So as planned, Fang Pingying would go for a walk in the park of that neighborhood after dinner every day, to try and bump into Shuanzi’s mother and the others.
Just as Fang Pingying expected, she really did run into them on her first day.
Moreover, Hui Zi’s wife also said that they bring their children out to play at this ti every day.
Since they had encountered each other nearby before, after returning ho, Shuanzi’s mother naturally asked Hui Zi’s wife about Fang Pingying’s family circumstances, and she knew that Fang Pingying’s family was well-off, living in the nearby villa area, so it wasn’t surprising. She brought her children and chatted with Fang Pingying in the park.
Chatting with the old lady would inevitably lead to discussions about family matters, and within a few days, Fang Pingying had managed to probe out the background of the old lady’s family thoroughly.
Shuanzi had lost his father at a young age and had been brought up by his mother alone. He ca to the city before he was even fourteen and had done all sorts of hard and dirty jobs — collecting garbage, lugging heavy bags, hauling bricks — but didn’t earn much money.
He had always been struggling until a few years ago when he said he t so nobles and joined so organization, doing all sorts of dirty deeds, and actually made so money, so he seed quite flashy.
In fact, Shuanzi’s mother was aware of what Shuanzi was doing and knew that these activities ant living life on the edge of a knife, but she could not persuade him otherwise, so she ca up with an idea. She pretended to be seriously ill, hoping Shuanzi would settle down, start a family, and have children earlier.
The thinking of rural people is that once a man gets married and has children, he will settle down and live a proper life. However, to her surprise, her foolish son brought back a son without the mother, and the daughter-in-law was nowhere to be seen.
After getting familiar with these matters over a few days, and understanding part of the old lady’s character, Fang Pingying began to test the waters with her.
She casually found a topic, starting with the children’s matters, "Aunt Xu, don’t bla for being straightforward, but with your son behaving like this, aren’t you worried that he might be deceiving you? Like randomly bringing ho a child and claiming it’s his own, of course, he does this out of filial piety, hoping to cure your illness, but if it’s not your biological grandson, isn’t that..."
The old lady understood Pingying’s implication; she hurriedly shook her head with a firm smile, saying, "Not possible, I understand my son’s character. If this child weren’t his biological child, he wouldn’t treat the child so well. You have no idea how much money he has spent on this child. I’ve heard from his subordinates that just for the woman who bore the child for him, he almost gave her the money equivalent to an entire apartnt."
At this point, Fang Pingying had roughly understood why Xu He had agreed to give the child to Shuanzi. It turned out there was such a large sum of money involved. For soone like Xu He, it doesn’t matter that she only had one son to sell; if she had more, she would have sold more.
However, based on what Fang Pingying knew about Xu He, she was sowhat perplexed. Knowing Xu He’s character, she should know what matters; why didn’t she take this opportunity to marry Shuanzi instead?
Isn’t she always looking down on Luo Zhiming? Then why doesn’t she leave Luo Zhiming?
With these thoughts, Fang Pingying continued to coax information from the old lady, "If that’s the case, why didn’t he marry the woman? He’s got both a wife and a child, what a good thing that would be."
The old lady sighed, with a tinge of regret, "Sigh, he told that the woman is not a good fit, that marrying her would be the death of , so he refused to take her, only wanting the child."
Hearing the old lady say this, Fang Pingying also understood a bit; perhaps Shuanzi had seen through Xu He’s true nature. He might think it’s fine for a fling, but not suitable for marriage, hence he only wanted the child, not the mother.
Although Xu He had so cunning ways to deal with people, if she truly fought with soone like Shuanzi, she surely wouldn’t win. In the end, she naturally agreed to take so money — however much it was, that was what it would be.
However, the reason Fang Pingying was explaining things to the old lady was naturally not just to understand Xu He’s situation; her goal was to have Shuanzi deal with Xu He.
So of course, she wouldn’t end the conversation there. She playfully teased the child for a while, then pursued further, "Then you can be sure that this child is really your son’s, right?"
The old lady glanced at her grandson and laughed, "That’s for certain. Not to ntion the child looks just like my Shuanzi, my son even took the child to the hospital for a paternity test, there’s no mistake."
"That’s right, the big hospitals in the provincial city can do the testing; once tested, there’s definitely no mistake." Fang Pingying hesitated as she watched the child, feeling that the more she looked at him, the more sothing seed off. He indeed liked to smile, but it seed like his smile had no particular pattern, a bit like a silly grin, and his physique wasn’t as robust as a typical child’s.
Anyway, whether for the sake of the child or to deal with Xu He, Fang Pingying still voiced a warning to the old lady, "However, Aunt Xu, I do want to ask, have you taken the child to the hospital for a check-up?"
Rural people believe in superstitions, and when it cos to associating children with hospitals, the old lady was a bit displeased, "What’s there to check? My grandson isn’t sick or in pain, what’s the point of going to the hospital?"
Fang Pingying imdiately felt she’d been too straightforward, possibly offending the old lady, and quickly explained, "No, no, that’s not what I ant. I’m saying that in the city, children need to get vaccinated after they’re born. Has your child been vaccinated?"
"Well, no," the old lady still seed unhappy. "What vaccination? Why is there so much fuss about everything in the city? When I was back in the countryside, we never had that."
Seeing the old lady like this, Hui Zi’s wife gave Fang Pingying a wink and quickly ca forward to persuade, "Auntie, the countryside and the city are different. I heard my Hui Zi saying too that city kids are more precious than those in the countryside, and they do need to get vaccinated."
As Hui Zi’s wife spoke, she also deliberately added, "Moreover, Sister Fang here, her family had twins, almost three years old now, and very clever. She knows all about these things, you can believe her, she’s definitely right."
Hearing Hui Zi’s wife say this, the old lady seed to co around and quickly turned to Fang Pingying, "That makes sense. Tonight when my son cos back, I’ll have him take and the child tomorrow. We’ll do as the city folks do; after all, we’ve got a precious grandson now, we should cherish him more."
"That’s the best. Take the chance to get the child a check-up too, see how his developnt is going. It gives adults peace of mind," Fang Pingying nodded imdiately, "My children were also checked when they were that age."
"That’s settled then." The old lady, rembering her earlier poor attitude, hastily apologized to Fang Pingying, "My dear niece, I must thank you. I’m rather hot-tempered, and wasn’t too polite just now, don’t take it to heart, alright?"
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