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

"What are you going to eat?" Qiaoqiao asked Zhou Wenhui shyly, holding up her bowl and chopsticks.

"Millet porridge and fried dough sticks."

Qiaoqiao quickly ladled out a bowl of millet porridge and gave Zhou Wenhui a fried dough stick.

Without any hesitation or reservations, Zhou Wenhui began to eat heartily.

Luo Meiyun and Zhou Zhonghai didn't sit down at the table, so Qiaoqiao and Yang Zheng couldn't eat first and had to wait.

Zhou Wenhui finished his meal in a few bites, then, oblivious to everyone else, pushed his wheelchair back into the house.

Qiaoqiao quickly stood up and said, "I'll take you back to your room."

Watching his sister push her brother-in-law away, Yang Zheng felt a suppressed urge to shout. He didn't want to go to the machine factory anymore; he wanted to take his sister home.

Even though the family was poor, at least my younger sister could laugh and act spoiled as she pleased.

This unequal marriage was like a cage, trapping the younger sister inside.

From the moment he entered the door, Zhou Wenhui never looked at his sister properly. How is he going to live from now on?

Luo Meiyun and Zhou Zhonghai arrived and, seeing that Yang Zheng hadn't eaten breakfast, quickly said, "Yang Zheng, eat first, don't wait for us."

Seeing that Yang Zheng looked unwell, Luo Meiyun quickly opened the thermos and poured him some porridge: "Eat up, Yang Zheng. Try the fried dough sticks; the fried dough sticks in our cafeteria are really good."

Yang Zheng took the fried dough stick with a sense of helplessness, took a small bite, and felt a pang of sadness and bitterness.

"After we finish eating, I'll go to the machine factory with you."

Zhou Zhonghai drank the porridge and ate the steamed buns in large gulps, his mouth full of bitterness and sorrow.

Luo Meiyun prepared soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, and lunchbox for Yang Zheng.

He also brought some cookies and repeatedly told him, "If you need anything, just tell your uncle, Yang Zheng, come visit during your vacation."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Qiaoqiao saw Yang Zheng off to his car and stuffed the 60 yuan "change of address fee" given to her by Luo Meiyun and Zhou Zhonghai into her brother's hands: "Take it, don't be stingy with it."

"No, the factory provides meal tickets."

"You should always keep some money on hand when you're living alone."

Qiaoqiao stubbornly tried to give the money to her brother, Yang Zheng stubbornly refused.

"Brother, do you look down on your sister too?"

Qiaoqiao was on the verge of tears, so Yang Zheng had no choice but to accept the money and patted Qiaoqiao's head, saying, "Qiaoqiao, I'm sorry."

"Stop talking, get in the car, take care."

"I'm on vacation, so I'm coming to see you."

"Okay, get in the car."

Qiaoqiao swallowed her tears and waved with a smile.

Yang Zheng forced back his tears and waved with a smile.

The car started and drove further and further away. Qiaoqiao stared blankly at it. From then on, she was all alone here.

Loneliness, fear, and sadness all surged into her heart. She was like a lone, abandoned goose.

"Qiaoqiao, come back."

Luo Meiyun stood at the door calling out. She understood Qiaoqiao's feelings and used her own methods to help her overcome every difficulty.

Sure enough, Qiaoqiao turned around, wiped away her tears, and rushed home.

"Qiaoqiao, pack up your dowry items," Luo Meiyun said with a smile, pulling Qiaoqiao along.

"it is good."

"Spring is here, and we won't need the cotton quilts for now. Let's organize a cabinet to store them," Luo Meiyun suggested.

"OK."

Being busy can make people forget their worries.

Luo Meiyun helped Qiaoqiao pack her dowry, and holding up a pillowcase, she asked, "Qiaoqiao, who embroidered this? It's so beautiful."

Qiaoqiao smiled sweetly: "My mother and grandmother embroidered it."

"I never imagined there were still people with such excellent skills these days," Luo Meiyun exclaimed in admiration.

"It's a pity that my mother's eyesight has deteriorated, so she can't do much delicate work anymore."

"The country is developing very quickly. In just a few years, even the rural areas will have electricity. Kerosene lamps are bad for your eyes."

"Mom, do you think there will be enough to eat in the countryside in the future?"

Luo Meiyun paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Of course it can. Progress takes time. The country is facing internal and external troubles, and only now are things starting to look up. I believe that in the near future, the country will become prosperous."

"That's what my brother said too."

"Your brother is very farsighted."

They were chatting happily and tidying up the cotton wadding when suddenly, a pile of banknotes fell out of the wadding.

"Qiaoqiao, what's this?" Qiaoqiao was surprised. She picked it up and counted it. It was exactly five hundred yuan.

Tears streamed down her face. She had placed her five hundred yuan under her grandmother's pillow, while her parents had put their five hundred yuan in the cotton quilt.

Qiaoqiao cried harder and harder, but Luo Meiyun didn't disturb her and let her cry it out.

After a long while, Luo Meiyun patted Qiaoqiao and said, "Qiaoqiao, you should be happy to have such a good family. Put the money away, and next time we go home, we'll buy some things we urgently need."

Qiaoqiao choked back tears: "My parents are cutting my heart out with knives. They don't even have money for Grandma's medical treatment..."

"Qiaoqiao, believe in your mother, things will get better and better for us." Luo Meiyun couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

In the jeep, Zhou Zhonghai and Yang Zheng sat in the back seat.

"Yang Zheng, you feel the same way I do. It's just that she's your sister, and he's my son."

Leaving home and shedding his pretense, Zhou Zhonghai was utterly exhausted.

He was a soldier and a father, and like all fathers, he earnestly planned for his children's future.

"On the front lines, I wasn't afraid to die; but when I got home, I was afraid to see Wenhui. As a soldier, he had a duty to the country; as a father, I'm grateful he's alive. Yang Zheng, in this life, there are no single choices, just too many dilemmas."

Like you, you also hope for an opportunity of your own, but you're burdened by guilt about that opportunity. When we don't know right from wrong, let time prove us right.

Zhou Zhonghai's words perfectly capture Yang Zheng's current mood.

He felt a deep sense of guilt; his job was not earned through his own efforts, but at the cost of his sister's happiness.

"I know my son. He is proud and uses indifference to protect the last bit of pride. Even his mother and I are very careful when we speak in front of him."

Time will tell him that there are many more precious things in the world besides his legs. Yang Zheng, don't worry about your sister; she'll definitely be able to help Wenhui let go of his worries.

Zhou Zhonghai patted Yang Zheng's hand and sighed heavily.

"Don't feel burdened. If you achieve something in your field, you will have no regrets," Zhou Zhonghai patiently advised Yang Zheng.

"Uncle, thank you. I will try my best."

"You are all good children..."

"Uncle, can Wenhui get a prosthetic leg?" Yang Zheng suddenly asked.

"Last year, Shanghai developed its first electrically driven prosthesis, which is still in the debugging stage. Wenhui is not the only soldier who has lost both legs. Even if the experiment is successful, priority will be given to veteran soldiers. Maybe in three to five years, maybe in ten years, I believe that Wenhui will definitely have the day when he can walk freely."

A bold idea popped into Yang Zheng's mind: if possible, he wanted to develop a prosthetic limb for Zhou Wenhui.

Rather than wallowing in despair, it's better to overcome it.

As long as Zhou Wenhui can walk and do simple work, his life will become richer.

Yang Zheng is a man; crying and whining won't solve anything.