Chapter 3: First Meeting

Xia Ning’an had just stepped out of the space when her father, Xia Changhai, and her mother, Li Fang, returned. Their faces were both very bad.

She knew from the original owner’s memories that they had gone to Lu Zecheng’s house. Their expressions must have been very unpleasant.

Li Fang saw her daughter get off the kang and said with heartache, “An’an, why did you get up? You’re not feeling well. Rest a little longer.”

She had gone to the Lu family’s house and seen Lu Zecheng after his injury. Although she was indignant on his behalf, she really couldn’t do anything about such a difficult and shameless family. If she let her daughter get married and take care of Lu Zecheng under these circumstances, she would be very reluctant.

Xia Changhai had been silent since he came back. He sat in the yard, lighting a pipe and puffing away.

“Dad, go call Second Brother back. We’re going to the Lu family to pick him up. No matter what, we can’t let the Lu family wear him down.”

Xia Changhai looked up at his daughter in surprise. Didn’t she disagree before? How come she changed her mind so quickly?

Xia Changhai himself was a veteran and had a natural fondness for the military profession. He was straightforward and loyal.

He felt that since his daughter was engaged to Lu Zecheng, they had a responsibility to take care of him now that he was injured. Before, his daughter didn’t want to, and she fell ill, so he didn’t say anything, but he still hoped that his daughter would agree to bring Lu Zecheng back.

He looked at his daughter with relief and said, “I’ll go right away. Don’t worry, I and your mother will help you take care of Lu Da.”

Xia Ning’an didn’t say much. She just hummed in agreement.

Soon, her second brother, Xia Ninghao, was called back. The four of them went to the Lu family’s house.

The Lu family’s house was the only one in the village made of blue bricks and tiles.

They knocked on the door, and Lu’s second daughter-in-law opened it. Seeing the Xia family, she rolled her eyes, said nothing, and turned around to go into the house.

The Xia family went to the firewood shed. It was really just a shed, without even a door. Inside, there were some firewood and some farm tools. A tall man was half-lying on a pile of straw, his upper body leaning against a pile of wood. His features were handsome and sharp, his eyes were covered with gauze, his face was flushed, his lips were dry and wrinkled, and his trouser legs were rolled up, revealing bloody gauze.

His whole appearance was very disheveled, but even so, his aura remained undiminished, out of place with the environment.

Xia Ning’an was observing Lu Zecheng when Xia Changhai walked over to him.

“Son, I’m Xia Shu. Our whole family is here to take you home.”

Lu Zecheng seemed to be delirious with fever. Xia Changhai called him several times before he responded.

He spoke in a hoarse voice, “Xia Shu, please help me call the village head over.”

Xia Ning’an felt a pang of heartache at this moment. It wasn’t the kind of heartache a woman feels for a man, but the kind of heartache she felt for those soldiers who defended their country.

War is merciless. How many soldiers have lost their lives on the battlefield? How many people have become permanently disabled for the sake of peace and prosperity? Yet they still don’t receive fair treatment, and are even mistreated.

Even if he wasn’t her fiancé, she would take on the responsibility of taking care of him. It was a sign of respect and admiration for his profession.

Xia Changhai didn’t know why he called the village head, but he still sent his second son to run an errand.

The village head, Xia Fugui, was soon called over, followed by a group of villagers who came to watch the show. In those days, there were few entertainment activities, so the villagers were very enthusiastic about watching the show.

After Village Head Xia Fugui arrived, Lu Zecheng said, “Please help me preside over this, Village Head. I’m going to split from the Lu family today.”

The village head hesitated, “Lu Da, how are you going to make a living after splitting up in your condition?”

“It’s even harder to live without splitting up. Please help me split from the Lu family, Village Head.”

The village head heard this and looked at the Lu family’s attitude towards Lu Da. He didn’t continue to persuade him, so he called the Lu family over.

The village head of their village was responsible for the daily affairs of the village. He was chosen by the more respected elders in the village.

The brigade leader was appointed by the commune and was responsible for arranging the village’s production and construction.

At this moment, Zhang Dahua was seen running from outside towards the house. Her fat body didn’t hinder her running speed at all. Li Fang was worried that she would bump into Lu Zecheng, so she blocked her way.

“What are you doing?”

After Li Fang asked this question, she was glared at angrily by Zhang Dahua, who had stopped abruptly.

“I don’t agree to splitting up. He’s not home often, and he doesn’t have any work points. What’s the point of splitting up? He doesn’t have any share of the grain. If you want to split up, take his things and leave. I’ll pretend I don’t have this son.”

The village head said, “Zhang Dahua, don’t be unreasonable. Lu Da sends money home every month. Your family can build the only blue brick and tile house in the village. It’s all thanks to Lu Da’s allowance. Your family has five adults, and their work points combined don’t even reach 20. You’re having trouble eating, let alone building a house.”

As soon as the village head finished speaking, the villagers began to criticize Zhang Dahua and the Lu family.

“He’s a cripple now. Keeping him isn’t a burden on us? It’s better to let him go,” Lu Qiang, the Lu family’s second son, whispered to Zhang Dahua.

Hearing her second son say this, Zhang Dahua said, “We can split up, but we won’t take care of him after he leaves.”

“You don’t need to take care of me,” Lu Zecheng’s cold voice came.

“I joined the army at 16 and sent 20 yuan home every month. I served for five years and one month, a total of 1220 yuan. The cost of building the house is 600 yuan. I’ll split the remaining money in half, leaving half for my parents and keeping 310 yuan for myself. I want one of the four rooms, and I don’t want anything else.”

“We don’t have any money. The money is all gone. The house is occupied now, and there’s no empty room for you,” Zhang Dahua played the fool.

“If you don’t give it to me, I’ll go to the armed forces department and report it. The law states that parents have a duty to care for and support me in my situation. Otherwise, you’ll be waiting to be criticized.”

Zhang Dahua jumped up in anger, pointing at Lu Zecheng, “I don’t care about you, you cripple. You’re not my son, so I don’t have to take care of you. Yes, you’re not my son, you can’t sue me.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t acknowledge it. Otherwise, we’ll see each other in court.”

“…” Zhang Dahua felt like Lu Da was going to cling to her.

“What court? You’re not my son at all. I kindly raised you, and you can’t just cling to our family like this.”

The villagers heard this big news.

“No wonder they’ve been mistreating Lu Da since he was a child. It turns out he’s not their biological son.”

“I told you so. How could those two give birth to such a handsome child like Lu Da? It makes sense now that he’s not their biological son.”

“How do you prove that I’m not your biological son? If you can’t prove it, you have to support me,” Lu Zecheng said, his voice hoarse.

Xia Ning’an saw that his face was flushed and he was burning with fever.

“How could there not be?”

Zhang Dahua couldn’t help but blurt out.

“If you have evidence, show it to everyone,” Xia Ning’an interjected. She really couldn’t bear to listen to Lu Zecheng speak with such difficulty, and she didn’t mind being his mouthpiece.

“When I found him, he had a longevity lock on him, and the blanket was embroidered with the character ‘Chen’ on the edge.”

Zhang Dahua was so anxious that she blurted it out.

She had originally planned to sell the longevity lock when things got better.

But now, in order to prove that he wasn’t her son, she had to say it reluctantly.

She absolutely refused to acknowledge this son.

Even if his leg healed, he was still blind. She didn’t want to raise a blind man at home.

The village head said, “Since you say you have evidence, go get it.”

Zhang Dahua turned and went into the house, bringing out a blue-flowered blanket and a longevity lock.

“It’s these. Our family couldn’t afford to buy this kind of thing back then.”

The village head took the things and looked at them. He believed Zhang Dahua’s words.

“You said you found him. Where did you find him? Don’t tell me you kidnapped him,” Xia Ning’an asked.

Zhang Dahua jumped up, “Of course I found him. I found him at the entrance of the train station. I waited for a long time, but no one came. I kindly took him home and raised him. You don’t thank me, and you still suspect me.”

“The family that could afford to buy such a longevity lock for a child probably wouldn’t be unable to support him. You won’t tell us the specific time and place, so how can we not suspect you? How old was the child when you brought him back? Did he have anything else besides these?” Xia Ning’an asked. She asked in detail so that Lu Zecheng could find his relatives later.

“You’re full of crap!”

Zhang Dahua was furious. She knew that stealing children was a crime. If she didn’t explain clearly, she would be in trouble.

“I found him when I was passing by the county train station. I saw him unattended, and since I didn’t have a son at the time, I took pity on him and brought him home.”

Xia Ning’an saw that she didn’t seem to be lying, so she didn’t say anything more.

“If that’s the case, then please ask the village head to help write an agreement. I’ll consider the previous allowance as a thank you for raising me all these years. I don’t want the house either. I’ll only take the bag I brought back this time. Write clearly in the agreement that from now on, the two families have nothing to do with each other, and the relationship is severed. If you come to harass me and my fiancée again, don’t blame me for tearing down your house.” Lu Zecheng said weakly but firmly.