nycdaug Chapter 269 Borrowing a House
Chapter 269 Borrowing a House
"Ah Ling, you and Xiao Ting sleep inside. I often get up at night and I don't want to disturb you!"
"Ah Ling, I'll cook lunch for Tu Nan and Xiao Ting, so you don't need to run back and forth."
"Ah Ling, I saw that you hadn't had time to wash a few of your clothes, so I washed them for you."
When an old woman wants something thoughtful, she understands everything.
A week passed like this, and things should have been harmonious, but Zhuang Chaoying couldn't take it anymore!
“Grandma often coughs and spits phlegm at night, and my mother and I are woken up many times at night.”
Zhuang Xiaoting was jumping rope while complaining to Lin Dongzhe.
Lin Dongzhe knew about this; his ears were incredibly sharp, especially now that he had developed his internal energy, making his hearing almost superhuman. He heard Wang Yong's seventeen-second conversation perfectly clearly and even helped Wang Yong calculate the time.
Therefore, he knows more than Zhuang Xiaoting does.
Just like Zhuang Chaoying, who was already finding it hard to stand her mother's constant noise at night.
The grandparents didn't do it on purpose; she even tried to keep her voice down, but the room was so small that you could hear them even if they just turned over in bed at night.
He hasn't slept well for a week. He already has mild insomnia and it takes him a long time to fall asleep each time.
Just as Zhuang Chaoying was about to fall asleep, she heard her mother cough twice. Just as she was about to drift off again, she heard her mother pick up the spittoon and spit out phlegm. This happened seven or eight times throughout the night. The mother and son had such a tacit understanding. It wasn't until the sky outside was slightly bright that she thought, "Ah, I don't need to sleep anymore!"
This is just one of the problems. There is another, more important problem: the son's studies.
The elderly couple had a mixed view of learning; they valued it, but they also didn't care at all. For the past ten years, they'd felt that learning was pointless, and they couldn't easily shake off their old mindset.
Zhuang Chaoying cared a lot about Zhuang Tunan. From the first day after returning from grading the test papers, she discussed with Huang Ling about letting Zhuang Tunan take the entrance exam for a key junior high school.
However, Zhuang Chaoying was unhappy that the two elderly people were disturbing Zhuang Tunan's studies. Moreover, their noise at night prevented Zhuang Tunan from getting a proper rest.
Because of this, Zhuang Chaoying couldn't stand Huang Ling anymore.
"How could you possibly agree to let the two elders move in?"
Huang Ling exclaimed as if she had discovered a new continent, "Is this still Superhero? How could she say such a thing?"
Taking advantage of Huang Ling's inattention, Zhuang Chaoying secretly slapped herself. Why did she blurt out her true feelings? It must be because she hadn't slept well these past few days, which had damaged her image as a filial son.
Lin Dongzhe felt sorry for Zhuang Xiaoting's inability to sleep well and wanted to tell Huang Ling to let Zhuang Xiaoting sleep in his room, but he knew it would be pointless and impossible to succeed.
Zhuang Xiaoting, who had been jumping rope for a while, wanted to rest for a bit, but she felt very comfortable lying on Lin Dongzhe's lap and soon fell asleep.
Lin Dongzhe stroked Zhuang Xiaoting, who looked like a porcelain doll, feeling a pang of heartache. 'Just hang in there a little longer, the dawn of victory is almost here!'
All this effort was for Zhuang Xiaoting!
Having watched the TV series, he knew how much Zhuang Xiaoting longed for a normal family and how afraid she was of her parents getting divorced!
'Your world is mine to protect!'
Zhuang Chaoying hesitated for several days before finally mustering up her courage and approaching her grandparents. "Mom and Dad, look how cramped our home is. Living like this isn't a long-term solution."
The old woman's expression changed instantly. "What do you mean? You want us to leave? Was this Ah Ling's idea?"
Grandpa sighed repeatedly, "You unfilial son! Are you even a member of the Zhuang family?"
Zhuang Chaoying quickly explained, "No, Mom and Dad, listen to me, it wasn't A-Ling's idea, it's just... if we continue like this, it will seriously hinder Tu Nan and Xiao Ting's studies. They can't sleep well at night, and they have no energy at school. Tu Nan's teacher has told me several times that Tu Nan is sleeping in class, or daydreaming and dozing off."
Seeing the displeased expressions on the two elderly people's faces, Zhuang Chaoying continued, "How about this? If you like living here, A-Ling and I are happy to welcome you. But could it be a few years later? After Tu-Nan and Xiao-Ting graduate, we can bring you here to live with us!"
"Let me put it this way, boss, we're absolutely not going back to Ganmei!" The old woman said this with absolute certainty, as if asking them to go back would be like taking their lives.
Zhuang Chaoying is a hard worker; he can even make Zhuang Tunan and Zhuang Xiaoting suffer with him. But if there is no hope for the future, then Zhuang Chaoying will find it hard to swallow the hardship.
As an educator, he often instilled in his students the idea that only studying matters, and eventually, he himself came to believe it. He valued learning above all else, and often felt inferior because he hadn't gone to university, looking up to all university students.
Just like the forestry worker next door.
The conversation with her parents ended without a follow-up, but she found an opportunity with Engineer Lin.
“Teacher Zhuang, I’ve roughly looked into your situation. If there’s really no other way, I do have a house here, but it’s in a compressor factory, so it’s not exactly close…”
Lin Wufeng hesitated for a long time before deciding to lend the compressor factory's house to his neighbor, after all, he was just a neighbor, and a new neighbor at that.
The problem was that the noise from next door was too loud, and he couldn't stand it anymore! He didn't care that the noise from next door would come every now and then when it was quiet at night, but he was mainly worried about disturbing Song Ying and Lin Dongzhe's rest.
I overheard the dealer's conversation and instantly figured out their main problem.
Zhuang Chaoying grasped Lin Wufeng's hand as if he were her second parent, "Engineer Lin has really helped us a lot this time!"
When the elderly couple heard that they would have their own house to live in and be free from those two gluttons, they immediately agreed.
They were both feeling quite cramped at Huang Ling's place, so having a comfortable little place would be wonderful. Besides, their boss had promised to come and pick them up later. They trusted their boss's character.
The elderly couple moved away, and Huang Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was also the end of the year, so after discussing it with Zhuang Chaoying, they bought two jin of pork ribs from the store, along with two other gifts, and then took Zhuang Tunan and Zhuang Xiaoting back to Huang Ling's parents' home.
Zhuang Chaoying did not go with them. Unless there were special circumstances, sons-in-law were not allowed to visit their mothers-in-law's homes, and even daughters rarely returned home. Only wealthy families could afford to let their daughters frequently visit their parents' homes.
Huang Ling didn't stay long before returning.
Although the women's movement has been ongoing for some time and the All-China Women's Federation has been promoting feminism, the concept that "a married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl" remains deeply ingrained in people's minds.
Just like Zhuang Chaoying, he felt that Huang Ling going home to visit her parents was already fulfilling her filial duty. The real responsibility of caring for the elderly still fell on her son.
Huang Ling actually thought so too.