But the harmony did not last long.
Xu Ping and Zhu Wenzhang had completely accepted that their daughter was pregnant before marriage, had a child, and was even raising the child alone. They rarely mentioned these things during conversations, to avoid hurting their daughter.
But others were not so considerate.
The day after Ding Yun returned.
She heard people in the neighborhood discussing how Zhu's unmarried daughter, pregnant before marriage, had returned with a child in tow, probably because she couldn't make it out there anymore.
At the same time, they "warmly" worried for others.
"A few years ago, I only heard about it, I didn't expect it to be true. She really brought a child back. Unmarried and with a child, who will she marry in the end?"
"She'll probably only be able to marry someone who's been married before. Otherwise, only an old bachelor might accept her."
"Or she could be a stepmother."
"What if she got married outside?"
"How is that possible? If she got married outside, even if she didn't have a wedding here, she would at least bring her parents over for the ceremony, right? And if she were married, wouldn't her parents quickly deny it?"
"Oh my, how indiscreet.
If my daughter dared to do something like this, getting pregnant before marriage, I'd break her legs. What's the use of being good at studying and going to college? She's not as sensible as my daughter who didn't even finish high school. Getting married, having children, and raising them now is quite good."
"What would they call her daughter in ancient times? In ancient times, she'd be called a love child, a disgrace. It's only because household registration has been relaxed in recent years, otherwise her daughter wouldn't even have a household registration. There are really all sorts of people!"
"You guys shouldn't talk too harshly."
"So what if it's harsh? We're not spreading rumors. Is it false that she gave birth, or is it false that she's unmarried?"
"Exactly, if she dares to do it, can't others talk about it?"
"It's only now that clan ideas are not so strong. In the past, if a daughter like this came out of a clan, all the daughters in the family would have trouble getting married for the next ten to twenty years. Even people in the village who had no relation to their family would be affected, people would gossip about their family's poor upbringing and the village's bad atmosphere."
"Hey, why are you talking so much about other people's business? It's not affecting you. Besides, isn't that girl like this because she was deceived? If you want to say something, you should talk about her ex-boyfriend!"
"But we don't know her ex-boyfriend!"
...
Although they didn't say these things in front of Ding Yun, her downstairs was a small convenience store, and the entrance to the store was the important gathering place for those people playing cards or chatting. Moreover, they weren't whispering discreetly, but shouting as if with megaphones. Therefore, Ding Yun inside could hear everything clearly.
But Ding Yun could do nothing about them.
Because she couldn't possibly go down and beat them up.
This was exactly why Xu Ping and her husband had thought it was good for their daughter to leave their hometown. Living at home inevitably meant hearing these rumors, and it was difficult to fall out with them. Going to another place meant mostly strangers, which was always better.
Xu Ping and her husband originally thought that six years had passed and the residents of the neighborhood should have forgotten about it. They didn't expect that with the return of the person involved, they would bring up the old matters again, and even extend the discussion to their granddaughter.
This truly angered Xu Ping, who had also noticed this situation. She wished she could rush down and fight with them, but was ultimately stopped by Ding Yun.
Because this kind of thing was like preventing the people's mouths from speaking.
To block the mouths of the people is more serious than to block a river.
Their private discussions were not illegal or criminal. Instead, it was they themselves who would be violating public security punishment regulations if they went down and fought with them. It was impossible to silence them.
However, because of this matter, both Ding Yun and Xu Ping were clearly in low spirits. At the same time, Ding Yun could better understand why the original owner's mother had desperately tried to prevent her from keeping the child back then. Keeping the child might not only involve financial and energy challenges, but the greater pressure might not come from oneself.
It came from the outside world.
Although many people say that one should do what they believe is right without caring about others' opinions, this is easy to say, and it rolls off the tongue with a few touches of the lips. But how easy is it to truly do it?
Who can truly completely ignore external comments?
Sometimes parents urge their children to get married, or even force them to study and attend cram schools, largely because they didn't initially think that way. It's the external discussions, the persuasion of others, and the feeling of falling behind if they don't do what everyone else is doing that push parents to actively transfer this emotion to their children, turning it into urging marriage or attending cram schools.
"Mom, I'll go back in a while.
If I can't fight them, I can hide from them. I don't care about myself, but I'm afraid my child might accidentally hear something that would affect her.
I don't want my child to feel inferior because of me.
I've already told you where I'm living. If you miss me, you can come visit me when you have time. Honestly, I don't really want to come back for Lunar New Year, so let's talk about it for this year's Lunar New Year. If I have time, I'll come back. Otherwise, you can bring Zhu Cong to spend Lunar New Year with me.
I'll cover all the travel expenses."
After persuading Xu Ping, Ding Yun had to make such a decision. Even if she didn't consider her own feelings, she had to consider her daughter's. Even if her daughter might not understand these rumors yet, she still didn't want her daughter to often hear them, or to live in an environment where people were constantly gossiping about their family.
She couldn't drive these neighbors away.
Or sneak up on them and teach them a lesson.
Moreover, she hadn't planned to stay in her hometown for a long time, so avoiding them was the best option.
Xu Ping felt she could understand her daughter's decision and didn't add unnecessary questions. Instead, she nodded directly, "It's indeed not good for the child to hear them.
Come back when you have time in the future. We'll visit you if we have time. I'll retire next year. If you don't have much time to take care of the child, I can come help you take care of her. Anyway, I don't expect much from your brother's studies anymore, so I can worry less."
"When you retire, live for yourself.
There's no need to find more trouble for yourself. I'll take care of the child myself. She'll be starting primary school next year anyway.
It's not that difficult to take care of her.
And the child is sensible and not troublesome.
If you want to go out and play, when you retire, I'll sign you up for a tour group. You can go play with the tour group.
Just live happily.
I'm living a good life, there's nothing wrong."
Ding Yun didn't mention that she had opened two companies because the source of her startup capital was difficult to explain. So, she had only said before that her job was easy, she earned a lot, and it was easy to raise a child alone. Hearing her mother offer to help take care of the child after retirement, she advised her mother not to find more trouble for herself. Doing more doesn't necessarily mean appreciation, and it's better for one generation to manage one generation.
Xu Ping, however, waved her hands repeatedly:
"No, no, why travel? If I go traveling, what about your father and your brother?
They'll starve to death at home.
If I'm not home for two or three days, they can mess up the house like a kennel. So forget it. I'm destined to be a hard worker. So be it. You stay at home. I'm going downstairs to buy groceries and will be back soon!"
...