Chapter 6 : Let the male protagonist raise the child

“Ah! Why didn’t you ask him for the newspaper?” Aunt Guo was even more anxious than her. “Did it say which unit he’s in?”

Su Zhaodi: … She didn’t remember; she hadn’t even seen the newspaper.

“I didn’t pay attention. I was in a panic at the time, completely flustered, and by the time I came to my senses, the person had already taken the newspaper and left.” She looked worried, sighing heavily. “I’m so worried.”

“You silly girl!” Aunt Guo slapped her thigh in frustration and quickly said, “It’s okay! As long as his name is in the newspaper, we can find it. If we can’t find it in town, we’ll go to the county. I refuse to believe we won’t find a single newspaper. Even if it doesn’t have his address, we can ask around, step by step, until we find him! We will definitely find him for you!”

Su Zhaozhao first expressed her gratitude, then sighed deeply, “It’s been so many years. Who knows if he’s remarried? After all, when the bandits attacked the village, I left in a hurry. He probably thinks I’m gone, too. He doesn’t even know about these two kids. If he… I’m thinking maybe it’s better to just let it go. I can raise the two kids by myself. Anyway, I’m not going to remarry.”

But letting it go wasn’t really an option. She was hopeless when it came to manual labor, not to mention living in the countryside.

She barely recognized any of the crops in the field, let alone understanding the seasonal timing for them. She was confused about both the lunar and solar calendars. Even with the original owner’s memories, she wasn’t sure she could manage.

In recent years, the village had started a cooperative, which was the precursor to the People’s Commune. In a few years, the Great Leap Forward would begin, leading to communal dining, then three years of natural disasters, nationwide food shortages, and a three-year famine. Life would be harder than it was now.

She needed to cling to someone for support, have the male lead take care of the children.

Whether the man himself mattered or not was unimportant; what mattered was not going hungry!

If the military could arrange something for her as a military spouse, a secure job would be even better.

Su Zhaozhao was already imagining a brighter future in her mind. Wouldn’t this mean her life would get back on track?

“Why should you think like that? You can’t!” Aunt Guo advised her, “After all, you gave the Gu family a pair of twins! You’ve suffered so much raising those two kids all these years, enduring so much hardship. Even if he has remarried, he’s still the father of those children. He has an obligation to support them! Why should you let him off so easily? Even if he’s no longer alive, we should at least get some money!”

Su Zhaozhao lowered her head, her eyes turning red, “I wasn’t thinking about all that. I just didn’t want to mess up his life.”

Seeing her like this, Aunt Guo couldn’t help but sigh, “You, you’re just too soft-hearted, always thinking about the kids and the man. Why don’t you think about yourself? No wonder you’ve been keeping such a big thing to yourself.” She remembered that it had been half a month since Su Zhaodi went to town.

“You probably fainted this time because of the stress you’ve been under.”

Su Zhaozhao: No, it has nothing to do with that; it’s just malnutrition and exhaustion.

She sniffed, “I don’t know what to say. I’ve been so worried, unable to sleep for nights on end.”

Aunt Guo patted her hand, “Don’t overthink it. Let’s find him first, and then we’ll figure it out. No matter what, you’re his first wife. Even if he’s remarried, the military will stand up for you. They won’t let us common folks suffer.”

Su Zhaozhao paused for a moment, then nodded.

“Sister, don’t let this get out yet. I don’t want the villagers gossiping.”

“I know! I’m not a gossip, don’t worry!”

The women in the village had loose tongues; they couldn’t stop talking even while working. They spent their days gossiping about others. When Su Zhaodi came back alone with a big belly, they started making up stories, saying that the Gu family wasn’t dead and that she had been sent back by them. They also said that no one knew what she had encountered on her way back alone, and who knows whose child was in her belly. They even claimed she brought bad luck to her husband.

Over the years, Zhaodi hadn’t remarried, and because she was beautiful, the other women were afraid she’d seduce their husbands. As a result, Zhaodi didn’t dare accept help from anyone, nor did she dare to say more than a few words. Only because her family was close by and held a position in the village did they keep a closer relationship.

If Zhaodi was really like they said, would she have struggled to raise the two kids on her own all these years?

People with filthy minds see everything as dirty.

Aunt Guo patted her leg and stood up, “I’ll go home and ask Old Su to go to town and see if he can find the newspaper. Maybe the town office will have one.”

“Thank you for your trouble.” Su Zhaozhao quickly saw her out, “Sister, take care on your way back.”

After Aunt Guo left, she happily hummed a little tune, “Today is a good day… Everything will go as planned… Finally, a small step forward.”

Aunt Guo hurriedly made her way to the village office. Along the way, when people greeted her, she casually waved them off, too busy to engage, as she rushed to find her husband.

Su Gensheng was awkwardly hunched over a desk, trying to write a report with a pen. When he saw her come in, he said, “What’s going on? Why are you in such a hurry? Is there a ghost chasing you?”

Aunt Guo shot him a glare. “You can never say anything nice, can you? Does that sound like something a village chief would say? Stop writing; I need to talk to you about something.”

“What’s the matter?” Su Gensheng carefully capped his pen and placed it inside his notebook.

There was no one else in the office, so Aunt Guo didn’t need to lower her voice. She told him everything in detail.

“Something like this really happened?” Su Gensheng was surprised. “Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?”

Aunt Guo snapped back, “What nonsense! As women, we can definitely recognize our own men! There’s no mistake! Back in the days of chaos, things like this happened a lot. It’s not that uncommon.”

Su Gensheng didn’t argue. “If we can really find him, it would give the mother and her two kids some security.”

Aunt Guo urged him, “You should hurry and go to the town, carefully search for her, and gather more information. If we don’t help, think about it—how could she, a woman who knows nothing, find him even if she knew he was alive? If today’s conversation hadn’t led to this topic, who knows when she would have gotten any news at all?”

Su Gensheng pointed to the notebook in front of him. “Let me finish writing this. I have to go to town tomorrow anyway to report on the autumn harvest, so I’ll take care of it then.”

“The town isn’t far. What’s the harm in going today?”

“Look at the time. I haven’t even finished the report. What if the mayor wants me to report immediately when I get there? You’re acting like it’s an emergency, but this isn’t a house on fire. Whether it’s today or tomorrow doesn’t make much difference.”

Aunt Guo glanced disdainfully at the notebook on the desk. “You’ve been working on it all day and still haven’t written anything. It’s harder for you to handle a pen than a hoe.”

Seeing that it was indeed getting late, and that going to town would take some time, she relented. “Fine, let’s leave it for today. But make sure you go first thing in the morning! Don’t delay.”

Su Gensheng waved her off. “I know, I know. Go home already, and stop bothering me while I’m working.”

Aunt Guo pursed her lips, thinking, Even without interruptions, you won’t get anything written.