Chapter 140: Just Two Broken Hearts Together

“Ningning, keep this money; Second brother doesn’t need it.” Shen Zhengliang returned the hundred yuan Shen Chuning had given her brother to him.

“Second brother, take this money; consider it a loan,” Shen Chuning, unusually serious, said, “Your wedding is a big event; it needs to be done properly.”

Shen Zhengliang gave a wry smile, “Ningning, my wedding is different from yours and Big brother’s. You married your soulmates, your revolutionary companions.  But I’m just…”

Shen Zhengliang smiled wryly again, shaking his head, “Forget it, let’s not talk about it.”

Then, he looked at Shen Chuning, “Ningning, Second brother accepts your kindness. But not taking the money wasn’t just my decision; it was a decision made with the Li family.

Father and I have already discussed it. We won’t hold a wedding banquet; we’ll just give them ten yuan as a token. The Li family will give some new cotton-padded quilts as a dowry. After Big brother’s wedding, we’ll choose a good day, and I’ll bring Li Xiaolan home.”

Shen Chuning sighed inwardly.

She understood that neither Shen Zhengliang nor Li Xiaolan wanted a wedding banquet; after all, neither was marrying their beloved.

They were simply two heartbroken people forced together by circumstances.

For them, there was nothing to celebrate about this marriage.

Shen Chuning didn’t refuse anymore and took the money back.

However, she couldn’t help but worry that Li Xiaolan had already had suicidal thoughts, and if she was forced to marry her second brother, she might still be unhappy…

As Shen Zhengliang was about to leave, Shen Chuning couldn’t help but ask, “Second brother, did you see Wang Yumeng today?”

Shen Zhengliang paused, didn’t answer, and left.

Seeing his expression, Shen Chuning could only sigh.

After Shen Zhengliang left, Lin Shulan brought Shen Chuning food and asked about her family.

She told her to speak up if her family needed any help.

She also told her not to cook dinner after work; the water was freezing cold in winter.

If she didn’t want to eat at their place, she would bring her food over.

Her mother-in-law was so kind that Shen Chuning felt embarrassed, “Mother, you don’t have to do this. I see the sisters-in-law in the village still working even when they’re pregnant. I can cook my own meals.

Besides, I haven’t gone to the hospital to confirm yet; what if it’s just a delayed period and I’m not pregnant?”

Lin Shulan deliberately frowned, “Whether you’re pregnant or not, Mother is willing to take care of you. You never did any work in winter at your parents’ home, and now that you’re married to our family, Mother can’t let you live worse than you did at your parents’ home!”

After her mother-in-law said this, Shen Chuning would be being unreasonable to refuse.

She smiled and hugged Lin Shulan’s arm, “Thank you, Mother. I won’t be polite then; I’ll eat at your place from now on.”

The two houses were close, separated only by a wall.

Lin Shulan patted her hand, “That’s my good daughter.”

“By the way, is the third son coming home tonight?” Lin Shulan asked Shen Chuning.

Shen Chuning shook her head, “Brother Yubai said he might be very busy recently and might not be able to come back.”

Lin Shulan nodded, “That’s right. Our brigade has announced a meeting for tomorrow; it’s probably about finding people to build roads in the mountains.

Once the roads are built, the oil in the mountains will be mined and transported out, so the third son will definitely be busy during this time.”

After Shen Chuning finished eating, Lin Shulan took the dishes back to wash.

After washing up, Shen Chuning moved the small table Zhou Yubai had made for her to the bed.

She warmed herself under the covers and began to review the accounting knowledge she had recalled from her dream.

She planned to share as many techniques as possible with the accountants in the town to help improve their skills, which was another way of cultivating talent for the country.

Before, Shen Chuning could read and take notes until eleven or twelve o’clock without feeling tired.

Now, around nine o’clock, she was sleepy, and with the dim kerosene lamp, she felt blurry-eyed and couldn’t see the words clearly.

She didn’t dare to stay up late anymore, and she was afraid that she might fall asleep and accidentally knock over the kerosene lamp, setting the house on fire.

So, she put away her notebook, extinguished the lamp, and went to sleep.

Before sleeping, she was thinking that it would be great if the village could get electricity soon. Once they had electricity, it would be much more convenient for her to read, study, and work at night.

At least it wouldn’t hurt her eyes as much as under the kerosene lamp.

The next day, when she got off work, she heard good news from Lin Shulan.

At today’s brigade meeting, they not only discussed building roads but also getting electricity.

Everyone was asked to consider how many lamps they wanted to install in their homes because the electricity fee was still charged on a “per-lamp” basis.

That is, it was charged according to the number of lamps and the wattage of the bulbs. A 15-watt bulb cost four cents a month, and a 25-watt bulb cost six cents.

Shen Chuning immediately told Lin Shulan that they wanted 25-watt bulbs in every room, including the kitchen and bathroom, a total of five lamps.

Lin Shulan didn’t think she was wasting money on so many lamps; after listening to her, she nodded, “Okay, Mother will register for you at the brigade tomorrow.”

Then Lin Shulan talked about building roads. There wasn’t much work to do in winter, and even strong laborers couldn’t earn many work points in a winter.

Now that there was such good work, everyone would be scrambling to do it.

In the end, the brigade decided to have each household send a strong laborer to build the road. If a household didn’t have a strong laborer, they would send two half-laborers, with the same treatment as a strong laborer.

Another rest day arrived.

Shen Chuning hadn’t gone to the hospital for a checkup yet. After calming down, she was actually skeptical about her pregnancy.

She hadn’t paid attention to it before, but these days, she carefully recalled what happened in her dream.

In her dream, after she found out she was pregnant, she not only missed her period but also experienced nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite.

She didn’t have any of these symptoms; she ate well every day and could fall asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, like a pig.

So she decided to go to the hospital for a checkup on her rest day.

It was a rest day, and Shen Chuning didn’t want to trouble Lin Shulan anymore.  But she had gotten used to being warm and cozy in the donkey cart on her way to work and couldn’t bear the cold wind on her bicycle, so she told Uncle Luo in advance to take her to the hospital.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she went out and was about to get on the donkey cart, she met Zhou Yubai returning home.