“Exactly! We can all testify to that.”
“Honor the bet and accept the consequences. Hurry up and eat it. We’re all waiting to see!”
The villagers were more than happy to watch the drama unfold, and one after another, they joined in the teasing.
Everyone had long been fed up with Liu Guifen’s sharp tongue. She had gossiped about plenty of them behind their backs.
Now that they had a chance to watch her embarrass herself, who would be willing to let it go?
Liu Guifen looked desperately toward the women around her who usually gossiped alongside her.
But every single one of them turned their heads away, pretending to look at the sky or the ground, doing anything but look at her.
No one wanted to get themselves dragged into this mess.
Zhao Weiguo took a couple of puffs from his dry tobacco pipe and cleared his throat.
“Liu Guifen, here in the Red Star Production Brigade, we value honesty and keeping our word.”
“Once words have been spoken, there’s no taking them back.”
“Of course, eating cow dung would upset your stomach and affect your work this afternoon.”
Hearing that, Liu Guifen’s heart leaped with joy, thinking he had given her a way out.
But then Zhao Weiguo suddenly changed tack.
“How about this? You give all the work points you earn today to An’an, and we’ll consider the matter settled.”
“What?!”
Liu Guifen shrieked, her voice cracking.
She worked hard all day and could earn, at most, five or six work points.
If she gave all of them to Cheng An’an, wouldn’t she have worked for nothing today?
“What? You don’t agree?”
Zhao Weiguo glared at her.
“If you’d rather eat it, I won’t stop you.”
As he spoke, he helpfully pointed toward the pile of cow dung.
Liu Guifen followed his finger.
Her stomach churned again.
On one side, she could work all day for nothing.
On the other, she could eat cow dung in front of everyone.
After weighing the two options, she ground her back teeth and unwillingly said,
“I…I’m willing to give my work points to Cheng An’an.”
“That’s more like it.”
Zhao Weiguo nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the work-point recorder.
“Write it down. All of Liu Guifen’s work points today go to Cheng An’an.”
“Got it, Captain!”
The work-point recorder called out loudly.
Liu Guifen shot “Cheng An’an” a venomous glare, wishing she could bore two holes straight through her with her eyes.
It was all because of this wretched woman!
Shen Yu completely ignored her glare.
Wang Xiulan hurried over to Shen Yu, both proud and concerned, and took his hand.
“An’an, you must be exhausted. Come on, let’s go home and eat. Mom will make you something good.”
Looking at the sweat-soaked hair clinging to her daughter-in-law’s temples, Wang Xiulan felt that every stroke of that broom yesterday had been worth it.
If she had known beating her once would work this well, she should have done it in the first month!
Shen Yu let Wang Xiulan pull him along, feeling the rough warmth of her hand against his palm, and his entire body stiffened.
He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had been this close to his mother.
Ever since he had joined the military and left home, every time he came back, his visits had been rushed and brief.
After becoming paralyzed, he had been completely consumed by despair and gloom, rejecting everyone who tried to get close to him.
“Mm.”
He silently followed behind Wang Xiulan.
……
When they returned home, Wang Xiulan efficiently brought a bowl of thin cornmeal porridge and a plate of salted vegetables to the table.
“An’an, eat first. I’ll go feed your husband.”
As she spoke, Wang Xiulan filled another bowl and prepared to carry it into the inner room.
“Mom, I’ll do it.”
Shen Yu immediately stopped her.
“You?”
Wang Xiulan looked at him suspiciously.
“You’ve been working all morning. Go rest. Mom can take care of him.”
“It’s fine. I’m not tired.”
Shen Yu insisted. He picked up the bowl and walked into the inner room.
“Taking care of him is my responsibility.”
Wang Xiulan watched the back of her “daughter-in-law,” her eyes suddenly growing warm. She nearly burst into tears.
See? These two young people were getting along again, weren’t they?
Shen Yu carried the bowl into the inner room and immediately slid the door bolt shut behind him.
Cheng An’an, lying on the bed, blinked and gave him an innocent smile.
“Thanks for your hard work, my dear husband.”
Shen Yu clenched his back teeth and walked toward the bed step by step.
“Switch back.”
He was afraid that if he waited even one second longer, he would lose control and actually strangle this carefree woman.
Seeing how furious he looked, Cheng An’an considerately nodded.
“Sure.”
Shen Yu’s vision went black.
The next moment, that familiar sensation of paralysis and helplessness once again enveloped him.
He lay on the bed, feeling his immobile body, and unexpectedly experienced a sense of relief he hadn’t felt in a long time.
Beside the bed, Cheng An’an stretched lazily, moving her arms and legs.
“Ah… I’m exhausted to death.”
She let out an exaggerated groan, then plopped down on the edge of the bed and pounded her calves.
“Shen Yu, you’re seriously heartless. You worked my body like that.”
Cheng An’an complained, “Look at my legs. They practically don’t feel like they belong to me anymore.”
Shen Yu: “……”
Who was using whose body?
Who was the one exhausted to the point of looking like a dead dog?
This woman’s ability to twist right and wrong was truly unparalleled!
“Time to eat.”
Wang Xiulan’s voice came from the main room.
Cheng An’an immediately sprang up from the edge of the bed.
“Coming!”
She first took care of her immediate bodily needs, then walked over to the table.
When she saw the two bowls of thin cornmeal porridge—thin enough to see one’s reflection in them—and a plate of blackish salted vegetables sitting on the table, she stared.
This was lunch.
Yet Cheng An’an’s eyes lit up.
In the apocalypse, being able to eat a clean, hot meal was an enormous blessing.
Wang Xiulan pushed one of the bowls toward her, her tone gentler than it had ever been.
“An’an, hurry and eat. Afterward, get some proper rest. Don’t go back to work this afternoon. Your little body can’t handle that much exertion.”
“Mom, I’m not tired.”
Cheng An’an slurped down the porridge as she spoke, her words slightly muffled.
Of course she wasn’t tired.
Shen Yu was the one who was tired.
Wang Xiulan assumed she was just being polite and said sympathetically, “And you still say you’re not tired? Your face has gone pale. Listen to Mom. Stay home and rest this afternoon. You can earn work points anytime.”
Cheng An’an finished the last mouthful of cornmeal porridge and wiped her mouth.
She set down the bowl and nodded.
“Mom, I am very tired.”
Wang Xiulan felt that her daughter-in-law had finally said something honest.
“That’s right. If you’re tired, then rest.”
Cheng An’an sighed, her face taking on an expression that seemed to combine exhaustion with determination.
“My back is so sore it feels like it’s about to snap.”
“My legs are so weak it feels like I’m walking on cotton.”
“My arms are so tired I can barely lift them.”
With every sentence, Wang Xiulan’s heart ached a little more, and she nodded along.
“Yes, yes, yes. Mom knows. I saw it all.”
But the very next moment, Cheng An’an abruptly changed her tone.
“But!”
Her voice was firm and powerful enough to make Wang Xiulan jump.
“Mom, I can’t rest.”
Wang Xiulan froze.
“Ah?”
Cheng An’an suddenly stood up. She rose too quickly and swayed slightly.
She steadied herself against the table, gathered her emotions, and spoke with a faintly choked voice.
“I used to be such a terrible person. Shen Yu is a hero who served his country and protected our people. He became like this because of his sacrifice for the nation and its people. Not only did I fail to take care of him properly, I even mistreated him. I was practically less than human.”
Wang Xiulan’s eyes grew hot. Her lips trembled, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
Cheng An’an’s watery almond-shaped eyes reddened.
“Now I’m going to turn over a new leaf. I’m going to become a better person.”
“I’m going to shoulder this family’s burdens for him.”
“I want him to know that although he has fallen, his wife can stand up and hold up a whole sky for him!”
Wang Xiulan’s eyes grew even warmer.
The last trace of resentment she had held toward her daughter-in-law completely disappeared.
Seeing the deeply moved expression on Wang Xiulan’s face, Cheng An’an pressed on.