For so many years, there had been no shortage of people who wanted her family’s books and booklets, but Wang Guifen didn’t like any of them. She always declined, saying she wanted to keep them as a remembrance. After refusing many times, as the years passed, those who had coveted them eventually gave up.
“Dad was amazing. This is the first time I’ve heard he was a doctor!” Su Yi’s eyes sparkled.
“Oh, that’s all from ages ago. Your dad passed away when Zhijun was still very young. I had originally planned to have a few more children, but he died too early and only left me with Zhijun. If he were still alive, I might’ve had both sons and daughters by now.” After she finished speaking, she smiled.
“Then Mom… you never thought about remarrying?” Su Yi asked softly.
Zhijun had been very little at the time. Her mother‑in‑law must’ve been quite young then. A widow raising a child alone—it must’ve been so hard. Life was difficult even now; how much harder must it have been back then?
“No, never. Your father exchanged a load of radishes and twenty yuan for me. Back then I was the prettiest girl in the village. Zhijun’s father was handsome too. The first time we met, we fell for each other at a glance. He wore glasses and looked so gentle. The moment I saw him, my heart was hooked.” It was the first time Wang Guifang had ever shared her love story, and after she finished, she blushed shyly.
Su Yi leaned her chin on her palm. “And then?”
“And then I insisted on marrying him right away. My parents couldn’t do anything, so they put me on a donkey cart and sent me to Zhijun’s father’s home, and the two of us got married.
“After that, we lived several happy years. Even though I’m illiterate, if you want me to casually remarry someone, I wouldn’t do it. Once a person has known something good, they can’t accept worse.” Wang Guifen said with a smile.
Su Yi moved closer on the heated brick bed and wrapped her arms around Wang Guifen. “Mom, you’ve worked hard all these years.”
Wang Guifen smiled and patted her daughter‑in‑law’s back. “It’s not hard. My son is capable, my daughter‑in‑law is good, and before long I’ll be holding a grandchild. I’m overjoyed. All the hardships in the past—I’ll just take them as me saving up good fortune.”
Su Yi held Wang Guifen’s arm. “Mom, by your reasoning, I also think it’s a good thing that you recognized Comrade Shen as a godson. First, his background is tragic but clean, and he’s the orphan of a martyr. We’re a military family too—it won’t seem out of place to help him. And Father’s books are priceless; we can’t give them to outsiders. If we recognize him as a godson, then Comrade Shen becomes one of our own.”
Wang Guifen smiled. “Exactly. And he knows medicine. If we cultivate him well, maybe he’ll contribute greatly to the country someday and become a pillar of society. It would be a shame to bury such talent.”
“His uncle and aunt were blind. Such a good child—yet they tormented him for half his life. When he succeeds in the future, they’ll regret it so much their intestines will turn green.”
She used to think that rural folk lacked knowledge and reason, so they often treated children poorly.
But she never expected that city people could behave even worse—greedy enough to take a child’s parents’ pension.
A soldier’s pension was several hundred yuan—a large sum. Even raising three children would’ve been possible with that. Yet after taking the money, they didn’t even raise him well.
When they saw no more money coming, they immediately sent him to the countryside. Truly heartless, shameless creatures.
“Mom, then we should go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a few things and invite some respected people from the brigade to witness this. That way we can shut up the gossipy women.”
A widowed mother‑in‑law and daughter‑in‑law were always targets of gossip.
If they didn’t take this step, who knew what those gossipers might say about Shen if he came by? Better to make it clear now so no one with ill intentions could stir trouble.
Wang Guifen held Su Yi’s hand. “You reminded me. Let’s go to the cooperative now and buy some things. Maybe they’re just dividing up the meat. I heard the brigade leader killed a wolf. If we go now, we won’t have to visit every house.”
“And we’ll tell them about adopting a godson right in front of those gossiping old women. If they dare talk nonsense afterward, I’ll tear their mouths apart right in front of the brigade leader. He won’t say a thing.”
Su Yi nodded with a smile. The two got off the kang and put on their shoes.
…
“Are you saying Auntie Wang doesn’t want any meat?” The brigade leader was shocked.
The women waiting for the meat were also stunned, then secretly delighted—if she didn’t take any, that meant more for them.
“This wolf was speared by Auntie Guifen—it’s her rightful share. Did she say why she didn’t want it?” The brigade leader didn’t understand.
Neither did the people around. Meat was precious. People in the brigade could hardly afford it.
Their meals were watery and bland for long stretches. If it wasn’t a major holiday, they wouldn’t see even a trace of oil, let alone meat.
“Brigade leader, she said her daughter‑in‑law is pregnant,” Shen Wangchun said.
“What?” one of the women exclaimed—the very woman who had said a few days earlier that Su Yi looked like she couldn’t have children.
“Didn’t they say Su Yi couldn’t conceive?”
“Yeah! I don’t know who spread that rumor. Luckily Guifen didn’t hear it. If she had, I’d want to die of shame.”
“What shame?”
A familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind. Everyone recognized it—it was Wang Guifen.
“G‑Guifen… is Yiyi really pregnant?”
“Of course! Not only is she pregnant, but she’s carrying twins.” Wang Guifen held Su Yi’s hand and smiled.
Today was the perfect chance to let these women know that her daughter‑in‑law not only could conceive—she conceived two at once. Let it smack them right across the face and make them jealous.
The reason these women bad‑mouthed Su Yi was because their own daughters‑in‑law hadn’t gotten pregnant for years. When chatting, they liked talking about childless women—it made themselves feel better.
Daughters‑in‑law in the village rarely ate any oil and still had to do heavy fieldwork.
If they had a bad mother‑in‑law, they also suffered mistreatment. Their health broke down, they couldn’t conceive, yet were still called barren.
Wang Guifen couldn’t stand that sort of thing and had long since stopped associating with them.
“Twins—what good fortune!”
“Everyone said Su Yi couldn’t conceive, yet she ends up carrying twins.”
“Guifen, did you give your daughter‑in‑law some kind of remedy? My daughter‑in‑law hasn’t gotten pregnant for years. If you have a way to conceive twins, can’t you share it with me?” asked the woman who’d claimed earlier Su Yi looked infertile.
Since Zhijun’s father had been a barefoot doctor, she was sure they had some secret formula. If she’d known earlier, she wouldn’t have offended Wang Guifen. Now she could only swallow her pride.
“That’s right, Guifen! We’re all from the same brigade. You can’t keep a good remedy to yourself!”
One by one, the women thick‑skinnedly crowded forward.
Hearing this, Wang Guifen laughed and said slowly:
“Your daughters‑in‑law can’t get pregnant? Why don’t you check whether your sons are the ones who are useless? No matter how hard the daughters‑in‑law try, it won’t help if the men don’t work.”