Step by step, a gentle breeze leads to a smooth path

Chapter 291 Strict Wife Control

Before Song Wanli uttered those hurtful words, "It's for your own good," Song Tingnan mysteriously asked everyone, "Do you know 'Wu Ziliang'?"

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. Song Wanli said, "I don't know, where are they from?"

Song Yanchu had heard of it, but he didn't interrupt. The clever and mischievous Ting Nan must have her reasons for bringing it up now.

"Dad, Wu Ziliang's ancestral home is Pujiang, Zhejiang. He was an outstanding physical metallurgist and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences."

"Oh, then we definitely don't know each other. What's wrong?" Song Wanli was a little confused when Nan mentioned this celebrity.

"He was incredibly capable and made significant contributions to the country. He often said, 'The needs of the nation are my research direction.' He led the trial production of special resistance wires needed for the Korean War and successfully developed a substitute steel for Soviet low-alloy steel 40x, playing a pioneering role in establishing my country's low-alloy steel system. And..." Seeing that everyone seemed a bit confused, Song Tingnan changed the subject, saying, "You know what? What I like most about him is his respect and love for his wife. No matter how much he achieved or what titles he was given, at home he was simply a husband and father."

Everyone quieted down and listened as Nan said with a smile, "He achieved a lot in his life and naturally had many titles, but in his later years he had a beautiful name: 'Grasshopper Expert'!"

"Sister, is it the kind of cricket that fights and makes a chirping sound?" Song Mingfu perked up as soon as he heard that. Even a famous person like him played with crickets, and he didn't let it distract him from his studies. He glanced at his father, Song Wanli, with a subtle hint: Don't always say that he only knows how to play.

"Yes, Wu Ziliang bought the cricket for 20 yuan. The old couple treated it like a treasure, feeding it well and taking good care of it, just to hear it make a sound."

But one day, the cricket stopped chirping. His wife angrily told Wu Ziliang, "The good cricket you bought hasn't chirped for days."

Wu Ziliang, who was looking at the documents, quickly put them down, walked over to the cricket cage, put on his reading glasses, and began to study it. He had bought the cricket in the first place so that his wife would have some fun; otherwise, when he was busy and their children weren't around, his wife would have no one to talk to.

My wife gave the order, 'Didn't you research atomic bombs? Why isn't the cricket chirping anymore? You investigate.'

You might say that it's a waste of talent for a great scientist to research this, and that it's unnecessary; they could just buy a new one. But Wu Ziliang was henpecked, and he didn't discriminate based on the size of his wife's affairs.

He muttered to himself, "I wonder if there are any scientific findings on the question of 'why the crickets don't chirp'?" as he picked up an edamame bean to feed the cricket and began his new research.

After waiting for a while, the cricket remained silent and refused to utter a sound. This infuriated Academician Wu, who said, "Back when I was researching separation membranes, I had never even seen what a membrane looked like, but I still succeeded, didn't I? Today, I refuse to believe that I can't conquer this little cricket."

Both adults and children listened with great interest. Song Yali asked anxiously, "Sister, did the cricket chirp at the end?"

Ting Nan continued with a smile, "For the next few days, his wife saw Wu Ziliang squatting in front of the cricket cage, feeding the cricket a edamame bean and writing something in his notebook, feeding it another bean and writing another entry."

A few days later, the crickets finally started chirping again, just like before. Academician Wu breathed a sigh of relief and shared his "cricket chirping research findings" with his wife: To get crickets to chirp, the key is to feed them in moderation. Based on my experiments over several days, the conclusion is that two edamame beans make them chirp, but three edamame beans stop them…

His wife, seeing his earnest expression, burst into laughter and exclaimed, "Alright, alright, I'll bestow upon you the title of 'Cricket Expert'!" And so, another prestigious title was added to Wu Ziliang's long list of accolades, personally authorized by his wife.

After listening, Song Wanli looked at Yi Dani again and again. It is said that "those who mistreat their wives will not have any wealth, while those who love their wives will prosper." Isn't he a perfect example of this?

Since he changed his attitude towards Yi Dani and taught her gently and patiently, not only has her condition stabilized and improved, but the children have all become obedient, and the family business has become more and more successful.

Gao Haoran gave Song Tingnan a thumbs up. "My apprentice wasn't spoiled for nothing. He went to great lengths and told this story well! Even academicians are 'henpecked,' so he's nothing special. If anyone complains again, I'll tell them this story."

But then he went to the county town and became extremely busy. The storyteller became Song Wanli, which also led to a rapid rise in the status of the women in Songjia Village.