Chapter 135: Change Starts with a Shift in Mindset

Chapter 135: Change Begins with a Shift in Mindset

During the day, Xu Moxing went to work, while Shen Qin stayed in the rental apartment until noon and then went to find Luo Shuling.

The two kept each other company, chatting and working together.

Back home, Shen Qin’s conversation topics were almost always about household trivialities, mostly complaints, but when Luo Shuling talked about her family, it was filled with happiness.

Shen Qin could tell that Luo Shuling wasn’t just showing off falsely.

Because when Luo Shuling talked about her daughter and their mother-daughter bond, there were details.

Initial grandstanding could still be covered up with many lies, but after getting to know each other, the details couldn’t deceive anyone.

Shen Qin could only say some vague, grandiose words to prove her family was happy, but as the conversation stretched on, her facade crumbled.

“My little one loves fried eggs, the kind with crispy edges. To make it easier for her to eat, I fry all the eggs I sell that way,” Luo Shuling said as she fried eggs, sharing her daughter’s preferences with Shen Qin.

“Does Shengnan like eggs?”

Luo Shuling shook her head. “No, she only eats eggs with crispy edges. She doesn’t like boiled eggs or steamed eggs.”

It was clear that Luo Shuling knew her daughter very well.

“Eggs are eggs, and she only eats them with crispy edges? You’re spoiling her rotten. You can't let kids get too coddled.”

Shen Qin’s first reaction was to criticize the child for being picky.

“Is that really spoiling? Everyone has their own preferences. I can't give her much of a life, so isn’t it fine to let her enjoy her food in a way she likes, making her happy every day?”

“That's just too much. She won't hack it out there in the real world.”

“…”

Luo Shuling, seeing Shen Qin’s mindset, realized why Xu Jianqing liked her so much.

That day, when Xu Jianqing came to see her biological mother, she kept envying the mother-daughter relationship between Luo Shuling and Luo Shengnan, constantly praising them.

So that was it.

“That’s not how it is. It’s not like the child has done something fundamentally wrong, and I’m not unconditionally supporting her. This isn’t spoiling at all. Families like ours face plenty of hardship anyway.

If a child can’t feel any warmth at home, once they become financially independent, they won't want to come back at all. When they’re hurt or sad, they won’t think of going home. That kind of kid is really tragic.”

Shen Qin thought back to how relaxed Xu Moxing and Xu Jianqing had been when chatting with Luo Shuling and her daughter at the hospital, and then recalled their guarded conversations at home.

Shen Qin didn’t even know what her two children liked to eat; she only knew what they didn’t eat, and she'd buy stuff they hated and make them eat it.

But if she was honest with herself, Shen Qin herself had foods she didn’t like, and she knew how disgusting it felt to choke down something you hate.

Yet she still forced her children to eat, calling it 'no pickiness for proper nutrition'.

Was that really the case?

You don't need to get all your nutrients from one food; you can compensate with another food, and in today’s advanced society, you can just take supplements.

Just like Luo Shuling said, if home means nothing but bad memories, of course children won’t want to come home.

So Xu Moxing and Xu Jianqing only came back for the New Year, other than that, never. But the kid next door, who worked even farther away, came back for every single holiday.

Seeing Shen Qin deep in thought, Luo Shuling didn’t say anything more and changed the subject.

“Running a little roadside stand like this can still make some money. As long as the service is good, you'll build a regular customer base over time, and it'll keep you afloat.”

Shen Qin nodded absentmindedly and couldn’t help asking Luo Shuling, “You got divorced. Aren’t you afraid?”

“Afraid of what?”

“Gossip, talk. People's words can be suffocating.”

Anyway, Shen Qin didn’t dare to divorce. She'd never seen anyone do okay after a divorce.

“If you don’t divorce, people won’t talk? For example, my ex-husband and his parents went around spreading it around that I couldn't have a son, that I was a dead loss popping out another dead loss. Would putting up with that make things better?”

Luo Shuling wasn't the 'martyr' type, and she didn’t like enduring.

She could tough it out for a bit. A whole lifetime? No chance.

Seeing Shen Qin so conflicted, Luo Shuling told her something satisfying.

“My ex-husband, after divorcing me, never managed to remarry. Two years ago, he started trying to play the daddy card with our Shengnan, contacting her constantly, but she gave him the cold shoulder.

After the divorce, I never blocked him from seeing her. It was his choice not to, thinking he could still get a wife and breed more kids, looking down on girls. Now that he’s old, he regrets it. But where was he before?

Being harsh to a child when they’re young, then trying to guilt them into taking care of him when you need care in old age—that's not gonna fly.”

A child's love is like a savings jar. If parents don’t put anything in when the child is young, they can't make withdrawals in old age.

Shen Qin mulled that over and stopped discussing those topics.

They headed out to open the stall and gabbed with Luo Shuling's regulars.

Luo Shuling was very generous, holding nothing back, and taught Shen Qin everything.

Two days later, Shen Qin felt like she was young again, making money with a good friend, no endless housework, no need to worry about her husband, and no need to fuss over her children.

She wasn't always this bitter. How did she end up like this?

…

A week later, Su Lichen thought Xu Moxing’s mother would be pestering to go home, but Shen Qin wasn't showing any sign of wanting to head back.

“We haven’t seen each other in days!”

“Come over this weekend for a bit. My mom's out helping Auntie Luo run the stall again.”

“Your mom still not leaving? I want to come to your place, cook together, and kill time with you.”

Su Lichen didn't hold back from saying stuff like that, even if it bugged Xu Moxing—that's how he really felt.

“Not yet. I dropped a few hints, saying, ‘Now that your condition is stable, I can buy you a ticket if you want to go back.’ She either played deaf or faked not getting it. I feel like she doesn’t want to go.”

“…”

Su Lichen was unhappy.

How was this any different from a married couple living with their parents?

Even being affectionate has to be sneaky.

“I’ll see if she wants to go back next week. My dad called her the day before yesterday, and he called me too. I guess he’ll keep calling for a while.”

Ugh, if your mom goes back, she’ll have to take care of your dad. So I’d rather she didn’t go back. It’s okay if we’re a bit inconvenienced.

Su Lichen thought of Xu Moxing’s father and felt it was natural that Xu Moxing's mom didn’t want to go back.

Sometimes, when people have been living in that kind of environment for so long and haven't been exposed to another way of life, they unconsciously brainwash themselves into believing that everything is reasonable, that this is the life they are supposed to live.

In that environment, her thinking was numbed. She believed that was just how things were supposed to be.

But once she had the chance to break away from that life and experience a better one, who would be willing to go back to living a slave's life?

A person can change dramatically just by a shift in their thinking.