1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

Now the two of them were on the kang (heated brick bed).

He crawled into bed shirtless, only his head peeking out. He saw Lianhua still sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), sewing shoe soles.

"Stop sewing shoe soles, it's getting late. Lotus, why don't you take off your clothes? Hurry up and see who's here."

Wang Lianhua's eyes darted around. Originally, she thought it was a good old woman who was willing to push her husband out, but her sister was no stranger either. And if you want to blame someone, blame Gao Shan. He was as strong as an ox and had a huge addiction. He had to do it every night. If someone could share the burden, she could relax a bit.

"Hey, I'm not sleepy, you can go to sleep. The sole of this shoe is almost finished with just a few stitches left, you go to sleep first."

He hummed in agreement, watching his wife sitting there. The dim light from the oil lamp made her little face look rosy, and she still had a bit of baby fat. She was chubby and quite adorable. He didn't know when her eyes closed.

How could Lianhua possibly have the heart to sew shoe soles? Seeing that her husband was asleep, she put the shoe soles into the sewing basket, tiptoed off the kang (a heated brick bed), and sighed inwardly.

From now on, her man won't just be hers alone. She stared at Gao Shan's face for several minutes before getting up and walking outside.

When she got to her sister's door, she quickly knocked, and almost at the same time, the door opened.

Wang Xinghua was in a turmoil all night, so she sat by the door.

In the past six months, she had seen how Shanzi treated his sister. The two had a really good relationship and wanted to be together all the time.

However, the thought of herself suddenly appearing out of nowhere and stuck in the middle made her feel a little guilty and embarrassed. But with the cold wind blowing outside, she pulled her sister into the house.

"Sis, stop dawdling. Shanzi's asleep. Hurry up and go over there. Once the deed is done, he'll have no choice but to admit it."

"Lotus, isn't this making you feel wronged, sister...?"

Wang Lianhua, who had been feeling a little uncomfortable, felt all her resentment disappear upon seeing her sister's expression. She held her sister's hand. "What's there to feel wronged about, sister? Before, when Mom and Dad were busy working in the fields, they didn't have time to take care of us. It was you who raised us. You always gave me the first bite of whatever food you had. Let's not be so polite. My husband is your husband, and we're still family. Maybe we're just destined to be together, and we can't be separated no matter what."

Wang Xinghua pursed her lips, her eyes reddened, nodded, and patted her younger sister's head. Before she could react, her sister pushed her out of the room, and the door was immediately locked.

On the other side, Chen Gaoshan was half asleep, but as a hunter, he still had some awareness, and he heard the door hinges rattle.

He turned his head to look at the doorway.

"Lotus, what are you doing? Why are you only coming back now? If you ask me, I'll just put a poop pot in the house, and you're complaining about the smell. If you go out in this weather, your buttocks will freeze to death."

The person at the door slowly approached with an oil lamp.

Good heavens, he finally saw it clearly.

No wonder she wasn't in a hurry to get into bed earlier; she must have conjured up a living person for herself!

Wang Xinghua!

Xinghua, who was just standing at the door with an oil lamp in her hand, has now moved to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and placed the oil lamp on the kang table.

She took off her sheepskin coat and stood in front of him wearing only a bodice, her arms wrapped around her chest, shivering from the cold.

"Takayama, please give me a child."

As she spoke, she climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and crawled into the quilt.

By the light of the oil lamp, Chen Gaoshan could clearly see Xinghua's face. She had a high nose bridge, plump lips, and her eyes blinked as she looked at him.

She was a pretty girl from the surrounding villages. To marry her, her family offered two bags of sorghum flour and three wild rabbits.

Wang Xinghua had her eyes closed, thinking to herself that she would just treat it as a pig taking a bite, that it would only last a few minutes, and that she would just bear it.

But the oil lamps had already lit up, and he was still sitting there dumbfounded, not reacting at all. If he dragged this out any longer, it would cause serious problems.

Thinking of what her mother had said to her during the day, Erzi must be embarrassed. You should take him with you.

She sat up, blew out the oil lamp, and threw herself into Gao Shan's arms.

Chen Gaoshan felt their chests collide; they were so solid. He reached out and pulled the person into his arms.

A man should act when necessary. His claim of carrying two households on his shoulders is a joke; it's all real.

"I'll give it to you, let's have a whole basketful of them."

The two lay on the scorching hot earthen bed, and she finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

"High mountains, high mountains, take it easy."

Wang Xinghua's eyes widened. This guy was a beast, just like his brother, completely oblivious to the concept of a long-term commitment.

She bit the blanket to keep herself from groaning; this was shameless enough as it was.

This was his last wish, and I had to fulfill it for him.

"Hey, why are you biting me? You little brat, where did you learn that from?"

Thank goodness it's a kang (heated brick bed); if it were a bed, it would have been a flatbed.

At this moment, perhaps because the kang (heated brick bed) was burning too hot, her cheeks were flushed red.

"Sister-in-law Xinghua... Waaah~"

Before he could finish speaking, his mouth was covered by a hand.

"When I'm in your room, call me Xinghua, but remove the last character; anything else makes me uncomfortable."

As she spoke, tears streaming down her face, she reached out and hooked her arms around his neck again.

····

Logically speaking, it was really impolite for her to rush over to do this, but Xinghua didn't care about such rules.

She had only one thought in her mind: the sooner she got pregnant, the sooner she could give birth, and the sooner she could stay in the Chen family with peace of mind. Otherwise, she would have no face to stay here any longer.

She had no other wish in this life but to conceive a child and live a peaceful life with the child. That would be her only hope, and Gao Lin would have a descendant.

In the adjacent room, Chen Laonian and Gao Shan's mother sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), covered with quilts. Neither of them closed their eyes, their ears perked up, listening intently to the sounds coming from the west wing. Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere in the room was oppressive.

Gao Shan's mother felt a tightness in her chest, her brows furrowed, and she sighed repeatedly.

The eldest son suffered for two whole months, injured by a bear. He was in so much pain that he couldn't sleep, and he soiled himself on the bed. The village doctor said that he was only so old and that they should prepare for his funeral.

Now that he's gone, everyone says he's finally free, but for his mother, that freedom is a terrible pain.

She wiped away the tears that kept streaming down her face.

"This really puts the second son in a difficult position."

"The eldest son had such a hard life. He was only twenty-two, the prime of his life, and he left us so suddenly, without even leaving behind a son or daughter. His father, I was thinking to myself, Xinghua and the eldest son have been married for so many years, but she has never been able to give birth to a son or daughter."

Doctor Li said there was nothing wrong with Xinghua, but why couldn't she give birth? Our eldest son used to be as strong as a calf. If you ask me, maybe his wife is just a piece of saline-alkali soil.

If Xinghua is healthy and can conceive smoothly, then the first wife's family will have an heir, and Linzi can rest in peace. If she can't conceive, then the second wife's family can have several sons, and one can be adopted by the first wife's family as a son, ensuring the family line continues and Xinghua has something to look forward to.

There's an old saying that of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is having no offspring. In the eyes of rural families, this is a matter of utmost importance.

Old Man Chen naturally understood his mother's thoughts and nodded.

"Okay, whatever you say. You can arrange things at home however you like."

Old Chen lowered his voice and listened carefully to the west wing.

"Judging from the sounds over there, the matter should be settled."

The eldest brother's departure was truly aggrieved.

He was just taking a dump when he ran into a bear hunting for food. The beast was taking advantage of the late autumn to fatten up for winter, and the boss just walked right into its trap.

When he heard the screams coming from behind and hurriedly grabbed his hunting rifle and rushed over, he found that the boss's legs had been licked raw and bloody by the bear, looking like a blood gourd.

With bloodshot eyes, he fired at the bear, firing five or six shots before finally bringing it down.

But looking at the eldest brother, he looked like that.

He would rather be the one injured by the bear than let his boss die so soon.

The eldest son was only twenty-two years old. He should have been at the prime of his life, getting married, having children, and supporting his family. And now he's gone.

But he was the head of the household, the pillar of the family. No matter how much pain or bitterness he felt, he couldn't collapse, and he certainly couldn't cry and wail in front of the women in the family.

Fortunately, fate wasn't too cruel to the Chen family; the second son is still alive, so the Chen family line hasn't been severed.

Hearing her husband's suppressed sobs, Chen Liu, who was standing beside him, gently nudged his arm.

"Dad, let's stop crying and stop being sad. The dead can't be brought back to life. With our eldest son gone, he's finally free from suffering and completely at peace."

Old Chen picked up his pipe and tapped it on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Go to sleep, stop thinking about these upsetting things. The dead must eventually make way for the living. The Chen family line cannot be broken in my hands."