An 80s female translator was spoiled rotten by a rough and jealous man.

Chapter 326 Only You Are My Beloved
The days spent at the Hope Primary School were busy and fulfilling. The schedule was packed, and Meng Youyou's daily routine was regulated by the volunteer life, which made her mind more calm.

Since returning from that business trip, Principal Zhou had indeed been at school almost every day, just as Teacher Miao had said. In addition to handling principal duties, she also taught classes and Chinese. Therefore, Meng Youyou often ran into her, mostly in her office, and sometimes in the corridor or the cafeteria.

If they bumped into each other, they would still chat for a while, talking about interesting things in class, the children's progress, and the weather in the mountains. But Meng Youyou never talked to Principal Zhou about that man again, nor did she ask about his fate.

The collection of letters, titled "The Lock," was a thin book that could be read in a snap. Meng Youyou kept it in the drawer of her bedside table and read it over and over again.

None of the articles in the book have titles, and Zhou Xiaobei did not make any additional modifications or alterations when compiling them. She simply listed them in chronological order—Article 1, Article 2... Article 99.

That was the last page of the main text, containing only two short lines:
"In this life, I have never failed my country and my family, but I have failed you, my beloved."

May my beloved be well and free from worries year after year!

How could she not understand what he meant?

Warren Buffett's longtime partner, Charlie Munger, once famously said at Harvard University's commencement ceremony: "The thing I most want to know is where I'm going to die, and I'm determined not to go there!"

This statement aims to remind people to use contrarian thinking to avoid failure, which is a very wise and simple principle. This is why Charlie Munger became an extremely successful investor.

And what about that person? What will they choose?
He would likely choose to return to the place of his past death once again, hoping to use reverse thinking to salvage as much as possible, which might not necessarily include his own life, Meng Youyou thought.

He is not without wisdom, but he will never be a qualified businessman because a good businessman needs to put his own interests first, and he will never learn that.

...

In May, Meng Youyou temporarily left the Hope Primary School to return to Beijing for her graduation thesis defense. After a two-day delay, she immediately returned to Fanzhou City to continue her unfinished volunteer work.

She had just returned when she received some good news: her class representative, Duoduo, had stood out in the preliminary round of the city-level primary school English essay competition and successfully entered the final round.

The finals were held at Fanzhou No. 1 Primary School in the city center, which is quite far from Jinsui Village. It is estimated that the journey would take at least two hours one way.

On the day of the competition, Meng Youyou got up very early and waited at the gate of Hope Primary School before dawn. She saw Duoduo running over from afar, wearing a faded light blue short-sleeved shirt.

Both the teacher and student arrived a little earlier than the agreed time before school ended yesterday afternoon. It was Duoduo's first time participating in a competition of this scale in the city, and she was so nervous that her little hands were ice cold, which was understandable. Meng Youyou, on the other hand, was calm on the surface, but she was even more nervous than when she took the college entrance examination.

The originally allotted travel time was already ample, and with the departure time being brought forward again and again, it should have been a sure thing. However, things didn't go as planned. Unfortunately, they ran into the farm bus that rarely broke down, a bus that only broke down once every six months.

Time slipped away second by second. After finally arriving in town, Meng Youyou hailed a taxi. Sitting in the back, she couldn't help but glance at the time on her phone screen while trying to urge the driver in a gentle tone, "Sir, could you please drive a little faster? I'm taking my students to the No. 1 Primary School for a competition, and we're going to be late."

The essay competition started promptly at nine o'clock, and the taxi stopped at the school gate at exactly 8:55. This was Meng Youyou's first time at this school. The buildings inside the gate were scattered, and the campus was much larger than she had imagined.

With little time left, and to avoid getting lost or going to the wrong classroom and wasting even more time, Meng Youyou led Duoduo straight to the guard booth at the school gate and asked the security guard inside for directions.

The morning light slanted across the campus. Next to the guardhouse, by the green belt, sat a slightly worn electric tricycle. Inside the vehicle bed were three large aluminum barrels, their surfaces gleaming with the dull luster of years of use. On the outside, a few square characters painted in red paint read "Sweet Tofu Pudding," "Savory Tofu Pudding," and "Original Soy Milk." In the corner, neatly stacked transparent plastic lunch boxes were piled up.

A man around sixty years old was squatting beside the tricycle. He had short, gray hair and deep, broad wrinkles on his forehead, but he still looked energetic. He wore a neat and simple navy blue short jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing his dark and muscular arms. His hands were covered with thin calluses. He was holding a wrench and steadily unscrewing the screws under the seat, probably because the tricycle had broken down somewhere along the way.

The security guard in the pavilion poked his head out, stretched out a hand and pointed east and west into the depths of the campus, muttering about the winding paths: turn left, go straight, then turn right again.

Meng Youyou stared intently at his swaying fingertips, straining to hear the complicated route. She had no sense of direction and couldn't make sense of routes longer than three steps. Just as she was about to ask for details, a loud voice suddenly came from the side in front of her: "I'll take you there!"

The teacher and student turned around and saw an old man standing next to a tricycle dusting off his hands and calling out to the security booth, "Old Wu, watch the vehicle for me for a bit. If you want some tofu pudding, scoop a bowl for yourself!"

After saying that, he ran ahead to lead the way, and Meng Youyou pulled Duoduo along to catch up. They passed through several clean side paths and arrived at the entrance of the lecture hall where the competition was being held in less than three minutes. He then escorted Duoduo into the examination room right on time.

Meng Youyou breathed a sigh of relief, then remembered to thank the old man who made tofu: "Thank you!" She bowed slightly to him.

Grandpa Douhua waved his hand and said cheerfully, "It's nothing, as long as the kids make it to the competition. I have to get back to deliver the Douhua."

Meng Youyou stood in the corridor, her eyes fixed on the old man's receding figure. His gait was a little strange; his pelvis habitually tilted slightly to the left, and his left leg landed with an unnatural stiffness. If he were just walking normally, there was no obvious limp, and it wouldn't be easily noticed by others. If it weren't for the fact that his running movements had been so exaggerated that his left trouser leg was occasionally pulled up, revealing a small section of silver-gray metal, Meng Youyou would have clearly seen that it was a prosthetic leg.

...

When Lu Fushun woke up from the anesthesia, the first thing he noticed was that he was missing a leg. He was filled with mixed feelings, unsure whether to be thankful for escaping death or to lament the leg that had vanished without a trace.

Teammates and leaders took turns visiting him in the hospital to express their condolences and offer guidance, fearing that he might do something rash. What young man in his early twenties could easily accept losing a leg? But Lu Fushun acted as if nothing was wrong, appearing extremely open-minded and optimistic.

One evening, after finishing his work, Huo Qingshan went to the hospital and heard intermittent sobbing as he approached the ward. He pushed the door open and saw Lu Fushun sitting on the headboard, hurriedly wiping his face with one hand while clutching the sleeve of his hospital gown, and hiding a half-written letter under the covers with the other.

What kind of letter could it be that could make a grown man, who never shed a tear when he woke up to the devastating news that he had lost his left leg, so heartbroken?

Huo Qingshan had a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on. As the team leader, he knew the basic information of his soldiers, including their family backgrounds and marital status. Lu Fushun had a girlfriend he had been dating for many years. They were junior high school classmates and had always had a good relationship. Two months ago, his comrades joked with him, "This guy is quietly doing big things. He submitted his marriage application to Company Commander Zhang last week. We'll be able to drink his wedding wine and eat his wedding candy in a few months!"

At that moment, Lu Fushun touched his stubble and chuckled in agreement.

Upon seeing their deputy regimental commander enter, Lu Fushun immediately sat up straight and said, "Deputy Regimental Commander Huo, what brings you here so late?"

I was just passing by and had some errands to run, so I stopped by to drop by and see you.

“Oh,” Lu Fushun’s eyes flickered, unsure whether Deputy Regiment Commander Huo had seen it or how much he had seen. He became somewhat incoherent, “I…I’m fine, I’m alright, you don’t need to worry about me.”

Huo Qingshan pulled up a chair and sat down on the edge of the bed. After a moment of silence, he glanced sideways at the hand that the other person had kept hidden under the covers, and asked directly, "Writing a letter to your girlfriend?"

Lu Fushun, sitting opposite him, was clearly taken aback. His hand moved uneasily under the covers before he finally pulled it out slowly. He lowered his head and mumbled an acknowledgment: "Mm."

"Are you planning to break up?" the man asked directly.

Lu Fushun was stunned for even longer this time, then gave a low "hmm" in a reluctant tone, as if someone had a knife to his neck forcing him to confess.

"Why?" Huo Qingshan asked one question after another, without mincing words.

The young man sitting on the hospital bed clenched his fist on the letter, his hand trembling. “Deputy Regiment Commander Huo, I look like this now… I’m not good enough for her, I can’t give her a good life, so I shouldn’t hold her back.” As he spoke, his head drooped lower and lower, his chin almost touching his chest, as if these few words had exhausted all his courage.

"Gone?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Fushun slightly raised his head, looked over, and a puzzled expression appeared in his eyes.

"That's all? No other reason?" The man pressed, his tone utterly harsh and almost coercive.

"I think...she deserves better."

"In the end, it's all just 'what do you think'." The man's face was serious, and his voice was deep: "Did you even ask what the girl thought? Doesn't it matter what the girl thinks?"

Lu Fushun was speechless.

"Or is it that you only thought breaking up with her was for her own good, but never considered how much it would hurt her if you unilaterally broke up with her? How painful would it be for her?" Huo Qingshan questioned him, perhaps not just questioning him, "...didn't you think about how much better it would be for both of you if you stayed together?"

"What makes you think that breaking up would be better for that girl than staying together?"

Lu Fushun quietly accepted the scolding, biting his lip tightly, his lowered eyes bloodshot.

"Life is short, and fate is precious. It can't withstand many setbacks. Don't let go easily while you can still cherish it." Huo Qingshan stood up from his chair. "Besides, this is a matter between two people. It needs to be discussed. There's no reason for you to make a decision alone!"

Before leaving the ward, the man only left one last sentence: "Don't do such a bastard thing. You'll regret it later, and you'll have nowhere to cry!"

…The competition lasted an hour and a half. After Duoduo left the examination room, Meng Youyou led the little girl straight to the school cafeteria for lunch. The two of them hadn't eaten a proper meal all morning. Their original plan was to take a farm bus to town and then find a breakfast stall to buy something to eat, but plans changed, and they almost missed the competition. Duoduo ate a piece of whole-wheat bread that Meng Youyou gave her on the way, while Meng Youyou didn't eat a single bite, and thus went hungry all morning.

The cross-review process after the competition will take time, and the list of winners will not be announced until 2 p.m. The awards ceremony will be held in the school auditorium. Duoduo lived up to expectations and won the second prize. Meng Youyou sat in the audience, happily taking pictures of the little girl who went on stage to receive the award with her mobile phone.

It was already past four in the afternoon when they came out of the auditorium. Meng Youyou, holding Duoduo's hand, followed her memory of the way they came towards the school exit. However, her terrible sense of direction kicked in again, and after turning left and right, she mistakenly entered the staff and family quarters on campus.

Just as she was agonizing over whether or not to turn on her phone's navigation, someone shook her right hand: "Teacher Meng, isn't that the grandpa who guided us this morning?"

Meng Youyou looked up and followed the direction Duoduo was pointing. Not far away, in front of a staff dormitory building, the tofu pudding grandpa was lifting the lid of an aluminum bucket, scooping out a bowl of steaming hot savory tofu pudding, and then skillfully adding toppings to the small bowl.

The only difference was that the mode of transportation had changed from the electric tricycle of the morning to an old-fashioned bicycle, with a large aluminum bucket tied to each side of the back seat. Presumably, the tricycle of the morning had not yet been repaired, and the bicycle was used temporarily for delivery.

“Teacher Meng,” Duoduo looked up at her and whispered, “I want to give the flowers to Grandpa.” She held up a small bunch of red camellias in her arms, which was the prize the little girl had just won at the awards ceremony.

"Go ahead," Meng Youyou patted her head and encouraged her with a smile.

Meng Youyou stood there, watching the little girl shyly present flowers, and the old man who made tofu pudding happily accept them and give her a bowl of sweet tofu pudding as a gift.

With the help of mobile phone navigation, Meng Youyou finally led Duoduo out of the maze-like campus.

Remembering Duoduo's wish to use the prize money from the competition to buy her mother a pair of sneakers, Meng Youyou searched for nearby shops online and took the little girl to an affordable shoe store.

"These are out of stock in this size, they're not selling well right now." The female shop manager smiled and picked up the pair of shoes that the little girl seemed to have her eye on. As she examined the soles, she discreetly peeled off the tag and then announced a price: "They're selling for 30 yuan now, it's a good deal."

Duo Duo's eyes lit up when she heard the price. She turned around in surprise and exchanged a glance with Meng Youyou.

Seeing this, Meng Youyou patiently asked, "How about it? Will Mom like these shoes? Shall we buy them for Mom?"

Duoduo nodded vigorously.

The female store manager gave Duoduo seventy yuan in change, which she carefully kept. Meng Youyou gave the little girl another task: to take down the sneakers from the shelf and put them in a shoebox.

Just as the little girl was carefully arranging the shoes she was going to give to her mother, Meng Youyou quietly scanned the QR code on the counter.

As I left the shoe store, it was already late. The sun was setting, and the afterglow spread across the paving stones of the pedestrian street. The tips of the potted plants were adorned with warm colors, and the light spilled over the glass windows of the shops on both sides, spreading out a layer of soft golden light.

The little girl had been running around all day, and had even taken a test in the morning. Just a few minutes after getting on the bus, she was so tired that she leaned against the seat back with her hands holding a shoebox and fell fast asleep.

The taxi sped smoothly along the asphalt road. Meng Youyou looked out the window listlessly. On the right, separated by a railing, the non-motorized vehicle lane extended forward into a slightly steep uphill section. An old man in a dark blue short jacket was hunched over, his buttocks off the seat, and his feet were laboriously pedaling his bicycle uphill.

As they quickly passed each other, Meng Youyou was dazzled by a small section of silver-gray metallic reflection that peeked out from the man's left ankle.

...

Lu Fushun eventually sent the letter. Huo Qingshan had heard about it, but did not try to dissuade him further.

After being discharged from the hospital, Lu Fushun was transferred to a veterans' rehabilitation center and fitted with a prosthesis. Every time Huo Qingshan saw him, the man always had bulging veins and clenched teeth. He trained hard, and blood marks would often appear at the joint. He would change the bandage, wrap it up, and then force himself to get up and continue exercising. But even with such hard work, the current rehabilitation progress is still slow, and it will take more time to regain the ability to walk and take care of himself.

The real challenge lay in advancing the demobilization process. Huo Qingshan repeatedly ran into obstacles in coordinating placement opportunities with various units, as he was determined to find a good place for his soldiers after their retirement.

At that time, any decent and stable job was highly sought after. Most units would politely decline to hire veterans with low education, lack of professional skills, and physical limitations due to their injuries, citing reasons such as full internal placement quotas and insufficient job suitability. Various practical obstacles piled up, making it extremely difficult to secure employment.

Left with no other option, Huo Qingshan went to the rehabilitation center again to communicate with the person in person in order to further understand their wishes.

Unexpectedly, after Lu Fushun sat down, covered in sweat, his first words were: "Deputy Regiment Commander Huo, don't assign me any work. I want to receive my pension!"

"Why?" This decision surprised Huo Qingshan slightly.

“I know my own situation. I have no education, no skills, and now I’m disabled. Even if I manage to get a cushy job, I’ll just be wasting my time.” The young man looked over with a straight gaze, revealing a defiant spirit. “I don’t want to just drift through life like this. I want to use my money to start a small business. As for what the future holds, that’s up to my own abilities.”

...

A minute later, the taxi stopped at an intersection waiting for the red light. Meng Youyou's gaze was still fixed on the outside of the window, subconsciously continuing to pay attention to the scene behind her.

A moment later, she saw that familiar figure again. The bicycle slowly emerged from the bottom of the slope, riding straight along the non-motorized vehicle lane, then came to a stop. The old man dismounted, pushed the bicycle towards a shop, and finally parked it in front of the shop.
Meng Youyou then looked at the shop's signboard—"Couple's Tofu Pudding".

A warm, incandescent light shone inside the shop, and a small square table with two wooden chairs sat against the wall. Just then, an older woman in a red dress and apron came out of the kitchen, carrying two plates of hot dishes, and placed them on the table.

Upon seeing the old man return, they gave him a cold look, acted as if he didn't exist, and walked right past him.

The old man glanced at his wife and knew she was angry. He quickly shrank back and moved behind her. He then secretly took out a bunch of red camellias from behind his back and handed them to his wife with a fawning smile.

Seeing this, the old lady's anger subsided, but she still kept a stern face. She raised her hand and patted the old man's hand, took the flower, and muttered, "Go wash your hands and eat!"

Upon receiving the order, the old man straightened up and saluted his wife: "Alright!"

After the old man went into the kitchen, the old woman turned around and started searching around the shop. She found a glass jar in the cabinet, filled it with water, carefully arranged the flowers in it, placed it on the small table, adjusted its position a few times, and then stopped.

Under the white light, the camellia petals were fiery red, giving the old lady a faint blush on her cheeks.

After doing all that, still seemingly unsatisfied, the old woman shouted towards the kitchen, "If I catch you riding your bicycle out to deliver food again, don't even think about coming home for dinner! So what if the bike is broken? You should stay in the shop. Don't you know your own physical condition at your age? Do you think you're still in your prime at thirty?"

Grandpa Douhua, carrying two bowls of hot rice, peeked out from behind the kitchen curtain with a smile on his face: "I know, I know, I won't do it again next time. It's all Old Dong's fault for that little grandson of his, who cried as soon as he heard there was no Douhua to drink today. And Tian's daughter-in-law, she kept asking for our Douhua while she was in confinement. I will definitely refuse them next time!"

The old man knew his wife was easily swayed, so he said it on purpose. The surrounding area was full of their regular customers, who had been coming ever since the couple used to push their stall through the streets and alleys. They had even helped them fend off city management officials. Their reputation spread by word of mouth among the neighbors, and the couple gradually built their mobile stall into a well-known local brand.

Despite rising prices and costs over the years, their tofu pudding shop has maintained its honest pricing with little change. Coupled with its authentic taste, it consistently wins over loyal customers. It is precisely this combination of fair pricing and skillful craftsmanship that has garnered a large number of loyal customers, and the shop's daily offline revenue is now quite substantial.

With the rapid development of technology, the food delivery industry has flourished, bringing many conveniences to merchants. However, the platform's commission is not low. Remembering the deep affection of their old customers, the couple not only did not raise prices by taking advantage of their reputation, but also retained the old rule of free home delivery and the model of stopping and selling on demand.

Hearing this excuse, the old woman snorted: "You always use the same few words to fool me. Next time I'll tell your daughter and have her talk to you, then you'll behave!"

Before the words were even finished, their daughter, far away in Shenzhen, seemed to have a telepathic connection and called right at mealtime. Making a phone call every night is an unwavering habit for the Lu family, starting ever since their daughter went to university in another city, and continuing even after she got married and started her own career.

Grandpa Douhua took out his phone and pressed the answer button. The couple huddled together at the small table, talking to each other on the phone screen, taking turns trying to speak.

The old lady complained, the old man defended himself, while his daughter and mother stood united, eventually criticizing his behavior that afternoon. The three of them argued back and forth, and the old man, naturally, couldn't out-argue them. In the end, he could only nod repeatedly in apology, but a cheerful smile remained on his lips throughout.

After this matter was finally put behind them, the daughter remembered her important business. She said she had ordered a massage chair for the two of them, which would arrive the next afternoon, and reminded her parents to remember to leave someone at home to sign for it.

Upon hearing this, the elderly couple immediately regrouped and unanimously advised their daughter not to waste money.

Later, the elderly couple asked why Xiaoyu wasn't there. Their daughter said she had gone to a summer camp organized by her school to study abroad and would be back next week... In short, the conversation went on and on without stopping.

The back window of the car had rolled down sometime earlier, letting in a gentle evening breeze. Meng Youyou leaned against the window, staring intently at the small storefront, her eyes unblinking. She watched the rising steam, the lively chatter, the mundane details. She didn't know what they had been through in the past, but they had probably gone through a difficult period. Yet, they held each other's hands tightly, supporting each other through thick and thin, weathering the storms together until they grew old.

If you don't believe in "forever," then believe in "love." Every second that is filled with love is eternal.

The red light suddenly turned green, and the taxi slowly started moving, leaving the brightly lit tofu pudding shop far behind. The girl's gentle smile, radiating warmth, was reflected in the car window.

In this world, there will always be happy people. And passersby will be infected by the happiness of strangers, and then feel the lingering warmth of happiness, feeling that this journey has been worthwhile. Having experienced and witnessed, they have seen it all, and as long as they are willing, it is not in vain.

If all goes well, there shouldn't be any more angst later on; it's actually a sweet story. Also, thank you everyone for your support and votes!