"The supply and marketing cooperative also sells electric blankets now, at the same price as the department store. It didn’t take much time. And Aunt Yang, you must have cleaned up my mother’s yard—I just went back and saw it. Thank you for your trouble."
Wang Shuo had planned to take advantage of his mother’s nap to tidy up her yard, but when he got home, everything was already neatly arranged. He didn’t need to guess who had helped.
Aunt Yang didn’t expect anything from their family, yet she had repeatedly lent a hand—especially this time. He had originally planned to finish teaching his students before returning to check on his mother.
But if he had waited until then, it would have been too late. The thought filled him with regret.
So, an electric blanket was nothing in comparison.
"It’s no trouble at all. Once Aunt Wang is back, I’ll visit her more often so you can focus on your work. I’m just at home with little to do besides cooking anyway."
Besides, she was still using their tricycle.
Li Xueguo looked at the flood of urgent orders piling up. The factory workers were thrilled—with so many orders, they didn’t have to worry about the factory shutting down or losing their jobs.
"Hire more workers. Keep the machines running around the clock in three shifts, but quality must not be compromised."
"Yes, sir!"
"Brother Xueguo, that auntie is truly our factory’s benefactor. Ever since she bought from us, our orders have been getting bigger and bigger."
Li Xueguo nodded. If he ever saw her again, he would make sure to thank her properly.
"Ranran, isn’t your sister-in-law working at the department store?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Ask her to bring me a radio."
"Sure. I’ll give her some money to get two electric blankets while she’s at it."
After dropping off Qin Nian at work, Yang Yufen rode the tricycle to the Third People’s Hospital—Aunt Wang was being discharged today.
"Auntie, can you ride a bicycle? I’ll take my mother home."
"No need. Your mother’s light. You take the bicycle and rush back to make the bed and start the fire. I’ll bring her home slowly on the tricycle."
Yang Yufen refused outright. A bicycle couldn’t compare to the stability of three wheels.
"Alright."
Wang Shuo didn’t argue. He tied the extra bedding securely and pedaled furiously toward the residential compound.
Yang Yufen had told him to start the fire, but she had already lit the coal stove, with water heating on top.
Wang Shuo set up the electric blanket, then hurried to the greenhouse in the backyard to pick vegetables and start cooking.
When Aunt Wang finally lay in her own bed, she relaxed completely.
"Home is so much better. That hospital was no place for people."
Aunt Wang grumbled.
"Exactly. Home is best. I’ve been tending to your greenhouse and clearing the snow around it. Don’t spend too much time back there until you’re fully recovered—your health comes first."
"If you hadn’t come to see me, I might have…"
"None of that talk. Your son’s been running around taking care of everything—so filial."
Yang Yufen suddenly sensed something amiss.
"Yes, he’s worn himself out. I’ve come to realize something, sister. Let that boy of mine call you godmother."
Yang Yufen hadn’t expected the conversation to take such a turn.
"Godmother."
Wang Shuo called out without hesitation.
"So I’ve gained a godson just like that? Oh, sister, are you sure you’re willing?"
After all the recent busyness, Yang Yufen had gradually sorted through her feelings.
"Of course I am. Without you, his real mother might not even be here. Calling you godmother is nothing. From now on, he’s your son too."
"Well then, that’s settled. It’s getting late—you should rest. I brought some eggs for you. I’ll go deliver a meal to Nian and come back to keep you company later."
Wang Shuo walked Yang Yufen to the door.
"Come here. Pick a day and bring them both to see me."
Aunt Wang’s sudden words caught Wang Shuo off guard. He had thought his mother had something else to say.
"Mom, you’re not…"
His voice was strained.
"After facing death, I’ve realized—at your age, if you don’t marry soon, forget about finding a divorced woman with a child, you might not find anyone at all. Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes. I won’t control you anymore."
"Mom, don’t say that. I…"
Wang Shuo’s heart raced, but he didn’t want to upset his mother.
"Enough. A grown man shouldn’t dither like this. Making someone wait so long—where’s your backbone? The fact that she still wants you is a miracle. Your father was never this hesitant."
Aunt Wang turned her face away in disdain.
"So… I can really bring her to meet you? You won’t be angry?"
"Bring her or don’t. Up to you."
Aunt Wang huffed, missing her dear friend Yang Yufen already.
Wang Shuo grinned, so eager he would have fed his mother himself if she’d let him.
"Mom, I’ll bring her to see you this afternoon? And let godmother meet her too?"
"Fine."
Aunt Wang set down her bowl.
Wang Shuo’s eyes followed it nervously, afraid it might shatter on the floor.
"Mom, thank you."
When he caught the bowl safely, his heart finally settled.
If there was ever a definition of "impatient," it was Wang Shuo at that moment. He washed the bowl in record time, forced himself to bid his mother a calm farewell, then bolted out the door, leaped onto his bicycle, and sped off so fast the security guards nearly stopped him.
"Comrade Fang!"
Fang Fen, who had just stepped out to toss water, looked up to see Wang Shuo, his hair windblown and wild.
"What are you doing here? Wasn’t Aunt Wang discharged today?"
"Comrade Fang, my mother agreed. She wants me to bring you and Yaoyao to meet her."
His mother had said—both of them!
Fang Fen froze.
"It’s true. My mother said it herself—both of you! You and Yaoyao."
"How could Aunt Wang possibly agree?"
Truthfully, Fang Fen had been ready to give up. She never expected Aunt Wang to relent now.
She and Wang Shuo had met as educated youth sent to the countryside. In those hard times, they had grown close. But when Wang Shuo’s father had an accident, he left on emergency leave. In that single month, she had fallen into the river and been saved by her ex-husband—forcing her into marriage.
After Yaoyao was born, her ex-husband drowned in an accident. The irony wasn’t lost on her.
When the college entrance exams resumed, she took them without hesitation, paid three hundred yuan to sever Yaoyao’s ties with that family, and brought her daughter to university.
She never imagined she’d cross paths with Wang Shuo again.
She knew he had come looking for answers back then, but she avoided him, afraid he’d get into trouble.
Later, when he returned to the city, she was happy for him. Their reunion happened by chance—Wang Shuo stopped her, saying he knew everything. He begged for another chance, unwilling to let life pull them apart again.
Love could conquer hardships, but when those hardships included Wang Shuo’s mother, Fang Fen refused to force the issue. Wang Shuo wouldn’t either.
So they waited. She graduated, was assigned to teach at a normal school.
