◎ Second update ◎ 

Liang Baozhen solved a big problem on her end, and finally, she can sleep soundly at night. However, on the other hand, Liu Nianhua couldn’t fall asleep; she keeps tossing and turning. 

But she wasn’t worried—she was happy! 

She counted the eighteen yuan and fifty cents salary that she received several times. Even though she was lying in bed, she couldn’t help but turn over and take another look. Her eyes curved with joy, and the money she earned herself seemed even more precious! She thought it over—although she was scolded today, with more practice, she would definitely not suffer in the future. As long as she could make money, no matter how hard it was, it would be worth it! 

When she finally fell asleep in the middle of the night, there was still a smile on her lips. 

The next day, Liu Nianhua went home while carrying a pound of red shrimp crisps and a pound of egg cakes. 

In the past, whenever she bought something, Zhou Guoping would always think she was buying too much. But now that she was spending her own money that she earned, no one could criticize her, and her hands were much more decisive when paying. 

Liu Nianhua’s parents lived in a tube-shaped building in the east of the city. They had only one daughter, Liu Nianhua. Ever since her father gave his job to his son-in-law, the family had been relying on her mother’s salary earned from working in the textile factory. Her father was a popular figure back in the day because he could drive, and later he used his connection with the textile factory to become a temporary driver and help with transportation. Although the salary was low, they could still make ends meet. 

Anyway, for them, as long as their daughter’s family was living a better life, everything else was secondary. 

However, in the past month, their daughter had come back once or twice, but they hadn’t seen their son-in-law. Mother Liu was worried, wondering if Zhou Guoping’s job was too tiring and thinking of saving up some meat tickets to buy him meat to nourish his body. 

“Father, mother.” Liu Nianhua went upstairs and happened to see her mother making lunch in the corridor of the tube building. 

“Nianhua? Why are you here at this time?” 

The family had lunch together, and Liu Nianhua had prepared lunch for the children before leaving. 

“Look at you, spending money so extravagantly. Egg cakes are so expensive! It wouldn’t look good if Guoping saw this. Next time, make sure to buy some for your mother-in-law too, understand?” Mother Liu was happy that her daughter was thinking of them but also worried that her son-in-law and in-laws might have opinions. 

Liu Nianhua was eating the food her mother had cooked as she heard these words. She felt even more uncomfortable. Her family had been so sincere to Zhou Guoping, but in return, she was treated like this. 

After the family had finished their meal, Liu Nianhua glanced at her parents and finally spoke up, “Father, Mother, there’s something I need to tell you. Please don’t get upset and try not to let it trouble you too much.” 

It was rare for their daughter to be so serious. Father and Mother Liu looked at each other, their hearts beating fast. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nianhua, don’t scare us like this. Did something happen to you?” Mother Liu said, eyeing her daughter with concern. She noticed that Nianhua seemed a bit tired lately, but her eyes remained bright and clear. 

“I divorced Zhou Guoping.” Liu Nianhua had thought this would be a difficult thing to say to her parents, but after saying it, she felt a sense of relief. She didn’t care about the opinions or gossip of others; as long as her parents and children could stand on her side that’s already enough. 

When Mother Liu heard this, she leaned back and almost fainted. Liu Nianhua had been thinking about her mother’s poor health, so she hurried to calm her down and said softly, “Mother, don’t worry.” 

“Nianhua, what… what happened? How could you get divorced just like that?” 

Father Liu’s reaction was not that big, but his voice was trembling. “Nianhua, sit down and tell us what happened.” 

Liu Nianhua told her parents everything, from the moment she discovered that something was wrong with Zhou Guoping to the moment she caught him cheating, as well as his hypocrisy towards her over the years. All the pain she had gone through in her marriage were summed up in just a few sentences, and now that she was telling them, it seemed she had become much calmer. 

After hearing what her daughter said, Mother Liu was stunned for a moment, then stood up and looked around for something. Her eyes widened slightly, and she kept muttering, “Zhou Guoping, that scoundrel, how dare he treat my daughter like this!” 

Her voice trembled, and her eyes reddened as she grabbed a broom and tried to rush out. Their family had shown him nothing but sincerity, and he could be so ungrateful? 

“Mother, calm down and sit down and have a rest.” Liu Nianhua and Father Liu helped her mother sit on the sofa and persuaded her, “Don’t worry, I didn’t let him have an easy time. Wang Fang’s husband broke his hand, so he won’t be able to drive anymore. As for the job position, I’ve taken it back. I’m now working as a ticket seller and can work and earn my own money. In the past, Zhou Guoping would only give us ten yuan, and we lived a tight life. Now look, I just got my salary yesterday, eighteen yuan and fifty cents.” 

Liu Nianhua spread out the bills in her hands and showed them to her parents. “Don’t worry, I can take care of Xiaolong and Xiaohu.” 

Mother Liu couldn’t stop her tears, but since the damage had already been done, all she could think was how unfortunate her daughter was, “How did you end up with someone like him!” 

Father Liu frowned and looked uncomfortable. He held a cigarette in his mouth and took a few puffs. His eyes were red. He had been a bus driver for many years and knew many people who drove in the city. He had to find out if Zhou Guoping really couldn’t drive anymore. He couldn’t let him get away with it! 

*** 

Liang Zhiqing and his family of three were taken to the vagrant detention center. In a hurry, Fang Yuehe hurriedly grabbed her belongings and didn’t notice the medicine bag that rolled into the corner of the gate. 

The next day, Cheng Caili came back from work and was about to look for Liang Baozhen. She saw the medicine bag on the way. It was wrapped in yellow paper and tied with a thin string, as if someone had discarded it there. 

When she picked it up, she saw a corner of a paper sticking out from inside, with the word “infertility” written on it. When she pulled it out, she saw that it was a prescription for treating infertility. Just these two words pierced Cheng Caili’s eyes. 

She and Lu Yuan had been married for three years, but she had never gotten pregnant. There were many rumors and whispers outside about her, and some even said that she couldn’t get pregnant because Lu Yuan hadn’t chosen a good wife. Because of this, the good-tempered Lu Yuan got angry with someone for the first time, and Cheng Caili even confronted the person with a kitchen knife, which barely stopped the rumors. 

Despite all their efforts, they still couldn’t have a child, which left both her and Lu Yuan feeling anxious. They managed to put on a brave face in public, but privately, they were struggling. Even though her in-laws never said it outright, every daughter-in-law who hadn’t had a child after so many years was bound to face judgment. 

Even Cheng Caili’s own mother was worried. She frequently suggested various remedies for Cheng Caili and Lu Yuan, and recently, desperate for a solution, Cheng Caili had turned to a superstitious ritual and burned talismans for them. 

Despite the push to eradicate old customs and superstitions, Cheng Caili and Lu Yuan were so desperate that they decided to try it. They performed the ritual at three thirty in the morning and used a match to burn the talismans under the moonlight. Unfortunately, that place happened to be right under the window of Xu’s house. Lu Yuan, being clumsy, felt like a thief and even bumped into Liang Baozhen’s window. Thankfully, they ran away quickly and weren’t spotted. 

The next day, he felt a little uncomfortable when he saw Liang Baozhen, worried that he might have frightened her. 

In the city, running into familiar faces was common when seeking medical help. Lu Yuan worked at the busy steel factory, so keeping their visit to the hospital a secret would be difficult, and news would likely spread quickly in Crescent Alley. That’s why, when Cheng Caili saw the package of infertility treatment medicine, she was tempted, thinking that this way she would prevent gossip from spreading. 

Cheng Caili was a little desperate and tried all kinds of medical treatments, but she had heard that some places had secret recipes that were really effective, and looking at this medicine bag, she guessed that it was effective too. She just didn’t know who had used it and then discarded it after. 

Since things were already like this, she might as well give it a try! 

Tonight was also the night for burning talismans, and with an extra bowl of medicine, it was a double effort. She hoped it would work! 

After sending off Liang Zhiqing and his family, Liang Baozhen felt much more relaxed. When she got home from work, she felt that everything was perfect at home, and there was no annoying noise. 

After dinner, Zhou Yun was knitting a sweater and glanced at Liang Baozhen several times. It seemed that she wanted to say something but was hesitating to speak. 

“Grandma, do you need something? Why do you keep looking at me?” 

Zhou Yun was worried that Liang Baozhen might have been upset by what her uncle and aunt had said and wanted to comfort her. However, she was also concerned that she might add more pressure on her granddaughter-in-law. When it came to having children, she believed that there was no need to rush. She had seen couples who didn’t have children for five or six years and suddenly became pregnant. 

“It’s nothing, just don’t listen to your aunt’s nonsense and live your life as usual. You two are both young and haven’t been married for long.” 

“I know, grandma.” Liang Baozhen was not really worried about these things. After all, she had recalled the plot in the book and knew more than people today. In this era, people generally blamed women for infertility and repeatedly forced them to take medicine. No one thought it could be a man’s problem. But she knew that with the development of medicine in the future, it would be possible to find out if someone had the problem. 

“Grandma, don’t worry. Baozhen and I are not in a hurry.” Xu Shengjie wasn’t very fixated on having children. The main reason was that he had brought up his two siblings, Xiaowei and Xiaoya, and had experienced enough of the hardships of raising children. It didn’t matter if his own child came later. 

Liang Baozhen listened to Xu Shengjie’s words and pretended to mention it casually, but she was afraid of revealing that she knew too much in front of Xu Shengjie. 

“Whether or not one can get pregnant is not necessarily a woman’s problem. Nowadays, everyone is biased and puts all the blame on women. Infertility often has to do with men too.” 

Xu Shengjie nodded. He wasn’t actually concerned about this and had never thought much about Liang Baozhen’s situation. But what did his wife’s words mean? 

Was she suggesting something by saying that infertility could be a man’s problem? 

That night, Liang Baozhen finally realized that Xu Shengjie had misunderstood. A man’s problem is not necessarily whether he works hard or not… But it seems that everything is too late now… 

The author has something to say: 

Xu Shengjie: “Is it a man’s problem? I understand now.” 

Liang Baozhen: “…What do you understand?!”