Widow Remarries in Sixties

In the middle of the night, Jin Xiuzhu was woken by someone shaking her. She groggily opened her eyes and saw her daughter standing by the bed. With a hoarse voice, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Fu Yanyan frowned and said, “Someone was knocking on the door just now.”

Jin Xiuzhu was taken aback. She sat up and listened carefully but didn’t hear anything. She looked at her daughter.

Fuyanyan was certain. “There really was someone.”

Jin Xiuzhu thought for a moment and then got out of bed to check it out.

She casually threw on a coat and Fu Yanyan followed her. When they reached the living room, they heard a faint, intermittent knocking on the door, as if the person outside had little strength.

Jin Xiuzhu instantly became alert and cautiously walked to the door, asking, “Who’s there? It’s late at night. If you have something to say, just say it.”

Fu Yanyan pulled the light switch on the wall, and the living room instantly lit up.

Jin Xiuzhu felt bolder and asked again, “Who’s outside? Don’t play tricks, or I’ll call for help.”

After a moment, a weak voice came from outside, “Aunt… it’s me… Yang Yingxiong…”

Jin Xiuzhu and Fu Yanyan exchanged glances. Fu Yanyan frowned and said, “It sounds like him.” She recognized the voice.

Just as she was about to open the door, Jin Xiuzhu, still wary, asked again, “Are you alone?”

Fu Yanyan paused.

After a while, Yang Yingxiong’s weak voice came again, “Yes, I’m alone, Auntie… I feel so bad… my head hurts…”

Jin Xiuzhu’s face grew serious. She pulled Fu Yanyan, who was standing in front, behind her and went to open the door herself.

Fu Yanyan watched her mother’s back in a daze.

As soon as the door opened, the light from the living room illuminated the entrance, revealing Yang Yingxiong sitting on the ground. His face was flushed red, and he could barely keep his eyes open.

Jin Xiuzhu hurriedly went forward to help him up and touched his forehead, finding it burning hot. “He’s got a fever!”

Yang Yingxiong, barely conscious, muttered, “I don’t know… I feel so bad… Grandma ignored me, so I came downstairs to find you…”

Jin Xiuzhu helped him to a chair. “Wait here. Auntie will get dressed and take you to the doctor.”

Yang Yingxiong groggily nodded.

Jin Xiuzhu rushed back to her room to get dressed, grabbed some money, and stuffed it into her pocket. She called out to Fu Yanyan outside, “Go wake up your brother and tell him to bring the flashlight.”

Outside, Fu Yanyan said, “I’ll go with you.”

“You stay home and watch the door. Let your brother come with me. The roads aren’t safe at night.”

Fu Yanyan went to wake He Yan.

When He Yan heard that Yang Yingxiong was sick, he immediately got up to get dressed. When he reached the living room, he took the flashlight from his sister. Fu Yanyan reminded him, “Put on your scarf and hat.”

He Yan obediently put on his scarf and hat.

Jin Xiuzhu struggled to lift Yang Yingxiong onto her back. She expected him to be heavy but found he wasn’t much heavier than her daughter.

The previous Jin Xiuzhu wouldn’t have been able to carry him, but perhaps because the current “Jin Xiuzhu” had a stronger body, she found him heavy but manageable.

Mother and son walked side by side in the snow. He Yan held the flashlight in one hand and tried to support Yang Yingxiong’s bottom with the other, attempting to lighten his mother’s load.

Jin Xiuzhu gritted her teeth and trudged forward, adjusting her grip on Yang Yingxiong every few steps. He seemed delirious from the fever, mumbling incoherently.

When they reached the health clinic, He Yan knocked on the door to wake the doctor. The doctor opened the door and let them in, instructing Jin Xiuzhu to lay the child on the bed.

Jin Xiuzhu carefully laid Yang Yingxiong down. As he slid off her back, he suddenly grabbed her sleeve with surprising strength and cried out, “Mom… Mom… don’t go…”

Tears streamed from his eyes.

Jin Xiuzhu was about to pull her sleeve away when she stopped, feeling a wave of compassion. She gently patted his head and said softly, “Mom won’t leave, Mom is here with you. Be good.”

Yang Yingxiong seemed to hear her, and stopped crying, though he still clung tightly to her sleeve.

Seeing that Yang Yingxiong was already delirious with fever, the doctor, mistaking Jin Xiuzhu for his parent, couldn’t help but remark, “This is quite serious. He should have been brought in earlier.”

The doctor placed a thermometer under Yang Yingxiong’s armpit.

Jin Xiuzhu sat nearby, watching. She noticed He Yan standing beside her and asked, “Are you sleepy?”

He Yan shook his head.

Jin Xiuzhu told him to bring a chair over and sit next to her. He Yan did as he was told.

Mother and son waited for a while. The doctor took out the thermometer, checked it, then left the room. A moment later, he returned with a stand and an IV drip to give Yang Yingxiong an infusion.

Jin Xiuzhu didn’t fully understand the medical procedures, but she listened attentively to the doctor’s instructions, nodding continuously. After the doctor left, seeing how slow the IV drip was, she said to He Yan, “Why don’t you lean on Mom and take a nap?”

He Yan shook his head, “I’m not sleepy, Mom. You sleep.”

Jin Xiuzhu felt another surge of warmth in her heart.

Jin Xiuzhu didn’t sleep. After a while, He Yan, unable to stay awake any longer, nodded off, leaning against her shoulder. She helped him lie down next to the bed, letting him sleep there.

Lying on the bed, Yang Yingxiong gradually calmed down, his brow unfurrowing.

Who knows how long they waited? Jin Xiuzhu, having forgotten to bring her watch, couldn’t tell the time. Seeing that the IV drip was almost finished, she hurriedly called for the doctor. The doctor came, waited for a moment, then removed the needle from Yang Yingxiong’s hand and prescribed some medication for Jin Xiuzhu, instructing her on how to administer it.

“If he still has a high fever tomorrow, bring him back.”

“Okay.”

Jin Xiuzhu paid, then hoisted Yang Yingxiong onto her back, and took He Yan home.

The return journey was less urgent. Mother and son even had the presence of mind to chat. He Yan said, “Mom, just now Yang Yingxiong called you Mom.”

Jin Xiuzhu nodded, explaining, “He probably misses his own mother.”

He Yan said a bit sadly, “Yang Yingxiong said he doesn’t know what his mom looks like. There are no photos of her at his house.”

He didn’t have a photo of his own mom either. It had been so long since he’d seen her that he was starting to forget what she looked like.

He used to imagine she would come looking for him, but he had stopped hoping for that.

Jin Xiuzhu spoke softly, “Don’t mention this to him when he wakes up. It will make him sad.”

He Yan nodded, “Okay.”

The next morning, Yang Yingxiong woke up in He Yan’s bed, disoriented. The warm quilt and the quiet room made him feel like he had slept for a very long time, perhaps the best sleep he had ever had.

He blinked, slowly sitting up, then recognized He Yan’s room. He had been here once or twice before.

What he remembered most were the framed awards on the wall. He Yan’s awards were framed, He Yan said his mom had asked his dad to frame them so they would be preserved for a long time.

Yang Yingxiong used to have awards too, but his grandmother had used them to start the fire.

He couldn’t remember what had happened the previous night, only that he had felt very uncomfortable, calling out to his grandmother in bed. After calling a few times, his grandmother had turned over impatiently. Then he had somehow ended up outside…

Just as he was thinking this, the door opened from outside. He Yan saw that he was awake and his eyes lit up, “Did you sleep well? How are you feeling? Does your body still hurt?”

Yang Yingxiong shook his head. He Yan came in, reached out to feel his forehead, then touched his own, frowning thoughtfully, “You probably still have a bit of a fever. Get up and drink some porridge, take the medicine the doctor gave you.”

Yang Yingxiong paused for a moment, then got out of bed and began dressing carefully. He asked timidly, “Did you take me to the doctor?”

He Yan replied, “My mom took you.”

Then he roughly explained what had happened the night before and added, “Mom took my sister to visit someone. There’s porridge left for you in the pot.”

Yang Yingxiong silently got dressed, feeling a bit guilty, thinking he had caused Aunt Jin a lot of trouble.

While drinking the porridge, Yang Yingxiong couldn’t help but say softly, “When my dad gets back, he’ll give you the money.”

He Yan, knowing Yang Yingxiong’s personality, simply agreed.

Yang Yingxiong added, “And, thank you.” He also thanked Aunt Jin.

He Yan smiled, “It’s good that you’re okay.”

Yang Yingxiong lowered his head, feeling touched, and softly murmured. After a while, he suddenly said to He Yan, “Last night, I think I dreamt of my mom. She was very gentle and patted my head, telling me to be good.”

He Yan was stunned.

“I couldn’t see her face clearly, but I felt that she was very beautiful, probably like Aunt Jin.”

Saying this, Yang Yingxiong’s tone carried a hint of pride.

He Yan recalled what Jin Xiuzhu had told him the previous night and, after a pause, said, “That’s really nice. Your mom must be thinking about you and can’t let go.”

Yang Yingxiong nodded slightly, feeling that this was true.

He also had a mother who loved him very much, she was just no longer there.

In the following days, Jin Xiuzhu let Yang Yingxiong stay with them, living and eating with He Yan. As for expenses, they would settle it when his father returned.

Thus, Yang Yingxiong anxiously stayed in He Yan’s room. One time, seeing Jin Xiuzhu drawing, he told her, “Aunt Zhao also writes articles at home and has sent them out several times, but there hasn’t been any response.”

Jin Xiuzhu was a bit surprised by this but didn’t think much of it.

At the beginning of January, Jiang Mingchuan came back.

When he first entered the door, Jin Xiuzhu almost didn’t recognize him. He had lost a lot of weight and was filthy from head to toe.

Jin Xiuzhu and the two children didn’t dare approach him. Jiang Mingchuan, seeing their hesitation, said helplessly, “Please heat some water for me. I want to take a bath.”

Jin Xiuzhu hurriedly instructed He Yan to heat the water while she went to the room to find clean clothes for him.

After Jiang Mingchuan finished his bath and came out, Jin Xiuzhu noticed numerous scratches on his face and hands. She grabbed his hand to take a closer look and saw that his hands were also chapped and cracked from the cold, frowning with concern, “How did it get so bad?”

Jiang Mingchuan, afraid she would be scared by what she saw, pulled his hand back, “It’s nothing, it will be better in a couple of days.”

Jin Xiuzhu didn’t say anything more and went into the kitchen to cook for him.

Jiang Mingchuan followed her in to help.

He Yan also wanted to go in, but was stopped by Fu Yanyan, “Mom and Dad have things to talk about.”

He Yan didn’t understand, “I also have things to say. I have a lot to tell Dad.”

Fu Yanyan: “…”