Chapter 55 : A Special Birthday Gift

Zhou Lin couldn’t bear it any longer. He couldn’t just stand by and watch his brother get beaten! He just couldn’t!

But Zhou Cheng stared at him in disappointment. “Zhou Lin!!!”

Zhou Lin sobbed as he crawled forward on his knees. “Brother, let’s just tell them. I can’t watch you get beaten, and I can’t let you ruin your reputation over this! You obviously didn’t steal anything!”

No matter how angry or anxious Zhou Cheng was, Zhou Lin just turned around and ran back into the house.

Zhou Tingyue and Song Shiwei exchanged glances before looking toward the door.

Everyone else turned to look as well.

The most excited person was Jiang Fengqin. She was eagerly guessing how much the boy had sold it for, while at the same time thinking that she wouldn’t be happy if the price was too low.

After a while, Zhou Lin came out of the house, holding a box in his arms.

He wiped his tears and said, “My brother is not a thief. He wasn’t home these past few days because he secretly went out to collect scrap! I can prove that he only sold the wheel for 80 cents!”

Zhou Tingyue frowned.

“Why were you out there picking up scrap? Are you short on something? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Song Shiwei didn’t think these kids were lacking anything.

Just as she was about to ask further, she saw Zhou Lin shake his head.

“We have everything! But, but…”

Song Shiwei was about to ask, “But what?”

Before he could answer, a figure suddenly rushed over, snatched the box from Zhou Lin’s arms, and prepared to open it with a greedy smile.

But Zhou Lin, now reacting, grabbed onto it tightly.

“Give it back to me!!”

Still, Jiang Fengqin managed to pry it open. She eagerly looked inside, only for her face to change instantly. In the next second, she viciously threw the box to the ground.

“What a piece of junk!”

The box hit the floor with a thud.

But this action seemed to trigger Zhou Cheng’s fury.

Like an arrow released from a bow, he shot toward Jiang Fengqin.

Although Jiang Fengqin was plump, she had no real strength.

Zhou Cheng, like a young bull, knocked her to the ground.

“Ouch, you damned little brat!”  

“I’m gonna die!”  

She wailed in pain, clutching her backside as if it had been split into four pieces.

“You’re the one who deserves to die!!!”  

Zhou Cheng’s eyes were red with rage, and he looked ready to charge at her again when Zhou Tingyue grabbed hold of him.

Meanwhile, Song Shiwei quickly picked up the fallen box.

The moment she saw what was inside, she froze her eyes shimmering as if on the verge of tears.

She lifted her gaze to Zhou Cheng, who was still struggling in Zhou Tingyue’s arms.

“You saved money for so many days… just to buy this?”

At her words, Zhou Cheng suddenly fell silent. He lowered his head and said nothing.

Zhou Lin, still crying, nodded. “Yes… my brother has been picking up scrap and selling it every day just to buy this. He accidentally saw your marriage certificate, and it had your birthday on it. He wanted to give you a surprise on your birthday…”

As Song Shiwei listened, tears finally spilled from her eyes.

Everyone was stunned.

What exactly was inside that box?

As Song Shiwei took out the things, everyone was shocked to see that the box actually contained a set of red head flowers that brides here would wear on their wedding day.

This set of headbands was still new, with white beads adorning the red petals like dewdrops, glistening and shimmering.

No one knew who started it, but suddenly, someone covered their mouth and began to cry. Sun Meimei and Jian Qiu also had tears in their eyes.

Zhou Tingyue’s Adam’s apple bobbed violently, and his chest rose and fell rapidly.

The arm holding onto Zhou Cheng trembled uncontrollably. His heart ached with a deep, unbearable pain. At that moment, he wished those blows had landed on him instead.

Zhou Lin wiped away his tears.

“My brother said that since you married into our family, we never held a wedding banquet for you. He didn’t want you to lack something that others have, so he secretly saved up to buy you a set of headpieces like this! We couldn’t find a brand-new one, so we bought this from an aunt in the village. She only wore it once on her wedding day, so it’s still very new! I hope you… don’t mind it!”

Song Shiwei couldn’t hold back any longer. Covering her face with her hands, she broke into tears.

She cried and shook her head. “I don’t mind! How could I mind?”

Clutching the delicate headpiece to her chest, she sobbed like a child.

“I love your birthday gift! I love it so much!”

Many of the onlookers were parents themselves, and upon witnessing the scene, they couldn’t help but shed silent tears.

Even Political Commissar Liu discreetly turned his head away to wipe the corners of his eyes.

Jiang Fengqin, who had been loud before, had not spoken a word since. She never expected that this child had been scavenging for scraps just to buy a hair ornament for his stepmother.

When she thought of her own children ignorant and carefree, only knowing how to play she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of envy.

Finally, with Political Commissar Liu as a witness, Song Shiwei took the eighty cents and returned it to Jiang Fengqin, bringing the matter to a close.

—

After returning home, Song Shiwei sat by Zhou Cheng’s bedside, looking at him lying there, sweat beading on his forehead. She reached out and gently wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Hurriedly, she fetched the medicinal wine for bruises and sprains, warmed it between her palms, and began to massage his legs.

As she rubbed, she started crying again.

Zhou Cheng, on the other hand, felt a little embarrassed.

“I’m sorry… I wanted to give you a surprise, but I messed everything up!”

Song Shiwei shook her head gently.

“No, I love this gift. I’m so happy that you bought me something! But from now on, don’t secretly pick up scraps anymore. Your father and I would feel terrible.”

Zhou Tingyue had washed his hands and walked over. Taking the medicinal wine from her, he poured some into his palms, warming it before lifting Zhou Cheng’s shirt. As soon as he saw the bruises and swelling on his son’s back, a sharp pang of guilt struck his heart.

“This time, I was wrong,” he said solemnly. “I shouldn’t have hit you.”

His large, calloused hand gently pressed against the red and swollen areas, making Zhou Cheng groan in pain.

Immediately, he lightened his touch.

“You need to massage these bruises, or they’ll hurt even more tomorrow.”

Zhou Lin, Zhou Wei, and Zhou Xinxin all lay on the bed, looking at Zhou Cheng with red-rimmed eyes.

Especially little Zhou Xinxin, who pouted and looked ready to cry. “Brother, let me help you blow on it!”

And with that, she puffed her cheeks and started blowing softly at his bruises. “Whoosh, whoosh!”

To be honest, Song Shiwei was really angry at Zhou Tingyue today.

He was good in many ways, but his methods of disciplining the children were too harsh!

And when she thought about the “hardship” that Zhou Cheng had kept from her how it was all because he wanted to give her a surprise for her birthday her heart felt like it was being pricked by needles.

Just for this one surprise, the child had stayed silent, even when accused of theft. Even when he was beaten so severely by Zhou Tingyue, he had refused to say a word.

The more she thought about it, the more upset she became.

Without another word, she reached out and pinched a handful of soft flesh on a certain someone’s lower back, hard.