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

If it's always cold and indifferent, maybe it's nothing.

After a passionate and fiery entanglement lasting over a month, things suddenly turned cold, and each day felt like an eternity.

Qiaoqiao is now living in agony.

"Wenhui, I've corrected the typos and made some changes to the awkward sentences. Could you please take a look and see if it's okay?"

"Okay. Got it."

"Wenhui, what are we having for lunch?"

"casual."

"I'll help you take a bath."

"go out."

...Isn't it just a fake pregnancy that angered Cheng Zhaoying? Is it really necessary to get so angry?

Qiaoqiao had already begged for forgiveness in a low voice, but Zhou Wenhui showed no intention of forgiving her whatsoever.

Three awkward days passed before Yang Zheng called.

Qiaoqiao answered the phone.

"Brother, are you back from your studies in Wuxi?"

Qiaoqiao asked happily, "One phone call has swept away the gloom of the past few days."

"No, Qiaomei, do you know where I'm calling you from?"

"Isn't it Wuxi?"

"No, I'm in Shanghai. Wuxi is very close to Shanghai, only two hours away. I'm here to visit my friend Lu Han."

"How is Brother Lu Han?"

"Great, Qiaomei, I met an engineer who makes prostheses and had a serious talk with him. To make a prosthesis that allows for free movement, the main thing is to make a suitable socket."

"Prosthetics can't be mass-produced; each person has a unique size. I want to try it out when I get back and tell Wenhui that walking freely is entirely possible," Yang Zheng said excitedly.

"Really? Bro, does it require a lot of money?"

"The main thing is that the manufacturing process is very meticulous. The socket material is resin. I'll go back and ask the craftsman if I know anyone at the resin factory. Qiaomei, I've already learned about the craftsmanship of prostheses. No matter how difficult it is, I will make a pair of prostheses for Wenhui. Tell him to have confidence," Yang Zheng said excitedly.

"Okay, brother, Wenhui will definitely be very happy. Thank you, brother."

"Don't thank me, we're family. It's my responsibility to help Wenhui get back on his feet. Qiaomei, are you all alright?"

"Very good, Wenhui is very good to me."

"So, are you going back home for the Mid-Autumn Festival?"

"Wenhui still doesn't want to go back."

"Don't worry, Qiaoqiao, maybe he needs time." Yang Zheng was a little disappointed, but he comforted Qiaoqiao.

"Brother, when are you coming back?"

"There are about ten more days. After I go back, my company will give me a day off, and I'll come see you."

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

"You take good care of yourself too."

After the siblings hung up the phone, Qiaoqiao excitedly ran to the study and said, "Wenhui, my brother called. He said he knows the process of making a prosthesis and he wants to make you a prosthesis that allows you to move freely."

Zhou Wenhui, with his back to Qiaoqiao, was visibly taken aback: "He went to Shanghai?"

"Yes, it was my brother's roommate, Lu Han, who took him to find the prosthetic engineer."

"There isn't a single prosthetic limb on the market that can move freely. Is your brother sure he can make one?"

"My brother said that no matter how difficult it is, he'll make it happen. Wenhui, you'll soon be able to walk to and from get off work. I'm so happy today, I'm going to the grocery store to buy a fish to celebrate, okay?"

"good!"

Her attitude and tone softened considerably, which made Qiaoqiao extremely happy; she disliked a life of sulking.

When Sister Liu saw Qiaoqiao, it was like seeing her own family.

"Qiaoqiao, you haven't come to buy groceries for several days. Don't you cook at home anymore?" Sister Liu said reproachfully.

"No, we have vegetables at home."

The two were sulking, and Qiaoqiao didn't want to cook, so she ate in the cafeteria for a few days.

"You have vegetables at home, so you're not going to buy meat? In this hot weather, meat will go bad if left out for just one day. I thought you went back to your parents' house."

"No, I'm preparing to go back for the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Qiaoqiao, is she your hostage?" Sister Liu asked shyly.

"Here's a pound of meat coupon, in exchange for a fish, is that alright?"

"Even a small fish costs half a pound of meat coupons."

"I want to go back to my parents' home and save up some meat coupons so I can buy some meat for the festival," Qiaoqiao said with difficulty.

"Your father-in-law has so much power, how come he can't get meat?"

"No, I can't bring myself to ask. My in-laws are in the military and haven't been home for over two months."

"If you're too shy to speak up, let your man do it."

"No, no, Sister Liu, just half a pound of meat coupons. I'll give you two more pounds later when I've saved up more, okay?"

"Okay, okay, supplies are scarce, even with money you can't buy anything, sigh, it's so tough. I'll pick out a fish for you."

A small silver carp, weighing exactly two pounds.

Qiaoqiao handed Sister Liu six cents and a pound of meat coupons. Sister Liu happily accepted them, saying, "I'll give you half a pound of meat coupons in exchange for tofu coupons, five tofu coupons in total. I don't have any tofu coupons on hand right now, I'll give them to you next time."

"Sister Liu, doesn't your family like tofu?"

"Who doesn't love tofu? It's cheap and delicious, but meat coupons are much more precious. Half a pound of meat coupons can buy a pound and a half of pork bones. Simmer them for a few hours with some cabbage, and it's really tasty. Qiaoqiao, if you want some bones, I'll save some for you next time?"

"My wife loves braised pork, so it's a waste to use meat coupons to buy bones."

"There are five people in my family, and we only have two and a half jin of meat coupons. Sigh, that's all we have for one meal of dumplings. How can we afford braised pork? Qiaoqiao, you're so lucky. The military family compound has so much more material possessions than us ordinary workers," Sister Liu said enviously.

"That's not enough either."

"They deserve more tickets. They've made a great contribution to protecting our country, so they should be rewarded according to their work. Qiaoqiao, if your family has extra meal tickets, I can help you exchange some."

"Okay, thank you, that's all for now."

Zhou Wenhui gave all of last month's meal tickets to his brother, and Qiaoqiao wants to keep some for him this month.

Qiaoqiao bought two more pieces of tofu and half a pound of vermicelli before saying goodbye to Sister Liu.

Silver carp has many bones, but the head is delicious.

For lunch, we had fish head stew with tofu and glass noodles. The fish tail was marinated, dried, and then pan-fried. The braised fish chunks were very appetizing.

One fish for two meals is a great deal.

After eating at the cafeteria for several days, Zhou Wenhui ate three bowls of rice today after a pot of fish soup.

While taking advantage of the situation, Qiaoqiao casually said, "A grown man like you gets angry so easily. I didn't mean it. I won't lie to you again."

"You, Yang Qiaoqiao, don't you know where you went wrong?" Zhou Wenhui said angrily.

"Okay, okay, I know I shouldn't have lied."

"You...you...you can lie, but you shouldn't lie about being pregnant. Do you know how happy I was when I found out you were pregnant? With this child, you're truly a member of the Zhou family now, and you can't run away even if you want to."

Are you worried I'll run away?

"Who knows?" Zhou Wenhui said with a sneer.

Qiaoqiao smiled and looked down. Even though Zhou Wenhui's tone was very cold, why did she feel a little happy?

"I won't run away. You're good to me, and my parents are good to me. If I run away, I'll give such a good man to Cheng Zhaoying. I won't accept that," Qiaoqiao said proudly.

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course, I get jealous too. Cheng Zhaoying confessed her love to you in front of me, and I felt sad. I was thinking about how to get back at her."

Qiaoqiao was a little sad. She couldn't compare to Cheng Zhaoying in anything. Only her child could defeat her.

"Fool, Cheng Zhaoying doesn't love me anymore. From the time my father came to visit until our wedding, there was a whole month, and she didn't come to see me even once. If she had come to me without hesitation before our wedding, we wouldn't have gotten married." Zhou Wenhui smiled bitterly.

"Then why is she causing trouble now that we're married?"

"Human psychology is strange. Maybe she felt that she could abandon me, but I couldn't abandon her."

"Have you really let her go?"

"I only see her as a beautiful memory. If you're jealous, I won't reminisce," Zhou Wenhui said sincerely.

"Recalling her is fine, but you're not allowed to call her name when you're drunk."

"When did I call her name?"

"I yelled at it last time, and I was so angry that I cried for half the night."

"I didn't, I called out Yang Qiaoqiao."

"You're cheating..."