Chen Meilan lowered her head. Her tears continued falling, "I know she's coming back. Zhang Xiuli told me yesterday. She's staying until New Year and now you've returned too. Maybe Heaven is playing tricks on me."
She hugged her knees tightly, "I know I shouldn't think this way. I know you've never said anything. But..." Her voice became increasingly smaller, "I can't help being afraid. She was always better than me, she dresses better, talks better, knows more things and now she's a city resident."
A trace of self-mockery appeared on her face. "And what am I? A village woman who smells like manure, a woman covered in filth, a woman who can't even bear to look at herself in a mirror."
Her shoulders shook violently. "I know this day will come eventually, I know... But..." Her voice finally collapsed into sobs. "I'm not prepared."
Li Guoqiang stood there silently. The more he listened, the more shocked he became. Only now did he realize how much fear his wife had been carrying all these years.
A sharp pain spread through his chest. Without warning, he stepped forward and crouched before her. Before Chen Meilan could react, he firmly grasped both her shoulders. "Chen Meilan." For the first time in years, he called her by her full name.
His voice was low, steady and serious. It immediately made her raise her head.
"Listen carefully, I have never once compared you to Wang Xiuying, not once, I never liked her before, I don't like her now and I never will in the future."
Chen Meilan shook her head repeatedly. Tears continued to fall from her reddened eyes, "No... you don't understand. You say these things now because you haven't truly seen me. Guoqiang... I've grown old. The beauty I once had is long gone. Last night, when I looked into the mirror, even I couldn't recognize myself. So tell me... if even I couldn't bear to look at myself, how can I expect you to?"
The room fell silent.
Chen Meilan slowly lifted her head, "You are right about one thing. You never compared me to Wang Xiuying. But what about later? The entire village knows how obsessed Wang Xiuying was with you. When she comes back, people will talk. They will compare us. And when enough people say something... What if one day you begin believing it too?"
Li Guoqiang's heart felt as if it had been pierced by a knife.
Yet Chen Meilan continued, "Guoqiang, I know I sound unreasonable and foolish. But some things cannot be explained clearly. My insecurities didn't appear out of nowhere. They were born from what I've seen."
Her gaze became distant, "After Liberation... How many women were abandoned? How many husbands suddenly said their marriages were remnants of the old society? How many wives who waited faithfully at home were cast aside because they could no longer keep up with the new times? We all heard those stories."
Her voice gradually weakened, "I know you've never given me a reason to doubt you. But knowing and feeling are different things. You cannot simply tell a person not to be afraid and expect the fear to disappear."
The room became deathly quiet. Li Guoqiang frozen. Every word struck him harder than a bullet ever had. His eyes gradually reddened as he finally understood.
The source of all her fear and all her insecurity, was years and years of loneliness, years of carrying burdens alone, years of pretending to be strong.
And suddenly, Li Guoqiang realized something that made his chest ache. Her insecurities were not born from her experiences, they were born from his failures.
A husband should have protected his wife. A father should have protected his children. Yet every time he returned home, what did he see? A wife growing thinner and children growing weaker. Faces carrying exhaustion far beyond their years.
And every single time Chen Meilan would smile. She would say everything was fine. She would hide her suffering behind that gentle smile. While he, wearing a military uniform and serving the nation, could only leave again.
The truth was that he had always known, about the grievances, hardships, suffering. Yet he had done too little.
Not because he lacked courage or because he feared confrontation. But because there were debts he owed.
Yet somehow, the people paying those debts had become his wife and children.
A lone tear slipped from the corner of his eye and he suddenly felt his vision blur. Slowly he stepped forward. Then he opened his arms and pulled Chen Meilan completely into his embrace.
Chen Meilan stiffened. For a brief moment she forgot how to breathe. Then she felt the familiar warmth, the familiar heartbeat and the strong arms she had missed countless nights. The place she had longed for during every difficult moment.
And just like that, the walls she had built around herself completely collapsed.
Her tears burst forth once again, "Guoqiang... What are you doing?" Her voice was muffled against his chest, "You'll smell like me, this filth... This stench... Stay away from me."
But Li Guoqiang only tightened his embrace and lowered his head and rested his chin lightly against her hair. Then he spoke softly, "Let me smell like you. After all for all these years, you've carried my burdens and suffered because of me." His voice trembled. "If a little dirt can make me uncomfortable, then what right do I have to call myself your husband?"
Li Guoqiang gently lifted Chen Meilan's face. His rough palms, calloused from years of military training and handling weapons, trembled slightly.
The sight of her swollen eyes made his heart ache, "Meilan, did you forget? The woman I submitted a military marriage application for was you and military marriages are not something a person could leave lightly."
Chen Meilan nodded but tears kept falling. Li Guoqiang wiped them away with his thumb, "We are bound by a military marriage and according to the law, we are husband and wife."
"The woman who gave birth to my children was you. The woman who raised them while I was away was still you. The woman I think about every night when I'm away from home is still you."
Chen Meilan's body trembled, "But that's because you haven't seen enough. You stay in the army most of the time. You meet people from all over the country. There must be women younger than me, prettier and more educated than me."
Her voice grew increasingly weak, "I'm just a village woman. A woman who aged before her time."
Li Guoqiang's chest tightened painfully, "Do you think beauty is what I care about? Then you've truly underestimated me. Meilan, if one day I return from the battlefield covered in blood and injuries, half my face is scarred, my body is crippled and if I become ugly beyond recognition. Would you hate me?"
Chen Meilan instinctively shook her head, "No."
Li Guoqiang nodded, "Exactly, then why do you think I would dislike you?" His hand gently brushed her messy hair aside.
"This can be washed away." He pointed at the grime covering her body. "This is not you." Then he touched her chest lightly, "You are here, and that person has never changed."
Li Guoqiang pulled her into his embrace and his arms tightened around her, "Meilan, if you are truly growing old, then so am I."
A smile appeared on his face, "I'll have wrinkles too, there will be white hairs as well." He chuckled softly, "We'll both get old one day." His forehead rested lightly against hers, "So what? We'll simply grow old together."
At those words, Chen Meilan fell silent in contemplation, suddenly all the fear she had carried for years seemed to crack apart.
Yet one fear still remained, "Wang Xiuying..." The name escaped her lips unconsciously.
Li Guoqiang immediately frowned. A trace of coldness flashed through his eyes, "Wang Xiuying, in my eyes is nothing more than someone who happened to live under the same roof when we were young." His voice was calm, "I never loved her."
Chen Meilan looked up, "But she loves you."
Li Guoqiang immediately shook his head, "No, that isn't love, love does not force or scheme. What she feels is obsession and those two things are very different."
Li Guoqiang sighed, "If she truly loved me, she would have respected my choice, but the moment I chose you, she spent years making things difficult for you."
A trace of guilt surfaced in his eyes, "And for that, I'm sorry I wasn't here, you suffered so much."
A tear slipped from his eye, "I always thought if I worked harder in the army, if I earned more merit, if I got promoted faster, I could give you a better life. But I never considered that within this journey, you would be the one suffering the most."
Li Guoqiang tightened his embrace, "So listen carefully, Meilan. I don't care whether Wang Xiuying returns of she becomes a factory worker."
He gently lifted her chin. The sincerity in his eyes was impossible to doubt, "In this lifetime, the woman standing beside me and the woman crying in my arms, will only be you."
For a long moment, Chen Meilan could no longer speak. Then she nodded and buried her face in his chest finding the comfort she lomged for.
As Chen Meilan buried her face against his chest, Li Guoqiang's rough palm slowly stroked her back, once, twice, patiently soothing the sobs that still trembled through her body.
For a long moment, neither spoke. Li Guoqiang simply held her, as his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
To the people responsible for turning the woman in his arms into this frightened, insecure shell of herself, the Li family. A shadow crossed his face.
Over the years, he had done everything he could to repay what Wang Chunhua constantly called his "debt of gratitude." Every month, almost all of his military allowance had been sent home, every request had been fulfilled.
Anything they asked for, he had never refused. Because he believed he owed them. Because he had once believed filial piety was a debt that could never be fully repaid.
But now? Looking at Chen Meilan's thin frame and swollen eyes, he suddenly wondered whether that debt had been paid long ago. Hadn't he already given enough? Hadn't his wife and children sacrificed enough?
His jaw tightened as his thoughts landed on something else that he had done out of desperation. His fingers froze briefly.
Wang Xiuying, the moment her name surfaced in his mind, a chill ran down his spine.
He lowered his eyes toward the woman in his embrace. A trace of fear appeared in his eyes. If Wang Xiuying said something she shouldn't, would Meilan still trust him? Would she still look at him the same way?
What about his children, would they understand his predicament? Or would they look at him with disappointment?
The thought made his chest tighten painfully. No, he had to speak with Wang Xiuying before she disrupted everything.
Suppressing those thoughts, he gently exhaled and lowered his head, "Meilan, we should wash up."
Chen Meilan slowly raised her head. Her eyes were still red from crying.
"Our children, Aunt Li, and Widow He are all waiting outside." He said.
Only then did she remember everyone standing beyond the courtyard door. Her face immediately flushed crimson. The scene of herself crying helplessly in her husband's arms replayed in her mind. For a woman raised under old traditions, such open displays of affection felt almost scandalous.
She lowered her head so quickly that her chin nearly touched her chest. A faint warmth spread across her cheeks, "Mm..."
She nodded quietly. Then she glanced at his military uniform. The dark stains from her body had already smeared across the front of it. A trace of guilt appeared in her eyes, "Y... your uniform..." She bit her lip, "It's dirty now too, you should change as well."
Then, after a pause, she added shyly, "And I can't get up... I feel weak all over." She tried shifting her body and immediately frowned, because her arms felt soft, "I don't think I can stand."
The concern on Li Guoqiang's face instantly returned, "What's wrong?" His hand touched her forehead. "Are you sick?"
Chen Meilan shook her head, "I don't know, since this morning, I've felt exhausted. Perhaps, I overworked myself yesterday."
Li Guoqiang's frown deepened. He did not entirely believe it. But he knew this was not the time to question her, "We'll have someone look at you later."
Before Chen Meilan could respond, he stood up than bent down. The next second, one arm slipped beneath her knees while the other wrapped around her back.
Chen Meilan's eyes widened and before she could react, her body left the ground. A startled gasp escaped her lips, "Aiya!" Her hands instinctively grabbed his collar, "G...Guoqiang!" Her face instantly turned bright red. "W...what are you doing?!"
Li Guoqiang looked completely calm as though carrying his wife was the most natural thing in the world, "You said you couldn't walk."
"B...but... What if someone sees us? What if the children see? Put me down quickly!" Chen Meilan said flustered.
Li Guoqiang merely raised an eyebrow, "Why?" His expression was utterly serious, "Aren't you my wife?"
Chen Meilan was rendered speechless. Her face became even redder. In this era, even married couples rarely held hands in public. Being carried like this? If anyone saw them, she would be too embarrassed to face people for months.
Yet no matter how much she protested, Li Guoqiang ignored her. With steady strides, he carried her through the courtyard.
His broad shoulders remained straight and steps firm. As if he were carrying something precious.
Chen Meilan gradually stopped struggling. Instead, she secretly lowered her head and listened to his heartbeat. For some reason, the butterflies in her stomach became even worse. By the time they reached the small bathhouse beside the courtyard, her entire face felt hot enough to cook an egg.
Li Guoqiang carefully placed her down and only after making sure she could lean against the wall steadily did he release her, "You wash first, I'll go change as well."
Chen Meilan nodded obediently, "Mm."
She watched his tall figure walk away. The afternoon sunlight illuminated the broad back she had not seen properly for almost a year. For a moment, she simply sat there staring.
Then the events of the past few minutes replayed inside her mind. Her heart suddenly began beating wildly, like a young bride seeing her husband for the first time. She covered her burning face. Even after so many years of marriage, she still felt embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Li Guoqiang returned to their room and after changing into clean clothes, he poured water into a basin and washed himself thoroughly and finally walked towards the main door to open it.
As soon as Li Guoqiang opened the courtyard door, he found everyone sitting on the threshold waiting anxiously. A trace of embarrassment crossed his face, "Everything has been sorted out," he said with a faint smile. "I'm sorry for keeping everyone waiting. Grand Aunt Li, Aunt He, please come inside."
Grand Aunt Li immediately relaxed, "There's no need to apologize." Using her walking stick for support, she slowly rose to her feet, "I'm just relieved that Meilan is alright. When little Jianmin came running to find me this morning, I thought something terrible had happened. Since everything is fine now, I should return to the production team. I still haven't finished today's task for work points."
Widow He nodded in agreement, "Exactly. I should get going too. You stay with Meilan and don't let her be alone. I'll head to the brigade office and ask Accountant Hu for leave on her behalf."
Li Guoqiang quickly stopped them, "Aunt He, Grand Aunt Li, please stay. It's almost noon already. Neither of you has worked since morning. Even if you rush back now, you won't earn enough work points for a meal at the communal canteen."
His gaze shifted toward Li Shuying.
Li Shuying immediately understood. She nodded and stepped forward, "Father is right. Both of you have helped our family all morning. Please stay and eat lunch with us. I'll prepare something right away."
Grand Aunt Li and Widow He exchanged glances. Initially, they wanted to refuse. However, after thinking about it, they realized Li Guoqiang was speaking the truth. The communal canteen distributed food according to attendance and work points. Since they had spent the entire morning here, they would most likely miss lunch anyway.
After a brief hesitation, both women finally nodded, "Then we'll trouble you." With that, everyone entered the courtyard.
Meanwhile, several kilometers away at Taonan County Hospital, the atmosphere was completely different.
Doctors, nurses and even visiting family members were all staring at one person with identical expressions.
Wang Chunhua.
The old woman stood in the middle of the hospital corridor like a rooster preparing for battle. Her hands rested on her hips. Her voice was loud enough to shake the windows.
"What are all of you staring at?" She pointed accusingly at the hospital staff, "My son's finger is gone! Gone! You took my family's five yuan and still couldn't attach his fingers. Five yuan! That's enough grain for a family to eat for a month!"
The hospital clerk's face darkened, "Comrade, we've explained this repeatedly. The hospital does not have the facilities to reattach severed fingers. But did our doctors refuse treatment? Did our nurses neglect him? We cleaned the wound, stopped the bleeding, treated him with medicine, and prevented infection." The clerk's expression became colder, "And after all that, you spent an entire day and night harassing patients and medical staff, now you want your money back?"
Wang Chunhua immediately exploded, "Harassing? You call speaking the truth harassing? My son's thumb and index finger was chopped off!" She pointed at Li Guofu, who was sitting nearby with a miserable expression. "Look at him! A fine young man turned into half a cripple!"
Her finger swung toward the hospital staff, "And all of you are still won't return fees!"
One of the doctors finally lost patience. He turned to Li Changfu, "We advised you multiple times to transfer the patient to a larger hospital in the city and you refused and now you're demanding a refund? How is that reasonable?"
Li Changfu's face turned red with embarrassment. Deep down, he knew the doctor was right. But five yuan was five yuan. If Wang Chunhua could somehow make enough noise to get it back, he certainly wouldn't object.
The hospital clerk had finally reached her limit. Her voice turned ice-cold, "Take your son and leave immediately. If you continue causing disturbances, I'll do something you will regrate."
For the first time, Wang Chunhua hesitated, she looked around and clearly felt that getting her money back today would not be easy. Seeing the situation turn against her, Wang Chunhua immediately switched tactics.
With astonishing speed for a woman her age, she dropped onto the floor with a bang and started slapping her thighs. She than began wailing loudly, "Aiyaaa! Heaven above, open your eyes and see! This old woman has been wronged! My family sold grain to save my son, and these black-hearted people swallowed our money whole!"
Her cries echoed throughout the corridor, "They took five yuan from a poor farming family! What kind of conscience do they have?"
She pointed dramatically toward the ceiling, "May the heavens judge them! May their grain sacks be empty forever! May their children be crippled and useless. "
Several nurses nearly choked. But Wang Chunhua was only getting started. She beat the floor harder and continued cursing their entire families.
The doctor's face twitched, one nurse covered her forehead. A patient muttered under his breath, "This old woman is more frightening than the illness that brought me here."
The entire hospital corridor fell into stunned silence as Wang Chunhua's cries continued to rise higher and higher, determined to shake loose every last fen she believed the hospital owed her.
Just as the commotion in the hospital corridor reached its peak, Li Guosheng stepped through the entrance.
The moment he entered the building and saw Wang Chunhua sitting in the middle of the corridor, beating her thighs and cursing at the top of her lungs while doctors, nurses, and patients surrounded her with dark expressions, his face immediately turned pale and heart sank.
He wished he hadn't come, "What kind of disaster is this old woman causing now?" he cursed inwardly. He tried to turn around and leave but than stopped as he remembered what he saw while coming to county. "Mother must know about Li Guoqiang's arrival."
The hospital clerk finally lost all patience, "Enough! Stop this nonsense immediately!"
However, Wang Chunhua paid no attention to her. Instead, she raised her voice even louder, "You people wear white coats but have hearts blacker than coal!" She slapped the floor dramatically, "Bandits! All of you are bandits!"
The curses became increasingly vulgar and unpleasant. Several nurses' faces turned red with anger. The hospital clerk's expression darkened until it resembled the bottom of a soot-blackened cooking pot.
She turned toward a younger staff member standing nearby, "Comrade Xiao Liu, go immediately and notify the Public Security Bureau. Disrupting order in a state-run hospital is a serious offense. This woman has repeatedly harassed medical personnel, disturbed patients, and interfered with hospital operations. Let the public security officers come and handle this matter."
The moment the words "Public Security Bureau" were spoken, Wang Chunhua froze and her wailing stopped abruptly.
She hurriedly turned toward Li Changfu whose face was no better.
As for Li Guofu, who had been sitting nearby in a daze while mourning the loss of his fingers, he nearly jumped out of his seat. The mention of public security officers struck him like a bolt of lightning. He still had nightmares about it. Ever since Li Shuying had threatened to report him for what he did to Li Jianhua, he had lived in constant fear that public security officers would one day appear at his doorstep and drag him away for investigation. Now, hearing those words again, cold sweat instantly broke out across his back.
Without hesitation, he rushed forward, "Mother! Let's go! Forget the five yuan. Let's just leave!"
Wang Chunhua hesitated, "But..."
Before she could finish speaking, Li Guofu tightened his grip. The movement pulled at his injured hand, causing a sharp pain to shoot through his arm.
His face twisted slightly, but he ignored it, "Mother, stop talking! Let's leave first!"
At that moment, Li Changfu also stepped forward, "Didn't you hear what Guofu said? Stop making a fool of yourself! Do you want to stay here and wait for the public security officers too?"
Wang Chunhua opened her mouth, then she looked around. Her courage immediately shrank and like a rooster that had lost a fight, she reluctantly climbed to her feet.
Although she no longer dared to continue making a scene, she still muttered under her breath, "A bunch of heartless people, taking peasants' money and still acting righteous..."
The hospital clerk's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Wang Chunhua immediately swallowed the rest of her complaints.
Li Changfu grabbed one arm.
Li Guofu grabbed the other.
The two practically dragged her toward the exit.
Only after the three figures disappeared through the hospital doors did the corridor finally become quiet again.
Everyone present let out a collective sigh of relief.
The cleark snorted and said, "remember that old hags face, next time she comes, send her away."
All the other staff members nodded.