Chapter 030 Chapter 30 Investigation and Jealousy

When Zhang Yuandong returned to the room, Lin Yue had already fallen asleep with his back to the bed. He blew out the oil lamp and carefully lay down at the other end.

The kang was a little small, more than enough for Lin Yue and her two children to lie on it. But with the addition of a tall and long-legged man, it became a bit crowded.

Zhang Yuandong closed his eyes, feeling anxious.

He waited until the woman on the other side had evened out her breathing, then he slowly stood up, carefully got off the kang, and went to the other side. He stood by the kang for a long time. It was hard to see clearly in the dark, but he still tried hard to find some flaws on the woman's face.

Lin Yue's breathing became more and more disordered. Anyone who woke up in the middle of the night and suddenly found someone standing next to him and trying to harm him would not be able to calm down.

Several times she felt Zhang Yuandong's hands hanging above her neck, ready to strangle her in the next second. She was so scared that she even forgot to breathe.

This man was so sensitive that no one in the village noticed that there was something wrong with her, but he discovered it as soon as he came back.

She was too nervous, and Zhang Yuandong must have noticed it. She thought Zhang Yuandong would do something, but he did nothing. He just stood there quietly for a while and then went back to lie down.

That night, only the two little ones slept soundly, while the two adults didn't dare to turn over or move the whole night. They were on guard against each other the whole night, and no one slept well.

When Lin Yue woke up in the morning, Zhang Yuandong had already gone out for morning exercise. She brushed a little oil in the pan, fried a few potato cakes, cooked a pot of wild vegetable porridge with cornmeal, and then soaked a few slices of biscuits that their father had just brought back yesterday in hot water for the two little ones.

In the village, such a breakfast is already considered very rich. I wonder how many families are running out of food now.

After dinner was ready, Zhang Yuandong just came back.

Little Wanli skillfully placed the stool and sat at the small dining table, waiting for his mother to braid his sister's hair.

Zhang Yuandong touched his head. The boy was so sensible that it made people feel distressed. He seemed to see his own childhood shadow in his son. He wanted to praise him and comfort him, but he didn't know how to start. He just felt more guilty towards the two children.

Lin Yue brought his sister over and gave a series of flattering compliments: "Our Wanli is really capable, he can help mom with so many things! Thank you so much, Wanli, where would mom be without you!"

Little Wanli's eyes sparkled with praise, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise. Lingling shook off Lin Yue's hand, ran over, put the chopsticks in place, turned around, looked at Lin Yue with sparkling eyes, and didn't forget to make a promise: "Mom, after dinner, Lingling will clean up the dishes!"

Lin Yue's face was filled with joy, and he gave a lot of compliments.

Zhang Yuandong was stunned watching from the side and was deeply shocked, but his mouth seemed to be sealed with cement and he couldn't utter a single word.

The atmosphere during the meal was a bit strange. Except for the two ignorant children, no one spoke a word. It was not until the meal was over that Lin Yue said naturally: "Are you free today? If you have nothing to do, you can take care of the two children. I will go to work."

It was as if what happened last night had never happened.

Zhang Yuandong paused for a moment and nodded in agreement.

After dinner, he took the two children to Aunt Zhang's house. He came here on purpose today because the two kids looked very familiar with Aunt Zhang, and he guessed that Aunt Zhang and that person must be very close.

Zhang Yuandong took a handful of bran for feeding the chickens and gave them to the two children. He let them chase and feed the chickens in the yard, while he asked Aunt Zhang about Lin Yue's situation in a roundabout way.

Aunt Zhang often secretly helped him when he was little, and now she treated him like her own child. She was afraid that the young couple would have some conflicts, so she advised: "It's not easy for Xiaoyue to take care of two children alone when you are not at home. You have finally come back, so you must be good to her and not let her down."

Zhang Yuandong looked honest and smiled, "I know it's not easy for her, Auntie. You know, I've only been with her for less than three days. I haven't seen her for more than three years. I can't recognize her. Isn't it a bit uncomfortable in my heart?"

Aunt Zhang smiled and spat, "You little grey dog, I've watched you grow up, don't you know me? I think you've upset your wife, so she's ignoring you, right? Let me tell you, Xiaoyue'er is no longer the person she was three years ago who would let anyone bully her. She's determined now, and if you mess with her, no one can help you!"

Zhang Yuandong smiled and said, "Auntie, please tell me, how can a person's personality change so easily? This time when I came back, I felt that she seemed to have become a different person, not like when she first got married."

As soon as this matter was mentioned, Aunt Zhang became excited. She told Zhang Yuandong the story as if it were an ancient story: "Your wife was a person who had passed through the gates of hell and met Prince Yan. She used to be soft-tempered and was always bullied by your mother. Later, when she gave birth, I heard that she was dead and her body was cold. It was your uncle Zhiqiang's Su Ximei who saved her!"

Seeing that Zhang Yuandong didn't seem to believe it, she continued, "Don't disbelieve it. There were several people there. After the child was born, your wife was dead and lying straight on the kang. When people found her, she was almost dead! It was your Aunt Su who insisted on using some emergency method to bring her back from the brink of death! But I'm telling you, don't ask her about this. She won't let us spread it around. She said we should believe in science and not be superstitious!"

Zhang Yuandong listened to Aunt Zhang's detailed description of the situation at that time, and also heard that Aunt Su was doing CPR at that time, which was trained in this area of ​​the army. He just thought that Lin Yue must have stopped breathing for a while, so it made sense to use CPR to save him.

In fact, he had already asked around in the village yesterday, and the results of his inquiries basically confirmed that the person was his wife Lin Yue. But his intuition told him that there was something wrong with this person.

He sighed, "I know she suffered during my absence. It wasn't easy for her and the children. I just couldn't recognize her when I saw her personality change so much."

As soon as he said this, Zhang Yuandong felt something was wrong. If Lin Yue was here, he would definitely scold him for saying such a scumbag quote!

Aunt Zhang also wanted to sigh: "Alas, you know that your mother is not easy to get along with! Anyone who becomes her daughter-in-law will be tortured to death if he does not stand up for himself. When Xiaoyue was driven out of the house by your mother, she was still pregnant and had nowhere to go, so she had to live in a broken warehouse. When she just gave birth to the child, she was so thin that only bones were left. Later, she had a near-death experience, and she should have figured it out. With the persuasion of us old people and the burden of the two little ones, her temper has become much tougher, and she can stand up for herself day by day."

Zhang Yuandong recalled the letter from two years ago that he had only read at the beginning of this year. There were only a few short lines in the letter, but it turned out that there were so many difficulties behind it. Thinking about it now, he felt really upset.

He knew his mother's face. A helpless and weak woman living under his mother's hand must have a hard life. The mountains were high and the road was long. All he could do was to send her more money, but even this money did not fall into her hands, but was taken by his parents.

He really owed his wife too much in these years.

On the other side, Lin Yue had already arrived at the field and started working.

There are many people in the village who have served in the army, but it is rare in the whole town to have someone like Zhang Yuandong who has stayed in the army for seven or eight years.

It was only when Lin Yue went to work today that she realized how much of an impact Zhang Yuandong's return had on the village. Not only did everyone become more enthusiastic towards her, but many people rushed to help her when she was working, and even the few scoundrels in the village suddenly became obedient.

Zhang Zhiwen, who is over 60 years old, is an old Red Army soldier who has retired from the army and returned to the countryside. He likes to brag to others that he responded to the party's call and "put down the strong and picked up the hoe" to return to the countryside. He said it so many times that the younger generation no longer likes to hear it.

Today was different. He was surrounded by four or five young men, all asking him about his experience on the battlefield. Zhang Zhiwen was talking excitedly, holding a sledgehammer, slashing and stabbing in the fields, his movements were smooth and powerful.

Everyone around stopped working and watched in amazement. Even Zhang Shoucang did not scold them, but stood at the edge of the field with a smile, also leaning on his hoe to watch the excitement.

Lin Yue was also very interested. When the old man mentioned his military service, he changed his image of an honest farmer and straightened his back. He suddenly became tall and imposing. Maybe this is the pride that belongs only to soldiers. She thought of the one at home. No wonder a poor boy from the countryside can have such a temperament that people dare not underestimate.

Not far away, Zhang Xiaohui was also looking at the excitement here. Unlike others, she seemed to be staring at Zhang Zhiwen in a daze.

She always felt that something was wrong, especially the fact that Zhang Yuandong came back, which was very different from what she had expected.

She secretly observed Lin Yue, hoping to find some flaws in her, but unfortunately there was none. After observing her for a few years, she only found that Lin Yue seemed to be particularly good at raising children and sheep. The sheep she raised two years ago were strong and healthy, and had a lot of milk, and were fatter than the pigs in the farm.

Apart from that, there seemed to be nothing special. But she felt that Lin Yue was living a very good life, better than everyone else. Now that her husband was back, everyone in the village envied her for having a man who was an official.

Zhang Xiaohui was about to go crazy with jealousy. She rolled up the grass in her hands, and her hands were stained with green juice. The laughing crowd in the distance also added a little to her good mood, but it made her even more irritable.

After a while, she raised her head high again. She was going to work in the city soon, and the people in the village would have many more hard days ahead. Especially Lin Yue, she was waiting to see if Lin Yue and the two children could survive this year without someone to protect them.