Chapter 103 Who could dislike Yidi?
Wenbin wants a son.
He didn't say it explicitly, but Han Manjuan could sense it.
Ever since Han Jing started kindergarten, Wenbin has always felt a pang of envy in his eyes as he watches other kids running around.
Lying in bed at night, he would touch Han Manjuan's belly and sigh, "If only we could have another one."
Han Manjuan also longed for it.
However, after giving birth to Han Jing, she never fully recovered.
I had irregular periods, lower back pain, and went to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor said my uterine wall was thin and that I was prone to miscarriage if I got pregnant again.
She had been taking traditional Chinese medicine for over a year, and it was so bitter that she would frown, but her stomach remained empty.
This spring, Wenbin took her to a major hospital in the provincial capital again.
After reviewing all the test results, the doctor shook his head: "I don't recommend having any more. The risks are too high, and it's not good for your health."
On the train home, Wenbin kept looking out the window.
Han Manjuan sat down next to him and said softly, "How about... we forget about it? We have Jingjing, which is fine too."
Wenbin didn't turn around, and only after a long time did he hum in response.
But Han Manjuan knew that he hadn't given up.
I simply buried that thought deep in my heart, like a seed that will never sprout.
Han Jing is now in kindergarten.
This child inherited her mother's temperament from when she was young: feisty and unruly.
She never loses out when fighting with other children for toys in kindergarten; if the teacher says one thing to her, she can retort with three.
Once, when Han Manjuan went to pick her up, she saw her push a little boy over and fall down, then put her hands on her hips and said, "Who told you to touch my doll first!"
Han Manjuan had a terrible headache.
When I tried to reason with her at home, she ignored me and even mimicked her dad's catchphrase: "Ugh, I know, I know, how annoying!"
What Han Manjuan found even more unbearable was that Han Jing had picked up swear words from who-knows-where.
That day at dinner, Wenbin told her to "sit properly," and Han Jing pouted and blurted out, "None of your business!"
Everyone at the table was stunned.
Wenbin's face turned ashen, and he slammed his chopsticks on the table: "Say that again?"
Han Jing then realized she had caused trouble and burst into tears. But despite crying, she refused to admit her mistake.
In the end, Han Manjuan pulled her into the room, closed the door, and had a good talk with her.
Han Jing sobbed, "That's what Wang Xiaoqiang from our class said..."
"You copy others when they swear?" Han Manjuan said, both angry and helpless. "You're a girl, you should be quiet and well-behaved, you know?"
"But I don't like Wenjing." Han Jing wiped away her tears. "I want to be like Sister Yibao. If anyone dares to bully me, I'll beat them up."
Han Manjuan was both amused and exasperated.
“Jingjing,” she stroked her daughter’s head, “you don’t have to be fierce to protect yourself. Look at Yidi, she speaks softly and gently, but no one dares to bully her, right?”
Han Jing thought for a moment and nodded.
"Then you won't swear anymore, okay?"
"……good."
But Han Manjuan knew that the child's stubbornness was something that couldn't be changed overnight.
That Saturday, Zhao Fei was going to the cannery to process a batch of orders. Wen Xiaogai insisted on going with him, clinging to Zhao Fei's leg and refusing to let go: "Dad, take me with you, I promise I'll be good."
Zhao Fei looked at Wen Xiaoxiao, who nodded: "Take him with you, he's always causing trouble at home."
When Wen Xiaogai arrived at the factory, it was like entering a new world.
He followed closely behind Zhao Fei, his eyes darting around, unable to take it all in.
Zhao Fei was in his office discussing business with several clients.
Wen Xiaogai sat on the chair next to him, pretending to read a book, but his ears were perked up.
He heard Zhao Fei speak, unhurriedly, but every word he uttered hit the nail on the head.
When negotiating prices, Zhao Fei would listen to the other party first before speaking: "Mr. Li, we really can't offer this price. We've been cooperating for so long, you know the quality of our canned goods. Here's what I'll do: I'll give you a 5% discount, that's my bottom line."
The other party wanted to say something more, but Zhao Fei smiled and said, "Why don't you go and look at other stores? You won't find another store in the whole city that sells our canned pork at this price."
The deal was finally struck. As the other party was leaving, they shook hands with Zhao Fei and said, "Factory Manager Zhao, please let me know next time you have goods."
Wen Xiaogai was engrossed in reading it.
He thought his dad was really impressive; he had such a commanding presence in everything he said and did.
When Wen Xiaogai got home in the afternoon, she started to "put it into practice".
Yizhen was doing her homework in the living room when Wen Xiaogai came over and said, "Sister, let's talk about something."
"What is it?" Yizhen looked up.
"Look, you have so much homework, you can't finish it, can you?" Wen Xiaogai imitated Zhao Fei, putting his hands behind his back. "I'll help you with your Chinese copying, and you help me with my math word problems, how about it? Fair trade."
Yizhen thought about it for a moment. She did copy a lot of Chinese texts, and math word problems were easy for her.
Just as he was about to nod, Yi Bao came out of the room: "Wen Xiaogai, are you trying to slack off again?"
"Who's slacking off!" Wen Xiaogai retorted, "This is resource optimization!"
"What nonsense is this?" Yi Bao walked over and poked his forehead. "Copying Chinese is supposed to be practicing handwriting, but your own handwriting looks like a dog standing up, and you still want to help your older sister with it? You can't do math word problems, so you expect your older sister to do them for you? You wish!"
Yizhen then realized what was happening and couldn't help but laugh and cry: "Xiao Gai, where did you learn these words?"
“That’s what Dad said,” Wen Xiaogai said matter-of-factly.
"Dad was talking business, you're just trying to be clever." Yi Bao tugged at his ear. "Go do your homework! If you try anything funny again, I'll tell Mom!"
Wen Xiaogai slunk back to her room.
When Wen Xiaoxiao found out about this that evening, she laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight.
She said to Zhao Fei, "Your son is really your own flesh and blood; he's learned to negotiate at such a young age."
Zhao Fei laughed and said, "If you have this quick wit, you can use it in the right place."
Zhao Yidi is in her final year of high school, and the pressure of studying is increasing every day.
Seeing that Yidi stayed up late every night, Wen Xiaoxiao felt sorry for her and said to her, "Yidi, how about Mom hires a tutor for you? To help you improve your weaknesses."
Zhao Yidi shook her head: "No need, Mom, I can manage on my own. Our teacher explained things very well, I just need to do more practice problems."
She really didn't want to spend that money.
Our family is better off now, but every penny we have is hard-earned.
On Saturday afternoon, Xiao Junkai came to her house: "Yidi, want to come to my house for a while? My mom said she hasn't seen you in a long time and wants to talk to you."
Zhao Yidi hesitated for a moment: "I haven't finished my homework yet..."
"Go on, relax." Wen Xiaoxiao poked her head out from the kitchen. "Studying also requires a balance of work and rest."
Zhao Yidi then changed her clothes and left with Xiao Junkai.
The Xiao family lives in a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment allocated by their work unit, which is kept very clean and tidy.
When Fu Yunrou saw them arrive, she greeted them with a smile: "Yidi's here, please sit down. Auntie just baked some cookies, please have a taste."
Director Xiao was reading a newspaper on the sofa when he saw Zhao Yidi and nodded: "Yidi's here."
He had previously objected to his son's close relationship with Zhao Yidi, feeling it would affect his studies.
After several encounters, I found that this girl was indeed quite good; she had excellent grades, was polite, and was steady and reliable in her speech and actions.
Most importantly, the Xiao family has no daughters.
Fu Yunrou had always wanted a daughter, and seeing Zhao Yidi felt like seeing her own daughter.
"How's school?" Fu Yunrou poured tea for Zhao Yidi. "Is the academic pressure high?"
"It's alright," Zhao Yidi said, taking the teacup. "It's just that time was a bit tight."
"That's how it is in the final year of high school." Fu Yunrou looked at her with concern. "Look at you, you've gotten even thinner. Are you sleeping well at night?"
"fine."
Director Xiao put down his newspaper and asked, "Which university do you want to apply to?"
"I want to apply to a teachers' college in the provincial capital," Zhao Yidi said. "Being a teacher is a great job."
"Teachers are good, stable." Director Xiao nodded. "Jun Kai, listen to Yi Di, how clear his goals are. What about you? All you do is play basketball all day."
Xiao Junkai pouted: "I didn't say I wouldn't study..."
"You call that studying?" Director Xiao glared at him. "What was your score on the last monthly math exam?"
Seeing that another argument was about to break out, Fu Yunrou quickly tried to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, Yidi rarely comes here, let's talk about something happy."
She then asked Zhao Yidi, "Yidi, are your parents busy lately? Your mom's wholesale business is really doing well; several of my colleagues get their goods from her."
"We're quite busy," Zhao Yidi said. "My mom and aunt often have to go to other places to buy goods."
“It’s a good thing that women can do their careers,” Fu Yunrou said, glancing at Director Xiao. “Unlike some people who always think that women should stay at home to be good wives and mothers.”
Director Xiao pretended not to hear and picked up the newspaper again.
After sitting for a while, Xiao Junkai wanted to take Zhao Yidi to his room to look at the newly bought reference books. Director Xiao coughed and said, "Let's just look at them in the living room."
"Dad!" Xiao Junkai said, dissatisfied.
"Uncle, we'll just read it in the living room," Zhao Yidi quickly said. "It won't disturb your reading."
She spread out a book on the coffee table, and Xiao Junkai sat next to her. The two of them touched heads and discussed a physics problem.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, falling on them; the scene was peaceful and beautiful.
Fu Yunrou looked on, her eyes full of smiles. She nudged Director Xiao and whispered, "Look, how well-matched they are."
Director Xiao looked up from behind the newspaper, his gaze noticeably softening.
When it was time to leave, Fu Yunrou insisted on packing several boxes of biscuits and a box of high-end fruit for Zhao Yidi: "Take these back and eat them to replenish your nutrition. Come visit often in the future."
"Thank you, Auntie," Zhao Yidi said politely.
After seeing Zhao Yidi off, Xiao Junkai closed the door and said to his father, "Now you can rest assured, right? Yidi is such a good person."
Director Xiao snorted: "That's good, but you can't neglect your studies. You're in your final year of high school, so get back to it."
"Okay, okay," Xiao Junkai replied, but he was secretly pleased. He had gotten past his dad's hurdle. Who wouldn't like Yidi?
On her way home, Zhao Yidi carried her things, feeling a warm glow inside.
She could sense that Xiao Junkai's parents genuinely liked her.
The spring evening breeze felt soft on my face.
She quickened her pace, eager to get home and share the cookies with her younger siblings.
At that moment, Wen Xiaoxiao and Ma Chunying were cooking at home.
Pork ribs were stewing in a pot, and the aroma filled the house.
This home is like this pot of pork rib soup simmering slowly; when the heat is just right, the flavor will naturally emerge.
She tasted the soup and added a pinch of salt.
Perfect.
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