Chapter 103: The Sisters Are Right

Chapter 103: Chapter 103: The Sisters Are Right

Someone whose parents had a happy marriage is bound to have a positive outlook on marriage.

Likewise, someone who was raised well by their parents will also tend to want children after getting married.

All sorts of views on family are inherently passed down from parents to their children.

So, what kind of young person wouldn’t want kids?

"It’s usually people in situations similar to yours, or whose family circumstances are even worse."

"Think about it. You don’t want kids because of your parents, so it’s possible others don’t want them for the exact same reason."

"Does that mean that if someone comes from a happy family, they wouldn’t choose to be child-free?" the woman asked, a bit worried. "Because I’m currently seeing a colleague whose family seems quite stable, and he says he respects my decision."

[I respect your decision too, because I have no intention of taking any responsibility.]

[Isn’t this straight out of the playbook for a short-term fling? He’ll ’respect’ whatever you do because he just wants to mess around for a bit.]

[Making him sign a written promise is useless. He can back out at any time.]

[Girl, if he really loves you, tell him to get a vasectomy.]

[A vasectomy after marriage might actually work, but before marriage? Forget about it.]

[It’s hard to understand why in the 21st century people still insist on having children. What’s so good about it? ]

"It’s perfectly normal for young people not to want kids."

Zhang Zhe explained things to the audience to clear up their confusion:

"There are so many fun things to do out there nowadays. Having a kid is so much trouble. It gets in the way of your own fun, and you have to spend the money you earn on them. Why bother!"

"But it’s just like how you can’t understand your student-self anymore."

"Once they reach a certain age, when their loved ones start to pass away, a lot of people slowly change their minds. They can’t understand why they didn’t have a child sooner."

"This is especially true for people who get married but don’t have children. The willingness to marry in the first place proves they have a sense of family responsibility."

After hearing Zhang Zhe’s words, the woman immediately replied:

"I understand what you mean now."

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing. When a guy just says he respects my decision, what he’s really saying from the start is that he respects my decision *right now*."

"What if one day after we’re married, he stops respecting it?"

"That would be a huge problem." The woman let out a long sigh.

"It’s good you’re thinking this way. You’re on the right track." Zhang Zhe was pleased with her reasoning. ’It’s a bit extreme, sure, but her heading is right.’

"Then what if I find someone much older than me?"

"What kind of person could I realistically find?"

"Have you thought this through?" Zhang Zhe didn’t rush to analyze, instead asking, "Your mother’s situation is what it is. If you also find an older man, how people see you might not be very favorable."

[The streamer is being way too restrained. I’ll just say it: the mistress’s kid wants to be a mistress too.]

[She could just find a divorced guy. It’s not like she has to break up a marriage.]

[How can you be sure he’s actually divorced and not just in the mandatory ’cooling-off period’? Aren’t there tons of women who get tricked into becoming the other woman? ]

[Girl, your income is so high, why are you still looking for an old man? Why can’t you be an independent woman? ]

"Sir, can I answer a question from the comments?" the woman couldn’t help but ask after seeing one. "I feel like I need to answer this girl’s question."

"Uh, sure."

Zhang Zhe really wanted to tell her, ’This is Douyin; you’re not likely to find any real ’sisters’ here.’

The people calling you ’girl’ are more likely to be masters of passive-aggressive comments.

Or, they could be like him and genuinely see her as a sister, but he was in the minority, after all.

"Thank you, sir."

"A moment ago, one of the girls asked me why I don’t rely on myself when I have an annual salary of 300,000."

"First of all, that’s 300,000 before taxes. After deducting social security, the housing fund, and all that, my take-home is just a little over 200,000."

"In Shencheng City, rent alone costs 3,000 a month. This salary is really just enough to make ends meet. I have no ability to buy a house on my own—not in this lifetime."

"That salary is my blood and sweat from working constant overtime, with no padding whatsoever. If possible, I’d still like to have an easier life."

"Well said, sister." Zhang Zhe nodded in sympathy.

As a veteran workhorse himself, he felt the same way. ’Money is hard to earn, and life is a bitch!’

Every line of work has its difficulties. If given a choice, who wouldn’t pick easy mode?

Besides, the girl was a second-generation native of Shencheng City. Many of her classmates were likely financially independent. The sense of disparity she must feel comparing her own scoundrel of a father to other people’s dads was hard to put into words.

"But girl, you need to be clear about one thing."

"If you find an older man with children and demand that you two don’t have any more, then you have to accept that in his eyes, his children will be more important than you."

"You’ll have to act like a nanny, taking good care of the kids. Only then will you, the stepmom, be able to have a good life."

"I can do that!" the woman replied decisively.

"I wouldn’t be so sure. You need to think it over carefully. Being a stepmom isn’t that easy."

"If you have any colleagues who are stepmoms, go ask them. Interview them. You’ll find out just how difficult it is."

In divorce cases, the man rarely gets custody of the children.

Therefore, most people don’t realize just how thankless the "job" of being a stepmother is.

When children are naughty and disobedient, their biological mother can discipline or even spank them. But if a stepmother dares to lay a hand on them, she’s lucky if the child only hits back. The real fear is them running to their grandparents or their biological mom in tears. The consequences of that are a nightmare just to think about.

So, Zhang Zhe gave her a serious piece of advice:

"You were born in ’01. You still have time before you turn thirty."

"You absolutely must think this decision through. You’re already set on being child-free. If you marry an older man and then divorce him because you can’t handle the pressure, your chances of remarrying will be almost zero."

"Mm," the woman replied hesitantly.

This was a good sign. It showed she was genuinely considering Zhang Zhe’s words.

...

After the woman logged off, Zhang Zhe quickly sent a message to Hui Zi, telling him to get the second matchmaking candidate ready to join the stream.

Hui Zi didn’t reply. Instead, [Young Master Liu (Impotent)] from the group chat contacted him.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang, I really liked that child-free woman from earlier."

"I’m not actually impotent, I have azoospermia. My situation is perfect for her."

"Can you help introduce us?"

Perhaps because Zhang Zhe hadn’t replied, Young Master Liu directly initiated a money transfer.

Another 8,800.

Zhang Zhe didn’t dare to accept the money.

He sent a simple reply:

"Young Master Liu, if you have azoospermia, why did you write ’impotent’ in your profile?"

"But it wouldn’t matter either way."

"That girl is a second-generation Shencheng City native. The chances of her marrying someone from outside the province are very, very slim. I can ask for you, but you’d best not get your hopes up."

Young Master Liu must have been thinking it over, because he immediately replied to Zhang Zhe’s message:

"Why wouldn’t she marry someone from out of town? Shencheng City isn’t Yanjing or Shanghai."