Chapter 172 The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease...
Zhou Xiangling tried to stop her mother because Lin Yuanshu had helped them find review materials, but Zhou's mother was determined not to budge. No matter what they said, she insisted on taking care of Lin Yuanshu, as if Lin Yuanshu couldn't have children without her.
In the end, the two had no choice but to give up. They felt that it might be more effective to let Lin Yuanshu persuade them himself, as they simply couldn't convince him, having tried everything they could think of.
During dinner that evening, Zhou's mother shared the good news with Zhou Dafu. Zhou Dafu fully supported Zhou's mother's decision, saying, "Buying just an old hen might not be enough. Go to the black market and buy some eggs to nourish Xiao Er's wife. If you don't have enough tickets, just tell me, and I'll try to exchange them with someone else."
Zhou Ma said excitedly, "Okay, I promise to take good care of my second daughter-in-law, so that my precious grandson can grow up healthy and chubby inside her body."
Zhou Xiangling originally wanted to say that maybe it wasn't a grandson, but a granddaughter. However, seeing her parents' excited expressions, she kept her mouth shut and didn't say anything that would spoil the mood. Mainly, she was afraid that if Lin Yuanshu really gave birth to a girl, her mother would blame her for jinxing it.
Zhou Dafu and his mother started discussing how to take care of Lin Yuanshu from the beginning of the meal, and they were still discussing it after the meal was over.
Sister-in-law Xue was not unhappy because Lin Yuanshu was valued by her parents-in-law; on the contrary, she felt inexplicably relieved.
In the past, she would have been jealous of her second son's wife's pregnancy, but now, she only felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. She no longer had to think about getting pregnant, and her mother-in-law wouldn't pressure her to get pregnant either.
She hoped even more than Zhou Ma that Lin Yuanshu could have a son, so that Zhou Ma wouldn't keep nagging her that the Zhou family line was about to end. She was fine with making her work, but getting her pregnant was a different story!
The next day, Zhou Ma took an old hen and a basket of eggs to Lin Yuanshu's house. To make sure she could meet Lin Yuanshu, she went at night.
Lin Yuanshu was quite surprised to see Zhou Ma. She wasn't surprised that Zhou Ma had come, but rather that Zhou Ma was willing to bring such nice things to her door. It was truly a first for a young woman to be brought in a bridal sedan chair.
Aunt Zhou handed the things to Zhou Xiangyang and said to him, "This is the fattest old hen in the black market. Stew it tonight and make sure your wife is well nourished. Your wife is pregnant, which is a big deal. You should have informed us so I could take care of her."
After saying that, without waiting for Zhou Xiangyang's reply, she turned to look at Lin Yuanshu's belly and said softly, "How are you feeling? Are you still nauseous? You've really had a hard time, working while pregnant. Xiangyang is so clumsy, have you taken good care of you? I happen to have nothing to do these days, so I can come and take care of you."
Lin Yuanshu raised an eyebrow and smiled as he declined, saying, "Xiangyang has taken good care of me. I can eat whatever I want, and the baby in my belly is very well-behaved. I have no discomfort. You can go about your business."
Because of Zhou Ma's previous experience, Lin Yuanshu really couldn't trust her. She didn't want to end up in the hospital because of eating Zhou Ma's overly frugal meals.
When Lin Yuanshu praised him, Zhou Xiangyang proudly raised his head. He would try his best to be a good father, a father completely different from his own.
Hearing Lin Yuanshu's words, Zhou Ma wasn't angry at his refusal. Instead, she asked with concern, "Do you want something spicy or sour now? If you want something sour, I'll bring you some pickled cabbage next time..."
Lin Yuanshu always felt that Zhou Ma was hiding a knife behind her smile, that she was testing her to find out the baby's gender, rather than genuinely caring about her. She replied with a smile, "I like to eat sour and spicy food."
Zhou Ma: "..."
Could Lin Yuanshu be pregnant with twins? But it's not impossible; she's so capable at work, it's normal for her to be even more capable during pregnancy.
Lin Yuanshu didn't chat with Zhou Ma for long. After a few words, she made an excuse to go back to her room to look at her college entrance exam review materials. It has to be said that although she graduated from university in her previous life, the courses she takes now are different from those in her previous life.
She has to start from scratch, but since she has a foundation, she can learn faster.
Zhou's mother was also busy. She not only cooked dinner with Zhou Xiangyang, but also cleaned the house inside and out, showing great diligence. She also instructed Zhou Xiangyang on how to take care of Lin Yuanshu and what to pay attention to on a daily basis. Zhou Xiangyang could hardly believe that the person in front of him was his mother.
Lin Yuanshu, seeing how hard Zhou Ma had worked, let her have dinner before leaving.
As for the things that Aunt Zhou brought over, she accepted them without hesitation. After all, the Zhou family had benefited a lot from their relationship with her, so she had nothing to be embarrassed about.
Before leaving Lin Yuanshu's house, Zhou Ma made sure to wash the dishes and clean the living room to avoid tiring Lin Yuanshu out.
Lin Yuanshu sighed, "I'm really not used to my mom being like this."
If Zhou's mother had treated her this way from the beginning, their relationship wouldn't have been so strained. Zhou's mother is a good mother-in-law, and she would naturally be happy to be a good daughter-in-law.
Zhou Xiangyang said thoughtfully, "When my sister-in-law was pregnant, my mother treated her just as well. But after Ruyi was born, she changed. So don't have high expectations of my mother; she's a master at disappointing people."
His mother would tease the little boy she saw outside, occasionally giving him a piece of candy. But if it was a little girl, she wouldn't even glance at her. It's fortunate that his older brother only has Ruyi as his child, otherwise Ruyi's life in that family wouldn't be so easy.
In fact, in his view, he loves all his children, regardless of gender, without any difference.
Lin Yuanshu agreed with Zhou Xiangyang's words. She hadn't expected that Zhou Xiangyang had seen through his mother's true nature. However, she didn't answer Zhou Xiangyang's question. Instead, she changed the subject and talked about other things.
After all, Zhou Xiangyang could say bad things about his mother, but she should say less bad things about her mother in front of Zhou Xiangyang. The relationship between mother and son is just like that between husband and wife; it's hard to explain clearly.
On the other side, as it was getting late and the road was not very clear, Zhou's mother went home with a flashlight.
When Sister-in-law Xue saw that Zhou Ma had returned home instead of staying at Xiao Er's house, she couldn't help but feel smug. She said sarcastically, "Mom, I already told you, Xiao Er's wife doesn't want you to go and take care of her. You might as well stay at home and take care of Ruyi."
Zhou Ma rolled her eyes, turned off the flashlight, and said emphatically, "What do you know? It's her business if she doesn't want me to take care of her, and it's my business if I want to. I'll rest tomorrow and continue taking care of her the day after."
Everything she did was for the sake of her grandson's safe birth. Everything in her family was good, except that no boy was born in the next generation. Aunt Wei already had two grandsons, while she had none. When they argued, she couldn't even stand up straight when the topic came up.
Sister-in-law Xue: "..."
It felt both expected and unexpected; it was something her mother-in-law was capable of doing.
In the days that followed, Zhou Ma persisted in going to Lin Yuanshu's house every other day. She always went in the evening, which forced Lin Yuanshu to open the door and let Zhou Ma in. After all, it wouldn't sound good if word got out that he had locked his mother out for no reason.
Lin Yuanshu had repeatedly emphasized to Zhou Ma that she did not need care, but Zhou Ma did as she pleased. She would agree on the surface, but the next day she would come uninvited with things, help with the housework and leave, acting very considerate, which made Lin Yuanshu not know what to say.
Therefore, Lin Yuanshu could only call her mother over and ask her to keep an eye on Zhou's mother to prevent her from doing anything foolish or unaware of her own stupidity.
Zhou's mother was very welcoming of Lin's mother's arrival, after all, it was a good thing to have another person to take care of her grandson.
Seeing that Lin's mother and Zhou's mother got along well, Lin Yuanshu stopped interfering in family matters and focused his attention on his work. He let Zhou's mother come and take care of him whenever she wanted, as long as her mother was watching over him, there wouldn't be any major problems.
If Zhou Ma ever does or says something that displeases her, that would be even better. She could use that as an excuse to stop Zhou Ma from coming to her house, and then she could justifiably refuse to open the door.
That day, during her lunch break, Hong Shuang'er ran over to find Lin Yuanshu. When no one was around, she whispered, "I accidentally discovered that Deputy Director Liu is investigating Comrade Wu Qin's past before she came to work at the Dongfanghong Research Institute. I suspect he's going to take action against Comrade Wu Qin."
Lin Yuanshu raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, and said, "Is the relationship between the two of them really that bad? It shouldn't be like that! Deputy Director Liu won't gain anything by taking action against Wu Qin now!"
Hong Shuang'er thought for a moment and boldly guessed, "It might not be about benefits or drawbacks. Deputy Director Liu is a person who cares about his reputation, and Comrade Wu Qin happens to be the person in the institute who doesn't give him any face. Naturally, he doesn't like Comrade Wu Qin. If he doesn't find a way to make an example of her, everyone will take Deputy Director Liu even less seriously. In addition, Deputy Director Liu's people, Ma Si and Team Leader Zhao, suddenly withdrew from Comrade Wu Qin's project team, which must be related to Comrade Wu Qin. The conflict between the two has become increasingly deep and difficult to resolve."
Lin Yuanshu pursed his lips and said with a smile, "Wu Qin and I are friends. How can I not tell her about something so important? Arrange for someone who has no connection with me to remind Wu Qin not to be eliminated so quickly. The fire needs to be lit to keep it warm."
She's the kind of person who loves to fight for the weak and punish the strong. A draw makes the fight more intense; if it's one-sided, it's not interesting.
“Okay,” Hong Shuang’er said excitedly.
She was incredibly excited because she had finally gained Team Leader Lin's trust and could do things that weren't related to work. It was truly a hard-won achievement, and she could now be considered one of Team Leader Lin's own people.
Hong Shuang'er knew that Wu Qin and Luo Li had a good relationship, so she sent someone to pretend to be Deputy Director Liu's man and let Luo Li overhear the incident. Once Luo Li found out, she would definitely tell Wu Qin.
It's okay if Luo Li doesn't say anything; she can just continue making arrangements.
Luo Li's first reaction upon learning of this was not to inform Wu Qin, but to investigate the veracity of the matter. The result was self-evident: indeed, someone had inquired about Wu Qin at her previous workplace.
She sensed something was wrong and quickly told Wu Qin about it.
Hong Shuang'er hadn't expected Luo Li to be so cautious. However, it was better to be cautious, since she hadn't fabricated anything out of thin air; these were all the real truths!
After listening to Luo Li's words, Wu Qin asked anxiously, "Are you sure they are Deputy Director Liu's men?"
Luo Li nodded, saying with absolute confidence, "Of course."
She overheard their conversation, so what's there to be unsure about!
Wu Qin took a deep breath and made up her mind, saying, "Since that's the case, we have no choice but to strike first, lest he find something on me and we'll be at a disadvantage."
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