She said to Mother Qian, “Call your son and make it clear: either you stop meddling in my family’s affairs, and I won’t give a single penny to your daughter-in-law, or you get your job back, and I’ll no longer interfere with the Qian family’s matters. Otherwise, I’ll divorce your son!”

Mother Qian was momentarily stunned.

When she heard the first part of Lin Xia’s statement, she was already about to lose her temper, thinking Lin Xia was just looking down on her for being old and useless.

Just as she was about to argue about the job, Lin Xia brought up the divorce.

Mother Qian was immediately agitated, “What do you mean? We’re talking business here, and now you’re suddenly turning hostile? Do you think divorce is a joke? Just say it and it happens? Is that how it works?”

She instinctively thought Lin Xia was threatening her with divorce.

Lin Xia was never one to shy away from trouble.

She treated people well if they treated her well, and if they looked down on her, she wouldn’t beg for their favor.

Mother Qian had been good to her in the past.

Even though there were some small conflicts, it wasn’t a big deal.

Now, when Mother Qian treated her like an outsider, why should she still be eager to be a daughter-in-law?

The old lady had said back then, “We’re finding you a good family, not making you a maid for them. So, the bride price should be given, and you should take on your role in the family after marriage.”

Since her job was given by her mother-in-law, her mother-in-law could always use it to control her.

Whenever she was unhappy, her mother-in-law had something to say.

So, what could she do?

Either her mother-in-law stopped talking and ceased interfering in their affairs, or she would return the job to her mother-in-law.

Returning the job to her mother-in-law? That wasn’t an option.

The real problem was that her mother-in-law looked down on her and treated her like an outsider.

Would returning the job change her mother-in-law’s attitude? Of course not.

Her mother-in-law complained that she had no job and was living off her son.

If she returned the job, her mother-in-law would be even more critical and less approving of her.

So, the only options were: either her mother-in-law stopped interfering in their affairs, or she would divorce Qian Lisheng and cut ties with the Qian family.

Lin Xia was always very clear-headed.

“This isn’t what you want? You look down on me for coming from the countryside and not being able to bear children. You’re dissatisfied with me using the job you gave me? Fine, I’ll return it to you.”

Lin Shu held her sister’s hand, showing her support for all her decisions.

People now fear divorce because most women lack economic independence and have no support.

Without a way to return to their parental home or any source of income, they have no means to live independently, so they are naturally afraid of divorce.

But her sister was different.

Her sister had skills; she was a seasoned electrician, and even after a divorce, the factory would still need her.

Even if the factory didn’t need her, she could always go back to the Lin family or even move to Luji Village.

Lin Shu always found ways to help her second sister.

When Lin Xia mentioned divorce, Mother Qian was immediately deflated.

When they married, they gave a bride price. Could they get that back if they divorced?

Lin Xia had used her own earnings to support her family and cover their expenses over the years.

Could they repay that?

Remarrying would also require a new bride price, which is a lot of money.

Moreover, besides being unable to have children, Lin Xia was otherwise a good wife—harmonious with Li Sheng and hardworking.

Although Li Sheng was still young and could remarry easily, there’s no guarantee the new wife would be better than Lin Xia.

Mother Qian began to cry and said, “I just asked for a small amount to help my second family, and you said such cold-hearted things. Where is the family bond? Fine, I won’t say anything. I won’t be a bother to you.”

Mother Qian angrily started packing her things.

She took a couple of her clothes and some daily necessities with her.

Lin Shu reminded her, “Aunt, these things don’t belong to you.”

Mother Qian was furious, glaring at Lin Shu and gritting her teeth, “What are you, a younger sister, meddling in your sister and brother-in-law’s affairs for? Don’t you know it’s better to destroy ten temples than to ruin a single family?”

So unfair!

Lin Shu replied, “Aunt, you’re wronging me. I hope my sister and brother-in-law have a long and happy marriage and have children soon. Since you, the mother, aren’t here to support your daughter-in-law, I’ve come to help with the child. My brother-in-law should be grateful to me. But why do you listen to outsiders and question your daughter-in-law? It seems like outsiders are more important to you than your own daughter-in-law, right? Did you ever consider my sister part of the family?”

Lin Shu had previously flattered Mother Qian to improve her relationship with her sister.

Now that it was clear Mother Qian didn’t care for her sister, why should she continue flattering her?

Mother Qian, trembling with anger, pointed at Lin Shu, “You, you…”

Unable to argue with Lin Shu and with her son not around, Mother Qian had no choice but to leave in frustration.

Once she was gone, Lin Shu told Lin Xia, “Sister, to avoid misunderstandings, call your brother-in-law and clarify everything. We can’t let Mother Qian distort the truth and make him misunderstand you.”

Lin Xia said, “This time, I need to make it clear to my husband that for us to live peacefully, his mother must stay out of our family matters.”

With a meddling mother-in-law, it’s hard for the couple to have a good life.

Lin Shu accompanied her second sister to make a call to the publicity department.

They could use the factory’s phone if needed.

The phone charges at the post office are a bit cheaper.

Qian Lisheng had been feeling extremely oppressed and anxious recently, like a bird startled by the twang of a bowstring.

Not only was he nervous, but he was also suffering from inner turmoil, as if he were in a fierce internal battle.

He had always believed that since Lin Xia couldn’t have children, it wasn’t a problem for him.

He thought he could be understanding and considerate, comforting his wife so she wouldn’t feel pressured.

If it came to that, they could adopt.

However, Mother Qian had been pushing him hard, complaining about Lin Xia behind her back at Second Brother’s house, insisting that if Lin Xia didn’t cooperate with treatment, they should divorce.

Given his current situation, finding a city girl for marriage would be quite easy.

But he couldn’t bear to part with Lin Xia; he loved her.

He felt torn between his empathy for his wife and the desire to persuade her to cooperate with the treatment, hoping that a successful treatment might lead to having children.

So he was caught between the pressure from his parents and the complaints from his wife, trying to please both sides.

No matter how things went, it wasn’t that he couldn’t have children.

He could show his magnanimity, compassion, and forgiveness from a high standpoint, and Lin Xia appreciated him for that, treating him very well.

But now…

When he received the test results and the doctor said he had weak sperm and a high likelihood of infertility, he felt like the world was spinning and collapsing.

He didn’t ask the doctor about treatment.

Instead, he quickly calmed down and decisively went out to find an unknown young man, paying five yuan as a bribe to buy a test tube and recheck the results.

This time, the results were normal and very healthy.

Even though the doctor was puzzled, he insisted that he had been too tired before and wasn’t in good condition.

He just wanted to secretly seek treatment from the doctor without letting anyone else know.

He even threatened Dr. Sui, saying that if he casually leaked his situation, he wouldn’t let it go!

This was about a man’s dignity and couldn’t be trampled on by anyone!

Although he threatened the doctor, he was also afraid that the doctor might let slip, or that the stranger wouldn’t keep the secret and might talk.

Even though the stranger didn’t know him, he worried that if someone with malicious intent overheard and connected it to him, it could be disastrous.

He was even more afraid that Lin Xia would suddenly find out.

He couldn’t imagine how people at the factory, leaders, neighbors, colleagues, apprentices, and others like Tong Ailian and Tong Guoqiang would discuss him if they knew he couldn’t have children.

Leaders would say he lacked masculinity and wouldn’t be of much use.

Neighbors and colleagues would gossip and backbite, saying that Lin Xia was misunderstood, and that the real issue was with her husband.

Apprentices wouldn’t respect him, even if they called him “Master” on the surface, they would mock him behind his back.

And Tong Ailian, he recalled…

If she looked down on him, she would definitely say she was glad she didn’t marry such an unfortunate guy.

Tong Guoqiang would also gloat, saying that although his skills weren’t as good as Qian Lisheng’s, at least he could have children.

He even hated his own name, feeling uneasy about it.

What’s the point of Qian Lisheng? He couldn’t even have children.

Lin Xia needed surgery, and the doctor said that if her fallopian tubes were cleared, she could get pregnant.

He was both scared and anxious.

He couldn’t let his wife have the surgery immediately.

If she got treated and still couldn’t conceive, wouldn’t she want him to get another check-up?

He hoped Lin Xia would give him some time, so he could secretly find a doctor elsewhere to get treatment first.

Once he was treated, she could have the surgery, and it would be perfect.

He deliberately didn’t support her, didn’t stay home to care for her, and went for training instead.

He generously told Mother Qian to take care of his wife first, since she was the one actually pregnant and the future child was very important.

He felt very upset about this, feeling guilty towards his beloved wife.

He went to Qizhou, thinking that a larger and more advanced hospital in the provincial capital might have better specialists. He hoped they could cure his condition.

However, to his dismay, the experts at Qizhou Hospital said there was no particularly good treatment available for his condition at the moment in China, although there might be options abroad.

Unwilling to accept this, he consulted several traditional Chinese medicine doctors.