A charming widow in her 70s married a factory manager and raised his children.

Chapter 2: Seeing What I Shouldn't Have Seen

The baby immediately began to suckle when given milk, and had no time to cry anymore. Lu Congyue and the old village chief at the gate of the courtyard both breathed a sigh of relief.

The child's cries were so weak, as if he were about to die, that it was terrifying.

"Director Lu, why don't you let Xiao Zhuang stay for now? Otherwise, the child's crying is heartbreaking."

Lu Congyue frowned as he looked at the thin, yellow-haired girl next to the old village chief. She was thin and had yellow hair, clearly suffering from severe malnutrition.

Although he dodged when the woman squeezed past him, he could feel that she was plump and the child she was carrying was not thin. Lu Congyue frowned even more.

"Village chief, you just said she was carrying her son?"

"Yes, it's just turned one month old, so pitiful..."

Lu Congyue disagreed, thinking that this woman favored sons over daughters and was not a good person.

"No one else is suitable?" Lu Congyue's voice was cold. "I can pay five yuan a month."

Old village chief: "Director Lu, please listen to me..."

Because Zhuang Qingxiang gave birth to a boy, the man who always wanted a son treated her very well. He not only provided her with millet and eggs every day, but also secretly went into the mountains to hunt for meat for her from time to time.

This month has been the best she's ever eaten since she was a baby. She's gained five or six pounds, and now she's plump and healthy with plenty of breast milk.

Zhuang Qingxiang was not familiar with the man; they had only met once. Her family gave her thirty yuan as a bride price and then couldn't wait to have him take her away.

On their wedding night, the man didn't touch her because he saw she was nervous. Later, she accidentally drank the wrong thing and got so drunk that she was unconscious, and that's when they finally consummated their relationship.

She got pregnant that one time. When the man found out she was pregnant, he wouldn't let her do any heavy work and treated her very well. Ten months later, she gave birth to a son. The man was overjoyed and said he would treat her and their son well for the rest of his life.

Zhuang Qingxiang always thought she would live a good life with this man, but who knew that the man would fall to his death while poaching in the mountains when their son was just a month old.

After the man died, her in-laws, with whom she had little contact to begin with, came to her door, calling her a jinx who had killed the man as soon as she entered the house. They demanded compensation for the house and money, and also said that her son was a bastard and a jinx as well.

Zhuang Qingxiang had been married to the man for less than a year. She was also easily offended, and the shock of the man's death left her in a daze. She was kicked out of the house. They didn't even want the money from the child born to the man's previous wife, saying that she was also a bastard and should die.

The village officials went to the Qian family one by one to try and reason with them, but the family simply wouldn't listen to reason.

Zhuang Qingxiang wanted to go back to her parents' home, but she couldn't. Apart from her younger brother, who was her half-brother, no one else in her family was related to her by blood. They treated her like a servant, raised all the children, and then kicked her out. How could they possibly let her go back?

Besides, there's nowhere to stay if we go back.

She had endured all of this in her past life, but now that she's starting over, she certainly can't just let it go like that. But things need to be planned out slowly.

Now she is only grateful that she has enough breast milk to feed more children and that she can stay with Director Lu and make money.

As Zhuang Qingxiang thought about this, she watched the little baby struggling to drink milk, and a tender smile appeared on her lips.

This child is about the same age as her son. If she could keep him, she would definitely feed him well, even if it meant letting her son drink less.

Just then, there was a sudden noise at the door. Zhuang Qingxiang looked up and saw Xiao Qianyue standing timidly at the door, along with a man's back. For some reason, she could catch a glimpse of a disheveled figure in the rapidly departing back.

Zhuang Qingxiang was puzzled, but when she looked down, she suddenly understood, and her cheeks, ears, and neck quickly flushed red.

She was breastfeeding her baby, and luckily only half of her clothes were torn open, with the baby providing some cover...

"Mother," little Qian Yue timidly approached, "Uncle brought Yueyue in, Yueyue didn't come in by herself."

Zhuang Qingxiang freed one hand to gently stroke her soft hair: "Mother knows, Yueyue is very good and won't disobey Mother."

Little Qian Yue finally smiled slightly, her eyes crinkling as she leaned over the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and whispered, "Mom, I heard Uncle tell Grandpa Village Chief that you could stay and try. Does that mean we have a place to stay?"

Zhuang Qingxiang glanced at the door in surprise and lowered her voice, "Really?"

Xiao Qianyue nodded vigorously.

Zhuang Qingxiang smiled happily.

That's great, she doesn't have to live in the cowshed with her two children anymore.

However, she still had to be careful. She tidied her hair, sweeping all her thick bangs to her forehead, as if she wanted to cover half of her face.

Although she doesn't look quite like her mother, she has fair skin like her mother, so she doesn't get tanned, and her eyes are also like her mother's, big and watery.

My mother often said that although she and her daughter had beautiful eyes, they were destined for hardship and would have unhappy marriages.

She didn't understand when she was little, but now that she thinks about it, it's true.

Mother was like that, and so was she.

As long as her eyes are covered so that Director Lu can't see clearly, he probably won't notice whether she's ugly or beautiful.

The baby was full and burped, then closed his eyes to sleep. Zhuang Qingxiang gently patted him a few times until he fell asleep.

With plenty of breast milk, Zhuang Qingxiang put her son down from her back. Seeing his adorable appearance with his big, dark eyes open but not crying or fussing, she couldn't help but kiss him twice and feed him again, which made him feel a little better.

After putting the two children to sleep on the kang (a heated brick bed) and having Qian Yue watch over them, Zhuang Qingxiang took a deep breath, encouraged herself, and stepped out of the inner room.

There was no one outside, but there was some noise in the courtyard, so Zhuang Qingxiang didn't dare to go out.

It was almost noon, and the bright sun was dazzling, illuminating her clearly. However, the indoor lighting was just right for her to stay in.

"Director Lu..."

Zhuang Qingxiang called out to the man chopping wood outside.

Lu Congyue paused, his back to the door, without turning around.

He had always lived alone and had completely forgotten that there was a woman in the house. Suddenly, he barged in, and a patch of white came straight into his eyes. He was so flustered that he turned around and left.

Before Lu Congyue was sixteen, he lived in the countryside with his mother. When they were hungry, they would go hunting in the mountains, which gave him a pair of eagle eyes. With his eagle eyes, he had extremely keen observation skills. In addition, he was tall, so even though his glance from above was hurried, he could see clearly, and he could even catch the little mouths of children moving.

Hearing the woman's quiet and gentle voice, the scene he had sworn to forget instantly resurfaced with unparalleled clarity.

Lu Congyue's breath hitched, feeling the intense heat of the sun and sweat dripping incessantly from his forehead onto the ground.

"Director Lu, the child has eaten and is asleep, I..."

"Then you stay inside and look after the child. Don't wander around!" Lu Congyue's voice was deep. "You don't need to worry about what happens outside. Your only responsibility is to take good care of the child."

Zhuang Qingxiang's eyes lit up with joy: "Director Lu, can I stay?"

Lu Congyue hesitated for a moment.

To be honest, Zhuang Qingxiang is not suitable to work at his house.