1994: Starting with unpaid leave

As Zhou Xiuyun sat in the back seat of Dong Jianguo's car after leaving her parents' house, she still couldn't forget the scene of her mother-in-law's furious outburst at the dinner table.

In fact, even as she went downstairs to leave, she couldn't understand how the kind woman who had packed her a whole lunchbox full of ribs so she could take these delicacies home for dinner could stand on the bed and yell at her husband for more than ten minutes...

"Jianguo, I only realized today how amazing Mom is; her mouth is like a machine gun..."

Dong Jianguo, pedaling hard, smiled and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Mom is usually very gentle, but sometimes she can't help but explode when she's pushed too far."

He wasn't defending his mother; he genuinely believed it.

As far as I can remember, my mother was always quite gentle with her four children.

Even when they scolded or hit someone, it never exceeded the limits.

But once it's out in the public eye, things can get complicated.

I remember once when I was a child, my second brother was bullied, and my eldest brother went to stand up for him. As a result, the two brothers came home with bruises on their faces.

Knowing that their two sons had been taken advantage of, the parents reacted very differently.

Out of a man's pride, the father, Dong Xuewen, felt that the children should solve their own problems and did not interfere.

The mother, Zhang Guifen, chose to stand up for her children, taking all four of them with her and having a fierce argument with the other parents, almost to the point of physical violence.

Although he has long forgotten how it all ended, Dong Jianguo can never forget the image of his mother standing in front of her children like an angry leopard at the crucial moment...

"Jianguo, do you think I'll become like our mother after I become a mom?"

I'll love you no matter what you look like!

Xiuyun gently punched Dong Jianguo's back a few times, but she was actually quite pleased with the sudden sweet words.

After a moment, she slowly spoke again:

"But... I think there's some truth to what Dad said."

"If something really happens to us in the future, having a son should make things easier for us, right?"

Dong Jianguo chuckled:

"That's not true. We can't rely on future children, whether boys or girls!"

Each generation has its own way of living.

The fate of most people of my generation from Heilongjiang Province is to do everything they can to send their children to other provinces to develop their careers, and then abandon themselves in nursing homes in their old age.

For most of them, there is no difference between having a boy or a girl.

As for himself, he genuinely wanted to make it up to Xiao Ju Zi.

I owe this daughter so much from my past life.

In this lifetime, I will do everything I can to give her the most perfect childhood possible!

"Actually, I think it would be great to have a daughter. No matter who she resembles, she'll have good genes! She'll definitely grow up to be a great beauty!"

"You're talking nonsense again..." Xiuyun pressed her face against Dong Jianguo's back, listening to his ramblings with a smile...

……

After dropping Xiuyun off at the factory, Dong Jianguo grabbed his lunchbox, hopped on his bike, and headed straight for the department store.

I spent 300 yuan there to buy a Little Tyrant game...learning machine.

This learning machine differs from the earliest Famicom; the machine itself has been replaced by a keyboard, but it still retains the game cartridge slot.

Although it's marketed as an educational machine, many people can tell at a glance that it's essentially a game console.

Considering that there are four boys in the second uncle's family, Dong Jianguo specifically chose two collections suitable for boys when selecting game cartridges.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mario, Contra, Battle City, Red Fortress, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers... I'll get all these classic games for my nephews.

To make sure the machine was working properly, I went home and played with it for a while. Only after confirming that there were no problems did I reassemble the learning machine...

……

Second Uncle's family lives in the flax factory dormitory building.

This building was also newly built a few years ago, and its overall appearance is much better than the buildings in the fort. At least you can't see any exposed bricks on the exterior walls...

This wasn't the first time Dong Jianguo had visited his second uncle's house.

The residents of Heilongjiang Province do not have the same strong clan concept as people in the south, but the custom of visiting elders during festivals has always existed, so he has been to his second uncle's house too many times.

At 7:30 p.m., the couple stood at the door of Uncle Er's house on time.

Before I even knocked, I could hear a boy making a ruckus inside.

"Grandma, my brother smeared his snot all over my notebook!"

"Nonsense, he spat on my notebook first!"

"I didn't! It was my brother who started it..."

"You two, hurry up and do your homework! I'm begging you!"

The noise, though nothing out of the ordinary, sounded warm and comforting to Dong Jianguo.

He raised his hand to knock on the door, and when the door opened, Dong Jianguo saw his second aunt's sunken eye sockets.

My mother was right; taking care of children is truly exhausting...

"Oh, it's the youngest one?! Old man, Jianguo and his wife have come to see you!"

Aunt Er forced a smile onto her haggard face and warmly invited the couple into the house.

Inside the room, the second uncle, who had just finished watching the news in the bedroom, came out upon hearing this. When he saw that Dong Jianguo was carrying a rectangular box, he was immediately stunned:

"You're here, why bring anything?"

"Haha, my mom told me that Shouguo and Huguo's kids were clamoring for a learning machine, and since I happened to see some for sale, I just bought one..."

Uncle Er was taken aback. When he saw the image of Jackie Chan printed on the packaging box, he frowned.

There have been a lot of ads for this stuff on TV lately, and my grandsons have been drooling over it ever since, constantly begging to buy it.

Unexpectedly, Dong Jianguo actually bought it!

"Oh my, why did you buy this? This learning machine isn't cheap, is it?!"

Anything that gets made into a GG (Gross) product on TV is bound to be cheap.

Upon hearing the words "learning machine," the two children, who were doing their homework in another room, ran out without even bothering to put on their slippers.

When the two realized that what their uncle was holding was indeed the treasure they had been longing for, they both cheered in unison:

"Uncle! I love you to death!"

Seeing the two cheering, Dong Jianguo reached out and ruffled their hair: "Second Uncle, aren't Brother Huguo's two sons here?"

"Ah, those two went to Grandma's house today. They're always hanging around those four, your second aunt is practically drained dry..."

"That's for sure!" Aunt Er brought over two cups of hot tea, took Xiuyun's fair hand, and began to complain:

"If you ask me, the country's policies must be resolutely implemented; we must have fewer births and ensure better birth outcomes!"

"Look at my house! It's alright today, only two kids. Normally, the floor is full of them, I can barely see them! And that's not all, these boys are getting old, each one more mischievous and more infuriating than the last. For every sentence I say, they each have ten sentences to reply!"

"Let them do their homework, okay? It's only two sheets of paper, but these kids are dawdling for an hour! I'm thinking that these little brats will wear me down sooner or later!"

As she spoke, Aunt Er's nose tingled, and she almost burst into tears in front of the couple...

Dong Jianguo slapped his thigh and pointed to the two boys whose eyes were shining as they surrounded the learning machine:

"Don't worry, Second Aunt, I'm here. I'll teach you how to handle them!"