Chapter 55: How Much Pain Must Zhuzhu Be In?
As dusk falls, the villagers who have worked all day either wash up and go to bed early, or wash their clothes by the river, or gather in groups of three or five at the village entrance to chat about family matters or the harvest.
Zhou Congsheng and Shen Yuzhu walked along the country road carrying their things. A gentle breeze blew by, making them feel very comfortable. Every now and then, villagers would pass by and greet them.
Shen Yuzhu looked at Zhou Congsheng, who was smiling, and pinched the hem of her clothes. It took her a lot of mental preparation before she finally stopped him.
"Zhou Congsheng, I have something to say to you."
"Hmm, what?"
Shen Yuzhu sighed, looked into his eyes and said, "Actually, I lied to you back then."
Zhou Congsheng's smile faltered, and his breathing became shallower. "Zhuzhu, you..."
"You're so smart, you should have suspected it from the beginning: why did Lü Jiahao and Zhong Fu fall into misfortune so quickly? Actually, I..."
“Zhuzhu, some things don’t need to be said. I believe you must have your reasons, or reasons that you had no choice but to do. Otherwise, given your personality, if you really hated them to the point of not being able to stop, you would just leave far away, not… I think the punishment they received was just their own retribution.”
Shen Yuzhu's heart stirred slightly, and she hummed in a trembling voice before continuing the conversation.
“One time when I was coming home from get off work, I passed by the master bedroom and heard Lü Jiahao and Zhong Fu talking. I didn’t want to listen, but they mentioned my mother. It turned out that my mother’s first child didn’t die after birth, but they switched the baby and sent it to the countryside. It turned out that the reason my mother was always in poor health and couldn’t give birth to her children was because Lü Jiahao secretly drugged her. It turned out that Shen Yuxia was only a few months older than me, but the two of them never lost contact. Even the deaths of my mother and my maternal grandparents were related to them. Zhou Congsheng, I can’t let this blood feud go unavenged.”
Seeing Shen Yuzhu trembling slightly, Zhou Congsheng disregarded everything and quickly pulled her into his arms. He dared not imagine how heartbroken Shen Yuzhu must have been when she found out.
What was he doing back then? He was on vacation back in Haicheng, and he only dared to secretly look at her photos in his room. He didn't even have the courage to go to her. Now he regrets it so much that he wants to punch himself hard. Why couldn't he have been braver?
He wasn't there when Zhuzhu was in so much pain, he wasn't there at all...
"After dealing with Lü Jiahao and Zhong Fu, my biggest wish is to find my sister and then marry you. You must be wondering why I suddenly want to be with you. You must have a million questions in your mind, but Zhou Congsheng, I am sincere. In this world, no one loves me more than you, and no one is more affectionate towards me than you. I think we should be together."
If remaining unmarried for life and still being buried together after death isn't considered deep affection, then she doesn't know what can be considered love.
"Zhuzhu, I'm so sorry, so sorry. I wasn't there for you when you were in so much pain and so heartbroken. I'm so, so terrible!"
"Don't say that, Zhou Congsheng. You are very good. And look, I took my revenge myself. Hatred did not make me decadent, but made me stronger. I am not a little flower that needs protection, but a steadfast tree. Zhou Congsheng, you should be happy for me."
Zhou Congsheng carried the basket in one hand and held her tightly with the other, a tear of heartache sliding down Shen Yuzhu's neck.
Yes, she is very strong and capable now. She has only been in the countryside for a little over a month, but she has managed to maintain so many relationships and made several good friends.
As her fiancé, he felt incredibly proud and honored, but at the same time, he felt even more heartache. If she married him, she could still go to see her sister and wouldn't have to work so hard in the countryside. But he knew in his heart that this was not what Yuzhu wanted.
Before she married him, her sister was her own sister. Even if she found someone, it would be a matter for the Shen family, not the Zhou family. Zhou Congsheng knew that she didn't want her and her sister to be seen as a burden and to be thrown onto the Zhou family.
What she wants is to be strong on her own, without relying on anyone.
He should be so grateful that such a wonderful woman is willing to accept his feelings and be with him.
“My sister has suffered a lot. Since she was little, Lu Jiahao didn’t treat her like a human being. She had no family to support, and her husband’s family and now the Zhang family have all bullied her. But she grew up very well and raised her children very well.”
Ma Daya was neither as sharp-tongued nor as timid as typical rural women. Without the mountain weighing on her head, she was a completely different person. A couple of days ago, she sent Zhang Jie, Panpan, and Qianqian, the three sisters, to the commune's primary school. She also received the monthly allowance from the commune for Zhang Li.
She hasn't been working during this time, and of course, she hasn't been taking good care of Zhang Li either, but has been focusing on recuperating.
Shen Yuzhu secretly sent her a lot of chicken, fish, meat, eggs, grain, noodles, and money coupons, and her life improved a lot. Their house was located at the end of the village, and Ershun and Guo Rou's family lived in front of them. Neither of them were talkative people.
On the contrary, they were overjoyed to know that Ma Daya was doing well.
“I was thinking that after the busy farming season was over, I would take my sister to get a new household registration book and change her name. She won’t be called Ma Daya anymore; her surname will be Shen, and her name will be Shen Yuming.”
“Okay, I’ll give the police a heads-up so things will go more smoothly for you. Also, if you think that man is an eyesore, why not send him to a sanatorium in the county town? It’s not expensive, you’ll get a good reputation, and you won’t have to serve anyone.”
Shen Yuzhu blinked and said, "Hmm, it's not necessarily a bad thing."
The sanatoriums of today are not as developed as those of later generations. Not only are the facilities rudimentary, but the staff are also not very professional. Zhang Li has a volatile temper, so if a conflict were to break out, it would be quite a disaster.
"Okay, I'll mention it to my sister later."
The two walked towards the Zhang family's house. When they were almost there, Zhou Congsheng reluctantly let go of Shen Yuzhu's hand. He had been holding her hand since they finished talking, and she hadn't let go.
Panpan opened the door and greeted Shen Yuzhu as "Auntie," but her eyes widened slightly when she saw that there were other people with her.
"Panpan, this is Zhou..."
"Auntie, Auntie, I know, this is Uncle. Everyone in the village knows. My mom was planning to go find you after washing the clothes, but she had a fever and that's why she didn't go."
Zhou Congsheng and Shen Yuzhu blushed slightly when she called them "Uncle-in-law," but when they heard that Qiancheng had a fever, they quickly pulled Panpan and hurriedly walked into the room.
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