Old Master Wan took a sip of water and said with a light chuckle, "You both, you’re good in every way, but you handle things too rigidly."
"Like the items the kids bought for you today. I’ve already talked to you about the Zhou family situation. They truly won’t think too much about those things; it’s you who are overthinking."
"Of course, you are thinking of Chuxia and don’t want her to be in a difficult position in her husband’s family, which makes you absolutely good parents. However, you’re thinking too much, and it might make the Zhou family mbers feel that you don’t regard them as one of your own."
"You only have Chuxia as a daughter, and you’re definitely counting on her to take care of you in old age, right? If that’s the case, then you and the Zhou family are truly one family, right?"
"But you always don’t want to bask in the glory of the Zhou family. You always fear the Zhou family will look down on Chuxia because of you. It was right to think this way at first and to be cautious."
"But now, after you’ve been interacting with the Zhou family mbers for so long, and you’ve co to understand what kind of people they are, you shouldn’t be so rigid anymore."
"When the Zhou family was in a difficult situation, not only did you not hold them back, but you also helped them greatly. If the Zhou family hadn’t been vindicated so quickly, the Zhou family mbers might have had to rely on you two for support."
"If that were really the case, because you supported the Zhou family mbers, would you ever resent them?"
Zhao Yulan hurriedly waved her hand, "How could that be? It’s only right for us to help when soone is in trouble; we couldn’t bear to resent them."
"That settles it then. If you can’t bear to resent them, how could they resent you just because your daughter brings a little honor to you?"
"If there hadn’t been adversity shared, they might have seen you as the type of parents who enjoy your daughter’s success. But after the recent tis together, do you think they would still feel that way?"
The couple looked at each other and shook their heads together.
"That settles it. What they want to do now is to do their utmost to help you, to make sure you’re happy too."
"The Zhou family mbers are deeply grateful for how you behaved in tis of hardship. If you were to decline now, they would really think you have ulterior motives."
"From now on, accept whatever the children offer as tokens of respect. Don’t be nervous or in a hurry to refuse; that’s not for the children’s good –it only makes things difficult for them."
The couple had a hard ti wrapping their minds around this but were too embarrassed to directly refute Old Master Wan, so they just stood there, not sure what to say.
"Let put it this way. If Chuxia is wearing new clothes and you’re in patched-up ones, if Chuxia is eating white flour buns and you’re eating coarse cornbread, do you think Chuxia would be happy?"
Without hesitation, the couple said in unison, "No."
"But that’s exactly what you are doing now."
"Uncle Wan..." Zhao Yulan, looking conflicted, "I kind of understand what you an. What the Zhou family lets slip through their fingers is enough to make us live comfortably, and it would allow Chuxia not to worry about us."
"But Uncle Wan, we just can’t get over it. What they let slip might not seem like much to them, but for us, it’s more than we could earn in a lifeti."
Elder Wan turned to Lin Baohe, "Do you think so too?"
"Not at all." The uncertainty in Lin Baohe’s eyes vanished, and he looked clearly enlightened, "Uncle Wan, I understand now. We can’t apply our standards to the Zhou family. What they’re doing is to put Chuxia at ease, and so are we."
"Actually, both sides have the sa goal, but for Chuxia’s sake, she can truly be at ease only if we are doing well."
"We’ve actually discussed it, after settling down back ho, we planned to co back and live with you, Uncle Wan. We’re still matchbox makers, and by then, you better not be bothered by us."
"That would be wonderful! I’ve been hoping you would co and keep company..." Old Master Wan laughed heartily, "Why do I feel like I’m persuading you to co back and take care of in my old age? Does that make too selfish?"
Lin Baohe laughed sheepishly, "Uncle Wan, I know you’re saying this because you’re worried we won’t be at ease living elsewhere. Don’t worry, I’ve really seen the light. If Yulan hasn’t co around yet, I will persuade her."
"So you an that from now on, whatever the Zhou family gives us, we should just accept it?" Zhao Yulan looked at her husband, her face full of confusion, as she was still sowhat unable to accept this.
"Haven’t you noticed? When the Zhou family gives sothing, they’ve thought it through too. They definitely won’t give sothing that would make us uneasy."
"It’s not that we should just accept whatever they give without any second thoughts. I an, we can reciprocate with other things. Of course, if we were to reciprocate with sothing of equal value, we could never match them, but it’s the gesture that counts. We just need to do our best."
"That can’t be right." Zhao Yulan imdiately objected, "How could they care for our little gestures?"
"If you expect them to care for your gesture, then no matter what you give up to exchange for it, they wouldn’t care about it. There’s a world of difference between our two families. If we insisted on comparing conditions, we might as well have let Xia marry soone with nothing, and then we’d never owe them anything. But could you bear that?"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Zhao Yulan glared at her husband, irritation plain in her voice, "Chuxia can’t do much work. If she married soone with nothing, how would she live?"
"That’s plainly obvious." Lin Baohe just laughed, "You say you want your daughter to live well, yet you want her husband’s family to think we’re equal to them. Isn’t that just absurd?" (To be continued. If you like this work, welco to Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian to read.)
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