The woman was startled by Rong Lianhu's imposing manner, but quickly resumed her arrogant demeanor: "Who are you? How would I know who you are? These two children are my family's. I'm disciplining them, what's it to you?"
Just then, an aged voice, tinged with uncertainty, rang out from the side: "Lian, Lian Hu? Second brother...?"
With red eyes, Rong Lianhu turned to his mother and said, "Mother, you took the money and promised to take good care of my child. Is this how you've taken care of him?"
"You make them work, but don't feed them, and you beat and scold them all the time? They're your own grandsons, how can you be so heartless?"
Old Mrs. Rong was so shocked by the news that her son and daughter-in-law were still alive that she couldn't come to her senses and stammered, "You, you're not dead?"
Rong Lianhu squinted: "So, you thought I was dead, which is why you tortured my child to death."
Sister-in-law Rong was intimidated by his imposing manner and dared not act as aggressively as before.
She witnessed the traitors burning, killing, and looting when she was a child, and has a deep fear of people in uniform.
Although Rong Lianhu is not wearing a military uniform now, she knows that her brother-in-law is a soldier.
He tried to run away along the wall, but Rong Lianhu gave him a sharp look and made him stand there trembling.
Old Lady Rong let out a loud cry: "My son, you're finally back alive! Do you know how worried I was about you?"
She performed a whole series of singing, recitations, and dramatic acts, never mentioning the matter of hitting the child, but unfortunately, Rong Lianhu wasn't buying it.
Before he could say anything more, Fu Ya stopped him: "Lian Hu, taking the child to the hospital is the priority."
Rong Lianhu then uttered a harsh threat: "You all better stay home and wait for me to come back so I can give you an explanation. No one is allowed to run away, or none of you will get away with this."
After saying this, they handed the package they had brought back to a kind aunt from the same clan, and then left with Fu Ya, each carrying a child.
Although later, with the elders of the clan as witnesses, she left behind the gold, silver, and banknotes she had used to raise her children, as a way to support her parents in their old age, and severed ties with her hometown, Fu Ya still felt resentful.
The two children are now ten and eight years old respectively, but they look at least two or three years younger than their peers. This makes Fu Ya feel guilty towards the two children and always want to love them more.
But they were very sensible, always finding things to do, washing clothes, picking vegetables, sweeping the floor, and taking care of the vegetable gardens assigned to them. Fu Ya felt both guilty and heartbroken, but also gratified.
Thinking about it again today, I almost couldn't hold back my tears.
Even now, she can't imagine what kind of abuse her two children would have suffered if she and her husband had unfortunately died on the battlefield and never returned.
Seeing her like this, Rong Lianhu knew that she must be thinking about the suffering her child had endured in the past, so he patted her comfortingly.
After finishing her meal, Fu Ya was no longer sleepy and leaned against the quilt to make a brocade pouch for Rong Jiaojiao.
Just as he was intently struggling with the scraps of cloth in his hand, he heard footsteps outside. Looking up, he saw several familiar military wives standing at the door, each carrying something.
Leading the group was the brigade commander's wife, Wan Qiong. When she saw Fu Ya, she smiled warmly and said, "Dr. Fu, congratulations! You've had a little girl, your life is finally complete!"
Fu Ya hurriedly tried to get up, but Wan Qiong quickly stopped her.
Fu Ya said somewhat shyly, "Dean, ladies, you've arrived. Please come in."
Wan Qiong waved her hand and walked in with a smile: "We're all family, no need to be so polite! I came here specifically to see your little baby."
Fu Ya smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Dean. The baby is fine, but he is still quite weak since he was just born."
She wrapped the baby in a blanket and showed the baby to everyone.
Wan Qiong placed the small package on the table and said, "This is a small token of our family's appreciation. These are all things the children can use, so please don't find them offensive."
After speaking, he took the child and examined her carefully. He found that her features were delicate and exclaimed, "This child has such exquisite features; she will surely be a little beauty in the future."
When others praised her child, Fu Ya always smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Dean."
At this moment, other military spouses also stepped forward to offer the gifts, all with smiles on their faces.
Li Sao, the wife of Logistics Minister He Da, was named Li Hui. She was carrying a large basket containing ten eggs and half a pound of brown sugar.
She placed the basket on the table and said, "Dr. Fu, this is a small token of our family's appreciation. Eggs and brown sugar are both good for your health, so please eat more."
Fu Ya said gratefully, "Aunt Li, you're too kind. I don't know how to thank you enough."
Li's wife laughed heartily: "Don't be so polite. We are all military wives, and we are family. It's only right that we help each other."
Fu Ya nodded, her heart filled with warmth.
Another military wife is Zhang Lianhua, the wife of the battalion commander of the first battalion. She held a piece of cloth in her hand and handed it to Fu Ya: "Dr. Fu, this is a small token of our family's appreciation. This cloth is soft, so you can make an undershirt for the child and it won't hurt the child's skin."
"Thanks!"
The other military wives also put down their things and gathered around Wan Qiong to look at the baby, discussing how good the baby's features were, creating a lively atmosphere.
Before long, the little girl probably got annoyed by the noise and started whimpering. Wan Qiong quickly returned her to Fu Ya and then left with the other military wives.
Fu Ya, somewhat embarrassed, urged them to stay longer, saying, "Dean, ladies, please sit a while longer. I've just been discharged from the hospital and haven't prepared anything special to treat you all."
Wan Qiong smiled and waved her hand: "Don't be so polite, we just came to see you and your baby. You should rest well, and we'll come to see her again when she's older."
Aunt Li chimed in, "That's right, that's right. You should take good care of yourself and don't worry about us. We'll come again when we have time."
Other military spouses nodded in agreement: "Yes, Dr. Fu, please focus on recovering. We can't help with the baby's situation, so we can only send you some things to help you recover."
With supplies scarce these days, and everyone having elderly parents and young children to support, Fu Ya was touched that someone would still send her things and thought she would return the favor when she had the chance.
So he said no more, only thanked them: "Thank you everyone!"
After they left, Rong Lianhu came in with his two sons, both of them wearing thick cotton-padded coats, looking like they were about to go out.
Fu Ya asked, "Are you going out?"
"Yes, I'd like to see if I can get you a couple of fish to help you recover."
After Rong Lianhu finished answering, he saw Fu Ya's gaze fall on her two sons, so he said, "They both want to come along, and I agree."
Seeing Fu Ya's distressed expression, he added, "Boys shouldn't be pampered."
She stopped Fu Ya from saying what she was about to say, but she still said, "Let's wait until tomorrow to go out. Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year."
"It's okay, the first and second years of the new year are the same. Just stay home and wait."
Seeing that she couldn't persuade her, Fu Ya had no choice but to give up. After everyone left, she continued what she hadn't finished earlier, and soon she had completed a brocade pouch the size of a thumb.
She put the jade beads into a brocade pouch, tied it with a red string, and hung it around her daughter's neck before happily cuddling her child and continuing to sleep.
In the evening, Rong Lianhu and the two children returned home. As soon as Rong Zhiyuan got home, he came to Fu Ya to report the good news: "Mom, we caught a lot of fish, enough for you to nourish your body."
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