“Ning Shu, dear… Ning Shu, dear…”

When Ning Shu heard Aunt Yang’s voice, she knew what it was about. “I’m coming, I’m coming…”

Ning Shu walked out of the house. “Aunt Yang, are you about to leave?”

Aunt Yang looked around, worried about being overheard.

She pulled Ning Shu inside and whispered, “Yes, I checked, and Xu Weilin’s wife is still in the medical ward. She’s very weak and needs to be on glucose for several days. The medical expenses are being covered by the Women’s Director.”

Ning Shu widened her eyes, “Her mother-in-law won’t cover it?”

Aunt Yang shook her head, “I don’t know about that. Xu Weilin’s will probably get a scolding from the Women’s Director when he returns. Shall we go now?”

Ning Shu said, “Alright, I’ll go get some eggs.”

Aunt Yang replied, “I’ll go get some too. I’ll wait for you at my door.”

Ning Shu said, “Okay.”

Ning Shu went to the kitchen, took six eggs, and put them in a small basket, which was actually the one the three children used.

When she walked out, she saw Aunt Yang already waiting at her door with Zhao Huan beside her. “Is Sister Zhao going too?”

Aunt Yang explained, “These are all relatives of Xiao Yang’s subordinates. She needs to socialize a bit so that she’s not unfamiliar with everyone. As she gets older, she’ll need to maintain these connections for her son.”

Zhao Huan nodded with a smile, “Yes.”

On the way, the three of them didn’t talk much.

When they arrived at the medical ward, Aunt Yang asked the nurse for Xu Duomei’s ward number.

Since Xu Duomei was a hot topic in the medical ward last night, the nurse knew exactly where her room was and gave them the number.

The door to the ward was open, and at this time, the room was empty.

Xu Duomei’s timid nature meant she didn’t interact much with the other families in the compound.

Among the officers with families, only Ning Shu and Aunt Yang had a higher rank than Xu Weilin.

When Ning Shu, Aunt Yang, and Zhao Huan suddenly appeared, Xu Duomei and her mother looked at them in surprise.

For a moment, neither mother nor daughter spoke.

It had to be said that both women were not very quick-witted.

Aunt Yang was the first to speak: “Little Xu’s wife, I’m Aunt Yang, the mother of Deputy Battalion Commander Yang. This is my daughter-in-law Zhao Huan, and this is Ning Shu, the wife of Battalion Commander Lin. We came to visit you when you first arrived with the troops. Do you remember?”

Xu Duomei’s mother finally reacted: “Hello, Auntie, hello, Sister. I remember.”

She tried to get out of bed but struggled.

She did remember them, but since she hadn’t interacted much afterward, it felt a bit unfamiliar.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to visit; she was just very busy.

Whenever she left to visit someone, her mother-in-law would scold her for being lazy and unproductive.

Because of this, she didn’t like visiting others and felt embarrassed by the scoldings.

“Don’t move, don’t move…” Aunt Yang quickly stopped her. “Just stay in bed. If you worsen your condition, you’ll end up spending extra money.”

Aunt Yang’s loud voice and firm tone managed to stop Xu Duomei’s mother.

Seeing that Xu Duomei’s mother had stopped moving, Aunt Yang continued, “We just came to check on you. You need to take care of yourself. Otherwise, when Xu Weilin comes back from his mission, he’ll be worried about you. As family members, we shouldn’t make them worry, right?”

Xu Duomei’s mother gave a helpless smile, “Thank you, Auntie and Sister, for your concern. I… I don’t want to worry him either.” But what could she do?

She had no control over the household.

And even though her husband didn’t complain, he was afraid to go against his mother.

What could she do?

Aunt Yang took out the eggs from the basket: “You and your daughter look so thin. Eat these eggs to regain some strength.” She handed an egg to Xu Duomei.

Xu Duomei didn’t take it but looked at her mother.

Her swallowing motion was noticed by everyone.

A look of sadness and reluctance flashed in Xu Duomei’s mother’s eyes: “You eat it.”

She wouldn’t refuse something brought for her, and she planned to return the favor when the opportunity arose.

“Thank you, Grandma.” Xu Duomei took the egg and touched it gently.

The egg was still warm, and she couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten one.

Aunt Yang then took out another egg, cracked it, and peeled it before handing it to Xu Duomei’s mother: “You eat too. If you don’t take care of yourself, how will you take care of your daughter in the future? As a mother, if you can’t even take care of yourself, and your daughter has to borrow money to pay for your treatment, what kind of life are you living?”

Aunt Yang’s words were blunt, but Xu Duomei’s mother wasn’t angry.

The words were true, and Aunt Yang’s tone, though stern, was filled with concern.

Only someone who truly cared would speak like that.

“Aunt Yang is right, I…” Zhang Xiaoyue’s eyes reddened as she spoke.

Ning Shu was also surprised.

Aunt Yang was usually a cautious person who wouldn’t meddle in others’ affairs.

She focused on supporting Yang Vice Battalion Leader and wouldn’t do anything that might embarrass him.

So why was she speaking to Xu Duomei’s mother like this today?

Even though Ning Shu didn’t understand, she listened patiently.

“Ai…” Aunt Yang sighed, “In the past, when my husband died early, my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law looked down on me…”

Ning Shu and Xu Duomei’s mother were taken aback to hear Aunt Yang talk about her past.

Ning Shu knew a bit about Aunt Yang from the storyline, as she was a significant supporting character in the novel.

But hearing Aunt Yang’s personal account directly was quite different from what was mentioned in the story.

Xu Duomei was deeply shocked by Aunt Yang’s words.

While Aunt Yang had no husband to rely on back then and had to depend entirely on herself, at least Xu Duomei’s mother still had a husband, even if he wasn’t very useful.

Moreover, their current situation was much better than before.

They had their own land and work, so they wouldn’t starve to death.

In the past, they could have starved at any moment.

There was oppression from landlords and dangers from external turmoil.

Comparing to that, Xu Duomei felt she had failed greatly.

Her situation was worse than anyone else’s.

As Xu Duomei ate her boiled egg and listened to Aunt Yang, she couldn’t help but widen her eyes.

Aunt Yang was truly impressive.

If her mother were as capable as Aunt Yang, they wouldn’t be bullied by their grandmother, and her sister wouldn’t have to stay in their hometown.

With this thought, Xu Duomei looked at her mother with hopeful eyes and began to imagine a better future.

Just then, a voice came from the door.

The people in the room looked outside and saw that it was Lu Hong who had arrived, carrying something. “Aunt Yang, Ning Shu…”

Seeing Aunt Yang and Ning Shu in the ward, Lu Hong was a bit surprised but not too much.

After all, Xu Weilin was a subordinate of Deputy Battalion Commander Yang and Lin Guodong.

“Sister…” Ning Shu greeted her.

“The Director is here,” Aunt Yang quickly stood up. “We just came to visit briefly and will leave soon.”

She thought it was great to run into the Women’s Director here.

Leaving a good impression on her was a good thing for her son.

“Why leave? Come, sit and chat,” Lu Hong said. “By the way, I’ve figured out what happened yesterday. It was a misunderstanding on Xu’s part, but Xu didn’t handle it well. Since your men are all superior officers to Xu, what do you think is the solution?”

Typically, this would be a family matter that outsiders wouldn’t involve themselves in.

But in the compound, things were different—though individual, it was also a collective.

Ning Shu remained silent.

She didn’t want to interfere in other people’s affairs.

Xu’s problems were troublesome enough; suggesting solutions might just lead to more trouble.

Even thinking about it made her uncomfortable.

“Do you have any ideas, Ning Shu?” Lu Hong asked.

She thought highly of Ning Shu because her family was harmonious, and her children were well-raised.

To her, Ning Shu seemed very enlightened, different from many women of her time.

Lu Hong even saw a resemblance to herself in Ning Shu—someone who lived according to her own values, not merely conforming to others’ opinions.

If Ning Shu cared about others’ opinions, she wouldn’t let Lin Guodong handle household chores.

Lu Hong admired Ning Shu’s personality.

She didn’t believe that women must be confined to domestic roles or depend on men.

Just as men earn money, women do too, so household responsibilities should be shared equally.

However, Lu Hong clearly didn’t know Ning Shu’s personality well.

She hadn’t interacted with her much and had a high opinion of her.

Ning Shu didn’t share this high level of awareness; she preferred to do what made her comfortable.

“I don’t have any opinions,” Ning Shu said with a smile. “Such matters require experience to offer views, and I’m only in my early twenties with a relatively simple life experience. My in-laws are harmonious, and my mother-in-law treats me like her own daughter, so I don’t really know what to say about these issues.”

“But I believe, regardless of what others say, one must first understand the purpose of their own life. If you don’t understand that, then others’ opinions are of no use. For me, I would do anything for the sake of my children.”

She couldn’t completely dismiss the question, especially since it was Lu Hong asking.

But she also didn’t want to fully align with her own personality, as it would clash with the current era’s views.

Should she say that life is first about oneself, then the children, and then who treats oneself well?

Lu Hong thought Ning Shu’s words made sense.

Often, what others say is just casual talk, and those who haven’t experienced certain things can’t fully understand them.

“But as Ning Shu said, one must first stand up for themselves and understand their own purpose in life. Zhang Xiaoyue, now that you’re living, what is your purpose?” Lu Hong then turned to ask Xu Duomei’s mother.