"Grandma, don't worry, once the child is back, I will definitely arrange the best caregiver for him."
“Don’t get stuck on this yourself. Children are like little birds; it’s time for them to fly on their own.”
"Yes. I know that principle. It's just that I can't quite process it right now."
Zhang Hongmei put down the phone, and Wang Ying looked at her from the side and said, "Hongmei, why don't you have another one?"
“No, that would make the four of them feel that I abandoned them and that I don’t want children anymore.”
Wang Ying was speechless. No matter how smart the four of them were, they were still just children. Knowing that their mother would give birth immediately after they left would indeed make them sad.
"Liu Qiang from Er Lengzi's family is coming over. You'll be busy too. But Su Chen is quite capable, just like Sister Er Ya."
"Have you two never thought about having another child?"
"Maybe it's because of my health. We haven't been using contraception, but we just haven't conceived."
"You can have Dr. Sun take another look at you."
"Okay. It's convenient to find Dr. Sun now that it's here."
Zhang Shouyi returned home for dinner and was pleased to see that his wife seemed more cheerful. It seemed that inviting them over was the right thing to do.
Neither of them went home; they stayed at Fuzeyuan instead. They thought they should spend more time with Zhang Hongmei.
Zhang Hongmei lay in Zhang Shouyi's arms and said, "Thank you, Brother Zhang. I'm alright now."
"Honey, you can't scare me like that again."
"I'm their mother, they're my own flesh and blood, how could I not be heartbroken? You were the one who called Er Lengzi, weren't you?"
"Well, haven't you always wanted to see Liu Qiang? This is a perfect opportunity. Besides, the conditions there are really too poor; I'm afraid it will hinder the child's development."
"Yes, thank you."
"I'm your man, do you need to thank me? Don't worry, they'll be able to come back and stay for a week during the Chinese New Year this year."
"Yes, I'll wait for them."
The next day, the four children were still playing under Zhang Hongmei's watchful eye. Ping An even taught them to recite poems, and they did a pretty good job of it.
“At the research institute, the four of them are like this too; they can all recite a lot of poems.”
Lu Jing handed the phone to Zhang Hongmei. "Mom, this is Daniel."
"Honey, are you home from school?"
"Yes, Mom. Don't be sad. Weiyu and the others promised me that they will study hard and come back to you as soon as possible."
"Thank you, Daniel. Thank you, Mom."
The two talked for a long time before hanging up the phone half an hour later.
"Don't you think I'm too lucky?"
"Yes, you are lucky."
Zhang Hongmei stayed at home for six days and went to class on Monday. Er Ya and the other two also went home.
They resumed their previous regular life. However, they moved back to the compound. Zhou Shixiong called every day to urge them to move back, and Zhang Hongmei didn't want him to be too lonely, even though he was over eighty years old.
Saturday arrived again, and Zhang Hongmei returned to Liu Maocai's house.
"Third Aunt, what's wrong?"
"That brat Sanya is driving me crazy. She's so old and still hasn't found a boyfriend. She's so cunning, she went to work in another city. What am I going to do?"
"My third aunt had many boys who liked her at school, but she didn't agree to any of them. I think she must have someone she liked."
Who is that?
Zhang Hongmei shook her head. "I don't know either. Sister Erya, do you know?"
Er Ya was a little embarrassed. She didn't know whether she should say it or not.
"Sister Er Ya, you must know something? Is it something you're finding hard to say?"
"No, it's just that I'm not sure. I remember when Sanya had just started high school, she was staring blankly at Song Zigan's notes. They were left to me by Song Zigan after he graduated."
That's all I know; she hasn't usually shown anything unusual.
"Song Zigan?"
"Hmm, I really can't be sure."
"Sister Er Ya, should you ask her this question, or should I ask her?"
"If you ask, she'll just give me a perfunctory answer."
Li Cuihua also knew Song Zigan. Frowning, she said, "Hongmei, why don't you ask her? She's a 21-year-old young woman. Even if she doesn't want to get married early, she still needs to find a partner."
Sanya worked in a small county town in the south. She interned there and then stayed on. When she first arrived, she was just a clerk, but after more than a year of hard work, she is now the deputy township head.
Zhang Hongmei dialed her office number. "Sanya, it's me."
"Sister Hongmei?"
"Okay. I have something to tell you. Is now a good time?"
"I'm going to a meeting in ten minutes, and then I'll go to the grassroots level."
"So I only have ten minutes? Okay, I'll just ask directly. Sanya, do you have someone you like, so you're not looking for a boyfriend or dating?"
There was a minute of silence on the phone. "Sister Hongmei, please don't ask anymore. I have no plans to get married within the next ten years."
"Then tell me, do you have someone in your heart?"
"Yes. But we have no hope at all, and he doesn't know either."
"Then can you tell me who he is?"
"Sister Hongmei, please don't ask anymore, okay?"
"Is it Song Zigan?"
There was silence again on the other end. "Sister Hongmei, he has no idea that we've barely exchanged a few words."
"Alright, I understand. It's time for you to go to work."
Zhang Hongmei hung up the phone immediately. "It really is Song Zigan. I saw him last month and asked him about his marriage. He told me that he had no plans to get married."
"What should we do? They've been a worry since they were little." Li Cuihua was truly troubled.
"Hongmei, you stay with my mom, I'll go cook. We're having meat pies today, with chives and eggs."
"Okay, go ahead."
"You two stay here. I'll go. The crusts you made for the pies are too thick." The two of them followed Li Cuihua to the kitchen.
"I don't need you two, get out, you're getting in the way."
The two returned to the main room. "Second Sister, when did Third Sister see Song Zigan before?"
"It was when I was in high school that they ran into each other at home one time."
"that's all?"
"Yeah, that's all I know."
"It can't be that bad, can it? Sanya fell for him after just one meeting?"
"How would I know? This girl is tight-lipped. If you hadn't asked, none of us would have gotten any information out of her."
"What should we do then? Do you think I should ask Song Zigan?"
"How should you ask? Isn't it inappropriate to ask directly?"
"Yes, that would be so embarrassing for Sanya. I didn't dare tell my third aunt just now, but Sanya said she wouldn't consider marriage for at least ten years."
"If you ask me, why did you cover the microphone so tightly?"
"No. I still have to ask Song Zigan why he's not married. He's actually a really good person. Sanya has good taste."
Neither of them has any plans to get married. You can't force them, can you?
"We can't force them to stay in check. But we can create opportunities for them."
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