Tao Xiaoxi was in confinement after her birth, and Li Nanshan took care of her. The Li family really didn't care about her. Except for the eldest sister-in-law who came once, no one else came to visit. Li Nanshan didn't take it to heart and was open-minded. However, when the chickens at home were all eaten, he didn't hesitate and went back to his mother's house to catch a laying hen. When he took it away, Mrs. Li was very distressed and said that it was a laying hen and was kept for laying eggs.
Li Nanshan was not angry either. He smiled and said, "Mom, Xiaoxi is giving birth to a child for our Li family. She wouldn't even want to eat a single chicken of yours. If the child doesn't have the surname Tao, I can go to her parents' home and get her."
Only then did Mrs. Li let go. Although it was not very satisfying to have a granddaughter, it was better than nothing, so she had to acknowledge her.
One night, the eldest sister-in-law came secretly with a chicken in her hand. She didn't say a word and just put the chicken down and left. Tao Xiaoxi stopped her and asked her who she was hiding from.
The eldest sister-in-law was a little embarrassed, but seemed to be determined. She took Xiaoxi's hand and said, "Xiaoxi, we two sisters are in the same boat. We both gave birth to a girl, but you are still young and you still have a chance. Don't be like your sister-in-law, who has been stepped on by others all her life. I am counting on you to earn back my reputation. Eat this chicken, and I will bring it to you when you are done."
Seeing Sister Zhou Lan's humble and acquisitive attitude, Tao Xiaoxi felt truly sorry for her. She solemnly told her, "I'm not ashamed of having a daughter, nor do I feel inferior because of it. Sister-in-law, I can tell you clearly that I won't have any more children. This is the only one I'll have. Whether I have a full house of boys or girls, I'll only have her."
"You're stupid. You don't have a son. Who will you leave the money you earn to? What will the people in Mantou Village think of you? I'm an experienced person. Listen to me. Once you're well, we can have more children."
Xiaoxi looked at her sister-in-law and knew that she would not listen to any advice and it was useless to persuade her.
Li Nanshan finished washing the diapers and came over to see his eldest sister-in-law had left. He had just listened to some of their conversation and probably understood what they were saying. He put his arm around his wife's shoulders from behind and whispered, "I also agree not to have a baby."
"Really?" Tao Xiaoxi asked.
"Really? I'm going to get sterilized tomorrow."
Although Tao Xiaoxi gave birth smoothly, he still remembered her heart-wrenching screams in the delivery room and her soaking wet body and pale face when she was pushed out, as if she had walked through the gates of hell. He didn't tell her because he was afraid that his wife still wanted a boy, but now that his wife had asked for it herself, he had nothing to worry about.
Tao Xiaoxi was very pleased that her man could protect and pamper her like this. It was really not easy, especially in this era of the world.
She thought Li Nanshan was just talking and didn't expect him to really get a vasectomy. After all, as a "gynecological expert", she had thousands of prescriptions for pregnancy and thousands of prescriptions for pregnancy prevention. There was really no need for Li Nanshan to really go through the surgery.
But he really went.
When he limped into the yard, Tao Xiaoxi was really surprised.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Didn't I tell you yesterday?" Li Nanshan said it a little embarrassedly because Beibei was still there.
Tao Xiaoxi thought about it for a moment, and immediately her hair stood on end. "You, you really go..."
"Yeah." Li Nanshan forced a smile.
Tao Xiaoxi cried and laughed, and quickly went forward to help Li Nanshan into the house.
This time, it was her turn to take care of him.
"You are really brave. You came back like this by yourself?" Tao Xiaoxi still felt a little scared when she thought about it afterwards.
"That's impossible. I asked Xiaoguang to pull me back with a tractor."
"Does it hurt?" Tao Xiaoxi's eyes turned red again.
"It doesn't hurt. Compared to the pain you went through giving birth to Beibei and Xiaoman, this is nothing. And it doesn't cost a penny. What a great thing."
Tao Xiaoxi burst into laughter and said, "If your parents knew about this, they would probably eat me alive."
"It's none of your business. This is my own decision. The atmosphere in Mantou Village should change." Li Nanshan frowned and said earnestly.
Tao Li and his wife officially challenged the old customs and decided not to have a son!
This news was like an atomic bomb that exploded in the isolated Mantou Village. First, the Li family stayed indoors and no one dared to go out. Old Man Li and Mrs. Li came over in the dark night and beat up their son Li Nanshan, blaming him for being unfilial, for betraying his ancestors, and for being blinded by greed.
Tao Xiaoxi stepped forward, holding her little daughter Manman in her arms, and stood in front of Li Nanshan. "If you want to fight, beat me too. This is a joint decision between the two of us. Beat Xiaoman to death too!"
Xiaoman was crying in her cradle, not sure if she was scared or hungry. It was puzzling that a baby less than two months old could have such a loud voice. Beibei hid behind the door, terrified.
In the end, Old Man Li couldn't bring himself to do it, so he put his pipe back at his waist and walked away angrily. Old Woman Li ran after him, wiping away tears.
Tao Xiaoxi and Li Nanshan looked at each other and smiled, but there was a hint of bitterness in their smiles.
The whole village was waiting to see Li Nanshan and his wife make a fool of themselves, laughing at the pointless profits they made without a son to inherit them. The second sister-in-law walked around the village with her back straight, because she truly believed that all the wealth and assets of her brother-in-law's family would belong to his two sons in the future.
If ignorance could be sentenced, she would be sentenced to life imprisonment.
But the beauty of spring in the garden cannot be contained, and the emergence and development of new things cannot be stopped.
Li Nanshan returned to school, but the repercussions of the bombshell he and Tao Xiaoxi had dropped in Mantou Village, denouncing their decision to abandon male children, were undeniable. Soon, the wife of the Guo family, a family in the east end of the village, resigned, accusing them of not having a son when Tao Xiaoxi was making so much money. The Guo family was broke, with nothing to inherit, so why bother having a son? Was it to pass on their poverty?
These words made Old Man Guo so angry that he almost fainted. For this, Guo's wife was beaten by her husband. She begged for mercy and said that she would make the best use of the time to have a baby tonight.
Tao Xiaoxi couldn't help but sigh: humans yearn for light, but always resort to dark means. The flames of ignorance still burn brightly, and the road ahead is still long.
But it was planted after all.
When Zhao Bin came home to collect medicine again, he secretly pulled Tao Xiaoxi aside and said, "My wife asked me to tell you that you are a great person. She admires you very much. You must come to her house for dinner next time."
Tao Xiaoxi quickly said modestly, "No need to eat, but how did your wife know about this?"
"Of course I told her. Hehe, to be honest, I agree with what you and Nanshan said. Boys and girls should be equal. They're all your own children, so how can you favor one over the other?"
"Then do you still want to have a son?" Tao Xiaoxi looked at him expectantly.
"Give birth, or my old lady will fight me to death."
Tao Xiaoxi rolled her eyes at him and said one word: Get out!
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