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

On Sunday, Qiaoqiao and Wenhui bought fruit and pastries to visit Chen Yan and Hu Xiaomei.

Last time I came, Master Chen Yan was covered in bandages from head to toe, I don’t know how badly he was burned. This time, the bandages were removed, and he had his first skin graft surgery on his face and hands. Qiaoqiao was still shocked.

The burns on the right side of my face were not very severe. After the skin graft, the results were very good, and the skin is quite smooth.

The left side of my face is severely affected; patches of rashes have spread from my neck all the way to my left forehead, resembling the roots of a century-old tree.

Brown shell, red new flesh, remnants of good skin, half a face like a devil's oil painting.

"Master Chen..."

Qiaoqiao felt a pang of heartache she couldn't quite put into words. It was hard for her to accept that such a capable old woman had suddenly become like this.

When Chen Yan and He Chunxiu saw Qiaoqiao, they said happily, "Qiaoqiao, Wenhui, you've come. You're busy, no need to come all this way, we're doing very well."

Aside from the unsightly burns, Chen Yan's health has basically recovered. He can eat and drink normally and even go to the next ward to show off.

"Master Chen, we're so sorry we haven't visited you in so long. You look great."

Concealing her sadness, Qiaoqiao forced a smile.

"Look, I'm doing just fine, aren't I? A burn patient came next door, and he screams day and night, driving me crazy. Tell me, even an old man like me doesn't scream. Young people really can't handle pain."

Despite his changed appearance, Chen Yan is still the same cheerful Chen Yan.

"Don't get cocky. If Dr. Luo hadn't gotten you some anti-itch pills from the military hospital, you would have been screaming even louder than everyone else," He Chunxiu couldn't help but tease Old Chen.

"Qiaoqiao, Wenhui, I, Chen Yan, am so lucky to have met your mother who treated me. I will never forget this kindness, not even when I die. My son and my daughter will always remember it."

Chen Yan grasped Wen Hui's hand and thanked him solemnly.

Wenhui smiled gently: "My mother will never forget your kindness. Master Chen, we are relieved to see you doing well."

"I've already died once, what else is there to be upset about? The machine factory has been very good to me, providing me with a house, a job, and nutrition allowance. I thank the country and the Party."

Chen Yan was a veteran member of the Communist Party. He risked his life to protect the machinery factory, and although he received the compensation he deserved, he was still extremely grateful.

"Old Chen, the person we should thank the most is Wenhui. He helped us get a house, jobs, and money. I held that compensation contract and couldn't even understand it. I almost signed it," He Chunxiu explained.

"Yes, thank you, Wenhui. Although Tang Ping and I are in a superior-subordinate relationship, we get along like brothers. He's not a petty person. Even as a leader, there are times when he can't do anything. I'm grateful to him too."

"Master Chen, the person we should thank is Factory Director Tang. I was just the one who was assertive. If the leadership hadn't given in, they would have had grounds to object to the requests I made."

"I know that Tang Ping is in a precarious situation after such a big incident at the machinery factory. If he were to openly offer me compensation, other leaders, including those from the municipal party committee, would have objections. If it's brought up by outsiders and he accepts it, neither of us will be in a difficult position."

"Old Chen, are there so many rules?"

"What do you, a woman, know?"

"Madam, come, have an apple. These are apples from Nanshan, they're so sweet."

Fearing that her master and mistress would clash, Qiaoqiao quickly told her mistress to eat an apple.

Qiaoqiao washed a big apple, cut it into four pieces, and gave one piece to each person.

"It's so sweet, Qiaoqiao. Is Yang Zheng coming back for vacation? I really miss him," He Chunxiu asked, pulling Qiaoqiao along.

"My brother is helping out in a professor's studio. I heard he still owes a lot of prosthetics. I don't know if he'll be able to come back for the summer vacation," Qiaoqiao said truthfully.

"It's good for Yang Zheng to learn a skill during the summer vacation. He doesn't need to come back. This old man won't die," Chen Yan interjected.

"Speaking of Yang Zhengxue's skills, it was all by chance. If the military leaders hadn't forced him to get a prosthetic leg, his skills wouldn't have improved so quickly."

Wenhui smiled, and he had a very handsome smile, like a refined scholar.

"So, I actually helped him?" Chen Yan laughed heartily.

"Good fortune may be a harbinger of misfortune, and misfortune may be a harbinger of good fortune; life's encounters are truly wondrous."

"Wenhui is right. I never imagined that my attending physician would be your mother. If it weren't for Dr. Luo, I probably wouldn't have made it. The itching... it wasn't like ants gnawing at my flesh, it was like ants gnawing at my bones. I couldn't scratch it, I wanted to smash my bones and kill the ants."

Chen Yan still feels lingering fear when he thinks about the days when there were no anti-itch pills.

"Why aren't you showing off anymore? Weren't you laughing at the patient next door for screaming so loudly?"

"You old woman, why do you always shut me down..."

What appears to be an argument is actually just a bickering between a couple who have been through thick and thin together.

"Mr. Chen, when will you be discharged from the hospital? I'll call a car to pick you up."

"No need, Dr. Luo has already arranged everything for me, there's a car. Wenhui, your whole family are good people, and you're all capable people."

"We are just ordinary people, ordinary people with family and friendship in our hearts."

For ordinary people with family and friends, it's such a simple sentence, yet how many people have forgotten even the most basic sentiments?

After talking with her master and mistress for a long time, Qiaoqiao and Wenhui said goodbye because they still had to go to the thoracic surgery department to see Sister Hu.

"I'll be discharged from the hospital soon. Come visit me at my place. We've been allocated a three-bedroom apartment in the cadre building of the machinery factory, building 6, room 302. Remember to come visit."

Chen Yan told Wenhui and Qiaoqiao that seeing them was like seeing Yang Zheng.

"Okay, I will definitely visit. Master, please rest well and eat well."

"Yes, I'm fine."

I'm fine, it's good to be alive.

When Hu Xiaomei saw Qiaoqiao and Wenhui, she was so excited that she tried to sit up. However, she did so with too much force that she accidentally touched her broken ribs and winced in pain.

"Sister Hu, don't move, don't move. Your wound needs to heal, heal slowly." Qiaoqiao hurriedly helped Hu Xiaomei lie down.

"Why didn't you bring Xiaowei along?"

Hu Xiaomei slowly lay down, ignoring the pain, and asked Qiaoqiao.

"Xiaowei went to the kindergarten with his Uncle Yu Fu. He'll be starting kindergarten in the second half of the year, so he's getting used to the environment first," Qiaoqiao explained.

"Go to kindergarten? Does that mean I'm useless?" Hu Xiaomei was very worried.

"Sister Hu, the task of picking up and dropping off the children is even more demanding. We won't fire you unless you want to leave on your own."

Qiaoqiao said firmly, "Sister Hu's heart is with Xiaowei. If she fires her, wouldn't that be cutting off her will to live?"

"I can cook, clean, and grow vegetables. I can do anything," Hu Xiaomei said, expressing that she was not a useless person.

"Okay, once you're discharged from the hospital, we'll hold a ceremony to formally recognize you as Xiaowei's godmother. That way, you won't have to overthink things every day."

"No, no need. I feel really guilty about what happened this time." Hu Xiaomei said no, but she was overjoyed.

"Sister Hu, just focus on getting better. Yu Fu's cooking is nowhere near as good as yours, and Xiao Wei doesn't like it," Wen Hui added promptly.

"Really? Xiaowei hasn't lost weight from hunger, has he? Maybe I should be discharged from the hospital. I can still cook a meal for a child." Hu Xiaomei became anxious again upon hearing this.

"Sister Hu, only after you recover can you go home to take care of Xiaowei. Xiaowei won't go hungry."

Qiaoqiao rolled her eyes at Wenhui. "You can't even advise people properly. You can't mention anything bad about Xiaowei, otherwise Sister Hu won't feel at ease staying in the hospital."

It took a lot of talking to comfort Sister Hu. She was worried that the Zhou family would fire her, that Xiao Wei wasn't eating or sleeping well, and she also felt guilty.

Xiao Wei had gotten into such a big mess while she was in charge, and she was only relieved when Qiao Qiao promised that Yu Fu would bring Xiao Wei to see her the next day.