The next day, after Chuxia and the others went to school, Zhao Yulan talked to Old Lady Zhao about what her daughter had said last night. As she spoke, she glanced worriedly at her little grandson. "Mom, do you think Beibei’s eyes look a bit swollen?"

Old Lady Zhao examined her little great-grandson for a moment and shook her head with a smile: "Oh, you’re really overthinking it. He’s such a small child; crying for a while wouldn’t make his eyes swell."

"Ah..." Zhao Yulan sighed, "I didn’t sleep well last night; all I could hear was Beibei’s crying. If I hadn’t promised Chuxia not to interfere, I would’ve taken Beibei to my room to watch over him myself."

"Yulan, I really have to say something to you about this..." Old Lady Zhao looked at her daughter seriously, "Think about what Chuxia has done in the past two years. Has she been unreliable?"

Without thinking, Zhao Yulan quickly responded: "Not at all."

"Well, there you go. The child has grown up and knows more than we do, so we should trust her. Besides, she is the child’s mother. How could she not care for her child?

From the elders, it’s said that when a mother disciplines her child, the child walks the right path. We’re always afraid of our children suffering any injustice, but we must admit that strictly disciplined children tend to become successful.

Of course, Chuxia is an exception in our family, but we can’t just let Beibei have his way because of that. Now it seems Nannan is more sensible than Beibei, but we can’t let Beibei throw tantrums just because he’s less sensible.

Beibei always wants to compete for attention with Nannan. If we don’t address this now, it will become the norm as he grows up. Nannan was born just a few minutes before Beibei; do you think it’s right for him to let Beibei have his way for a lifetime?

Moreover, do you think Nannan would willingly give in to Beibei all his life? No matter who it is, no matter how good the temper, it’s impossible to give without expecting anything in return for a lifetime.

Even if it’s a mother and child, is it really just about giving? You care for her, raise her, and hope she grows up to be successful and care for you, to take care of you when you’re old, right? It might not sound nice, but isn’t that the truth?

The children are still young now, but as elders, we need to think ahead to prevent the siblings from having a bad relationship in the future. Just look at your elder brother and second brother as an example.

Since childhood, your elder brother has let your second brother have everything. He never competed for good things to eat or play with, and over time, your second brother got used to being taken care of by your elder brother. Occasionally, if he felt your elder brother got more benefits, he would hold in his opinions and sulk.

It was your father who first noticed this pattern and talked to him for a long time, saying that your elder brother didn’t owe him anything and couldn’t always let him have his way. If he only knew how to take from your elder brother, never giving back, one day, your elder brother would stop caring for him entirely.

That year, your second brother was seventeen, not at an age to completely heed advice. He agreed verbally but didn’t truly take your father’s words to heart until later, when he followed your elder brother to work and saw how other brothers interacted, did he start to change a bit.

However, he was already set in his ways; even if he understood the principles, he couldn’t treat your elder brother as your elder brother treated him. Especially with your second sister-in-law, who was always outspoken, if your elder brother hadn’t chosen not to bother with them, the two brothers probably would have lost contact long ago."

Zhao Yulan nodded: "Yes, compared to Big Brother, Second Brother’s personality is indeed unlikable; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been unable to get close to him."

"Your father and I never wanted your sibling relationships to suffer, so we never spoke ill of your second brother in front of you all. Now that you’re at this age, there’s nothing to hide."

"In the past, I was upset that mom and dad always sided with Second Brother, especially with Second Sister-in-law being so unreasonable, yet dad and mom still indulged her, which really angered me.

I remember once arguing with mom about this, angrily taking Chuxia and declaring I wouldn’t return to the parental home. As a result, dad and mom walked over to Dalin Village in the middle of the night, bringing us half a sack of flour..." At this point, Zhao Yulan choked up and couldn’t continue, suddenly realizing how immature she used to be...

"Yes, Mom and Dad watched you take Chuxia and leave, feeling terrible. But if we had forcibly kept you, your second sister-in-law might really have packed up and returned to her mother’s house.