Chapter 1019: Chapter 1019 - 1020: Don’t Force Your Will on Others
The short month of February quickly passed amidst the commotion. Qi Taiguo’s cousin Deng Weixia eloped with a widow and never showed up again nor sent any word. No one knew if they were alive or dead, or where they had gone.
After the two of them ran away, the rest of the people still needed to live. The eldest aunt and Deng Weiqiu couldn’t stay long at the Qi family home, so they returned to their hometown shortly after being discharged from the hospital.
With Deng Weixia missing, the Deng family was left with just the mother and daughter relying on each other, living a life that was miserable beyond words.
Why? The eldest aunt had suffered a stroke, her mouth was crooked, and her movements were not as nimble as before. She could only do light work, so all the labor fell on Deng Weiqiu. That girl cursed Deng Weixia and the others while working every day.
They say there are no secrets that can’t be uncovered. With her cursing like that, everyone knew what had happened, targeting the Deng family with gossip. The eldest aunt was so ashamed she didn’t even step out of her house, wishing she could just die to end it all.
And as for the daughter, she cursed every day, full of resentment, and feared it would delay her own marriage. How could she not be bitter? How could life not be hard?
"...To be honest, I’m worried that girl Weiqiu will just run away and leave the eldest aunt all alone, turning her truly into a pitiable lonely old woman." Qi Fenglian brought up the matter while Cheng Su was settling accounts at the fast food restaurant.
Cheng Su leafed through the ledger, calculating, while also keeping some focus on speaking with Qi Fenglian, "If that’s true, then these children are truly unfilial." Meanwhile, she silently added in her heart that the eldest aunt had failed in her upbringing.
"Oh, when it rains, it pours, doesn’t it? In recent years, one event after another has happened in the eldest aunt’s home. I wonder if they’ve been hit by some bad luck. Such pity!" Qi Fenglian sighed again.
Cheng Su gave her a glance and said, "There’s no such thing as bad luck; it’s all man-made. If the eldest aunt hadn’t forced her will onto her children, the likelihood of such things happening might have been much smaller. It’s unfortunate that her imposition provoked Weixia and the others into rebellion."
"What do you mean by that? Is arranging a wife for him wrong?" Qi Fenglian did not agree with her words.
"Arranging a wife is fine, but it can’t replace what he himself doesn’t like. If the child doesn’t like it and you like it, what use is it? Are you going to spend a lifetime with that wife? Alright, let’s not talk about Weixia, it’s his own narrow-mindedness. But taking Liu Wenjing as an example, it’s perfectly normal for someone so young to want to remarry. But how did the eldest aunt behave? She almost went as far as labeling her as shameful for wanting to remarry. Pressuring someone not to remarry—how would that make a person feel?" Cheng Su said, "Just because you yourself don’t remarry, it doesn’t mean others don’t want to. How can you impose your will on others?"
Qi Fenglian frowned, "Well, it seems the eldest aunt is a bit wrong in this matter."
"Sister, everyone has their own thoughts. You can express your opinions and views, but you can’t demand agreement from others. That’s the most basic respect. We ourselves have spoken, whether the other side listens or not is their choice, and that’s also a human right. Why must we insist that our own opinion is correct? Everyone makes mistakes!" Cheng Su shrugged, so she would express her opinion on Ying Xiaoya’s matters, offer advice, but never make choices for her.
Just like with her elder sister’s situation, with Hualing’s matter, she’s always been an observer, and precisely because of that, by just observing and not participating, she can see the objective truth more clearly.