Chapter 11: Let Him Go Raise Someone Else’s Child

Grandma Zhang lived alone, just separated from Xie Yunshu’s home by a single wall. She had basically watched Yunshu grow up and was like a grandmother to her. When Yunshu’s father got into trouble, Li Fenlan cried every day, and it was Grandma Zhang who came daily to bring meals to the siblings.

During those darkest days, Grandma Zhang was the only warmth in a world that had grown cold.

Xie Yunshu would never forget this kindness.

But Grandma Zhang was old and couldn’t distinguish truth from falsehood clearly anymore. She just held Xie Yunshu’s hand and said, “Yunshu girl, you have to take good care of yourself! What would happen to Fenlan otherwise?”

Xie Yunshu’s eyes stung. She forced a cheerful tone as she stood up, “Don’t worry, Grandma, I’m fine! Wait for me, I’m going home to cook and will bring some over soon!”

As she stepped outside, she saw Li Fenlan carrying three big cabbages on her shoulder, with a large bag of tofu and vermicelli in her hand. Yunshu quickly stepped forward to take them.

Li Fenlan quietly asked, “Yunshu, did you argue with Cuiping again?”

The two girls had never gotten along since childhood — whenever they met, it was always fighting or quarreling. But Yunshu never really lost.

Xie Yunshu opened the door and snapped back, “She deserved a smack! Next time she dares again, I’ll slap her hard!”

“You’re really something with that temper!” Li Fenlan sighed, putting down the cabbage but still tried to advise her: “Listen to your mom — in our situation now, it’s best not to cause trouble.”

Without a man at home, it’s easy to get bullied. If Yunshu divorced Lu Zhixing, who knows how much more people in this apartment block would laugh at her.

Yunshu had always been straightforward and fiery, with clear likes and dislikes. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been driven crazy by Lu Zhixing’s cold violence and subtle psychological pressure in her dreams. Maybe after this big ordeal, she’d change a bit and realize that actions speak louder than words.

Everyone was waiting to see her become a hysterical failure, but she was determined to live a different life!

“Even if we bow our heads, they’ll only keep pushing us further,” Yunshu said firmly, smiling as she carried the cabbages out one by one. “Once I start making money, they’ll all behave!”

Workers, iron rice bowls — it’s all about making money! She didn’t believe that in this world, there’s no way to earn money except by being a worker. Which rich person or big boss ever got there by being a worker?

Yunshu’s whole being seemed full of energy. Li Fenlan didn’t say more and smiled as she started the fire under the pot, “Pick out some fatty pork. I’ll render lard to fry your dishes — guaranteed to be delicious!”

Yunshu exaggeratedly opened her mouth in surprise, “Mom, you’re really cooking? Tomorrow if I sell lunch boxes, won’t people go crazy to buy them?”

This girl — as if she’d never eaten the food her mother made before!

Li Fenlan laughed and threw big chunks of pork into the hot pan. The small balcony quickly filled with the delicious aroma. Life was tough, but the pork still smelled wonderful…

At the hospital family quarters, Zhou Xinyue tucked her hair behind her ears, her face flushed, and said, “Zhixing, do you have any clothes that need washing? I can do it for you.”

Lu Zhixing slightly frowned, “No need, I can do it myself.”

Though busy with work, he wasn’t a spoiled rich kid used to having everything done for him. But since Xie Yunshu married him, she took such good care of him that he’d gotten used to it and found it hard to adjust.

He wouldn’t let another woman wash his clothes.

The house wasn’t messy, but Zhou Xinyue was hesitant and looked toward the locked bedroom with a flicker of excitement, “I wonder when Yunshu will come back. Should I go with you to persuade her?”

“She’s upset. Staying home a few days to clear her head might be good.” Lu Zhixing’s tone was calm as he glanced outside, “Xiaowei should be out of school by now. You should go.”

Zhou Xinyue’s smile stiffened. If it weren’t for having a reason to get close to Lu Zhixing, she wouldn’t bother raising a child!

“Zhixing, could you come with me to pick him up?” she pleaded, lifting her head with a fragile look in her eyes. “Xiaowei’s been having stomach aches at night. I didn’t want to trouble you, but he really wants you…”

“Stomach ache?” Lu Zhixing put on his coat and followed her out, voice serious, “Why didn’t you say earlier? If a kid has regular stomach pain, it needs attention!”

Zhou Xinyue hesitated, “Because of him, you and my sister-in-law have been fighting so much, I felt bad…”

Mentioning Xie Yunshu’s name made Lu Zhixing pause. He sighed, “Once things settle down here, I’ll explain everything to her slowly. We’re husband and wife; misunderstandings will be cleared sooner or later.”

To him, Yunshu had just misunderstood his relationship with Zhou Xinyue. If not for Xiaowei’s frail health, he wouldn’t be so involved. Zhou’s family had helped his family, and since he was a doctor, he couldn’t just stand aside.

They stayed inside for a while before leaving together. Chen Xue squinted at the darkening sky outside. Looks like Mrs. Lu’s position was about to be taken by someone else! Luckily, she was close to Zhou Xinyue.

Xie Yunshu was really clueless. Even now, she dared to throw a tantrum and stay at her parents’ house instead of coming back. Who knows where she got the confidence to argue with Lu Zhixing!

Her man was with another woman, and Yunshu didn’t care one bit. They were getting a divorce anyway. If Lu Zhixing wanted to raise someone else’s child, let him!

“Sis, this is amazing! I could eat three big bowls of rice!” Xie Mingcheng came home from school starving, drooling over the dishes on the table.

At seventeen or eighteen, he was at his prime for eating. As he stuffed rice into his mouth, he sighed, “After working on the construction site all day, if I could eat a hot, tasty meal like this, I’d feel energized all over!”

On Sundays, he worked as a casual laborer at the site, earning five yuan a day — two less than regular workers. At noon, like the others, he ate cold rice soaked in hot water.

He was lucky he only worked one day a week and could still have some hot food at home in the evening. Migrant workers, however, slept in crude sheds and only went home after the project was finished. Most days at noon, they ate the same cold meals with no fat or oil.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to spend money — the places selling food were too far away, and going back and forth wasted too much time.

Yunshu asked, “Where are the workers from?”

“All over! North, south — just all big tough guys!” Xie Mingcheng took another sip of hot soup, then put down his bowl satisfied. Even though there wasn’t much meat in the dishes, he felt it tasted better than eating actual meat.