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

Xiao Qianyue slid off the kang (a heated brick bed) and brought over the chamber pot.

"Mom, Uncle Lu said you can't get off the kang (heated brick bed) and walk around. Use this."

Zhuang Qingxiang: "..."

It's not that she can't use it, but the thought of Lu Congyue being outside makes her face flush.

"I think I'll go outside." Zhuang Qingxiang wanted to give it a try, since she would need to go to the toilet every day afterward, and she couldn't keep relying on Yueyue to carry her to the chamber pot.

Little Qian Yue opened her big eyes and said with a determined look, "Mom, don't you believe that Yueyue can take good care of you? If you don't believe me, then Uncle Lu can take care of you too."

Both Zhuang Qingxiang and Lu Congyue felt their ears burning, whether they were inside or outside the door.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhuang Qingxiang quickly scolded, "How can we let Uncle Lu take care of Mother? Mother can manage on her own!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Congyue knocked on the door and came in, expressionless and with a flat voice.

"You can't put any weight on your back, let me help you up."

Zhuang Qingxiang's face turned as red as if it were about to bleed, and she only regretted that she couldn't fly into a rage and kick Lu Congyue out.

Lu Congyue's expression remained calm: "Don't feel embarrassed. I'm just helping you get up, and then I'll leave! Wouldn't it be even more awkward if you lost control of your bladder in bed?"

Zhuang Qingxiang didn't know how he did it.

How could you say such a thing so calmly?

They're not a couple, two people with no intimate relationship whatsoever, don't they feel embarrassed doing this?

You can't be the only one embarrassed!

However, she had to admit that Lu Congyue was right.

The consequences of refusing to help are so unbearable that just thinking about them makes me want to hang myself.

Stared at by two pairs of eyes, one big and one small, Zhuang Qingxiang finally covered her face and agreed.

Lu Congyue's help wasn't to help Zhuang Qingxiang get out of bed, but rather to pick her up and put her on the ground, while Xiao Qianyue waited expectantly with a chamber pot in her hand.

Zhuang Qingxiang's face, ears, and neck flushed bright red. She gently clutched Lu Congyue's clothes and whispered, "Could you take me to the restroom?"

There was a dry toilet in Lu Congyue's courtyard, and she wanted to go there to reduce the trouble for others.

Lu Congyue frowned: "Are you sure?"

"Are you sure? Just let Yueyue go in and support me." Zhuang Qingxiang's voice grew softer and softer.

"Alright then." Lu Congyue called out to Xiao Qianyue, carried her to the toilet, put her down, and came out himself, while Xiao Qianyue went in to help her.

After being utterly humiliated, Zhuang Qingxiang calmed down, or rather, she considered herself dead.

After leaving the bathroom, Lu Congyue gently carried her into the house and brought her a basin of water for her to wash her hands and face.

Zhuang Qingxiang gritted her teeth again and again, and weakly said, "Could you bring the children in so I can feed them?"

She was too embarrassed to say directly about the bloating and pain.

Lu Congyue: "I've fed the baby formula, and he's asleep. You should rest."

Zhuang Qingxiang: "..."

"Director Lu, the bed outside is too small. If the two children lie down, you won't have room to lie down. Why don't you put them on the kang instead?" Zhuang Qingxiang patiently offered a reason.

"I'll sleep on the floor," Lu Congyue answered readily.

Zhuang Qingxiang was speechless.

Lu Congyue turned and went out, quickly returning with a new hot water bottle. After being filled with hot water, it had a faint rubbery smell.

It was the first time Zhuang Qingxiang had ever seen a hot water bottle, and she found it very novel.

You won't find this in the countryside. Occasionally, some families will go to the clinic and plead their way to get a saline solution bottle, fill it with hot water, and use it to warm their beds.

"If you feel uncomfortable anywhere, use this as a hot compress. The doctor said that hot compresses can relieve the discomfort," Lu Congyue said.

Zhuang Qingxiang felt she owed Lu Congyue more and more. She was just a wet nurse with a monthly salary of five yuan, but Lu Congyue was giving her more and more, far exceeding the five yuan salary.

She can't pay it back.

"Thank you so much, you've gone to so much trouble."

All Zhuang Qingxiang could do now was say thank you a few more times.

Lu Congyue waved his hand: "It was due to my and the security department's negligence that you were in danger. No need to thank me, it's what I should do."

Zhuang Qingxiang changed the subject and continued to ask Lu Congyue to bring the child over.

Why make a factory manager sleep on the floor? There's plenty of space on the kang (a heated brick bed), and she needs two children.

Her chest was hurting terribly, and Zhuang Qingxiang was afraid that it would cause a fever. Seeing that Lu Congyue didn't understand her meaning at all, she steeled herself and told the truth: "I have to breastfeed the children..."

The voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, but Lu Congyue heard it clearly and then immediately understood.

She gave a perfunctory reply and quickly went out to bring the two children in and place them beside her.

Thinking about her limited mobility, he brought up the old topic again: "You're not a child anymore, you should wean her if you can, don't let them torment you."

Zhuang Qingxiang thought to herself, how can this be called causing trouble?

Isn't her monthly salary of five yuan just for breastfeeding?

If the child is weaned, what value does she have left?

"They're still so young," she muttered to herself.

After Lu Congyue left, she tried to breastfeed her two children, which relieved some of the pain, and then she fell into a deep sleep again.

Because of her injury, Lu Congyue would carry her to the toilet several times a day for several days in a row. Zhuang Qingxiang felt that she had developed a thick skin and was able to face such things calmly.

She wanted to find a female colleague to help her, but Sun Yongxian, who came to visit her, directly rejected the idea.

"Do you have a lot of money? Hiring someone to help costs money, right? Do you expect Factory Director Lu to pay for it for you?"

She clicked her tongue. "Sister Zhuang, does Factory Director Lu look like a sucker to you?"

Zhuang Qingxiang blushed and dared not mention the matter again.

That day, when it was time for the massage, Sun Yongxian didn't come. Shi Peiran ran over and said that Sun Yongxian wasn't feeling well and couldn't come, so he asked Lu Congyue to help with the massage, and to be careful with the pressure.

Before Zhuang Qingxiang and Lu Congyue could react, Shi Peiran had already vanished without a trace.

The room fell completely silent.

Zhuang Qingxiang immediately said that she didn't need Lu Congyue's massage anymore.

"Actually, I'm much better now, there's no need to go through all that trouble," she said confidently, as if she wanted to get up and run two laps in place to prove it.

She's not a delicate person, and the pain she's experiencing right now is completely bearable. She thinks she'll recover in another month or so.

"Just right, don't give up halfway," Lu Congyue said in a deep voice.

Zhuang Qingxiang watched as he filled a basin halfway with hot water to wash his hands, dried them, rubbed his hands together, and walked towards her.

Zhuang Qingxiang gripped the blanket tightly, looking at him warily, and refused again: "Director Lu, really, it's not necessary... Otherwise, could you go find someone to help..."

Lu Congyue received her rejection and wariness.

Knowing that she was avoiding suspicion and didn't want to get involved with him, Lu Congyue's eyes darkened.

"What? Afraid I'll treat you badly like those two?" Lu Congyue said sarcastically. "Don't worry, I'm not that kind of person, and I have no such intentions towards you!"

Presumably recalling his previous marriage proposal, he added, "Since you rejected my proposal, I won't have any further thoughts about you. You can rest assured about that."

"Sun Yongxian and I both learned from a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner specializing in bone-setting. Now, we can't just hire anyone; we can only hire a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, who might be better than me. If you insist on hiring someone else, I'll drive to Dongsheng Commune to pick them up."

Lu Congyue spoke in a serious tone, which made Zhuang Qingxiang feel embarrassed, as if she had been presumptuous.