I was married off to a disabled hero in lieu of marriage; my in-laws doted on me and I aspired to gr

Another hero, another inspiring story of rebirth from the ashes.

Zhou Wenhui and Zhou Zhonghai are both successful examples of phoenix rising from the ashes, but behind their success lies a great deal of hardship and tears.

Luo Meiyun knew better than anyone else that if Chen Yan wanted to live a normal life, he would have to walk through the gates of hell several times.

Burns are extremely painful. The itching feels like thousands of tiny needles pricking the skin. You can't scratch. The anti-itch pills are available in the military region, but they are very precious and imported from abroad. You can't find them anywhere else. You can only endure the pain.

Since we haven't done skin grafting yet, we can use sedatives to relieve the pain. Once the skin grafting is done, the medication must be discontinued to allow the new skin to heal healthily.

What a battle it was! So many burn victims, unable to afford anti-itch medication, would rather die than endure the agonizing pain of countless needles piercing their hearts day and night.

Back in the surgical ward, Luo Meiyun went to the director's office to report for duty.

"Director Shi, hello, I am Luo Meiyun, who was recently transferred here."

Director Shi Ming, who was in his thirties, was looking down at something.

"Luo Meiyun? Oh, Dean Song called me and asked you to be primarily in charge of treating Comrade Chen Yan in the burn unit. You're still a surgeon, so we'll give you a private office."

Director Shi thought for a moment and said, "There's a storage room at the end of the corridor. Can we clean it up and use it as your office?"

"Can."

"I'm sorry, there aren't any extra offices available. I'll have someone prepare one this afternoon, and it'll be ready to use tomorrow. There's nothing much going on today, so why don't you leave early?"

Director Shi seemed very busy, continuing to review some lab reports.

"Okay, Director Shi, I'll head back now."

Luo Meiyun politely took her leave; she still had to go to the labor union.

What are you going to the union for? To get some condoms for your son and daughter-in-law.

It's hard to imagine another mother-in-law preparing something like this for her son.

Qiaoqiao is in college, and her career is at a crucial stage. Xiaowei is still too young and it is not suitable for her to get pregnant again.

The son and daughter-in-law are very loving and don't know how to restrain themselves. If Qiaoqiao gets pregnant, she will suffer.

Upon arriving at the union, Luo Meiyun was greeted by a plump woman.

"What's the matter?"

"Comrade, I'd like to collect a few boxes of condoms."

After saying that, Luo Meiyun's face turned red.

The overweight woman stared at Luo Meiyun in astonishment: "You, you must be over fifty, right? Even if you don't use it, the probability of getting pregnant is very low."

Luo Meiyun felt extremely uncomfortable. If her son and daughter-in-law were to use it, the union would not agree.

Employees of each unit receive these from their own union; even my son's newspaper might not have them.

"I... I'll still use it. Give me three or five boxes."

"Three or five boxes? Is that really necessary?"

"I'll need it, I'll need it..."

"Here are three boxes for you. You're really worrying too much."

The fat woman took three boxes of condoms, wrapped in newspaper. Luo Meiyun, her face flushed, stuffed them into her canvas bag and said, "Thank you, thank you," before running away like the wind.

He's abandoned all pride for the sake of his two children.

As a doctor, I felt that even if it was shameful, I had to make plans for them.

I'll go home early today and buy the groceries on the way, so Hu Xiaomei won't have to carry the child to buy groceries, which is quite tiring for her.

The vegetable shop was crowded, but Luo Meiyun quietly selected the vegetables she needed.

Previously, Luo Meiyun rarely bought groceries and hated it. She considered it a waste to spend so much time buying groceries and doing housework.

Things are different now. She enjoys buying groceries and watching the bustling crowds.

During her time in the Soviet Union, Luo Meiyun often wondered how many meals Lao Zhou had eaten that he had cooked himself.

They rarely buy clothes, and even underwear is provided by police officers.

She was filled with regret. After so many years of marriage, she had personally taken care of Zhou Zhonghai only a handful of times.

Looking at the unconscious Zhou Zhonghai, Luo Meiyun said, "Old Zhou, as long as you wake up, I will cook for you and take walks with you. Our generation has dedicated everything to the country, only neglecting ourselves."

Old Zhou woke up, and he couldn't stop moving forward; he immediately threw himself into his work.

But Luo Meiyun's thoughts were different. She didn't want to be so busy anymore. She wanted to buy groceries, cook, take care of her grandson, and enjoy the most beautiful moments of life.

"Oh my, Director Luo, you've come to buy groceries yourself!" Sister Liu exclaimed as if she had discovered a new continent.

"Hi Liu, I'm free today, could you pick up some groceries to take home?"

Luo Meiyun smiled gently. Sister Liu is Qiaoqiao's friend, which means she is a friend of the Zhou family.

"Please choose, and I'll weigh it for you once you've made your selection," Sister Liu said with a smile as she accompanied Luo Meiyun.

Vegetable shop clerks don't have the power to offer discounts, but they can raise the price a bit when weighing vegetables.

There's a saying among the common people that if someone in your family works at a vegetable shop, all your relatives and friends will never go hungry. Even those rotten vegetable leaves can feed so many people.

"Xiao Liu, do you sell red dates?"

It's very strange that the supply and marketing cooperative doesn't have any red dates, and I haven't seen any red dates in the vegetable store either.

"You want red dates? Yes, we do. How many do you want?"

"About one pound."

Sister Liu hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "Would half a jin be alright?"

"Are red dates also a scarce commodity?"

"You don't know, our vegetable shop only gets five catties of red dates a week. We basically don't even put them out on the market; we divide them up privately. A catty of red dates costs fifty cents, and a catty of grain coupons is enough. Who wouldn't want them? They're great snacks for kids; they're cheaper than fruit candy and more nutritious," Sister Liu said in a low voice.

Luo Meiyun smiled and said, "No wonder. Half a catty it is then. Xiao Liu, thank you so much. I've been feeling a bit dizzy lately and wanted to cook some red dates to replenish my qi and blood."

Luo Meiyun had no idea about all these intricacies. Back in the military, whenever she needed something, she would just instruct the logistics department to buy it. She had no idea that red dates were so precious.

"Okay, you pick the vegetables, and I'll go to the back warehouse to get them for you. I'll secretly put them in another bag of vegetables later, so that other customers won't see them and cause trouble."

As Sister Liu left, Luo Meiyun smiled. "Qiaoqiao's friend is very sincere."

Luo Meiyun bought celery, lettuce, eggplant, bean sprouts, and pumpkin.

Old Zhou doesn't like to eat pumpkin, but Luo Meiyun likes it, and Xiao Wei likes it too.

I bought another half a pound of pork belly and handed it to Sister Liu to pay for it.

Including half a pound of red dates, the total cost was two yuan and thirty-eight cents, plus two pound of vegetable coupons.

"Xiao Liu, thank you so much. Come visit me sometime." Luo Meiyun thanked her again.

"Okay, I'll go when I have time. Director Luo, take care." Sister Liu saw Luo Meiyun off to the door.

Back home, Hu Xiaomei and Zhou Xiaowei were causing a ruckus in the Heavenly Palace.

"Yes, yes..." Zhou Xiaowei pointed randomly at a spot and shook it incessantly.

Hu Xiaomei picked up a small box in that direction and asked, "Is this what you want?"

Zhou Xiaowei wailed even louder, "No, no..."

Realizing she'd picked up the wrong thing, Hu Xiaomei quickly grabbed another item and asked, "Is this it?"

Zhou Xiaowei was furious, her face flushed red from crying, shouting, "No...don't..."

Ancestors, what do you want? We've asked about everything in this place.

Luo Meiyun entered the room, one was anxious and the other was crying loudly. She walked over and picked up a small stool in the direction Xiaowei pointed. Zhou Xiaowei immediately stopped crying.

"No, what would such a small child need a stool for?" Hu Xiaomei said, both amused and exasperated.

Xiao Wei hugged the small wooden stool to his chest and studied it carefully, his face covered in snot and tears. Hu Xiaomei quickly went to get hot water.

"Children are interested in new things; they don't care whether it's a toy or a stool. Maybe next time they'll be interested in a pot too."

"What's so fun about a black pot?"

"He didn't know, so he thought it was funny. Xiaomei, the groceries are done. I bought half a pound of red dates. This afternoon, you stew two bowls of red date poached eggs. You drink one bowl, and I'll drink the other."

"No, no, I won't drink it."

"Why don't you drink it? You and I are both lacking energy and spirit. Xiaowei is becoming increasingly difficult to manage. If you want to continue doing this for a long time, your health comes first."

"I...do you think I'm not good at taking care of Xiaowei?" Hu Xiaomei asked, flustered.

"Xiaomei, I'm very satisfied with you. I was just worried that you wouldn't be able to take care of Xiaowei because of your health, so I specially bought red dates. We're both in the same boat; we've both experienced great sorrow and our bodies have been damaged. We must take care of ourselves to recover." Luo Meiyun quickly explained when she saw that Hu Xiaomei was very scared.

"Then, I'll drink it."