◎ Third update ◎ 

There were a man and a woman on duty at the neighborhood office today. Sister Hao was in her thirties, with a slightly round face and a very friendly smile. When she saw Liu Nianhua getting emotional and tears welling up in her eyes, she was shocked to learn that the man lying on the ground was actually a scoundrel! 

“Sister Hao, please help me. It’s not easy for me to raise two children. I was at work today, but when I came back, I saw my ex-husband grabbing the children outside in the cold wind. Look at what has happened to them.” 

Sister Hao glanced at the trembling Xiao Hu. She was also a mother, so she couldn’t bear seeing this situation. “So it’s this man, right? If we find out that he is having an affair with someone else, we will definitely punish him severely! What time is it now? The great leader told us not to act like a hooligan and not to have any problems with our work style!” 

“Sister Hao, I didn’t do anything! She’s just talking nonsense!” Zhou Guoping was afraid of being exposed and sent for reform, so he shook his dizzy head and repeatedly denied it. “The one fooling around is her, this woman! She… she’s been cheating with this man; otherwise, why would he beat me so hard?” 

Zhou Guoping hurriedly took off the hat on his head and pointed at Zhou Qingdang. 

Liu Nianhua had been an honest person all her life, and this was the first time she was accused of having an affair! She could not bear it any longer, so she stepped forward and slapped Zhou Guoping, who was lying on the ground. “I will beat you to death, you heartless man! Even at a time like this, you still want to ruin my reputation! Comrade, I have a letter of guarantee written by him personally, which clearly states that he had an affair with Wang Fang, the wife of Zhao Qiang, a truck driver who lived in a tube building on Dongsheng Street. It’s all written here clearly, word for word, and there’s even his fingerprint. That’s not all; I also have witnesses. Two of my neighbors saw it all. We caught those two dogs in the act!” 

“Sister Hao, my wife and I really saw it,” Xu Shengjie interrupted. He had just come from the Hong family and found no one at home. In the entire courtyard, there were only a lot of people gathered in front of Liu Nianhua’s house. With his sharp eyes, he spotted his wife Liang Baozhen’s floral cotton jacket in the crowd. 

As he got closer, he just happened to hear Liu Nianhua’s words. While the worker from the neighborhood office continued asking Liu Nianhua for some other information, Xu Shengjie put his arm around Liang Baozhen’s waist and whispered, “Aren’t you tired of standing like this? Why don’t you sit down and rest?” 

“You’re back?” Liang Baozhen suddenly felt relieved when she heard Xu Shengjie’s voice. On one hand, she was worried about Liu Nianhua, and on the other hand, she was also concerned about the baby in her belly. Fortunately, Zhou Qingdang arrived just in time and helped stabilize the situation.  

“Zhou Guoping really is like a persistent ghost,” Xu Shengjie said with a frown, looking at Zhou Guoping, feeling disgusted. 

“Sister Hao, they…they cooperated against me, and they forced me to write that note!” Zhou Guoping was still unwilling to give up. 

“Sister Hao, I’m a veteran who once wore a uniform. I can guarantee that Comrade Liu Nianhua is telling the truth, and everything I say is true as well. Otherwise, I would be unworthy of wearing a military uniform.” 

Sister Hao saw the young man’s integrity and learned he was a veteran, so she looked at him with a bit more respect. Then she looked at the man lying on the ground, who looked like a scoundrel. She used to work in the Women’s Federation, and she hated this kind of scum. Everyone in the courtyard knew what kind of person Liu Nianhua was. She was a very honest person and had never had a quarrel with anyone. But today, her loud protests clearly indicated she had been pushed too hard. 

“Let’s take him back to find out more about the situation. Xiao He, go and inform the Revolutionary Committee. If he is really an adulterer and has a bad work style, he will have to be reported to the Revolutionary Committee.” 

“Okay.” 

Not long after, people from the Revolutionary Committee also arrived and took the troublemaker Zhou Guoping away. Liu Nianhua entrusted the child to Zhang Rong and Zhou Yun and went with them to the Revolutionary Committee to explain the situation. 

Liang Baozhen was worried about Liu Nianhua being alone, but she couldn’t move around well herself. She was just about to ask Xu Shengjie to go along when Zhou Qingdang spoke up first.  

“I’ll go with Sister Hua to avoid any more trouble.” 

“No, no, I’ve troubled you enough today.” Liu Nianhua felt very uncomfortable when she thought about how she had troubled her neighbors again and again with her family affairs. 

Zhang Rong felt sorry for the three of them and spoke again, “Nianhua, why are you being so polite? Just let Qingdang go with you so you can have help. Zhou Guoping is not an easy person to deal with. There are many people in the Revolutionary Committee, and Qingdang can also lend a hand.” 

Unable to refuse, Liu Nianhua had no choice but to set off with Zhou Qingdang. 

Zhou Yun held Xiao Hu and rubbed his hands. After the child’s body warmed up a little, she fed him a cup of warm water, and he looked better. 

“It’s really a sin. How could he torture the child like this?” 

“Is he running a fever?” Liang Baozhen stepped forward to touch Xiao Hu’s forehead, and his temperature seemed normal. 

“We have some medicine at home.” Xiao Long stayed beside his brother and answered obediently when he heard his aunt’s words. 

“That’s good. Let’s wait and see tonight. If he really has a fever, your mother will give Xiao Hu some medicine.” 

The room warmed up because of the coal stove. Xu Shengjie helped Liang Baozhen sit down and carefully inquired about how Zhou Guoping had come to cause trouble and try to take the child. He couldn’t help but knit his eyebrows. “It was really a waste to let him go before; he even dares to come here to cause trouble. If everyone hadn’t gone out to buy New Year’s goods today, he wouldn’t have been so arrogant.”  

“Luckily, Zhou Qingdang came back just in time; otherwise, he might have really taken Xiao Hu away.” Liang Baozhen tried her best to delay him with words and was also glad that Zhou Guoping hadn’t managed to leave yet. 

However, Xu Shengjie still felt a little scared when he thought about it. The scene was chaotic, with people pushing and shoving everywhere. His wife who was seven months pregnant, was nearby. Although she was standing a bit farther away, it was still dangerous. “You should just notify us, and don’t get too close. What if someone bump into you?” 

Xu Shengwei, Xu Shengya, Biaozi, and Fang Zhibin also gathered around to Xiao Long and Xiao Hu and whispered to the two brothers. Xiao Ya squatted beside them and helped to rub Xiao Hu’s hands. She then reached into her brother’s pocket to take out a handkerchief for Xiao Hu to blow his nose. 

“Yes, blow your nose more.” She had never helped a child blow his nose before, so she put the handkerchief at the base of Xiao Hu’s nose, wrapped it back, and asked Xiao Hu to blow his nose hard. 

After warming up by the fire for a while, Xiao Hu began to feel better. His hands were warm now, and he listened to Xiao Ya’s words. Only after blowing his nose did he feel much better. 

“I’m all better now.” He had been so scared today. His father had held onto him tightly without letting go, and he hadn’t even helped him put on his clothes. He disliked his father now! Why was he so mean? He was almost frozen to death. 

Xu Shengwei and Xiao Long were also watching nearby. They were relieved to see that Xiao Hu is finally active again. They patted Xiao Hu on the shoulder to comfort him. “Xiao Hu, warm up quickly; let’s go play snowballs together. 

Snow? Xiaohu shook his head. He had been so cold today that just hearing the word “snow” made him shiver. He didn’t want to play with snowballs for now. 

“Brother.” Xiaoya called Xu Shengwei. 

“What’s the matter?” 

“Put this handkerchief away.” 

She handed back the handkerchief that had just wiped Xiao Hu’s nose. Xu Shengwei stared at the blue checkered handkerchief, then patted his pocket. “Hey, where’s my handkerchief?” 

“Xu Shengya, why did you use my handkerchief to wipe Xiaohu’s nose?” 

“Of course I used yours! My handkerchief is only for girls. You’re all boys!” Xu Shengya said confidently. 

Fang Zhibin saw it and tried hard not to laugh out loud, but he really couldn’t hold it back and burst into laughter. “Xiao Wei, Xiao Ya is right, hahahaha.” 

“Eh~” Xu Shengwei took the handkerchief and hurriedly went outside to wash it while slightly disgusted. 

The few people left in the room laughed heartily, even Xiao Hu joined in. 

 *** 

After Liu Nianhua explained the matter to the Revolutionary Committee, she added that they could ask the truck driver who lived on Dongsheng Street about the situation. The two had also divorced. In fact, it was quite simple to investigate this matter; there were witnesses and evidence. 

The Revolutionary Committee knew what was going on, so they continue interrogating Zhou Guoping and let Liu Nianhua leave first. 

After walking out of the Revolutionary Committee’s gates, Liu Nianhua and Zhou Qingdang waited for the bus to go home together. Liu Nianhua stepped onto the snow, leaving footprints behind. The snow was soft, and stepping on it felt like walking on clouds. A relieved smile appeared on her lips, and Liu Nianhua finally breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Thank you for today, and for your mother and the others; otherwise, Xiao Hu might have really been taken away by Zhou Guoping.” 

“I’m glad you’re alright. People like Zhou Guoping deserve to be sent to prison!” 

Zhou Qingdang walked side by side with her and smiled at Liu Nianhua’s words. He found that Liu Nianhua was different. In the past, she was known for her good temper and never quarreled with anyone. After her divorce from Zhou Guoping, she seemed to be in a terrible state—her eyes wandered, and her face showed signs of weariness, as if she could collapse at any moment. Even when she became a bus conductor, she was bullied. Later, she gradually improved herself, and although it was not easy to take care of two children at home alone, she ignored the rumors outside and lived her own life. 

Zhou Qingdang thought back to his strongest impression of Liu Nianhua. Every morning, when he opened the door, he would see her busy at the stove. She would wake up early to make breakfast for her children. Time was tight in the morning, so she had to get up even earlier. In winter, her hands were frozen stiff. But every time he opened the door and their eyes met, Liu Nianhua would smile at him and say good morning. 

The two boarded the bus together. Liu Nianhua knew the bus driver; they were both employees of the public transportation company. The driver greeted her and waved the fare, extending the same courtesy to Zhou Qingdang.  

This was an unwritten rule, a privilege for employees and their families of the bus company.  

After getting on the bus, the two stood side by side. Zhou Qingdang looked at Liu Nianhua’s hands, which were red from the cold. Her hands holding the armrest were a bit rough. She had been doing housework at home all year round and her hands were not delicate anymore. But now the backs of her hands were red, and there was a sign of frostbite. He also noticed some scratch marks on her hands, likely from when she had a confrontation with Zhou Guoping. 

He lowered his eyes, reached into his pocket with his left hand, touched his work gloves, and held them tightly in his hand. 

“Sister Hua…” 

Zhou Qingdang had just taken out half of the glove when he suddenly heard Liu Nianhua lean over and say, “We’ve arrived; let’s get off the bus.” 

After saying that, Liu Nianhua turned around and got out of the bus first. She was still thinking about her two little ones at home, so she walked hurriedly. Zhou Qingdang followed closely behind. When they reached the entrance of the courtyard, he finally called out to her. 

“Sister Hua, please put on a pair of gloves.” He remembered seeing Liu Nianhua’s gloves fall to the ground during her struggle with Zhou Guoping; they had been stepped on several times and were torn so it’s likely unusable by now. 

“No need, I’m used to this.” Liu Nianhua put her hands behind her back, feeling a little embarrassed. This happened to her every winter, and she was prone to frostbite. When the flare-up was severe, it was terribly itchy and she wanted to scratch it, but it only hurt more when she touched it, which was really torturous. 

“I’ll go back to see Xiao Long and Xiao Hu first. You should come back soon too.” Liu Nianhua took a few steps and turned back to thank him sincerely, “Zhou Qingdang, really, thank you so much today.” 

“You’re welcome.” Zhou Qingdang watched Liu Nianhua’s back disappear in the cold wind and felt that her smile just now was very brilliant.