Chapter 114 Regret "Hehe, hehe—..."
"Hehe, hehe—"
Dong Chunling stood in the alley, grinning foolishly. Mingxi gave her a strange look, shook his head, and realized that Dong Chunling was indeed not mentally sound.
Mingxi was too lazy to argue with this kind of person and lifted her foot to walk around Dong Chunling. At this moment, Dong Chunling came to her senses. Seeing Mingxi about to leave, she hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Mingxi's arm: "Mingxi, you can't go!"
Mingxi glanced at her and said irritably, "Why? Who do you think you are? Why should I be able to leave just because you say so?"
Dong Chunling: "You haven't agreed to help me go to the social event yet, how can you leave?"
She spoke with such conviction that Mingxi was completely dumbfounded.
Mingxi scratched her ear: "No, what did you say?"
Dong Chunling repeated, "I said you haven't agreed to help me go to the social event yet, how can you leave!"
"Get lost!" Mingxi said rudely, turning her face away. "Who do you think you are? What do you have to do with me? This social gathering is only for people working in government agencies. You don't work in a government agency, so what does it have to do with you? Are you desperate to find a partner?"
Dong Chunling was stunned by Mingxi's spray. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened, like a round, bulging frog.
"You, you...you can't say that! We're neighbors living in the same alley, we should help each other out. You should help me. Otherwise, I'll tell others you're unkind and uncooperative!"
Dong Chunling thought for a long time before coming up with an idea that could threaten Mingxi.
She thought that even if Mingxi didn't care about her feelings, he wouldn't disregard her reputation, right?
Hey, Mingxi really didn't take Dong Chunling's threat seriously. She rolled her eyes, pushed Dong Chunling away, and said, "Get lost! If you keep bothering me, don't blame me for taking action!"
Mingxi didn't care about Dong Chunling's threats. Everyone in this area knew who Dong Chunling was. Let Dong Chunling say whatever she wanted; no one would believe her nonsense anyway.
Mingxi was too lazy to waste words with Dong Chunling and went straight back to the hospital. Dong Chunling wanted to stop Mingxi, but she was afraid that Mingxi would attack her.
She knew very well that Mingxi was a man of his word, and would act without hesitation.
Mingxi is so strong, a weak woman like her might not be able to withstand a few blows. She dares not take the risk of going against Mingxi.
Dong Chunling withdrew her hand, watched Mingxi step into the courtyard, and cursed a couple of times unwillingly.
"Tch, what's so great about her? She's just a lowly clerk in the Women's Federation, not some big leader. She's putting on airs with me. She won't even help me with such a small thing. She's so unkind, not kind at all!"
Dong Chunling pouted: "I just don't believe it! Without Mingxi's rotten egg, I can't make steamed rice cakes? It's just a social gathering. If Mingxi won't help me, then I'll find someone else!"
Dong Chunling's eyes darted around, and as if she had just thought of something, she hurriedly walked towards the entrance of the alley.
Mingxi, who had already entered the hospital, naturally had no idea that Dong Chunling was still not giving up. She entered the front yard and saw a man and a woman standing at the door of the west wing room that had been assigned to Aunt Li.
These two people were not strangers; they were Li Dama's eldest son, Sun Xuewen, and Li Dama's eldest daughter-in-law, Fang Yan.
As for Sun Xuewen, ever since he and Old Sun forced Aunt Li to hand over the money last time, Mingxi has looked down on him and didn't even bother to greet him when she saw him now.
As for Fang Yan...
Mingxi wasn't very familiar with her. Fang Yan moved out after getting married to Sun Xuewen. Mingxi had only seen Fang Yan a few times in the courtyard during the first two days after the wedding, but they hadn't exchanged many words. She could barely be considered someone he knew, not even a close friend.
So Mingxi didn't plan to greet Fang Yan at this moment.
Fang Yan, however, saw Mingxi and greeted her with a smile, "Mingxi, you're off work?"
It's never polite to hit someone who's smiling, so Fang Yan took the initiative to greet her. Ming Xi felt bad if she didn't respond, so she smiled and said, "Yeah, I just got back from get off work."
Fang Yan: "How's work? Are you busy or tired?"
Before Mingxi could reply, Fang Yan continued, "I just heard from your older brother a few days ago that you've started working at the Women's Federation. I found out you've been working there for several months now. That idiot of a man! He heard you had a job months ago, but didn't even think to tell me. Working at the Women's Federation is a good thing! If I had known earlier, I would have come to congratulate you!"
Mingxi quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, Sister Fang, you're too kind. I understand your feelings and know you've always been thinking of me."
Fang Yan smiled and took Mingxi's hand: "It's good that you understand what your brother and I mean. Your brother is not good with words and sometimes even when he means well, his words come out badly."
She sighed deeply and said, "Let's not talk about the distant past, but about the recent past. You all know that my father-in-law and mother-in-law are divorced. To be honest, we knew about my father-in-law's initial idea to repair Grandma's grave. Your brother-in-law and I initially thought that Grandma was, after all, my father-in-law's biological mother and your brother-in-law's biological grandmother. She raised your brother-in-law when he was a child. Now that she is gone, it would be very painful for us to see her grave collapse and not be at peace in the ground. That's why we supported my father-in-law in repairing the grave."
"Mmm," Mingxi replied perfunctorily.
She added that she and Fang Yan weren't close, and they hadn't exchanged many words when they met before. So why did Fang Yan specifically call her over today and chat with her for a while, asking about her well-being?
So she's here to clear her name and Sun Xuewen's name.
Mingxi rolled her eyes inwardly, but Fang Yan continued, "We didn't expect my father-in-law to spend so much on repairing the tomb."
She glanced around, then deliberately leaned close to Mingxi and whispered, "To be honest, if I had known my father-in-law was going to ask for so much money, I wouldn't have agreed either. We're just an ordinary family. Who can come up with so much money just to repair a grave and hold a funeral? If all the money in the family is spent, how will we make a living?"
“It’s just that we are children, so it’s not appropriate for us to say this to my father-in-law.” Fang Yan gave a wry smile and emphasized to Ming Xi, “I’m only saying this to you, so please don’t say it to anyone else. If it gets back to my father-in-law and he finds out that I’m talking about him behind his back, I won’t be happy.”
Mingxi: "Yes, I understand."
Mingxi verbally cooperated with Fang Yan's performance, but in reality, she didn't take Fang Yan's words seriously at all.
She assured that she was definitely not the only person in the courtyard who heard Fang Yan say that today.
Fang Yan isn't stupid. If she genuinely thought Old Sun's actions were inappropriate, she wouldn't be complaining to someone she barely knows.
The reason she said that to Mingxi was that she wanted to use their shared secret to bring Mingxi to her side and get Mingxi to speak well of her.
Fang Yan: "Looking back now, if we had advised my father-in-law earlier not to be so focused on making things so big, things wouldn't have turned out this way, and my father-in-law and mother-in-law wouldn't have gotten divorced."
Mingxi disagreed with this idea: "The main reason why Aunt Li and Uncle Sun divorced was not actually related to the relocation of the grave."
The initial cause of Li Dama's divorce from Sun Dama was indeed the matter of moving the grave, but ultimately it was because Sun Dama didn't take Li Dama seriously at all, which broke her heart.
When they were young, Grandma Li's mother-in-law would torment her, but Grandpa Sun would turn a blind eye. Now that they're older, Grandma Li has clearly stated that she doesn't want to use her own money to move her mother-in-law's grave, but Grandpa Sun insists on taking it by force, showing no regard for Grandma Li's wishes.
These are all things that outsiders can see. There are probably countless heartbreaking things that outsiders can't see.
Even without this grave relocation, Aunt Li's pent-up disappointment would have eventually exploded.
Moreover, Mingxi thought that it was a good thing for Aunt Li to get divorced, at least she wouldn't have to be Old Sun's nanny anymore and take care of his daily life.
Fang Yan was speechless at Ming Xi's words.
Mingxi's words made it sound like her in-laws were destined to divorce.
Although her father-in-law and mother-in-law did divorce, Mingxi's words didn't seem to express any hope for their well-being at all!
Fang Yan thought to herself, but didn't show it on her face. She changed the subject and said, "It's not appropriate for us younger generation to comment on matters between elders. We're here today to apologize to my mother-in-law because of what happened last time."
She finally got to the point after beating around the bush: "Last time, my brother-in-law Sun treated my mother-in-law badly, and I couldn't come because of work, which made her angry. We came here today to apologize to her. Your brother-in-law Sun is very filial; look at what we're carrying, it's all things he asked me to prepare."
Mingxi looked down and saw that Fang Yan and Sun Xuewen had quite a lot of stuff in their hands. Fang Yan alone was carrying a chicken, five or six cans of food, two cans of malted milk powder, and a box of pastries. Not to mention Sun Xuewen was also carrying things. It was clear that these two had really spent a lot of money.
"We're here sincerely to apologize to my mother-in-law, but she's angry and won't see us. She won't even open the door for us." Fang Yan pursed her lips and looked at Ming Xi pleadingly, "Hey, Ming, could you help us out and say a few words to my mother-in-law so she can open the door and let us put our things in?"
She said, "Even if she doesn't forgive us, at least we should accept the gifts as a token of our respect."
Mingxi raised an eyebrow. To be honest, Sun Xuewen really did marry a good wife. Fang Yan is quite eloquent.
If you didn't know the background, you might really think that Fang Yan and Sun Xuewen were very filial.
However, Mingxi was not unaware of the situation. Last time, Aunt Li was so angry that Sun Xuewen even complained that Aunt Li was embarrassing.
She felt angry just listening to it, not to mention that Aunt Li had carried Sun Xuewen for ten months and worked hard to give birth to him.
Besides, if Sun Xuewen were truly filial, when Aunt Li moved into Sun Lili's house before her divorce from Uncle Sun, he never visited her or mentioned wanting to take her to live with him.
Is this the time to show filial piety?
Everyone knows what he's up to!
Didn't you see that even someone as good-natured as Aunt Li got angry and refused to open the door for Sun Xuewen and his wife?
Mingxi wasn't about to play the peacemaker and ask Aunt Li to open the door.
“No, Aunt Li doesn’t want to open the door for you because she doesn’t want to forgive you. You should sincerely apologize to Aunt Li instead of playing tricks.” Mingxi refused decisively.
Fang Yan was truly adept at putting on a show. When she heard Ming Xi's blunt refusal, her expression only stiffened for a moment before she quickly recovered and said with a smile, "You're joking, aren't you? We just wanted to find someone to help us persuade my mother-in-law. We're worried about her."
"But if you're unwilling, then let's continue apologizing to my mother-in-law."
Fang Yan was afraid that Ming Xi would say something else and expose their most shameful thoughts, so she quickly pulled Sun Xuewen away.
Sun Xuewen was unhappy when Fang Yan pulled him away. He felt that he was a few years older than Ming Xi and could be considered an older brother or elder in Ming Xi's eyes. It was really wrong of Ming Xi to disrespect him like this, and he wanted to teach Ming Xi a lesson.
Fang Yan glared at him, thinking, "He's lecturing Mingxi! Can't this silly old man in my family have any brains?"
Is Mingxi just an ordinary person now? She's a staff member of the Women's Federation, a proper office worker. And everyone in the alley is saying that the leaders of the Women's Federation think highly of Mingxi, and who knows when she might be promoted to a leadership position.
Even if Mingxi doesn't become a leader, someone as capable as her shouldn't be offended. They might need to ask Mingxi for favors in the future.
This is why she didn't get straight to the point when she arrived, but instead tried to get closer to Mingxi.
Although their relationship was not very good before, they lived in the same courtyard. Mingxi and Sun Xuewen grew up together. This was an innate advantage. As long as they interacted more and spent more time together, it would be easy to become familiar with each other.
Seeing his wife glaring at him, Sun Xuewen stopped arguing and obediently followed her away.
He and Fang Yan returned to their own home—no, this house has now been allocated to his mother, so strictly speaking, it's no longer his family's house.
As Sun Xuewen was feeling conflicted, he felt his wife nudge him with her elbow. Fang Yan said, "Don't just stand there like an idiot! Call for Mom! Maybe if she hears your voice and knows we haven't left for so long, she'll soften and let us in."
Sun Xuewen frowned, then called out, "Mom!"
After calling out, he waited for a long time, but there was still no response from inside the house, and the tightly closed door in front of him was not opened.
Sun Xuewen said helplessly, "Honey, look, Mom still won't open the door for us. Why don't we just go home?"
Fang Yan glared at Sun Xuewen fiercely: "No way!"
She's hopelessly incapable of handling her own foolish husband. It's just a shame she didn't come on the day her in-laws were getting a divorce; otherwise, she would have done everything in her power to stop them from divorcing.
Fang Yan knew all about the things in the Sun family's house. Old Sun had also said long ago that after he passed away, the house and money would be divided equally between the two brothers, Sun Xuewen and Sun Xuewu.
Old Sun spoke clearly, and she knew that Sun Xuewen and Sun Xuewu were close brothers, so even if she had some ulterior motives, she never said them aloud.
She thought that since Old Sun wasn't a biased person, and he had already agreed that the family's belongings would be divided equally after he passed away, her family wouldn't suffer any losses, so that was fine.
Who would have thought that her parents-in-law would suddenly divorce, and her mother-in-law would take a house and Old Sun's money!
Although Aunt Li only took the smallest room in the Sun family's west wing and only two hundred yuan, Fang Yan, who considered Old Sun's money as her own, still couldn't stand it.
Fang Yan knew perfectly well that her mother-in-law favored her husband's older sister the most. What if her mother-in-law decided to leave the house to Sun Lili in the future? Wouldn't she be at a huge disadvantage?
But it's too late to say anything now. Her parents-in-law are already divorced, and all she can do is try to please her mother-in-law and get her to agree to leave the west wing room to their family.
With this in mind, Fang Yan specially brought the things over today.
She thought her mother-in-law usually had a good temper, and even if she was angry, she wouldn't refuse them entry. But she never expected that even a rabbit will bite when cornered. This time, her mother-in-law was so angry that she refused to see them.
Fang Yan was frowning and wondering what to do when she saw the door to the north room on the side open, and Old Sun came out.
Old Sun's expression turned very unpleasant when he saw what they were holding.
And this is his son and daughter-in-law! All they do is bring things to see his mother, but don't they ever come to see their father?
Fang Yan was so good at handling people. Seeing Old Sun's expression, she immediately pulled Sun Xuewen forward: "Dad, you're home! I thought you went out. We came to see Mom today, and of course, we came to see you too. How have you been lately? The weather has turned cooler these past few days, so please make sure to keep warm and don't catch a cold. Um, these are some things we brought over. This malted milk powder is for you..."
Fang Yan was good at handling things and speaking well. Even if Old Sun had any complaints, she could quickly appease him.
Old Sun: "Alright, stop standing outside and come inside. I'm not the kind of person who won't let you in."
Old Sun's words were clearly a veiled criticism of Aunt Li, Fang Yan understood, but she didn't respond.
This is a matter between the two elders, and it's inappropriate for Xiaobai to interfere. Besides, she's just a daughter-in-law, not a daughter. It's not appropriate for her to say anything right now; as soon as she opens her mouth, she'll offend someone.
It's either offending the father-in-law or the mother-in-law.
Fang Yan remained silent, carrying her things as she followed Old Sun into the house. She almost tripped over the stench as soon as she entered.
What's with this smell in the house?
It smells terrible, and it's not just plain smelly, it's sour and pungent, with a strong smell of alcohol.
Even Fang Yan, who is usually so good at putting on a show, couldn't stand the smell. She wrinkled her face and glanced around the room.
On the sofa in the main room, there were four or five pieces of worn clothing. The clothes had obviously been worn for some time, with the sleeves and collars stained black with grease. The outer clothes, pants, and underwear were all piled together, crumpled up in a ball and thrown on the sofa.
Fang Yan shifted her gaze to the table, where she saw seven or eight beer bottles and two baijiu glasses, each containing a shallow half-full of baijiu, the contents of which were unclear. Besides the empty bottles, there were several lunchboxes on the table, presumably food from the cafeteria, also scattered haphazardly. Some lunchboxes contained only vegetable broth, while others still held food, though their origin was unknown. Some were clearly spoiled, and the sour smell in the room seemed to be emanating from these lunchboxes.
Fang Yan frowned deeply. When her mother-in-law was still alive, the house was always spotless and tidy. She never imagined that after her mother-in-law passed away, the house would become like this!
Not to mention Fang Yan, even Sun Xuewen couldn't stand it.
He wrinkled his nose and asked, "Dad, what's that smell in this house?"
Old Sun was used to staying at home and was immune to the smells in the house. Seeing Sun Xuewen complaining like this, he said, "What smell? What kind of smell could there be in the house?"
Sun Xuewen: "Dad, can't you smell it? The house smells sour and stinky!"
"Oh no, I can't take it." Sun Xuewen didn't care about anything else and opened all the doors and windows of the room.
The cold wind blowing in from outside made Old Sun shiver involuntarily.
He muttered under his breath, "You little brat, are you trying to freeze your father to death?"
Sun Xuewen noticed the mess on the table and frowned. "Dad, why did you drink so much? You're getting old; drinking so much at once is bad for your health. And all this food is spoiled; I'm throwing it away!"
Sun Xuewen picked up his lunchbox with a look of disgust and went out to throw away the trash.
Although Fang Yan was unwilling, she couldn't stand the mess in the room and the garbage all over the floor, so she said, "Well, Dad, I'll go wash your clothes."
She put down her things, picked up the clothes from the sofa, and went out to do laundry.
Soon, only Old Sun was left in the room. He looked at the doorway and muttered to himself with a grim expression, "Don't think I don't know, you all look down on me, think I'm useless now, and look down on me! Humph, just you wait and see, you'll regret it later!"
Old Sun's words seemed to be referring to Sun Xuewen and Fang Yan, but he was actually talking about Aunt Li.
He thought that Aunt Li would definitely regret divorcing him.
But after a few days of Li Dama leaving home, he didn't know if Li Dama regretted it, but he himself couldn't help but start to regret it. Why didn't he think more about it back then and just got a divorce?
For many years after his marriage, Old Sun had always been waited on by Aunt Li, never lifting a finger to do any housework. He hadn't thought much of it while Aunt Li was alive, but now that she's gone, he's realized just how much housework he used to take for granted.
Putting everything else aside, let's just talk about eating.
In the past, no matter if it was morning or night, as soon as he opened his eyes and said he was hungry, Aunt Li would immediately bring him a hot meal.
Now when he's hungry, he can only try his luck at the company cafeteria. Sometimes he goes too late in the morning and the cafeteria has sold out of breakfast, so he has to go hungry.
Don't ask why I don't buy food at a restaurant; the answer is simply that I can't bear to spend the money.
Now that Aunt Li has left him, he will have no one to take care of him when he gets old. He needs to be even more careful with his money, for fear that he will run out of money and neither of his two sons will listen to him or care for him.
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