"What's going on? Let go of my mother! You've frightened her!"
"Fine! Now that you're here, I'm not afraid of her destroying evidence. I'll tell you why my son isn't breastfeeding anymore, I'll tell you why he's not hungry. Look at what your mother, your dear mother, has done! She poured out all the milk I pumped and fed the baby formula. What is she thinking? Huh? To make the child closer to her, right? To make the child disown me, right? This is her own grandson! She's so selfish that she only ever thinks of herself! To achieve her goal of dominating this family, she'll even use a breastfeeding baby! Li Yaping, you decide for yourself, today it's either her or me, it's either her or me!"
Yaping grabbed Lijuan with disgust: "Is that all? I don't think it's a big deal. Stop making a fuss over nothing, okay? Can you stop judging people by your own petty standards? Listen to what my mother is saying!"
Yaping's mother wiped away her tears and grabbed Lijuan's hand, but Lijuan shook her off: "Lijuan! I was thinking that you're so busy with work every day, and you still have to pump milk to feed the baby. As the baby grows bigger, it definitely won't be enough. You'll have to wean him sooner or later. Every day when you come home and say your breasts are sore from engorgement, Yaping and I feel so sorry for you. We wanted to try adding a little milk, just a little milk, and gradually increase it until the baby is fully adapted, then we can wean him completely. That way, you won't have to suffer. Besides, the nutrition of infant formula these days is almost the same as breast milk, and some are even more complete. Many mothers who don't have enough milk rely entirely on formula, and they all grow up strong and healthy. I absolutely have no ill intentions. This child is my grandson, but ultimately he's your child. I can't compare to you, so you can rest assured."
“My mom told me about this as soon as you started working. You said your breasts hurt and the baby was crying from hunger all day. We didn’t tell you because we were afraid you would suspect something. We knew we hadn’t misjudged you; you’re so petty. Nobody in this family wants to break it up except you. Think about it yourself! Once you’ve thought it through, apologize to my mom.”
Lijuan stood there, not uttering a word. Deep down, she felt uncomfortable and awkward, but outwardly, she couldn't say a word! Her only feeling was: she'd been tricked by that old witch again! She always walked ahead.
Lijuan thought for a long time and said, "It's my child, and I'll make the decisions. Before he's six months old, he should only drink breast milk. That's what the doctors say. If I can't keep up with the demand, that's my problem. If I can, then the child should drink it. Starting tomorrow, I'll bring several bottles with me during the day, store them, and bring them back at night. No more formula is allowed."
The harsh reality is that you can fight against adults, but you can't fight against children.
A month after Lijuan went back to work, her baby refused to breastfeed. Lijuan knew there must be a reason, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The way baby formula is made these days is truly commercially aggressive. Maybe it tastes better; sometimes Lijuan even suspects it's laced with opium. In short, Lijuan's breast milk completely lost its market in the face of American formula. Whether she smeared sugar or chocolate on her nipples, or even stuck on Finding Nemo stickers, nothing could shake her son's determination to idolize foreign products. Lijuan's milk supply slowly dwindled. The advantage Lijuan had once held over her son was gone forever. Lijuan felt lost and anxious. Her son, exhausted from playing with his grandmother during the day, was always fast asleep when Lijuan returned home. She wanted to kiss him, but his grandmother would gently stop her, saying, "The child is asleep, don't wake him."
Lijuan was convinced this was Old Ghost's scheme, deliberately turning the child's clock upside down so he couldn't communicate with her. A surge of resentment rose within her: no wonder so many women quit their jobs to become full-time mothers—it's all to deal with their mothers-in-law! Otherwise, gaining a job but losing their son would be a devastating loss.
When her son was six months old, he started calling out, "Nai!" Lijuan interpreted "nai" as meaning "milk." But whatever her son's unspoken meaning, Yaping's mother always answered with particular pride and cheerfulness, her eyes occasionally flashing a defiant and smug look at Lijuan. At least, that's how Lijuan interpreted it.
Lijuan seized every opportunity to communicate with her son, holding his hand every minute and instilling in him the word "Mom".
For the first month, her son showed no reaction whatsoever. To him, the sound of "Mom" was less comforting than the familiar call of Sister Ju Ping to children on television, accompanied by music. Whenever Lijuan held the baby's little hand tightly, her eyes filled with expectation as she repeatedly said "Mom," her son would coldly turn his head away, ignoring her. When pressed, he would pout and blow bubbles to express his impatience and even contempt.
The more she ignored him, the more anxious Liping became. She shook her son's head, turned his face away, and pinched the corner of his mouth with her fingers, hoping he would utter the word "Mom".
Otherwise, half of Liping's empire would be gone.
The child gradually started to respond.
The child first carefully picked up on the word "mother" from Lijuan's name, then thought back carefully, finding it familiar yet slightly different, and eagerly awaited what would come next. However, the word "mother" was the last word.
Finally, one day, the son couldn't hold it in any longer. As Lijuan kept repeating the word "Mom," he clearly uttered "Bad!"
Lijuan could hardly believe her ears.
This is the third syllable my son can clearly pronounce after he can say "Grandma" and "Dad." This syllable is a four-part, non-repeating sound, like "HUAI" in pinyin. It contains one initial consonant, one final vowel, and one compound final vowel. The pronunciation requires pursing the lips into a small trumpet shape and then quickly releasing them, making a smiling expression. The difficulty of this syllable is equivalent to pronouncing "Grandma" ten times in a row or five times with "Dad." Furthermore, this pronunciation requires intellectual judgment, as it must follow "Mama."
Lijuan didn't believe her son had such advanced language skills. She tried again, speaking softly, holding her breath, and pinching her throat, attempting to pronounce her mother's voice as a bleat or even a completely different tone. For the first time, she expected her son to not only fail to react but also show the same aversion as before.
"Mom~~~~~~~~" Lijuan was so careful, so careful that she even hoped that her pronunciation would only retain a single lip shape.
“Bad~~~~~~~~~~~” the son replied with a loud laugh.
“Mom~~~~~~~~~~” Lijuan tried again.
"Bad~!"
After no fewer than ten experiments within a minute, Lijuan screamed in a piercing shriek that could shatter the clouds and reach the heavens: "Yaping!!! ...
Yaping practically tumbled down the stairs, while Yaping's mother hurriedly wiped her hands with her apron and rushed over from the kitchen.
Lijuan and her family gathered around her, gave a cold laugh, and called out to the baby, "Mommy."
The baby smiled, thinking Mom was playing a game with him, and quickly chimed in, "Bad!~"
The whole family was silent.
Yaping reacted quickly. After nearly a minute of silence, he smiled, bent down, and stroked the child's face, saying, "Baby is naughty! Baby is a big stinky baby. Baby pooped on Daddy's neck. Baby is naughty!"
The baby, unimpressed, retorted crisply, "Mommy's bad!"
This is the baby's first three-syllable, complete sentence, with a subject, predicate, personal pronoun, adjective, and intonation.
Lijuan laughed coldly, tears streaming down her face, "I've raised a wild wolf at home. It's not only going to eat me, but it's also going to eat my little lambs!"
Lijuan stared straight at Yaping and said, "Li Yaping! In this family, I think there can only be one woman. That's me. I mean, you have no choice. I stay. She gets out, or I stay and you all get out. I've made my point very clear. You tell me your decision tomorrow morning, how many people will leave this family."
Ya Ping said awkwardly, "Is it really necessary? All because of a kid's words. What does he know? What's with your anger? Stop putting my mom down. Stop trying to kick her out all the time. Where can she go now? The house in our hometown has been sold, and my dad's gone. Calm down!"
Lijuan said, “I don’t care at all what my son says. He’s just a phonograph. He’s just a mouthpiece. He learns whatever he’s taught. The learner may be uninterested, but the teacher is. I’m glad my son learns quickly and well, before I have time to correct him. If he had been a late bloomer and hadn’t spoken until he was three, it would have been too late. I won’t talk about it today. When I wake up tomorrow morning, I hope there will be one or two fewer people in the house. Let me have some peace and quiet. That’s all I have to say, I don’t want to repeat myself.” She turned and went upstairs.
Ya Ping's eyes flashed with malice as he chased after Li Juan, shouting, "If you want to leave, then leave! This family, my mother, my son, and I all have to stay. Get out of here!"
Lijuan turned around and walked up to Yaping: "You're asking for it? Fine, we'll see you in court. Let's see who wins. Trying to fight me? You've got tar in your head. Don't you think about it? Your son is still a baby, do you think the court will award him to you? How much money have you contributed to this family? Do you think the court will award us, leaving my son and me exposed to the elements? I still have your sister's IOU, and I'm going to get it back, including the interest. Not only will I get it back, but I'll also keep living in this house, make you pay the mortgage, pay child support, make your son take another man's surname, call another man 'father,' and I'll tell him that his father and his grandmother are no good, just like his grandmother taught him to say his mother was bad. Li Yaping, you think you can fight me? You're still too green!"
Li Yaping rushed over, pinned Lijuan to the ground, and punched her hard in the temple.
Lijuan let out a muffled wail.
Ya Ping's first punch was filled with anger but still slightly hesitant. Ya Ping's mother, standing to the side, gritted her teeth and shouted, "Hit her harder! Don't let go until you kill her! This slut! Kill her!" Ya Ping released the resentment that had been suppressed in his chest for a long time, and with all his might, he punched her like a construction worker smashing a stone, punch after punch.
Suddenly, Yaping's son let out a mournful cry from his chest, as if he had a premonition of misfortune. His cries did not stop his father's fists from beating his mother, even though he cried out more and more urgently.
Grandma picked up the child, shaking him as she covered his mouth, shouting with satisfaction, "Hit! Hit! Beat this woman to death! This bitch ruined our family! Hit her!"
After an unknown amount of time, the crazed Li Yaping suddenly came to his senses and stopped in terror.
Lijuan bled from all seven orifices, her whole body was limp, and she was like a sack of flour, without any bones or muscles.
Li Yaping and his mother stared at each other for a long time, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets, neither of them daring to touch the fallen Lijuan.
A full century passed, but Lijuan showed no reaction whatsoever.
Li Yaping started to hug Lijuan and shake her violently, but Lijuan slid straight down to the ground.