After staying at her parents’ house for a while, Qi Fenglian said she wanted to head home, and Mother Qi followed her out.
"Mom, what is it?" Qi Fenglian wasn’t in a good mood and didn’t pay much attention to the old lady’s expression.
Mother Qi first carefully glanced inside the house and, seeing that Father Qi hadn’t come out, pulled Qi Fenglian aside and asked, "Have you been to Taiguo’s place?"
"No, what happened?" Qi Fenglian didn’t understand.
Mother Qi hesitated before asking, "Nothing much, it’s just that your eldest brother hasn’t called me for a long time."
Qi Fenglian paused, then said, "Maybe he’s busy in Taiguo!"
"Even if he is busy, doesn’t he have time to make a phone call? We have a phone at home, and he has one in his office, he clearly just doesn’t want to call me. I know your eldest brother has been influenced by that woman and doesn’t even acknowledge his own mother anymore!" As she spoke, Mother Qi began lifting her clothes to wipe the corners of her eyes.
Qi Fenglian furrowed her brow and said, "Mom, don’t you think such words sting? How could Taiguo not acknowledge you? You shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that."
"Then why hasn’t he called back? Last time I said I was sick, he showed no concern at all," Mother Qi retorted.
At the mention of this, Qi Fenglian’s complexion soured, and she said, "Mom, that’s where you did wrong. At your age, you can’t joke about your health. What if something really happened? How would our family deal with the guilt? Don’t do such things again in the future!" Mother Qi snorted, "I think this house would rather see me dead, no one cares about me."
"Mom, if you keep this attitude, people in the house will indeed start to distance themselves from you. Maybe Taiguo is angry that’s why he doesn’t call back," Qi Fenglian sighed and said, "Mom, you should also stop meddling in Taiguo and his wife’s affairs. Whatever they want to do, let them be. Why intervene and disrupt the peace at home? They’re married and already have a child. What are they going to do next, get divorced? Taiguo is a soldier, how could he get divorced? Mom, just think of Cheng Su’s good points!"
Mother Qi found these words particularly grating and said coldly, "I don’t have any control over them anyway. Go on, walk away, you’re just another one I can’t count on!"
Qi Fenglian shook her head, heading home. Thinking of Zhang Jisheng’s words, she went by the convenience store to call the fast food restaurant.
The call was answered by Cheng Su. Qi Fenglian explained her situation and that she’d only be able to return in a couple of days.
"Well, then you should stay with Xiao Bao for a couple more days, the child is what matters most," Cheng Su said understandingly.
Qi Fenglian heard this and felt a sudden twinge in her heart. She asked, "Is the store managing alright without me?"
When she heard Cheng Su say that it was okay and that they had hired a new person to help, she exclaimed, "Why so sudden? You never mentioned it before."
Cheng Su shared his concerns, "It’s like this; when you need to take time off, there’s no one to manage the store. I can come over, but what if there comes a time when I can’t get away? We can’t just abandon it, can we?"
Qi Fenglian tentatively asked, "So should we promote someone to handle the cash and manage?"
"Let’s wait and see how things go; it might be time to promote someone, otherwise who will step in when you take a break?" Cheng Su said, "Let’s talk about this when you come back, shall we? It’s almost time to open up for the day!"
Qi Fenglian hung up the phone feeling downcast and pursed her lips as she walked back to her in-laws’ home.
With the child still a worry on one hand, and her work something she couldn’t let go on the other, if she were absent for too long, who would remember her?
Behind her, Baobao suddenly cried out, and Qi Fenglian quickly patted his buttocks to soothe him, her heart feeling a wave of sorrow.
You can’t have your cake and eat it too; you just can’t.
What should she do, when her life seemed so desperate?