Widow Remarries in Sixties

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Jin Xiuzhu took the two children to the meat processing factory and bought pork trotters and pork belly, returning home with a full load.

By the time they got back, it was already dark, and Jiang Mingchuan had already returned. Jin Xiuzhu had left a note before leaving, letting him know that she and the children had gone to the county town, so he had already prepared dinner.

He Yan was the happiest. When he got home and saw his dad, the first thing he did was share his new fountain pen with him. Then, very carefully, he filled it with ink and wrote his name in his new notebook.

After finishing, he felt that his handwriting wasn’t good, so he asked Jin Xiuzhu to help him write.

Jin Xiuzhu wrote his full name in the other three books and also wrote the subjects at the top of each notebook.

He Yan was satisfied and took the notebooks to the table in his room, being careful not to let the ink smear together.

Outside, Jiang Mingchuan heard him dawdling and called out, “Come out and eat. You can do that later.”

“I’m coming!”

Outside, Jiang Mingchuan heard Jin Xiuzhu say that she had earned sixty yuan selling prescriptions today, which surprised him. Then he heard her add, “But I still sold them cheap.”

In the prosperous Dajing Dynasty, a recipe could be sold for two hundred taels of silver.

Jiang Mingchuan scooped some dishes for her. “That’s already pretty good.”

Jin Xiuzhu nodded and suddenly remembered something. “Tomorrow, bring back some newspapers, the ones with the addresses of the newspaper offices on the back. I plan to mail my paintings to the newspaper. Fang Min said my paintings are good, so maybe someone will take them.”

Jiang Mingchuan felt that this was a bit unrealistic. There were so many military wives in the army, but only Fang Min could make money by writing books.

But he didn’t want to undermine Jin Xiuzhu’s confidence. He also noticed that Jin Xiuzhu only saw her work in the cafeteria as a way to make money. If it disappeared, it disappeared. But when it came to writing articles and other creative pursuits, she inexplicably carried a passion and enthusiasm.

The more others said she couldn’t do it, the more determined she became. He speculated that this might be due to the lack of opportunity to study when she was younger.

After dinner, Jin Xiuzhu took out her newly bought paper and pen and began drawing. She even persuaded Jiang Mingchuan to clean up the dishes, saying, “You’ve been working hard these days. Once I earn some money, I’ll buy you a fountain pen too.”

Jiang Mingchuan chuckled, “You haven’t earned any money yet, and you’re already promising me fancy pens.”

Jin Xiuzhu snorted, feeling that he didn’t understand her.

Fang Min said she had talent for drawing, so it must be true.

So for the next few days, even if Jin Xiuzhu didn’t go to the cafeteria, she would wake up early to draw in the morning, study and practice calligraphy in the afternoon, and attend classes in the evening, keeping herself happily busy.

He Yan also started school. Wu Xiaojun not only stopped playing with him but also forbade other children from playing with him.

He hadn’t told his family about this, but Fu Yanyan found out and couldn’t help asking if he was upset.

He Yan’s hand paused while doing homework, and a serious expression appeared on his round face. He nodded, “I’m a little upset, but not too much. After I told Mom last time, she gave me money to buy ice cream to coax Wu Xiaojun. Later, she even went to Grandma Wu’s house to ask what was going on. She cares a lot about my affairs.”

“I don’t know what to say. I just feel like, if Wu Xiaojun doesn’t want to be friends with me, it’s okay. I still have you guys. If he doesn’t want to play with me, I’ll play by myself. I can also make other friends at school. My mom and dad say I’m a good kid. If he doesn’t want to play with me, it’s his loss.”

He said the last sentence with confidence, as if he truly believed it.

Fu Yanyan was stunned as she listened. She looked at the carefree boy in front of her at this moment. He was far different from the hunched, embarrassed figure walking in the hospital corridor in his past life. Even in their childhood in her previous life, Fu Yanyan had never seen He Yan so clear-minded and optimistic.

The boy she remembered was always pretending to be obedient and well-behaved in front of Jiang Mingchuan and Jin Xiuzhu, but behind closed doors, he was very nasty and dark. When Jin Xiuzhu scolded her, he would even deliberately stir up trouble.

He never felt that Jin Xiuzhu favored him; he only felt that because she cared, she criticized and was picky.

This was what Fu Yanyan heard by the hospital bed.

It turned out that the young He Yan used to feel that his parents favored her.

Dad would buy her dresses, and Jin Xiuzhu scolded her to make her better. So he gave up on himself. But later, when he found out that his sister was being bullied, he wanted to go to military school to support her in the future.

However, all of this was too late in the eyes of Fu Yanyan at that time.

She didn’t know how He Yan had changed now, but she felt inexplicably happy for him in her heart. He would no longer feel that his parents favored his sister, and he wouldn’t have the experiences of the previous life.

His only worry was that his good friend didn’t want to play with him anymore. That was really good.

However, she was still not okay. Some experiences were engraved in her bones—too terrifying to think about, yet too painful to forget.

***

The news of Jin Xiuzhu losing her job in the cafeteria spread quickly among the military wives. Fortunately, she didn’t interact much with people. Except for attending the literacy class in the evening, she rarely bumped into others.

So, although she noticed the strange looks from others, she didn’t think much of it, her mind fully focused on the lesson.

After their last quarrel, Jin Xiuzhu thought she and Qian Yufeng had parted ways.

If they had, they had. Over the years, Qian Yufeng was still the first person to make her feel humiliated. Back then, even the lady of the Hou Mansion had to consider her feelings.

Unexpectedly, she saw Qian Yufeng at the literacy class tonight.

Qian Yufeng arrived late and, after scanning around, sat down next to Jin Xiuzhu, albeit with an empty seat between them.

Ignoring her, Jin Xiuzhu focused on her own business. After a few glances, Qian Yufeng saw she was still ignoring her, so she quietly moved closer, taking the empty seat.

Seeing that Jin Xiuzhu hadn’t turned a page in her book for quite a while, Yanyan, sitting on her lap, blinked, feeling like these two were arguing like children.

Qian Yufeng, seeing that Jin Xiuzhu was still ignoring her, cleared her throat. “I heard you lost your job in the cafeteria?”

Yanyan: “…”

Qian Yufeng was always stirring up trouble where there wasn’t any.

As expected, Jin Xiuzhu couldn’t help but laugh sarcastically, “You seem quite delighted, aren’t you?”

Qian Yufeng, hearing this, couldn’t help but scoff, “You’re making it sound like I’m that malicious.”

She was a bit jealous that Jin Xiuzhu had a good job, but it was just jealousy. She didn’t wish Jin Xiuzhu ill. Jin Xiuzhu and her husband were still young, and they would probably have another child in the future.

Since her natal home was far away, unable to help much, Jin Xiuzhu having a job would make things easier for the whole family.

Qian Yufeng originally intended to keep her distance from Jin Xiuzhu in the future, but upon hearing that she had lost her job, she couldn’t help but soften her heart and come over.

However, her words came out with a stiff tone, “I heard you went to the county in the afternoon? Not to criticize, but since you’ve lost your job, you should save money. There will be plenty of places to spend money in the future. You also need to tidy up the vegetable garden and grow some vegetables to save money.”

Although her tone wasn’t very friendly, Jin Xiuzhu could still sense her concern, and her expression softened a bit.

Qian Yufeng was about to say something else when Teacher Chen came over. After one class, Qian Yufeng was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open. As soon as class was over, she hurriedly left.

After attending two classes, Jin Xiuzhu went back with Fang Min. They walked side by side, each holding one of Fu Yanyan’s hands.

Jin Xiuzhu hummed a light tune, and Fang Min couldn’t help but smile. “You seem to be in a good mood.”

Jin Xiuzhu toned it down a bit. “It’s alright. It’s mainly because of your excellent teaching.”

Sweet words came out of her mouth effortlessly.

Only Fu Yanyan looked at Jin Xiuzhu, who had been stubbornly saying she didn’t care these days but seemed happy as soon as she lowered her head.

The most obvious response was from Jiang Mingchuan. When they went to bed at night, Jin Xiuzhu hugged him tightly, nibbling on him incessantly and even touching his face, even complimenting his good looks.

The next morning, Jiang Mingchuan stood in front of the mirror for a long time. Seeing his daughter wake up, he touched his chin and said to her, “Your mom said I’m handsome last night.”

Fu Yanyan pursed her lips, feeling that Dad Jiang was a bit narcissistic.

Little did she know, when He Yan woke up, Jiang Mingchuan casually mentioned this to his son again, “Did your mom encounter something yesterday? Why did she suddenly say I’m good-looking last night?”

He Yan didn’t think much of it. After slurping a mouthful of noodle soup, he sincerely replied, “Nope, Mom probably just thinks Dad is really good-looking.”

Jiang Mingchuan was satisfied, nodding in approval of his son’s words.

Fu Yanyan: “…”

In the morning, while Jin Xiuzhu was painting at home, Qian Yufeng brought a basket of vegetables to her door.

The atmosphere between the two was still somewhat awkward. Jin Xiuzhu let her in with a stern face but served her mung bean soup. The mung beans were stewed in a pot and poured into bowls with two spoonfuls of sugar, making them sweet, soft, and delicious.

As Qian Yufeng took out the vegetables from the basket, she said, “I just came back from my parents’ house. Lao Zhu gave some oil coupons to my parents, so my mom asked me to bring back a wild duck. My brother caught it by the river late at night. It’s already cleaned. I’m giving you half to cook for the two children.”

In the past, Qian Yufeng would have definitely kept the meat for her son, but now she feels a bit disappointed in her son. Thinking that Jin Xiuzhu had always thought of herself first, she brought over half.

“This meat is a bit tough. You’ll have to stew it hard over the fire…”

Afraid that she might not know, Qian Yufeng gave careful instructions, while Jin Xiuzhu quietly listened beside her. Finally, Qian Yufeng seemed to remember something and suddenly said, “I inquired about it for you. It seems that your job being reported is related to Liu Hongyue.”

Jin Xiuzhu couldn’t help but frown. “Why is it her again? I haven’t settled the score with her for her son bullying my Xiao Yan.”

Qian Yufeng also had no good opinion of that person. “That person is indeed petty. Be careful yourself. I won’t say more. I have to go home and cook.”

Seeing her put down the dishes and prepare to leave, Jin Xiuzhu hurriedly said, “Why don’t you drink some mung bean soup before you go?”

Qian Yufeng looked at the large bowl of mung bean soup on the table. She had just seen Jin Xiuzhu add two full spoonfuls of sugar, and the generosity of that act made her feel a pang of pain. Her first thought was to take it home for her son to eat, but she quickly forced herself to suppress that impulse.

When she was young, she always gave in to her younger brother, and every summer she could only drink bland soup residue. After getting married, she saved the good things for her son and husband.

Whether it was to vent her frustration or for some other reason, she decisively picked up the bowl of mung bean soup on the table and drank it mouthful by mouthful.

The mung bean soup was very sweet, sweet all the way to her heart.

Qian Yufeng raised her arm, and as she wiped her mouth, she quickly wiped the corners of her eyes.

Until she left the house, she kept thinking, “So, mung bean soup is this delicious.”