I grew up with parents like hers, I remember feeling horrible every time they would hit me and later pull out the "I put a roof over your head" card because it made me feel super guilty and spoiled, which just led to me downplaying all my problems later on. I still love them of course, and things have gotten better over the years, but man, stuff like that does so much more harm to children than it may seem,
Meanwhile Tong Tongs mom is amazing, screw Mr Xie!
A lot of people, myself included, had a childhood like that. I also love them, regardless of their problems. Despite them not doing the best job of raising me, they did a much better job raising my little sister, so I'm very glad that they learned and improved, and really, that's one of the most important things we can do while were here.