Qi Taiguo and the others had gone to bed, but the light was still on in Father Qiâs room. He sat cross-legged on the bed, holding a cigarette, and scolded Mother Qi in a low voice.
"I see you donât have any brains or sense, saying things like that. Iâm embarrassed for you. We donât even have our own grandchild yet, and you want to raise someone elseâs? Are you out of your mind?"
Mother Qi retorted angrily, "But thatâs still Fengpingâs flesh and blood. Arenât Fenglianâs two also being raised at home? Why are you scared to raise them? Others manage it, why canât we?"
"Taiguo is in the military. In their unit, theyâre only allowed to have one child. If you let them raise one, can they have more children? Fool!" Father Qi reprimanded.
Mother Qi was choked up and after a while said, "I donât believe that adopting one means you canât have more. It doesnât make sense."
"Youâre right, it doesnât make sense. But now the daughter-in-law has spoken. So tell me, are we raising it or not? And if she decides not to have anymore, what then?" Father Qi sneered.
"She wouldnât dare!"
"Why wouldnât she dare?" Father Qi huffed, "Even Taiguo doesnât want it. What can you possibly say to convince them? Dumb as a pig."
Mother Qi was fuming, her nose tingled, and she began to cry softly, "Then what are we supposed to do? Really go through with it? If something goes wrong, what then? What if she canât have children in the future? Whoâll be responsible?"
Father Qi took a drag on his cigarette, "She brought this on herself, who else is there to blame? A young girl, no self-control, and now... itâs embarrassing."
"If this gets out, weâll have no face to see anyone!" Mother Qi wept.
"Youâre still worrying about face? Letâs get through this first!" Father Qi snapped, "I told you to keep a closer eye on her. Dressed so scandalously all the time, and look, now somethingâs happened!"
"Canât you manage? Youâre her father!" Mother Qi shot back.
"Yes, itâs my fault too!" Father Qi showed a look of regret, "Now itâs too late for anything!"
Mother Qi cried, "Just a few days ago we were on such a high, and now this scandal. God, how will we face anyone in the future?"
Father Qiâs eyes darkened. Indeed, the pride they felt just days ago could now only elicit mockery.
Qi Fenglian and Qi Fengping were talking in another room.
"Big sister, I heard what older brother said. Is it true, we can only go through with it?"
In the dark, Qi Fengpingâs voice trembled with undeniable fear.
Qi Fenglian replied, "You heard what Jianguo said. He doesnât acknowledge the child inside you, so whatâs the use of begging? Are you really going to give birth and raise it on your own?"
"No, he promised me, he said he would marry me," Qi Fengping cried softly.
"If that were the case, he wouldnât have said what he did. Now he wonât even acknowledge that youâre not a virgin. You know his attitude!" Qi Fenglian said with disdain.
"I..."
"Little Ping, your brother and the others are right. Youâre still young, you have to think about the future. Zhou Qiang, heâs no good, heâs not a good person. Donât throw yourself into a pit of fire on a whim. You might not realize it now, but you will regret it in the future!" Qi Fenglian cut her off, advising earnestly, "Look at your big sisterâs life. How is it? I donât want you to follow in my footsteps. Listen to me, go through with it, and you can still marry and have children in the future."
Qi Fengping said nothing, only cried softly. Qi Fenglian, hearing no response from her for a long time, sighed slightly.