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

As the sun sets, its afterglow lingers, resembling a large, red ball hanging in the sky.

"Zhou Wenhui, look, the sunset!" Qiaoqiao said excitedly, pointing to the distant sun.

"The sunset glows and the lone wild goose flies together." Under the bright sun, a flock of swallows flew by, and Zhou Wenhui blurted out.

"What, what do you mean, 'flying together'?"

Qiaoqiao didn't understand, so Zhou Wenhui said calmly, "The sunset glows and the swallows fly together."

"Yes, that's a very vivid description. The sun and the swallows went home together, and so did we."

Returning home with a full load, Qiaoqiao first carried Zhou Wenhui to the toilet, then poured him a cup of tea before going to the kitchen to prepare the fish and meat.

A pound of meat can last for several days. As the weather gets warmer, if you want it to last longer, you have to sprinkle some salt on it.

When the weather is nice, it's fine to leave it out in the sun for a day or even a week.

Pan-fry the fish head until golden brown on both sides, then add boiling water to simmer until it turns milky white. Add tofu, then pick some cabbage from the garden. A whole pot full of fragrant ingredients.

This time, no one called out to him, so Zhou Wenhui waited for his meal in the kitchen.

"Here it is, here it is! Look how white the fish soup is, so flavorful! I made the right choice buying this fish today."

"Don't all fish taste the same?" Zhou Wenhui asked curiously.

"Of course they're different. They may look like they're both fish farms, but the differences are huge. Some fish eat grass and bran. These fish are darker in color and taste delicious."

Some fish farms add fermented pig manure to their ponds to make the fish grow faster, resulting in whitish fish that taste terrible. This fish, however, is a deep, dark color, guaranteeing it's a good one.

As Qiaoqiao spoke, she ladled a bowl of fish soup for Zhou Wenhui and said with a smile, "Try it."

"Mmm, it's so fresh! Yang Qiao, you know so much."

"Everyone in the countryside understands this; it's nothing."

After finishing a bowl of soup, she served Zhou Wenhui a large bowl of rice. Qiaoqiao also ate rice; she could eat two large bowls of rice soaked in fish soup.

Of course, she didn't eat two bowls, but Zhou Wenhui ate three bowls of rice. It wasn't that he couldn't eat anymore; he still wanted to eat more.

There wasn't enough rice cooked, and Qiaoqiao only ate a small bowl.

"Add some more soup tomorrow, and we can have another meal," Zhou Wenhui suggested.

"If you don't mind, we can have leftovers for lunch tomorrow."

"I don't mind at all. My mom's fish soup is so fishy it makes me want to vomit. It's a pity they're not home, otherwise they would like it too."

"I'll cook for my parents when they get home."

"If there weren't constant threats on the front lines, my parents could have transferred to work elsewhere."

Zhou Wenhui felt inexplicably sad. His heart was clenched when his father said he might have to go to the front lines.

At this moment, he fully understood his father's feelings back then. Whether or not he lost his hands or feet, as long as he survived, he could accept it.

Putting himself in their shoes, Zhou Wenhui stopped obsessively committing suicide; he wanted to live for his family.

"Now that the country is strong and has advanced weapons, I believe the war will be quelled soon." Qiaoqiao didn't understand war and could only offer weak words of comfort.

"Okay, let's boil some water for a bath. I've been walking around all day and I've worked up a sweat."

Zhou Wenhui stopped talking about it. Qiaoqiao was a woman, an ordinary citizen, and she didn't understand the cruelty of war.

"Okay, I'm going to run the toilet. Hey, Zhou Wenhui, going for a walk outside, doesn't it make you feel better? From now on, you can come with me when I go grocery shopping."

Zhou Wenhui fell silent again, casually picking up a book to read.

I'm so tired today. Cheng Zhaoying came over and made a scene. I went grocery shopping in the afternoon and ate three bowls of rice in the evening.

Cheng Zhaoying is a source of pain for Zhou Wenhui.

Her tearful pleas shattered his heart again and again.

As she carried him to the toilet, Zhou Wenhui realized that he and Cheng Zhaoying could never go back.

This is fate; who can defy destiny?

That night, the two went to bed early, each with their own quilt, but Zhou Wenhui slept on the inside and Qiaoqiao on the outside.

In the darkness, Zhou Wenhui asked, "Don't you have any questions for Cheng Zhaoying?"

"No!" Qiaoqiao was telling the truth. She was only responsible for taking care of Zhou Wenhui's food, clothing, and shelter. As for his private affairs, Qiaoqiao was not interested.

"Are you angry?" Zhou Wenhui asked again.

"No, the only sad thing is that I don't have the ability to make you two live happily ever after," Qiaoqiao said calmly.

"She and I were classmates in college. Her parents were college teachers. Back then, I often went to her house for meals, and her parents liked me very much."

Later, I joined the army and went to the front lines with my unit. Actually, I knew that my parents had gone to her house to propose marriage, but her parents were unwilling. I lost my legs, and Cheng Zhaoying is so outstanding; I can understand her parents' situation.

"Hey, her parents are university professors, so what's her family's class background?" Qiaoqiao asked abruptly.

"Her grandfather was a soldier who defended the country, and her parents were assigned by the state to teach at universities, so they were definitely classified as 'red five categories'."

Zhou Wenhui was filled with sorrow and was stunned by Qiaoqiao's question.

"My grandfather was a private tutor, and he taught and nurtured people, but he was classified as one of the 'Five Black Categories.' Why?" Qiaoqiao was very puzzled.

"If all teachers are from the 'Five Black Categories,' then universities might as well just close down," Zhou Wenhui said, somewhat angrily.

"That's not fair! The tuition my grandfather collected was just soybeans, meat, and charcoal. He didn't charge the students any money. His family was so poor they couldn't even afford to eat. Shouldn't they be considered poor people?"

"Cheng Zhaoying's grandfather was a soldier."

"That's right, it's a pity there are no soldiers in my family."

"Don't you have one now?"

Who is it?

"Am I not? I'm a hero, surely I can protect your family?"

With Qiaoqiao's interruption, Zhou Wenhui's great love story seemed less important.

"Thank you. The Party Secretary treated my grandfather with utmost respect, so he shouldn't be bullied anymore. Grandpa will write back to me in a couple of days."

"Your grandfather is also my grandfather. Who would dare to bully him? Besides me, a hero, your family also has a division commander in-law who's too busy trying to curry favor with your grandfather."

"Yes, that's what I thought at first too."

Qiaoqiao turned over and drifted off to sleep peacefully.

"Hey, where were we?" Zhou Wenhui asked, as Qiaoqiao was already snoring softly.

Zhou Wenhui smiled bitterly, recalling that when he went out to buy groceries that afternoon, people greeted Qiaoqiao along the way, but no one paid much attention to him, the hero with the broken leg.

Whether it's feelings or a disability, others don't really care; it's you who care too much.

Everyone cares about different things. Ordinary people just want to be well-fed and clothed, while Qiaoqiao just wants her family to live a peaceful life.

As for Mom and Dad, what they care about is their normal life, or having a grandson, right?

What do I care about? Do I care about Cheng Zhaoying's feelings? Do I care about my legs?

No, I care that my parents don't go to the front lines, that they can be discharged safely and become local officials.

People are inherently without worries; it is only the foolish who create their own troubles.

Zhou Wenhui also turned over, feeling so tired. He decided to sleep, thinking that he could eat three big bowls of fish soup with rice tomorrow.