Chapter 6: The Outcome of Zhao Laosan‘s Punishment

Bai Ruoqiao nearly shed tears again. She hurried over and squatted down by the bedside.

“An’an, Mama’s here. Don’t be afraid.”

Her voice choked up to the point that she couldn’t speak, and she had to cover her mouth.

“Mama, don’t cry.”
Turning her head and seeing her mother beside her, the little one finally showed a relieved expression.

Bai Ruoqiao’s tears fell even harder.

She took a deep breath and forced a smile.

“Mama won’t cry. An’an needs to get better soon.”

“Mm-hmm! An’an will get better soon. The sickness will fly away~”

As he said this, he puckered his little lips and blew as if to send the illness away.

Bai Ruoqiao was truly amused this time and laughed.

She wiped away her tears and said hoarsely,
“An’an, your Papa is back too. When you’re all better, we’ll take you to the state-owned restaurant to eat some meat.”

Zhao Sihai wiped the corners of his eyes and came over to squat beside them.

“An’an, Papa has saved a lot of ration coupons. When the time comes, you can eat whatever you want.”

“Papa?” An’an blinked in slight surprise.

His big eyes blinked again, black and shiny like grapes, as he looked at Zhao Sihai. Then, he smiled happily.

“Papa, you’re back!”

The little guy didn’t show even the slightest bit of unfamiliarity despite the long separation.

That was because Mama often told him about the letters Papa wrote and stories about him.

Papa was a soldier, and An’an had always admired him.

He also dreamed of growing up to be just like Papa—a soldier, a great hero standing tall and proud.

“Papa is back now. An’an needs to get well. Whatever you want to eat, Papa will get it for you.”

Zhao Sihai gently patted his son’s soft, fluffy little head. His heart was sore and swollen with emotion.

“Mm-hmm, An’an will get better soon…”

It seemed the medicine had started working.

After chatting just a little longer, An’an drifted back into a deep sleep.

Bai Ruoqiao watched the sleeping An’an.

Finally, she couldn’t hold back anymore. She covered her mouth and quickly walked out of the room.

Then she leaned against the wall and crouched down, burying her head between her knees, crying softly and suppressed.

Zhao Sihai followed her out, his eyes red as well.

His gaze was filled with guilt and heartache.

He walked over, knelt beside her on one knee, and pulled her into his arms.

After a moment, he spoke in a hoarse voice,
“I’m sorry.”

Bai Ruoqiao’s body stiffened.

Zhao Sihai closed his eyes and held her even tighter.

He repeated,
“I’m sorry I came back too late.”

Bai Ruoqiao couldn’t hold it in any longer.

She buried her head in the crook of his neck, her body shaking as she sobbed, pounding his shoulder with her fists again and again.

“You… you know you’re late? Do you even know…”

Do you know how much I missed you both…

It was as if she was crying out all the grievances, longing, and pain that had built up over the past forty years.

Then she bit down hard on his shoulder.

Zhao Sihai pressed his lips together, held the back of her head, and let his tears fall as well.

He lowered his head and gently kissed the top of hers, voice husky.

“I’m sorry. I won’t ever… ever leave you again.”

Bai Ruoqiao slowly loosened her bite and took several deep breaths.

But her tears still wouldn’t stop.

Finally, she couldn’t help but reach out and wrap her arms around his neck, continuing to cry softly.

In the neighboring room, Su Suihua could vaguely hear the sounds outside and let out a quiet sigh.

She recalled that back then, when Bai Ruoqiao had just come to the countryside, she was a delicate, shy, and stunningly pretty girl.

These past few years, she had been worn down by old Lady Zhao into what she was now.

An orphaned widow already had it hard enough, and she still had to guard against those with ill intentions.

Su Suihua had always feared that one day Bai Ruoqiao wouldn’t be able to fend off trouble.

Now things were finally looking better—Zhao Sihai had retired from the military.

She just didn’t know how serious his injuries were.

At the moment, nothing seemed out of place.

After a good cry, some of the emotional knots Bai Ruoqiao had carried from her past life were slowly starting to loosen.

The distance and unfamiliarity between the couple had also lessened.

Eventually, after crying for a while, she fell asleep.

Zhao Sihai carried her over to the other side of the sickbed to let her rest.

Since her rebirth, only a little over an hour had passed.

But in that time, she had schemed, acted, cried—
Bai Ruoqiao was truly exhausted.

Zhao Sihai fetched some water and carefully wiped the dirt off her face, hands, and feet.

Then he borrowed some medicinal ointment from Su Suihua and gently applied it to her ankle.

Her ankle wasn’t seriously injured, just a couple of scrapes.

All that blood had been chicken blood.

She had both processed and live chickens stored in her spatial dimension.

But even if it was just a scrape, it still made Zhao Sihai feel as if something had gripped his heart tightly.

His eyes were full of pain and guilt.

He knew life couldn’t have been easy for Bai Ruoqiao in the Zhao household.

That’s why he had arranged for some supplies to be sent to the village chief, asking him to discreetly look after the mother and son.

He just hadn’t expected their situation to be even worse than he imagined.

Now, he felt all the more relieved that he had chosen to retire and return home.

The next morning, when An’an woke up, he was already looking much better.

“The fever’s gone, and there’s no sign of it coming back. I’ll prescribe some medicine for another two days. Just be sure to keep him warm and out of drafts.”

After the examination, Dr. Liu smiled.

The couple both lit up with joy at his words.

“Thank you, Dr. Liu.”

“Thanks, Dr. Liu.”

Even An’an, still a little nasal and babyish, said sweetly,
“Thank you, Uncle Liu.”

Dr. Liu smiled and patted An’an on the head, then took a small cloth pouch from his pocket and handed it to him.

Bai Ruoqiao was momentarily stunned.
“Dr. Liu, this is…”

“Just a few lard candies. A friend sent them to me from the south. I’m not used to the flavor—leaving them around would be a waste.”

The moment the little guy heard the word “candy,” his eyes lit up.

He blinked his big eyes as he stared at the little blue floral pouch and couldn’t help swallowing.

Zhao Sihai watched from the side, heart aching a bit.

He made a mental note to buy his son more candy once they got back.

Bai Ruoqiao didn’t suspect anything after hearing Dr. Liu’s explanation.

She’d had lard candy before—it’s true that some people didn’t like the taste.

“Then thank you, Dr. Liu.” She looked at Zhao An’an,
“An’an, what do you say?”

An’an immediately gave a delighted yet shy smile, reached out to take the candy pouch, and said,
“Thank you, Uncle Liu.”

“Good boy. Be sure to listen to your mama and papa.”
Dr. Liu ruffled his little head with a smile, gave a few more instructions, and then left.

The three of them packed up their things. After Su Suihua brought the medicine, they were ready to head home.

“Bye-bye, Godmother~” the little one waved.

His little voice was soft and crisp, quite endearing.

Su Suihua waved back with a smile,
“Godmother doesn’t want to see you here again. I’ll come visit you tonight.”

Bai Ruoqiao smiled and exchanged a few polite words. Then the three of them rode the bicycle back to the village.

On the way, they happened to run into Fang Hanwu, who was also on his way to the health clinic.

Fang Hanwu looked at An’an, bundled in clothes with only his little mouth showing, being held in Bai Ruoqiao’s arms on the back seat.

“How’s An’an doing?”

“He’s fine now. The fever’s gone. Thank you for your help last night,” said Zhao Sihai.

Hearing this, Fang Hanwu breathed a sigh of relief.
“That’s good. I should be the one apologizing—it was my fault for not keeping a closer eye on things.”

He hadn’t expected the Zhao family to be so utterly shameless.

Zhao Sihai shook his head and didn’t say more.

In his heart, he understood all too well—knowing Zhao Laosan’s nature, the fact that things only exploded now was largely thanks to Fang Hanwu’s efforts to keep him in check over the years.

Fang Hanwu glanced at Bai Ruoqiao, who was gently patting her son’s back with her head down the entire time.

“By the way, about Zhao Laosan—we’ve already taken care of it for you, with Old Cheng and I making the final decision.”

Hearing this, Bai Ruoqiao finally looked up and met his gaze.