The traditional doctors said they could help with some herbal medicine, but didn’t guarantee when it would work.

They just said to try it out.

Hearing “try it out” made him nervous because that was what Mother Qian had said about alternative treatments for Lin Xia.

Often, they didn’t work and sometimes had side effects.

In Qizhou, he had no mind for his training because it seemed useless now.

He was a fitter, and his skills were honed in the workshop, not learned in class.

He wanted to go back and see how Lin Xia was doing with her surgery.

He knew she must be angry with him for not staying to accompany her.

He wanted to comfort her, to make her not be angry, and even thought about confessing to her.

Maybe she wouldn’t blame him for not being able to have children and would work with him to find a solution.

While he was lost in these thoughts, someone from the office called out, “Qian Lisheng, phone!”

Qian Lisheng’s heart skipped a beat.

He quickly went to answer the phone.

He thought it might be Lin Xia calling.

He had been rude when he left, and she was quite upset.

He had wanted to call her to apologize but had been putting it off.

He picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”

“This is Jiang Weidong.”

Qian Lisheng was surprised, “Director Jiang?”

Jiang Weidong said, “Team Leader Qian, I’ve inadvertently come to know something about your situation. It seems your mother has been spreading negative comments about you. As a man and a key figure in the steel mill, you should have some sense of responsibility.”

Qian Lisheng didn’t understand, “Director Jiang, what’s this about? What did my mother say?”

Jiang Weidong replied, “As an outsider, I’m not suited to interfere in your family matters. I’m just reminding you from the perspective of the factory. Resolving personal issues will help you contribute better to the public cause. Whether as a production team leader or a department head, we must be loyal to the country, to the collective, and to… our family.”

He made sure to include the last part.

Qian Lisheng’s nerves jolted. “Director Jiang, what do you mean? I’m not disloyal to the country or the factory. I’m very responsible towards my family.”

Jiang Weidong said, “Team Leader Qian, you’d better communicate well with your family. That’s all I have to say.”

With that, he hung up the phone.

Jiang Weidong hadn’t intended to call Qian Lisheng so early.

He had planned to wait until he returned from Qizhou to discuss things.

But today… things happened to be urgent.

A child fight had involved the Tong family’s elders, and Lu Shaotang had just returned.

Originally, it was a child’s dispute that could have been settled with an apology, and Lu Shaotang wasn’t pursuing the Tong family for gossip.

However, Tong Mother wasn’t willing to let it go and involved Qian Mother in stirring up trouble, saying things that created discord.

Qian Mother seemed to have had a conflict with her daughter-in-law, and in tears, she came out only to be pulled by Tong Mother, who kept talking at the entrance of the residential area.

The two old women were in a heated discussion in a corner.

Coincidentally, Jiang’s grandmother was out for a walk and overheard.

Qian Mother complained that the surgery her daughter-in-law was supposedly undergoing was fake, a deception to the family, and that it wouldn’t actually work.

She also said her daughter-in-law had become arrogant, keeping her job and no longer wanting to support her, trying to force Qian Lisheng to cut ties with his parents through divorce, and wanting to adopt her younger brother’s child to continue draining the Qian family.

Tong Mother was indignant and joined in cursing Lin Xia.

After venting, Qian Mother warned Tong Mother not to spread the news, but Tong Mother swore she wouldn’t tell anyone.

However, Tong Mother’s loose lips were unlikely to keep the secret.

She immediately went to gossip with others, and soon, the whole factory would know that Lin Xia’s surgery was a sham and that she couldn’t actually have children.

Jiang’s grandmother knew her well.

Old Lady Jiang complained to her son, “Those city women at your factory keep making fun of us country folks for being narrow-minded and gossipy, as if their own mouths aren’t gossipy.”

Jiang Weidong realized the situation was serious and decided to call Qian Lisheng.

To be honest, he felt awkward bringing up the issue since it seemed inappropriate for a male leader to get involved in his employees’ personal matters.

He couldn’t speak directly about it, so he decided to approach it through Mother Qian, hoping Qian Lisheng would sort it out himself.

After hanging up, Qian Lisheng was confused.

What did Jiang Weidong mean?

Was he hinting that he knew something about the test results?

Was Lin Xia aware of it?

Or was it Mother Qian?

Qian Lisheng became anxious.

Soon, the phone rang again.

This time it was Lin Xia calling.

Lin Xia had managed to calm down, thanks to Lin Shu, who had helped her sort out her emotions.

Lin Shu’s advice was to focus on solving the problem rather than just venting emotions.

There was no need to be angry at Mother Qian or take it out on her brother-in-law, especially since he didn’t know what was happening and would be confused by her anger.

So, Lin Xia explained things clearly and simply to him.

She told him about the surgery, saying, “The doctor said it was very successful. After a month of rest, we can start preparing for a baby.”

In the past, Qian Lisheng would have been thrilled to hear this news, but now he felt mixed emotions.

He felt like there was a tug-of-war between him and his wife, with each of them pulling on opposite ends.

Previously, he had control, but now it was shifting to her side.

The successful surgery meant he had lost his advantage, and the control was now entirely in her hands.

Even though he could be understanding and loving towards his wife, he wondered if he could be as forgiving if the situation were reversed.

If he couldn’t have children, could others be understanding and accepting of him?

When his wife couldn’t conceive, people around them didn’t show much concern, just asking when they would have a baby and suggesting remedies.

But they were very harsh towards men in his situation, often mocking and despising them.

Since Lin Xia didn’t know his secret, Qian Lisheng felt relieved. “Wife, that’s great!”

He said it several times and then jokingly asked, “Wife, what if I couldn’t have children? Would you still want me?”

Lin Xia said, “Wasn’t your test results fine?”

Qian Lisheng pretended to be relaxed, “Yes, but I’m just imagining things.”

Lin Xia responded, “It doesn’t matter. What’s the difference between you not being able to have children and me not being able to? Just because I can’t have children doesn’t mean you should look for someone else to have them. I used to think that if I couldn’t have children, we could adopt, or if not, we could just live our lives together without kids.”

Lin Xia truly felt this way.

Even if she couldn’t have children, she wouldn’t allow Qian Lisheng to find someone else to have them.

If Qian Lisheng couldn’t have children, she would naturally be indifferent.

The difference was that when she couldn’t have children, Mother Qian would force her to try various folk remedies.

If her son couldn’t have children, Mother Qian might advise her to be understanding and then bring in her younger sister’s child to raise.

She continued, “I’m getting treated now, so you don’t need to worry.”

She then mentioned the issues with Mother Qian and Tong Mother, including how Mother Qian accused her of bribing doctors and wanting her salary to support her sister-in-law.

“I also said a few harsh words in my frustration, telling Mom either to stop interfering in our matters or I would return the job to her.”

She didn’t mention the divorce threats, as their relationship had always been good, and she didn’t want to cause discord between them over Mother Qian.

Qian Lisheng replied, “Mom has that temper. Please be patient. I’ll talk to her when I get back.”

Lin Xia also mentioned that her sister had come to keep her company and that the Tong family had bullied the children.

Fortunately, her brother-in-law had also come, and everything was fine now.

She told him not to worry, to focus on his training, and to come home as soon as possible.

After finishing the call, Lin Xia hung up when she saw that Qian Lisheng had no more to say.

Qian Lisheng was still stunned.

The information in Lin Xia’s call was overwhelming and hard to process all at once.

Sure enough, he soon received a call from Mother Qian.

Mother Qian was far from calm like Lin Xia; instead, she was emotional and crying, saying that Lin Xia was heartless, refusing to be supportive, and threatening divorce if she didn’t get more money.

She naturally included complaints about Lin Shu, inciting discord between the sisters-in-law, fighting with neighbors, and bribing doctors to falsify information.

The contrasting accounts from his mother and wife left Qian Lisheng with a headache.

He didn’t think Lin Xia would lie.

He knew his wife well; she was straightforward and not one for small schemes.

Even if Tong Ailian spoke ill of her behind her back, Lin Xia would confront her directly, never resorting to backhanded tactics.

His mother, on the other hand, often talked behind his back about how Lin Xia was, while Lin Xia addressed issues directly with Mother Qian without ever complaining about his mother to him.

He had previously thought Lin Xia was too blunt and could have discussed things with him instead of directly confronting his mother.

Now he felt that Lin Xia was honest and not involved in any schemes, and it was likely that his mother was influenced by gossip.

He couldn’t stay any longer and wanted to return home quickly.

He was worried that Jiang Weidong might be plotting behind his back and feared that unresolved conflicts between his mother and wife could worsen in his absence.