“Hey, wait a minute.
Your wife went back to her parents’ home today. Since you’re on leave, why didn’t you go with her?”
Seeing his confused expression, Wang Guihua added, “Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”
“I knew. It’s just that my father is sick and bedridden, so I wanted to come back and check on him first.”
“What? Your father is sick? How come I haven’t heard about it?”
“He’s not sick?”
Zhou Zhan was now certain this was just an excuse his mother made to trick him into coming home.
“Probably not. I saw him in the fields this morning, swinging his hoe with the same strength as usual. Didn’t look sick at all.”
“Then I must have misheard during the phone call.
Aunt Wang, I’ll chat with you another day. I should go home and check.”
“Alright, hurry back then.”
Zhou Zhan strode quickly and reached his doorstep in less than half a minute.
In the main room, Zhou Mu and his sister-in-law Li Xiaofen were busy assembling matchboxes, completely unaware of his return.
“Mom, I’m back.”
Hearing his voice, Zhou Mu looked up excitedly.
“Third Son, how did you get back so quickly?”
“Didn’t you say Dad was sick? I wanted to come back quickly to see how he was doing.”
Ahem, ahem~
Zhou Mu coughed awkwardly twice.
“After that phone call, your father immediately recovered when he heard you were taking leave to come back. He’s even well enough to work in the fields now.
I suspect his illness was caused by missing you too much.”
“Is that so? What a speedy recovery. It’s only been four days since our call. Seems I’m more effective than doctors.”
“Exactly, I found it quite miraculous too.”
Zhou Zhan listened to his mother’s serious but fabricated story without exposing her lie.
He knew he was in the wrong – avoiding that woman to the extent of not even coming home.
If not for this, his mother wouldn’t have needed to pretend his father was ill.
“How long can you stay this time?”
“I took two weeks off. Minus travel time, I can stay home for about ten days.”
“If only you’d returned one day earlier, Nian Xin wouldn’t have had to go back to her parents’ home alone.”
“How long is she staying there?”
“I’m not sure. She only said she’d return after finishing her business.”
Zhou Mu had asked what business, but Wen Nianxin didn’t specify.
“Since you have nothing to do at home anyway, why don’t you go to the city in the next couple days? Check if there are tickets to Mingzhao. You can make the trip and bring Nian Xin back with you.”
“Mom, I just got back and you already want me to leave again?”
“I’m only thinking of what’s best for you.
You’ve been married for three years now. What kind of son-in-law has never met his in-laws?
If not for your profession, people would say our Lao Zhou Family doesn’t know basic manners.”
“Third Brother, I think Mom is right. You really should make the trip if you have time.”
If Wen Nianxin were still like before, Li Xiaofen definitely wouldn’t speak up for her.
But she had changed, becoming much better than before, which made Li Xiaofen feel sympathetic toward her.
If it were her, married for so many years with a husband who paid no attention to her and treated her like a stranger, she definitely couldn’t bear it.
After all, what married woman doesn’t want her husband’s care and affection?
“Alright, I understand. I’ll call my comrade tomorrow to ask about tickets.”
“Hey, that’s more like it. You put your luggage back in the room first, and I’ll go heat up some bathwater for you.”
Seeing that her son had been persuaded, Zhou Mu happily went into the kitchen.
……
Zhou Zhan carried his luggage and pushed open the door to his room.
Contrary to his expectations of a dirty and messy space, he was met with a neat and clean room. Not only were the tables and cabinets free of dust, but the room was also filled with a faint, pleasant fragrance, making it feel warm and comfortable.
“Sister-in-law, did you and Mom help clean up?”
After placing his luggage on the cabinet to the left of the door, Zhou Zhan turned to ask his sister-in-law, Li Xiaofen.
“You’ve got it wrong. Nian Xin cleaned it herself. Xiaofen and I didn’t help at all.
She’s different from before—she’s become especially diligent. She basically cleans the room every couple of days and even helps me cook occasionally.”
Thinking back to when Wen Nianxin first entered the kitchen and offered to help, Li Xiaofen had nearly been scared to death.
With a nervous heart, she hadn’t refused—not because she didn’t want to, but because she was afraid of being scolded.
She had expected her sister-in-law to make a mess in the kitchen, but it turned out that not only could she sew clothes, but she was also more skilled at cooking than Xiaofen, who handled three meals a day, and her dishes were incredibly delicious.
“Really?”
Zhou Zhan was somewhat skeptical.
In the letters his family had sent him, the descriptions of that woman were either about her laziness or greed, saying the trash in her room was almost piled up like a mountain and that mice had probably made nests in it.
“Really. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Mom and Dad, or wait for your eldest brother to come back and ask him. He won’t lie.”
“Your sister-in-law isn’t lying to you. Your wife has really changed.”
Zhou Mu, coming out of the kitchen and overhearing their conversation, once again vouched for Wen Nianxin.
“There’s something else. You were away on a mission before, so we didn’t have a chance to tell you.
Last month, Nian Xin fell and hit her head. She stayed in the hospital for a few days. After she woke up, her whole personality changed—she’s nothing like she used to be.”
“How did she fall?”
“She was pushed by the Liu family’s eldest grandson. She hit the back of her head and got a huge gash, with blood pooling everywhere. When I saw it, my legs went weak from fright—I was terrified she might not make it.”
“And after she woke up, she just became better?”
Zhou Zhan was deeply skeptical about this.
Although he hadn’t been home before, he had heard about Wen Nianxin’s behavior. How could someone change so drastically just from a fall?
“Well, it’s not that she became completely better.
After she woke up, she didn’t recognize anyone. Even when Zitong stood right in front of her, she couldn’t recall her name.
There’s another reason I wanted you to go to her family’s home this time. I suspect she might not even recognize her own family members—it’s uncertain whether she can even find her way home.”
“Then why didn’t you stop her or send someone to accompany her?”
Hearing this, Zhou Zhan felt his head buzzing.
Although he didn’t like Wen Nianxin, he didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.
How could someone who doesn’t even recognize her own family find her way home?