"I’m not making this up, I’m serious. Qian, although this is our first meeting, Aunt played your program recordings for me when I first arrived. I was greatly impacted and really wanted to have a good chat with you."

"Eh...? My mom recorded it too?"

When did that happen, and how did she not know?

Qian’s show could be picked up here as it was close to Q City. Sometimes when Qian’s mom couldn’t stay up that late, Liao Fugui or Mr. Liao would record it for her to listen during the day.

As if she was with her daughter.

Qian’s first reaction after hearing this wasn’t touched, but... so embarrassed!

Does this mean her mom has heard all those messy things she said on her show?

Qian’s program was very sharp, with some comments that went straight to the point. Suddenly realizing her mom also listened to her show and recorded it was quite embarrassing!

"Yes, Aunt played it for me, and I found it very insightful. Qian, I believe you can help me solve our current marriage problem. Actually, your brother and I are already on the verge of collapse."

Qian approached it skeptically, thinking Zhuzi’s talk about therapy was just an excuse. But unexpectedly, at that moment of eye contact with Zhuzi’s wife, Qian saw a helpless yearning in her eyes.

This was a look of someone at their wits’ end, not pretending.

"Why can’t you talk things over at home?" Zhuzi said discontentedly.

"If you’re not here to solve problems, just want to ’talk things over at home,’ then why come here?" Qian interrupted.

Zhuzi closed his mouth but looked at his wife with a flash of intense dissatisfaction in his eyes.

"It’s okay. For this moment, don’t treat me as a relative, just as an ordinary psychological counselor. Who wants to speak first?"

Qian blocked off Zhuzi’s words. With things like this, he had nothing more to say. If he claimed this was just an excuse to build relationships, it would expose his intentions.

Zhuzi didn’t expect his wife to be so indiscreet as to say these things in front of Qian, making him very embarrassed. Faced with a difficult situation, he decided to take the initiative.

"I’ll go first," Zhuzi said to Qian.

Qian gently told Zhuzi’s wife, "You go stay with my mom for a bit, and I’ll call you in after I finish talking with him."

Zhuzi’s wife looked at Qian, as if there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes, but also a desolate feeling of wanting to speak but holding back.

Qian nodded encouragingly at her, and once she was gone, Qian put on a professional expression and asked Zhuzi.

"Alright, when did the conflicts start?"

"Sis... I’m really at the end of my rope here. Skeletons in the family closet shouldn’t be aired in public, but your sister-in-law, she really is outrageous. I’ve long wanted to bring her out for a look. I suspect—" Zhuzi lowered his voice, with a pathetic, plaintive expression, "she might have mental issues. She’s not like normal women!"

"Oh?" Qian looked at Zhuzi’s expression, thinking he seemed like the world owed him an Oscar!

"Other women love children, don’t they? But not her! Can you imagine a woman not liking kids? We’ve been married for years, and she hardly takes care of the child, and now she doesn’t even want to have another one. The family relies solely on my income, and I can’t make money over there, so I want to come to the city—"

Zhuzi was indeed well-versed in worldly affairs. At this point, he was still trying to garner Qian’s sympathy, attempting to rely on Mr. Liao’s connections to move to the city.

"Hold on, a child?" Qian caught a keyword.

Didn’t he say she wouldn’t give birth? So how did one appear?

"We have a daughter who’s 3 years old now. She was born with six fingers, and your sister-in-law doesn’t like the child at all. When she was little and cried, she wouldn’t even hold her. I’ve never seen such a negligent mother!"

"When she wouldn’t hold her, what were you doing?"

"I work hard all day. She’s just a shop clerk, it’s not that tiring. Besides, isn’t taking care of the child what women are supposed to do?"

"A shop clerk is more tiring than you imagine, and comforting a child isn’t as easy as you think. If she’s exhausted and lacks energy, you should help her take care of the child. When both of you are working, who takes care of the child?"

"The first couple of years she took care of the child. Now that the child can attend the preschool playgroup, she immediately found a job, only making 400 or so a month. I don’t even know why she bothers. I asked her to quit and have another child, but she outright refused. I’m the only son in the family. The first child is a girl, so we could have a second child. She just won’t agree, and the worst part is that she set some conditions."

"What conditions?"

"We can have a second child, but once it’s weaned, she must work. The child will be my mom’s responsibility. The most outrageous part is, she doesn’t want to share her earnings with me; she wants to keep it for herself. Isn’t this just to support her own family?"

"And what did your mom say about it?"

"My mom said she would take care of the child for 500 a month as a pension. Isn’t that about what your sister-in-law earns from selling? Then what’s the point of her working? This woman is just too selfish. I shouldn’t have married her to begin with. A woman who doesn’t love her child, what’s the point of having her?"

"What have you done for the child?"

"I’m a man, busy with work. Where would I find time to manage the child? Sis, your brother really has it hard. Only one daughter with a disability, a wife who doesn’t like children, the whole family relying on my bit of income. How can there be any development back home? If we could secure a stable livelihood here, your sister-in-law could stay at home willingly to mind the child."

Ultimately, it all circles back to developing around here.

"If she’s unwilling to agree to have a second child, or to give up working, what do you plan to do?" Qian understood; in Zhuzi’s eyes, women were positioned as free babysitters and servants, aligning with some traditional agrarian thinking among men.

"Divorce! A woman who won’t have children and keeps causing trouble, what’s the point? Maybe she just wants to support her own family. There’s really no need for such a woman. Sis, to save my marriage, you’ve got to help me say something to Uncle Liao. Our family doesn’t have it easy; my daughter is still with six fingers—"

"Enough, stop it. I get it. Call my sister-in-law in, and you go out."

Zhuzi took the initiative and said everything upfront. He believed even if Qian wouldn’t advocate for him in front of Mr. Liao, she would at least advise his wife. After all, he was Qian’s relative, while his wife was just an outsider.

Even if he couldn’t achieve ties through relationship, persuading his wife would still be good. He had heard Chen Xiaoqian was quite remarkable, having recently won a national psychology competition prize.

Little did he know, this time Qian wouldn’t just sit back and do nothing. However, what she intended to intervene with wasn’t Zhuzi. She felt there might be a way to rid this annoying Zhuzi.