Chapter 508 Secret to Having a Daughter
The saying went, "It's your chromosomes that decide the gender of your child, you good-for-nothing. How dare you try to shift the blame to your daughter-in-law? Go kneel in the family shrine until dawn and apologize to your ancestors."
"Our lineage is truly degenerating. A grown man should take responsibility for his mistakes, not pull his wife down with him, disgraceful!"
Memories of being pressured to produce a daughter made Matt's scalp tingle.
Especially since his eldest and second sons had each produced two boys.
Kenny's case was now critical.
The reason was straightforward.
His eldest and second sons had to answer for their own inadequacy.
However, Kenny couldn't.
It wasn't that Kenny couldn't.
It was that the family elders, as fond as they were of Kenny, were equally afraid of the possibility of another boy on his part.
He would undoubtedly be the one to catch flak in the end.
Contemplating the indignity he faced, despite inching towards sixty, he felt compelled to act—sooner rather than later.
"Right, didn't Auntie mention a healer with a unique formula for a daughter? I'll need to get that, prepare it myself, and take it to Kenny to drink."
"Honey, try to relax a little," Scarlet said, her fingers flying over her phone screen as she sent out messages without even glancing up, offering words of comfort to her anxious husband.
The following day, after lunch, Thalassa and Kenny were set to leave. The usually stern great-aunt, holding onto Thalassa's hand with a look of reluctance, slipped two large diamond rings onto her fingers. "You should come back often when you have vacation days. And don't wait for Kenny—if he's busy, just come on home! Let me know in advance, and I'll treat you to something delicious."
"Okay, I will." Thalassa nodded with a beaming smile.
"Adorable, truly adorable!" Great-aunt caressed the back of Thalassa's hand.
"Great-aunt, we should get going now," Kenny chimed in, walking over.
"Rushing, no one's stealing your wife," Great-aunt huffed, mysteriously producing a diamond bracelet and fastening it onto Thalassa's slender wrist. "Whatever you like, just tell me. I'm loaded—I can afford anything!"
Thalassa was torn between laughter and tears.
During her days with the Walker family, she had been drowned in an unprecedented shower of affection.
"Great-aunt, you've given too much," Thalassa said with a helpless smile.
"Not too much at all!" Great-aunt looked at her lovingly. "I don't have my own children, but the moment I saw you, I felt close to you—as though you were my child in some past life. I just want to give you all the good things!"
With a proud tone, she added, "These are treasures Kenny can't buy for you. It's not just the price—these are rarities!"
Unable to refuse, Thalassa accepted them all.
Leaving great-aunt's home, the couple was ready to depart. Climbing into the car, Thalassa noticed an additional bag on the back seat.
"What's this?"
She reached over and touched it. It was still warm.
"Medicine from my dad," Kenny said with resignation.
"Herbal medicine?" Thalassa was astonished. "Are you feeling unwell?"
Kenny looked at Thalassa, "It's supposed to be a special remedy for a daughter."
"Oh?" Thalassa was even more surprised. "Is it for me?"
"For me," Kenny replied with a mix of amusement and disbelief. "Dad says that having boys or girls is on me, so, I should take the medicine. He insists on sending herbal concoctions every week."
Thalassa's jaw nearly dropped.
"Dad is really…" Thalassa struggled to find the right adjective. "A role model!" Then she gave a thumbs-up.
However, Matt had misunderstood everything from the start.
In order to conceived, Kenny and Thalassa would need to be intimate.
A person brought up under strict teachings, when confronted with such matters tends to instinctively shoulder the blame.
Consider, for instance, this return journey home.
With the faint scent of herbal medicine lingering, Thalassa's thoughts were dominated by self-doubt, ‘Am I not attractive enough?
‘Does Kenny prefer a platonic relationship?
‘But, during their intimate moments, he seemed quite into it.’
"By the way, next time you come back, you can tell Grandma that your best friend is Grandma Solomon's granddaughter-in-law," Kenny interjected, breaking Thalassa's train of thought.
"Does Grandma know Darwin's grandmother?" Thalassa asked.
"Well, strictly speaking, the relationship between the Walker family and the Solomon family started with their generation," Kenny replied. "But the two ladies have never really gotten along."
"Why is that?"
“You know that Grandma has a lot of jewelry collections, right?”
"Yeah."
"Grandma has a hobby, too—collecting those items. They've had their fair share of fights over acquisitions!" Kenny said with a chuckle, "I witnessed one of those battles when I was very young."
For Kenny, that incident was shocking.
What happened was, his grandmother had outbid Grandma Solomon for a porcelain piece about the size of a palm.
Grandma Solomon had stormed over to the Walker family in response.
In the end, Kenny didn’t know who ended up with that white jade vase.
However, his grandmother was livid.
She even took to the newspapers to imply something about Grandma Solomon.
"Later on, Grandma lost interest in antiques and started collecting raw stones, then had top designers create unique pieces of jewelry."
"We've got one of the top jewelry designers in the family. Grandma sure knows how to benefit from her environment," Thalassa remarked.
“Right,” Kenny agreed with a smile.
Thalassa gazed at the diamond necklace in her hand.
It was a classic wheat pattern.
"Kenny, I really hit the jackpot on this trip," she said sincerely. "The check, the jade, and the jewelry combined are worth more than what I make in a year."
“Are you happy?” Kenny asked.
Thalassa looked at Kenny and nodded with conviction and without hesitation. "Happy as a clam at high tide!"
Kenny smiled. "That's good, because being happy is what matters most."
They had arrived in Bay City.
Scarlet called to remind Thalassa that once she was in Bay City, she should cash the check and not forget.
Thus, there was Kenny, escorting her to the bank to cash the check. As Thalassa witnessed the substantial sum swelling her bank account, she felt as though she were floating on air. It all appeared too effortless, too dreamlike, all for merely meeting the parents.
"Wait until the wedding; there'll be a lot more where that came from," Kenny whispered to her with a chuckle, noticing her infatuation with the newfound wealth.
"I bet." Thalassa nodded numbly, the reality of marrying into a wealthy family starting to sink in. "It's all starting to feel a bit more real now!"
Kenny laughed at her once again. "Alright, frugal girl, aren’t we supposed to head to the hospital?" He wrapped her in his embrace and they left the bank together.
Kenny's ride, parked outside, was a Bentley coupé. As the two of them chatted and laughed while walking away,
Brad and his crew, bolting out of a restaurant from across the street, caught sight of them. "So, she got herself a pretty-boy, that’s gotta be Thalassa, right?" Brad fumed. "Great, she's got money for a Bentley for her boy toy, but not to pay us back!"
"That car’s worth millions! Shameless ingrate," Brad’s wife spat out vehemently.