"Stop trying to scare me. Everyone knows you and the educated youth were all lovey-dovey back then. If you ask me, you deliberately killed the child."
Zhang Xinhua wouldn't shed a tear until she saw the coffin; she moved her feet cautiously.
Because of her words, Jiang Yu and the man returned to the house without saying a word. Zhao Meiyun noticed something was wrong and asked a question, but then hesitated and stopped herself.
After the meal, Jiang Yu took out the remaining fabric, intending to make a garment for the man. She had noticed that the clothes inside the sleeves of the garment were somewhat worn when she was protecting him at the door.
Shen Wan lay down beside him, examining the cut piece closely. She noticed that it was a men's size and secretly glanced at her brother.
Shen Yingzheng was sullen because of Zhang Xinhua's words. He sat by the door with his tall figure, watching the two children play with the puppy. He seemed to have thought of something, picked up his coat hanging on the wall, and went next door.
At Wang Cuihua's house: Shen Dongdong was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) doing his homework, while Shen Jianguo was applying medicine to his wife's wound. Wang Cuihua had just heard Zhang Xinhua shouting outside, and in her haste to leave, she twisted her ankle.
The man, having learned of the situation, asked a few words of concern and got straight to the point.
"Sister-in-law, what happened three years ago when Jiang Yu had a difficult childbirth?"
The question isn't about doubting Jiang Yu, but there are indeed some illogical points. Back then, his relationship with that woman was so strained that they were almost at the point of divorce, and with the military undergoing evaluations at the time, he simply couldn't think straight.
Hearing the old story brought up again, Wang Cuihua stammered for a long time before letting out a helpless sigh.
Back then, Jiang Yu and she weren't as close as they are now. The night she gave birth, the candles in the house burned all night.
Feeling uneasy, I took a few glances from a distance.
After Jiang Yusheng's death, Zhao Meiyun was kicked out of the house after taking care of her during her postpartum period. At the time, it was unclear why, but later, when she was pregnant with that child, she refused to let her mother-in-law come back.
Aside from the midwife, the only person who could get close to Jiang Yu was Jiang Meier. Of course, the midwife was also found by Jiang Meier, and her family has now moved away.
Wang Cuihua searched for the keywords in her mind, and as if a switch had been flipped, she suddenly became excited. Her movements were too exaggerated, and she forgot about her sprained ankle, which caused a piercing pain in her foot.
Fighting back the cold sweat beading on her forehead, she spoke excitedly:
"Jiang Meier carried the child out, and I glanced at her as she passed by. The child was fair and tender, and seemed to still be breathing faintly."
Upon hearing this, Shen Ying was clearly unable to sit still. If Shen Jianguo hadn't stopped him, he would have gone to Shicun to find Jiang Meier and ask her directly.
"You didn't stop me from doing something so important. What am I supposed to say? It's infuriating!"
Shen Jianguo pointed at Wang Cuihua, looking at her with a disappointed expression. Just for the man's help to their family, no matter how difficult it was, she had to snatch the child from Jiang Meier to find out what was going on. If the child was really still alive, then their whole family would have let Shen Ying and his brother down.
"I...I didn't think that much at the time. Before leaving, Jiang Meier warned me that Jiang Yu was weak and that she would be devastated if she found out that the baby had died. I can't bear the responsibility if something happens."
Wang Cuihua felt helpless and frustrated. What if she had been more assertive? What if she had a stronger personality?
"And then what?"
Shen Ying knew what kind of person she was, and even more so, what a wicked person Jiang Meier was. Therefore, he could only blame himself for being careless and not reviewing the situation in time.
"Later...later she took the child and left, and never came back."
Wang Cuihua remembers it clearly. Back then, the children were still young, and she was worried that they would get cold outside, so she took them back to her own home.
Hearing this, Shen Ying was now 100% certain that the child was still alive. As for whether the child had been sold or given away, he would have to find Jiang Meier and get the answer from her.
Didn't the authorities recently arrest some human traffickers? Let's see if we can find out where the children are then.
Shen Ying instructed them to keep it a secret, not even to Jiang Yu, lest they alert Jiang Meier and let her escape.
He wasn't sure if Jiang Yu had been involved in this matter, and he also thought that if she really knew, Jiang Meier would definitely expose this secret when she came to his house to cause trouble multiple times.
In any case, it's always good to be cautious.
Jiang Yu cut the fabric to a man's size and hemmed it. She stretched, her mind filled with Zhang Xinhua's words.
She had almost no recollection of the child's situation, and guessed that the author had created a side story, or perhaps there were some hidden clues. She felt she needed to be more cautious.
Shen Wan rested her chin on her hand, blinked as she watched her stitch the seams together, and couldn't help but admire her.
"Sister-in-law, you're so efficient! Watching you is so relaxing."
Jiang Yu smiled and said a few polite words, but when she saw the man return from outside with a sullen face, her voice stopped abruptly.
She didn't know what was going on, and her expression changed as well. She silently prayed that the female lead would appear soon; the man's unpredictable mood was really affecting hers.
......
The heavy snow lasted for three days, then stopped on the morning of the fourth day. The sun rose, and the long-awaited sunlight shone through the window into the room, making it warm and cozy.
Jiang Yu folded the finished clothes and handed them to Shen Wan, who then passed them to Shen Ying.
The man hadn't spoken to her much these past two days, and Jiang Yu was too lazy to communicate with him either. In her opinion, this saved her a lot of unnecessary trouble.
The village chief announced over the loudspeaker that everyone should clear the snow to make the roads easier to walk on.
In the city, Bai Chen received orders from his superiors and drove his jeep towards Shenjia Village. Luckily, he still had some memory, and after many twists and turns, he finally arrived at the village entrance.
Upon entering the village, I saw a bald man squatting by the roadside, with a tattered cloth at his feet covered with vegetables, and a broken motorcycle next to him.
A few people walked up to the stall, asked about the price, shook their heads, and left.
"Auntie, these vegetable buns are fresh. If you really can't have them, I'll give you a discount of two cents."
Seeing everyone was about to leave, Zhang Ergou grabbed an old woman and let go. The old woman shook her head, full of resentment.
"Ergou, this is too expensive. It's more than ten times more expensive than at the market. I really can't afford this."
The old woman was shaky and could barely walk. Even a cheap cabbage costing a dime could sell for a dollar, let alone winter melons and potatoes.
“I got this from the city’s supply and marketing cooperative. People in the city eat this. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even have a chance to see it.”
Zhang Ergou cursed and swore, scaring the old lady away without looking back, afraid that if she stayed any longer, he would force her to buy it.
Bai Chen was utterly speechless when he saw the crookedly written price on the ground. What, do they think city people eat this? A one-yuan cabbage? Do they think they're all millionaires?
Zhang Ergou picked up the vegetables from the ground and was about to leave when he caught sight of a jeep not far away, and his blood boiled with excitement.
That's a great car! If I have the chance, I'll get one myself someday.
As he pondered this, he walked towards the car.
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