Chapter 410 - 357: An Opportunity to Have One
Chapter 410: Chapter 357: An Opportunity to Have One
The two kids were on vacation. Ai Liwen, due to the special nature of her work, had a very flexible schedule. She could claim she needed to do field research for inspiration and stay away from her office for weeks on end. At the start of the holiday, she joined Xiao Man and her brother, holing up at home. The family—spanning three generations—cheerfully enjoyed a leisurely summer life. They tended to the flower garden and the small vegetable patch they had just cleared out that spring, and came up with all sorts of delicious food to make. Even just sitting on the living room sofa chatting, the house was filled with happy chatter and laughter.
Tang Qingshan called home once a day as usual. Normally, Grandma Tang or Ai Wenli would answer, but now that the two kids were home, they were the first to grab the phone. Listening to the cheerful laughter of his parents and wife, and the playfully intimate bickering of the siblings, Tang Qingshan was filled with longing. He was too busy with work to return, so he could only ask his father to let his dear mother bring everyone over to stay with him for a few days.
Grandpa Tang’s initial reaction was a flat refusal. ’If they all up and leave, what about me? It’s not often I get to enjoy such happy times, you know?’ But he couldn’t withstand his eldest son’s repeated pleas, and with a bit of pillow talk from Grandma Tang—something about how if the young couple was in a good mood, and with the two siblings there as a catalyst, it would be easy to conceive a child, blah blah blah, all for the sake of the Tang family’s descendants—
Grandpa Tang very reluctantly agreed.
(Tang Manman: ’Us, a catalyst? Grandma, are you sure you’re talking about making a baby and not making medicinal pills?’)
Because the siblings also had to go to G Province, they had agreed on the phone beforehand that they could only stay in Liaozhou for a week. Tang Qingshan was already grinning from ear to ear. When he picked up the group, he immediately presented his planned itinerary as if it were a treasure. He had squeezed out a day and a half from his schedule, time he could spend entirely with them. He would take them mountain climbing, to see the newly developed scenic area at the source of the Da Song River, and to take pictures!
Xiao Man gave Dad Tang a disdainful look. ’We go mountain climbing every time we visit. We’ve already climbed every mountain, big and small, around Liaozhou City. Dad Tang, can’t you come up with something new? How about we do something besides climbing mountains and taking scenic photos for a change!’
Dad Tang wore an innocent expression and communicated with Xiao Man telepathically, "Daughter, Dad has been working so hard just to get back to Beijing and reunite with you all sooner. I only sleep three or four hours a day, sometimes not at all. My beloved camera is practically rusting away. Now that I have a day off, I thought it’s better to have fun together than alone. Let’s go take pictures, and I can even give you some pointers..."
Xiao Man retorted mentally, "You’re a Cultivator, you know? After Energy Introduction, dedicated practice keeps your Essence and vitality topped off. You don’t even need to sleep!"
Dad Tang glanced at Ai Wenli beside him, a smile in his eyes. "I have to sleep. Dad isn’t alone anymore. Your Mrs. Ai comes to visit every month. I can’t just have her stay up with me, can I? It’s better if I sleep with her!"
Xiao Man: "..."
She turned, grabbed her luggage, and fled in disarray. ’Off-topic, off-topic!’
Since it was purely a family gathering, they hadn’t notified the Gu family boys about their trip to the Northeast. When they called after arriving in Liaozhou, Gu Shaoqin gave Tang Haocheng an earful of complaints. Tang Haocheng had no choice but to tell him about their upcoming trip to G Province and invite him along. Only then was Gu Shaoqin happy and the matter settled.
Xiao Man, for her part, took calls from Zheng Shaolian and Zheng Shaojin. The two brothers were currently in their hometown of Tianjin. Zheng Shaojin asked if he should come pick them up and arrange for some other fun activities. Zheng Shaolian told Xiao Man to wait for him; he was also going to G Province.
After hanging up, Xiao Man couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. For some reason, the two brothers’ life trajectories were no longer quite the same as in her previous life. Zheng Shaojin was still studying at the Political and Legal University, and she didn’t know how his future would unfold now. The more obvious change was Zheng Shaolian. After being discharged from the army, he went straight into the family business and simultaneously enrolled in school to study financial management.
’Is he giving up on being a high court judge to become an overbearing CEO instead?’
Xiao Man thought about it for a moment and it made sense to her. ’With Zheng Shaolian’s picky and periodically erratic personality, being an overbearing CEO is actually a pretty good fit!’
According to Xiao Man’s speculation, the reason Zheng Shaolian became a judge and Gu Shaoqin a lawyer in her previous life was likely due to Zheng Shaojin’s influence. Zheng Shaojin was now studying for his master’s in law, and she wondered if he would go for a doctorate; in her past life, he had supposedly gone abroad for a few years to gild his resume. As the saying goes, you become like the company you keep. Zheng Shaojin was the maternal grandson of the martial arts-revering Gu family, but he had grown up with Mr. Tang and had an air of scholarly elegance. Yet, his every move revealed the decisiveness of a high-level decision-maker. An offhand remark from him could very well have swayed his brother’s thoughts. In Xiao Man’s memory, Zheng Shaojin’s political career had been exceptionally smooth, seemingly without any setbacks.
In between their excursions, Xiao Man, Grandma Tang, and Mrs. Ai treated Tang Qingshan to all sorts of delicious food. When Tang Qingshan went to work or attended work-related receptions and visits, he had Tang Haocheng by his side. A thirteen-year-old university student, erudite and knowledgeable—the outstanding father and his prodigy son. Praise for them was endless. Although Tang Qingshan was not a vain or shallow man, who wouldn’t be happy about such a source of pride?
A few happy and comfortable days passed. Unfortunately, happy gatherings always fly by. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, the seven days were over. Grandma Tang had to take Xiao Man and her brother back to Beijing. Ai Wenli also had to leave to attend an important literary conference. Tang Qingshan was dejected and reluctant to see them go. He prepared a lot of specialty products from the Northeast, giving half to be distributed among their relatives and friends in Beijing, and the other half for Xiao Man to take to Gongdao Village.
There was no need to pass on any messages. Under the jurisdiction of Liaozhou, where Tang Qingshan worked, there was a large medicinal herb plantation. The idea for Grandpa and Xiao Man to contract a mountainside for their own herb garden had come about after Tang Qingshan first took Grandpa to visit that plantation. Tang Qingshan had also helped solve the subsequent problem of finding merchants to buy the herbs. The two places were often in contact by phone. Tang Qingshan probably knew more about the current situation in Gongdao Village than Xiao Man did.
On the night before their return to Beijing, the family was sitting in the living room eating fruit when Grandma Tang’s conversation naturally turned to the topic of having children. In front of Xiao Man and Hao Hao, she urged Mr. Tang and Mrs. Ai to hurry up and have a little one. Even if they were busy with their careers, it didn’t matter; as the grandmother, she would raise the child, and they wouldn’t have to worry.
Tang Qingshan and Ai Wenli looked at each other. The latter blushed and lowered her head. Tang Qingshan cleared his throat twice and said with a smile, "Mom, isn’t the state promoting family planning? Wenli and I are both public officials, so we should actively answer the call. As a couple, we have Xiao Man registered under our name, and Hao Hao is under Qingyun’s. Our family has two children, a son and a daughter. That’s already perfect!"
Grandma Tang huffed. "Don’t try to fool me with that official nonsense. Take a look at who you’re talking to. You think you’re the only one who understands national policy, and I don’t? Wenli, Qingshan adopted Manman before he married you. You still have the chance to have one of your own. Just tell me, do you want to be a mother or not?"