Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

Wang Zhihe pushed open the door, bringing with him a chill.

The wick of the kerosene lamp in the room was too long, forming a black wick, making the light dim and flickering.

Qiao Zhaodi whimpered and fussed as she nestled in bed.

Hearing the noise, he pulled the blanket up to cover half of his head.

She wanted to say something.

Thinking of the Queen Mother's cannibalistic manner just now, he swallowed back the filth that was on the tip of his tongue and only dared to roll his eyes in bed.

Wang Zhihe ignored her.

He walked straight to the five-drawer table, squatted down, and started picking at the bricks in the corner of the wall.

Qiao Zhaodi sensed something was wrong and quietly lifted the blanket a crack. She saw Wang Zhihe touching the brick, and her heart skipped a beat.

That tin box was hidden inside.

"Splash!"

A soft sound.

Wang Zhihe opened the lid using the light.

Inside the empty box, there were two large ten-yuan bills and a few small bills scattered around.

It only costs a little over twenty yuan in total.

Several hundred yuan.

Only a small fraction remained.

Wang Zhihe loosened his grip.

The box crashed to the ground with a thud, and a few small bills floated out.

He plopped down on the ground.

His eyes were like icy daggers, fixed intently on the raised shadow on the bed.

On the way back, Zhou Fang advised him to take it easy.

He was tough on the surface, but deep down he still harbored a sliver of hope.

Even if Qiao Zhaodi still cares about her family, she is still a mother of three children.

This money is for building a new house in the spring. She can't be so heartless as to not even leave enough for a roof tile, can she?

Reality gave him a resounding slap in the face.

That one glance.

That completely extinguished any lingering hope he had.

Qiao Zhaodi felt a chill down her back, as if a venomous snake was crawling on her.

She turned around reluctantly.

He met Wang Zhihe's frighteningly gloomy eyes.

She shrank back guiltily, but then felt she couldn't lose face, so she stiffened her neck and shouted:

"His eyes were practically popping out of their sockets. It's not my fault the money's gone; it's because I was robbed."

She pulled her sleeping son into her arms.

The force was so strong that it woke the child up, and the child started crying loudly.

"Cry, cry, all you do is cry!" Qiao Zhaodi yelled at Wang Zhihe while patting the child.

"You can't even hide your money, and now you're glaring at me? Wang Zhihe, do you have some slut on the side and are you deliberately trying to pick a fight to divorce me? Let me tell you, no way."

"It's not like I'm the only one at home. There are times when I don't lock the door, and who knows if it's someone else?"

Wang Zhihe just watched her perform quietly.

Not a word.

When Qiao Zhaodi finished scolding, only the sound of the child sobbing remained in the room.

Wang Zhihe slowly began to speak:

How did you know I hid money there?

Qiao Zhaodi was taken aback, her eyes darting around.

"You took that down yourself just now..."

"I was just grabbing a box."

Wang Zhihe interrupted her, pointing to the loose blue brick, "The mortar in the cracks of that brick has been cleaned out. Nobody knows that spot except me."

I didn't tell you I lost money. Why are you immediately saying I was robbed?

Qiao Zhaodi's face turned pale.

I never expected that this man, who is usually so quiet, would be so quick-witted today.

She became even angrier.

Pointing his finger at Wang Zhihe's nose and cursing:

"So what if I took it? I'm your wife, your money is my money. I can give it to whomever I want."

"Buy a TV for your good-for-nothing brother?" Wang Zhihe sneered.

"Who are you calling trash?"

Qiao Zhaodi reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling with anger.

"Yaozu is someone who does great things."

Unlike you, a complete coward.

All I'm doing is taking some money.

"Are you really interrogating me like a criminal? Wang Zhihe, you heartless bastard, you wouldn't even trust your own wife for a few hundred yuan."

"I must have been blind to be with a useless man like you."

If it were anyone else, they would have slammed eight hundred yuan on the table and told me to go back to my parents' house and show off. You spineless coward, what can you do besides bully your wife?

"Don't glare at me. Money's gone, money's gone. If you're so capable, go earn it back. What kind of skill is it to act tough and bully me here?"

"You good-for-nothing, I'd rather sell myself than be with you."

"Not only am I poor because of you, but even 'that' only happens every few days. It doesn't give me any pleasure at all."

After saying that, Qiao Zhaodi pulled the blanket over her head.

With his back to Wang Zhihe, he adopted a nonchalant attitude, as if he were a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

Wang Zhihe sat on the cold ground.

Looking at that figure from behind, I suddenly found it funny.

This is the wife he has protected for so many years.

He stood up and patted the dirt off his backside.

He picked up the twenty-odd yuan on the ground, put it in his pocket, kicked the tin box on the ground, and turned to leave the house.

This life has come to an end.

……

Early the next morning.

Song family.

The sky was overcast, as if it were about to rain.

Song Tingting was busy in the kitchen, cooking a steaming bowl of rice noodle soup and sprinkling some chopped celery on top. The aroma wafted straight into her nose.

Song Xianglan hurriedly drank a bowl.

He wiped his mouth.

"Tingting, you stay home and read, I'm going to the county town."

"Mom, it's going to rain," Song Tingting said with some worry.

"It's alright, I'll ride slowly. I have to deliver some New Year's goods and red envelopes to those who helped me today, it's customary." Song Xianglan wrapped her scarf tighter and pushed her bicycle out the door.

She had just left half an hour ago.

Shen Huijun followed shortly after, carrying her suitcase into the courtyard.

"Sister-in-law," Song Tingting exclaimed in surprise, quickly stepping forward to take the suitcase. "Come inside and warm up. I'll get you some rice noodle soup."

Looking at the steaming room, Shen Huijun felt a warmth in her heart.

The house was managed very well by the mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

Shen Huijun ate two bowls of rice noodle soup.

Tell Song Tingting about heading east and southwest.

The girl was dumbfounded. It turned out that she had been completely oblivious to her family's affairs and had been focused solely on studying for the college entrance exam.

She quickly took out the radio and turned it on.

After the crackling sound of electricity subsided.

The announcer's clear and articulate voice came through.

"...Recently, tensions have risen on the southwestern border, and troops from various theater commands have been gradually assembling..."

Song Tingting's face turned deathly pale instantly.

"Sister-in-law, brother will be alright."

Shen Huijun nodded solemnly.

Song Tingting suddenly remembered something, pointed to the west room, and said, "I was so ignorant, I was only focused on studying. Yesterday I saw Mom collecting gauze and anti-inflammatory medicine, and my cousin and the others were also collecting medicinal herbs outside..."

Shen Huijun suddenly stood up and walked to the door of the west room to take a look.

Several sacks were piled up there.

Although it was sealed, the faint smell of medicine couldn't be masked.

"Mom already knew." Shen Huijun's eyes welled up with tears. "She was making preparations for Xiang Dong."

"Sister-in-law, what can we do?" Song Tingting was so anxious that tears were about to fall. "I can't just stay at home and eat for free."

Shen Huijun took a deep breath, her eyes hardening. "We have our own way. Let's go to the brigade headquarters and make a call."

The two braved the cold wind and ran to the brigade headquarters.

Chunxia was sitting at the doorway eating sunflower seeds when she saw the two of them running breathlessly, so she quickly lifted the curtain.

"Hey, come in quickly, it's cold outside."

Song Tingting: "Sister Chunxia, ​​let's make a phone call."

Chunxia chuckled and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, handing them to Song Tingting before discreetly stepping outside. "You two chat, I'll take a walk outside."

Shen Huijun picked up the phone and called the street office where Cong Ying lived, asking them to call Cong Ying.

She hung up the phone and dialed a number in Hangzhou.

She called her roommate, Peng Yuying, who was the richest among the group in the dorm.

"Feed? Is this Yu Ying? I'm Hui Jun."

"Huijun? You've been on leave until the end of your vacation and haven't returned to your dorm." The voice on the other end of the phone was cheerful.

"Yu Ying, I need your help." Shen Huijun steadied herself. "Could you get me a batch of hemostatic and anti-inflammatory drugs? The more the better. I need to send them to the southwest."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then the voice rose a few octaves.

"You wait there, I'll take care of this. You don't need to worry about the money; consider it a donation from my dad to the front lines."

I hung up the phone.

Shen Huijun then called Chu Linlin in Yangcheng.

Chu Linlin readily agreed: "I'll try to buy some supplies from various pharmacies. I'll let you know if I need more money. It's a pity we can't organize a student fundraising event during the holidays."

I made several phone calls in a row.

The responses she received were all warm and encouraging, which calmed Shen Huijun down a bit.

Finally, she called the neighborhood office where Cong Ying's family lived.

"Feed?" Cong Ying's lazy voice came over.

"Cong Ying, it's me."

"Oh, Huijun, did Aunt Song ask you to urge me to hurry up with that batch of medicine?" Cong Ying chuckled twice on the other end of the line. "Don't worry, I've prepared all the Yunnan Baiyao and first-aid kits that Aunt Song asked me to buy. Song Dong came to pick them up again this afternoon."

Shen Huijun was taken aback:

"Did Mom already contact you?"

"You don't know?"

"I just got back, and I haven't seen Mom yet."

"You two, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, are on the same wavelength." Cong Ying paused, her tone suddenly becoming serious. "By the way, Huijun, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I submitted an application to my superiors, asking to go to the southwest to serve as a field medic."

Shen Huijun's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the microphone.

"Your school..."

Cong Ying's voice was filled with excitement, "It's been approved by the higher-ups, and the school has also agreed to my leave of absence."

At this point, Cong Ying chuckled:

"I might even run into your man. If he gets injured, I'll definitely give him the best medicine, so don't worry."

"Pah, pah, pah...you jinx. He definitely won't get hurt." Shen Huijun cursed, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. "Cong Ying, take care of yourself. You must come back alive."

"I will. I'm hanging up now, I still need to organize the first-aid kit."

Listening to the busy tone on the receiver.

Shen Huijun remained motionless for a long time.

……

In the county town, Lai Feng guarded his home.

Song Xianglan placed a heavy fruit basket on the table. In addition to apples and oranges, there was a thick stack of newspapers wrapped around the bottom of the basket.

"Thanks to Comrade Lai for taking care of me this past year," Song Xianglan said with a smile.

"These fruits are for the children."

Lai Fengshou's wife is a shrewd woman.

Those eyes had already scanned the fruit basket twice, and a smile bloomed on their faces.

"Sister Song, you're too kind. It's nothing, it's nothing."

After seeing Song Xianglan off, Lai Fengshou's wife couldn't wait to open the fruit basket. When she lifted the newspaper at the bottom, she saw that it was full of brand new "Big Unity" newspapers.

She counted them; it was a full three thousand yuan.

"Oh my god!"

Lai Fengshou's wife quickly stuffed the money into her bosom, ran into the inner room and locked it in the cabinet. She was overjoyed. Sister Song was so generous in handling things!

They left the Lai family's house.

Song Xianglan rode her bicycle to Lin Fang's snack shop.

The year-end is approaching.

The store is doing brisk business.

"Auntie's here!" Lin Fang, with her sharp eyes, quickly went to greet her.

Erhua also looked up and smiled shyly at Song Xianglan: "Third Aunt, please sit down, I'll go get you some peanut soup."

Seeing Erhua's smile, Song Xianglan sighed inwardly.

She pulled through, but the sorrow in her eyes only deepened.