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

After sleeping all morning, Qiaoqiao's eyes were even more swollen. Qiaoqiao's mother made some hot water, soaked a towel in it, and then applied it to Qiaoqiao's eyes. After doing this several times, the swelling went down.

"You must not cry when you see Fenglin. She is already sad, and if you cry, she will be even sadder," Qiaoqiao's mother instructed while applying ointment to her eyes.

"I didn't want to cry, but I couldn't hold it in."

"Sigh, it's fortunate that Jin Tao didn't come to propose marriage back then. I only knew that his mother was formidable, and she didn't care whether her daughter-in-law lived or died."

"Mother, you're bringing up the past again. Fenglin is my best friend. She's suffering even more than I have when this happened to her."

"When a woman is pregnant, which one doesn't face death? When you gave birth to Xiaowei, your mother was terrified. Wenhui wasn't home either, and the gatekeeper wouldn't even let the cart in. Looking back now, you're lucky to be alive. In the end, it's all about fate."

"If I had skipped dinner and gone to see Fenglin, maybe she wouldn't have fainted."

"If I had known Fenglin would get into this mess, I would have brought her home for dinner much sooner. Qiaoqiao, don't take all the blame on yourself. Think about it this way: when you went to see Fenglin, didn't you also save her life? Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Qiaoqiao's mother comforted her daughter with her own thoughts.

"I've served Fenglin's chicken soup. I used the remaining soup to cook seaweed. Eat a bowl before you go to the hospital. You've lost a lot of weight overnight."

Qiaoqiao's mother put down the towel and went to the kitchen to serve Qiaoqiao soup.

A bowl of seaweed and chicken soup, and two chicken feet.

Qiaoqiao was really hungry and ate heartily.

"This box contains chicken soup, and this box contains rice and vegetables for Jintao. Also, take ten eggs and half a pound of brown sugar, which is the best for replenishing blood during postpartum confinement."

Qiaoqiao's mother said as she packed the things.

"You eat slowly, I'll go call Auntie San, she wants to go see Fenglin with you."

Qiaoqiao's mother quickly put the things away and went to call her third aunt.

In the yard, Zhou Xiaowei was holding the little yellow dog, pulling its ears and tail. The little yellow dog stared at him warily with its big eyes. Hu Xiaomei was carrying a bowl of chicken soup with rice and was chasing after Zhou Xiaowei to feed it.

After Gu Quan and Zhou Wenhui finished their meal, they sat under the eaves and watched Zhou Xiaowei play with the dog.

After finishing a bowl of seaweed and chicken soup, Qiaoqiao was full. She packed her things and prepared to go see Fenglin.

Auntie San came rushing over carrying a package: "Qiaoqiao, I'll go with you. Get Fenglin some clean clothes. Have you eaten?"

"Auntie, have you finished eating? Let's go together."

Until noon when they went to the hospital, no one from Zhao Jintao's family came to inquire about Fenglin's whereabouts, as if it wasn't a member of the Zhao family whose life was hanging by a thread.

Bed number 28 in the town hospital's maternity ward was not crying as expected. Fenglin was already awake, quietly staring at the ceiling, neither sad nor happy.

Zhao Jintao sat on the edge of the bed, holding Feng Lin's hand, and whispered something.

"Fenglin, you're awake?" Qiaoqiao asked with a forced smile, suppressing her grief.

"Qiaoqiao..." Fenglin called out.

"Brother Jintao, help Fenglin up, it's time for chicken soup."

Zhao Jintao quickly rocked the hospital bed, and Qiaoqiao handed him a box of food, saying, "You and Wenhui go eat outside, I'll feed Fenglin."

Zhou Wenhui pulled Zhao Jintao out, and Qiaoqiao opened another lunchbox, the aroma of golden chicken and chicken soup filling the room.

"Eat up, Fenglin, it smells delicious."

Third Aunt put down her bundle and sat down beside Fenglin's bed.

"Have a couple of sips of soup first." Qiaoqiao fed Fenglin with a spoon.

"Qiaoqiao, I... I can't eat."

"You have to eat, even if you can't. Take care of your health so you can have children in the future," Qiaoqiao gently advised.

"Can I still have children?" Fenglin looked at Qiaoqiao with pleading eyes.

"Of course there is. You're in such good health, come on, have a sip." Feng Lin opened his mouth.

"It's all your fault. Why did you have to show off by raising so many pigs and rabbits? Now that something's happened, even Jin Tao's mother didn't come to see you. Everyone thinks you've climbed the social ladder by marrying into the Zhao family. The Zhao family doesn't treat you like a human being at all!" Auntie San complained unhappily.

"Auntie, please don't say such things."

Qiaoqiao interrupted her third aunt, and Fenglin's tear fell into the chicken soup.

"It's because I raised her to be too kind. She only has Zhao Jintao in her heart and can't even listen to her mother."

My aunt seems to have a lot of grievances that she needs to vent.

"Auntie, could you please get some hot water? There's a tea mug on the table."

Qiaoqiao was determined to get rid of her third aunt. Fenglin had suffered a severe blow to both her body and mind. If her third aunt continued to talk to her, she wouldn't be able to bear it.

Third Aunt left, grumbling, with her teacup in hand. Qiaoqiao wiped Fenglin's tears with her sleeve: "Don't cry, don't be afraid, Fenglin, I'm here for you."

"Qiaoqiao, I was wrong, I was really wrong. I was afraid I wasn't good enough for Jintao, so I wanted to earn more money to support his studies." Fenglin's tears streamed down her face.

"You did nothing wrong. When you love someone, you always think more about them. Last night, Brother Jintao cried a lot. He said he was sorry to you."

"My mother is right. I was too boastful. Jin Tao gave me money, but I couldn't bear to eat it. I just wanted to pay back the money I owed the team so that my mother-in-law wouldn't scold me every day."

"Fenglin, why didn't you tell me you were in trouble?"

"I can't trouble you; you've already helped me so much."

"When things get tough, you have to speak up, you silly Fenglin, you don't consider me a friend."

"Qiaoqiao, I thought I was healthy enough to handle it. I'm so sorry to that child."

"Okay, okay, stop crying. You have a wound, don't cry it out. Eat some chicken leg, let's take good care of ourselves, and once we're fully recovered, we can have two or three more kids."

Qiaoqiao, fearing that Fenglin was too grief-stricken, picked up a chicken leg and stuffed it into Fenglin's mouth.

"Is my body undamaged? Can I really still have children?"

"You have to eat, you have to get your body in order to have a baby. Fenglin, I won't lie to you, eat this whole box of chicken and chicken soup."

"Yes, I ate it all."

Outside the ward, Zhao Jintao and Zhou Wenhui sat on a bench.

"Have some," Zhou Wenhui said.

"I can't eat."

"You have to eat, even if you can't. Fenglin can't be discharged from the hospital right away, you have to take care of her."

Zhao Jintao slowly opened the lunchbox, which contained ribbonfish, chicken, kelp, and stir-fried green beans with chili peppers.

"What are your plans?" Zhou Wenhui asked.

"I……"

Zhao Jintao wanted to keep Fenglin by his side, but he was still a student and could not do so.

"My dad admires you and is mentoring you. He hopes you can return to the county agricultural bureau after graduation. Fenglin will be working with you anyway, so why not find a job in the provincial capital so we can be together sooner?"

"Is that okay?" Zhao Jintao's eyes lit up.

"Sure, temporary jobs are easy to find. Are you worried about your parents now that Fenglin is gone?"

"Don't worry, I'm taking Fenglin with me. If she stays in the village, my mother treats her badly, and the villagers will laugh at her for losing her child. If she stays with me, there won't be any gossip."

"Jin Tao, if Feng Lin can no longer have children, will you despise her?" Zhou Wenhui asked a thought-provoking question.

"No, in this life, I only want Feng Lin."

"But what about your parents?"

"Fenglin isn't infertile; it's my fault that she can't have children. She shouldn't have to bear this pain alone. If Fenglin has no children, then I, Zhao Jintao, will also have no children. I will never divorce her," Zhao Jintao promised.

"You're a tough guy. Take good care of Fenglin. Once she's discharged from the hospital, you two can go back to the provincial capital. My dad will arrange accommodation for you in advance. You get a stipend at school and an assistant's allowance, and if Fenglin finds another job, you won't be short of money."

"Wenhui, thank you, thank you Uncle Zhou."

"As your friends, we feel guilty for not being able to help you."

"It's not your fault, it's my fault. I knew my mother treated Fenglin badly, I should have taken her with me a long time ago."

"What's done is done, blaming yourself is useless, just live your life well from now on."

"Yes, I will remember your kindness."

"Between brothers, there's no need for any gratitude or favors. Just eat more."