Chu Mei was so angry she almost fell over.

She's already apologized, so who else does she need to apologize to?

Following Ling Huanwu's gaze, she looked at Zhou Jiuzhen, her chest heaving with anger.

Could it be that she's going to confess and apologize to Er Gou for almost killing him in order to save her other son?

Isn't this just a way to sow discord between the mother and son?

She clenched her fists, wishing she could tear Ling Huanwu's face to shreds.

Just as she was about to suppress her emotions, Ling Huanwu turned and picked up Wang Guihua's portrait, handing it to Chu Mei. "You should apologize to your mother-in-law. She's been looking for you all these years. She doesn't want a thank you; she wants you to apologize to Jiu Zhen for not wanting to go home when he had a fever back then."

"She said she didn't know what happened to you back then, but she knew something must have happened to the chubby child, which is why he lost so much weight in such a short time..."

Ling Huanwu's voice choked with emotion as she carefully grasped Zhou Jiuzhen's stiff palm, feeling the slight trembling in his hand.

At that moment, it was as if she had traveled through sixteen long years and grabbed Xiao Ergou, who was trapped in darkness.

Just like back then, even when he was drowning in the icy lake and crying his heart out, he still dragged her, who was drowning, upstream towards the table.

Upon hearing this, Chu Mei could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

She squatted on the ground, clutching the pot of soup, as memories overwhelmed her, murmuring "I'm sorry" over and over again.

In fact, she knew all those years ago that it was Big Dog who took her younger brother out and lost him.

She would go back and forth to look for it several times a year in Yuncheng People's Park.

She hated the big dog, but she couldn't expose him or punish him.

What Da Gou didn't know was that his family owed Er Gou a great deal because of his illness.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Chu Mei held onto her guilt in her arms and cried uncontrollably.

Seeing his biological mother hunched over on the ground, crying on the verge of collapse, Zhou Jiuzhen couldn't help but tear up at that moment.

Apart from the memory of being pushed off a bridge by his brother in the park, he could not recall any other moments he had spent with his parents.

But the lingering pain in his heart pulled him to help the woman up from the ground.

Chu Mei carried the bucket of gradually cooling duck soup to the table, opened her heavy cotton-padded coat, and ladled out a bowl of thick duck soup from the bucket, still slightly warm.

Instantly, the entire narrow room was filled with the enticing aroma of meat and herbs.

While human memories may fade, the memories etched on the taste buds will accompany a person throughout their life.

The familiar taste was like an invisible hand, gradually dispelling and smoothing away the scars etched into his soul over the years.

By the time Zhou Jiuzhen finished the whole bowl of soup, tears were already streaming down his face. He felt as if his taste buds had been completely reshaped.

At that moment, he truly realized that he was indeed the son of the woman in front of him.

Ling Huanwu did not disturb the mother and son's reunion, but quietly retreated back to bed.

As the two talked about what had happened over the years, Ling Huanwu closed her eyes, as if she could see her mother-in-law appearing in front of her, smiling at her silently.

Those eyes seemed to be saying, "Your family must take good care of yourselves..."

She talked to her mother-in-law for a long time, whether it was a dream or longing...

*

The next day.

When Ling Huanwu woke up, she saw only Chu Mei sitting in the room.

She had a gloomy face, her eyes fixed on him, her expression full of dissatisfaction.

Ling Huanwu felt a little uncomfortable under the intense gaze. She touched her face and asked awkwardly, "Did you two chat all night? Where's Jiu Zhen?"

Chu Mei gestured with her lips towards the outside, "Your man is cooking for you outside!"

She spoke in a very harsh tone, and even though Ling Huanwu was half asleep, she could understand the complaints and dissatisfaction in her words.

This is because she complains that she didn't get up early to cook for her husband.

Ling Huanwu glanced at the time on the wall; it was almost time to pick up the goods at the dock, and she had overslept.

"I...I won't eat anymore, you guys enjoy your food!"

She quickly got up, put on her shoes, and rushed outside.

At the door, Zhou Jiuzhen was frying egg pancakes on the stove when he saw Ling Huanwu rushing to leave. He quickly grabbed her, "Little Yuanzi, aren't you going to eat breakfast?"

Ling Huanwu glared at him as she braided her hair, "You're not allowed to call me Little Yuanzi!"

Zhou Jiuzhen was both amused and exasperated, and grabbed her tightly, saying, "Alright, alright, then you can have Da Yuanzi. Don't leave. Have breakfast first, then we'll go. It's all my fault for cooking so late."

Ling Huanwu didn't have time to say more to him, so she quickly gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, "Okay, just pretend I ate it, I'm leaving!"

After she finished speaking, she hopped on her shoes and ran away.

Zhou Jiuzhen was so frightened that he held out his spatula, terrified that she would fall.

Chu Mei had just come out when she saw Ling Huanwu kissing Zhou Jiuzhen. She was so embarrassed that she almost gouged out her own eyes.

Looking at the group of aunties gathered around the well, all of them staring intently at Ling Huanwu's own son, they felt that he had truly lost all face.

This daughter-in-law is practically a reincarnation of a vixen; only a vixen could do something so shameful in public.

After Ling Huanwu left, Zhou Jiuzhen was too lazy to cook, and he didn't eat anything himself. He went to the army base in a daze.

He even forgot that there was an old woman in the house, and completely forgot that the two of them had talked heart-to-heart all night.

Chu Mei was furious as she watched her son's departing figure.

After locking the door to the couple's little home, he pretended to be nonchalant and went over to chat with people by the well, waiting for Ling Huanwu to return from the dock after failing to pick up the goods.

Once Ling Huanwu returns, she will have to properly train her on how to be a good wife.

Chu Mei struck up a conversation with several women from the family compound, feigning apology as she said, "I'm sorry you all had to see this. My daughter-in-law is so inconsiderate; she actually did this in broad daylight... tsk tsk!"

She hesitated, wanting to stir up the conversation and get everyone to condemn Ling Huanwu.

To everyone's surprise, the aunties all looked at each other with amused smiles, saying, "Indeed, for some reason, it was Comrade Ling who kissed Battalion Commander Zhou today. I remember that in the past, it was always Battalion Commander Zhou who would pull Comrade Ling into the house and kiss her again and again before letting her go."

"Yes, yes, Battalion Commander Zhou thought we couldn't see him from inside the building, but when we stuck our heads out, we saw everything, haha..."

"Aunt Chu, your son really spoils his wife! Among all the female family members in our compound, your daughter-in-law is the luckiest."

The crowd chimed in, each offering their own words of flattery.

But to Chu Mei, they were mocking her for having a son who was a henpecked husband who was always around his wife.

Chu Mei was furious and turned around to go to the cooperative to see that Ling Huanwu's cooperative had stopped operating.

Sure enough, as soon as she arrived at the cooperative, she heard panicked noises coming from inside.

"Without needles and belts, how are we supposed to finish this batch of goods?"