Aunt Liu had assumed that during confinement, the young couple would be in chaos. After sending Hongguo home, she gave countless instructions. Every day after closing her stall, she would come by to check on them.
But what she saw was nothing like the disorder she had imagined.
Changzong washed the clothes.
Changzong fed the baby.
Hongguo didn’t even have to let her fingers touch cold water. She slept straight through the night.
So childbirth… could be lived through like this?
Aunt Liu shuffled home and told her husband, “We really shouldn’t have let our daughter get pregnant again. Why suffer like that?”
Uncle Yang sighed. “Didn’t I try to persuade you before? You wouldn’t listen—and even encouraged her to have another. What’s the point of saying this now?”
By the end of her confinement month, Jiang Hongguo had already returned to her pre-pregnancy shape.
The little one had grown from three jin two liang at birth to nearly ten jin. Changzong tucked him into a cloth sling and weighed him on a scale.
At one month old, he was about the size of an ordinary baby—and getting cuter by the day. When he was hungry, wet, or needed to poop, he would hum softly to remind them. Otherwise, he never cried.
Changzong could manage him alone.
One day, before heading out to buy chicken, duck, fish, and meat for the baby’s full-month banquet, he bent down and told the little one seriously, “Don’t cry. Bear with it until I get back and mix your formula.”
Hongguo laughed. “How could he understand that? I can mix it.”
After Changzong left, she sat beside the cradle, teasing the baby. There was no housework left for her to do.
They still hadn’t registered his household name and were discussing what to call him. She asked what surname he should take.
Changzong said, “You gave birth to him. Of course he should take yours.”
Truthfully, it didn’t matter whose surname—but hearing him say that made her inexplicably happy. They compared several names, yet none felt quite right.
The baby woke in the cradle. Changzong had just fed him before leaving. Hongguo checked the diaper—sure enough, he’d peed. She changed him with practiced ease. Watching Changzong every day had made her quite skilled.
Before Changzong, she might work slowly—but she did everything herself. Now he spoiled her so much she’d grown lazy.
During the entire confinement month, she’d only held the baby a few times. Now she lifted the ten-jin little bundle into her arms. He felt solid and heavy against her chest, but she didn’t feel tired—only delighted.
The little one loved it too, giggling nonstop. Compared to Changzong, he seemed to like her more.
Heh. She felt secretly pleased.
For the full-month banquet, they invited several aunties to help cook. Aunt Zhao came, but Uncle Chen did not.
On such a day, why wouldn’t he come? The township police station rarely had major cases. Hongguo couldn’t help worrying.
Aunt Zhao told her not to fret.
“It’s about that bus accident when Changzong was injured. The driver, Master Wang, fell in love with the Doctor Qi who treated him. Insisted on repaying her kindness. That Doctor Qi—she didn’t like his looks but valued his abilities. Had him help with things for months. Then she told her friends he was a toad lusting after swan meat, said she felt sick just seeing him. Master Wang overheard it and woke up.”
“After he came to his senses, he went back to his wife and children. Once he changed his heart, his luck turned incredible. He saved a big boss—got money and a job. Doctor Qi regretted it and tried to win him back. Now the three families and over a dozen relatives are fighting nonstop. Your uncle’s gone to mediate.”
That driver… was probably like Changzong and Meng Qingdai.
Meng Qingdai had taken revenge. Master Wang returned to his original wife and children with good fortune in hand. So not everyone was single-minded to the end.
Changzong and the others… like everyone Hongguo had ever known, shared one truth: hearts could be hurt. They could grow cold. They could change.
But she wasn’t worried about Changzong.
He always put her first. She, too, always wanted to protect him. The two of them wouldn’t change.
Hongguo sighed. “And Master Wang’s original wife still took him back?”
“They never divorced. He never even held Doctor Qi’s hand. People said he was just bewitched for a while. Now he dotes on his wife and kids, brings home piles of money. What can his wife do? They’ve got two children to raise. The big boss even said Master Wang could bring his family, transfer the kids to schools in a big city. Who wouldn’t agree?”
So Changzong, Master Wang—even the late Meng Qingdai… when they set their minds on something, they always found a way.
Then why wouldn’t Changzong collect the debt on that promissory note from the Sun-surnamed student?
The thought surfaced again.
But soon she had no time to dwell on it. The banquet guests came to see the baby. Changzong refused to let the men enter the room.
“They smoke and drink. The smell will bother Guoguo.”
He carried the baby outside for them to admire.
The village men teased, “Changzong, why not let your wife raise the kid? You really plan to raise him yourself? Not going out to earn money?”
Changzong didn’t even smile. He couldn’t be bothered explaining. If not for Hongguo insisting on holding a banquet in the village, he wouldn’t have fed these people at all.
After the feast, Hongguo set aside a few dishes she and Changzong liked. The leftover ingredients were divided up among the helpers and close neighbors until the kitchen was spotless.
Changzong swept the courtyard, returned tables and stools house by house, delivered back bowls and plates. When everything was done, he fed the baby, changed his diaper, and then pulled Hongguo into the main hall to talk.
“Guoguo… if we moved to the provincial capital, would you be willing?”
Move to the provincial capital?
Why?
They had twenty thousand yuan in savings and cash now. They could live comfortably anywhere. Going to the provincial capital was fine—but she wanted a reason.
“I would be willing. But why are you suddenly thinking about moving?”
She expected him to invent some excuse.
Instead, he gave a reason that left her stunned.
He said he’d heard that Master Wang, after saving someone, had earned in one go more than Changzong had made in the past half year.
He felt a sense of crisis.
“If we go to the provincial capital, there’ll be more opportunities. Maybe I’ll save some important person too. It might be fate, pushing us to step out. But Guoguo—if you don’t want to leave and would rather stay in the village, then we’ll stay.”
Hongguo didn’t have many material desires. So Changzong had never treated making money as urgent.
But now someone else was taking it seriously.
He didn’t need to earn more than everyone—just to be the richest among their group.
Changzong was willing to stay in the village for her sake. How could she not consider him?
If he truly meant to “save an important person” to earn money… would he think everything through?
He was capable. If he wanted to advance, she should support him. That was what it meant to share honor and hardship as husband and wife.
Still feeling a bit uneasy, Hongguo made a request.
“Changzong, as long as we’re together, I can go anywhere. If we move to the provincial capital, I have one condition. I want to collect the debt on Grandma’s promissory note from that Sun-surnamed student.”
Changzong hadn’t actually forbidden her from collecting it. That woman had happened to pick up another companion who came with him. They all had a tacit understanding—not to approach each other first. But if Hongguo went, that was fine.
He even looked pleased.
“Alright. I’ll rent a place near the Sun family first. After you find out more, you can decide how to collect it. Okay?”
He was so open about it that Hongguo felt slightly ashamed for doubting him.
“Okay. I’ll assess the situation. Maybe I’ll collect it. Maybe I won’t. I won’t act rashly.”
“Then I’ll go to the provincial capital tomorrow and get the rental settled?”
She nodded.
Just like that, the decision was made.
Changzong was overjoyed. He scooped her up and spun her around in a circle.
She was leaving the village she’d lived in her entire life, following him to the provincial capital—and it had taken only a single sentence.
His heart felt unbearably moved.
He would treat only her well, forever.
Spinning her wasn’t enough. He confessed outright.
“Guoguo, how are you this good? I like you.”
“I like you too.”
After he set her down, she refused to let go. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against him, listening to the rapid thud in his chest.
His heartbeat was fast. He was genuinely excited.
Moving to the provincial capital… perhaps it truly was the right choice.
She suspected that Changzong and Master Wang shared some unspoken pact or restriction.
But this Changzong—who treated her so well—she was willing to give herself to him without reservation too.
They told no one for now.
Only after Changzong returned from the provincial capital and said the house was rented did Hongguo inform Uncle Chen that they were preparing to move.
He was reluctant—but people strive upward. Young people should go out and make their mark. He supported them.
In the provincial capital, they wouldn’t be able to eat some of the things they grew themselves.
Hongguo suddenly craved sweet potato vines. She wanted mulberries too—both in season.
Gu Changzong picked up a basket and took her to the fields to gather them.
The two of them chatted and laughed as they walked toward the fields. Aunt Hehua asked,
“Hongguo, if both of you are out here, where’s your baby?”
The baby?
For a split second, Jiang Hongguo completely forgot she even had one. Her face flushed red from holding it in.
Gu Changzong, however, hadn’t forgotten. The little one at home had just been fed and changed—there was no need to watch him.
“Our little one’s different,” he said calmly. “Once he’s asleep, he doesn’t need anyone hovering.”
Aunt Hehua laughed. “You young couple really have big hearts. I’ll go check on him later—don’t worry, just go.”
After walking a few steps, Gu Changzong said to Hongguo, “Once we leave, let’s ask Aunt Hehua to help watch the house long-term.”
If someone was going to keep an eye on the place year-round, they’d definitely need to pay her. Aunt Hehua was a good person. It was just that Jiang Hongguo had always been closer to Aunt Liu before.
“How about five yuan a month?” Jiang Hongguo asked.
“Make it six,” Gu Changzong said. “All three of her kids are in school. That extra dozen yuan a year covers one child’s tuition.”
In the countryside, if you didn’t run a small side business and relied only on farming, life was tight. Jiang Hongguo’s family used to calculate every cent they spent—she hadn’t even dared buy extra meat.
She had brought Aunt Liu along to set up a stall in the county, practically giving her an opportunity. Maybe Aunt Liu didn’t see it that way, but these days Aunt Liu’s family didn’t need that six yuan a month anymore.
“Alright, then we’ll give it to Aunt Hehua. It’s not easy, sending all three kids to school like that.”