"What? It's still not fixed?"
The next afternoon.
Sheng Mumu had just brought two cups of taro milk tea with red bean and half sugar to her mother-in-law's house, when she heard an almost plaintive voice coming from the living room.
After walking through the foyer, Feng Yaoqin had just hung up the phone.
Seeing her daughter-in-law come in, she pursed her lips and complained:
"Mumu, the sound system still isn't fixed. I can't go dancing again today."
Sheng Mumu handed her a cup of milk tea with a straw inserted.
"Mom, drink something sweet to ease your frustration."
Feng Yaoqin looked very upset, but her hands didn't hesitate as she quickly took the milk tea and drank a few sips.
With no dancing, life was so boring.
Luckily her daughter-in-law brought her some sweetness.
As she drank, a gleam flashed through her eyes, as if she had suddenly thought of something important.
"Right, I forgot to ask, how was the movie yesterday? Did Li and Little Cheng get along well? Can the two of them be together long term?"
Seeing her mother-in-law's expectant face, sincerely caring about the younger generation, Sheng Mumu felt a twinge of guilt inside.
She couldn't tell her mother-in-law that Li and Cheng were just pretending.
Nor could she honestly say their relationship was going very smoothly.
After thinking it over, Sheng Mumu could only skirt the issue and reply:
"Mom, don't worry about Li, she's still young and not in a hurry at all."
"Even if she dates a few more people before settling down, that's totally normal, don't you think?"
"The more impatient you are, the more you need to slow down and keep your eyes open."
Feng Yaoqin thought Sheng Mumu's words made sense too, and slowly nodded, saying:
"You're right, Li is not even 25 yet, I really am too impatient."
As she spoke, she put the milk tea down on the coffee table, and suddenly solemnly put her hand over Sheng Mumu's.
Changing the subject.
"Compared to Li, I'm actually more worried about you, Mumu—"
Sheng Mumu's body stiffened: "..."
Oh no, she had inadvertently shifted the focus to herself.
Now the topic was going to change from "rushing marriage" to "rushing to have kids".
Last time her mother-in-law asked her to explain why she wasn't having children, and she had been putting it off.
Now it seemed there was no getting around it.
"—Mumu, it's not your mother saying this, but having children earlier is better."
Feng Yaoqin looked worried, patting her hand.
Sheng Mumu pressed her lips in a faint smile, silent, thinking about how she could smoothly change the subject again.
Feng Yaoqin: "While you're still young, I can still help you take care of the kids. Shaobai grew up following his grandmother when he was little, and now his relationship with his grandmother is closer than with me as his grandmother. I've always regretted that. So for your child, I really want to raise them while they grow up."
Feng Yaoqin spoke earnestly.
She was so eager for her son and daughter-in-law to have children, mainly because she had learned from experience.
In the past, in the first few years after she got married, she didn't want children. By the time she did want them, she found out her body was not suitable for pregnancy, and in the end could only adopt from an orphanage.
Although nowadays the family was harmonious, and to her Qi Moyu was no different than her own child.
But she couldn't help thinking sometimes, what if she had taken care of her health properly in her early years, wouldn't she also have been able to have one or two of her own.
That unlucky late husband never said it was a pity, but she knew he still longed to have a child of their love.
Her regret was something she could not make up for in this lifetime.
She didn't want her daughter-in-law to miss the best childbearing years now because she was busy with work.
After listening for a while, Sheng Mumu finally thought of a solution.
She moistened her lips, pulled her hand out from her mother-in-law's grasp, and put it over the back of her mother-in-law's hand instead, suddenly saying:
"Mom, I just thought of an idea."
Feng Yaoqin: "What idea?"
"We could buy a new sound system, then you can go dancing tonight, right?" Sheng Mumu said naturally. "I'll sponsor a new set of audio equipment for your square dancing team. What do you think?"
Feng Yaoqin was stunned: "..."
Oh?
Why didn't she think of buying a new one before.
And here she had been waiting impatiently for several days without dancing.
"Good idea! What a great idea!"
Seeing Feng Yaoqin's look of sudden realization, Sheng Mumu knew her plan had worked. Her mother-in-law had indeed been distracted.
Feng Yaoqin's face lit up with a smile, eager to go into the "Garden Square Dance Team" WeChat group and share the good news.
The screen immediately filled up with messages.
-[Now we can dance tonight, thanks to Little Feng's daughter-in-law.]
-[Smile][Thumbs up][Coffee cup]
-[Oh Auntie, Little Feng's daughter-in-law, thank you!]
-[Public account article [News Noon Express]]
-[Good afternoon [Sun] friends who love life, just woke up from an afternoon nap to learn of this news, words cannot express my excitement. Thank you to Sister Feng's daughter-in-law for the new equipment for us old aunties. Here, I wish our group an even better year ahead [Fists together][Handshake][Rose]]
-[Thank you! [Flower blooming, fortune.jpg]]
"Look, everyone is thanking you," Feng Yaoqin smiled and held her phone out to Sheng Mumu.
Sheng Mumu pressed the voice message button and politely told the uncles and aunties they were welcome, this was just a small token of her filial respect, nothing much.
And very sensibly used Feng Yaoqin's phone to send a reply:
-[May all the aunties and uncles be healthy and happy, free from worries, safe and never grow old [Rose][Rose][Rose]]
The tone was perfectly in line with the chat history.
Around 7pm, Sheng Mumu accompanied Feng Yaoqin to the garden square.
The driver took the new luxury sound system out of the trunk and unpacked it.
As he adjusted the settings, he explained to the surrounding aunties and uncles.
"This sound system has an AI assistant. Uncles and aunties, you can talk to it to quickly change songs."
As he spoke, Sheng Mumu joined in the demonstration, calling out to the speakers:
"Xiao Ai!"
A robotic voice came from the speakers: "Here~"
Sheng Mumu: "Open the square dancing playlist."
"OK, opening playlist [Most Popular Square Dancing Songs 100] for you—"
Soon, familiar music sounded.
"No matter how I fly,
I can't leave this
flower-filled world
Turns out I'm just
a drunken butterfly"
The crowd around stared wide-eyed, murmuring to each other.
"Wow—"
"Little shorty!"
"Old Li, your hearing's not good, it's Little Ai."
"Oh oh, Little Ai!"
"It's Xiao Ai!"
"Oh, Xiao Wei."
"It's Xiao Ai!"
"Oh, Xiao Ming."
Sheng Mumu listened amused, unable to hold back her smile.
The aunties and uncles were all so cute.
"I know how to use it, I have one at home too," one tech-savvy uncle came over. "Xiao Ai, play 'West Sea Love Song'..."
"Uncle Hu, that's old news," another trendy auntie interrupted. "Xiao Ai, play 'Magic Potion'..."
Avant-garde music sounded.
"Oh you young people would know."
"Of course, I'm only 57, still young, my 7-year-old granddaughter sings it at home all the time, even I know it now."
"Then sing us a line."
"What's so hard, give me a magic potion~"
"It's bottle, right, Sister Yan? A pot would knock you out."
At that, laughter rang out across the garden square.
Listening from afar, watching from a distance.
These people, average age around 60, aunties and uncles, were really no different from little kids gathered in alleyways clapping or playing marbles.
Just their age was increasing, while their attitude remained young.
