Desperate people, accept the seed of my soul!

"We ate too. We made dumplings, and Niu Niu ate several."

Yuan Qiao paused, her voice tinged with hesitation: "Is it cold where you are?"

The weather forecast says it will get colder these next few days. Make sure your work shed is well-ventilated, and cover yourself with a thicker blanket at night so you don't get cold.

I bought you thermal underwear. I asked Old Li from the next village to take it over. He's going to Zhaoming City tomorrow, so remember to pick it up.

"Okay, it's not cold here. There are electric heaters in the shed, it's warm."

Song Chao lied; the old electric heater in the workers' shed had long been broken, and he couldn't bear to spend money to repair it, so he slept wrapped in his coat every night.

"You too, there are gaps in your windows. I'll seal them when I get back, and it'll be warmer in winter. I've already asked about the aluminum alloy material for the balcony, and I'll install it myself, which will save me a lot of money on labor."

"All you ever think about is saving money. Your health is more important than anything else," Yuan Qiao scolded softly, her voice full of concern. "Niu Niu had a bad cough last night, so I took her to the clinic. The doctor said it was a seasonal flu and prescribed some medicine."

"How serious is it?" Song Chao's heart immediately clenched. He sat up straight, his voice becoming several octaves of tension. "Should I go back?"

"It's not serious, it's just a common cold. I'm much better after taking medicine," Yuan Qiao quickly reassured him.

"Don't worry, just focus on your work and don't get distracted. You have a lot of work to do there, and going back and forth will take several days, which will reduce the project payment. Niu Niu and I are doing fine, so you need to take good care of yourself."

"I know." Song Chao's fingers tightened around the phone, his knuckles turning white. "You've suffered. After the house is renovated, we'll enroll Niu Niu in that art class. She loves to draw, let her learn properly."

"Mm," Yuan Qiao responded with a smile in her voice. "Alright, that's enough. Phone calls are expensive. Get some rest and don't overwork yourself."

"You should go to bed early too. Niu Niu needs to get up at night, so remember to put a coat on her so she doesn't catch a cold."

"Okay, okay, stop nagging."

After hanging up the phone, Song Chao put his phone back in his pocket, his fingertips still lingering on the screen.

His screensaver is a photo of his wife, Yuan Qiao, and their daughter. In the photo, Yuan Qiao is holding Niu Niu, and both of them are smiling sweetly. The background is the osmanthus tree in full bloom in their home.

He felt all his fatigue disappear after just one look.

He stood up, dusted off his pants, picked up his hard hat, and walked into the construction site.

His coworker, Lao Liu, joked with him, "Talking to your wife on the phone again? You call her every day, don't you get tired of it? My wife and I only call each other once a month, and that's too much."

Song Chao chuckled twice, without refuting.

How could he get tired of it?

How could he get tired of it?

He feels he must have accumulated great merit in his past life to have this family.

He started working right after graduating from high school. With no education or background, he started as a porter, carrying cement, steel bars, and cleaning construction sites. He did all sorts of dirty and tiring jobs.

Back then, he was so poor that he had to save up half a month's salary to treat the girl he liked to a meal. He thought that was how his life would be—to be a bachelor for life, save some money for his retirement, and no one would remember him when he died.

Three years ago, at a friend's wedding, he drank too much and blacked out. When he woke up the next day, he was lying in a hotel room with his bridesmaid, Yuan Qiao.

He was terrified; his hands were shaking as he dressed, and he had only one thought in his mind—it's over, he's going to jail.

He squatted by the bed, head down, not daring to look at Yuan Qiao, waiting for her to call the police to arrest him.

As a result, Yuan Qiao was not angry or blamed him. Instead, she comforted him and said it was okay, just treat it as an accident.

Her voice was gentle, without a trace of blame, as if she really didn't blame him.

Song Chao thought to himself, "How kind must this girl be to comfort him after something like this has happened?"

He felt bad, thinking he had taken advantage of Yuan Qiao and needed to take responsibility. So he brought her food and drinks every day, trying to apologize in various ways.

Today I'll deliver steamed buns from my own home, tomorrow I'll deliver watermelons from the construction site, and the day after tomorrow I'll ride my bike for two hours to town to buy a cup of milk tea, then ride for another two hours to deliver it—by then the milk tea will be cold.

Yuan Qiao always said it wasn't necessary to go through all that trouble, but he wouldn't listen and just kept sending it over.

After a month of delivering the package, Yuan Qiao smiled at him.

After sending gifts for a month and a half, Yuan Qiao began to reciprocate with a gift—a bag of pickled vegetables she had made herself and a crookedly knitted scarf.

After sending her for two months, Yuan Qiao told him she was pregnant.

The Song Dynasty was completely stunned, and then there was an overwhelming wave of ecstasy.

He was so happy that he jumped around three times on the spot at the construction site, almost falling off the scaffolding.

He went to buy a ring that very day, visiting several stores and taking out all the savings he had accumulated over the past six months, choosing the brightest one from the counter.

He ran to Yuan Qiao's building, clutching the ring box, his hands trembling violently, and said he would take responsibility and treat her well for the rest of his life, as long as she was willing to marry him.

Seeing that he was covered in sweat, Yuan Qiao reached out and took the ring, agreeing to the marriage.

On their wedding day, he got completely drunk at the banquet, hugged Yuan Qiao and cried, telling her that even if he worked himself to death, he would never let her suffer any grievances.

He did what he said he would do.

For three years of marriage, he did all sorts of hard and tiring work.

He'd do anything for money: moving bricks, carrying cement, tying steel bars.

He takes on jobs that others are unwilling to work overtime on, jobs that others find too tiring, and jobs that others find too low-paying.

My hands developed thick calluses, my shoulders bore purple marks from the pressure, and my back developed a herniated disc from the strain. Every night, I had to take several deep breaths to turn over in bed.

But he felt it was worth it as long as he could earn even one more penny.

Yuan Qiao stays at home to take care of the children. He doesn't let her go out to work, saying that he can support the family.

"You just stay home and take good care of Niu Niu, leave the money-making to me," he said to Yuan Qiao, his tone carrying a stubborn, chauvinistic air.

Yuan Qiao felt sorry for him and kept saying she wanted to find a part-time job, even if it was just as good as being a cashier at a supermarket, so she could help him out.

The Song Dynasty vehemently disagreed.

He believes that men should support their families and that only a coward would make his wife go out to work.

Last month, his daughter said she wanted a Barbie doll, so he saved up his cigarette money for half a month. He used to smoke a pack a day, but he managed to cut it down to a pack every three days. After saving for a month, he finally saved enough money and was waiting to buy it for her when he got his next paycheck.

He has already saved half of the money for renovating the small house in the suburbs.

The kitchen is missing a range hood, the living room walls need to be repainted, and the balcony needs to be enclosed—the balcony isn't enclosed, so it's drafty in winter, and Niu Niu caught a cold from the draft there last winter.

And then there's Niu Niu's little study.

Yuan Qiao's daughter loves to draw and has been praised by her teacher several times at kindergarten for her artwork. Yuan Qiao says she has talent. Song Chao doesn't understand what talent is, but he knows that Niu Niu wants a place to draw.