Da Mai was happy for his sister and took her to the courtyard to ask Grandma for help to recuperate. This silly girl had become gaunt recently.
Grandma Li was happier than anyone. She had been worried that her second granddaughter had some kind of infertility problem.
“Da Mai, go help Xiao Mai pack her things and move her to the courtyard to live. Cheng Bin is so busy he can barely touch the ground; he can recuperate together too.”
When Zhou Cheng Bin got home from work and couldn’t find his wife, he asked at the clinic and found out she was pregnant and had been called to the courtyard by his grandmother.
He arrived at the courtyard, thanked his grandmother first, and then went to the backyard to find his wife.
Carried by her husband, Xiao Mai lightly hit his chest, “Put me down.”
Zhou Cheng Bin shook his head and refused, “No, I’m carrying my wife and my daughter.”
Xiao Mai playfully chided him, “You only know it’s a daughter?”
Zhou Cheng Bin was indifferent, “It doesn’t matter, if it’s not a daughter, we’ll have another one. Yuanyuan is very cute.”
Xiao Mai glared at him, “Are you taking the opportunity to slack off and go see Yuanyuan?”
Zhou Cheng Bin lowered his head and kissed her forehead forcefully.
“No, I got off work and then went to tease her for a while.”
The couple hid in their room, excited for a long time before coming out.
Mother Li urged Zhou Cheng Bin to call home to share the good news.
Mother Zhou, excited, packed her luggage and came to Kushan.
She directly stayed in the room next to her daughter-in-law, saying that when her son was at work, she would watch Xiao Mai.
And she truly watched, treating Xiao Mai like a fragile item.
With no freedom at all, Xiao Mai quietly spoke to Grandma. Mother Li then went to persuade her in-laws.
After being persuaded, Mother Zhou knew she was overstressed; she had just waited for too long.
Without the feeling of suffocation, Xiao Mai’s slight pregnancy symptoms passed.
…
Her younger son returned with his luggage, saying the high school entrance exams were over and he should join the specialty team.
Li Zhenguo and Tian Jing suddenly realized their daughter was about to take the college entrance exam.
Li Zhenguo was too busy to leave.
Tian Jing quickly moved up the work at the nursery by a few days, arranged for Sister-in-law Niu to lead the planting, and then, with Li Min and Ouyang Meihua, hurried to the county town.
Because Chen An, Li Weiyu, and Li Weili were in the same grade, they also had to take the college entrance exam.
They first tidied up the small courtyard, bought the necessary living supplies, and arrived at the school to pick up the children before school ended.
Her mother and aunts had come specifically to accompany them for their studies and exams. Li Weili and her two younger brothers returned to the dormitory to pack their luggage and then went back to their own small courtyard with their mothers.
Li Min had been repeatedly instructed by her elder and younger sisters-in-law not to speak carelessly, only to ask if the children were hungry.
Therefore, she acted like an invisible person, slipping into the kitchen to prepare three meals.
She let her elder and younger sisters-in-law encourage her younger son.
Li Weili was the most relaxed, Li Weiyu felt some pressure, and Chen An felt the most pressure, tensing up completely.
Tian Jing couldn’t bear to see it and found Chen An to talk to.
“An’an, if you’re afraid of your mother, I’ll ask her to go back.”
Chen An shook his head, “I’ve had this pressure for a long time; it didn’t start when she came.”
Tian Jing understood and went to the kitchen to ask Li Min, what was more important, the college entrance exam or her younger son’s life.
Li Min was dumbfounded. What kind of choice was this?
Tian Jing told her some examples of students who had mental breakdowns and went crazy after failing to get into college due to parental pressure.
“Do you want a normal son, or a son who collapses after failing the college entrance exam?”
After hearing the examples her younger sister-in-law gave, Li Min felt scared, “Does Xiao Sao mean An’an definitely won’t pass?”
“Yes!” Tian Jing nodded, “No matter how good his grades are, in his current state, he definitely won’t perform well in the exam hall; he might even break down during the exam.”
Li Min was anxious, “Then what should I do, Xiao Sao?”
Tian Jing pushed her out of the kitchen, “Go and tell him yourself that you have a fallback plan for him, which is the building in the new village.”
“That is the future that you and his father can give him. You can only do this much. In the future, he will have the freedom to choose his love and marriage, just like his elder brother.”
Li Min asked, looking back, “Will this work?”
“It will work!” Tian Jing nodded, “As long as you are sure that you want a normal son, not that external fame.”
Li Min, still answering her younger sister-in-law’s words, replied, “Of course, I want a normal son. From the time of Xiao Fu’s engagement to after he married Hua’er and brought her home, I truly understood that nothing is more important than people.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and saw the three children standing at the kitchen door.
“You, are you hungry?”
Li Weili pushed An’an forward, “I told you Aunt’s idea would be different, but you didn’t believe me. Now you believe it, right?”
Chen An looked at his mother timidly, “Mom, do you, do you really not care if I pass the exam or not?”
Seeing her younger son shrink back more than her niece and nephew, Li Min felt deep regret. She had placed too much burden on her younger son.
“Yes! If you don’t pass, we’ll go home and get rich. Nowhere is richer than our Kushan.”
“If you pass, after graduation, you’ll come back to Kushan, and your uncle will mentor you. You can be an accounting assistant or something in the village.”
“If you don’t want to join the village committee, you can take over the new village building. You and your elder brother can each take one end, and your father and I will be fine with the dividends. You won’t be burdened.”
Chen An’s eyes were moist, “Thank you, Mom, thank you, Auntie.”
Tian Jing took Li Min’s hand and placed it on Chen An’s head, stroking it.
“Your mother is hard-mouthed. She’s okay talking to us, but she only resorts to force with you and your elder brother. I don’t know who she learned it from.”
“She loves you, but she doesn’t know how to express it. She only pushes you to study hard, believing that knowledge leads to success.”
Li Min felt awkward and soft as her younger sister-in-law forcefully touched her son’s head.
“An’an, I didn’t go to school, but I took the literacy class and passed the test. Grandpa Xiao said, ‘An exam is just an assessment of what you’ve learned.’”
“You know yourself how well you’ve studied. I don’t know, I just wanted you to get high scores.”
“This time, what your aunt said has woken me up. I just want you and your elder brother to be well. Other things are not important.”
Chen An smiled with tears in his eyes, his slightly hunched back straightening.
“Thank you, Mom, I understand. Thank you, Auntie, the love you give us is priceless.”
Ouyang Meihua, who had quietly come out, patted her younger son.
“Just do your best. Your father and I lack nothing except grandchildren.”
Li Weiyu turned and ran towards his room, “I’d better hurry and work harder, strive to get into a good university, then get a master’s and a doctorate. I can definitely study until I’m thirty.”
“You brat!” Ouyang Meihua scolded, “Don’t I want you to study?”
“No, no,” Li Weiyu replied without looking back, “Studying is more interesting than procreation.”
Ouyang Meihua stamped her foot in anger. Why did she raise two such brats?
They were not as good as her sister-in-law’s two sons.
“Minmin, shall we swap sons?”
“No swap!” Li Min quickly pulled her younger son closer.
“I like my two sons’ ordinariness. I don’t want one of your brats who climbs roofs and rips tiles, and another who uses studying to avoid marriage.”
Li Weiyu called back from his room, “Auntie, I don’t want a mom like you who only wants her son to become a dragon.”
Li Min replied to him, “Then that’s perfect! We’re not a family, so we don’t belong together. You and I are not a family, so we can’t agree.”
The sentimental atmosphere was ruined by Ouyang Meihua and her son.