Chapter 51.1

Ruan Mingfu was counting off her points on her fingers.

“After raising sons, you end up raising grandsons. If you’re unlucky, you have to deal with your sons and their wives. The couple ends up being closer to each other than to their own parents. When they argue, they side with their daughter-in-law, and it feels like you’re being torn apart.”

“As you grow older, if your son has a conscience, he’ll take care of you. If he doesn’t, he’ll just kick you out…”

Every time she said something, the sister-in-law’s face turned ashen.

Especially after hearing the last sentence, the faces of all the sisters-in-law present did not look good.

In a large village, there will always be a few ungrateful children. It’s no wonder they’re upset about being cast aside as old people.

Some military wives even showed thoughtful expressions.

The military wife who had been outspoken was rendered speechless, “You… you’re talking nonsense! It’s not like that at all.”

Isn’t it?

The other wives curled their lips.

There are plenty of ungrateful children, and no one can guarantee they won’t end up in such a situation.

Li Xiaoyue’s eyes brightened, “Sister Ruan, are daughters really as good as you say?”

Ruan Mingfu was momentarily confused by the address, not realizing she was being called.

Once she figured it out, she felt a bit embarrassed.

She was only eighteen. Being called Sister Ruan made her feel much older.

“Of course,” she began listing the virtues of daughters, “Daughters are more considerate, clean, and hygienic. If raised well, they might even be better than sons. Besides, great people say women can hold up half the sky.”

Even though the era was liberated, some concepts were still deeply ingrained.

For example, the preference for sons over daughters.

Ruan Mingfu found it very disdainful.

There was no throne at home, yet people were still obsessed with having sons. The more children they had, the poorer they became, and the poorer they were, the more children they had.

“I saw an article in a foreign newspaper that the gender of a child is determined by the man, not the woman,” she said with a hint of sarcasm. “So, if you don’t have a son, it’s not the woman’s fault but the man’s.”

“Hiss—”

The military wives were hearing this theory for the first time and gasped in shock.

“Sister-in-law, is this true?”

“Comrade Ruan is educated, she wouldn’t deceive us.”

“Oh my, this is so shocking. How could it be like this?”

“Pah! Nonsense, how come I’ve never heard this before?”

Ruan Mingfu didn’t even need to take action, the military wife solved the problem with just a few words.

“Comrade Ruan is someone who communicates with foreigners, so it should be normal for him to know about this kind of thing.”

“Exactly! Why would Comrade Ruan lie to us?”

“Of course, foreign countries are much more advanced than we are. It makes sense that they’d have already figured out things like determining the gender of a baby.”

…

There were also several sisters-in-law who were suffering from the pressure to have sons, and couldn’t help but curse out loud.

“That cursed old woman! It’s clearly her son who’s useless, but she has the nerve to call me a hen that doesn’t lay eggs. Just wait until I get home—I’ll have plenty to say to her!”

“Exactly! So that’s the truth. We’ve been deceived so badly.”

“In my opinion, sons and daughters are all the same. Why rank them by some imaginary scale…”

The hospital room suddenly erupted with chatter, but Li Xiaoyue didn’t find the noise bothersome. Ever since she gave birth to her daughter, especially since she couldn’t have more children, she had endured too much malice.

Ruan Mingfu’s words had finally lifted the weight off her chest, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief.

“Thank you, Sister-in-law…”

Li Xiaoyue’s tears flowed uncontrollably, her face full of gratitude.

“If you want to live well, you need a strong temper and a strong backbone,” Ruan Mingfu said, feeling pity for her and unable to hold back a few more words. “Given how things are now, why not take a stand? You’ve got hands and feet—if you kick out Captain Gu, maybe life will get better.”

Captain Gu, who had just stepped into the hospital room: “…”

What the hell? The first thing he heard was someone advising his wife to kick him out.

Li Xiaoyue now viewed Ruan Mingfu as a goddess.

She listened intently and nodded, “Sister-in-law, then what?”

“Then, of course, demand money! You have his only daughter. Every month, he has to give child support, and he should pay for your postpartum recovery too.” Ruan Mingfu sat down, saying bluntly, “If you ask me, Captain Gu is useless—he can’t even father a son.”

Ruan Mingfu’s expression turned sharp, like an evil mother-in-law gossiping about her daughter-in-law behind her son’s back.

“Sister-in-law, what if he refuses to give it?” asked Li Xiaoyue.

“Then make a scene! At worst, the army will demobilize him, and he’ll have to come home and fend for himself.”

She paused. “Anyway, with the way his mother has caused such a mess, the higher-ups will talk to him sooner or later. If things don’t go well, he’ll be sent home.”

Listening to Ruan Mingfu, Captain Gu became increasingly angry.

Wasn’t she teaching his wife to become a troublemaker?

But when he heard her final words, cold sweat started dripping down his back.

His family’s affair had been causing chaos in the family compound lately, and the situation reflected poorly on him…

Ruan Mingfu’s words suddenly made sense.

Captain Gu no longer dared to enter the room and instead bolted downstairs to handle his mother’s mess.

“Sister-in-law, you’re absolutely right!”

Li Xiaoyue nodded in agreement.

The other sisters-in-law wanted to say something in rebuttal, but they didn’t know how to say it. After thinking about it carefully, Ruan Mingfu’s words actually made sense.

If Captain Gu really wanted to handle his mother, he would have done so already, rather than letting things escalate to this point.

Li Xiaoyue’s current predicament was entirely due to her unreliable husband, who only catered to his mother.

Not long after they married, he handed over his entire monthly stipend to his mother.

As a result, Li Xiaoyue was left with no money at all.

Even when it came time to buy formula for the baby, her mother-in-law refused to give any money.

Tsk tsk tsk…

Ruan Mingfu shook her head.

In her view, behind every wicked mother-in-law, there is a son who aids her in her evil deeds.

None of them were good.

Ugh!

Among the gathered women, Li Xianglan also appeared to be deep in thought.

The sisters-in-law helped her put away all the belongings that she brought with her.

One of them handed her a lunch box. “I made carp soup—it’s really fresh. I’ll leave it here, and later you can ask a nurse to heat it up for you.”

Li Xiaoyue was so moved, she nearly cried again.

“Thank you, thank you sisters-in-law.”

“Xiaoyue, you really need to have a good talk with Captain Gu,” Sister Lin, who had been a military wife for many years, wasn’t a conservative person. “What Comrade Ruan said is right. Whether you can live a good life depends on whether you can stand up for yourself.”

In her view, Li Xiaoyue was too soft.

If she had a stronger personality, her mother-in-law wouldn’t dare to say a word!

“I understand. Thank you, everyone.”

Ruan Mingfu didn’t stay long. Before leaving, she discreetly tucked a red envelope into the baby’s clothes.

As she left the hospital, she felt quite pleased with herself.

She really was too kind.

Once everyone had left, Li Xiaoyue couldn’t help but burst into loud sobs.

She had always led a difficult life, without parents, bouncing from one relative to another. If her parents had fewer siblings, she wouldn’t have grown up so safely.

Later, she met Captain Gu. They were young and attracted to each other, so they married.

Li Xiaoyue knew that Captain Gu’s mother had never approved of her, thinking that her lack of parents would be a burden.

No matter how poorly she was treated, Li Xiaoyue silently endured it. When she became pregnant, Captain Gu’s mother’s attitude changed, treating her better.

Li Xiaoyue thought she had finally been accepted.

Who knew reality would give her a hard slap in the face?

A woman in her fifties, with a kind face, shared the hospital room with Li Xiaoyue. Seeing her crying so hard, the older woman couldn’t help but come over to comfort her.

“Don’t cry, girl.” she said. “You have so many people caring about you.”

The kind-hearted woman had noticed that Li Xiaoyue had no one keeping her company and occasionally lent a hand. Seeing that no one was bringing her meals, she even shared a bowl of her homemade chicken soup with her.

Li Xiaoyue clung to the woman, sobbing even harder.

Just then, Captain Gu’s mother burst into the room, hair disheveled, and slapped Li Xiaoyue across the face.

The older woman was stunned, and Li Xiaoyue was frozen in shock.

“What’s wrong with you?” The older woman finally reacted, standing between them. “How can you hit a pregnant woman?”

The people in the hospital room turned their heads when they heard the commotion.

Mother Gu still wanted to hit her, but the older woman blocked her tightly, preventing her from getting through.

“You little bitch, what did you say to my son?” Mother Gu’s eyes were bloodshot, as if she wanted to kill someone.

Li Xiaoyue held her face, shaking her head helplessly.

“I don’t know, Mom. I haven’t seen him today.”

“Bullshit!” Mother Gu was so angry that her chest heaved violently. “If you haven’t seen my son, why would he come to tell me to go back to the countryside?”

Tears hung in Li Xiaoyue’s eyes. “I don’t know, I really don’t know.”

She was telling the truth, but Mother Gu refused to believe her.

Being physically blocked, Mother Gu couldn’t strike her, which only made her angrier. In a fit of rage, she knocked everything off the cabinet, the crashing sounds echoing in the room.

Everyone in the room jumped in fright.

Even the three children started crying.

Heartbroken, Li Xiaoyue held the children in her arms, gently soothing them.

Seeing this made Mother Gu even more furious.

“You eat my food and drink my drinks, but in the end you gave birth to a money-losing thing, you loser! You can’t even give birth, so what do I need you for?”

Li Xiaoyue’s tears flowed uncontrollably at those heart-wrenching words.

“But Nannan is still your granddaughter.”

“I don’t care!”

Mother Gu grew more irritated just by looking at Li Xiaoyue.

Back then, she only managed to marry her son by crying and clinging to him, making him insist on marrying her. And what was the result? This useless woman couldn’t even help her son’s career and couldn’t even bear a son.

If she didn’t get to hold a grandson, she would crawl out of her grave!

Li Xiaoyue sobbed harder.

“Sister, you can’t say that,” the older woman, a little embarrassed, tried to console her. “We’re all family, there’s no need to make things so ugly. She just gave birth to a daughter. Next time, she’ll definitely give you a son.”

“As the saying goes, first the flower blooms, then the fruit grows. That’s a good thing.”

Every word the aunt said seemed like a knife stabbing Mother Gu in the heart.

Her eyes turned even redder.

“Next time? This wretched girl can’t even have more children!”

Sensing everyone’s gaze focused on her, Li Xiaoyue lowered her head in shame.

The aunt didn’t know what to say anymore.

“Big sister, calm down first. Let’s sit down and talk it over.”

Sit down, my foot!