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

Lin Dachun helped Widow Su up.

When Widow Su noticed that Lin Dachun's gaze was fixed on her, she blushed and quickly covered herself with her hands.

Are you alright?

"It's alright, thank goodness you came, otherwise that bastard would have succeeded," Widow Su said gratefully.

"Yeah, be careful next time. Don't open the door if you encounter a man like that. That old man is a lecher and often bullies the widows in the village," Lin Dachun explained.

"Hmm, there aren't many good men like you, Da Chun," Widow Su said, turning her back and buttoning up her shirt.

"I'm not exactly a good person either, haha. I just don't have the guts," Lin Dachun joked.

"Brother Dachun is handsome, tall, and manly. All the widows in the village say he's good. If you bully us, I'm afraid they won't refuse," Widow Su replied, blushing.

Widow Su had already tidied up her clothes.

"And what about you?"

Lin Dachun asked jokingly.

"what?"

Widow Su blushed even more, lowered her head, and remained silent.

"Haha, just kidding. I came here to pay back the money I owed you. I almost forgot."

As Lin Dachun spoke, he took out the cloth bag containing money from his pocket, carefully counted out two one-yuan bills, added two extra one-mao bills, and handed them over.

"Sister Su, this is the two yuan I borrowed from you last year. I'm sorry for the long delay. This two mao is just a small token of my appreciation; I'll use it to buy some snacks for the children."

Widow Su stared at the money for a moment, then quickly waved her hand, "No, no need for so much, Brother Dachun, just take the principal..."

"Take it!" Lin Dachun's tone left no room for refusal as he shoved the money into her hand. "If that bastard comes again, shout loudly so the neighbors can hear you. We can't let him do whatever he wants!"

Widow Su clutched the money, still warm from Lin Dachun's touch, her eyes reddening again, and nodded heavily.

Lin Dachun stuffed the money into Widow Su's hand and turned to leave.

He didn't want to stay in this place any longer, fearing it would cause more gossip.

"Brother Dachun!" Widow Su hurriedly called out to him, her voice still carrying a trace of lingering panic, mixed with a bit of awkwardness that she found hard to say.

Lin Dachun stopped in his tracks, turned halfway to the side, not fully turning around: "Is there anything else?"

Widow Su still held the few bills in one hand, while her other hand unconsciously pressed against the left side of her chest. Her brows were tightly furrowed, and her face showed a pained expression.

"I...I'm in pain here..." Her voice trailed off, trembling with sobs, "It's been hurting for days."

Lin Dachun frowned, still not turning around, and said in a deep voice, "What did the doctor say?"

"I went to...I went to the commune clinic," Widow Su said, as if she had mustered up her courage. "The doctor said it's...it's that...something hyperplasia."

She spoke those words very vaguely, almost as if she were holding them in her mouth.

Lin Dachun's body stiffened.

He was a grown man, but he vaguely knew that this was a woman's problem.

This topic made him extremely uncomfortable; his feet felt like they were nailed to the ground, and he didn't know whether to leave or stay.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Widow Su assumed he didn't understand. Embarrassed and anxious, she disregarded everything else and explained in a trembling voice, "It's...it's just that there's a hard lump here, it's swollen and painful. The doctor said...that this illness can't be cured by just taking medicine, I have to...I have to massage it often to break up the lump, then it will get better..."

The two words "rub" were like two red-hot charcoal embers, instantly making Lin Dachun's ears burn.

He whirled around, his face a mixture of shock and anger, utterly embarrassed: "What...what nonsense are you spouting! How can you say something like that?!"

Widow Su trembled at his shout, tears welling up in her eyes again. She said tearfully, "I'm not making this up! It really is what the doctor said... I'm all alone... how... how am I supposed to get treatment..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was crystal clear: what could a widow like her do?