Lijuan was extremely anxious. If this first attempt failed, all the remaining ground would be completely handed over to others. She tried to nipple the baby, but the baby wouldn't eat, spitting it out and crying. It had been crying for almost 20 minutes.
“Lijuan, you should call Yuxi to coax the child! You have no experience, and the child is close to her. She can coax the child and then hand him over to you.”
"Don't worry about it. He'll know that crying won't work after one time, and he'll behave himself from now on."
"You're talking nonsense! How old is he? What does he know about whether it will work or not? If he's crying, it means he doesn't like it. Why are you forcing him? Give it to me!" Ya Ping's mother started angrily banging on the door.
Lijuan put the child down, opened the door, and said to her mother-in-law, "What are you doing? Who are you trying to hear by banging so loudly? My child has to be raised the way I do it. If you can accept that, you can stay here; if you can't, then leave. What do you mean by that? What do you mean my child isn't close to me? My child isn't close to me but is close to you? Then I definitely won't let you touch him. In a few years, will he still recognize me as his mother? From today onwards, the two of you will be responsible for the child's washing and cleaning. If you don't want to take responsibility, I don't care. The child will sleep with me tonight, and no one else is allowed to touch him." After saying that, she slammed the door shut.
Yaping's mother was so angry that her face turned pale.
The baby is so stubborn; his face is already purple from crying, he's gasping for breath, and he looks utterly miserable. Outside, Yaping's mother is crying even harder than the baby.
Yu Xi rummaged through the storage room downstairs, found the spare key, opened the bedroom door, snatched the baby from the cradle, and ran out. Li Juan tried to chase after her, but Ya Ping's mother grabbed her arm: "Li Juan! Adults shouldn't involve the baby in their disagreements. He's still a nursing infant, so please let him go!"
Downstairs, all was quiet. The baby suddenly stopped talking, clearly contradicting Lijuan. Well, Lijuan's forces were even weaker, while the enemy's army continued to expand, now even recruiting a scout who knew all eighteen martial arts and had directly defected from her own Huanglong Mansion.
When Yaping returned home that evening, Lijuan was waiting in his study, her face ashen. "Li Yaping! My child, can I make that decision?" "Of course you can." "Okay, tomorrow you go and tell your mother that the child will sleep with me, and she doesn't need to take care of him anymore. Also, my mother recently had another minor stroke and needs someone to take care of her. I'd like to ask Yuxi to go over."
"Isn't this inappropriate? It doesn't matter who the child sleeps with, as long as it's good for the child. Besides, my mother doesn't want the child to sleep with you because she cares about you and is worried that you won't get enough rest at night. And Yuxi, she came here with the promise that she would help me take care of the child. If you're sending her to your house now, she has to be willing. How can I force her if she's not willing?"
“When she first came, it was your mother who said she wanted a nanny, right? Since she's a nanny, she should take orders from me, right? Go wherever she's needed, right? I don't need her anymore. Either she leaves, or she goes to my mother's house. It's up to her. I've never seen a nanny pick and choose her job.” “Is she a nanny? She's my sister!” “Oh! That's right. I need a nanny now, not my sister. She can go back. If you don't tell her, I'll talk to her myself tomorrow.” Lijuan turned and left.
Early the next morning, before Yaping went to work, Lijuan waited in the lobby downstairs. Seeing Yaping come downstairs for breakfast, she shouted to Yuxi, "Sister Yuxi, the baby is a month old now, and I can move around again, so I don't need you here anymore. My mother is not feeling well and needs someone to take care of her. Could you go stay at my mother's house for a while?"
Yu happy remained silent.
"Your silence is a response. Thank you!"
Yaping's mother said, "Wait! Who agreed to this? I invited Yuxi to help me take care of my grandson, and I paid for her out of the money I owed for the old man's unfinished medical treatment. If I don't tell her to leave, no one can tell her to leave."
Lijuan sneered, "Your money? How much money do you have? Where did you get the money? It seems you still owe my family over 100,000 yuan, right? Since you have money to hire a nanny, why don't you use the money to pay off your debt? If you don't want to, fine! My mother's health isn't good, and I'm paying off her debts for her. How long will it take to clear up 1,000 yuan a month? Starting next month, I'll give her 2,000 yuan, 1,000 to pay off her debts, and 1,000 to hire a nanny for her. Back when you weren't interfering, my mother was perfectly healthy!"
He then turned to Yuxi and said, "Sister Yuxi, you should weigh the options yourself. If you go to my mother's house, I'll give you an extra 300. If you don't go, I can't guarantee whether you can stay here. Anyway, I don't need any extra manpower."
Yaping's mother stared at Yaping and asked, "Yaping, what do you mean?"
Yaping lowered his head and ate without saying a word.
Yaping's mother raised her voice and asked, "Yaping!?"
Lijuan replied lazily, "Stop shouting! I talked to him last night. He doesn't want to live in this house. If you live in my house, you have to listen to me, or get out. I don't like serving you."
Yaping's mother was trembling with anger.
Yu happy came out of the kitchen, bowed her head and said, "Okay, I'll go."
Lijuan turned around triumphantly and went upstairs, saying, "Hey! That's right, that's what you call smart. You have to see the situation clearly. By the way, I'm going to pick up the baby now. From now on, the baby will stay in my room. If he cries, let him cry. Nobody is allowed to comfort him. Anyone who tries to comfort him will get angry with me! Don't blame me for not making this clear beforehand. The child is mine, so he has to obey me. The others aren't close to me!" Humming a little tune, she went to her mother-in-law's room.
In the afternoon, Lijuan, carrying her child, took Yuxi to her mother's house.
A week later, in the middle of the night, Yu Xi ran back to Ya Ping's house crying, insisting on returning to her hometown in Northeast China.
As Yaping's mother buttoned her clothes, she asked, "What's going on in the middle of the night?" Yaping came downstairs, and Lijuan also came out and stood on the stairs to listen.
"That old hag! She's trying to kill me. She won't let me sleep all night long. I'm up before the roosters crow, even the mice are asleep, but I can't rest. I won't even mention the whole family's toilets, she deliberately humiliates me, saying she's constipated, and makes me bend over and ask her to insert an enema. When I refuse, she keeps cursing, using every swear word imaginable, it's unbearable to listen to. Tonight, I wanted to call home to ask about the kids. As soon as I picked up the phone, she started cursing, saying I was wasting her phone. I said I'd pay for the call myself, and she said where would I get the money? It's all from her daughter. After midnight, I picked up the phone to call while she was asleep, but she was hiding behind the door waiting for me, turning on the light and yelling at me. All the neighbors woke up, I couldn't stand it anymore. I see now, they're clearly trying to kick me out! I don't want the money anymore, let them buy a funeral wreath! I'm leaving tomorrow."
Lijuan rushed down from the second floor, saying sarcastically, "Sister Yuxi! If you want to leave, no one's stopping you. Go ahead and leave! Even state-owned enterprises don't have guaranteed jobs anymore. Who can guarantee they'll stay in one place forever? But leaving and then making excuses to badmouth people is just not fair! If my mom were fully capable and healthy, would she need to waste 1000 yuan a month hiring someone to help? What household doesn't need someone to empty the chamber pot? If her hands were mobile, she wouldn't want you to see her butt! Besides, she's at least capable of taking care of herself. If she were bedridden and couldn't move, wouldn't you suffocate her if you had to clean her up? It's perfectly normal that she doesn't call you. What nanny doesn't buy their own phone card and use a public phone booth? Before..." "You're having too much fun at my house, aren't you? Free long-distance calls, you can talk for as long as you want. Only we're rich enough not to care. My mom isn't rich, she's not that generous. Besides, what's the point of calling at midnight? Are you trying to keep me awake? My mom's notoriously bad-tempered, it's not like it's targeting you. She's not polite to me either! And since she got sick from being upset, her personality has become even more extreme. You're at least a junior, you should be more considerate! You can't complain like that! Fine, I won't say any more. Since you said you wanted to leave, out of respect for Sister Yaping, I'll buy you a train ticket tomorrow and give you two extra months' salary. Goodbye!" She turned and went back to her room, secretly gloating, kicking her feet happily.
"This! This is the good wife you found!" Ya Ping's mother gritted her teeth, her hatred growing with each passing thought, and raised her hand to slap her son hard across the face.
Yaping stood in the center of the hall with a long face, feeling like a rat trapped in a bellows.
Yaping sneaked into Lijuan's bedroom in the middle of the night, knelt by her bedside, and put his arm around her shoulder, saying, "Lijuan! Please, give me some face. My mother will be heartbroken if you keep acting like this. Please, just say something nice and let Yuxi stay!"
Lijuan, with her back to Yaping, said, "What face do you have left? You've already given away all your face. The fact that you're now letting me call you my husband is already a favor. This Yuxi thing isn't my fault! I was firmly against her coming; it was your mother's idea. Now she's just another scapegoat. Your mother is more trouble than she's worth. This family, I think, is just missing your mother. If it weren't for your mother, just Yuxi, we might still be good friends. Yaping! Right now, our relationship is just comradeship, not marital affection. You decide what to do. If you think we can't go on, you can file for divorce, and I'll sign immediately. The children are mine, the house is mine, and you can take your mother and go wherever you want. If you want to continue, tell your mother to shut up. She needs to understand the situation in this family; only one person can have the final say, and that's me!" When she said "that's me," Lijuan suddenly turned around, her eyes flashing with murderous intent, her words vicious. "I'm only taking her in out of pity, otherwise I'd tell you both to get out of here naked! Understand? Get out!"
The next day, Yaping bought the train tickets to see Yuxi off. On the platform, Yaping wept uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face, whether from guilt or humiliation, he couldn't utter a single word. Yuxi cried too. The two embraced, tears flowing freely. Sitting in the train, Yuxi waved to Yaping: "Take care!"
Lijuan felt life was incredibly wonderful, even breathing felt effortless. Now, she relaxed at home, taking her child wherever she pleased. The baby had gotten used to seeing her mother's smile the moment he opened his eyes, often snuggling into Lijuan's arms. Lijuan's heart melted; she especially loved the child's dependent expression and the look of surprise in his eyes—she couldn't get enough of it. Lijuan began to follow Yuxi's old habits, holding and rocking the child without letting go, simply wanting to spoil him and make him happy. She finally understood Yuxi and her mother-in-law's feelings back then; for such a lovely child, no amount of pampering was too much.
Yaping's mother was unusually silent. Most of the time, she would curl up alone in the kitchen or hide in her bedroom, refusing to come out. Often, she would be lost in thought. She had come to terms with the reality of this family. Her son made no decisions, and she was merely a guest in this home. Many times, if she was working in the kitchen and Lijuan happened to walk in with her child, she would flinch and quickly duck out. No matter how many opportunities Yaping tried to get close to his mother, she would stubbornly refuse to speak, as if in retaliation. Essentially, Yaping's mother had zero chance of speaking at home.
Yaping's mother finds joy in watching her grandson. Sometimes she peeks into the bedroom through the door or leans against the wall to listen to Lijuan playing with the child, her heart filled with longing, and a rare smile appears on her face.
Lijuan knew her mother-in-law was peeking at her grandson through the door. She felt bad that her mother-in-law had remained silent all this time. Deep down, she really hoped her mother-in-law would come in and hug her son. But she couldn't bring herself to say anything kind: "If you want to see, come in. Don't sneak around at the door." Hearing this, her mother-in-law immediately turned and left.
Lijuan's three-month maternity leave was over in the blink of an eye, and she had to go back to work. With Lijuan gone, the whole family, including the child, was left in the care of Yaping's mother. Lijuan wanted to take this opportunity to reconcile with Yaping's mother, firstly for the sake of the child, and secondly for the sake of the family.
The night before she went to work, Lijuan went into her mother-in-law's room and saw her mother-in-law leaning against the bed, watching her warily.
She sat on the edge of Yaping's mother's bed, took her hand, and said, "Mom, I have to go to work tomorrow. Tonight and tomorrow morning, I'll prepare the breast pump, put it in bottles, and freeze it. The baby and this family are all in your hands now. Thank you!" Yaping's mother didn't say anything, but nodded gently.
Lijuan thought to herself, "I need to be nicer to my mother-in-law, after all, she is Yaping's mother and the child's grandmother."
Lijuan felt something was wrong after working there for a week.
The baby wasn't hungry when we got home, and he didn't seem particularly interested in the nipple. Normally, babies grow quickly, and four small bottles of milk a day shouldn't make him so full he doesn't want fresh milk. When we try to force-feed him, he either bites hard to practice his teeth, sometimes even breaking the skin, or he falls asleep with the nipple in his mouth without sucking. I've searched online, asked doctors, and consulted all my colleagues; everyone says this is abnormal, but I can't find an answer.
That day, Lijuan had a premonition. She went home around the time her child was being fed at noon. As soon as she entered the door, her mother-in-law was pouring the pumped breast milk into the sink. When she saw Lijuan suddenly appear, she trembled with fright and quickly hid her hands behind her back.
On the stove, there was a bottle of infant formula. The lid was opened.
Lijuan was furious, wishing she could rush over and slap that old woman across the face, then throw her off the balcony. She pulled out her phone and dialed Yaping's office directly: "Li Yaping! You come home right now! Take a taxi back! If you're not back in half an hour, you won't see your mother again!"
Yaping's mother quickly reached for the milk powder, but Lijuan grabbed her arm: "What are you doing? Trying to destroy evidence? Too late! You're an ungrateful wretch! I even dared to dream of living under the same roof as you and being nice to you! I was blinded by greed! You're a snake ready to bite the farmer at any moment! You just wait for your son to come back, and then you get out of here!" Lijuan held her mother-in-law down, making her unable to move, ignoring her desperate pleas: "Lijuan, listen to me! I didn't mean it that way, I didn't mean it that way!" And ignoring the heart-wrenching cries of her son upstairs.
As soon as Yaping entered the door, he saw his wife's face contorted with anger and his mother's face pale.