Grandma Zhang was playing with her grandson in the community square; she wasn't home.
The couple, no longer holding back, started arguing, their faces red and necks bulging, their voices rising higher and higher.
Dao Xiaoqin: "I told you, you can't take leave, you can't take leave, why don't you understand?"
Zhang Changheng: "Last time when we encountered medical disputes, you should have listened to me and resigned. It's not like your family can't support you."
Dao Xiaoqin: "I may not earn as much as you, but I have my own career aspirations!"
Zhang Changheng grabbed a handful of hair in frustration: "What about the child? You know how hard it is for my mother to bear this weather."
Dao Xiaoqin turned her face away: "Don't use the child to pressure me. I'm only going for a month, it's not like I'm never coming back. Before, when you went on business trips, I was home alone taking care of the child, did I ever stop you?"
Zhang Changheng asked anxiously, "Can the situations be the same?"
Dao Xiaoqin stood her ground: "How is it different!"
Zhang Changheng said, "Don't you have your mother's help?"
Dao Xiaoqin's face turned cold: "Is your mother on my side? Is the child mine alone?"
"No, that's not what I meant," Zhang Changheng gripped the handle of Dao Xiaoqin's suitcase tightly. "Why can't you understand what I'm saying! Is disaster relief so easy? Everyone else knows to hide, but you're so noble?"
Dao Xiaoqin's throat was sore from shouting. She sighed as if she had lost her breath, "Changheng, I'm a medical worker. There are some things I can avoid, and some things I can't. Let's not talk about empty words, let's be practical. Believe me or not, if I ask for leave today, they'll put it on my file tomorrow."
“Let them write it down,” Zhang Changheng said quickly. “You’re a nurse, not a doctor. Do you need to get a professional title?”
"What's wrong with nurses! Nurses are angels in white!"
Zhang Changheng's eyes widened, and Dao Xiaoqin quickly said that she didn't say those words.
In reality, most medical workers don't want to be adorned with the halo of "angels in white," because they are just ordinary people who are often powerless to help. Once people sanctify them, the demands on them immediately increase.
Who was shouting that? It was none other than our kind and brave Shu Qilan.
Xia Ning watched helplessly as Shu Qilan rushed out of the stairwell and unleashed a barrage of attacks on Zhang Changheng.
"Can hospitals function normally without nurses? Can patients recover smoothly without nurses? Can the disaster situation be stabilized without frontline personnel? Can society continue to function?"
A resolute expression appeared on Shu Qilan's delicate and fair face.
"Sister, I support you. This is a new society now. Mothers-in-law can no longer bully their daughters-in-law. Women have the right to go out and work!"
Dao Xiaoqin took a breath and looked at her husband. Where did this come from?
She's been working for over ten years; does she need a naive young girl to help her get a job?
Besides, what does this have to do with my mother-in-law?
She was incredibly grateful when her mother-in-law came to help. In dual-income families, it's really difficult to take good care of a child without the help of grandparents. Ordinary families don't have the spare money to hire a nanny, and they wouldn't feel comfortable entrusting the child to a stranger.
Yes, it's inevitable that there will be friction between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law living together, but even husbands and wives will argue.
The root cause of the dispute between Dao Xiaoqin and Zhang Changheng was that the extreme environment amplified the conflict.
Normally, a nurse like Dao Xiaoqin wouldn't be away on a business trip for a month, and even if she were, Zhang Changheng wouldn't react so strongly.
But now, the situation is completely different.
Was Zhang Changheng wrong?
On the one hand, the elderly and children often feel unwell due to the abnormal weather, and he is exhausted from taking care of both the elderly and the children all by himself.
On the other hand, he genuinely loves his wife.
Look at her! Their city's disaster situation is considered relatively mild, but Dao Xiaoqin has been working non-stop for days, eating and sleeping at the hospital. She looks much older now. Her face is covered in pimples from wearing a mask for so long, and her hands are peeling and swollen from washing them with disinfectant. Zhang Changheng doesn't even want to imagine how haggard his wife will look when she returns from the more severely affected areas. Besides, he's heard that many people have died there, and with the high temperatures, the risk of contracting disease is very high!
He admitted that he was selfish and had low moral standards; all he wanted was for his family to be together, and that their young child couldn't be separated from his mother.
So, was Dao Xiaoqin wrong?
She was definitely right.
She was actually the one facing the toughest situation right now. She wasn't without inner struggle, but she had her professional ethics to uphold. Besides, in Dao Xiaoqin's view, it was just a month of hard work; she could grit her teeth and get through it.
She wanted her husband's understanding and hoped he would support her work just this once, as she had always done.
Neither of them has made any fundamental mistakes in this matter; it's just a matter of who will compromise first.
Even what Shu Qilan said wasn't wrong, but the context was wrong, so the situation was different.
Xia Ning listened to the gossip while making her own analysis.
Of course, all of this only went on in her mind; she would never interfere in other people's affairs, at most she would shut herself in and chat with her sister for a few minutes.
At that moment, Zhang Changheng was annoyed and asked in a rather rude tone, "Who are you?"
He didn't attend the last owners' meeting and had no recollection of Shu Qilan.
Shu Qilan tilted her head back and said, "I am a resident of 603."
Regarding his family matters, Zhang Changheng did not want to talk much to outsiders. He suppressed his dissatisfaction and tried to remain calm, saying, "I'm sorry for disturbing the peace. My wife and I will resolve our own issues."
As he spoke, he gave Dao Xiaoqin a look, meaning to go inside and talk.
Distracted by Shu Qilan, Dao Xiaoqin regained her senses. It was indeed not a good look to make a scene at the gate, but going home would mean giving in, so she hesitated for a moment.
As they were talking, the elevator doors opened with a ding.
When Zhang's mother returned from playing with her grandson, she was taken aback by the scene. She glanced at her son and daughter-in-law, but ultimately said nothing, and walked past the embarrassed couple back to her room.
He simply said, "I won't interfere in your affairs."
Shu Qilan wanted to exchange a few words with the old lady, but the old lady didn't even glance at her.
The child screamed and rushed into his mother's arms.
A familiar embrace, faintly scented with disinfectant.
"Mommy, where did you go? Don't you want Xiaobao anymore? I'm so scared that you're not home. Grandma is sick, and the ceiling is shaking..."
The little boy recounted his experiences over and over again, in a jumbled and disjointed manner.
Dao Xiaoqin listened gently at first, but later she couldn't hold back her emotions, dropped her suitcase, hugged her son tightly, and let out a muffled sob.
Zhang Changheng's eyes instantly reddened. He rubbed his face hard and looked up at the sky.
The onlookers quietly dispersed.
Even Shu Qilan, for the first time, used her keen eye and did not go forward to disturb them.
Xia Ning knew that Dao Xiaoqin wouldn't leave.
As Xia Ning closed the door, she thought, "No wonder my mom always tells me, 'Get married impulsively, but have children carefully.'"
Times are changing. If you marry the wrong person, you can get a divorce. But once a woman becomes a mother, ties and obligations arise.
Xia Ning stroked her sister's head with loving eyes and said earnestly, "I am also your provider now. You must live up to my expectations and earn more survival points to repay my kindness in raising you."
My sister will be skinned bald sooner or later. She doesn't know that sometimes people are worse than dogs.
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