"Can Jiaojiao compare to Lanlan? Not only is she not as smart as Lanlan, but she's also not as good-looking. Plus, she's impulsive. If you were in her shoes, would you even be interested in Jiaojiao?"
“You didn’t say that before.”
Luo Yueqin said with dissatisfaction, "No matter what, Jiaojiao is our own daughter, and no matter how good Lanlan is, she's an ingrate now. And you, you're still thinking about that girl, but you look down on your own flesh and blood..."
"Alright!"
Song Weiqiang interrupted Luo Yueqin, his tone equally unpleasant: "I was just stating the truth, and you've already started complaining. If you want to call Lanlan an ingrate, does that have nothing to do with me?"
If they hadn't kept urging that girl to divorce and remarry, especially to the foolish son of Deputy Factory Director Qian, would Lanlan have become estranged from them?
"Why don't I understand? Lanlan is an ingrate, what does that have to do with us?"
Luo Yueqin's voice was full of resentment: "It's clearly that girl who didn't learn her lesson, but you're trying to pin the blame on us. What kind of logic is that? Besides, she's been transferred to the branch factory for over a month now."
Not only have they not let us know they're safe, but they haven't even made a single phone call or sent a single letter. I've figured it out now—that girl's holding a grudge against us!
"I don't know if Lanlan holds a grudge, but you know better than me why we've put so much effort into raising her since she was little. If Jiaojiao comes to claim her family, we shouldn't be too harsh on her."
"By establishing kinship ties with Lanlan's biological parents and demanding that Jiaojiao never forget their kindness, do you think things would have turned out this way?"
Song Weiqiang truly regretted it. He regretted appearing in front of Song Sanhe and his wife with such a high-handed attitude, and he shouldn't have let his daughter Jiaojiao say such nonsense in front of his adopted daughter Lanlan, nor should he have let his daughter Jiaojiao sever ties with her adoptive parents, namely Song Sanhe and his wife.
They did all that, and Lanlan's personality changed drastically. She no longer listened to the couple and naturally sided with her own parents, keeping her distance from them.
Furthermore, in order to climb up the social ladder to the Qian family, they demanded that the girl divorce her husband and remarry, ostensibly for the sake of the girl's own good.
Anyone with eyes to see can tell without much thought that they had ulterior motives.
After all, marrying a perfectly good daughter to a fool is like pushing her into a fire pit.
In short, the couple was in the wrong first, so they can't blame the children for distancing themselves from them!
"Aren't we doing this for her own good? Can having a couple of poor, down-on-their-luck parents compare to living with us? As for... as for our initial intention in raising her, she was our own daughter, and as parents, we put our hearts into raising her, wanting her to have a bright future. What's wrong with that?"
Luo Yueqin genuinely believed she was right. In her eyes, her daughter was beautiful and intelligent, and she spent money enrolling her in various extracurricular classes at the Children's Palace, hoping that she would marry into a powerful and wealthy family when she grew up.
Although she had some selfish motives, the one who directly benefited and enjoyed a good quality of life was "Song Lan" herself. Therefore, what wrong did she do as a mother?
Song Weiqiang remained silent for a while before speaking: "Go to sleep, stop talking nonsense."
"You're saying what I said is nonsense? Old Song, are you sure this is your true thought?"
Luo Yueqin knew her husband well. She chuckled and said, "We've been together for many years. You know me and I know you. Back then, when we put so much effort into raising Lanlan, our goal was to help her marry well. That way, we could also use our in-laws' power to climb the social ladder."
I know our intentions are a bit selfish, but you have to admit that if we really get what we want, the biggest beneficiary will be Lanlan. So, what reason does she have to complain that we advised her to divorce and remarry?
We're only thinking of her best interests, wanting to spare her a life of hardship with a bunch of children. This is purely out of parental love and concern for our daughter, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!
"Yes, yes, you're right. We're not wrong. It's just that Lanlan doesn't know what's good for her."
Song Weiqiang was getting impatient. He said, "Since Lanlan is no longer contacting us, don't mention her at home anymore. Write back to Jiaojiao sometime."
Tell her to focus more on Dongze and not always fixate on Lanlan. Also, remind her to try and mend her relationship with Lanlan's adoptive parents if she has the chance. Over time, the two families might truly become relatives, which would be equivalent to repairing our relationship with Lanlan.”
Upon hearing this, Luo Yueqin felt that Song Weiqiang's words had a hidden meaning. If she wasn't mistaken, the other party hadn't given up on using Lanlan to gain benefits. However, she was happy to see it happen!
As for those relatives who are from humble backgrounds, it's just a matter of saving face; they still don't really care about you!
Meanwhile, Song Weiqiang and his wife were still hoping to climb the social ladder. Even though they knew Song Jiaojiao was inferior to Song Lan, they still hoped that Song Jiaojiao, their youngest daughter, and Chen Dongze's relationship could make substantial progress in the countryside.
Little did they know that in the heart of Chen Dongze's mother, Zhang Hua, she looked down on her daughter, who was raised by both of them to be their daughter-in-law.
Otherwise, they would have agreed to let Chen Dongze marry "Song Lan" long ago, and Song Jiaojiao would never have had a chance to enter the Chen family!
The night was quiet, with the occasional chirping of insects coming from the flowerbed outside the window, but this did not affect the man sitting behind his desk writing.
Knock knock knock!
Zhang Hua stood outside the study and knocked on the door.
When she heard no sound from inside the door, she reached out and turned the doorknob, then opened the door and walked into the study.
Hearing the noise, the man paused in his writing, looked up at the woman who had walked to the center of the study—his wife, Zhang Hua—and asked expressionlessly, "What is it?"
"I want to talk to you about Xiaoze."
Zhang Hua stood in the center of the study for a moment. Seeing that the man was just looking at her without saying a word, she walked to the sofa against the wall and sat down, then said, "Xiao Ze has been in the countryside for some time now..."
"It's only been a month or so, is that what you call a period of time?"
The man's name was Chen Changqing. Although he was clearly in his early fifties, he looked no more than forty-one or forty-two. His facial features were well-defined, and apart from a few faint lines at the corners of his eyes and forehead, it was difficult to see any traces of time.
His features exuded a dignified and upright air. Dressed in a military green uniform, he sat upright in the chair behind his desk, his lips pressed tightly together, gazing silently at the woman.
He had no feelings for this wife, or more accurately, his third wife. If she hadn't insisted on staying in the Chen family to help him take care of his young children, he wouldn't have had his third marriage.
For nearly twenty years, even though he and his ex-wife did not consummate their marriage, Zhang Hua, his current wife, has not chosen to leave.
To be honest, as a man, he really couldn't understand it.
Knowing that he has no feelings for her, and knowing that their marriage is in name only, would she willingly stay by his side just for the title of his wife and for the sake of her child?
Perhaps Chen Changqing's gaze was too sharp, Zhang Hua involuntarily looked away and said, "The old man originally arranged for Xiao Xu to go to the countryside, but Xiao Xu had that accident, so... the spot for going to the countryside fell to Xiao Ze..."
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