Every word he said was for Xu Ningyan's sake.
However, Xu Ningyan could also tell that Lin Hong, the carefree girl before marriage, had grown up and become more shrewd.
It seems that she also suffered some setbacks in her married life.
For example, her views on her husband's family and her desire to control all the money—the old Lin Hong would never have been able to articulate these ideas.
Looking at the time, Xu Ningyan asked Lin Hong, "Are you going to work this afternoon? Or did you take the day off?"
Lin Hong rolled her eyes at her: "You just got back, and I was worried about you, so of course I took half a day off. There's nothing much going on in the warehouse right now, and besides, the warehouse is now under the management of Deputy Director Li, so I just need to tell him."
Xu Ningyan smiled and took Lin Hong's hand: "That's great! You can keep me company this afternoon. We haven't seen each other for so long, and I have so much to tell you!"
Lin Hong also shared this idea.
The two added firewood to the stove, making the room warm and cozy. They couldn't stand wearing their cotton-padded coats anymore, so they took them off.
Xu Ningyan found two thin jackets and put one on each of them.
He then found brown sugar, red dates, and longan, and put them on the wood-fired stove to cook. He also took out some Beijing snacks from his own belongings, intending to brew tea around the stove.
Lin Hong's eyes lit up. Although she and Zhou Zi'an didn't have children yet after marriage, they were no longer as free as before.
It's been a long time since I've enjoyed such a pleasant and comfortable time.
The longan and red date tea was quickly boiled, filling the room with a sweet aroma.
The two of them each held a cup of tea, chatting as they drank.
With a few words of guidance from Xu Ningyan, Lin Hong, who was also feeling frustrated and had long wanted to confide in someone, felt a sense of unease.
Without Xu Ningyan even having to ask any questions, she just spilled the beans and told him everything.
Lin Hong and Zhou Zi'an have been married for more than half a year, but there's still no sign of pregnancy. The Zhou family has already started to urge her to have a baby.
Especially Zhou's mother, every time the young couple went back for dinner, she would either talk about how lively Zhou Zi'an's brothers' children were, or about which family's daughter-in-law was pregnant again.
Lin Hong and Zhou Zi'an were still newlyweds, their passion hadn't faded yet, and the young couple couldn't wait to be together every day. They really didn't expect to get pregnant so quickly.
Moreover, Lin's mother had privately told Lin Hong that she was not too old yet and it would be better to wait a year or two before getting pregnant, otherwise, if she was too young to be a mother, she would suffer if she got pregnant.
So Lin Hong and Zhou Zi'an privately agreed to wait a year or two before having children.
Zhou Zian is currently at a stage where he is full of energy and striving for advancement. With a child, he will definitely have to focus more on his family.
He also thought that he should take advantage of these two years to work hard, climb the ladder, and settle down before having children.
The young couple were of one mind, but they couldn't resist Zhou's mother's urging to have a child. She didn't openly ask them to have a child, but rather used various indirect and veiled methods to criticize them.
Lin Hong was a very easygoing person, and at first she didn't quite understand what Zhou's mother was saying.
After returning home and thinking about it more carefully, he finally understood what Zhou's mother meant and was immediately furious.
Unfortunately, she was bad at talking and didn't want to directly confront Zhou's mother, so she would come back full of anger every time she went to the Zhou family.
She simply stopped going to the Zhou family's house. After only a couple of visits, Zhou's mother came to the department store again, asking her why she wasn't going back. She said she had made her some of her favorite dishes.
To outsiders, Zhou's mother was a really good mother-in-law.
Lin Hong complained to Zhou Zi'an, and even she herself felt that she was being unreasonable.
After venting her frustrations, Lin Hong slumped onto the table, her eyes vacant. "Xiao Yan, do you think I was being unreasonable? Was it really me who did something wrong?"
Xu Ningyan poured Lin Hong another cup of red date and longan tea and said decisively, "Of course you're not wrong!"
Lin Hong's eyes regained some of their sparkle as she looked at Xu Ningyan expectantly.
Xu Ningyan said slowly and deliberately, "Your mother-in-law is killing you with a soft knife! Don't listen to what others say about how good your mother-in-law is to you, or how wonderful she is! You have to feel it for yourself! Because whether you've been hurt or not, whether you feel comfortable with her or not, only you can know!"
Lin Hong slammed her hand on the table: "That's right! Now when I see my mother-in-law's smiling face, I get scared! I told my mom, and she said I was overthinking it! She said my mother-in-law isn't that kind of person! She said she spoils me too much, and now that we're married, things are definitely different from before we were married. How can I not put up with any of her temper?"
"I felt so bad listening to this! It's like once I get married, I'm no longer my parents' daughter! Now I'm an outsider in my husband's family, and an outsider in my own family too! I'm nobody's family!"
Even the usually strong Lin Hong had tears in her eyes as she spoke.
Xu Ningyan patted her shoulder reassuringly: "It's okay! I'm here for you! You're my best friend in the world, I'll always be one of your own, and you're no stranger to me!"
Lin Hong turned around and hugged Xu Ningyan, unable to hold back her tears.
She cried out all the frustration and pain she had been feeling these past few days.
After she vented her anger and stopped crying, Xu Ningyan poured her water to wash her face and then gave her some face cream to apply.
She said, "Your mother-in-law is good at putting on a show. You're straightforward, so don't confront her directly! This matter is simple. In your words, what are you afraid of? Your family is powerful, and you have a stable job. A daughter-in-law like you is hard to find even with a lantern in Jingshan County! Zhou Zi'an is so lucky to have married you!"
"The most crucial factor in this mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship isn't whether the east wind prevails over the west wind, but the man between you! As the saying goes, a man who knows how to behave can keep secrets from both sides, while a man who doesn't can go back on his word! This decision not to have children for now is a decision made by you and Zhou Zi'an together. Why should you be the only one facing Zhou's mother's pressure to have children? Is Zhou Zi'an not dead? Doesn't he have a mouth?"
"Tell him to talk to his mother! Let him deal with her! If he can't even handle this simple problem, what good is he as a man?"
Lin Hong blinked: "Is it okay to bother him with these things? He's always so busy with work—"
Xu Ningyan was exasperated: "He doesn't care about you at all, so why should you care about him? Let me tell you, caring about a man will bring you bad luck for life! Besides, this is no small matter. It's about cultivating oneself, managing one's family, and bringing peace to the world. If he can't even handle things at home, what kind of achievements can he make at work?"
“You two are equal! Isn’t your work important? Worrying about this every day, doesn’t it affect your work? And looking further ahead, your mother-in-law is already bullying you like this before you even have a child! What will happen after you have a child? Do you think it will be better? Don’t be naive. If she can pressure you to have a child now, she might pressure you to have a second or third one in the future!”
"Furthermore, have you thought about who will take care of you during your pregnancy if you get pregnant? Who will help you during your postpartum period? Who will take care of the child after that? You and Zhou Zi'an both have jobs, and your aunt hasn't reached retirement age yet. Can your mother-in-law retire early to help you take care of the child?"
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