Chapter 799

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

"Third Brother, what's up?"

Wang Dashan answered the phone.

Wang Xiaohua's voice came from the other end of the line:

"Big Brother, I'm back in Guangzhou. Are you in Guangzhou right now?"

Wang Dashan was somewhat stunned:

"Aren't you studying in Beijing? Why did you suddenly come back? Don't you have classes?"

Wang Xiaohua didn't know whether to cry or laugh:

"Big Brother, it's summer vacation now."

Only then did Wang Dashan suddenly realize; time flies, and in the blink of an eye it was already mid-July. At this time, it was indeed summer vacation.

"Look at my memory, I even forgot you were on summer vacation! Are you at the train station or the airport? I'll come pick you up!"

Wang Dashan hurriedly took the initiative to propose going to pick up Wang Xiaohua.

"If you're busy, you don't have to come pick me up. I can take a car to your place myself."

Wang Xiaohua said this.

Wang Dashan, however, hurriedly said:

"Not busy, not busy. I'm very free right now. I happen to have something I want to ask you. We can have a good chat on the way. Send me your location, I'll drive over right now!"

"What thing?"

"This is a long story, can't be explained in a moment. Let's talk when we meet. Send me your location, I'm driving over now!"

"Okay, then I'll wait for you!"

Wang Dashan originally didn't want to ask his Third Brother's opinion, but now his Third Brother happened to be back in Guangzhou for summer vacation. Asking while picking him up wasn't out of the question.

So he immediately got in his ride and rushed to the airport.

Arriving at the airport exit, he soon met up with Wang Xiaohua.

Wang Xiaohua had just gotten into the passenger seat when he asked:

"Big Brother, what's going on? Did you have a conflict with Sister-in-law?"

Wang Dashan was somewhat embarrassed, and smiled:

"It doesn't count as a conflict, just some differences."

"What differences?"

Before Wang Dashan could answer, Wang Xiaohua asked another question:

"Could it be that differences arose over having a child?"

Wang Dashan was immediately surprised:

"Huh! How did you know, you brat? I haven't told anyone about this. Could it be Xiao Juan called you and told you?"

Wang Xiaohua said:

"No. How could Sister-in-law possibly call and ask me about this? I'm not someone who's been through it; I have zero experience with these things."

"Then how did you know?"

"I guessed. Looking at you and Sister-in-law, you're harmonious as lute and zither, getting along quite well. There's no major financial pressure either. Only two reasons could cause disharmony: one is having a child, two is Big Brother you fooling around outside. And knowing you, you'd never do something like fooling around outside. So it can only be differences over having a child."

Wang Dashan couldn't help but praise:

"A university student is a university student. Your brain is so sharp, you actually guessed it in one go."

Wang Xiaohua asked:

"Why doesn't Sister-in-law want to have a child? Is it because of mortgage pressure?"

Wang Dashan shook his head:

"That's not it. We just paid off the mortgage early recently. I thought once the mortgage was paid off, we could start preparing for pregnancy, but Xiao Juan still feels the timing hasn't arrived. You know, she has a very strong career drive."

Wang Xiaohua slowly nodded. He had long known Sister-in-law had a strong career drive.

"Any other reasons?" Wang Xiaohua continued asking.

Wang Dashan truthfully said:

"There's also the fact that Xiao Juan worries there'll be no one to take care of the child after it's born. Her parents have severe preference for sons over daughters, and she has significant conflicts with them. She definitely won't let her parents come take care of the child. Letting our parents come down to take care of the child, she's not willing either. She feels our parents are rural people, don't understand anything, and still have that old rural way of doing things."

"What about hiring a confinement nanny?"

Wang Xiaohua inquired.

Wang Dashan sighed:

"She's not at ease hiring a confinement nanny either. You can't just let a confinement nanny take care of the child alone at home, right?"

Wang Xiaohua slowly nodded. He said:

"I can understand Sister-in-law's worry."

Wang Dashan sighed even more:

"What use is understanding? The problem now is this situation is almost unsolvable. We can't just not have a child, right?"

Wang Xiaohua said:

"If you want to have a child, then between you and Sister-in-law, I'm afraid one person must take the initiative to make a sacrifice."

Wang Dashan was puzzled:

"What do you mean?"

Wang Xiaohua said:

"What I mean is, someone has to give up their job and stay home full-time to raise the kid."

Wang Dashan gave a bitter smile and shook his head:

"Asking your eldest sister-in-law to give up her job and raise the kid full-time — that's impossible. I reckon she'd rather divorce me than be a full-time stay-at-home mom!"

Wang Xiaohua asked at this point:

"Then what about you, Big Brother?"

"Me?" Wang Dashan was stunned, then gave a bitter smile: "I'm a grown man; giving up my job to raise the kid full-time — how embarrassing would that be? If outsiders found out, wouldn't they laugh at me?"

Wang Xiaohua didn't rush to refute Wang Dashan, but nodded in agreement:

"That's true enough; after all, it concerns face and dignity. But in this situation, I'm afraid only you can make the concession. Three choices: either don't have a kid, or have one and you take the initiative to raise it, or..."

Speaking up to here, Wang Xiaohua stopped, wanting to speak but holding back.

"What's the last choice?"

Wang Dashan hurriedly asked.

Wang Xiaohua smiled helplessly:

"The last choice: either you and Eldest Sister-in-law divorce, and you go marry a new sister-in-law who's willing to bear you children and willing to raise them full-time for you."

Wang Dashan fell silent.

He and Du Xiaojuan had gone through ups and downs, and only with great difficulty had they finally come together and entered the marriage hall; now the two sides loved each other deeply, and neither side had any fault.

In this situation, asking him to divorce Du Xiaojuan — that was also absolutely impossible.

Divorce — he had never once thought of it!

Wang Xiaohua said at this point:

"If you ask me, if you really want to have a kid, whoever earns more handles earning money, whoever earns less handles raising the kid; only then can you maximize benefits and minimize losses."

Wang Dashan was somewhat depressed:

"So your meaning is, let me give up my job and raise the kid full-time?"

The money Wang Dashan earns now, compared to ordinary salaried workers, is certainly much higher; but compared to Du Xiaojuan, it's a case of the lesser wizard seeing the greater wizard.

Wang Xiaohua said:

"That depends on you — is face important, or is having a kid important, or are you willing to do something immoral for the sake of having a kid, abandoning your original wife."

Wang Dashan became even more depressed.

Wang Xiaohua spoke again:

"In my opinion, Big Brother you raising the kid full-time isn't a big deal; it's not like you're being asked to raise the kid full-time for a lifetime. Once the kid grows up a bit and goes to kindergarten, you'll have your own time again; at that point can't you just go back to work? Additionally, if your current job is really that idle, taking the kid to the company and working while raising them isn't impossible either."

These words revealed Wang Xiaohua's shortcoming — he hadn't personally experienced raising a kid, didn't know the hardship of raising a kid, so he spoke such light words.

For the first few months after the kid is born, never mind one person raising it full-time; even three people taking turns would be exhausted enough.

First month crying, second month fussing, third month both crying and fussing.

Additionally, things aren't like the rural past with extensive child-rearing; many things need attention, novice moms and dads all have to learn from zero.

In this situation, wanting to work while raising a kid — that's not easy at all.