Zhou Lanhua is coming back.
The news of his return was so sudden that the family was caught off guard.
That evening, Qiuhua and Jiang Xiang were busy at the silk factory, rushing to finish a batch of embroidery when someone from the village suddenly came and said there was a call from the army.
Jiang Xiang's face changed suddenly, and she almost tripped over the machine in her panic.
After she received the call, she never returned to the factory. When Qiuhua returned home from get off work, she found that only Jiang Xiang was at home.
"Master, hasn't my uncle come back yet?" Qiuhua asked.
Jiang Xiang nodded, her expression wooden and unnatural. Qiu Hua's heart skipped a beat, and she asked hurriedly, "Did the army call? What did they say? Was it Lanhua?"
"Your uncle went to pick up Lanhua, and she will be back soon. But, she said she was injured..." Her eyes turned red as she spoke.
Qiuhua hurried over and took her hand, "Master, my mother always said that a girl with a boyish appearance is destined to be rich and powerful. Don't worry."
Jiang Xiang raised her hand to wipe away her tears and said, "Okay, okay, good child, Master won't worry."
Having said that, when Qiuhua got up in the middle of the night to drink water, there was still light coming from the master's room.
A mother worries about her child even when he is far away. Zhou Lanhua has been away for so many years, and Jiang Xiang has been worried every day. Her daughter has a troublesome personality. She is reckless, impulsive, and likes to show off.
When Zhou Shengnan left, he said he would be back in about a week, but it turned out to be a month later.
Just when Jiang Xiang was getting restless and wanted to run to find them alone, another call came in. It was from Zhou Shengnan.
"Ah Xiang, we'll be back the day after tomorrow. Is the sun good at home these two days? Take out the quilt from Lanhua's room and dry it out in the sun to prevent it from smelling musty.
Are you eating well at home? You've finally gained some weight, don't lose it again.
Don't worry, Lanhua is fine, she can eat and drink, and she just had a big bowl of braised pork today!"
Jiang Xiang nodded, but didn't dare to speak, for fear that Zhou Shengnan would worry.
He said that Lanhua was fine and could eat and drink. Since she was fine, why didn't he let her talk to him?
The next day, the sun was shining brightly.
In May, there are beautiful scenery everywhere.
The fields behind the village are lush green. Every time the warm wind blows, a new crop grows, and the crops seem to be competing to grow.
The air is filled with the fragrance of flowers and fruits, and bees occasionally come to visit.
Qiuhua and her master took out all the things from Lanhua's room and put them out in the sun. The villagers who passed by didn't know what had happened, they just thought that Lanhua was coming back, which was a good thing.
Jiang Xiang moved a stool and sat in the yard in a daze. In the May sun, she felt hot after being exposed to it for a quarter of an hour.
"Master, the sun is so strong, why don't you go inside?" Qiuhua asked her.
"Yeah, look at me, I'm stupid. It's so bright out here." She moved the stool in.
"Master, my uncle said that Lanhua can eat and sleep well, and is doing well, so don't worry.
Tomorrow when they come back, I will go to the street in the morning to buy some of Lanhua’s favorite dishes and cook a good meal for her.”
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Qiuhua." Jiang Xiang sat down again, looking dull and very tired.
The next day, the father and daughter returned, brought back by a vehicle from the army.
The car stopped and two soldiers got out. They quickly walked around to the back of the car and opened the door. Two of them got in. After a while, another person was carried down from the car and Zhou Shengnan jumped down.
"Lanhua, is it Lanhua?" Jiang Xiang came forward and tremblingly pulled back the quilt, sobbing but not daring to cry.
"Mom." Zhou Lanhua's voice was weak. "Mom, I'm home."
Is the person in front of me still my daughter?
It was a dark and thin face, covered with scars of all sizes, with new flesh growing out abruptly, one after another, shocking to the eye.
Jiang Xiang's legs felt weak, her throat felt bitter, and she staggered and almost fell to the ground.
Zhou Shengnan quickly stood behind her, patted her on the back, and said, "Okay, it's okay. Lanhua is back. She'll be full of life in two months. Don't be annoyed by her when she gets here."
Qiuhua shed tears silently, not daring to look at her, let alone touch her.
Zhou Lanhua, who was stronger and healthier than a man, now seemed so fragile that it was frightening.
She raised her hand with great effort and gently rubbed the back of Qiuhua's hand, saying, "Sister, I'm fine! It's just that I've been lying in bed for a month, and my muscles have atrophied. I used to be able to kill a cow, but now I can only kill a cockroach."
Qiu Hua forced a smile and said, "Then when you get better, go exercise and kill a cow for me."
"Okay, no problem."
That night, the master and his wife did not sleep, taking turns to look after their daughter. Qiuhua couldn't sleep either, and occasionally got up to pour them some water.
Late at night, I could faintly hear what my master and uncle were saying in the room. A faint, suppressed sobbing sound came from inside, like a sharp blade, splitting the peaceful and quiet night.
Only her master and uncle knew the reason why Zhou Lanhua was injured, and Qiuhua never asked.
The army sent the father and daughter back and also gave them commendations. Zhou Lanhua retired early and could receive a pension every month, which was a good benefit.
Every day, Qiuhua would peek into Zhou Lanhua's room and ask, "Lanhua, what would you like to eat today?"
"Sister, the weather is nice today. I want to eat lotus root with pork."
"Okay, I'll go buy it now."
The hotter the weather gets, the cooler it will be in the evening. Qiuhua boiled a pot of hot water, took a wooden bucket to add warm water, and brought it to Zhou Lanhua's room.
Even more terrifying than her face is her body.
In addition to scars of varying sizes, there was also a flesh centipede crawling from the belly button all the way up to the chest.
When Qiuhua was washing Zhou Lanhua for the first time, her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't control herself.
"Sister, don't cry." Zhou Lanhua said.
“You’ve suffered…”
"It's okay, I'm really fine. I even applied for early retirement, and the benefits are the same as a formal retirement. I can enjoy my life from now on. I don't have to do anything. I can earn more than others just by lying at home!"
The more Zhou Lanhua laughed, the harder Qiuhua cried.
"Well, I don't care about this body. It's just a ruined face, no big deal. My ability, Zhou Lanhua, doesn't lie in this face." She laughed heartlessly and said, "Besides, I'm not good-looking anyway, so it doesn't make much difference, not much difference, haha!"
The next day after she returned home, Wang Erhu came with his wife and daughter.
As soon as she saw Zhou Lanhua, the little girl burst into tears. Wang Erhu scolded her and asked the landlady to take the child home.
"Why are you scolding the child?"
"You little monkey are so brave!" Wang Erhu brought a bunch of things and said, "Boss, I don't have anything good to give you, so you have to make do with it."
"Why are you being so polite? Look at you. You're doing well and you have such a wonderful daughter."
Wang Erhu nodded. Zhou Lanhua got tired after just a few words, so he got up and left after sitting for a while.
When he reached the outside of the yard, he stopped and couldn't help wiping his eyes.
"Sister, what's going on? You were fine when you left, but now you're like this!"
Qiuhua's nose was sore after hearing his question. She turned around to look at the room and just shook her head slightly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
