If it weren’t for the fact that her three children had no one else to raise them, she would have sought death long ago.
Rumors were the most terrifying thing. Even if she jumped into the Yellow River, she couldn’t wash herself clean. The prejudice in people’s hearts was like a mountain—no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t move it.
Even if she repeatedly insisted that she hadn’t taken anything from the Zhou family, everyone would only think she was lying.
When Zhou Fuquan left, he was clearly relieved.
With Jiang Shutang as his scapegoat, his real lover could stay hidden in the shadows.
Seeing that there was no more drama to watch, the crowd dispersed instantly.
Zhang Xiaomai felt a pang of sympathy seeing Jiang Shutang in such a state and helped her back to the dormitory.
“Shutang, what was that man about just now? Is he really the father of your kids?”
Jiang Shutang nodded. “It’s him.”
Zhang Xiaomai frowned. “Then why won’t the man acknowledge them? You’ve raised three children all by yourself all these years—how hard that must have been. He’s not even human.”
Just as they were about to enter, Jiang Shutang gestured to Zhang Xiaomai, signaling her to drop the topic.
She opened the door and went inside, finding her three sons obediently hunched over the table writing.
The three sons were five years old this year, not yet old enough for school. Jiang Shutang usually had to work and couldn’t spare much time to look after them. Normally, they’d run around and play downstairs in the family compound, or come home to do chores and practice reading and writing.
They knew how hard their mother worked to raise them, so they were all very well-behaved and sensible.
Seeing Jiang Shutang return, the three little ones crowded around her. Soon, they noticed the injury on her face.
“Mom, what happened to you?”
Jiang Shutang naturally couldn’t tell them the truth. “Mom accidentally tripped and fell. It’s nothing.”
The eldest, Jiang Zichen, stood on his tiptoes and cupped his cheek. “Mom, I’ll blow on it and it won’t hurt anymore.”
Zhang Xiaomai’s heart ached at the sight—no mother could bear to see such a thing.
She pulled two eggs from her pocket and shoved them into Jiang Shutang’s hands.
“I snuck these from home. Give them to the kids.”
Jiang Shutang was taken aback and tried to refuse. Zhang Xiaomai’s mother-in-law was fierce, and her life wasn’t easy either.
“Xiaomai, I can’t take these…”
But Zhang Xiaomai had already left.
While Jiang Shutang was still frozen in surprise, the second son had already rummaged out the medicine kit from the room and was about to help Jiang Shutang treat her wound.
“Mom, we picked these up at the entrance of the farmers’ market today. We can stir-fry them for dinner tonight.”
The eldest son brought out a basket with some vegetable leaves in it.
They weren’t very fresh anymore, but they were still edible.
Seeing this, Jiang Shutang swallowed the grievances in her stomach. No matter what, these three children were truly sensible—her hardships were worth it.
“You’re still young. Don’t go running around all the time. What if someone kidnaps you? If Mom couldn’t find you, how could I go on living?”
Human traffickers were rampant in those days, so Jiang Shutang never dared let them leave the compound.
“Don’t worry, Mom. We went with the aunties from the compound. No one’s going to kidnap us.”
Jiang Shutang took out steamed buns from her bosom and stir-fried the vegetable leaves in a pot for them.
“You must be starving by now. Eat up.”
The three little ones stared at the big white steamed buns in their hands, swallowing hard, but couldn’t bear to eat them.
Each of them broke off half and handed the rest back to Jiang Shutang.
“Mom, you eat too. If you don’t eat, we won’t eat either.”
Jiang Shutang’s eyes welled up with tears as she bit into the steamed bun in her hand, but her mind was on other things.
She was just unlucky, ending up with a man like that. Didn’t they all say people in this era were simple and honest, that men were upright and decent?
How could this man satisfy himself and not care whether others lived or died?
And he was a deputy academician at the research institute—did he even deserve such a title?
No matter what, she had to go demand an explanation. Not a single cent of child support could be shortchanged.
Before going to work that afternoon, Jiang Shutang settled the three children, then went to the workshop.
She was naturally subjected to pointing and whispering all afternoon, but Jiang Shutang was long used to it and turned a deaf ear.
After work, she went back and cooked porridge for the three children, then planned to head out.
But on second thought, this matter couldn’t be hidden forever—the three children would have to know the truth sooner or later. So she sat down, waited for the children to finish eating, and briefly explained the situation.
“Mom is going to take you to the research institute to find your father. Do you want to come with Mom?”
The second son looked indignant. “We don’t want a bad dad like that!”
The eldest was silent for a few seconds before speaking. “Mom works so hard to raise us. If she had a dad, she wouldn’t have to work so hard. We’re going there for money, not to acknowledge that bad dad.”
The youngest sniffled and replied in a soft, sticky voice.
“Want money…”
Jiang Shutang helped the children tidy up their clothes before setting out.
But no matter how she tidied them, the patches on their clothes couldn’t be hidden. They could barely afford food on a regular basis—how could they have money for new clothes?
The machinery factory wasn’t far from the research institute. The reason Gu Zhengnan went to the machinery factory to eat was because the factory had recently been developing a new machine, and the leadership had assigned the task to Gu Zhengnan.
It was also a chance for him to come back and show his skills.
At that moment, Gu Zhengnan had just finished a meeting and was walking out of the conference room when he ran into his good friend He Jingting.
“Zhengnan, let’s go. The guys are waiting for you downstairs. Today we’re drinking until we’re drunk. You’ve been abroad for years, and we’ve all missed you like crazy.”
Gu Zhengnan nodded, and the two headed downstairs together.
Four or five young men were waiting downstairs. When they saw Gu Zhengnan coming down, they eagerly went up to greet him.
“Let’s go. We’ve already reserved a table at the state-run restaurant.”
Just as the group was heading toward the entrance together, they suddenly saw a beautiful woman walking toward them, holding the hands of three children.
Because the woman was so stunning, everyone couldn’t help but steal a few glances.
Gu Zhengnan had excellent eyesight and recognized Jiang Shutang at a glance.
What had happened at noon today was already enough to disgust him. He hadn’t expected this woman to actually chase him all the way to the research institute. What exactly did she want?
When Jiang Shutang saw Gu Zhengnan, she didn’t hesitate at all and quickened her pace.
“Gu Zhengnan, right? Could I have a word with you in private? I have something very important to tell you.”
Gu Zhengnan glanced at the three little ones beside her, and his expression stiffened.
It wasn’t just him—even He Jingting beside him was taken aback, because those three little kids looked like miniature versions of Gu Zhengnan.
The two of them had grown up together, and Gu Zhengnan had looked just like that when he was a child.
“I have nothing to say to you. I know you’re desperate for a man to be your scapegoat, but sorry, that man won’t be me.”
Luo Dajiang and the others exchanged bewildered looks. Wow, the boss had just returned, and already there was such explosive news.
“You are the father of these children. You can refuse to take responsibility for me, but you must fulfill your obligations to the children.”
The moment Jiang Shutang finished speaking, Luo Dajiang and the others’ mouths gaped wide enough to swallow an egg.
“Boss, since when do you have kids? And three of them?”
Everyone was shocked, except He Jingting, who wore a strange expression and let his gaze sweep over Jiang Shutang from head to toe.