"Huanwu, I just saw Jiuzhen's hand move. Is he about to wake up?"
The mother-in-law held Zhou Jiuzhen's hand and wept uncontrollably.
Ling Huanwu also quickly bent down to check. The two of them quietly looked at his hand on the bed, and sure enough, they saw him move his hand again, but then there was no movement for a long time.
She pulled Zhou Jiuzhen, lying on the bed, into her arms, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, are you feeling terrible? Can you feel what just happened? I know you want to wake up. I'll raise enough money to take you to Hong Kong for treatment..."
Her chest felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and she choked up, unable to say anything more.
The mother-in-law hugged the two of them from behind, stroking the children's faces, tears streaming down her face as well.
Outside, Lin Xiaoqin and the other aunties watched this scene, their eyes already red with tears...
*
Inside the messy stone house.
The three little ones were fighting over the few remaining crispy cookies in the paper bag inside the house.
Da Bao glanced at his father, who was lying motionless on the bed, blinked his big, bright eyes, and toddled over to Zhou Shuyao, holding up a handful of crispy cookies. "Daddy, have a cookie..."
One sentence brought Zhou Shuyao, who had been completely lost and oblivious to his surroundings, back to his senses.
Looking at Da Bao, who looked exactly like his eldest son from his previous life, he felt a mix of emotions.
The eldest son was the most successful of the three children, and initially he was also the most filial.
But what happened to the three children later?
Perhaps from the day his affair was discovered by his three children, he began to instill a patriarchal mindset in them, telling them that men are the foundation of women's lives, so it doesn't matter how many women a man has outside the marriage.
The three children, who had been well-educated by Ling Huanwu, were gradually led astray by him and eventually became ungrateful wretches who could look down on their elders.
Zhou Shuyao held the still innocent and ignorant Dabao in his arms, and remembering the cold and heartless look in Ling Huanwu's eyes when she looked at him, he burst into tears again.
When Song Yaoyao, with a bruised and swollen face, was helped home by Ling's parents, she saw Zhou Shuyao holding the child and crying as if he were going to die.
"What are you doing? You've scared my Academician Da Bao half to death."
She quickly went up and picked up Da Bao, then squatted down and kissed Er Bao and Xiao Bao, "These are all my little darlings, did that old woman surnamed Ling hurt you when she dropped you?"
Before she could finish speaking, Zhou Shuyao jumped up from the bed. "What were you doing just now? How could Huanwu possibly drop the child? You heartless woman, if you cause her any more trouble, believe me, I'll beat you up!"
Seeing that Zhou Shuyao's slap was about to land on Song Yaoyao's face again, Ling's parents rushed to break up the fight.
But the two elderly people were no match for the young and strong Zhou Shuyao.
He raised his hand and was about to slap Song Yaoyao across the face when the triplets charged at him like little calves.
Some punched his legs, some kicked him, and some even headbutted him.
"Daddy's bad, I'll beat Daddy to death!"
The triplets spoke in unison in their babyish voices.
Zhou Shuyao froze on the spot, his heart feeling as if it had been torn to pieces by the words and actions of the three children.
This moment.
Only then did he truly understand how heart-wrenching it must have been for Ling Huanwu to lie alone in her hospital bed, being personally accused and hurt by her three biological sons.
Meanwhile, Song Yaoyao on the other side was smiling with a smug look on her face.
"Zhou Shuyao, I think you'd better take us to Hong Kong City as soon as possible, or do you want your three children to die in a few months?"
The triplets tilted their little heads back, looking completely bewildered.
Ling's parents were completely unaware of the meaning behind Song Yaoyao's words.
Only Zhou Shuyao, upon hearing this, collapsed to the ground as if all his strength had been drained.
As she said, if he didn't leave now, it would be too late!
*
The 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
The original sign for the Stone Village Production Brigade next to the drying ground was taken down and replaced with a brand new sign with the words "Wantan Handicraft Production Cooperative" prominently displayed at the entrance.
Amidst the crackling of firecrackers on the drying ground, the cooperative was officially established.
Almost all the aunties and girls from Wantan Island came to work.
Even some young men who were shameless and starving youths shamelessly came to work at the cooperative.
Ling Huanwu didn't mind. She picked a few strong men to move fabrics and unload goods in the company, or to do some heavy work.
The women were selected through several rounds of screening, with only one-third meeting the requirements.
Those who weren't selected left in a huff, clearly dissatisfied.
Ling Huanwu didn't take it to heart.
She divided the cooperative into two roles: master and apprentice.
The process of making a garment is broken down into smaller parts to prevent someone from plagiarizing the entire process.
Soon, the first batch of improved work pants officially began production.
The coarse cotton cloth or work cloth supplied by the agricultural supply and marketing cooperatives had double patches at the knees to make it more durable, and a wide belt at the waist to make it easier to bend over while working.
With the supply and marketing cooperative as their backing, they have no worries about sales channels, only about the quality of their products.
Therefore, Ling Huanwu spent every day at the cooperative, and she also brought Zhou Jiuzhen to work and take care of him.
To meet the deadline, everyone often works until nine in the morning.
After everyone went back, Ling Huanwu was still worried, so she took a kerosene lamp and checked each piece of clothing that had already been inspected.
In the dimly lit office, she removed the thread that had been stitched incorrectly and sewed it back on.
As he got up, he almost knocked over the kerosene lamp next to him.
Under the kerosene lamp was a whole bundle of cloth.
She caught the kerosene lamp with her bare hands, but a large blister was burned on her hand.
Zhao Jingxiang, who had been secretly observing from the doorway, could no longer hide and rushed in, grabbing her hand to examine it. "Do you have to work so hard, spinning around like a top here..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ling Huanwu pulled her hand back and slapped him across the face.
"Zhao Jingxiang, why are you doing these underhanded things behind my back? Why did you steal my blueprints and leak them? Are you only happy when you've ruined me?"
Ling Huanwu's voice was hoarse and full of anger. Her movements were so swift that they stunned Zhao Jingxiang.
He was never one to meddle in other people's business, because he himself found it difficult to empathize with other people's pain and sorrow.
When the kerosene lamp fell and hit the woman's hand, he felt a sense of empathy for the first time, even sensing the pain in her hand that was even greater than hers. That's why he lost his composure and rushed in without bothering to hide.
What do you mean? Do you think I'm hurting you?
Zhao Jingxiang took a step back, staring at the woman's delicate features under the lamplight, his brows furrowed tightly, his eyes full of doubt.
The moment Ling Huanwu met his gaze, she seemed momentarily dazed.
His eyebrows and eyes, and his cold, hard face, were strikingly similar to Zhou Jiuzhen's.
At this moment, it seemed as if Jiu Zhen was standing right in front of her, staring at her with a pitiful expression...
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