Chapter 16: Zhang Tingyuan Comes Back Alive

Who else could it be but his newlywed wife?

Lin Bingwei was so excited she was about to cry.

He’s alive, and he wasn’t carried out on a stretcher.

Look at him—he’s not dead, which means the major plot points can be changed.

“Zhang Tingyuan.”

She hurried towards him, carrying the new year goods she had just bought.

Zhang Tingyuan smiled at her and said to the two comrades supporting him, “This is my wife whom I married three months ago; her name is Lin Bingwei.”

The two comrades laughed and called her “sister-in-law.”

Lin Bingwei felt a bit awkward, “Thank you for bringing him back.”

What she was more concerned about now was Zhang Tingyuan’s injury.

“I heard you were injured and came back to recover. Is it a serious injury?”

Zhang Tingyuan nodded, then shook his head, “Not serious, don’t cry.”

Lin Bingwei: “…”

He almost died if it weren’t for her insisting he keep the compass on him.

The bullet lodged in the compass, half of it embedded in flesh, broke a rib.

The military doctor said if it weren’t for the compass, he would have died.

Compared to death, this injury really isn’t that serious.

Lin Bingwei curiously looked at the area where his heart was, raising her hand to poke it, but the comrade beside him quickly blocked her.

“Sister-in-law, you can’t touch that; Brother Tingyuan is seriously injured, with a broken rib, and it nearly hit his heart. Originally, he should have stayed in the hospital to recover, but he insisted on coming back, so we brought him.”

Just hearing that made her heart race; he still said it wasn’t serious.

After confirming his identity, several medical staff arranged for him to lie on a stretcher, saying they needed to take him back to the hospital first for a check-up. They would only let him go home if there were no major issues.

Zhang Tingyuan looked at Lin Bingwei, his gaze falling on the pile of things she was carrying.

“No need, I checked before I left; my wife is here to pick me up, and I just want to get home as soon as possible.”

The doctor said, “Comrade Tingyuan, although you were checked before getting on the train, the bumps along the way might cause secondary injuries. You must go back to the hospital with us for an examination.”

They were at a standstill.

The young comrade who came back with him said, “Brother Tingyuan, you need to listen to the doctor; we have to take the doctor’s report back to report.”

Lin Bingwei also urged him, “You need to listen to the doctor; we can go back a little later; it’s not a big deal.”

Only then did he relent, “Alright, then you all hurry.”

Lin Bingwei followed them onto the 1980s ambulance to the nearest hospital. After a careful examination, they confirmed there were indeed no major issues and prescribed some external and internal medications before giving the report to the two young comrades to take back for accountability.

They also arranged for a vehicle to take them back to Zhangjia.

After coming down the road, there were still two more miles to go, and Zhang Tingyuan had to be carried back.

Even walking a few careful steps was risky; two miles was impossible to walk.

This was quite a spectacle; many people in the village saw it, completely surrounding their home.

Li Yurong then learned he was injured. Having already lost one son, with rumors in the village that their family would die out, she was immediately frightened and lost her composure.

“What happened? How did you get injured? Why couldn’t he walk and had to be carried back?”

Lin Bingwei hurriedly comforted her, holding her hand, only to realize that the hands, full of calluses, were trembling violently.

“Mom, the doctor said it’s fine; he just needs to rest a bit.”

“He can’t even walk; how can it be fine? Tingyuan… Tingyuan won’t die, will he?”

This…

“No, we just came back from the hospital. I watched the whole examination, and the doctor said everything is fine. Look, this is the medicine prescribed by the doctor. As long as I take the medicine and change the dressings on time, I’ll recover quickly.”

Li Yurong reluctantly believed it, but her body still trembled uncontrollably.

The two male comrades who brought him back helped to comfort Li Yurong and then advised Lin Bingwei before leaving.

From now on, the nursing would rely on them.

Li Yurong sat by the bed, tears streaming down her face, “Tingyuan, are you really okay?”

Zhang Tingyuan replied, “Mom, I’m really fine. Didn’t you hear what the comrades said? I just broke a rib, and I’ll be fine in a few days.”

“A few days? Do you think I’m foolish? Injuries to muscles and bones take a hundred days to heal. I’ve studied; I graduated from middle school. If it weren’t for… I even got into a girls’ high school, but I just didn’t go.”

Lin Bingwei: “…” So I’m the second least educated in the family?

No way, after the New Year, I’m going to sign up for the college entrance examination.

Zhang Tingyuan’s confidence wasn’t as strong as before, and he said, “It’s not serious, right?”

Saying this, he looked at Lin Bingwei and said, “Weiwei, could you help me take out the red cloth bag from that box?”

Lin Bingwei didn’t understand but did as he asked.

Zhang Tingyuan opened the red cloth bag, revealing the pierced compass inside.

Li Yurong exclaimed, “Your dad’s compass, what happened to it?”

Zhang Tingyuan said, “Luckily, Dad asked Weiwei to give me the compass for protection. The bullet hit here; if it weren’t for it, I would have really died. I just feel sorry for the founder; the compass is broken.”

Li Yurong felt a lingering fear, recalling Lin Bingwei’s words from that day.

She said she dreamed something would happen to Tingyuan, so she took the compass to protect him.

It turned out to be true.

Li Yurong slapped her thigh and began to cry.

“Oh dear, this isn’t your dad asking Weiwei to give you the compass. This is Weiwei having a bad dream, afraid you would die, so she brought the compass to you.”

Zhang Tingyuan looked at Lin Bingwei in surprise.

Lin Bingwei smiled and said, “I was afraid you would think my dream was unreliable and wouldn’t listen to me, so I had to bring up Dad and the founder.”

Li Yurong was so emotional that tears kept flowing, and she even wanted to kneel down to Lin Bingwei.

Lin Bingwei was startled and quickly supported her.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

Li Yurong excitedly stammered her thanks, then held Lin Bingwei’s hand and pulled Zhang Tingyuan’s hand, making them overlap.

“Tingyuan, Weiwei saved your life and our whole family’s life. You better treat her well, do you hear me?”

Hearing this, Zhang Tingyuan tightened his grip on Lin Bingwei’s hand, “Mom, don’t worry, I will definitely treat Weiwei well.”

Only then did Li Yurong feel relieved, wiped her tears, and said she would go make them something to eat before leaving.

Lin Bingwei didn’t get to see him until almost three o’clock. After going to the hospital for a check-up and then returning to the village, it was almost dark.

After Li Yurong left, Lin Bingwei heard villagers outside asking about Zhang Tingyuan’s condition, and Li Yurong answered them one by one.

She said it was nothing serious and that he would be fine after resting for a while.

But from the way they spoke, it seemed some people didn’t believe it.

They said some unpleasant things and even brought up the incident from that year when they dug up a pregnant woman.

Zhang Tingyuan heard this and frowned.

Lin Bingwei said, “You’ve been away these years, so you wouldn’t know that they often hear such things.”

Zhang Tingyuan looked at her in surprise. He had indeed been away for years and could barely stay a few days when he returned on vacation