The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 109 - 108: From Now On, I’ll Take Care of You

Chapter 109: Chapter 108: From Now On, I’ll Take Care of You

The first snow of winter ’72 fell gently for two straight days.

There was no stove in the cowshed, and they had no thick, padded winter clothes.

The three of them huddled together under the blankets. They still had to go out from time to time to check on the cattle. The roof, which had previously been drafty, had been patched by Zheng Guofeng with a layer of dry straw over the summer.

It leaked a little during heavy rain, but it wasn’t a major issue.

But when the temperature first dropped this winter, Mrs. Gu fell ill and developed a persistent cough.

Old Man Gu knew a little about traditional Chinese medicine. He and Zheng Guofeng went up the mountain to gather some herbs, which they brewed for her to drink. Mrs. Gu felt slightly better for a time, but a few days later, the freezing cold made her condition much worse.

Last night, they didn’t even eat dinner; it was simply too cold to get out of bed.

This morning, Old Man Gu discovered that his wife lying beside him had stopped breathing.

Although they knew their situation would be difficult before coming here, Mrs. Gu’s sudden death still caught them completely off guard.

Old Man Gu sat beside Mrs. Gu, staring blankly at her already stiff body.

Zheng Guofeng, not knowing what else to do, could only go find the village chief.

The village chief came, took one look, then shook his head and left.

"Find a place to bury her. I’ll report it."

Helpless, Zheng Guofeng had no choice but to seek out Xue Yue and the others. After all, he didn’t know anyone else here.

Xue Yue hadn’t expected Zheng Guofeng to show up at her door so suddenly.

After hearing the reason for his visit, Xue Yue glanced at He Lang.

He Lang said to Zheng Guofeng, "I know someone who sells coffins. I’ll go and help buy one in a bit. But with this bitter cold, it won’t be possible to hold a proper funeral."

Zheng Guofeng nodded. Just having a coffin was a blessing.

Looking at the old couple, Zheng Guofeng was overcome with grief and couldn’t help but cry out.

He Lang called for Shitou and Zhen Dong. Together, they helped pull the coffin over, only to discover that another person had died.

This presented a dilemma.

"Just put the two of them, husband and wife, in there together," Zheng Guofeng said, his voice hoarse.

He Lang could tell Zheng Guofeng’s emotional state was not right.

The men dug a pit not far from the cowshed and buried the old couple.

Zheng Guofeng knelt and burned joss paper for them.

He was silent the entire time, looking deeply subdued.

After a long while, Zheng Guofeng finally stood up, walked over to He Lang and the others, and bowed deeply.

"Thank you. How much did it cost? I’ll go back and get it for you."

"Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t much," He Lang said.

Under the circumstances, He Lang felt quite sympathetic toward him.

Zheng Guofeng glanced at him, then turned and walked back.

After He Lang returned home, he told Xue Yue about what had happened at the cowshed.

Xue Yue was incredibly surprised. She had seen the old couple a few times; they had always looked so kind and benevolent. How could they have both passed away so suddenly?

"Then how is Zheng Guofeng doing?"

He Lang shook his head. "He doesn’t seem to be doing well."

Xue Yue thought for a moment. ’With Zheng Guofeng in this state, what if something happens to him?’ Recalling the things he had said before, Xue Yue felt she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

What they didn’t expect was that Zheng Guofeng would come looking for them again.

He Lang invited him in, but he refused.

"It’s so late, and you have children at home. I won’t come in. This is the money for the coffin and the joss paper. Thank you for your trouble."

He Lang looked at the two ten-yuan notes Zheng Guofeng handed him.

"This is too much."

Zheng Guofeng pushed the money into He Lang’s hand. "Just take it, however much it is. I can still afford this much. I don’t need you to cover for me."

With that, he left.

He Lang went back inside and gave the money to Xue Yue. "He doesn’t seem like a bad person."

Xue Yue nodded. Her feelings about Zheng Guofeng were complicated, but she agreed that he certainly didn’t seem like a bad person.

One day, Xue Xingzhou came to visit. After hearing about the incident from Xue Yue, he fell into deep thought for a long time before finally heading to the cowshed.

When he saw Zheng Guofeng again, Xue Xingzhou noticed much more gray in his hair and clenched his fists.

This time, Xue Xingzhou finally stepped into the cowshed.

He looked at the extremely crude dwelling. It was dark inside and smelled of cow dung.

"Have a seat." Zheng Guofeng hadn’t closed the door, leaving it open to let in a little more light.

There were no stools in the room, so Xue Xingzhou sat leaning against the edge of the kang bed and looked at Zheng Guofeng.

Zheng Guofeng asked him, "Is there something you came for?"

Xue Xingzhou nodded, then said in a low voice, "Xue Changlin might not be my father."

With just that one sentence, Zheng Guofeng understood what Xue Xingzhou meant.

He felt his throat go terribly dry. He only managed to grunt an "Mm" in response before lowering his head.

Xue Xingzhou looked at his graying hair. "So, are you really my father?"

A single tear slipped from the corner of his eye and dripped onto Zheng Guofeng’s hand.

Xue Xingzhou saw it. His brow furrowed, and he reached out as if to touch the teardrop, but then pulled his hand back.

"You’re not alone anymore. You have me now. From now on, I’ll take care of you."

Xue Xingzhou spoke bluntly. He had learned about Zheng Guofeng’s situation from Xue Yue and was afraid he might despair. Giving him a connection, a reason to live, would at least give him the motivation to go on.

A long time passed before Zheng Guofeng finally raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Xue Xingzhou and said, "Okay."

Then, the two of them looked at each other and smiled.

After returning from the cowshed, Xue Xingzhou confessed everything to Xue Yue and He Lang.

"So you’re saying... we might be half-siblings, with the same mother but different fathers?" Xue Yue asked in disbelief.

Xue Xingzhou nodded.

"That’s impossible. I don’t believe it." Xue Yue shook her head.

He Lang put his arm around Xue Yue’s shoulder and looked at Xue Xingzhou. "Why so suddenly?"

"It’s not sudden. I’ve had my suspicions for a while. Thinking back on it now, the signs were always there.

I remember right after Mom passed away, the way Dad looked at me was strange. I didn’t think much of it at the time; I just assumed he was having trouble accepting her death.

All these years, he never cared much for me or Yue’er. But if you think about it carefully, he was still somewhat fond of Yue’er.

Every time Yue’er argued with Liu Hongxing, he seemed to take Liu Hongxing’s side, but he never actually hit or scolded Yue’er.

And then there was my surgery. All these things show that he weighed me and Yue’er differently in his heart. And Yue’er, have you forgotten what he said when you gave him those shoes? Thinking about it now, if I’m not his biological son, then he truly did more than enough by raising me."

Xue Yue covered her mouth, her mind reeling as she incredulously replayed various memories from the past.

Xue Xingzhou said to Xue Yue, "Honestly, whether we’re half-siblings or full siblings, our relationship won’t change at all. You’re still my sister, and I’ll always be your brother. Always."

Of course, Xue Yue knew her brother would always be good to her, but she just found the news hard to accept. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Xue Xingzhou told them, "I’m telling you this because I have to take care of Zheng Guofeng from now on. But I can’t come here every day, so I’ll need you two to help keep an eye on him. Just let me know if anything happens."

"Okay," He Lang nodded.