“It was the Chinese New Year at that time. I still remember that your father went through a lot of trouble to get an appointment with a specialist at the Municipal People’s Hospital in his hometown.”
That era was different from now. Not every hospital had an ultrasound machine, and their hometown was not as developed as the rapidly developing Shenzhen. In that poor and backward place, only city-level hospitals could have such advanced machines.
“That day, your grandmother also accompanied us to the hospital. When she heard the doctor say you were a girl, her face suddenly changed.”
“I still remember her expression at that time. Her face was drooping, as if I was a sinner of their Mu family.”
In fact, without Ah Wu’s detailed description, Mu Wanwan could also think of her grandmother’s expression at that time. But when her mother talked about this past, Mu Wanwan couldn’t help but feel angry.
What’s wrong with being a girl?
Isn’t her grandmother a woman herself?
However, compared to the simple resentment in the past, Mu Wanwan now wanted to hear her mother describe in detail how she and her father reacted at that time.
All along, her parents seemed to rarely mention this past and never told Mu Wanwan what their attitude was when they found out that she was a girl, or when she was born and was told that she was a girl.
Born in such an environment, perhaps her parents didn’t like her at the beginning, right?
This was something Mu Wanwan didn’t dare to think about in her heart.
“After leaving the hospital, your grandmother gave me two choices. The first was induced labor because you were already more than six months old at that time. The second choice was to prepare for pregnancy immediately after giving birth to you.”
“At that time, you would stay in our hometown and be taken care of by them. As long as we don’t register your household registration, your father and I can still have another child when we go to Shenzhen.”
Mu’s mother’s practice was very common in that era. It existed not only in her hometown where there was a strong atmosphere of favoring boys over girls, but also in big cities like Shenzhen, Haishi, and Beijing where highly educated people were everywhere.
“Then…”
Mu Wanwan bit her lower lip.
Since her grandmother gave her parents these two choices, how could she be born safely in the end and be taken care of by her parents?
“Wanwan, do you know what kind of life your mother led when she was a child?”
“When I was a child, I didn’t have the good conditions that you had when you were a child. Your aunts and I had been doing housework and farm work since we were old enough to understand.”
“Before I was fourteen, I thought that girls all over the world were like this. But after I married your father and went to a wider place outside, I realized that girls can be so proud and will be held in the palm of their parents’ hands and cared for like a baby.”
For ‘Zhuo Wu’, marrying Mu Feng was the biggest turning point in her life.
Not only did she find a loyal, brave, and responsible husband, but under his leadership, she also made a radical change in her wrong worldview and life view.
“It turns out that girls can study like boys and get a decent job after graduating from college; it turns out that it is not unusual for girls to get married in their twenties or even thirties.”
“On the contrary, forcing a daughter to get married and have children at the age of fourteen or fifteen is a wrong thing to be condemned.”
“It turns out that girls are never inferior to boys. From birth, they should be equal…”
“At that time, I thought that if I had a daughter, I would give her everything I didn’t have before.”
“And then, you came!”
Ah Wu said so much just to tell Mu Wanwan that she had never been an unwelcome existence like in the mouths of her relatives. On the contrary, before she came, there was a mother who welcomed her into this world with full of devout hope.
“I’m very glad that your father is not a foolish and conservative man. When your grandmother proposed such a harsh condition, he stood in front of us, mother and daughter, rejected your grandmother’s proposal, and quickly took me back to Shenzhen after the New Year.”
“At that time, our living conditions were improving, but we were far from being able to afford a nanny.”
“Thanks to your father for clumsily taking care of me through the most difficult months of my pregnancy and taking care of us mother and daughter for the entire confinement period.”
“I still remember that when you were little, you loved crying and we couldn’t leave your side for a moment. Once, I got up in the middle of the night. I saw your father sitting on the sofa in the living room holding you to sleep, and he didn’t dare to lie down at all. I just made a slight noise, and he woke up immediately. After opening his eyes, his first action was to hold you tightly, for fear of dropping you.”
“After I left the confinement period, I gained seven pounds and your father lost ten pounds.”
Mu Feng’s attitude was enough to prove his love for his daughter.
“Twenty-two years ago, your father was like a mountain, protecting us from wind and rain. Twenty-two years later, he is like a hero, protecting me and your younger brother/sister at the cost of his life.”
“I’m sorry, Wanwan. Mom is really going to break that promise. I want to keep this child, just like your father and I wanted to keep you.”
This time, when Ah Wu said this, she was communicating with her daughter on an equal footing.
She was waiting for Mu Wanwan to think it through.
*****
Translator’s Comment:
Woo, woo, woo…
It’s never easy for women.
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Lucien On ABRWF Chapter 43.2
Im glad Ah Wu’s husband was so good and that she’s able to clearly communicate with the daughter in a clear and positive way and emphasize the parallels and her love for her daughter ans unborn child in such a way. The black hearted green tea boyfriend can also taste the tea, but this tea is being used for good. Go Ah Wu.