Chapter 170: I Won’t Abandon You

Cheng Jingmo smiled calmly, “I watched her grow up and saw her as a little sister. How could I marry her?”

“Except for you, I never thought about marrying anyone else,” he added.

Yu Xiangnian suspected that Cheng Jingmo must have secretly eaten some sugar at Third Uncle’s house because his words were so sweet.

“And this morning, I asked you about your relationship with Dong Ju, and you still haven’t told me!”

Cheng Jingmo replied, “There’s nothing between us.”

Yu Xiangnian didn’t believe him. She had sensed the subtle tension between them that day.

“I’ll give you this one chance. If you don’t tell me now, don’t bother explaining anything I hear later,” Yu Xiangnian said.

Cheng Jingmo sighed, “There really isn’t anything.”

However, to be safe, he explained his connection to Dong Ju’s family.

“Dong Ju’s family once helped me,” Cheng Jingmo said. “They were from another place. As an adopted child with no parental support, I was often bullied by the villagers. Only my Third Uncle and Dong Ju’s father would chase those people away whenever they saw me being bullied.”

“When I was often hungry as a child, Dong Ju’s parents would occasionally give me a steamed bun or a pancake to fill my stomach.”

“Once, I got lost in the mountains during winter and wandered for a day and a night before returning to the village, completely numb from the cold. Dong Ju’s father took me home, warmed me by the fire, and even gave me his cotton jacket.”

At this point, Cheng Jingmo’s eyes darkened with sadness as he said, “I always remembered those kindnesses. Sadly, Dong Ju’s father passed away, and I can’t repay those debts.”

Yu Xiangnian still felt confused, “But I always sensed something strange between you and Dong Ju.”

With a strong survival instinct, Cheng Jingmo quickly added, “I forgot to mention one thing. Dong Ju’s parents felt sorry for me and said that when Dong Ju and I grew up, I could marry into their family.”

Yu Xiangnian narrowed her eyes, “So, you thought of Dong Ju as your future wife when you were younger?”

“No!” Cheng Jingmo shook his head repeatedly. “I was too busy trying to survive to think about that. Besides, I was too young to consider such things.”

Satisfied, Yu Xiangnian kissed his lips.

Lying on top of Cheng Jingmo, Yu Xiangnian kissed him passionately, and before long, Cheng Jingmo responded physically.

Yu Xiangnian, sensing this, teased him and then rolled onto the bed.

Both of them wanted to take things further, but the room wasn’t suitable for that.

They both sighed silently.

To distract them, Yu Xiangnian changed the subject.

“Cheng Jingmo, have you ever heard anything about your biological parents?”

Cheng Jingmo replied, “When my dad found me, I was wrapped in a military uniform. Maybe they were soldiers who later sacrificed themselves. Otherwise, why would they have never come looking for me?”

Cheng Jingmo’s words seemed like both self-comfort and self-mockery.

Indeed, even if there had been some unavoidable reason for abandoning him, how could they have never looked for him all these years?

Yu Xiangnian wrapped her arms around Cheng Jingmo’s waist and kissed him several times.

“Cheng Jingmo, I will never abandon you!”

“Promise?”

“I promise!”

The dim kerosene lamp cast a warm and bright glow in their eyes.

The next day, Yu Xiangnian heard voices outside but contentedly continued to sleep. She only got up after everyone had left.

After waking up, she started working indoors, while Xiao Jie studied in the main room.

Before leaving, Xiao Jie and Cheng Jingmo had made an agreement. If Xiao Jie accompanied them, he would make up for any missed classes through self-study and could ask Yu Xiangnian for help with anything he didn’t understand.

Cheng Jingmo and the others returned home for lunch before going out to work again.

Yu Xiangnian finished her work around 3 PM. With nothing else to do, she decided to take Xiao Jie for a walk.

As they passed a house without a wall, they heard the sounds of a donkey and a horse. They stopped to look.

A man in his fifties was trimming the donkey’s hooves.

“Mister, can we come in and watch?” Yu Xiangnian asked from outside.

Without looking up, the man said, “Come in and watch.”

He had spent his life trimming hooves, and many people enjoyed watching the process, so he was used to it.

Yu Xiangnian and Xiao Jie entered and squatted in front of the man to watch him trim the donkey’s hooves.

Various sharp knives were used: some to chop off parts of the hooves in one go, others to carefully scrape away the keratin.

It was Yu Xiangnian’s first time seeing donkey hooves being trimmed. Watching the dirty hooves become smooth and clean under the man’s skillful hands was very satisfying!

Xiao Jie watched with a mix of fascination and discomfort, his brows furrowed but his eyes never leaving the scene.

“Auntie, does it hurt the donkey?” he asked.

“No, it’s like cutting our fingernails,” Yu Xiangnian replied.

This caught the man’s attention. Everyone always asked him if it hurt the animals. It was the first time someone understood so clearly.

The man looked up, surprised at the unfamiliar faces.

“Which village are you from?” he asked.

People from nearby villages were at least vaguely familiar, but these two were strangers.

Yu Xiangnian answered, “I’m Jianwa’s wife, and this is our child.”

“Oh…” the man nodded in realization.

The village had been buzzing about Jianwa bringing his wife home recently.

He glanced at Yu Xiangnian again, thinking, “She really is beautiful!”

Xiao Jie asked, “Auntie, why do they twist the donkey’s nose?”

“For safety,” Yu Xiangnian explained. “Twisting their noses makes them feel pain if they move, so they won’t kick anyone.”

“Auntie, why do we need to trim the donkey’s hooves?”

“If we don’t trim them regularly, the hooves will grow too long, just like fingernails, and the donkey won’t be able to use them properly. Also, not trimming them can cause hoof pain and diseases, so we need to cut away the excess.”

“Oh,” Xiao Jie responded.

The man thought, “So that’s why!”

He had spent years trimming hooves, knowing it was necessary without being able to explain it so well.

Jianwa’s wife clearly had an education, more so than the intellectuals sent to the countryside!

Xiao Jie said, “When I grow up, I want to trim donkey hooves too.”

Yu Xiangnian replied, “That’s a good idea. I want to learn too. Let’s study hard now, and we can trim hooves in the future.”

The man’s facial muscles twitched.

Jianwa’s wife was… very unusual!

Other children who watched him would quickly be called back by their parents. Those parents would then lecture their children, “Why are you watching this useless stuff? Do you want to grow up and trim hooves too?”

Some children would naively respond, “Yes.”

Then their parents would beat them, saying, “You unfilial child! Trimming hooves is for useless people! You need to grow up to be a worker! Understand?”

Every time he heard such words, the man felt bitter.

But Jianwa’s wife was here earnestly discussing the importance of learning to trim hooves with a child?