Back to 1984: Let's Work Hard Together to Raise The Kids!-Chapter 277: Discussing Marriage

The couple was scolded so harshly, they felt exhausted as they left the old house.

Mu Qinglian was indignant and aggrieved, with a sob in her voice she wanted to call Xiao Jinlin, but was stopped by Xiao Bai, "What are you doing?"

Mu Qinglian shouted excitedly, "I just want to ask him, what am I to him? Since we’re hosting the prospective in-laws, why did he only inform the second branch and keep it from his parents? Does he not want to acknowledge us anymore?"

Xiao Bai snorted unhappily, "I think if he could, he really wouldn’t want to recognize us! Mom and Dad made it clear enough, Jinlin and Ling Yue are like water and fire, if you call him now and he mentions Ling Yue, how will you respond?

If he asks you to kick Ling Yue out, what will you do? If you can’t do it, don’t go accusing him! Ask him nicely what he plans to do, and go along with his wishes. That kid responds to softness, not hardness."

Because of Xiao Bai’s intervention, Mu Qinglian never made that call.

When Xiao Jincheng returned from work and learned that Mu Qinglian was crying in her room, he specifically went to see her and found out that Xiao Jinlin was talking about marriage.

He clenched his fist quietly, looking at Mu Qinglian, "Mom, what Ling Yue did back then was indeed wrong. We can’t face my younger brother and Miss Chen; how about Ling Yue and I move out, and let my brother move back in? That would be best for everyone."

Mu Qinglian cried even more sorrowfully, "What nonsense are you saying! You’re my son too. What does it mean to drive one son out for another? Your grandparents want this marriage to happen for sure. Your wife just had a baby, so she shouldn’t show up; leave the rest to us elders."

Mu Qinglian was being subtle, but Xiao Jincheng understood his grandparents’ intention, they clearly disliked Guo Lingyue.

Since the evidence still existed, he had watched the surveillance footage back then; even if he had opinions, he had no right to voice them, and could only obediently nod and promise.

Seeing his eldest son like this, Mu Qinglian felt bad too, and just as the baby started crying again, Xiao Jincheng hurriedly left.

Mu Qinglian began to feel that Guo Lingyue couldn’t even take care of a child, growing more discontent with her.

Guo Lingyue was unaware of the situation outside; when Xiao Jincheng returned, she quickly handed the baby to him, worried, "Jincheng, do you think we should ask our grandparents for help? My family said there’s a master of Chinese medicine, and if he takes the case, there’s no illness he can’t cure."

Xiao Jincheng hesitated, "Let’s wait and see. The child’s problem is with the immune system, it’s probably genetic. Can Chinese medicine, no matter how skilled, cure a genetic disease?"

Chinese medicine had been heavily suppressed over the years. Xiao Jincheng, having grown up primarily exposed to Western medicine, didn’t believe in Chinese medicine at all.

Guo Lingyue was on the verge of tears, "But we’ve tried every hospital, Western medicine simply can’t cure it..."

She wanted to say more, but Xiao Jincheng, impatient, interrupted her, "Stop fussing, just take good care of the child, making sure she doesn’t get sick is more practical."

Guo Lingyue was almost breaking down, "I want to take good care of her too, but she cries at the slightest thing, doesn’t feed well, we’ve gone through multiple nannies, and I’m exhausted from soothing her day and night, my arms are still sore, what can I do, sob sob sob..."

She used to look forward to this child so much, now she’s just as scared, feeling the child was sent from heaven to torment her.

Xiao Jincheng pressed his lips together, unwilling to face such a wife, he simply took the child away.

After about half an hour of soothing, the child finally quieted down.

Because of the child, Xiao Jincheng had no extra mind to think about Xiao Jinlin’s affairs.

Within a couple of days, the Xiao family elders invited Chen Wenjun and his wife to their home, also calling Zhao Dongling, Xiao Bai, and his wife along with the second couple to the old house for official marriage discussions. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

He Xue hadn’t seen Mu Qinglian for a while, and was shocked to see her looking so haggard, with thick foundation not even covering the dark circles.

"Sister-in-law, what’s happened to you? Are you sick?"

Mu Qinglian forced a smile, "No, it’s our granddaughter who’s been giving us a hard time. This child is getting harder to handle as she grows, running to the hospital every three to five days, we’ve gone through over ten nannies, none lasting more than a few days, the longest stayed half a month, we end up taking care of her ourselves.

Just the other day, she caught a bit of wind, sneezed once, and got a fever, throwing the whole family into chaos, I haven’t slept well for two days."

Talking about her granddaughter, Mu Qinglian had a bellyful of complaints, unable to finish them all.

He Xue couldn’t empathize, and not wanting to speak harshly, just listened blandly, occasionally chiming in.

Soon after, Chen Wenjun and his family arrived, shifting Mu Qinglian’s attention.

Just a glance told her the Chen family was in business, but after exchanging a few words with Lin Qin, she realized Lin Qin was more institutionalized, piquing her curiosity.

He Xue proactively clarified for her, "My Sister Qin established E Society in college, which is now E Media, and after graduating worked in local television, her career is particularly successful."

Lin Qin mockingly squinted at her, "It’s not as great as you say!"

"Don’t be so modest!" He Xue retorted.

Their relationship was obviously very close.

With He Xue and Zhao Dongling present, Mu Qinglian dared not underestimate the Chen family, and the marriage talks went particularly smoothly.

After Lin Qin and her family left the capital, Chen Xinyue was still in a daze, complaining to Xiao Jinlin, "We just started dating not long ago, how is it that our matter is already decided?"

Xiao Jinlin affectionately patted her head, smiling, "I think it’s too slow! According to Uncle and Auntie’s wishes, we get engaged before New Year’s and getting married next February, so there are still several months."

He counted on his long fingers, calculating back and forth, still unsatisfied.

Chen Xinyue was left speechless.

To give Chen Xinyue a grand engagement ceremony, Xiao Jinlin mixed business with personal affairs for the first time, calling a meeting with several company executives while Chen Xinyue was out.

The marketing manager looked cluelessly at the planning department director, then at the HR manager and administrative director, finally settling his gaze on Secretary Department Minister Li Dehua and Tang Ming.

Everyone else’s reactions were equally confused.

Xiao Jinlin entered, sat down, cleared his throat twice, and unusually embarrassed, "I called you mainly for the engagement ceremony between me and Secretary Chen. I hope you can come up with a plan, budget is not an issue, the grander and more ceremonious the better, but it mustn’t be extravagant or wasteful."

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Tang Ming was the first to react, excitedly clenching his fist, leaning forward, "Boss, your family agreed?"

"What else?" Xiao Jinlin said somewhat proudly.

Tang Ming understood, giving a thumbs up, "Amazing... Boss, rest assured, we will start discussions immediately to create a plan you’ll be happy with. Do you have any other instructions?"

Xiao Jinlin shook his head.

Once he left, the meeting room exploded, everyone bent over their phones in the group chat spreading the word.

"Announcing a major event, the boss and Secretary Chen are getting engaged."

A single stone stirred up a thousand waves.