Xu Zhizhi felt a pang of sadness upon hearing her father’s words.
Perhaps it’s the lingering thoughts of the original owner that are at play.
The book doesn’t dwell much on Xu Changgui’s desire for a son, but the preference for sons over daughters was a dominant theme in that era.
She could understand wanting a son, but she didn’t quite understand why someone would step on their own daughter because of a son brought by someone else!
Do you want your adult son, who is not related to you by blood, to take care of you in your old age?
How could you be so optimistic?
“Dad, I don’t need a room, so don’t even think about saving one for me. Once I buy a train ticket to Qicheng, I’ll leave. You can just relax and enjoy your old age with your good son.”
On the night the original owner was miscarried, Liang An was so frightened that he lost his mind.
The original owner was screaming and yelling in the room, while Liang An was wailing and howling in the living room.
Anyone who didn’t know better would think that the head of the Xu family had died.
“What are you going to Qicheng for? The funeral has been over for more than half a month. Are you going to pick up bone scraps? Just stay at home and get rid of the little bastard in your belly. Getting married is the right thing to do.”
Getting married is out of the question.
Xu Zhizhi ignored Xu Changgui’s words, quickly picked up the meat from her bowl, and said that the original owner felt sorry for her elderly father who had to support a large family. She, however, felt no such pity.
This meat is for her to eat; it’s good for her health.
To be honest, although Liang Fenglan is ruthless, her skills are not bad. No wonder she could fool Old Xu so much.
After dinner, she went back to her room and started thinking about announcing the engagement and buying train tickets.
According to the plot, she got married half a month after her miscarriage, and her husband, Li Wenzhu, returned home after recovering from his injuries at that time.
He should still be recuperating in a small hospital on the northern border right now.
Meanwhile, in a hospital in a small town on the northeastern border, hundreds of miles away…
Li Wenzhu lifted his heavy eyelids. He had a very long dream in which his wife remarried immediately after learning of his death.
When he went back to pick up his wife, she had forcibly aborted the baby that was already formed.
He went to confront his wife.
His wife simply said coldly that she had only married him on a whim, and who would remain faithful to someone who didn’t care about them?
In the pouring rain, he watched helplessly as his wife, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, married a handsome young man amidst the entourage of her family.
She heard the man’s child timidly call her “Mom”.
“Old Li, what are you thinking about so intently? Missing your wife?”
Gu Xiangbei, who was in the next bed, jokingly tossed a pillow over. Gu Xiangbei and Li Wenzhu were comrades-in-arms from the same battalion and had a good relationship in private. Because they had gone on this mission together, they were injured in the same ward.
Li Wenzhu caught the pillow his comrade tossed to him with one hand, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. He didn’t answer his comrade’s question, but simply leaned against the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling.
How long until we can be discharged from the hospital?
His voice was flat and cold, like the ice crystals on the border.
Gu Xiangbei, used to his friend’s way of speaking, picked up the orange the nurse by the bedside had brought him, peeled it, and gave him half before saying,
“I estimate it will be another three or four days. We’ll have to wait until the stitches in your leg are removed. It’s tough on you. Your wife just got pregnant, and you were pulled into this mission without even taking your family leave. And then you got caught in an avalanche. But don’t worry, I asked the doctor this morning, and he said that communication has been restored at the hospital. You should be able to make phone calls. Go ask him later.”
Gu Xiangbei popped a segment of orange into his mouth and winked at his brother.
“Let me tell you, childbirth is a life-or-death ordeal for a woman. You should take good care of her. Once you have a son, a wife, and a warm bed, you’ll be overjoyed.”
Gu Xiangbei’s wife is in his hometown. After he performs meritorious service on this mission, he will be able to bring his wife to live with him.
Then he and his wife will be able to have a second child.
Thinking of his sweet and soft wife, Gu Xiangbei smacked his lips, feeling happy.
“Old Li, I’m not trying to criticize you, but it’s not good for a couple to be separated. A couple’s relationship is built on sleeping together.”
Li Wenzhu scoffed inwardly.
child?
emotion?
Hmph, I’m afraid that once the news of his sacrifice gets back, Xu Zhizhi will have already executed the child on the spot.
Li Wenzhu didn’t want to say much, so she peeled the orange and put the segments into her mouth one by one.
Seeing that Li Wenzhu didn’t want to talk, Gu Xiangbei didn’t ask any further questions.
Although the two were sworn brothers, Old Li never mentioned his wife.
If it weren’t for the telegram sent to the camp a month ago announcing that Old Li’s wife was pregnant, he wouldn’t have known that Old Li was already married.
I heard from the political commissar that Lao Li had submitted a report to accompany the army and accommodations had been arranged. However, Lao Li came back alone, saying that his wife was from the city and couldn’t stand the climate and conditions in the north.
It’s really tough on Old Li, all alone in his empty house.
After Gu Xiangbei was called away by the nurse, Li Wenzhu took out the wedding photo from under her pillow. In the photo, Xu Zhizhi leaned her head on his shoulder, smiling radiantly.
This is an extra photo taken when they got their marriage certificate, and he has carried it with him ever since.
There was also that telegram that Xu Zhizhi sent on her own initiative, saying that she was pregnant!
Upon receiving the telegram, he applied for leave to visit his family, intending to bring Zhizhi back to the city no matter what. If she was unwilling to come to the garrison, he would rent her an apartment in the city.
But now, should he go back to pick her up?
With the mountains blocked by heavy snow, news of his sacrifice might have already reached back home.
Just like in her dream, she will abort their child and marry someone else.
Xu Zhizhi is beautiful, materialistic, selfish, and very spoiled.
I remember the morning after our wedding night, she burst into tears and complained about how tired and painful she was that night.
The thought of going to the border made her legs weak, her back tremble, and her head spin.
So they got married, but the wife stayed at her parents’ home and made him send his allowance back every month.
Xu Zhizhi has always known how to treat herself well, so she should be living the good life she wants now, right?
Having experienced a life-or-death situation and had that dream again,
He thought, if she really wants to remarry, then let’s just get the divorce done!
Whatever!
When the nurse came to take her temperature, Li Wenzhu asked about making a phone call. She learned that she could do so from the communications room on the first floor. During her lunch break, Li Wenzhu called the match factory.
The phone rang for only a few seconds before being answered by a middle-aged man.
“You’re looking for Xu Changgui’s daughter? I’m busy. Old Xu said his daughter is at home preparing for her wedding these days.”
“Hello, who is this? What do you want?”
“Hey, hey, hey, talk to me, can’t you hear me?”
The deep male voice, speaking in a local dialect, kept talking in his ear, but when Li Wenzhu heard the words “prepared for marriage,” his heart felt like it had been crushed by a sledgehammer, and he slammed down the phone.
Just like in that dream.
She’s already had an abortion, and now she wants to remarry!
Very good.