Zhou Yu secretly observed the changes in Meng Jiaru’s expression and knew she had succeeded.
Since her goal had been achieved, there was no need to continue the conversation. Still, a performance had to be carried through to the end.
As she stood up, she gave a bitter smile and said resignedly,
“Maybe I’m just unlucky. That’s why my parents and sister treat me this way. It’s alright. They’re my family, after all. As long as they’re living well, that’s enough.”
Hearing that, Meng Jiaru became even more dissatisfied.
Why should such shameless people get to live happily?
She was determined not to let Zhou Rulan have her way.
The thought of stealing Zhao Ziming away became even firmer in her mind.
Looking at Zhou Yu, she felt a strange mixture of sympathy and condescending superiority.
“A country girl like you who can’t even read a single word is just foolish. You don’t even dare fight against your family’s decisions like women of the new era do. No wonder you’re destined to spend your life as a widow.”
“But then again, you’ve never gone to school and only know how to work in the fields. The fact that you managed to marry Brother Zhao, a soldier, is already reaching above your station. You should consider yourself fortunate and just live properly with him from now on.”
Worried that Zhou Yu might not be able to endure a life of widowhood and might eventually try to win Zhao Ziming back, Meng Jiaru earnestly advised her to accept Zhao Yunzheng wholeheartedly.
She was so preoccupied with thoughts of Zhao Ziming that she didn’t notice the cold look that flashed through Zhou Yu’s eyes.
Since she still hoped Meng Jiaru would be useful, Zhou Yu swallowed her irritation for the time being, said goodbye, and left.
Meng Jiaru didn’t try to stop her.
Instead, she returned to the educated youth compound, spending the entire walk thinking about how to create opportunities to get close to Zhao Ziming again.
As for what she planned to do, Zhou Yu didn’t care.
As long as she could keep Zhao Ziming distracted for the next few days, that was enough.
With that in mind, Zhou Yu quickly finished digging up the purslane, gathered enough dandelions, and headed back to the Zhao household.
By the time she returned, Zhao Changdong had already gone back to work, and Zhao Ziming had only briefly come home for lunch before leaving again.
The only person left in the courtyard was Wang Hongmei, who was feeding the chickens.
“Oh, Xiaoyu, you’re finally back! Why did it take you so long?”
Wang Hongmei put on a show of concern, though she was genuinely somewhat annoyed.
The county town was far from Niuniu Village, but even walking slowly, Zhou Yu should have been back at least half an hour ago.
Wang Hongmei had been waiting for her to return and feed the chickens, ducks, and geese so she could go rest.
In the end, she’d had to do it herself.
Zhou Yu pulled the purslane and dandelions from her bag and replied matter-of-factly,
“On the way back, I remembered these are good for soaking Brother Zhao’s feet, so I went behind the village to gather them. Mom, I can’t chat right now. I need to boil them quickly so Brother Zhao can use them.”
Before Wang Hongmei could react, Zhou Yu was already heading toward the kitchen.
“Wait!”
Wang Hongmei immediately stopped her.
“The eldest has gone this long without any foot soaks and he’s been perfectly fine. Why does he suddenly need that? And doesn’t lighting the stove require firewood? Do you know how much firewood the family has?”
The more she spoke, the more reluctant she sounded.
“Forget about all that. Go feed the chickens, ducks, and geese first, then wash our clothes. I’ve been busy all morning and my back hurts. I need to rest…”
Zhou Yu had no intention of doing chores and immediately interrupted.
“Mom, soaking his feet with these herbs and massaging them is great for Brother Zhao’s legs. It can prevent muscle stiffness and atrophy from lying in bed too long!”
When Wang Hongmei still looked ready to argue, Zhou Yu complained loudly,
“It’s only a little firewood. It doesn’t cost much. Why are you so unwilling? If someone didn’t know better, they’d think Brother Zhao wasn’t your biological son and that you stopped caring about him after he became disabled, only caring about Third Brother now!”
Wang Hongmei’s expression immediately changed.
Her voice rose sharply.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? I carried the eldest son for ten months before giving birth to him! How could he not be my biological son?”
“Then I’ll go prepare the foot soak for Brother Zhao…”
“Fine, fine! Just hurry up and do it!”
Wang Hongmei waved her hand as if she couldn’t bear to continue the conversation and turned to go inside.
Pretending not to understand that Wang Hongmei had intended to leave all the chores for her, Zhou Yu went into the kitchen, boiled water, and carried it to Zhao Yunzheng’s room.
With some effort, she propped him up and prepared the foot soak.
As for the lunch left for her in the kitchen, it had long gone cold.
And it consisted of nothing more than a single coarse corn bun.
Zhou Yu had no interest in eating it and pretended not to see it.
“If only you’d wake up, Brother Zhao.”
She rolled up his pant legs while complaining.
“Did you see that? Wang Hongmei wasn’t even willing to let me burn a little firewood to boil water for your foot soak.”
“I walked all the way back from the county town, then went out of my way to gather purslane and dandelions for you, and she’s still unhappy about it. She even left me only one corn bun for lunch. As if anyone could get full from that.”
She couldn’t say these things in front of Wang Hongmei, but speaking to an unconscious man required no restraint.
So she complained freely while criticizing Wang Hongmei.
What she didn’t notice was that the man’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
Zhao Yunzheng had regained consciousness around noon.
When he woke, Zhao Changdong, Wang Hongmei, and Zhao Ziming were eating lunch outside.
He had smelled the aroma of braised pork ribs and felt hungry.
Yet until Zhou Yu returned, no one came to feed him.
At first, Zhao Yunzheng thought his family must simply be busy.
Missing one meal wasn’t a big deal.
But then he overheard Wang Hongmei complaining about wasting firewood.
At that moment, he froze.
He couldn’t believe those words had come from his mother’s mouth.
Yet the voice was unmistakably hers.
His own mother had considered it wasteful.
Meanwhile, the woman he had been wary of and suspicious of was angrily arguing on his behalf, insisting he needed the treatment.
After walking all the way back from the county town, she had even gone out specifically to gather herbs for him.
And just like him, she hadn’t eaten lunch either.
A strange heaviness settled in Zhao Yunzheng’s chest.
“Hey, Brother Zhao, did you miss another meal again? Why does your stomach feel so flat?”
Afraid he would topple over from the way she had propped him up, Zhou Yu stuffed a pillow behind his back.
That was when she noticed he hadn’t eaten.
Zhao Yunzheng’s face darkened.
Touching his stomach was one thing.
But why was she repeatedly feeling around?
And why was she only touching his abdominal muscles?
He wasn’t sure whether it was because he had spent the last few days being stripped, turned over, and handled constantly, but he had gradually gone from being mortified to the point of wanting to die, to deliberately ignoring it, to finally becoming accustomed to it.
Even now, being touched only irritated him briefly before he dismissed it.
…Wait.
What did she mean by “another meal”?
As Zhao Yunzheng puzzled over that, he heard the young woman’s clear voice complaining beside him.
“I knew it. Your parents don’t care about you at all.”
“It would’ve been one thing if they neglected you before and kept forgetting to feed you. But I’ve only been married into this family for a few days. The moment I’m not around, they can’t even be bothered to pretend anymore and just leave you unattended!”
Zhao Yunzheng was stunned.
His family had neglected him?
Forgotten to feed him?
More than once?
How could that possibly be?
Meanwhile, Zhou Yu was thoroughly enjoying the feel of his abdominal muscles.
In her previous life, Zhao Ziming’s physique had been nothing compared to Zhao Yunzheng’s. Years in the military had given Zhao Yunzheng a body Zhao Ziming never had.
She hadn’t even known abdominal muscles felt this nice to touch.
The more satisfied she became, the more indignant she felt on Zhao Yunzheng’s behalf.
Her eyes suddenly brightened with an idea.
“Just wait here, Brother Zhao.”
“I’m going to make you something to eat.”
“Something delicious.”