1940s: I supported my wife and sister-in-law by hunting.

Chen Gaoshan was already prepared and had thought of his words.

"Mom, I didn't break into the bearded den, nor did I rob anyone. I stole all of these from the Russians in town. I scouted the place during the day when I went to the market, figured out their guards, and was just waiting to make my move at midnight and pull off a big heist."

If I weren't alone and short-handed, I would have stolen everything they took back! These things were originally taken from us ordinary people by the Russians, so I deserved to steal from them! Dad, we don't need to spend money to buy guns anymore, now we have guns!

Old Chen stood frozen on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), completely bewildered.

He instinctively picked up the pipe in his hand and put it in his mouth, just about to take a puff to calm his nerves, when he realized that the tobacco wasn't lit at all, and he blankly took the pipe down again.

He stared at his son's face, scrutinizing him. He knew his son best; from a young age, whenever he lied, his eyes would always blink unconsciously a few times.

But when Gao Shan spoke, he didn't seem to be lying.

Upon hearing her son's words, Chen Liu's eyes widened in shock, almost bulging out of their sockets, and her voice instinctively rose.

"What the hell?! Shanzi, are you tired of living?! Those Russians are ruthless killers, you dare to steal from them? You're practically walking on the edge of hell! You...you want to scare your mother to death?!"

Chen Laonian's face immediately darkened, he glared at her fiercely, and lowered his voice.

"What the hell are you yelling about, you spendthrift old woman! Shut up! Keep it down! Are you afraid people outside won't hear you?!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Liu trembled with fright and quickly covered her mouth with her hand, afraid to make another sound. Her heart was pounding.

No one in the room dared to make a sound.

Seeing that Shanzi's mother had shut up, Chen Laonian breathed a sigh of relief, looked at his son with a serious expression, and asked in a deep voice.

"Besides yourself, is there anyone else who knows about this? Has anyone seen it?"

"Dad, don't worry, I did it all by myself. Nobody saw it, and nobody knows it was me."

Hearing his son's affirmative answer, Old Chen nodded, feeling a mix of emotions—fear and worry.

As expected of Chen Laonian's son, his courage and ruthlessness are unmatched by most other families' sons!

He had long hated the Russians for causing trouble for the villagers, and wished he could kill a few of them with his own hands. His son dared to steal the Russians' things, which was a way of venting his anger!

But then I thought about it again, and realized that it was too risky. Those Russians were ruthless and could kill someone like it was nothing. If they found out, my son would die, and my whole family would die with him.

"Shanzi's mother, Xinghua, Lianhua, since no outsiders know about this, every word we say and every thing we see in this room today must remain buried in our hearts. We must never utter a single word about it for the rest of our lives. Do you understand?"

As for these guns, that's easy. We got them from a hunter in exchange. It's perfectly reasonable for a hunter to have a gun; no one will suspect anything.

At this point, he turned his head.

"Shanzi, just this once! You must stop this from now on, and never do anything so dangerous again! You're the only one left in our Chen family. If anything happens to you, our family is finished!"

Chen Gaoshan nodded, seeing the worry on his parents' and Xinghua Lianhua's faces.

"Dad, Mom, don't worry, this is the only time. There will never be a next time. I will never take this risk again. This is a crystal radio. I can listen to the radio by wearing this. It doesn't need electricity. I brought this watch with me. It will take time to go into the mountains."

Everyone was seeing this for the first time and was quite curious. After he taught them a few times, they were all very excited and wanted to hear the sound from the headphones. Chen Gaoshan wound up the watch, listened to the time announcement on the radio, and adjusted the time.

Seeing everyone making a ruckus, and knowing it was almost dawn, Old Chen waved his hand dismissively.

"Alright, you've all been busy all night. Go back to your rooms and get some sleep. Shanzi is back safe and sound, so you can all finally get a good night's rest."

As Chen Gaoshan walked out of his parents' house, he looked back at the apricot blossoms and lotus flowers behind him.

Xinghua's eyes were still red, and her gaze was fixed on him, clearly indicating that she still had something to say.

Chen Gaoshan looked at her, reached out and pushed the two sisters back into his room.

"It's almost dawn, let's go to sleep together. Don't worry, I won't do anything, I'll just sleep soundly."

Xinghua leaned against the door. Ever since she followed Gaoshan, he had been her only thought. If something really happened to Gaoshan, she would have no one to rely on in this world, and she would have no hope of living.

Lotus stood to one side, looking at her sister, her heart aching just as much; she felt exactly the same way as her sister.

The sisters could no longer rely on their maternal families and had long since made the mountains their only support and the Chen family their only refuge.

If something happens to Gao Shan, they will both become widows. Even if their parents-in-law don't mind, they will have no face to stay in the Chen family any longer. At that point, they will have no other way to survive except to jump into the river.

Outsiders would only say that the Wang sisters were cursed to kill their husbands, having killed two of them in a row.

Seeing her sister standing still, Lianhua tugged at Xinghua's sleeve. "Sister, let's sleep together. I know what you're thinking. I think exactly the same thing as you."

Xinghua's face flushed, and with her younger sister Chen Gaoshan pulling her on either side, she reluctantly went into the house together.

Chen Gaoshan lay between the two of them, exhausted after working all night, with each of them holding one of his hands.

Now that it was just the three of them in the room and no one else was around, Xinghua was no longer embarrassed.

In the pitch black, no one could see what she was doing. She shifted her body and rested her head on Gao Shan's shoulder.

"Shanzi, I'll just say one thing to you: if anything really happens to you, I'll go with you."

Lotus, who was standing nearby, reached out and pinched Chen Gaoshan's waist. "Me too."

Chen Gaoshan was already exhausted, his eyelids were so heavy he could barely keep them open, and he was just drifting off to sleep when he was suddenly pinched, causing him to gasp in pain.

"Today was just an accident, you two relax. I haven't gotten you pregnant yet, the task of carrying on the family line isn't finished, so nothing will happen."

Hearing his words, Lotus was not reassured at all; instead, she became even more anxious. She propped herself up on her arm and looked at him by the moonlight.

"Pah, pah, pah, can't you wish for something good? Even if you have a child, nothing can happen to you. If you still dare to go out and cause trouble, my sister and I will tie you up at home!"

My sister and I are strong enough to handle all the work in the fields and around the house. You don't need to go out and struggle. With us working, we can support you. As long as you're safe and sound and stay by our side, that's better than anything else.

As she spoke, her tone softened.

"Even if you just stay home and do nothing, my sister and I are willing to support you. We don't ask for anything else, we just ask that you don't go out and cause trouble again, and that you don't get into any more trouble, okay?"

Chen Gaoshan held their hands tightly in return. After so many years, this was the first time he knew what it felt like to be cared for by his family.

With two women who care deeply about him and worry about him, he has no reason not to cherish them, and even less reason not to live life to the fullest.

And he also has parents.

From now on, whether for himself, for his parents, or for the two women in front of him who are devoted to him, he will protect this family and protect them.

"become."