Ms. Chen exploded upon hearing this, “What do you mean? Do you think I really want to bring him along? My life would be much better off without him. To be honest, I’m the one who wishes he would be abducted by human traffickers!”
Luo Bei and Jiang Sihan: “…………”
She quickly glanced at the little boy next to her and saw that he had no emotion on his face. She relaxed, but couldn’t help but feel worried.
Children are actually very sensitive, and hearing their mother say such things would surely hurt them. But he didn’t react at all, which meant that such verbal abuse was nothing new to him.
Although there were only the grandmother and granddaughter in Luo’s family now, Luo Bei had a very happy childhood. Although her parents were very irresponsible and ran away with the money, she remembered that both her father and mother loved her very much. When they were still at home, they always cared for her. Maybe they loved themselves the most, but they also loved her equally.
Their escape was just their inability to take responsibility and a fear of trouble, so they dumped the mess on Grandma. Their character was naturally not good, but Luo Bei would never deny how good her parents were to her before because of this.
Unlike Ms. Chen’s explosive reaction, Luo Bei remained very calm. “Ms. Chen, I believe you are the child’s mother, but there are regulations everywhere now. If you don’t believe me, you can ask other landlords. It’s the same everywhere. It’s not like in the past, when as long as you have money and albeit potentially fake ID, you can rent. This Mr. Jiang can testify. There are relevant personnel who come for visitation and registration almost every half a month.”
She didn’t lie to this Ms. Chen, but many landlords in the village would not check whether the children brought by adults have a family relationship. However, the monthly visits and checks by relevant personnel is true.
The population in the urban village is mixed, and incidents can easily occur, so the relevant departments attach great importance to the safety of this area. Although there are still loopholes, it’s better to do something than nothing.
Luo Bei wasn’t sure if her approach was correct, but she thought that if the other party was really a human trafficker, her probing would certainly make the other party panic.
Ms. Chen didn’t panic, only indignation on her face.
In the end, she provided some information, which was not comprehensive, but enough for Luo Bei.
After signing the contract, Ms. Chen took the little boy back next door. Luo Bei prepared to go to the community to register and verify whether the two were mother and son.
Jiang Sihan accompanied her, and out of curiosity, he said, “Actually, Ms. Chen is not an easy person to deal with. I thought you wouldn’t rent to her.”
In his opinion, if he knows the other party is troublesome and difficult to deal with, he will definitely avoid any chance of interaction with them.
Luo Bei smiled and said, “You’re wrong. I’ve encountered some tenants who are even more difficult to deal with than Ms. Chen. As long as they are not doing anything illegal and can pay rent on time, we won’t be picky with tenants. Of course, it’s even better if they keep the place clean.”
Jiang Sihan sighed, “If Ms. Chen is really the child’s mother, then the child is so pitiful.”
Luo Bei nodded, “If she’s the stepmother, I can understand. We’ve had tenants who beat and scolded their stepchildren before. But usually, even if someone doesn’t love their own child very much, they will still treat them kindly. Of course, we don’t know the whole story, so it’s not right to conclude that Ms. Chen is a bad person.”
Jiang Sihan glanced at Luo Bei. She had been calm the whole time, which was strange. He was older than her, but for some reason, he felt like she was more level-headed than him when it came to handling things.
He thought about how it was just Luo Bei and her grandma in their family, and suddenly he understood. In a family like that, children would become more mature and responsible.
When Zhao Pianpian heard that the tenant’s child was four or five years old, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She had hoped to find a playmate for baby Chen. Generally, kids don’t like to play with others who are much younger than them. Although baby Chen was not even six months old yet, Zhao Pianpian was already worried about his future social life.
During dinner, Grandma Luo asked Luo Bei to invite Ms. Chen to join them for dinner. After all, they were neighbors, and as landladies, it wouldn’t hurt to be a little more welcoming.
Initially, Luo Bei thought that Ms. Chen wouldn’t come, but at mealtime, she brought the little boy over.
The little boy seemed very shy and didn’t dare to speak while sitting next to Ms. Chen.
Grandma Luo was very kind and amiable, so even people like Ms. Chen spoke to her kindly.
“Don’t call me Ms. Chen, just call me Chen Lan.”
Chen Lan was not an ungrateful person. Although she was not satisfied with the environment in the urban village, the rent was set, and she had already signed the contract. Now that the landlady invited her to dinner, she naturally wanted to be polite.
Luo Bei had encountered so many people before. How should I put it, the more difficult a person looked to deal with, the easier it was to deal with them. Based on appearance and how she spoke, Chen Lan would be categorized as difficult to deal with, but when recalling the various compromises Chen Lan had made while signing the contract today, she wasn’t that difficult to deal with. Those who were truly difficult to deal with were not so easy to talk to.
“Xiao Chen, you don’t sound like a local from your accent?” Grandma Luo asked with a smile.
Chen Lan looked uneasy, “Yes, I am not a local, but my household registration will be transferred here soon.”
Actually, Grandma Luo had no intention of being sarcastic, but Chen Lan misunderstood her.
“You’re not a local. If you don’t have any relatives around, neighbors can sometimes be even closer than relatives. You know that saying, ‘distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors.’ If you need any help in the future, just let us know, and we’ll help you as much as we can.”
Chen Lan subconsciously ignored the latter part of the sentence. She had heard such sweet words countless times before, and it would be foolish to take them seriously. She looked at the people at the table and smiled, “No, my husband is from this city. I’ve told the young landlady before that I won’t be staying here for long. My husband bought me a house in the Lakeside Villas, you know Lakeside Villas, it’s now selling for fifty to sixty thousand yuan per square meter. But we’re still renovating it, that’s why I rented this place.”
Grandma Luo nodded and asked with concern, “What about your husband?”
“He’s doing business outside,” Chen Lan became more and more enthusiastic as she spoke, “He works for big companies and owns several shops in the central business district, and even has two villas. Although he can earn money, he doesn’t have time to accompany me. But I think, if a man doesn’t have money, he’s no different from a waste.”
In fact, there were many suspicious points in Chen Lan’s words, such as why she was still renting a house in the urban village if she had two villas, and if she was so wealthy, she could’ve rent a better place instead….
Zhao Pianpian had met many people while following Lei Yuhao, and she immediately knew what was going on. Seeing that Grandma Luo still wanted to ask more, she quickly picked up a chopstick of food for her and said, “Grandma, eat more. The weather is nice, so after we finish eating, let’s go for a walk and go to Carrefour. I heard that they’re having a promotion.”
Grandma Luo’s attention was immediately diverted.
But Chen Lan was a bit unhappy, as she didn’t even finish her sentence.
“Carrefour? Promotion?” Chen Lan smiled and said, “I usually go to the imported supermarket. There are too many people in Carrefour and Walmart. My husband said that we don’t lack the money for those cheap fruits and vegetables. Imported ones are of course better.”
Even Grandma Luo didn’t know what to say now.
Jiang Sihan didn’t talk much in the first place. He was very focused when eating and hardly said anything. Although Luo Bei and Grandma Luo were friendly, they were not good at flattery, so they really didn’t know how to continue this conversation.
Zhao Pianpian naturally wouldn’t say anything either. At that moment, baby Chen who had been lying on the crib began to cry.
For convenience, Zhao Pianpian had also bought a crib and placed it at Luo’s house.
She quickly got up and went to the side of the baby crib, picked up the baby who was pretending to cry inside and started to soothe him. It was not yet time to feed him, and Zhao Pianpian knew her son’s temperament well. He wanted to play when he woke up, hence the fake crying to attract the attention of adults.
Zhao Pianpian was now too preoccupied to eat, carrying her son around the house and occasionally stopping to introduce him to the decorations inside. She was naturally gentle, and now she put all her tenderness into her son.
She held him in the most comfortable position and kissed his little head from time to time.
While eating, Luo Bei looked up and saw the little boy sitting next to Chen Lan. His gaze followed Zhao Pianpian, or rather, followed this mother and son pair. He was still too young to hide his emotions well, and at least Luo Bei could see that the emotion he was feeling was envy.
What was he envious of?
Luo Bei looked at Chen Lan, who was still boasting about how rich her husband was, and couldn’t help but sigh in her heart.
Forget it, it was none of her business to interfere in other people’s family affairs.
Chen Lan… 😑🙂😑 💬
That boy is the future ML in another (the third) book, right? 😅 Don’t worry, boy. Life is hard. As Grandma Luo say, everyone has their own difficulty. But, it’ll pass for sure. Just work hard, be patient, and keep going forward.