A woman in her 70s marries a rough-looking man; her plump wife is too delicate and alluring.

When He Zhaoyang returned home, she saw that Qin Meng had left her some food and was waiting for her in the main room.

Upon seeing He Zhaoyang return, he immediately stood up. "Let's eat first, Zhaoyang. Your brother and sister-in-law have gone back to rest."

He Zhaoyang nodded, sat down, and took out 50 yuan.

Qin Meng asked, puzzled, "Zhaoyang, what's wrong?"

"Mother, Liu Aiyun robbed me of the money, but I've also cut ties with them. Consider it Yuze's salary as a way to end our relationship."

He Zhaoyang continued, "This money is what I got from selling medicinal herbs; consider it Yuze's salary."

Qin Meng was both amused and exasperated. "Silly child, you and Yuze are married now, so your salary is naturally for the two of you. Since Yuze gave you this money, it's yours. You don't need to give it to me."

Okay, I'm going back to my room now. Just leave your food there after you finish eating; you don't need to clean it up.

One evening six months later, He Zhaoyang squatted by the stove, tending the fire, the firelight reflecting on her face.

She had lost a lot of weight, her chin was sharper, revealing her delicate features, and her nose was more prominent.

Li Xuanxue's belly is quite large; she'll give birth in four months. Sheng Kaiyuan is always grinning, and Li Xuanxue has patted his head countless times. The old lady can now walk into the yard with her cane to bask in the sun.

He Zhaoyang also learned many things. He could steam buns, pickle sauerkraut, mend clothes, and interact with the villagers.

She went from being the fattest girl in the village to being the object of everyone's desire to marry her.

Many young men regret not marrying He Zhaoyang because they disliked her.

The He family hasn't caused any trouble in the past six months. They only occasionally run into He Xidi at the village entrance. She walks past quickly with her head down and doesn't say a word.

He Zhaoyang didn't take the initiative to contact her, and they just went their separate ways.

"Mother, Mother, Mother, something has happened!"

Sheng Kaiyuan ran in carrying Li Xuanxue, who was covered in sweat and clutching her stomach.

Qin Meng became anxious upon seeing this, "What happened?!"

Sheng Kaiyuan was extremely anxious. "The children were playing around and bumped into each other."

Qin Meng cried and yelled, "What are you good for? Didn't you know how to stop them?"

Sheng Kaiyuan was also anxious, "I went to buy something at the time."

Li Xuanxue said weakly, "Mother, I wanted to eat candy back then."

"I'll go find someone."

He Zhaoyang also rushed out anxiously. She was very glad that she had lost a lot of weight. If she were still the same as before, weighing 190 pounds, she definitely wouldn't be able to run.

He Zhaoyang ran out of the yard and ran along the alley toward the village clinic.

She had never run so fast before; the winter wind filled her lungs, and her throat burned.

The door to the clinic was closed.

She knocked twice, but no one answered. She knocked twice more, and finally a voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

"Dr. Zhang! Something's happened to my sister-in-law! You need to come quickly!"

The door opened, and Dr. Zhang quickly put on his coat, slung his medicine kit over his shoulder, and followed her back.

When the two ran into the Sheng family's courtyard, Li Xuanxue had already been placed on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the main room by Sheng Kaiyuan.

Her face was pale, her forehead was covered in sweat, and her lips were bitten until they bled.

Qin Meng stood by the kang (a heated brick bed), clutching a towel in her hand, her legs trembling.

Dr. Zhang put down his medicine box, went over, took the pulse, and frowned. "No, we have to get him to the clinic right away."

Sheng Kaiyuan turned and ran outside, shouting, "I'll go get the cart!"

Qin Meng followed him out. He Zhaoyang stood by the kang (a heated brick bed), squatted down, and took Li Xuanxue's hand. "Sister-in-law, it's alright, don't be afraid, I'm here."

Li Xuanxue looked at her, her lips trembled, and her voice was choked with sobs, "Zhaoyang, the child."

"It's alright, the child is alright, sister-in-law, save your strength for now."

He Zhaoyang used his spiritual power to probe, and then his heart skipped a beat.

That's it, she can no longer feel the child's presence.

She held Li Xuanxue's hand tightly, her spiritual energy slowly flowing through her fingertips.

Sheng Kaiyuan pushed the cart, Li Xuanxue lay on it, Qin Meng followed beside her, and He Zhaoyang held onto the edge of the cart as they jogged along.

The road was full of potholes, and whenever the cart bounced, she would hold Li Xuanxue's body down to prevent her from being thrown up and causing further injury.

Upon arriving at the health center, the doctor said before entering the operating room, "The bleeding won't stop; you should be prepared."

Sheng Kaiyuan squatted in the corner, his hands covering his head, making no sound, but his shoulders were shaking.

Qin Meng stood beside him, one hand gripping her apron, the other on his shoulder.

"Mother, it's all my fault. If I hadn't gone to buy candy, or if I had let Xuanxue go with me, would things have turned out this way?"

He Zhaoyang walked over from the corner and stood beside him. "Brother, it's not your fault. Those kids ran too fast. If your sister-in-law were blaming you, she wouldn't have said those words for you."

Sheng Kaiyuan didn't look up; his shoulders were still shaking.

Qin Meng also clung tightly to Sheng Kaiyuan's shoulders.

After a long while, the operating room lights were finally turned off.

The doctor came out, took off his mask, and shook his head.

Sheng Kaiyuan grabbed the doctor in despair, "What's wrong, doctor?"

"We couldn't save the baby. The mother did her best, but suffered severe bleeding and is still under observation."

He Zhaoyang's heart sank. What was going on? He hadn't hurt Li Xuanxue, so why couldn't he keep the baby? Was the plot something he couldn't defy?

Sheng Kaiyuan sat on the ground for a long time, then slowly stood up. "I'll go in and keep her company."

The door closed behind him.

Qin Meng remained standing there, praying that Li Xuanxue was alright.

He Zhaoyang pulled Qin Meng to a stool. "Mom, sit down for a while."

Qin Meng sat down on the bench, head down, without saying a word, "Your sister-in-law is suffering."

The corridor was quiet.

After a long silence, Qin Meng spoke softly, "Zhaoyang, you should go back home. There's an old lady there; she can't manage alone."

He Zhaoyang hesitated and said, "I'm not leaving."

"Let's go," Qin Meng said. "Let's go back and cook some porridge, and bring it over tomorrow."

He Zhaoyang thought about it and agreed. "Then I'll come back first thing tomorrow morning."

Qin Meng hummed in agreement. He Zhaoyang turned and took two steps down the corridor, then stopped and turned back to say, "Mother, don't worry too much about my sister-in-law. She'll definitely be alright."

Qin Meng nodded.

It was already past midnight when He Zhaoyang left. After walking for more than twenty minutes, she could see the outline of the Sheng family's courtyard wall in the distance, and she could see that the light in Li Yuzhen's room was on.

He Zhaoyang had a bad feeling. The old lady usually didn't get up at night, so what was wrong with her today?

She pushed the courtyard gate, but it was bolted from the inside. She hesitated for a moment, then pushed it again, but couldn't open it; the gate was bolted from the inside.

She didn't lock the door when she left. The old lady was the only one at home. She knew they had gone out, so she couldn't possibly come over to lock the door.

He Zhaoyang slowed her steps, walked around the courtyard wall to the side, where there was a low wall. She stepped on it, grabbed the top of the wall, and climbed over.

She landed without making a sound. She squatted against the wall without moving and waited for a while, but no one came out of the yard.

She stood up, walked along the wall to the window of the old lady's room, and heard people talking inside.

She couldn't hear what was being said, but she could recognize whose voice it was.

What are you doing here so late at night, He Xidi?