"Tian Tian, I'm sorry."
For the first time, Li Zhengguo regretted sending their children to the specialized training team.
Tian Jing waved her hand dismissively, "The only thing in the world you can't buy is regret medicine. Time also doesn't flow backward."
"I'm not blaming you for sending them. With your personality, it would be strange if you didn't.
"If you hadn't sent me in, that would have been your only selfish act."
"Of course, that's assuming you hadn't retired. Otherwise, I can't guarantee you wouldn't have sent me in, and you would have shamelessly followed along, becoming my burdensome follower, then dragging me along to live and die together."
"Heh heh." Li Zhengguo played dumb, "My wife understands me best."
"Go away!" Tian Jing playfully nudged him, "Two and a half lifetimes, and if I still don't understand this big liar of mine, I've truly lived in vain."
Two and a half lifetimes? Li Zhengguo wanted to laugh, but seeing his wife glaring at him, he quickly suppressed it.
He shifted the topic away from himself, "Tian Tian, wife, haven't you ever considered what if Hao Hao met true love?"
"That's his own business," Tian Jing remained unconcerned.
"They're adults, they have the ability to handle their own affairs."
"Either divorce or endure. I still won't make decisions for him, just like now."
"Good or bad, it's his own life. Even if he decides to have a family here and another nest outside, I won't scold him."
Li Zhengguo... His wife had entered the mindset of a mother-in-law.
As a daughter-in-law, other women were forbidden from coveting her husband.
As a mother-in-law, she wished more women would covet her son.
But he wasn't ready for the mindset of a father-in-law and father-in-law. Should he seek advice from Suozhu?
"What are you thinking about?"
As they were talking, her husband's mind wandered. Tian Jing felt that Mayor Li's attitude towards his wife was improper.
And so, Mayor Li's mind was filled with the absurd theory of getting promoted, getting rich, and losing his wife.
If it weren't for the wrong time, if their son hadn't returned, if he hadn't been unable to put down the plan in his hand, he would have pinned his wife down and let her know that talkative women should be punished on the spot by action-oriented men.
Seeing her husband's strange expression, Tian Jing quickly left the room, "I'll go see what dishes mother has prepared for Hao Hao."
Li Zhengguo nodded seriously, "Let's eat early tonight and rest early."
Tian Jing glanced back at him, "What exactly are you thinking about?"
That glance almost made Li Zhengguo surrender. He said word by word, "Is there anything wrong with me saying let's eat early and rest early? What are you thinking about?"
Tian Jing assumed she had misunderstood and went to the kitchen to help her mother-in-law prepare lunch.
They were talking about dinner before lunch, was Mayor Li muddled?
During lunch, seeing Li Zhengguo come out to eat, Li Weihao realized his father was home.
He congratulated his father on his promotion.
Li Zhengguo glanced at his wife and earnestly advised his son to view marriage with caution.
Don't wait until middle age to be mocked by your wife that promotion, wealth, and losing your wife are the three joys of middle-aged men.
Tian Jing picked up a bun and stuffed it into his mouth, "Don't be like a resentful woman in her boudoir."
Ouyang Meihua's eyes darted between Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo, were they arguing?
She hadn't seen much change in their expressions.
She turned to Li Weihao, "When is Yan Yan coming back? His grandmother is eager to hold her great-grandchild."
She regretted not using her mother-in-law as an excuse like Tian Jing. These children were almost all raised by their grandmother, and they had deep affection for her.
Li Weihao also looked at his parents, wondering if their friction was due to his matters.
"Yan Yan is still on a mission and hasn't returned. When he gets back, I'll tell him."
Ouyang Meihua was relieved, Yan Yan listened to Hao Hao.
Li Min's eyes fixed on Li Weihao, "Has Hao Hao found a partner yet?"
She also knew her sister-in-law used her mother as an excuse to urge her nephew to get married.
Li Weihao shook his head, "I haven't had time to look. I was planning to ask my grandmother to help me find a girl. Aunt, you can help me choose too."
Li Min patted her chest and promised, "Of course. If she doesn't pass my inspection, I won't agree to her entering the Li family's door."
Li Zhengguo signaled his wife with his eyes, underestimating his sister.
Tian Jing subtly shook her head, Mayor Li still didn't understand women's psychology.
Any girl who wanted to enter the Li family's door, Li Min would raise her standards.
With Mayor Li having played matchmaker for Chen Fubao before, let alone Lin Duo'er, even if it were Lin Wan, Li Min would have agreed.
Even if she knew it wouldn't work out, it was fine to cause a little trouble for her younger brother.
Not to mention that Hao Hao intended to have a transactional marriage with Lin Duo'er.
Ouyang Meihua looked at them, and the more she looked, the more she felt that Tian Jing and her husband were quarreling.
In the afternoon, when her sister-in-law expressed concern, Tian Jing shook her head and said it was nothing.
Her sister-in-law didn't believe her. The words "nothing" were enough to indicate that something was wrong.
In the evening, upon hearing an unusual noise from the west room, she immediately kicked open the door to the living room of the main house...
In the brightly lit living room, Mayor Li, who was being blamed by everyone, wished he could kill Ouyang Meihua, who was still instigating his wife to accuse him of domestic violence.
Tian Jing, who was looking down, her shoulders trembled.
Mother Li angrily picked up the broom used for sweeping the kang and was about to hit Li Zhengguo.
Li Zhengguo blocked the broom and said to his wife, who was still trying to suppress a smile, "Aren't you going to clarify for me?"
Clarify for her husband? Wouldn't that expose what they were doing in the room?
Tian Jing refused. The embarrassing situation for the whole family was less important than letting Mayor Li bear the false accusation alone.
Tian Jing stood up, and under Li Zhengguo's expectant gaze, she lowered her head, walked to his side, then lowered her head again as she passed him, and entered the west room, closing the door with a bang.
Tian Jing burrowed into the covers and burst into laughter.
Mayor Li, who had been slandered, accepted the scolding from each family member in the living room.
Only when the family was tired of talking did they let him go.
Exhausted physically and mentally, he entered the room, locked the door, and burrowed into the covers. As punishment, he tightly hugged his wife, who was sleeping soundly.
His wife automatically found a comfortable position in his arms, softening his heart, and he loosened his grip.
Alas! Is it good or bad to have an enthusiastic sister-in-law?
Fortunately, it was just a minor scuffle. If it were at a crucial moment...
Dawn broke. Today was the sixth day of the new year.
After breakfast, Mayor Li went to work with dark circles under his eyes.
Mother Li regretted it. She had forgotten that her younger son had to work today and shouldn't have nagged him for so long in the middle of the night.
She leaned over to her daughter-in-law, "Tian Tian, did Zhengguo really hit you?"
Waking up in her husband's arms that morning and seeing the bloodshot in his eyes, she also regretted it.
"Mother, don't you know your son? Besides, can he beat me? We were just playing around."
"But the children were all woken up, and everyone gathered in the living room. Could I clarify then?"
Mother Li hadn't expected this outcome. She said with a mix of tears and laughter, "That Meihua, she's old but she still can't change her impulsive nature."
...
Tian Jing, who had inspected the fruit tree saplings yesterday, went to the nursery again today to check on them. Passing by Lin Guangde's house, she called out to Lin Duo'er.
Lin Duo'er timidly followed behind Tian Jing. Yesterday, she had repeatedly thought about her decision.
She was absolutely certain that this was her only chance. Otherwise, once that undesirable suitor clung to her, it would be even harder for her to get married.
But when Section Chief Tian called her to the nursery, her heart was filled with unease.