The environment of the place where Song Wei’s uncle was sent, was vastly different from that of Ping’an Brigade.
Because the hardships there were well-known, it became a place where many were exiled. With a large number of people came a mix of different reasons for their exile and varied personal character.
Some were wrongfully accused and were decent people, but others had truly bad character and deserved their punishment.
Yu Wei was certain that if he directly handed these items to Feng Tingxuan, it wouldn’t take long before someone reported him.
At that point, Feng Tingxuan’s situation would only get worse.
So Yu Wei didn’t dare openly give the items to Feng Tingxuan. Instead, he waited for an opportunity to call him aside under the pretense of work.
“Feng Tingxuan, I need a hand over here. Come on over.”
Because of his military background, Yu Wei held a small leadership position in the brigade, giving him some authority. Calling Feng Tingxuan over wouldn’t arouse suspicion.
“Cough, cough… Coming.”
Coughing weakly, Feng Tingxuan walked over without pause.
He was so thin that he was almost unrecognizable, but his demeanor still retained the elegance of a learned scholar.
Yet it was precisely this demeanor that made him so out of place in such a harsh environment.
And because of this mismatch, people like him often suffered even more.
Feng Tingxuan had caught a cold, which was worsening by the day.
Medicine was scarce, and doctors were out of the question. All he could do was endure it and hope to recover on his own.
If he couldn’t recover, he would have to wait for death.
Illness was commonplace in this area. Just last winter, two people succumbed to the cold and died.
While Feng Tingxuan was working, Yu Wei walked up to him and discreetly handed him a small bottle of cold medicine and a piece of paper.
The medicine was contained in a small bottle that fit easily into one hand. Feng Tingxuan paused for a moment before quickly pocketing it and returning to his work without a word.
It wasn’t until the break that he found a moment to drink water and quietly took out the bottle and note.
The note was brief:
“From your niece, cold medicine.”
After reading it, Feng Tingxuan clenched the note tightly, his fingers trembling slightly.
Inside the bottle was another small note:
“Twice daily, two pills each time.”
With reddened eyes, Feng Tingxuan took out two pills and swallowed them with water.
When returning to work, he whispered a thank you to Yu Wei.
In the days that followed, Yu Wei would discreetly give him small amounts of food when no one was looking.
Since Feng Tingxuan couldn’t openly take the items back with him, Yu Wei had to resort to this slow, painstaking method of helping him.
Yu Wei’s wife was also a sensible woman.
Lin Zhen and Song Wei had sent them so many rare and precious items, many of which couldn’t even be bought in the Northwest. Naturally, they felt it was their duty to look after Feng Tingxuan.
Under their quiet assistance, Feng Tingxuan’s condition gradually improved, and his spirits lifted.
Feng Tingxuan secretly wrote a letter and asked Yu Wei to help mail it back home.
For now, letters were all he could send; he couldn’t do anything more for his niece.
Meanwhile, Song Wei estimated that the package she sent to her uncle should have arrived by now. This method of sending news through the mail was frustratingly slow-it would take at least a month to receive a reply.
“Heidan’s birthday is coming up. Let’s make him a cake,” Song Wei suggested.
Mainly, she wanted to eat cake herself.
The sweet, fragrant cake was calling to her.
“How do we make it?” Lin Zhen asked.
“We’ll need to build an oven for baking bread first.”
Once the oven was built, it could be used repeatedly, so it wouldn’t go to waste.
“We’ll need eggs, flour, milk, and jam.”
Lin Zhen nodded. “Let’s start with the oven.”
Song Wei wasn’t sure how to build a bread oven, so they had to experiment step by step.
During this period, another matter caught Song Wei’s attention: the wedding of Wang Shu and Widow Hu.
The wedding had been delayed. Initially planned for the previous month, it was postponed when old lady Niu, while being attended to by Widow Hu, suddenly moved, falling onto Widow Hu and nearly causing her to lose the baby she was carrying.
Wang Shu had to urgently summon Doctor Ji to save the child.
However, due to the need for rest and recovery, the wedding was pushed back to now.
Everyone said that old lady Niu clearly didn’t want Widow Hu to marry into the family.
Even while paralyzed from a stroke, she managed to move and create such chaos.
Since then, old lady Niu, who had been partially paralyzed, became fully paralyzed.
Previously, Wang Shu might have put in some effort to take care of her, but now, aside from giving her basic food, she was essentially left unattended.
Song Wei suspected that Widow Hu might have deliberately provoked old lady Niu, as she didn’t want to keep the baby.
After all, no one could be sure if the child was Wang Shu’s, and for her, having the baby would only be a burden.
If this incident had caused both the baby and old lady Niu to be dealt with, Widow Hu would appear to be a victim while actually benefiting the most.
Of course, this was just Song Wei’s conjecture-she had no evidence. Besides, the baby hadn’t been lost after all.
They succeeded in building the bread oven after three attempts.
During their second attempt, old lady Niu’s house became lively again.
For a second marriage, a grand ceremony wasn’t necessary. Usually, it was enough to invite some acquaintances for a meal.
However, perhaps to show his devotion to Widow Hu, Wang Shu held the wedding with the extravagance of a first marriage. It was even grander than when he married Liu Guifen.
Song Wei decided to join in the excitement.
Nowadays, the children and elderly in the village adored Song Wei, all because of the camera.
“Song Zhiqing, come over here and sit.”
“Wow, this Widow Hu’s second wedding is really something. Even Wang Shu’s father is joining in the festivities.”
Not only was he joining in, but he seemed genuinely pleased.
Others might not understand, but Song Wei knew what was really going on.
“Those two kids look so gloomy now.”
This referred to the two children left behind by Liu Guifen. At that moment, they were hiding behind the door, their dark eyes glaring at the lively scene of Wang Shu and Widow Hu.
With old lady Niu out of the picture, one might think the wedding would go smoothly.
But unexpectedly, Liu Guifen suddenly rushed in during the ceremony.
In front of everyone, she shoved Widow Hu and even pinned her down, beating her.
“You little tramp! How dare you hit my son! I’ll kill you!”
“Ahhhh!!!”
Screams erupted all around.
Wang Shu immediately pulled Liu Guifen off and slapped her hard.
“You shrew!”
Widow Hu lost the baby. After everything she had been through, the child in her womb couldn’t survive.
Liu Guifen’s outburst was triggered by her son’s complaint.
Her son bore signs of abuse, with visible bruises and scars.
While Liu Guifen was more at fault in this situation, the villagers looked at Widow Hu with disdain and contempt.
If she was already mistreating the children before even marrying into the family, what would happen to them afterward?
The families of Wang Shu and Liu Guifen began fighting again.
Wang Shu, furious, beat Liu Guifen and even demanded compensation.
But Liu Guifen’s family, arms akimbo, cursed him back.
“Compensation? You want money? We’ll shove some manure in your mouths instead! And if you dare ask for money again, we’ll expose how you got Widow Hu pregnant before you were even divorced!
Let’s see who’ll lose more!”
In the end, Wang Shu, feeling guilty, had to accept the loss.
The wedding ended in chaos.
Song Wei stayed amidst the crowd, eating sunflower seeds and watching the drama before finally leaving.
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