Chapter 3 Mom's Foresight

  I parted ways with Xiao at the fork in the road and headed home, as I walked through the door, I saw my mom's old-fashioned bicycle parked there, so I knew she would definitely be back soon. However, I was a bit curious that Mom didn't work overtime today and came back earlier than me. As I walked, I shouted: "Mom, I'm back! How come you're back so early tonight? What are we having for dinner?"

  As he spoke, he rushed to the kitchen and only saw his father smiling and saying: "Little glutton, today your dad caught a yellow croaker, you have good luck, there are braised and stewed ones, and also your favorite hollow vegetables. Yesterday was bleeding, today is a good day to make up for it, drink a few more bowls of soup. Hurry up and put down your bag, wash your hands and get ready for dinner. And your mom took the day off today, so she came back early and is now putting on her quilt upstairs, go call her and say that dinner is ready."

  I hastily said a sentence: "Oh, Dad is really good, and in the world, only Dad is the best."

  Dad patted my head and said, "You little rascal, you only know how to use sweet words to coax me into a good mood. Does your head not hurt anymore? Don't be so mischievous again in the future..." I nodded repeatedly, "There won't be a next time, there won't be a next time. Hehe."

  At this time, a voice came from behind: "You are the best at coaxing people to be happy. Just now you said that only your father is good in the world, and yesterday you said that only your mother is good in the world. But next time if you're naughty again, I'll send you to your second aunt's husband's house, let's see if you dare."

  I can only pretend to be very honest and say: "Mom is jealous, my favorite people are Dad and Mom, and I'm also afraid of Second Aunt's husband... Qingsister, Linsister, Yuansister, TianTian, XuanXuan, none of them scare me, I'll definitely listen, I promise..." Dad smiled and said: "Wife, the baby knows they were wrong, let's eat. If you still have something to say, we can talk while eating."

  Mom said: "You're always being a good person, making your daughter like you and say nice things about you. Forget it, I'm too lazy to scold you guys."

  My dad and I exchanged a knowing smile, and he said, "Your mom has a sharp tongue but a soft heart."

  I did a good job of scooping up the chopsticks and rice bowl onto the table, and my dad and mom also brought out dishes one after another. I was happily eating the braised yellow croaker, it felt so comfortable. You know that in 2012, it wasn't easy to get wild yellow croaker, most were farmed and even had birth control medicine injected into them. Later on, my mom rarely wanted to buy this kind of yellow croaker for me to eat. I was so proud that I forgot myself, my mouth was all oily from eating, and my mom said I looked like a little flower cat.

  Here is the translation:

  "After a while, my mom said: 'Husband, I'm taking a day off today to meet up with my high school classmate Tang Xueqi. She and her husband Zhang Zhi have been transferred to the city this year. Their daughter Zhang Jie is one year younger than our daughter, and she's very articulate and clever. Tang Xueqi told me that her daughter is good at singing and dancing, and has been learning piano and Latin dance from acquaintances. I think we should also let our daughter try it out.' As soon as I heard this, I perked up my ears to listen to what Dad had to say. You see, back in the day, people didn't have these kinds of opportunities. Tang Xueqi's family moved back to the city when I was in third grade, and Zhang Jie really did learn piano and Latin dance all the way through high school. Tang Xueqi wouldn't let her stop learning, saying that she was afraid of wasting money, which made Tang Xueqi both angry and amused as she complained to my mom about it. On the other hand, I was afraid of hardship and only learned piano from third grade to sixth grade, and Latin dance for a bit in fourth grade. After that, I refused to learn anymore. Dad even helped me make excuses, which made Mom so angry that she said I would definitely regret it later. And indeed, when I got to college, I did regret it - there were many people at my third-rate university who had all sorts of talents."

  "Dad hesitated and said, 'Wife, how much does this cost? We're still in debt from building the house, can't we slow down a bit? Learning piano requires buying a piano, right? And for dance, costumes and shoes are necessary, right? Who's going to pick up the kid anyway? The kid is still young, carefree and happy.'"

  Mom didn't back down, saying: "Husband, I don't agree with this. Look at us, we both didn't get into college, and although we have a high school diploma, we're stuck in this formal work. The money we owe must be repaid, so we need to make as much as possible, like you taking on some extra electrical work, and I'll do more small business too. The child must be cultivated from an early age. Piano can be replaced with electronic piano for now, and Tang Xueqi promised me that if the baby learns, she can pick him up. Besides, there are only classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays...

  Dad didn't say anything for a while, thought about it and finally agreed with Mom's opinion, but seemed to frown slightly.

  Then my mom asked me: "Baby, Mom asks you, do you want to learn some musical instruments and dance in your free time?"

  I quickly raised my head and said: "I want to learn."

  Mom said to Dad, "Then it's settled. Tomorrow afternoon I'll have Tang Xueqi take me and Baby to meet that teacher." The next day after school, Mom was indeed waiting for me at the school gate. After saying goodbye to Xiao Xiao and Ya Ya, I left with Mom. Mom rode her bike with me on it to Feng Huang Xi Street, where we saw Aunt Tang waiting for us. I smiled directly at Aunt Tang, and Mom said to me, "Baby, this is Mom's high school classmate and best friend. You call her Aunt Tang."

  I remembered the kindness of Aunt Tang from my previous life, so I sweetly said: "Aunt Tang, hello, my name is Nan Xixi, you look really beautiful!" Aunt Tang smiled and said: "Hello, Xixi, you're also very cute and pretty." She then took out two pieces of golden silk candy from her pocket for me to eat. "Xixi, I'm in a hurry today, come visit me next time and I'll make delicious food for you." Aunt Tang led us through twists and turns to a place called Zhuanzhu Lane. The area was full of ancient charm, with powder walls, green tiles, and blue stone alleys. Although it was a bit old and worn out, it had a unique flavor. I remembered that in 2012, this place used to be filled with uniform high-rise buildings, but now it's gone back to its original state. Only Suzhou has a Zhuanzhu Lane like this, I don't know if it's lucky or not, and for a moment, I was stunned.

  At this time, my mother pulled me and I came back to my senses. Following my mother and Aunt Tang, we walked in and passed through two doors to the main hall. There, I saw a woman of about 40 years old sitting there, wearing only simple blue cloth with orchid patterns, but she had an inexplicable nobility.

  Tang Auntie walked up and shouted, "Meng Aunt!" I was a bit surprised that Tang Auntie would call someone who is only about ten years older than her "Aunt", but I still smiled sweetly at her.

  All she saw was the woman saying, "Xue Qi, this is your best friend's daughter. She looks lovely and intelligent, not nervous at all. I wonder if she has a clever root like Jing Jing. Let me take a look at her hand first."

  I walked forward, stood up straight, stretched out my hands, and clasped my fingers together. I remembered that my late mother had me learn piano because our music teacher said I had beautiful hands, suitable for playing the piano. I didn't know if they would meet this mysterious woman's standards, but despite a hint of nervousness, I looked at her with clear and sincere eyes. The woman took a look, then touched my fingers, saying: "Your hand shape is not bad, suitable for playing the piano. However, whether you can truly like it, endure loneliness, and persist in learning depends on yourself. But if you want to learn piano, your fingernails must be short. If you want to learn from me, you must be able to bear hardship and follow my rules. If you have a mind that wants to take three days off after two days of work, then find someone else early on. Little girl, what's your name? Can you bear hardship?"

  "I said loudly: 'I am Nan Xixiao, I can bear hardships, I have confidence that I can learn well.' It seemed to express my firm determination."

  Aunt Meng said, "As for the Latin dance, I want to test you a bit, little friend. You can call me Aunt Meng like Jingjing does. Let's meet on Saturday." Later, Aunt Meng chatted with Mom and Aunt Tang for a while before we bid farewell and left.

  After coming out, I curiously asked Aunt Tang: "Aunt Tang, why did Meng Nainai call me her Meng Nainai? She is much younger than my grandmother." Aunt Tang smiled and patted my head, saying: "Don't look at Meng's youthful appearance, she is already 50 years old." I was shocked and opened my mouth wide. My mother also asked Aunt Tang how she knew Meng, which made me curious too - it seemed like there was no such person in the previous generation, could this be the legendary butterfly effect?

  It turned out that Meng's daughter had been bullied by the production team and was helped by Tang's brother, who became disabled because of this matter. Meng felt very sorry for Tang's family and became even closer to them.

  As for Meng's background, Tang Auntie wasn't very clear either, only heard that her name was Meng Wuxiao, and her family used to be a big household too, but later declined. She had also been abroad before, in short, she was born at the wrong time...

  After going home, I had a talk with my dad, and he didn't show any reaction.

  I asked mom to cut my fingernails for me. Mom said: "Baby, you can't cut your nails at night, or else they won't be good in the future."

  I made a face and said mom was superstitious, mom seemed a bit annoyed.

  At this time, Dad walked over and said: "Baby isn't going to learn piano until Saturday, no need to rush, Mom is doing it for your own good, and Dad will listen to you play beautiful piano pieces in the future."

  After hearing this, I happily rushed to my dad and said: "Dad, you don't object to me learning anymore. From now on, I will study hard to play the piano. This teacher is very mysterious and has a lot of style, and in the future, I want to be like her too. Dad, don't be upset about this matter anymore. I don't want you to be unhappy because of this...

  Dad pinched my face and said, "As long as baby is happy, who let baby be our family's lovely little princess?" After that, he gave me a hearty smile. Anyway, this matter came to an end satisfactorily.

  This is my first time writing an article, I hope you will pay attention to it and give me some comments and recommendations.