"Don't even mention that old Zhang to me. If I had any ideas, I would have had them twenty or thirty years ago. Why wait until now? I'm already old, and I'm not struggling to make ends meet. Why would I go and serve an old man's daily needs?
I make at least three to five thousand a month as a nanny.
If I married him, nothing would be considered extra.
But it would all become expected.
Am I cheap or what!
Don't mention him again, or I'll get angry with you all!"
After complaining for a bit, Ding Yun also sat down and continued to talk about her daughter:
"Let's talk about my daughter instead.
I only missed one night and one morning of square dancing, and my daughter Liu Lan hasn't been home for nearly two days and two nights. My grandson also hasn't been seen since he left yesterday.
This is because I refused to let her father in.
If she wants to be filial, she can do it herself. Why drag me into it? My daughter's father, Liu Guoding, and I are at daggers drawn, which might be a bit of an exaggeration.
But we clearly haven't reached the point where we've divorced and can still be friends.
And now she's using her and her child's absence to vaguely threaten me without saying a word. Don't you think I'd be angry? I really don't understand what she's thinking."
Based on the original owner's memories, her two girlfriends were quite reliable. They would only discuss certain things privately and wouldn't spread them around, which is why Ding Yun was so candid with them about her daughter.
If they were gossipy friends,
even if she felt wronged, it wouldn't be easy to confide in them directly.
"Is that so? I haven't seen your daughter much lately. So she's not really home these days!"
Xia Furong nodded understandingly, while Zhu Chunhong stroked her chin and offered her own speculation:
"Honestly, your daughter's mind is truly unfathomable. She neglects you, who painstakingly raised her, and instead dotes on Liu Guoding, who practically never raised her for a single day.
It's like she's trying to kiss a cold backside, but that's not quite right. How should I describe it? Does she have some kind of condition where the worse someone treats her, the more she wants to treat them well? I don't know what to call it.
I've heard about it online before.
They say it's a psychological issue. Is that possible?
After all, it's not like she could be nicer to her own daughter.
There's also the saying that even a bit of kindness can be repaid with intense hatred, right?"
"Forget it. Liu Lan looks like she doesn't have any issues. As the saying goes, a happy heart leads to a plump body. Her physique doesn't suggest she's narrow-minded.
What psychological problems could she have!"
Xia Furong listened to Zhu Chunhong's speculation, her gaze subtly shifting around Ding Yun's bedroom as she frowned in disagreement. She then raised her eyebrows and smiled, saying:
"Huijuan, Chunhong, do you think it's possible she has someone she fancies? Knowing she doesn't have other qualities that would impress someone, she's deliberately trying to appear filial so that person might take notice of her.
Think about it, even her father is so devotedly filial. Wouldn't she be even more so to her mother-in-law in the future?"
"Is there a possibility of that?"
As she spoke, Xia Furong even reached out and nudged Ding Yun's leg: "Should you recall more carefully? Were there any unusual things about your daughter recently?"
"This..."
"Isn't that a bit far-fetched...
If that's the case, how messed up would her mind have to be to think of this method to show filial piety?"
Zhu Chunhong was filled with nothing but confusion at this point.
Ding Yun, following Xia Furong's line of thought, briefly recalled the memories of the original owner from the recent past and then shook her head: "No, she was very normal recently."
"It was only after she met her father that she became abnormal. But it's hard to say whether her recent abnormality is due to something that happened or because she hadn't met her father before.
So she didn't show it back then."
"That doesn't make sense either. How can a normal person be so filial towards a father who barely raised them, and whom they've only met a few times?
If it were me, being hateful and hostile would be good enough.
Even if he wanted child support, I'd fight him in court. I'd only give it if there was absolutely no other choice.
Your daughter doesn't seem like some kind of saint, does she?"
Not only Zhu Chunhong was perplexed, but the original owner herself, and even Ding Yun, were equally baffled, unable to figure out her daughter's thought process.
"Never mind, let's not overthink it.
If everything could be figured out and instantly understood by everyone, there would be no arguments in the world. You wouldn't argue with me about whether savory or sweet tofu pudding is tastier, nor would there be heretical arguments about spicy and sour being the authentic way.
Considering they weren't here to solve Ding Yun's family issues, and even the mother couldn't understand it, it would be even more difficult for outsiders like them.
Why dwell on it?
So Xia Furong immediately decided to end the topic.
"We're having a good chat, and you're bringing up tofu pudding."
"Aren't I using it as a metaphor?"
"Why use tofu pudding for a metaphor? Mentioning tofu pudding reminds me that the boss at the tofu pudding stall accidentally sprinkled brown sugar on my savory tofu pudding today. I was so angry! When I asked him to change it, he said I was being petty."
"That's your business, how would I know?
I didn't go with you to eat tofu pudding this morning..."
"Alright, alright, I really can't stand you two. Just eat your own food and mind your own business.
There are people online who sprinkle Pop Rocks on tofu pudding.
They even mix it with snail noodle soup. m..oΓg
If you really nitpicked, you'd be so angry you'd die. You should quickly tell me why you came to see me. You're not just here to worry about me, are you? Last time I was sick for two days, you didn't know until I went back to square dancing."
Ding Yun truly couldn't understand why two women of their age would argue so fiercely about food. So she quickly tried to dissuade them, fearing they would start arguing about it again.
At the same time, she asked them why they had come.
Missing one or two square dances
shouldn't be a big deal, right?
"Hey, Huijuan, it's because we didn't visit you when you were sick last time. We only found out after you recovered, and we felt guilty. That's why we came to check on you early this time, in case anything happened and we could help.
Now that you're fine, we're all happy.
And it saves us two boxes of milk."
"Originally, when you didn't show up for square dancing, I thought you might be sick, so I planned to buy a box of milk to bring when I came. After all, it's visiting a sick person!
But Furong said you might not be sick.
We decided to see how things were before deciding. If you were really sick, we could still buy milk and bring it later!
Turns out you're quite healthy.
Then we were relieved."
Xia Furong and Zhu Chunhong replied to Ding Yun with soft laughter, while secretly glancing around Ding Yun's bedroom and other parts of the house.
It was unclear if they were looking for something or planning something.
Their actions were not very subtle.
The original owner might not have paid much attention,
but Ding Yun immediately realized they definitely had something on their minds:
"Oh, since that's the case, you've seen that I'm healthy. Can you go home and make lunch now?"
To prompt them to quickly reveal their true intentions and stop wasting each other's time with their hesitation, Ding Yun deliberately took the initiative to see them out.
She wanted to see how anxious they would be and if they would finally speak.