Chapter 1099: My son is unhappy, so you all have to keep him company

The original plan was for the men to take the boys out to sea, while the women had a barbecue by the shore; the division of labor was clear.

But Jian Yixin objected; she firmly opposed Moli going out to sea, saying it was too unsafe, and what if there was danger?

The brainwashing-like attempts at persuasion by everyone in the leisure area just now had all gone down the drain; they were completely useless.

Moli couldn't go, but he couldn't watch others go out to sea either; he was unhappy.

If her son was unhappy, Jian Yixin had the ability to make sure no one else was happy, so all the children were kept behind; no one was allowed to go!

The men, who were supposed to be fishing out at sea, ended up fishing on the observation deck!

The barbecue continued, and if the men caught fish larger than a palm, they would bring them over like treasures, clean them, and place them on the charcoal fire to roast.

Jian Yixin actually really wanted to be with the children—no, she wanted to be with Moli.

But several women were watching her, watching her very closely.

They wouldn't let her go over, and when Moli missed his mother, those children were right by his side, so he felt too embarrassed to come over.

The food was grilled, and the children were told to come over to eat; only then did Jian Yixin and her son "reunite."

"Look at all this sweat on your head; you've been playing wildly for so long, are you tired?" Jian Yixin asked, heart aching as she used a wet wipe to help her son wipe the sweat from his forehead.

He looked at the other children; none of them were "enjoying" such treatment; he was the only one.

He felt a bit embarrassed: "Mom, I'll do it myself, you don't need to."

"Oh, alright."

Jian Yixin also felt it wasn't quite right; so many pairs of eyes were staring at the two of them.

So she stopped insisting.

The lamb skewers were grilled, and the charred, enticing meat skewers sizzled with oil over the charcoal fire, emitting an alluring aroma.

Shi Youxuan divided the grilled skewers equally among the children.

Everyone was eating happily, except when the skewers were passed to Moli's side, Jian Yixin took them.

"You can't eat them directly; you'll get burned."

She used chopsticks to pick the meat off the skewer, placed it on a disposable paper plate, and held the plate in one hand while using chopsticks in the other, ready to feed her son!

"Mom, you eat it yourself; I'm not hungry," Moli refused.

Having learned from the lesson of the birthday banquet last time, he had become well-behaved this time.

He couldn't be fed in front of his brothers and sisters; he would be laughed at by everyone.

"How could you not be hungry? Mom will feed you, open your mouth."

"Moli, have this," Zichen said, sharing half of what he had in his hand.

"Thank you."

After thanking him, he took the skewer from Zichen's hand, then bit into it just like the others; it was delicious.

"Is it good?"

"It's good."

Jian Yixin's heart was in her throat; just eating it like that? What if it poked her throat?

She was about to object when Shi Youxuan stood in front of her: "Feed me, the children have food now."

She wasn't very willing, but it was hard to refuse her best friend's face.

Reluctantly, she fed the carefully selected meat into Shi Youxuan's mouth.

She blinked mischievously and stepped aside.

The children discussed.

Zichen: "We'll grill them ourselves in a bit; it'll be even better."

Litian: "My brother's skills are better than the world's best chefs; he marinated all the barbecue seasoning for today."

"Is that okay? Will you get burned?"

The children chimed in: "No, as long as we're careful, it'll be fine."

"Self-reliance is the key to abundance."

"Grilling your own meat is especially delicious; you should try it."

Jian Yixin heard it all; she wanted to object, but before the words could leave her mouth, the many women each said a sentence, pushing back everything she wanted to say.

Shi Youxuan asked Wan'er: "Your triplets shouldn't be with the boys, right? They are too young; what if they get burned?"

Wan'er: "What's there to be afraid of with people watching? If you're afraid of this and that, you can't do anything."

"We parents in Jiangzhou are just too precious with our children; we don't let them do this or that, making them do nothing from a young age, and they don't understand anything when they grow up."

Ma Ling'er agreed: "Exactly, I've been to so many countries, and nowhere else are children as precious as ours; it's better for children to be trained from a young age so they can withstand the storms of the outside world when they grow up..."

Jian Yixin wasn't stupid; although they didn't name names, they were saying it for her to hear.

What could she do?

She could neither agree nor object.

Actually, they were all right; she understood the logic, but she just couldn't do it.

She was terrified, always afraid that the skewer would poke the child's mouth or that he would get burned.

Fortunately, it didn't happen; Moli was stronger than she imagined, and the children ate and drank their fill without a single accident.

The children went off to play, automatically dividing into three groups.

The older children played together, the younger children played together, and Zichen, Litian, and Moli played together because they were of similar age.

"You should eat something too; you haven't eaten anything yet."

Shi Youxuan handed Jian Yixin a handful of grilled skewers.

There were lamb skewers, vegetable rolls, corn, and a grilled fish.

"Come on, have a drink; barbecue without beer has no soul," Wan'er said, handing over a bottle of beer.

"Maybe not? The children are still here, and I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of him if I drink too much."

"He doesn't need you. Aren't you tired of pouring your whole heart into the children? Children are not the sequels of their parents, and parents are not the prequels of their children. You can't have only the children in your heart and forget why you are living yourself."

Shi Youxuan's words pierced through Jian Yixin's psychological defenses.

Tired, how could she not be tired?

She was more tired than anyone else, always feeling as if a string in her heart was pulled taut, and she didn't know when that string might snap.

"Let them play. How long has it been since we sisters sat together and talked heart-to-heart? This time now belongs to us. Cheers!"

The women each had a can of beer in their hands, except for Shi Youxuan, who had a glass of fresh peach juice.

She didn't need a whole can; one glass was enough to make her drunk!

Once the women started drinking, they gradually talked more, and their courage grew; everyone began to directly criticize Jian Yixin for educating her child incorrectly.

Jian Yixin: "I'm not stupid, don't I know it's wrong? But your situations are all different from mine. If you had experienced your child being thrown from upstairs before they could even speak, experienced a shipwreck, had them snatched away right in front of your eyes, and almost had their tendons in their hands and feet severed by human traffickers, you wouldn't be talking like this. You would be just like me."

"Even more extreme than me... Moli is a bitter child. What can I do? I can only love him doubly and give him my everything!"

Originally, this was a premeditated and planned large-scale criticism session.

Everyone had intended to make Jian Yixin have a sudden realization and completely "turn over a new leaf."

As a result, those doing the persuading forgot what their original intention was after only a few sentences.

The women guzzled bottle after bottle of beer, accompanying Jian Yixin as she shed tears.

Even Shi Youxuan, who had no tolerance for alcohol, swapped her juice for half a bottle of beer, and then fell asleep leaning against Wan'er.

The women sighed and lamented, and in the end, no one tried to persuade her anymore.

Everyone was a woman, and everyone was a mother, making it easier to understand Jian Yixin's hardships.

Just as she herself said, if other people's children had also experienced the hardships that Moli had, these women would also be incredibly anxious.