Mother Qi, having encountered resistance from Father Qi, was still not satisfied at heart, so she took Cheng Su along with the prepared gifts to the Cheng family in Xiashui Village.
Upon seeing her counterpart, Mother Cheng naturally welcomed her in with joy. After hearing her purpose and seeing the pile of gifts, and observing her sullen complexion, she hurriedly said, "Look at you, bringing all this over. As for the food, just leave it at home. We have so few people in our house, and neither I nor his father have much of an appetite, so we couldn’t eat much anyway."
While speaking, she rummaged through the gifts, pretending to be annoyed, "Cheng Su, that girl, is still so extravagant. I’ll have to give her a good scolding when I get the chance. Now that she’s married and has her own little family, she can’t just do as she pleases like when she was single."
Mother Qi could clearly hear that these words were meant for her own ears, as if to pre-emptively block any criticism she might have about her daughter.
However, she was determined to have her say. If not to criticize Cheng Su for squandering, then to talk about children. Who knows, maybe her counterpart would change their mind after hearing about it.
With this thought in mind, Mother Qi sighed deeply.
Seeing this, Mother Cheng felt a pang of fear and hastily asked, "What’s troubling you? Did our Cheng Su do something to upset you? Please speak freely, and I assure you, I will reprimand her."
Mother Qi sighed deeply and said, "My dear counterpart, I’m afraid we might have to give up hope on holding a grandchild."
As soon as these words were spoken, Mother Cheng turned pale. What did this mean? Could it be that Cheng Su was unable to have children?
This was unheard of in the Cheng family lineage—none of the women had such an issue with bearing children. Where could the mistake have come from?
"What do you mean by that? You must not scare me," said Mother Cheng anxiously, almost wishing she could call her daughter immediately. But with her counterpart present, suggesting such a serious concern, there must be some inside knowledge involved.
Mother Qi sighed again and said, "My daughter-in-law and Taiguo have decided to wait a few more years before having children. They say they’re too busy with their careers right now to manage, so tell me, are we not to expect grandchildren?"
What?
Mother Cheng was startled at first, but then her anxiety dissipated. She let out a long sigh and said, "You scared me to death; I thought they had some kind of problem. This, temporarily not having children, what’s that all about?"
Mother Qi took the opportunity to talk about how busy Cheng Su was and, looking at Mother Cheng, said, "I know it’s good that the child is studious, but when it comes to having children, we women understand that, of course, the sooner the better. Don’t you agree?"
She was clever enough not to bring up the whole spiel Taiguo had mentioned, only saying Cheng Su was busy with business and studying for university, too caught up to even think about having children, pushing all the responsibility onto Cheng Su.
Mother Cheng was baffled and nodded in agreement, forcing a smile, "I had no idea she had such intentions. Although she’s strong-minded, she also defers to her husband in everything and certainly wouldn’t dare make decisions on her own. It must have been discussed and considered thoroughly with Taiguo before making a decision. She definitely would not dare to proceed without his agreement. Don’t worry, I do know my own child to some extent."
This was also her way of telling Mother Qi that without her son’s support and approval, Cheng Su would not make any rash decisions, so the responsibility did not lie with one person alone; her son was also involved.
Mother Qi hit another soft nail and said, "I know that too. I just thought, we’re both still hale and hearty, and if they’re too busy to care for a child, we would naturally help raise it, don’t you think?"
Mother Cheng nodded perfunctorily. Upon seeing this, Mother Qi did not stay any longer. She left with her indignation, both mother and daughter being impervious to persuasion or flattery.