Hard work after winning the lottery

There were no heated arguments, no monetary incentives, and no condescending coercion.

He simply stated a fact she could not refute with an almost cold calm.

It is precisely this tranquility that makes people feel most powerless and suffocated.

Because what he was talking about was rights.

It is a father's natural and inalienable right.

After hearing this, Li Guifen and Grandma Hua fell silent for a moment.

This request doesn't sound like...excessive.

In fact, it's perfectly reasonable.

But it was precisely this sense of reason that made their hearts sink even faster.

This means they have no grounds to refuse.

"And what about you?"

Grandma Hua, who had remained silent all along, finally spoke.

She didn't judge whether Zhou Yanjin's request was right or wrong, but instead looked into her most beloved granddaughter with her weathered yet still clear eyes.

"Yun'er, Grandma won't ask others."

"Grandma only asks you."

"What...are you thinking?"

This question left Hua Yun even more bewildered than Li Guifen's earlier question, "What does he want to do?"

Yes, what was she thinking?

She looked up, her gaze sweeping blankly over everything familiar in the room.

The walls were covered with children's drawings, and her sewing machine sat on the table. The air was filled with the tranquil scent of grass and trees, unique to the mountain village at night.

All of this was built by her own hands, bit by bit, over five years. It was a small, peaceful kingdom that belonged to her and her children.

She took a deep breath, the coolness of the night air clearing her chaotic thoughts slightly.

"I……"

She spoke with difficulty, her voice trembling slightly, without her even realizing it.

"I have no reason, nor the right, to stop him from being a father."

"Just like he said, I kept it from him for five years, and I've already deprived him of that for five years. I can't... also deprive the children of their right to have a father."

"Over the years, Si'an and the others have asked me more than once, 'Mom, where did our dad go?'"

"Every time, I couldn't answer."

At this point, Hua Yun's eyes welled up with tears again.

That feeling of helplessness and guilt pierced her heart like countless fine needles.

"But……"

Her tone shifted abruptly, and the rationality she had painstakingly cultivated was instantly swallowed up by immense fear.

"I'm scared."

"Mom, Grandma, you've seen it too. He's from a completely different world than us."

"His family, his life, everything around him is too complicated."

"I've finally managed to raise my children and live such a peaceful life. I'm really afraid... afraid that his arrival will disrupt all of this."

"I'm more afraid of..."

Her voice grew softer and softer, like a wisp of smoke that could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

"I'm afraid that when the children grow up and know everything, they'll be torn between him and me."

"I'm afraid they'll have to face a world I can't give them, and a world they can't fit into."

"What will they choose then?"

This is her deepest, most untouchable fear.

She fears that one day, her children will stand at the crossroads of two completely different worlds, and whichever side they choose will mean abandoning the other.

Hearing her daughter's heartfelt confession, Li Guifen felt as if an invisible hand had kneaded her heart into a knot.

She let out a long, long sigh.

That sigh contained heartache, helplessness, and a mother's boundless worry for her daughter's future.

She reached out, her movements clumsy yet gentle, and tucked a stray strand of hair, damp with tears, behind Hua Yun's ear.

This simple action carries a simple yet firm strength.

"Yunyun, Mom knows you're having a hard time and feeling bitter inside."

Li Guifen's voice had completely lost its previous sharpness, becoming hoarse and steady.

"But daughter, things have come to this point, hiding and concealing ourselves is no longer a solution."

Her gaze was clear and penetrating, like the hardest stone in the mountains.

"Think about it, Zhou Yanjin, he took the initiative to come to our door, and all he talked about was wanting to be a father and taking responsibility."

"This is a thousand times, ten thousand times better than those heartless bastards outside who get girls pregnant and then disappear without a trace, turning their backs on you after they're done with their money."

"If he really doesn't say a word, or tries to bribe us to give up our child, that would truly cut off our way out."

Li Guifen's words were rough, but reasonable.

She used the most basic values ​​of a rural woman to dissect the core essence of this matter.

"His willingness to acknowledge and take responsibility is ultimately not a bad thing for the children."

"As for what you're afraid of... what about two worlds, what about having a hard time choosing in the future..."

Li Guifen paused, then grasped her daughter's cold hand and squeezed it tightly.

"The road is made step by step, and life is lived one day at a time. No one can predict the future."

"But there's one thing Mom can tell you."

"From today onwards, you won't have to shoulder this responsibility alone anymore."

"With your grandma and me here, with your dad and your grandpa here, no matter how big the problem is, our family will face it together!"

Li Guifen's resounding words, "We'll share the burden together," were like a reassuring pill.

Grandma Hua's eyes, which had seen through the ways of the world, were now tinged with a soft, watery light.

She took her granddaughter's hand in her own, the warmth of her palm, rough yet burning, gently soothing Hua Yun's cool skin.

"Yes, child."

The old man's voice was like jade polished by time, warm and serene.

"Blood is thicker than water; this is a principle ordained by God, and no one can sever it."

She gently patted Hua Yun's hand, the force carrying a calming and reassuring quality.

"As long as Zhou Yanjin is genuinely kind to Si'an and the others, and truly good to you..."

She paused, a glint of simple shrewdness, the kind only farmers possess, flashing in her cloudy eyes.

"Let's...let's take a look first and then decide."

Don't rush to accept, and don't rush to reject.

Take a look first.

Look at his character, look at his sincerity, look at his feelings for the children, whether he is truly sincere or not.

This simple and unadorned wisdom is the safest path.

Her mother's firm promise and her grandmother's gentle tolerance were like a warm spring breeze, dispelling the gloom and coldness that shrouded Hua Yun's heart.

Hua Yun bit her lower lip tightly to prevent the tears she had finally managed to stop from flowing again.

What she feared most was never Zhou Yanjin's power, nor the difficulties she might face in the future.

What she fears most is her family's incomprehension, their worries, and even the opposition and arguments that arise from it.

She feared that her absurd past would become a thorn in the hearts of her loved ones, causing them to suffer along with her and be pointed at and gossiped about.

But now, the thing she feared most has not happened.

Neither Mom nor Grandma uttered a single word of blame.

What they gave her was unconditional understanding and a determination to weather the storms together.

This is enough.

"That……"

Looking at the fragile look on her daughter's face, as if she had just survived a disaster, Li Guifen sighed with heartache, then thought of the other two troublesome men in the family.

Her brows furrowed unconsciously.