bit of force.
Yang Tianlang saw Miao Guifeng's actions, but he did not stop her. As long as Yang Tianlang could remember, Miao Guifeng had always treated people like Daya in this way. Even her own mother did not take her daughter seriously, so how could Yang Tianlang take people like Daya seriously?
"It's useless." Miao Guifeng said.
Yang Tianlang's grades weren't great to begin with, so naturally he didn't get into university, and his scores weren't even high enough to get into a junior college. Miao Guifeng couldn't blame Yang Tianlang, but instead blamed Daya for giving him an upset stomach, preventing him from performing well.
Miao Guifeng decided to let Yang Tianlang repeat the exam. If he failed once, he could take it twice. Miao Guifeng didn't care about the money her son would earn from repeating the exam; she cared about whether he could have a better future. If he really couldn't pass the exam, that didn't matter. He could just wait for the house to be demolished. The demolition would bring him money, and he could live a good life with that money.
The unit had previously tried to snatch the script from Jiang Moli's group from another group, but the unit still registered the lead actor of that group for an award, as well as the other lead actor in Jiang Moli's group. It's normal for a unit to submit two actors for different plays. As long as the play is new and released within a certain period of time, it can be submitted.
In this way, people from the same unit also become competitors.
Jiang Moli's group's performance was more popular and more outstanding, while the other group's performance was much worse. The lead actors in the other group didn't really want Jiang Moli's group to sign up, as they felt that Jiang Moli's group relied mainly on Jiang Moli. Without Jiang Moli, the other lead actor in the same group wouldn't be as popular.
Some people think this is unfair, and they are people within the unit.
"We are all from the same unit. Your competition is not strong enough. One more person means one more guarantee." The leader said this directly to the leading actors of the other group.
The leaders knew that person's age was there, and they all knew that person was not young, but so what. Didn't those people use the overall sense of honor of the unit to kidnap Jiang Moli before? Now the leaders can also say so much to these people, so don't think that others will not participate in the competition.
People from the same unit, what's there to say? They all have to participate in the selection together, and it depends on the judgment of the judging panel, not the unit. The unit can't influence the judges. The unit leaders just want to get one more person nominated. If it succeeds, everyone is happy. If it doesn't, everyone has tried their best.
Jiang Moli didn't care how those people arranged the award quota. She didn't participate. She just wanted to ensure her performance was good. Jiang Moli was not anxious or flustered. She didn't go to be a judge, nor did she have to tear up the award for anyone.
The issue of award quotas caused a lot of buzz in the unit.
At lunch time, Qiao Yuwei sat in front of Jiang Moli with a tray of food.
"Have you heard about the award quota?" Qiao Yuwei asked.
"I heard a little." Jiang Moli replied.
"Someone from your group will be judging the awards," Qiao Yuwei said. "The other person's chances weren't great to begin with, and now they're even slimmer. Also, if we tell everyone else in our unit not to compete with her, how can she possibly outperform people from other units?"
"We'll know when the results come out." Jiang Moli said, "We don't need to worry about these things, we just need to eat well."
"We didn't attend the awards ceremony, so there's really no need to worry so much." Qiao Yuwei said, "Not everyone can win this award."
"There are too many monks and too little porridge." Jiang Moli said, "Just wait."
"Yeah." Qiao Yuwei nodded.
Ever since Zhou Yiran switched to administrative work, she's had a lot to do. She's also been handling things like award registrations. Someone from the South City Drama Troupe has also applied, but whether they'll be shortlisted is still uncertain.
Zhou Yaran knew it was incredibly difficult for someone from her company to be shortlisted. There were more talented people ahead of her, and her company wasn't as good. It wasn't like there weren't people from local theater troupes who had won awards; there were, but it was still a challenge. Not everyone who entered the competition would be selected.
Anyway, it’s not Zhou Yiran herself who is running for election, so she is not in a hurry.
Jiang Moli and Zhou Yiran had afternoon tea together, it was a rare opportunity for them to have some free time.
"How are you feeling recently?" Zhou Yiran asked.
"Not bad." Jiang Moli said, "I just have to participate in some performances."
"That's good," Zhou Yiran said. "I've been doing a lot of trivial things lately. It's not like when I was performing in the past, when I only had to focus on performing and didn't have to think about so many problems. But now, there are still many things to consider. Working in the administration department is a simple task. But the pressure is a little less, and I don't have to worry about whether the tickets will sell out."
"Everyone has their own difficulties." Jiang Moli said, "Being an administrator is not easy either."
"My mom has retired," Zhou Yiran said. "She's now going to the park with Teacher Lu and the others to perform opera. They're all so happy. They don't have to worry about whether there's an audience. They can sing when they want to, and not when they don't. I asked them if they weren't afraid of being chased away from performing in the park, and she said no, there are still people listening. And since we're in the park, not the neighborhood, we don't disturb anyone else's rest."
"Teacher Lu, Mom really likes staying over there," Jiang Moli said. "We asked her to come live here, but she wasn't happy about it. She prefers living in her old neighborhood. She said there are still many people she knows and they can sing opera together. She said that, so we can't force her to come over."
"That's true." Zhou Yiran said, "They had a lot of fun."
"It's natural to have fun with friends to play with," Jiang Moli said. "As for my mom, she often goes to the neighbor's house to chat with them and raise chickens and ducks with them. My mom says she can't stand being left alone at home. The child always has to go to school, and it's impossible for my mom to keep an eye on him all the time."
Jiang's mother said that if she had nothing to do at home, she would just go to sleep. She would feel uncomfortable if she slept too long. Jiang Moli asked her mother to go out and play, but she said that it was just like that outside and there was nothing fun to do. Jiang Moli asked her mother to go travel somewhere else, but she didn't want to go either.
"Friends are very important." Jiang Moli said.
"Yes, it's important." Zhou Yiran said, "You are my good friend. By the way, is Fan Xiaoxue, who grew up with you, really not coming to see you?"
"She said she'd try to come here less often. She hasn't been here for several months," Jiang Moli said. "She said it would have a bad influence if others saw her. She said she couldn't dissuade her husband, and that he had indeed done some bad things."
"Didn't they get divorced?" Zhou Yiran said.
"They are divorced, but maybe in their minds, it's a fake divorce, not a real one," Jiang Moli said.
"If there's a divorce certificate, it means the divorce is real. How could it be a fake divorce?" Zhou Yiran said, "She and her husband are already divorced, so why is she still worrying about so many things?"
"Sister Xiaoxue still values Shi Kaihua very much." Jiang Moli said, "Shi Kaihua treats her well, but..."
"Last time I was in jail for five years, and this time I have to spend two more, which makes a total of seven years." Zhou Yiran said, "How many seven years can we waste in our lifetime?"
Zhou Yiran thought Shi Kaihua was wrong. He shouldn't have gotten involved with Shi Nan and the others. Shi Nan and his people were unlikely to do anything good. They had no regard for the law. If it were simply tax evasion, it would be fine, but they went so far as to frame and harm others.
"Sister Xiaoxue has paid too much," Jiang Moli said. "That man is the child's biological father, so Sister Xiaoxue can't help but want to be more tolerant. The sunk costs are too high. She waited for Shi Kaihua for five years, so she can wait two more years this time."
"Alas." Zhou Yiran said, "She really can wait. If it were me, I wouldn't wait."
"We haven't reached that point yet." Jiang Moli said.
Fan Xiaoxue continued to run the grocery store, and business was doing well. She still lived in the Shi family, not in the house she had bought. She didn't have much savings, and she had to think about her children. They needed money to live a good life, so she had to save more money for them so they wouldn't have to worry so much.
A few years ago, Fan Xiaoxue told her son not to think about committing crimes. While crimes can make money quickly, they are also bad things, and sooner or later the money will be taken away, meaning it would be wasted. It would be better to stay out of trouble and just live peacefully.
When Shi Kaihua went to jail when they were young, Fan Xiaoxue's children didn't feel it very clearly. This time, Shi Kaihua went to jail, and Fan Xiaoxue's children were already quite old and could remember those things.
Fan Xiaoxue's children help out in the shop, sometimes doing their homework there. Fan Xiaoxue spends more time with her children, ensuring they grow up healthy.
"Is the child doing homework in the store again?" When Niu Cuihua came to buy something, she saw Fan Xiaoxue's son.
"Yeah." Fan Xiaoxue responded, "He thought he could help me, so he did his homework here."
"You have a good child who still wants to help you." Niu Cuihua said, "Look at Miao Guifeng's son. He has everything he wants, and he doesn't do anything. He didn't do well in the college entrance examination and didn't get into junior college, but he wasn't worried at all. Miao Guifeng, on the other hand, doesn't blame her son, but her daughter, blaming her eldest daughter for her son's poor performance."
"Daya is the younger sister of Miao Guifeng's eldest son." Fan Xiaoxue said, "As a younger sister, it's OK for her to do so many things."
"We said it was okay, but Miao Guifeng didn't think so," Niu Cuihua said. "Miao Guifeng just wanted her daughter to do more and her son to do less, so that her daughter could support her son more. Their whole family revolves around Yang Tianlang. If Yang Tianlang sneezed, they would get very anxious."
"Miao Guifeng has given birth to too many children," Fan Xiaoxue said. "It doesn't matter how many children there are, what's important is that they're obedient and sensible. The children are older now, so I don't dare say much, and what I say may not be entirely correct. Children of this generation are different from those of our generation. We need to give them more time instead of forcing them to do certain things."
Fan Xiaoxue doesn't need her son to perform particularly well, as long as he performs just about average.
"Yang Tianlang is going to repeat his grade." Niu Cuihua said.
"If he can't pass the exam, then he can't pass. For someone like Miao Guifeng's son, even if he passes, he will only be a disaster." Fan Xiaoxue said.
Fan Xiaoxue looked down on Miao Guifeng and her son. These people were all patriarchal and treated the girls in their families as servants and laborers. What era was this? They no longer cared about this.
"He doesn't even need to pass the exam, he's already a nuisance." Niu Cuihua said, "He's made his sister scold him countless times, and as a brother, he doesn't feel anything at all and doesn't even know how to help his sister."
"A brother like that isn't good," Fan Xiaoxue said. "As parents, they don't need to say much. Miao Guifeng and the others didn't take good care of Daya and the others since they were young. They only cared about their son. It's been almost a year since Erya left, and Miao Guifeng and the others haven't seemed worried."
Miao Guifeng was worried that Erya wouldn't starve to death. In this day and age, if you did a little bit of work, you wouldn't starve to death. Erya would stay outside, and she would definitely find a way to survive.
Niu Cuihua nodded, bought something, paid, and prepared to leave. After taking two steps, Niu Cuihua turned back.
"Is there anything missing?" Fan Xiaoxue asked.
"No." Niu Cuihua said, "You..."
"What's wrong?" Fan Xiaoxue asked.
"Nothing." Niu Cuihua originally wanted to ask Fan Xiaoxue if she wanted to go to Jiang Moli's place, but after thinking about it, she decided not to.
Fan Xiaoxue rarely visits Jiang Moli now, and she hasn't even visited some of her relatives. Some of Fan Xiaoxue's relatives seem to sympathize with her, but she feels uncomfortable listening to their words, as if they are mocking her.
"Let's go back first." Niu Cuihua said.
Niu Cuihua really shouldn't have said much about whether Fan Xiaoxue went to Jiang Moli's place. Niu Cuihua was Jiang Moli's sister-in-law, and that was fine, but there were some things she should have kept her nose to. Fan Xiaoxue watched Niu Cuihua leave, and after a while, she looked at the customer who had come into the store.
Jiang Yuqin's two children don't like Jiang Yuqin much now. They all think that Jiang Yuqin treated Ding Hongwang better in the past. The daughter herself is a neglected existence, so it is understandable that she doesn't like Jiang Yuqin. Jiang Yuqin's biological son still hates Jiang Yuqin. He always remembers what Jiang Yuqin said about him for Ding Hongwang.
"You are good to your elder brother. You are good to him." Ding Honghui said this after Jiang Yuqin said a few words to him.
"What did you say?" Jiang Yuqin looked at her son. She didn't want to hit her son, so she just said a few words.
"You gave all the good things to Big Brother!" Ding Honghui heard some people say, "We don't have a new house to live in, but Big Brother does."
"..." Jiang Yuqin also wanted them to have a new house to live in, but a new house was not something they could have just because they wanted it. They didn't have the money to buy a new house. "That's your eldest brother's..."
"You gave money to Big Brother." Ding Honghui said, "Big Brother has so many things, but I don't!"
Ding Honghui was very unhappy. Why was it that his elder brother lived a better life instead of him?
"Big Brother isn't your biological son, yet you're still so nice to him." Ding Honghui said, "You treat me badly, so you should be nice to Big Brother."
"..." What could Jiang Yuqin say? She couldn't say that she treated her son better. Wouldn't that give others a handle on her? Those people would definitely say that she was not a good stepmother. "Your eldest brother is old enough, he has a girlfriend, so he needs a house. He..."
"You just treat him better," Ding Honghui emphasized.
Ding Honghui made a face at Jiang Yuqin and ran out.
Jiang Yuqin threw away the bamboo stick in her hand. She didn't really want to hit her son. He was so old now, and she didn't really want to hit him. She was afraid that he would resent her. But her son said that they treated Ding Hongwang better, which made Jiang Yuqin feel upset.
Her own biological son thought so... Jiang Yuqin originally thought that her biological son could understand, and of course she loved her biological son more than her adopted son.
Jiang Yuqin thought about her own childhood. Didn't her mother talk about Zhao Guodong and Jiang Moli? Zhao Guodong and Jiang Moli were always so kind to her mother. Especially Jiang Moli, she let her mother live with her and she would take care of her in her old age. But her son didn't understand her and said those things. Jiang Yuqin thought about it and felt that she couldn't blame her son. If she had to blame anyone, she had to blame Ding Hongwang.
Last year, Ding Hongwang moved into a new house without Jiang Yuqin, and Jiang Yuqin has always remembered this incident. Jiang Yuqin thinks Ding Hongwang did it on purpose and that he doesn't care about her and Ding Chao at all.
After dinner in the evening, Jiang Yuqin talked to Ding Chao about Ding Honghui in the room.
"You shouldn't have supported Ding Hongwang in the first place. Now Honghui blames us," Jiang Yuqin said. "They say we don't have a new house, but Hongwang does. We only cared about Ding Hongwang, not him."
"Talk to him properly." Ding Chao said.
"What can I say to him? What can I say?" Jiang Yuqin asked, "Isn't that the case? Aren't you more concerned about Ding Hongwang?"
"You..." Ding Chao looked at Jiang Yuqin. He didn't expect Jiang Yuqin to say that.
"I'm not wrong," Jiang Yuqin said. "After we got married, I didn't dare say a word against Hongwang. You're upset before I even open my mouth. Ding Hongwang isn't our ancestor, yet we still worship him. Look at what we've become."
Ding Chao felt uncomfortable, as he knew Ding Hongwang was deliberately staying away from them. He was also reluctant to go to Ding Hongwang. Even when he went to see him, Ding Hongwang wouldn't even ask him to come in and sit down.
"You are different now." Ding Chao said.
"That's because I've figured it out," Jiang Yuqin replied. "I shouldn't have...shouldn't have married you."
Jiang Yuqin regretted it. She already had some regrets, but if she waited until later, she would probably regret it even more. Jiang Yuqin thought about how she would still have to rent a house. When she got older, she wondered if they still didn't have their own house, and they would still have to rent a house. Jiang Yuqin wanted to have her own home. She and Ding Chao had always been separated by Ding Hongwang, and even after Ding Hongwang left, the relationship between Jiang Yuqin and Ding Chao was still not very good.
This made Jiang Yuqin realize that Ding Chao simply didn't have deep feelings for her, that their former love had been worn away by the daily grind of life. Whenever Jiang Yuqin thought about her unmarried days, she felt she was much happier as a girl. After Jiang Yuqin married Ding Chao, she often had to worry about money and had to borrow money from others. Ding Chao couldn't bear to do that, so he had to ask Jiang Yuqin to do it. Jiang Yuqin often borrowed money, but often had to earn the money herself to pay it back.
It was not money borrowed by Ding Chao, and even if the money was used in this family, Ding Chao didn't care much.
In the past, Jiang Yuqin loved Ding Chao deeply. Whenever Ding Chao gave her extra money, she would be grateful. Jiang Yuqin never considered whether Ding Chao was truly good to her. If Ding Chao was truly good to her, he shouldn't have let her worry about those things. Ding Chao should have taken care of them himself.
Ding Chao hadn't done those things yet, so Jiang Yuqin had to do them. Ding Chao praised Jiang Yuqin a few words, and Jiang Yuqin was happy.
After the love faded, Jiang Yuqin's mind became much clearer, no longer as love-struck as before. Jiang Yuqin was not from a wealthy family, and if she had followed the path arranged by her father, she could have had a better life. But Jiang Yuqin was determined to be with Ding Chao and insisted on being with him.
"Regret?" Ding Chao was stunned. Jiang Yuqin actually said this in front of him, and she was not afraid that he would be unhappy.
"Yes, I regret it." Jiang Yuqin said, "I regret it very much. I regret it very much."
"You..." Ding Chao opened his mouth and fell silent.
"Before we got married, I lived well, ate well, and could buy new clothes often," Jiang Yuqin said. "After I married you, I bought new clothes less often, and I had to ask my mother and her family for money. But the money I got wasn't spent on myself, but on this family, on Ding Hongwang. When I was pregnant, I asked you to send Ding Hongwang to your mother, but you refused and insisted that I look after the child."
"I didn't say you had to look after the child..."
"You didn't say it, but that's what you meant," Jiang Yuqin said. "You've let Ding Hongwang's father down, so you want me to follow you and work hard to take care of Ding Hongwang. Ding Hongwang wants the best of everything, so you give him the best. I just said a few words, and you still think I'm not good enough to Ding Hongwang. Is it me who's not good enough to Ding Hongwang? It's obviously you who want to flatter Ding Hongwang too much, you want your leaders to think you're good, and you want to eliminate the guilt in your heart!"
Jiang Yuqin spoke out what she had been holding in her heart for a long time. She had not said it when Ding Hongwang was at home. It was only after Ding Hongwang had been away working for several years that Jiang Yuqin spoke out these words.
"What's the point of being nice to Ding Hongwang? It's completely useless." Jiang Yuqin's eyes turned red as she spoke. "Honghui said over there that we were nice to Hongwang but not to him. Honghui remembers it all. You even said that he would take care of us in our old age. We didn't give Honghui any good things, we gave them all to Hongwang. What can Honghui use to be filial to us?"
"Honghui is still young, wait until later..."
"How much money can you save in the future?" Jiang Yuqin asked. "Everyone who joined the factory after you has been promoted, but you haven't. Your factory hasn't closed down, and you haven't been laid off. But how much can you save with your meager salary?"
"Jiang Yuqin!" Ding Chao raised his voice.
"Unhappy, huh?" Jiang Yuqin said, "I've been unhappy for many years!"
"Stop talking! Do you have to speak so loudly so that the children can hear you?" Ding Chao said.
"You are just that kind of person. Why don't you let me speak?" Jiang Yuqin asked. "What? Are you going to hit me?"
Ding Chao raised his hand, but ultimately did not deliver the slap.
"Hit me if you dare. Let everyone know what a beast you are." Jiang Yuqin said, "I married you despite my family's opposition and helped you raise Ding Hongwang. Now I say a few words and you want to hit me."
"I didn't hit you." Ding Chao said.
"You just want to hit me. You've even raised your hands." Jiang Yuqin said, "Ding Chao, do you want domestic violence? Do you want to hit me?"
Ding Chao was too lazy to talk to Jiang Yuqin. He lay down with his back to her. Jiang Yuqin wanted to pull Ding Chao up, "Ding Chao, tell me clearly today, who is wronging me, Jiang Yuqin, or am I wronging you?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, okay?" Ding Chao really didn't want to say these words to Jiang Yuqin.
Ding Chao and Jiang Yuqin rarely argued before, but since this incident, they've been arguing constantly. The neighbors heard the noises, but they'd rarely heard them argue before; Jiang Yuqin was always so hardworking and patient. But now, Jiang Yuqin and Ding Chao were arguing, which was truly bizarre.
When Niu Cuihua went to see Jiang's mother, she told her about what happened between Jiang Yuqin and Ding Chao.
"They quarrel quite often now, every one or two days," Niu Cuihua said. "The noise is quite loud, and many people have heard it."
"Arguing?" Jiang's mother found it a little unbelievable. "Jiang Yuqin would argue with her husband?"
"Yes, we had a fight," Niu Cuihua said. "We really had a fight."
"Did she suddenly figure it out?" Jiang's mother asked.
"It's probably because she's suffered so much for so many years, and she never had a good life," Niu Cuihua said. "She has to think all day about how to treat her adopted son well, and then he goes to work, and there are other things to worry about. Now, her adopted son lives in his own new house, but she's still renting, and she can't bear it."
Jiang's mother sneered, this is the good partner Jiang Yuqin found for herself.
In the past, Jiang Yuqin only thought that her mother would cheat her, and that her father would listen to her and cheat her as well. Jiang Yuqin's mother thought that they were too good to her, and that Jiang Yuqin had never suffered, so she wanted to live with a man like Ding Chao. Jiang Yuqin thought that her mother was doing well, so she thought that she would also live well after marrying Ding Chao. How could God be so kind to Jiang Yuqin and her daughter?
"You brought this upon yourself," said Jiang's mother.
"That's what everyone says," Niu Cuihua said. "When the neighbors heard them arguing, they found it a little unbelievable. They used to have a good relationship, and no one else's words mattered. Now, they're just digging up old grudges without anyone saying anything. They're just acting like this because they don't love each other anymore."
"How much could Ding Chao really love Jiang Yuqin?" Jiang's mother asked. "It was Jiang Yuqin who pushed for it, insisting on helping raise the child and marrying him. After she got married, she gave all the things she took from her biological mother to Ding Chao and his adopted son. She put in so much money, and now she looks back and wonders what she has left."
I don’t have a house, I don’t have money, I don’t have love…
Jiang's mother thought Jiang Yuqin had been too vulnerable to society's harsh treatment. Jiang's father had been too kind to her, preventing her from suffering. What was the point of Jiang Yuqin regretting her decision now? She was already forty years old, and even if she were asked to divorce, she wouldn't be able to let go of her two children. She had no better home to return to after a divorce.
If Jiang Yuqin had realized her mistake earlier, even at around 30, it would have been better than now. Jiang Yuqin and Ding Chao would probably still be together. They could quarrel, but divorce was out of the question.
"She thinks every day that we're trying to trick her. What are we trying to trick her into doing?" Jiang's mother just found it funny. "She's figured it out now. She'll have to suffer in the future."
"She regrets it, really regrets it," Niu Cuihua said. "She always says this when she chats with others. She says she raised Ding Hongwang in vain, and that Ding Hongwang has no filial piety towards her. Others say that if it weren't for her husband, Ding Hongwang's father wouldn't have died. She also talks about Ding Chao, saying that Ding Chao hasn't been promoted yet, and that Ding Chao takes home too little money..."
When Jiang Moli returned home, she happened to hear Jiang's mother and Niu Cuihua talking about Jiang Yuqin.
"Has the love brain awakened?" Jiang Moli was surprised. She thought Jiang Yuqin would have to wait until her old age to awaken, but she didn't expect Jiang Yuqin to awaken at this time. Jiang Moli was a little excited. She had to hear about Jiang Yuqin's story. "Tell me, what's going on?"
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