Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Conflicts and Tensions, All for Love

Seeing the anger on Liu Yulan’s face and hearing her reproachful words, the smile on Wang Jia Bao’s face instantly faded, with a flicker of defiance and unwillingness in his eyes.

He stubbornly stared at Liu Yulan without speaking, and such a posture, in her eyes, was provocative, which made her even more furious. She rushed forward and slapped his arm, scolding while hitting, “I told you to go, I told you not to disobey, treating my words like the wind through your ears. If something happens, how will you face anyone…”

With the first slap seemingly venting her anger, the subsequent slaps followed closely, hitting so that Wang Jia Bao could only turn to avoid them, but in his mouth, he still stubbornly shouted, “I’ll go if I want to, even if you don’t let me join the army, I’ll go every day…”

At this point, Wang Baoxing and Yang Zhigang finally reacted and rushed forward to intervene, pulling each of them apart.

Wang Baoxing held Liu Yulan tightly and whispered in her ear, “Stop hitting, let’s talk things over, we can discuss this at home, don’t make a scene for others to watch.”

Liu Yulan, her emotions fluctuating, looked around and indeed saw quite a few people stopping to watch the commotion. Some persuaded, “Yulan, don’t hit the child, he’s grown up. Him joining the army is a good thing. In a few years, when he comes back like your son-in-law as a factory leader, you’d be enjoying endless blessings…”

Liu Yulan really wanted to retort that she didn’t want such a blessing, and if they wanted it so much, they should let their own sons go. But she knew that saying such a thing would provoke public outrage.

So, she just smiled and said to Wang Baoxing beside her, “Let go, let’s go home.”

Liu Yulan was the first to go upstairs to their home, and Wang Baoxing, casting a blaming glance at his son and shaking his head with a sigh, followed.

Wang Jia Bao still felt wronged, pouting as he was dragged away by Yang Zhigang.

Yang Zhigang appeared quite disheveled, holding one hand to his brother-in-law while clutching two chickens in the other hand. From his clothes pocket was seeping sticky liquid—it was wild bird egg, with a few shared among the three of them in their pockets, perhaps cracked during the scuffle.

Back at home, sensing the bad atmosphere, Yang Zhigang threw the chickens at the door and said loudly, “Pandi, the eggs in the pocket might have been broken. Get a cloth to wipe it off, please.”

He then turned to Wang Baoxing and Wang Jia Bao, saying, “Dad, Jia Bao, you too, check if the wild bird eggs are broken.”

Prompted by his reminder, Wang Jia Bao and Wang Baoxing quickly checked their pockets, thankfully finding them intact.

With this interruption, the tense atmosphere in the house eased a little.

Wang Miaomiao took the opportunity to bring out the prepared dishes, urging everyone to eat, as it was getting late and they still had to go to work later.

After hastily finishing lunch, the three of them dashed off to work without delay.

With an afternoon to calm down, Liu Yulan finally had her mood sorted out. On the way back from work, Wang Baoxing took the opportunity to express his thoughts, “Yulan, about Jia Bao wanting to join the army, let him go…”

“What do you mean?” Liu Yulan didn’t expect he would compromise, “You agree with him joining the army?”

“Sigh…” Wang Baoxing let out a deep sigh, “The child is grown, we can’t control him. His whole heart is set on going, and the more you stop him, the more he wants it. This will only push the child further away.”

Liu Yulan suddenly remembered what he said, that if he wasn’t allowed to join the army, he would go hunting in the hills every day.

Thinking of the blood stains on his body, even though it wasn’t his, she couldn’t help feeling scared.

“What if something happens?” Liu Yulan said unwillingly, “If something happens, what will we do?”

“Nothing will happen. You’re overthinking. Why worry about things that haven’t happened yet? Besides, every year, people scramble to join the army, and Jia Bao wanting to go is not easy. Even if he goes, there will be people to look after him in the military, it’s an opportunity others can’t even wish for,” Wang Baoxing sighed, “The child likes it, didn’t you see how happy he was when he caught a wild boar? I haven’t seen him so happy in a long time.”

Liu Yulan also thought of the scene when he returned, dancing in excitement, and after a long silence, she said, “I’ll think about it again…”

After coming back from work, Wang Miaomiao and Wang Pandi were already preparing dinner, and the wild chicken that Wang Jia Bao hunted today was also ready, just waiting to be cooked as a grand dish for dinner.

Around six o’clock, Zhu Zicheng arrived with Wang Zhaodi and their child Zhu Zheng, bringing items to celebrate the New Year.

Since Zhu Zheng was born, the relationship between Wang Zhaodi and Zhu Zicheng had gradually eased. Both knew that for the sake of the child, they should drop their egos and get along.

Back when Wang Baoxing carried rich gifts to visit Wang Zhaodi, her emotions were mixed, not expecting Liu Yulan would be so generous, leading her to let go of some preconceptions.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the child was little over a month old, making it unsuitable to go out at night, so Wang Zhaodi and the child didn’t visit the Wang Family and instead, Zhu Zicheng went alone to deliver festival gifts.

When Pandi got married, Wang Zhaodi took the child to the wedding. Watching that grand wedding, her feelings of imbalance resurfaced. Without comparison, there is no harm. Reflecting on herself, it seemed laughable.

One wrong step led to another. If she hadn’t listened to her aunt back then, she would have been the one getting along with Yang Zhigang, and it would have been her owning such a grand wedding today.

Her face twisted as she watched others’ joy, her hand clenched slightly, hurting the child.

“Wah…”

It wasn’t until she heard the child’s cry that Wang Zhaodi abruptly woke up. While coaxing the child, she regretted how she could have had such vile thoughts.

After calming the child, she came to terms with it. Everything in life has its destined course. What’s not hers, she can’t have it no matter how she longs for it. What she possesses is unique, like the treasure in her arms—an irreplaceable happiness of her life.

Zhu Zheng was already over six months old, at an age where children are fun. Wang Pandi, who was pregnant, couldn’t resist the charm of cute children and enjoyed teasing him. The room’s atmosphere appeared harmonious but was actually slightly distant and awkward.

The meal was exceptionally quiet, with far fewer words exchanged than usual. Some smiles seemed somewhat strained, some courtesies somewhat perfunctory.

Being perceptive, Zhu Zicheng quickly noticed the unusual atmosphere in the house.

Several times he hesitated to speak, seemingly afraid of saying the wrong thing and causing unnecessary unhappiness, so he ended up saying nothing.

After dinner, seeing off the two daughters and sons-in-law, Wang Baoxing returned to the house and overheard Liu Yulan saying to Wang Jia Bao, “You must not go to the back mountain alone again, it’s too dangerous. As for joining the army, you decide for yourself. We won’t stop you. But by the latest at twenty-two, you must come back to get married.”

“Really?” Wang Jia Bao jumped up in excitement, overjoyed. As for the conditions afterward, who cares, twenty-two is a long way off, he’ll worry about it then, “Thank you, Mom… you’re the best.”

Wang Baoxing stood by the door, watching his wife and son return to their old dynamic, sighed and smiled… A family in harmony makes everything prosperous…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep