A charming widow in her 70s married a factory manager and raised his children.

The next day, Zhuang Qingxiang handed over the sweet potato crisps she had made and the mended clothes to Sun Yongxian.

Sun Yongxian looked at the sweet potato brittle and pursed her lips: "Sister Zhuang, your candy is so delicious, I don't want to sell it..."

Zhuang Qingxiang smiled and handed her a small packet: "This is for you to eat as a treat."

"Oh, Sister Zhuang, you're so kind." Sun Yongxian happily pocketed her things and left.

Zhuang Qingxiang secretly prayed that the candy would sell. It had been made with a lot of good stuff that Lu Congyue had bought, and she hoped to earn money to buy more ingredients.

After finishing with the brittle, Zhuang Qingxiang started thinking about making some other snacks.

Lu Congyue seems to really enjoy rice cakes, so maybe he likes other snacks too?

Zhuang Qingxiang had learned many different kinds of skills from her mother, but after arriving in Dongya Village, they stopped making them due to limited resources.

Zhuang Qingxiang thought for a moment and made red bean paste cakes that weren't too sweet.

It took a while to sit up, and with the child in tow, it wasn't finished until after get off work in the afternoon.

Zhuang Qingxiang placed the food on a plate on the table so that Lu Congyue could see it as soon as he returned.

However, Lu Congyue was unable to return. He was stopped by Lu Li as soon as he got off work, who insisted on inviting him to her home for a meal.

"I'm leaving tomorrow, so please do me the honor of having a meal together. I also have something I'd like to discuss with you," Lu Li said with a gentle smile. "It's about your father's family."

Lu Congyue's face darkened when he heard the word "father," but Lu Li insisted that he go over, so he couldn't afford to break off relations.

"Don't go home. It's not convenient for Technician Lin to live in his single dormitory. Let's go to the canteen. I'll ask the head chef to cook two dishes separately," Lu Congyue suggested.

Luli had no objection: "That's perfect. I was worried that my cooking skills weren't good enough either. Let's go together, and we can also invite Weiwei along the way."

Lu Congyue had no objection, but he couldn't help wondering if Zhuang Qingxiang was still at home waiting for him to eat.

He met Niu Jianzhong on the way and asked him to make a trip to tell Zhuang Qingxiang that he wouldn't be going back for dinner.

When Niu Jianzhong ran to Lu Congyue's house to inform him, Zhuang Qingxiang was making dumplings.

She had used a lot of sugar and oil these past two days, so she thought she wouldn't cook anything, but would just make some chive and egg dumplings instead. Little did she expect that Lu Congyue wouldn't be coming back to eat them.

"When did Director Lu say he'd be back?" Zhuang Qingxiang asked. "It's too hot; I'm afraid the dumplings will spoil if left overnight."

Niu Jianzhong didn't know either, only saying that Lu Congyue was with Lin Wei's mother.

Zhuang Qingxiang thought for a moment and decided to ask Niu Jianzhong to wait a while. After the dumplings were cooked, she gave him a dozen or so to take home and eat.

Niu Jianzhong left happily. He had heard about Zhuang Qingxiang's excellent cooking skills from Doctor Shi, and he could take the food back with him to try.

Lu Congyue returned around 8 p.m.

Zhuang Qingxiang sensed something was wrong and quickly got up and came out. Sure enough, she saw Lu Congyue stagger as he entered the room.

Zhuang Qingxiang hurriedly poured water for Lu Congyue: "Director Lu, please have some water."

She wanted to ask if she had drunk too much, but she immediately realized that she couldn't smell any alcohol.

Looking up, I saw that Lu Congyue's face was red, not only his face but also his eyes, and large beads of sweat kept falling down.

Zhuang Qingxiang was startled: "Director Lu, what's wrong? Are you sick?"

She instinctively reached out to touch his forehead, and sure enough, she immediately felt that it was burning hot.

"Do you have any fever reducers at home?" she asked anxiously.

Before I could pull my hand back, it was suddenly grabbed.

Zhuang Qingxiang's heart skipped a beat, and before she could react, Lu Congyue hugged her tightly.

His thin summer shirt blocked his body heat, making his body scorching hot. Not only that, even his breath was hot.

Zhuang Qingxiang had never encountered anyone so hot before, not even when her child had a fever.

"Director Lu, you're sick. Let me help you lie down and rest."

She tried to break free from his embrace, but the man held her tighter.

He was holding me so tightly, yet he lowered his head and said, "Go back inside, don't worry about me!"

As she spoke, her breath hit Zhuang Qingxiang's neck, making her feel hot and numb, and her body inexplicably went limp on one side.

The unprecedented feeling made her nervous and scared. She tried to break free and create distance between them, but her strength was useless against Lu Congyue.

"Director Lu..." she couldn't help but call out, her voice soft and unlike her usual tone.

The next second, she felt something pressed against her neck. She instinctively cried out, and her legs went weak, causing her to slide to the ground.

Her waist was gripped tightly, forcing her to press close to the man; the tiny gap she had managed to break free was completely filled.

She sensed the man's desire, and tears welled up in her eyes as she begged him to let her go in a trembling voice.

"Director Lu, you're a good person...you're a good person...please let me go..." She repeated the same words over and over.

A hand suddenly touched her face and brushed her bangs aside.

Tears blurred her vision. She heard the man mutter something, but she was too flustered to hear clearly, and tears streamed down her face.

The hand that was tightly holding her suddenly loosened, and Zhuang Qingxiang immediately ran into the inner room.

She didn't know what was wrong with Lu Congyue; all she knew was that she had to hide in the inner room and lock the door to ensure her safety.

A hoarse voice called from behind: "Zhuang Qingxiang!"

Zhuang Qingxiang was so nervous she almost fainted and quickly closed the door.

Just as the door was about to close, it was blocked again.

Lu Congyue easily blocked the closing door with just one hand.

Zhuang Qingxiang stared with her watery eyes and pleaded, "Director Lu, the children are all here..." Please, have some decency!

Lu Congyue stared blankly into her watery eyes, only regaining his senses after a moment, and said in a hoarse voice, "Help me...go and call Shi Peiran over..."

Zhuang Qingxiang: "..."

"Go now!" Lu Congyue gasped for breath, his eyes bloodshot. "Otherwise, I can't guarantee what I might do!"

Zhuang Qingxiang jumped up in surprise, opened the door, and ran out like a gust of wind.

Soon, she returned with Shi Peiran, running all the way back.

As soon as you enter the courtyard, you can hear the sound of water; Lu Congyue is desperately splashing cold water on himself.

Zhuang Qingxiang only glanced at it once and dared not look a second time. Even at night, even with only moonlight, the bulging area was still so obvious that it could not be ignored.

Shi Peiran rushed over and grabbed Lu Congyue: "Factory Director Lu, what's going on?"

Zhuang Qingxiang dared not look or listen, and quickly walked into the inner room. Even though she hid very fast, she still heard a few words: "She's been infected."

"Sister Zhuang, Director Lu is sick. I'm taking him to see a doctor. Please lock the door." Shi Peiran called out.

Zhuang Qingxiang hurriedly responded and, after watching them leave, quickly locked the courtyard gate.

Even if Lu Congyue comes back tonight, she won't open the door. It's too scary. She'd rather move out.

She wasn't stupid. Lu Congyue wasn't sick at all; someone was trying to harm him, and she almost got caught in the crossfire.

Who is so bold as to try to harm Director Lu?