Arguing with others
In the evening, Lin Jingming and Principal Wang had a simple meal together in the school cafeteria, while Xia Zhitang went to Teacher Ye's house for dinner with a set of children's picture books.
Although the two did not have many in-depth conversations, Xia Zhitang subconsciously liked Teacher Ye.
The doorbell rang and Teacher Ye ran over to open the door. The small living room was covered with a cushion and a children's activity area was enclosed by a plastic fence for children to play independently.
The child of Teacher Ye was learning to walk. Holding on to the fence, his little feet flew forward uncontrollably, and his body moved slowly, winning everyone's cheers.
Xia Zhitang looked at other people's children and missed Xiao Qingwu a little.
Although she was very free these two days, it was the first time she was separated from her child for such a long time, and at certain moments she would miss Xiao Qingwu madly.
She was worried about whether she was eating and sleeping well, whether she was bloating, and was afraid that Xiao Qingwu would not be used to being without her.
"How old is Teacher Xia's child now?"
At the dinner table, the distant cousin who was invited by Teacher Ye's family to help take care of the child started talking to Xia Zhitang while feeding the child.
"It's been more than two months." Xia Zhitang's expression softened when he thought of his daughter.
"Oh, so small." The aunt glanced at Xia Zhitang, "This woman really needs to take care of the family. She needs to take good care of the baby when he is so young. No one is worse than a biological mother."
Xia Zhitang was stunned and didn't react.
"Teacher Xia, don't blame me for being too talkative. No matter how close grandma is to you, she is not as close as your mother." The aunt felt that Teacher Ye had no other choice. It was not easy for her to lose her job as a regular teacher, but she agreed in her heart that mothers should be closer to their children.
"My mother-in-law is gone, and my husband is taking care of her now," Xia Zhitang said seriously. "My child likes her dad more because he has strong arms to hold her steady and he likes to sing to her."
Seeing the aunt's stunned expression, she subconsciously wanted to refute, and then added: "It's not so clear that the mother should be the one raising the children in a family. Raising a child should be a matter of both father and mother."
"Teacher Gu is really capable." Teacher Ye continued, breaking the awkwardness.
"Yes, he is very patient with his daughter." Xia Zhitang felt that Gu Zian was a qualified father.
"A daughter is her father's warm and sweet little cotton-padded jacket." Teacher Ye's husband looked at his son and envied the sweet and soft daughters of other families.
"It's better to have both a son and a daughter." The auntie felt that she had found her home ground again. "Daughters are caring, and sons will be my support in the future."
Xia Zhitang glanced at Teacher Ye who looked embarrassed and couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for her.
"Sons and daughters are the same to me, but I hope my daughter can choose the life she likes in the future."
Although he knew that the aunt was just using him to express her emotions to Teacher Ye and the others, Xia Zhitang did not like this kind of behavior without any sense of boundaries. Even if the other party was not a bad person, she was using moral blackmail to force others to accept her point of view.
"Our family is not short of money, and I earn a lot myself." Xia Zhitang inexplicably remembered Lin Jingming's attitude towards the village chief when he went to the countryside, and expressed his attitude before the aunt was about to speak again.
"Teacher Xia was the team leader who came to the girls' high school for the photo shoot before." Teacher Ye's husband tried to ease the awkwardness of the scene.
"City people don't like to have boys now, nor do they like to have too many children." Teacher Ye explained science to this distant relative in his hometown dialect in a serious manner.
"But why not have a baby when the conditions are good? There's no need to worry about not having money to raise the baby." The aunt was a little excited. This was beyond her understanding.
"Maybe rich people think differently than we do." Teacher Ye decided to raise the stakes. "Don't be fooled by her simple clothes. One of her houses is worth as much as a school here."
"It's so expensive!" The aunt looked at Xia Zhitang in shock.
After a closer look, I found that her figure was so good that she didn't look like a woman who had just given birth, and her skin was so smooth and delicate that it looked better than many girls.
"It's the capital, and the housing prices there are over 100,000 yuan per square meter."
Teacher Ye’s husband couldn’t hold it in any longer, so he took his bowl and went to the kitchen to get some rice to escape.
Xia Zhitang, who didn't understand the local dialect very well, looked at Teacher Ye seriously, pretending not to notice the look on his face that changed from unhappiness to shock to the searchlight-like gaze of an old lady.
"How many houses does Teacher Xia have?" the aunt asked somewhat presumptuously in Mandarin with an accent.
"Four or five?" Xia Zhitang was a little unsure. She had never inquired about the Gu family's real estate.
The aunt gasped: "Isn't our dinner too simple?"
She asked Teacher Ye in dialect, with a look of caution and awe in her eyes.
"It's okay. Rich people love to eat this kind of home-cooked food grown at home." Teacher Ye explained lightly and took out a tissue to wipe the oil from the corners of his son's mouth.
"How come you come to eat here if you are so rich?" The aunt discovered the blind spot.
"You owe me a favor. I helped you a lot during the filming." Teacher Ye actually didn't know why Xia Zhitang chose to visit her alone, but she couldn't show her weakness in front of relatives who were becoming less and less aware of boundaries.
"The set of toys she brought for the children cost hundreds of dollars."
After Teacher Ye finished speaking, she turned around and chatted with Xia Zhitang, who had been left out for a while, in Mandarin: "Sorry, my aunt is worried that you won't be able to get used to the food here."
Xia Zhitang shook his head: "They are all delicious."
"How long will you be staying this time?" Teacher Ye's husband finally emerged from the kitchen. "There's going to be a singing performance here in a few days. It's got local flavor."
"I'm flying back to Taipei tomorrow. The company has been very busy lately." Xia Zhitang also wanted to see Xiao Qingwu as soon as possible.
After dinner, Xia Zhitang looked at the time, declined the aunt's invitation and prepared to go back to the hotel. Teacher Ye insisted on seeing Xia Zhitang off.
The two walked slowly along the narrow two-lane cement road in the small county town. The mountain breeze blew in from the gaps between the low buildings, bringing a cool feeling.
"Teacher Xia, why is it that after a woman becomes a mother, it seems that giving birth and raising a child all become her responsibility?" After Teacher Ye's excitement of arguing with others wore off, he inexplicably felt filled with sadness.
Xia Zhitang looked at the hazy moon in the sky, feeling a little heavy in his heart.
"This is the greatness of Principal Wang," Xia Zhitang recalled the shock of his first visit. "When we first came here to scout the area, as soon as we entered the county, we saw childish faces with babies in their bellies and carrying a baby on their backs. I suddenly understood more deeply that the economic base determines the superstructure, and the level of cognition determines the choices in life."
"Before the baby was born, I thought I was used to it. I knew full well that raising a child isn't easy." Teacher Ye smiled bitterly. "But the reality is that I'm very happy, but I'm not happy. I don't understand why everyone takes it for granted that they put pressure on me. Is having a child just a mother's job? My husband is always said to be a very good person, and everyone praises him as a good father, but isn't that what we're supposed to do?"
"Perhaps all we can do is change ourselves." Xia Zhitang understood this feeling. The world seemed to be surrounded by the vast ocean, and he was the only one swimming in it. Any small support was invaluable to him at this moment.
Teacher Ye was silent. She actually understood the truth, but in some difficult moments, she couldn't help but ask why.
"Actually, I sometimes envy men." Xia Zhitang looked at Lin Jingming who was leaning against the window of the small hotel smoking, and couldn't help waving at him.
"But sometimes I think it's good to be a woman. We can truly feel the close connection with another life, and we can also be soft and tough." Xia Zhitang turned and looked at Teacher Ye, with beautiful stars twinkling in his eyes.
Teacher Ye only felt that Xia Zhitang was shrouded in a vibrant sense of power, and her eyes couldn't help but sparkle with tears.
"Yes, being a mother is really a great experience." Teacher Ye has never been loved 100% by anyone, but her son loves her naturally, and she also loves her own children.
"Let's work together to become better versions of ourselves." Xia Zhitang smiled and extended his hand to Teacher Ye.
Teacher Ye couldn't help but smile. At this moment, all the prejudices and pressures didn't matter. She could always grow a soft and tough armor to protect herself.
"Did you have a good harvest tonight?" Lin Jingming stood at the door and looked at Xia Zhitang's smiling mouth.
"Well, I originally wanted to learn from other mothers." Xia Zhitang still likes this kind of deep communication and connection between people, "but I suddenly realized that I seem to be quite happy."
Lin Jingming suddenly leaned close to Xia Zhitang, and a faint smell of alcohol sprayed onto her face.
Xia Zhitang looked into Lin Jingming's deep eyes and his mind went blank for a moment.
By the time she finally reacted and was about to take a step back to create some distance, Lin Jingming had already stood up.
"Okay, get up early tomorrow to catch the plane." Lin Jingming reached out and touched the top of Xia Zhitang's head, "Don't skip social events next time."
After saying that, he left the dazed Xia Zhitang outside the door with a "bang".
"Drunk, go to bed early!" Xia Zhitang kicked Lin Jingming's door, fanned the smell of alcohol lingering on his face, angrily took out the key, opened the door and rushed back to the room.
"Lin Jingming, our flight has been cancelled." Xia Zhitang grabbed the handrail on the side of the car with one hand, with an expression of disbelief and absurdity.
"What?" Lin Jingming, feeling drowsy, instantly woke up from his sleepiness. "Why?"
"Extreme weather in Taipei." Xia Zhitang handed the phone to Lin Jingming. The mountain road was so shaky that she felt dizzy after looking at the screen for a while.
Lin Jingming read the message sent from the airport with great effort, wailed, returned the phone to Xia Zhitang, and began to resignedly make phone calls to arrange work.
"The earliest flight is at six in the evening." Xia Zhitang reminded Lin Jingming in a low voice after he hung up the phone.
"This is the only way." Lin Jingming looked at the sunny weather outside the car window with some despair, "Just treat it as a break before the start of filming."
"Or, let's go play!"
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