◎ Second update ◎ 

Zhang Rong and her family were also resting in the courtyard. As they came out, they happened to face the entrance of Liu Nianhua’s house and saw her busy with a jar of pickled vegetables. Zhang Rong walked over to take a look. 

“Nianhua, don’t you ever take a break?” Zhang Rong had rarely seen someone so busy. However, it’s understandable since she was the only one responsible for her family now and had to manage everything on her own, without any help. 

Liu Nianhua had taken off her thick cotton coat and was wearing an old, thin one. She rolled up her sleeves and felt warm. With a smile, she replied, “I have to hurry; it’ll taste good by spring.” 

“Nianhua, you’re really capable,” Zhou Jun said as he walked to the stove and saw the pickled cabbage in her jar, which smelled just right! 

Zhou Qingdang got off work early today. Seeing Liu Nianhua busy again, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. Then he turned to look at the two kids, Xiao Long and Xiao Hu. 

“Xiao Long, Xiao Hu, come here.” 

“Uncle Zhou, are we going to ride horses?” 

“You think about riding horses every day, right?” Zhou Qingdang was familiar with the two and patted their heads, and they obediently accepted it. 

“Xiao Long, Xiao Hu, don’t make trouble for your Uncle Zhou.” Liu Nianhua glanced up, feeling a bit embarrassed to bother her neighbor. 

“Sister Hua, it’s okay.” Zhou Qingdang then looked at her again without hesitation.  

“Nianhua!” Luo Hongmei came over from the back, ran to the west wing in small steps, and showed a happy expression. “There’s a good news!” 

“Aunt Luo? What is it?” Liu Nianhua’s right hand was still in the pickled vegetable jar, digging into the cabbage. 

“There’s a man from the alley next door who asked me to introduce him to someone. I thought of you right away!” 

Yesterday, Yao Haoyu introduced a man to Luo Hongmei, mentioning that he was a widower living in the alley next door. Though he had lost his wife, he wasn’t very old—only 32 this year, just four or five years older than Liu Nianhua. Most importantly, he had no children!  

“Listen to these conditions. His wife has passed away, and he hasn’t had any kids. If you marry him, you can take charge, and Xiao Long and Xiao Hu won’t be bullied. It’d be great if he treats them like his own.” 

Liu Nianhua was a little confused. Why did someone suddenly come to propose marriage? “I…” 

“Even if you don’t think of yourself, you should think of the kids. It’s not enough with just you at home. Xiao Long and Xiao Hu still need a father to look after them. Otherwise, who knows how they’ll grow up? Besides, it can help relieve some of your pressure. It seems that you can support three people with your salary now, but what will you do when the children grow up? Are you not going to get married? Aren’t you worried about being alone?

Luo Hongmei is good at scolding people and persuading people. After talking to her like this, Liu Nianhua is really tempted. 

In fact, Liu Nianhua’s parents had also been urging her to find someone these days. Widows often attract trouble, and given that she was quite good-looking, it was easy for her to become a target. If someone were to slander her, it could become a real issue. 

However, after her experience with Zhou Guoping, Liu Nianhua always felt a little scared, worried that she might encounter another bad situation. After all, Zhou Guoping had initially seemed decent; who knew he would change later? 

“Nianhua, you should really give it a try, just meet and see how it goes.” Zhang Rong, who was listening nearby, felt that what Luo Hongmei said was reasonable this time. It was too difficult and tiring for Liu Nianhua to raise her children alone, and she should find someone to live with her. 

“It’s really hard to find someone around your age who doesn’t already have children.” 

At their age, it wasn’t easy for divorced or widowed men to find a new partner. Most remarriages involved both sides bringing children from previous relationships. Living together later would often lead to scheming and conflicts, with each parent trying to make sure their own children got more attention, which inevitably caused some people to feel wronged. 

Zhou Qingdang heard his mother joining in and was about to say something when he saw Liu Nianhua nod. 

“Aunt Luo, I’ll go back and think about it. Can I give you an answer in a few days?” 

It was fine as long as she didn’t refuse directly. Luo Hongmei persuaded her a few more times before leaving. 

Zhou Qingdang hurriedly stepped forward and accidentally knocked over the empty porcelain basin by the stove. It crashed to the ground with a sharp, ringing sound. 

Zhang Rong took a look at her son and wondered why her usually calm son was acting so reckless all of a sudden. 

***  

Liang Baozhen was lying on the bed, with her grandmother Zhou Yun next to her. Because Xu Shengjie and his grandmother were worried about her sleeping alone at night, worried something might happen, Grandma would sleep with her when Xu Shengjie was on night shifts. 

Fortunately, Xu Shengjie had taken leave from his night shifts. With his wife about to give birth, he needed to be home at night since she could give birth at any time.

During the day, Zhou Yun was busy preparing everything Liang Baozhen needed for the hospital when she give birth and getting clothes ready for her great-grandchild, which kept her quite occupied and made her sleep deeply at night. 

After waking up, Zhou Yun helped Liang Baozhen put on her clothes. It was not very convenient for her to move around, especially bending down and turning around. Once that was done, Zhou Yun went out to prepare breakfast. The moment she stepped outside, she heard Luo Hongmei, with her loud voice, shouting that there had been a robbery at the State Cotton Factory last night! 

Luo Hongmei had gone to the vegetable market early in the morning. On the way, she overheard a few workers in blue uniforms talking about the robbery at the State Cotton Factory and rushed back to the courtyard to share the news. 

“They say in the middle of the night someone almost got away with breaking into the office where they keep the safe!” 

“What could be in the factory’s safe? Must be a lot of money, right?” 

“Who knows, but they caught him.” 

Liang Baozhen, who was brushing her teeth, quickly rinsed her mouth and spit out the foam when she heard this, then hurried over. Qian Jingjing saw her rushing and told her to slow down. 

“Aunt Luo, was there really a robbery at the State Cotton Factory?” 

“Yes, people outside are talking about it.” 

There is no wall that is impenetrable. There are so many people working in the State Cotton Factory that any disturbance cannot be concealed and will spread throughout the city in no time. 

Liang Baozhen was curious, so she hurried out after breakfast. However, she couldn’t walk fast, so she could only walk slowly into the factory. As soon as she arrived at the gate, she heard many workers discussing this matter. 

“They say there were three thieves. Goodness, they even brought knives!” 

“They broke open the safe and were about to take off with the money in a big bag.” 

“If they had escaped, they’d have hit the jackpot, huh?” 

“Zhang Laoguai, are you hoping to get rich like that too?” 

“No, no, I wouldn’t dare!” 

“It was the middle of the night. Fortunately, the two young comrades in the cotton cleaning workshop discovered something was wrong and arrested those thieves. Otherwise, the security department would be in big trouble!” 

“I heard someone got hurt, right?” 

“Yes, he was stabbed. I heard there was blood all over the floor. He’s still in the health station.” 

Young comrades working the night shift in the cotton cleaning workshop? Liang Baozhen felt something was wrong. Xu Shengjie and Hong Saner were working the night shift yesterday! 

“Comrade, what are the names of those two people?”

“I don’t know. I can’t remember their names.”

“I think one of them is Xu; I heard one of them calling the other ‘Old Xu!'”

Liang Baozhen’s face turned pale, and she put her hands on her waist and turned to go to the health station. 

There is a health station inside the State Cotton Factory, located in a red brick building in the center of the factory. It is convenient for both workers and families in the housing area. Most minor illnesses could be treated there, and only more serious conditions required a trip to the hospital. 

But most people avoided hospitals unless absolutely necessary since they were too expensive. The factory health station only charges a registration fee of 5 cents, and other medicines are free of charge. The basic expenses are all covered by the factory’s employee medical insurance, and each person only needs to pay one yuan per year. Hospitals, on the other hand, were much more expensive. Everyone is living a frugal life, so how can they afford to spend that money? 

Liang Baozhen was anxious and quickened her pace. What did that man say? He was injured and bleeding all over the floor? Could it be Xu Shengjie? 

Xu Shengjie was tall and have good skills, so Baozhen believed he wouldn’t get hurt easily, but the three thieves were carrying knives! 

You never knew. When backed into a corner, even a dog would jump over a wall. And knives don’t have eyes. 

The more she thought about it, the paler her face became as her mind raced with different scenarios, and she unconsciously walked faster. 

“Ow!!!” 

Just as she reached the door of the health station, Liang Baozhen heard a man screaming in pain, as if he was in terrible pain. Her heart clenched. 

“Comrade, are the two workers who caught the thieves here for treatment?” 

The nurse glanced at the pregnant woman standing before her. Her voice seemed familiar, though she didn’t recognize her. “Yes, they’re inside that room getting their wounds bandaged.”  

“Thank you.” Liang Baozhen couldn’t wait any longer and rushed in the direction the nurse pointed. 

When she walked to the door, she saw three people in the room. Two men were sitting, and a nurse in a white coat was busy working next to them. Xu Shengjie was sitting on a chair with his back to me. 

“Xu Shengjie!” Liang Baozhen shouted and walked quickly inside. 

“Why are you here?” Xu Shengjie turned around when he heard the familiar voice. He didn’t expect his wife to be here. He quickly stood up and went to help her. “Why are you here at the health station?” 

“Are you hurt?” Liang Baozhen pulled his arm, then checked him from head to toe. It seemed that he was fine! 

“No.” Xu Shengjie understood that his wife must have heard about the thief incident at the factory and thought he was injured, so she hurried over to the health station to check. “Don’t worry, it’s just catching a few thieves, I’m not that weak.” 

Only then did Liang Baozhen feel a bit more relieved. 

At that moment, Hong Saner, who was next to them and was wincing in pain while getting his arm bandaged. “…” 

He felt a bit insulted. 

“Ow, ow, comrade nurse, be gentle, be gentle.” 

Hong Saner is not afraid of anything except pain! Even if it hurts a little, he can scream out in pain. People who don’t know what’s going on may think something is wrong. 

“Are you really not injured? Do you want to ask the doctor to check again? I’ve heard of cases where people thought they were fine after a bump, but later realized they were hurt inside.” 

A long time ago, there was a child in Damei Village who fell down and hit his head on the ground. At the time, he thought he was okay, just felt a bit of pain and didn’t think much of it. He seemed energetic, but that night, he died in his sleep.

People said if he had gone to see a doctor earlier for a check-up, such tragedy might have been avoided. 

“It’s really fine, not a scratch at all.” Xu Shengjie caught three thieves today, but they were useless and didn’t touch him at all. However, he saw Liang Baozhen was sweating from anxiety as she came all the way here, so he helped her sit down on the chair in the health station. He was about to lift up his sleeves to wipe his wife’s face, but he felt his work clothes were dirty after working the night shift, so he reached into his trouser pocket and quickly took out a gray plaid handkerchief. 

He wiped her forehead with it. 

Hong Saner looked at the two people next to him and finally he understood why this old man was carrying a handkerchief; it seemed like he was preparing it for his wife. 

Tsk tsk, how annoying! 

The author has something to say: 

Hong Saner: I’m full of dog food ⊙﹏⊙ 

The thieves harmed my body, but you both harmed my heart!