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

Lin Wei's words seemed to become a real scene appearing in Liang Xinzheng's mind.

The thought that if he could get his hands on Zhuang Qingxiang, he would completely subdue her temper, and she would have to kneel down and wash his feet would be something he could do. He was so happy that he almost laughed out loud.

Liang Xinzheng, being older and more shrewd, quickly composed himself and feigned ignorance, saying, "Technician Lin is joking. How could I possibly marry her? She wouldn't even consider me; she has very high standards."

The thought that Lin Wei had followed Factory Director Lu here gleamed in his eyes, and he whispered, "Don't even mention me, she doesn't even look at anyone else. Her target is Factory Director Lu!"

Lin Wei's eyelids twitched, and her voice suddenly rose: "How did you know?"

Liang Xinzheng looked troubled and lowered his voice, saying, "I saw it with my own eyes, Technician Lin. I'm only telling you this. Do you think my mother is really spreading rumors? She's just upset for me! When I went to propose to Zhuang Qingxiang that day, I was truly sincere, but..."

"What was the result?"

"As a result, she not only rejected me, but also said that she and Factory Director Lu... tsk, what she said is not important, what is important is that Factory Director Lu directly came out to protect her and told me to get lost."

"Don't you know what kind of person Director Lu is? If Zhuang Qingxiang hadn't been so cunning, would Director Lu have protected a woman like her? And with all the commotion at the factory these past two days, he even sent the office director and our workshop director to force me to apologize today. Isn't that obvious?"

As Liang Xinzheng spoke, he kept glancing at Lin Wei's expression. Seeing her furious look, he felt a surge of smug satisfaction.

Director Lu is known for his impartiality and incorruptibility. He treats men and women equally, and sometimes even places higher demands on female colleagues, never showing any leniency.

It was already abnormal for him to stand up for Zhuang Qingxiang!

Lin Wei was indeed furious. She couldn't even control her rage in front of Liang Xinzheng and cursed several times.

After venting her anger, she asked with a dark face, "Liang Xinzheng, do you want Zhuang Qingxiang or not? If you do, I'll help you!"

"How...how can I help?" Liang Xinzheng countered. "Are you going to act as my matchmaker?"

Lin Wei sneered, "I have something good that will give you what you want!"

……

For several days in a row, Zhuang Qingxiang would casually ask Xiao Qianyue if she had encountered anyone pointing or gossiping on the road, and Xiao Qianyue always answered no.

Zhuang Qingxiang thought that Director Lu was indeed very capable, as he had even managed to control such a matter.

She didn't know how to thank Director Lu, so when she went to Lu Congyue's house to take care of the vegetable garden, she secretly measured Lu Congyue's shoe size and planned to make him a pair of shoes.

She secretly vowed that when she had money in the future, she would definitely buy ten feet of cloth to make a dress for Director Lu.

The days passed by in the daily routine of taking care of the children, cooking, and sewing shoe soles.

That evening, when Xiao Qianyue returned from digging for insects outside, she clutched her little bag, her face flushed with excitement.

Seeing Zhuang Qingxiang busy in the kitchen, she thought for a moment, then ran back into the house and secretly fiddled with things for a while.

So, when Zhuang Qingxiang went to bed that night, she discovered a small paper packet under her pillow.

"What is this?" Zhuang Qingxiang asked in confusion. She remembered that this thing was not there when she made the bed at noon.

Little Qian Yue, who had been pretending to be asleep, suddenly jumped up and exclaimed excitedly, "This is for Mommy, it's delicious!"

"Oh?" Zhuang Qingxiang smiled, seeing her daughter's expectant face, she also eagerly opened the small paper package, inside which was a piece of dried fruit.

Zhuang Qingxiang asked in surprise, "Where did this come from?"

"Yueyue earned it herself!" Xiaoqianyue announced happily.

Zhuang Qingxiang gradually understood. It turned out that when Xiao Qianyue went out to catch insects and earthworms, she met a kind old lady who said that her family also raised chickens and needed insects and earthworms, and was willing to exchange them for dried fruit.

Little Qian Yue had never seen candied fruit before and didn't know what it was. The old lady gave her a small bite, and the sweet taste immediately won her over.

In order to get the dried fruit the old lady mentioned, she gave the old lady all the insects and earthworms she had caught.

"Mom, eat up! Yueyue ate one today!" Little Qian Yue proudly raised her short index finger. "It was so delicious! This one was specially saved for you, Mom. Hehe... I didn't even take it out when Uncle Lu was here."

She really liked Uncle Lu, but she only gave the good stuff to her mother.

Zhuang Qingxiang didn't expect Xiao Qianyue to be so lucky. She guessed that some old man in the family compound had coaxed her to play with him because he thought she was clever and cute. Worms and earthworms aren't worth much money.

"Our Yueyue is truly the most amazing girl in the world. I'll save this candied fruit for Yueyue to eat tomorrow," Zhuang Qingxiang said with a smile, praising her capable daughter.

Xiao Qianyue disagreed and insisted that Zhuang Qingxiang eat it now.

The old lady said that because of the hot weather, this would spoil if left overnight.

Zhuang Qingxiang couldn't resist the excited girl's insistence and had to agree to eat it now.

"Alright, alright, I'll do whatever you say. I'll go get a knife and cut it up, and we'll eat it together." She pinched Xiao Qianyue's nose helplessly.

"No, no!"

Xiao Qianyue suddenly snatched the candied fruit and stuffed it into Zhuang Qingxiang's mouth without saying a word.

"Mommy, eat quickly, is it delicious?" Little Qian Yue asked with bright, sparkling eyes.

Zhuang Qingxiang nodded, then frowned slightly.

"It's delicious." She didn't mention that the dried fruit had a slightly strange taste, probably because it had been left out for too long and that this affected the flavor.

Afraid of upsetting the child, she didn't mention sharing some with Xiaoqianyue. Instead, she exaggeratedly chewed the food while praising how delicious and sweet it was.

Seeing that she had finished eating, Xiao Qianyue happily lay down.

Zhuang Qingxiang had to brush her teeth again after eating. After returning to her room, she turned off the light and lay down, but then got up again because she was too hot.

Why did the weather suddenly get so hot?

Zhuang Qingxiang grabbed a palm-leaf fan and fanned herself vigorously, but the more she fanned, the hotter and drier she became.

"Mom? What's wrong?" Little Qian Yue asked groggily as she got up.

"Is Yueyue hot too?" Zhuang Qingxiang hurriedly fanned her.

Little Qian Yue was instantly jolted awake by the fan and asked in confusion, "Is Mommy hot? Yueyue isn't hot at all. Mommy, please stop fanning me, Yueyue is cold."

Xiao Qianyue's words stunned Zhuang Qingxiang for a moment, then she suddenly jolted awake.

Yes, it's been quite cool at night these past few days, so what's wrong with me?

Little Qian Yue rushed over and touched her forehead, startled, and cried out, "Mother, Mother, you have a fever!"

Zhuang Qingxiang was breathing rapidly, feeling increasingly hot, and her body was becoming weaker and weaker, to the point that she could no longer even fan herself with a palm-leaf fan.

"Mom, I'm going to find Uncle Lu!" Little Qian Yue cried out.

Seeing that she was frightened, Zhuang Qingxiang suppressed her discomfort and pulled her back, smiling to comfort her: "Mother is fine. I guess I caught a chill from taking a shower this afternoon. You stay home and take care of your brother. Mother will go to Doctor Shi to get some fever reducer. Be a good girl."

After saying that, she put on her clothes and got out of bed, but her legs were so weak that she almost knelt down.

"mother?!"

"It's alright, it's alright. Mother didn't see clearly for a moment. Don't be afraid, Yueyue. Be a good girl and wait for Mother to come back."

After Zhuang Qingxiang finished speaking with difficulty, she quickly walked out.