Hanhan is precocious for his age and should have been sent to kindergarten or preschool long ago. The earlier a child with such high emotional intelligence is exposed to society, the better, and he needs to experience group life.
But getting rid of Hanhan wasn't difficult. She had inquired and found out that the best military kindergarten nearby was easy to get into as long as someone could help. Her customers had such a wide network of connections, it wasn't a problem.
The main issue is that Hanhan isn't home, so what will happen to my younger sister?
The younger sister can't speak and can't go to kindergarten with Hanhan. She's too dependent on her brother; forcibly separating them would likely cause both children distress, and the younger sister's condition might even worsen.
Another, albeit less-than-ideal, solution is to send Hanhan to kindergarten and have her younger sister stay with her. However, this might hinder her from pursuing further entrepreneurial endeavors, as caring for a child is inherently inconvenient.
"What should I do? What should I do?" Qin Xiaoyu tossed and turned, unable to find a compromise. She couldn't let her younger sister ruin Hanhan's life.
Having slept poorly all night, Qin Xiaoyu finally fell asleep just before dawn. When she opened her eyes, she realized it was a bit late. She turned over and got up, only to see Master Wang and his two children, both dressed and ready, sitting at the table eating porridge and vegetarian buns.
"These are yesterday's dishes. I reheated them a bit. You weren't home for lunch, and you came back late tonight." Grandma Hanhan brought in two plates of mixed stew, worried that Qin Xiaoyu was always hungry since she wasn't home for meals.
"Is your mother-in-law giving her daughter-in-law a special meal again?" My cousin-in-law came over with a few more steamed buns. She was worried that with Chef Wang around, the ones she had just brought wouldn't be enough.
"Little Fish is busy all day long, what can she eat outside?"
Qin Xiaoyu suddenly realized that the way Grandma Hanhan addressed her had changed. No wonder it sounded strange; she was being addressed like a real daughter.
"Let Hanhan and the other girl stay with me in the main room during the day. Your sister-in-law has chores to do, so don't let them cause trouble," Hanhan's grandmother instructed.
"These two kids aren't troublesome, they're fine."
Qin Xiaoyu's small house wasn't big to begin with, and with four adults and two children squeezed in, it was all very warm and stuffy. She suddenly thought of the lady in the main room, and a thought struck her. Now that she had truly become the center of the household, everyone wanted to revolve around her, inevitably neglecting the lady, which was not a good sign.
It's not appropriate to bring it up today since Master Wang is here. I'll remind Grandma Hanhan and my cousin's wife another time when no one is around.
She and Mr. Wang chatted and laughed all the way, and before they even reached the entrance of the barbershop, they saw a person standing in front of the shop from afar.
The man was wearing a conspicuous military overcoat and paced back and forth from time to time. When he saw them, he waved vigorously.
"Wenwen?" Qin Xiaoyu never expected that Tang Wenwen would get up so early to come over. It seemed that she didn't know that Master Wang wasn't staying in the house, and that he had been freezing for quite some time.
"Where did you all go? I'm freezing!" Tang Wenwen's face was as red as an apple.
"What are you doing, trying to get yourself into this mess? Why are you freezing here? Why don't you go home? Don't you know it's your wife's birthday?" Qin Xiaoyu hurriedly opened the door and let her come inside to warm up.
"Sister-in-law, I have something to tell you," Tang Wenwen said seriously. Qin Xiaoyu had already realized the seriousness of the matter, and her heart was pounding. She thought to herself, "Little aunt, please stay calm and don't cause any trouble."
Tang Wenwen bit her lip and didn't speak. Qin Xiaoyu could tell that Tang Wenwen wanted to tell a secret, but there was no place to whisper to each other.
The Tang family is definitely out of the question. There are no teahouses or cafes around. The only open shops outside are breakfast stalls, and inside, it's so crowded you can't even push people aside. Forget about whispering; before you can even finish a sentence, it'll be heard by eight hundred people. That's faster than going viral on social media.
"Don't take the window panels off yet. You guys sit inside and chat. I'm going to go shopping. Didn't you ask me to buy some clothes? I only realized yesterday when I went to your house that you don't even have a decent set of clothes. I'll go buy some!" Master Wang was perceptive. He got up and went out, closing the door behind him.
There were wooden planks outside the doors and windows for security, keeping out the morning sunlight. Only a few specks of starlight peeked in. The two sat in the darkness, silent.
"Sister-in-law, I've crossed the line," Tang Wenwen said, her voice a little hoarse.
"Sigh." Qin Xiaoyu could only sigh. What could she say? It was too late to say anything now. In the 21st century, this would be a perfectly normal thing. Young men and women, one unmarried and the other unmarried, living together would be fine. But this was the 1980s. Gossip could drown Tang Wenwen, and her life could be ruined.
“I know what you want to say, I understand it better than you do. When you accompanied me to the chemical plant to handle the paperwork, I still said I was against marriage. It turns out that was all a lie; I just hadn’t met the right person yet. After seeing him, I threw everything away. I only want to be with him. Life without him is not life. I’m willing to do anything for him. You can laugh at me, but it’s the truth, and it can’t be changed. I just love him…” Tang Wenwen buried her face in Qin Xiaoyu’s chest, sobbing uncontrollably.
"You did nothing wrong." That was all Qin Xiaoyu could say. She'd been foolish before, hadn't she? What kind of youth is it if you don't make a few foolish mistakes?
"I'm scared and confused right now."
What did he say?
"He said he would take responsibility for me and would definitely marry me. He said it's no problem to hold a wedding now."
"Okay, then, just get it done as soon as possible." Qin Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sister-in-law, it's not that simple. I want to marry him, but at least his family has to agree, right? He had a fight with his family before we could get married..."
"You argued because of you?" Qin Xiaoyu's heart, which had just settled down, jumped again.
"No, it's because his father said he was neglecting his proper work by getting involved in music."
"Jing Tian's father is also a leader?" Qin Xiaoyu thought of Jing Tian's bureau chief mother and realized that this matter was going to be difficult.
"He's a leader, but his rank isn't that high. His mother is much more powerful."
“I think his family must be well-off. Look at all of them, he’s the only one driving a car, everyone else is on a motorcycle.”
"That car was borrowed from Zhou Xing, it wasn't his."
"..."
It turns out Zhou Xing was the real big boss.
"So you're saying that his family might oppose your marriage to him?"
"Yes, his family already has someone they like. The girl's father is Jing Tian's father's boss, and the two families have always lived next door. They've been childhood sweethearts. I've met the girl; her name is Bai Weiwei. She's very pretty, with long, flowing hair, and a delicate, pretty face. She still calls him 'Brother Tian' all the time. She likes Jing Tian, but he's always treated her like a little sister..."
Qin Xiaoyu's mind was in complete chaos. She felt like she'd wandered into a movie set. How did this turn into a melodramatic soap opera? Was she, as the sister-in-law, going to have to help her sister-in-law fight against the scheming woman?
"Do their family members know you exist?" Qin Xiaoyu had a terrible headache, so she cut to the chase.
"Only the nanny knows; no one else knows."
"That makes things easier."
“No, this nanny has worked for the Jing family for over thirty years. She has absolute authority and controls the Jing family. If she says she’s quitting, even Director Feng’s mother has to give in.”
"Look at the kind of people you've messed with..." Qin Xiaoyu was exasperated.
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