Feng Juan sighed, patted Yun Qiao's hand gently, and motioned her to sit down.
Yun Qiao held Feng Juan's hand and sat down obediently on the edge of the bed, keeping her eyes fixed on Feng Juan, waiting for her answer and not letting her be vague.
"Mom, if you have any problem, please tell me. Even if I can't share the burden, I can still help you out."
Feng Juan was silent for a while, and then she slowly said, "It's your aunt."
Qin Lin's hometown is in the rural area of northern Henan Province. He is the eldest son in the family. When he was young, he joined the army to fight against the Japanese. Later, he retired and worked in the military, all the way from the county to the capital.
He has five brothers and sisters, but because his hometown in northern Henan was a battlefield during the war, after experiencing the brutal war, he only has one sister, Qin Fang, who survived.
Qin Fang is five years younger than him and thirteen years older than Feng Juan.
It is said that a sister-in-law is like a second mother-in-law, and that is absolutely true.
In addition, Qin Fang was older than Feng Juan, so she basically did not respect Feng Juan as a sister-in-law, but psychologically regarded herself as Feng Juan's "mother-in-law" and looked at her with a critical eye.
During the years when Feng Juan was unconscious, she made a fuss more than once, asking Qin Lin to divorce Feng Juan. She even traveled thousands of miles to Qin Lin's workplace several times, broke into his house, stripped Feng Juan's clothes, and slapped her.
She looked down on Feng Juan, the "madwoman", from the bottom of her heart. She felt that her brother, as a high-ranking official, deserved a more virtuous wife, not a "madwoman" who dared not even leave the house.
Feng Juan later had several strokes of the tongue, not only because of the collapse after losing her child, but also because of the depression caused by the torture of her sister-in-law who was like a mother-in-law.
Qin Fang doesn't like her sister-in-law Feng Juan, and Feng Juan hates Qin Fang even more.
She never mentioned her sister-in-law at home, and Qin Lin naturally would not tell his children about the old grudge between his wife and sister, so Yun Qiao didn't know much about her sister-in-law.
She only knew that she had a younger aunt who lived in her hometown in northern Henan. When she first recognized her relatives and got married, her younger aunt asked her cousin to send a telegram of congratulations and gave her a gift of ten yuan for the wedding. Later, when she gave birth to a child, she received a few feet of homespun cloth sent from northern Henan.
Because it was woven at home using a spinning wheel, the texture of the cloth was a bit rough. It was said to be for making clothes for the children, but in fact it was never used. Feng Juan cut it up and added a thin layer of old cotton inside to make a kang mat, which was nailed to the edge of the kang window to prevent the children from falling and being bumped by the sharp edges.
Yun Qiao didn't know the grudge between Feng Juan and Qin Fang, so when he heard Feng Juan say that, he asked, "What did my aunt do?"
Feng Juan pursed her lips, lowered her eyes, and said, "Your aunt is more than ten years older than me. She got married early and married your cousin before she was twenty. Your cousin is one year younger than your brother, and his eldest son is already sixteen years old this year."
"Your aunt means that the conditions in our hometown are not good and have hindered the child's future. She wants your father to bring the child to Beijing and transfer the child to our family's household registration so that the child can study, work, get married and start a family in Beijing in the future."
Yun Qiao frowned upon hearing this. "What do you mean, little aunt? Asking someone to move their household registration here is like forcing them into our family and asking you to take care of their future."
Feng Juan hummed. "I was listening to your father on the phone, and from the tone of his voice, I could tell that was what he meant. Your father is a man of deep affection, deeply devoted to his only sister, and he sends money home every year. So, she felt confident in making this suggestion, feeling your father wouldn't refuse."
"You may value friendship, but you can't be taken advantage of." Yun Qiao said, "It's obvious that my aunt wants to use my father's status and position to pave the way for her grandson."
Feng Juan smiled bitterly. "Yes, I thought so too, and I mentioned it to your father in a tactful way. But your father believes that it's natural for family members to help each other, especially since she's his own sister. You don't know, your father had several brothers and sisters before, but none of them survived until liberation, so he has always taken good care of this only surviving sister."
"Now that his only sister has made a request to him, and he is in a position to help, he will definitely not ignore it."
"Relatives can help each other, but there's no need to move the household registration to our house, right?" Yun Qiao said, "It's easy to invite a deity, but hard to send it away. It's easy to move the household registration here, but it's going to be troublesome to ask someone to move it again in the future."
"Who said it wasn't?" Feng Juan sighed and said, "I feel uncomfortable, but I don't want to say much. After all, your aunt and I have a very bad relationship. If I say too much, your father will always think that I can't bear to see your aunt and her family suffer, so I always find opportunities to flatter them."
Yun Qiao thought for a moment and said, "Have you had a frank talk with Dad? Or has he just been hinting at things? Dad's not unreasonable. If you talk to him more, he'll probably listen, right?"
Feng Juan shook her head and said, "Your father is very protective of his sister. I just hinted at it a few times, and he got upset. If I had said anything, they would have definitely quarreled."
As she spoke, she sighed, "He's been busy with work lately, and he went on a business trip to the south these past two days. He and I are husband and wife, not enemies. I didn't want to start a fight with him at this time and make him busy with work while also worrying about his children at home, so I kept it to myself."
Hearing this, Yun Qiao held Feng Juan's hand with heartache and comforted her softly, "Mom, you're really wronging yourself. Even at this time, you're still thinking about my dad being busy with work and not wanting him to be upset. It's a pity that my dad doesn't understand you."
She devotes herself to her work and seems to think that nothing is more important than her mother.
Feng Juan's eyes moistened. She gently patted Yun Qiao's hand and said with a sob, "Your father is just like that. I've gotten used to him over the years. Having you is enough for Mom now."
Yun Qiao thought for a moment and said, "Mom, why don't you leave this to me? When my dad comes back from the south, I'll find time to talk to him about it. I can help, but the child's household registration must not be moved to our house."
Feng Juan looked at her with some concern: "But your father has a bad temper. Once he makes up his mind, it's hard to change. I'm afraid of him..."
"No, Mom. Dad's not young anymore. No matter how stubborn he is, he always considers my brother and me. If my brother and I disagree, he always thinks about the consequences before insisting on doing something."
To put it bluntly, her father is over 60 years old this year and will have to retire in a few years. How long can he take care of the child?
If things don't get out of hand, the child might still have the help of his cousins in the future. But if things get out of hand, she and her brother will definitely not do anything about it.
After all, the one who has a close relationship with his aunt is his father, not her and her brother.
Yun Qiao had never seen her aunt, so no matter how close their blood relationship was, she actually had no feelings for her.
At most, he is just a little better than a stranger.
Yun Qiao shook his mother's hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, Mom. I believe Dad will make a wise choice."
After hearing what her daughter said, Feng Juan's eyes became moist again.
"Qiao Qiao, you've really grown up and learned to share your mother's worries. Your words make my heart sweeter than honey."
Yun Qiao smiled and said, "So, Mom, don't hide anything from me in the future. Tell me anytime and I'll help you find a solution. We can discuss it together as mother and daughter and solve any difficulties."
Feng Juan nodded, a smile finally breaking out on her face. "Hey, Mom knows. But don't worry too much about all this idleness at home. Go to school. You're in college now, and your studies are the most important thing. Don't let these idleness at home distract you."
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