In March, the spring chill in the north was still quite biting, and pedestrians on the street were wrapped in thick cotton-padded clothes.
In a small room on the third floor of the military district guesthouse, a tiny fire pit provided enough warmth to ward off the cold winter.
Song Qing couldn't sleep. She sat at the table, staring blankly at the letter in her hand, until her daughter, whose cheeks were flushed from sleeping in the blanket, let out a soft moan.
She woke up to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings, frowned, and was about to cry when she saw her mother.
She snapped out of her daze and rushed to check on her daughter, only to find that, for some reason, her daughter, who was already over ten years old, had become three years old after a nap.
They no longer stayed in the government dormitories in Ancheng, but in a small guesthouse.
"Mom, the toilet."
Three-year-old An'an stretched out her arms, asking her mother for a hug. Her mother had always raised her daughter very well.
Even if she wakes up in the middle of the night and is a little scared in an unfamiliar environment, she can control herself and not cry as soon as she sees her mother.
Despite having many questions, she still hugged her daughter skillfully and then started looking for a potty in the room.
Fortunately, although the place is small, it has everything you need.
After An'an finished using the toilet, she fell asleep again. Song Qing washed her hands with cold water in a basin. The cold water made her shiver, and her mind seemed to clear up.
She had lived in Ancheng for ten years without a heated kang bed, and neither did Xin'an, where she grew up. The only time she ever saw a heated kang bed in her life was when she went to find Lu Yang.
Lu Yang served in the military in several places before being sent to the north, which should have been their fifth year of marriage.
His rank was high enough that his family could accompany him to the military base. Even though Song Qing knew that the two had no feelings for each other, she was unwilling to trouble Lu Yang. Besides, she originally had a job, but she couldn't resist her mother's constant urging.
Six years ago, when Song Qing had just graduated from high school, she and her boyfriend Chen Yuqi were looking forward to a wonderful future together.
Unexpectedly, the college entrance examination was abolished that year, and the Chen family suddenly found themselves in a situation where everyone was against them.
Song Hai, the father, was originally Chen's father's subordinate. He got wind of the situation in advance and quickly ordered his daughter to break up with her boyfriend.
Overnight, Chen Yuqi went to the countryside and was never heard from again. The Chen family was deserted, and everyone was terrified.
Back then, everyone in the neighborhood knew about Song Hai and Qing's relationship. In order to sever ties with the Chen family, Song Hai went to the Lu family.
So Song Qing hastily got engaged to Lu Yang, who was still in the army at the time.
The parents of both sides quickly arranged the marriage, and as soon as he finally got a leave of absence and returned home, they got married.
The two had no feelings for each other, and Song Qing felt very guilty.
An'an was born during one of Lu Yang's vacations six months after their marriage. After giving birth, she raised the child alone.
She originally worked as a propaganda officer in the logistics department of the armed forces, earning 35 yuan a month. When An'an was two years old, her salary was increased to 42 yuan. In addition, Lu Yang would send money back, so she had saved a lot of money over the years.
She felt there was nothing wrong with this kind of life, but her mother always felt that forcing her daughter to break up with him was already wronging her, and she was also afraid that Lu Yang and her daughter had no feelings for each other.
What will happen to them, a widow and her daughter, if Lu Yang asks for a divorce?
It wasn't just Song's mother's wild imagination; what her family did back then was extremely dishonest.
She had to consider her daughter's situation; since the marriage was already finalized, her daughter would be the one who would suffer in a divorce.
Lu Yang rose higher and higher in the army, and at only 25 years old, he had already become a battalion commander. Call her vain or not, but she couldn't let her daughter divorce Lu Yang.
Previously, the two were separated by distance and had no way to develop their relationship.
Now that Lu Yang has finally qualified to accompany the army, she wants to pack up her daughter and send her to the Northeast.
Song Qing was naturally unwilling, but her mother forced her to go with her daughter after threatening her with life and death.
However, Song Qing only stayed in Northeast China for less than ten days before leaving.
In her previous life, her best friend from high school learned about Song Qing's situation. Since she had some connections in Ancheng, she helped Song Qing contact a company there.
As luck would have it, the newly established Emergency Management Bureau was recruiting, so she took her daughter directly to Ancheng.
Not to mention how chaotic things were at home when they found out she went to Ancheng, the Lu family was also very angry. No matter what they felt, they hoped that their son and Song Qing could live a good life together.
But now it's clear that Song Qing is unwilling to go with the army. Is she still thinking about her ex-boyfriend and unwilling to live a good life with her son?
She lived there alone with her daughter for 10 years. A few years later, after the catastrophe, the Chen family was finally exonerated. She worked hard to help the Chen family overturn their case.
It wouldn't be accurate to say she still harbored feelings for her ex-boyfriend; rather, she felt guilty about the things she had done back then, which were ultimately unethical.
The hardships a woman faces raising her daughter alone are beyond the comprehension of outsiders. Under immense pressure, Song Qing fell seriously ill.
An'an was terrified. She had known her mother's life was hard since she was little, and this incident made her even more frightened. She was extremely afraid of the slightest disturbance from Song Qing.
After recovering from her illness, Song Qing looked at her thirteen-year-old daughter and shed tears. She had considered many people, but not her daughter.
That illness also made her realize that when the Chen family was on the verge of collapse, there was nothing she could do. The efforts she made to help the Chen family were a way of repaying her father's debt to them.
She felt sorry for Lu Yang, and when she arrived in Ancheng, she sent him a letter proposing a divorce.
Lu Yang refused, so over the years Song Qing sent all the money he had sent back to the Lu family.
The person she felt most sorry for was her own daughter.
Before she could recover and start a new life, she fell asleep and ended up back at the guesthouse of the Northeast Military Region.
Outside, the spring chill was still in the air, but inside, the heated kang (a traditional brick bed) kept the small room warm and cozy.
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