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Chapter 399: Chapter 389 Looking for Parents
"Yunfang, are you home?"
Shen Yunfang had just cycled home from class, and before she even had the chance to take off her shoes, she heard someone outside calling her.
Why did the voice sound so much like Big Brother Ma?
"Yeah, I’m home, Brother Ma, what brings you here? Not busy anymore? Or is there an issue?" These were the days when the neighborhood committee was busy distributing various bills and receipts, and Ma Liguo spent them leading a few people around various residential areas—it was one of the busiest times of the month.
Ma Liguo stopped in his tracks, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "I’m fine, but it’s your two treasures who have an issue."
Shen Yunfang immediately turned pale, and her legs went a bit weak.
"Hey, hey, hey, don’t panic, it’s nothing serious. It’s just that your Pangpang hit someone, and the teacher wants to see a parent. They couldn’t find you, so they came to me, asking me to inform you to visit the nursery this afternoon." Ma Liguo could see the color drain from Shen Yunfang’s face and realized there had been a misunderstanding, perhaps because he hadn’t made himself clear. He decided not to joke anymore and hurriedly explained the situation.
Only then did Shen Yunfang breathe a sigh of relief; her expression also softened. She had been scared to death, at first thinking, she thought that...
But what had Brother Ma just said? Her Pangpang had hit someone? Her Pangpang was only two and a half years old, for goodness’ sake, just so big. It would have been surprising enough if he hadn’t been hit, let alone him hitting somebody else.
"Brother Ma, are you sure it was my Pangpang who hit someone?" Shen Yunfang asked for confirmation again.
"Absolutely, that’s what they told me when they came looking for me." Ma Liguo hadn’t been worried when he was told that Pangpang was the one doing the hitting; as long as our side didn’t lose, it was fine. Hit someone? Well, they hit them, so what? They’re kids. It’s not like a couple of hits will break them. Honestly, is such a trivial matter worth calling in a parent?
"Okay, I’ll go over now and check." As a parent, Shen Yunfang wanted to get to the bottom of the situation as quickly as possible, to handle the aftermath for her child.
"Alright, I’ll come with you to take a look. And you know, Pangpang really takes after Li Hongjun, both so stubborn. At just over two, he already knows how to fight. This could mean serious trouble in the future, especially since he won—that’s even more concerning." Ma Liguo laughed as he followed Shen Yunfang down the stairs.
They say the dragon begets the dragon and the phoenix, the phoenix; a rat’s son will dig holes. Now this seems quite true. When Li Hongjun first joined the army, he was quite the character—none of the old soldiers dared to bully him. Li Hongjun was tough as nails. It looks like Pangpang has inherited that; such a young child managing to knock someone down. When he grows up, he’ll surely be a force to be reckoned with.
Listening to this in front, Shen Yunfang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Were these the words a grown-up, a parent, should be saying?
"Brother Ma, don’t talk like that in front of Pangpang later, okay? He’s already a bit too fearless, and if you talk him up like that, he’ll get even cockier."
"Heh, don’t worry, our children won’t let us down, that grit is there for all to see." Ma Liguo was unconcerned—the naughty kids often turn out the best, and he had a fondness for the mischievous ones.
The two arrived at the nursery, and since Ma Liguo knew the gatekeeper, they were let in.
They headed straight for the office of Ma Liguo’s aunt, who was also the head of the nursery. From a distance, they could hear crying and shouting coming from the office.
Shen Yunfang frowned; could it be that the parent of the child Pangpang hit had arrived already? Could Pangpang also be inside, possibly frightened by these people?
Thinking that her child might be scared inside, Shen Yunfang quickened her pace. Ma Liguo had the same thought, so the two of them ran up to the office door.
The office door was closed, and even though Shen Yunfang was anxious, she couldn’t barge in without manners. Since she wanted her child to continue studying here, she had to control her emotions and give her child enough face as a parent.
Shen Yunfang composed herself, lightly knocked on the door a few times, and then she heard the cursing inside suddenly stop, footsteps approached the door, and then the door was opened from the inside by Ma Liguo’s aunt, Mu Huaxin.
Mu Huaxin was relieved to see Shen Yunfang at the door; she had feared she would have to deal with these people until the afternoon. Now that both sets of parents were here, they could hash out who was right and who was wrong face to face, and then all of them could just leave. She couldn’t serve these parents any longer.
"You must be Li Shichen’s parent, come in quickly, we have been waiting for you," said Mu Huaxin, as if she didn’t recognize Shen Yunfang.
Shen Yunfang immediately understood her intention and, as if she had never known the director, politely said, "I’m sorry, I rushed over as soon as I heard about this matter. I apologize for keeping you waiting."
It seemed that the people inside were difficult to handle, which was why Mu Huaxin pretended not to recognize her. Otherwise, whatever Mu Huaxin said later, the other side would think she was taking sides. Of course, she was bound to take sides, wasn’t there also Ma Liguo?
After Shen Yunfang entered the office, she saw an old lady holding a boy sitting on a chair, with a young man and woman standing behind them.
She deliberately looked around to confirm that her own child was not there and liked the director, Mu Huaxin, even more.
"You must be that little rascal’s parent, right? It’s good you’re here. Now, tell me, your little beast has beaten up my son, look at him, just look at what he’s been turned into. How do you propose we settle this?" The young man immediately perked up seeing that a young woman had arrived.
Shen Yunfang’s eyes changed because of his words. If looks could kill, this man would have died a hundred thousand times already.
"Can you even speak properly? What do you mean little rascal, little beast? Who are you insulting? Try saying it again and see if I won’t skin you alive," Ma Liguo couldn’t stand it anymore. This man must have eaten dung, spewing it from his mouth. If he didn’t know how to talk, Ma Liguo didn’t mind teaching him.
The man hadn’t noticed Ma Liguo before and was startled to see him suddenly emerge, rolling up his sleeves as if ready for a fight, and he jumped back.
"What do you want? Looking to fight, is that it? No wonder, like father, like son."
"Hmph, you’ve actually got something right. With a father like you, no wonder your kid gets beaten," retorted Shen Yunfang with a cold laugh.
"What are you saying? Your child hits someone and you still think you’re in the right?" The young woman behind wouldn’t stand for it, and she pushed her way to the front to add fuel to the fire.
"Alright, everyone, calm down. We are here today to resolve the conflict between our children, not to have you parents fighting. If this is how you want to handle it, then I won’t deal with this issue. Go outside and fight however you want," Mu Huaxin exploded in anger, no longer treated with the respect due to an official.
Both parties then quieted down. Shen Yunfang felt that the director was making sense; she was there to settle things peacefully. It was only right as a parent for her to come and apologize for her child hurting someone, even if it meant putting up with some harsh words. If the other child’s parent hadn’t started insulting her child as soon as they walked in, she wouldn’t have gotten angry.
As for the other party, though they were aggressive, they were not fools. Judging by the brief confrontation, they realized the other side was no pushover. Seeing how fierce the parent of the other child looked, if the director didn’t maintain impartiality, they feared their hope of getting compensation from the other parent would be dashed.
