Chapter 30: Early 30s
Tian Xinhua parked his bicycle, took Shou Jianguo by the hand, and walked inside, proclaiming loudly, "Who hit your grandson? I only saw your precious grandson hitting my three cousins! Look at the wounds on my cousins, how could he lay such heavy hands on his own relatives? I really don't understand it, they are all grandsons, Old Lady Shou, why is your heart biased towards Sri Town (the neighboring town of Wangjiazhen)? Could it be that my aunt's husband is someone you picked from outside?"
As Tian Xinhua was speaking, he gestured to the injuries on Shou Jianguo's face and hands for Old Lady Shou to see. Nearby, Tian Manlan saw her severely injured eldest son and cried even harder. Tian Sisi, annoyed by the noise, shouted loudly at her, "Aunt, there's a saying 'A mother has to be strong.' What's the use of crying? You're such an adult and you can't even protect your own son; you really don't deserve to be the mother of Jianguo, Weiguo, and Bao Guo."
Tian Sisi really detested their lack of fighting spirit. In her past life, her mother Zhong Juying always scolded her but was very protective. If she was bullied by other kids outside, her mother would definitely take her to that family to demand justice, insisting that if they wouldn't discipline their own child, then she would do it for them. She refused to let her daughter get hit for nothing. That family, having no choice, would severely punish their child in front of Zhong Juying to her satisfaction.
As this happened repeatedly, everyone knew that Tian Sisi had a formidable mother, and no one dared to bully her. However, after confronting people outside, Zhong Juying would still scold Tian Sisi, calling her useless for not knowing how to fight back, and warning that if she was bullied again and cried coming back home, she would stop caring. But it was just an empty threat, as Zhong Juying would still go and settle the score if Tian Sisi was bullied again.
Upon hearing her niece's words, Tian Manlan stood there stupefied for a while as if considering what Tian Sisi had said. However, Shou Jianguo, hearing it, started to cry. No matter how strong he was, he was still just a nine-year-old kid. Quite often, he and his brothers were bullied outside, and when they told their mama, she just told them to endure it, never daring to stand up for them. Sometimes he really resented his father's irresponsibility and his mama's weakness. Now, hearing his cousin's words, all the grievances in his heart burst forth.
Seeing Shou Jianguo crying so sadly, Tian Sisi hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his tears, but forgot that Shou Jianguo was half a head taller than her. Shou Jianguo, feeling embarrassed, took the handkerchief to wipe his own tears. Turning her head, Tian Sisi bitterly said to Tian Manlan:
"Auntie, when Jianguo and the others are bullied outside, don't you know how to stand up for them? Just like my mama, if anyone dares bully me, she would certainly stand up for me." What Tian Sisi referred to was her mother in her past life, but others listening thought she was talking about Zhu Aiqing.
"Ah Nan, you don't understand..." Tian Manlan tried to explain with a wry smile.
Tian Sisi had no interest in listening and snorted, "What don't I understand? You can't even protect your own children, you are not a good mama."
"Mama is good, she saves her food for us to eat," Shou Jianguo said. Although he resented Tian Manlan's weakness, he still respected her deep down and he couldn't help but defend her.
Hearing her eldest son's words, Tian Manlan's tears started flowing again. Ah Nan was right; she was really not a good mama. Tian Sisi felt a headache watching this, her aunt was truly made of water. She didn't bother to continue talking with Tian Manlan, knowing that it's easier to change rivers and mountains than a person's nature; expecting a pushover to suddenly stand up and become a hedgehog was harder than the Foolish Old Man moving mountains.
At this point, Old Lady Shou, put on the spot by Tian Xinhua's words, became defensively angry and said, "I'm not going to argue with you children. Is there no one left in the Tian Family? You two kids have to come out and speak up?"