The kang (heated brick bed) for left-behind women

Loess Plateau, in the dead of winter.

There were only two people in the cave dwelling; it was cold outside but warm inside.

"This is the compensation," Lin Dachun suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping the bottom of a pot. "The other party gave us three hundred."

He paused, as if what he was about to say was extremely difficult.

"We can have another child. It's just that the other party was so heartless; our baby is gone just like that. It's outrageous." Lin Dachun burst into tears.

"I know..." Li Ruoxue said softly.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was like a needle piercing the frozen air.

She didn't look up; her gaze remained fixed on the red velvet cloth in her hand.

"If you look down on this old geezer, you can leave," Lin Dachun said helplessly.

"I'm not leaving."

Li Ruoxue said with certainty.

Lin Dachun tightened his grip on the pipe, remaining silent.

The smoke shrouded his gray hair, lingering for a long time.

"Although we're poor and we've lost our child," Li Ruoxue said softly, as if afraid of disturbing something, "I'm content because you're good to me. Things will get better."

Will it get better?

Lin Dachun's heart clenched.

With the child gone, all that's left in this family is an old coffin with his neck buried in the yellow earth; things are destined to go wrong.

"I'm doing this for your own good. You've never had a good day since you married into this family. It's always been a life of poverty. Sigh, it's my fault for being incompetent," Lin Dachun said with some self-reproach.

Just then, the crunching sound of footsteps on snow came from outside the courtyard gate, accompanied by a woman's deliberately raised voice: "Brother Dachun! Is Brother Dachun home?"

It's Aunt Zhou from next door.

Lin Dachun's brows furrowed, and he didn't move.

Li Ruoxue stood up, walked to the door of the outer room, and opened the heavy wooden door covered with thick plastic sheeting.

A chilling aura instantly rushed in.

Aunt Zhou was wrapped in a bulky cotton-padded coat, her head tucked into her scarf, only her bright, darting eyes showing.

When she saw Li Ruoxue, a complex expression of sympathy and inquiry immediately appeared on her face.

"Ruoxue, it's so cold outside, you have to take care of yourself!" Aunt Zhou said, but her eyes kept glancing into the house. "Where's Dachun? Sigh, he's been through a disaster, you have to try to think positively... What a good kid he was, how could he... The other party was a heartless bastard, even harming a child."

Li Ruoxue stood ramrod straight, blocking the doorway, her face expressionless: "Aunt Zhou, is there something you need?"

"Nothing much, nothing much, just came to check in," Aunt Zhou chuckled dryly, lowering her voice, "Well... did the other party who caused the accident give you compensation? What are your plans for the future? I have a distant niece on my family's side, a girl, who's already had her second child. Due to the one-child policy, she can't raise her. How about I bring her over and let you raise her?"

"No need for Aunt Zhou to trouble herself," Li Ruoxue interrupted her, her voice clear and cold. "I'm not going anywhere."

Aunt Zhou was taken aback, feeling a little embarrassed. She awkwardly said a couple more times, "Please accept my condolences," before leaving, turning back every few steps.

Li Ruoxue closed the door and re-locked it.

She turned around and saw that Lin Dachun had stood up at some point and was staring at her.

"You should take her words to heart. Maybe it's a good choice. Living with an old man like me won't be good," Lin Dachun said in a hoarse voice.

"I didn't think about it." Li Ruoxue walked back into the inner room. "I'm married into this family now, this is my home. You're right, if we lose a child, we can have another one."

"Why."

Lin Dachun sighed, turned around, walked to the corner of the wall, and picked up the old hoe that was leaning against the wall, shiny but obviously unused for a long time.

"Tomorrow," he said, addressing the cold air and Li Ruoxue behind him, his voice low but carrying the weight of a resolute determination, "I'll go up the mountain to see what's going on. To find a way to survive."

"It's getting late. Go to sleep early," Li Ruoxue said.

The kang (heated brick bed) is already warm!

Even just half a month ago, the whole family was sleeping together on this kang (heated brick bed) in a lively atmosphere.

Now, only Lin Dachun and Li Ruoxue remain in this family.