Chapter 373: Just Ask If You Are Willing

"Speak."

"I..."

"That night on the third day, was it you?"

"Ah, wanted... wanted to see you." Zhou Bingkun asked: "How did you know?"

"There were footprints on the ground."

After a moment of silence, Zheng Juan said: "Shui Ziliu and Luo Shibin sending me money has a reason. Of course, they could do it, or they could not. They did it, which shows they aren't completely bad. You're different; you're a good person. Why are you so good to me?"

"I don't know."

"You know."

"Fine, then I know." Zhou Bingkun nodded, but he couldn't help but ponder the meaning of Zheng Juan's words: "Why did you say they aren't completely bad?"

Zheng Juan was stunned and didn't answer, instead asking: "Are you seeing anyone?"

"No."

"Then what kind of woman do you like?"

Zhou Bingkun turned to look at her and blurted out: "Someone like you, no, it's you. Since the first time I saw you, I've been thinking about you every day for these past few months."

Because of the previous construction, he was prepared in his heart, and also because of Zheng Juan's attitude toward him, which made him feel the hope of closeness. He gritted his teeth and said it. And in fact, it wasn't as difficult as he had imagined.

A young man in love doesn't dare to express his feelings to the woman he likes, mostly for two reasons: one is his lack of self-confidence, and the other is the fear of loss. After all, once some things are said, they cannot be treated as if they never happened, and one cannot go back to the past. The idea that one can still be friends has always been nonsense.

After opening his mouth, the rest was easy to say. He looked at Zheng Juan: "My mom has been urging me to find a partner lately, but I only think of you, my head is full of you. Before I came, my brother asked me if I could acknowledge the child in your belly and if I was prepared to take care of Auntie and Guangming. I think those aren't important; life will definitely get better and better. He told me that now is the perfect time to bring you home to meet my mom and say the child is mine; my mom will definitely accept it. If we wait until the child is born, it won't be appropriate. I think so too, we can't delay any longer. You... what do you think?"

"I think of you too, but I didn't think of you before; it's only recently." Zheng Juan was stunned for a long time, and after digesting the information Zhou Bingkun conveyed, she said with red eyes: "You have no relation to me, and when Shui Ziliu gave you five yuan as an errand fee, you gave it all to us. This shows you are a good person. As the saying goes, people thinking of people can make them die of longing. The more I thought about it, the more I felt you were good, and the more I thought of you. But I can't marry you; you are a good person, you should have a better destination, not be dragged down by a woman like me."

Zhou Bingkun had already said it, and at this moment, his reckless spirit came up, and he didn't care about all that. He grabbed Zheng Juan's hand and stared straight at her: "I don't think you're a burden; that's all what I'm willing to do. Don't say so much, I just ask you, are you willing to marry me, are you willing to let me be the father of the child in your belly?"

Zheng Juan stared blankly at the man in front of her, the "I do" hovering on her lips just wouldn't come out. She struggled to break free from Zhou Bingkun's hand: "You asked me why I said Shui Ziliu and Luo Shibin aren't completely bad? Since it's come to this, I won't hide it from you. Actually... the child in my belly isn't Tu Zhiqiang's, it's Luo Shibin's. Tu Zhiqiang married me just to cover up, he never touched me. That day, the three of them were drinking at home and all got drunk... That time, Luo Shibin broke one of my ribs... No one knows about this except me and Shui Ziliu and them."

Zhou Bingkun stared blankly at Zheng Juan, the images of Shui Ziliu and Luo Shibin appearing repeatedly in his mind, and the "they are not right" his good brother said when he came, "giving thirty-five is too much, abnormally much," intertwined with Zheng Juan's words.

His breathing gradually became heavy, and an indescribable anger surged to his head. However, seeing Zheng Juan, who had red eyes and was strong enough to make people pity her, he calmed himself down: "You've suffered."

Just four simple words, and Zheng Juan's tears burst their banks instantly. She hugged Zhou Bingkun.

Zhou Bingkun couldn't help but have red eyes too, for himself and for her. He slowly placed his hands on Zheng Juan's back and patted her gently: "Alright, alright, stop crying, don't affect the child."

After a while, their emotions stabilized. Zhou Bingkun wiped his tears and said: "My brother's brain is still better. Before I came, he told me Shui Ziliu and Luo Shibin were not right, that they gave too much money, and suspected they felt guilty toward you. I didn't believe it and said they were decent. I'm really stupid, really.

But Zheng Juan, I don't care about those things you said; what I value is you. As long as we live a good life in the future, that's all that matters. But now the child is a problem. If I want to marry you, I have to make it clear to them. Don't worry, my brother has many ideas and is trustworthy; I'll discuss it with him later, and when the time comes..."

A man is always most handsome when he takes on responsibility. At this moment, Zhou Bingkun is exactly like that, and he is even taking on an irrelevant responsibility that could have been avoided, which makes him look even more manly. He swallowed all his negative emotions and said firmly the most beautiful love words in Zheng Juan's eyes.

Zheng Juan, who had just shed tears, couldn't stop sobbing again. She didn't want to hear any other messy things; just the sentence "I don't care about those things you said; what I value is you. As long as we live a good life in the future, that's all that matters" had deeply struck her. She couldn't help but lean forward and kiss the man she considered the most handsome in the world...

Material scarcity, life is not easy. Most people in this era only eat two meals a day when they are not working. Based on the principle of saving as much as possible, the old Zhou family is the same. So Li Suhua didn't come back to cook at noon, and no one knew where she was staying.

Although he ate a lot in the morning, Wang Yan was a bit hungry, after all, his own consumption was high, so he found some food to get by. He didn't go anywhere else and just lay at home reading. He was not curious about the environment outside; there was nothing worth seeing. As for buying things, he didn't have much money in his hands, and many rare items required coupons, so he basically couldn't buy anything, so he just stayed on the warm kang.

He looked at Zhou Bingkun, who had returned not long ago, and said: "This is so simple. If you're not afraid, report them by name; if you're afraid, report them anonymously. The people from the Revolutionary Committee are watching, and within three days, they will be caught and sentenced to five, seven, or eight years."

"If they go in, what about the money? I only earn twenty yuan a month, and I don't need to take care of my mom. That old lady, Guangming, and Zheng Juan giving birth later—that's five people, how could it ever be enough?"

"That old lady and Zheng Juan's brother also make paper boxes and string candied haws, so they have some income; it's enough for them to take care of themselves. Your twenty yuan a month is enough to support Zheng Juan and the child; it's just a bit tight. Besides, how could your mom watch you and your wife and child suffer?"

"Can that work? Then I'd be too useless."

Wang Yan shook his head: "What's useless about relying on your parents? Even if you were rich and had money, your mom would still be considerate. Before, she wanted to give the best to you; later, she'll want to give the best to her grandson."

"Brother, when you put it that way, I feel really sorry for my mom."

"It's nothing, just hurry up and have a child for the old Zhou family."

Zhou Bingkun hesitated, and after a long silence, he said: "Brother, we'll talk about the reporting later. When we take the money this Saturday, why don't you come with me? We have to resolve this matter. As for Zheng Juan, I want to wait until we resolve it with them before I say anything."

It would be fine if the child were Tu Zhiqiang's, after all, the person is dead. But now that Luo Shibin has appeared, even if he is stupid, he knows that he should figure out the child's matter and what the plan is.

"Fine, I'll go with you and take a look."

Wang Yan didn't refuse; there was nothing to hesitate about in supporting Zhou Bingkun, after all, this was his job. And he could also see what Shui Ziliu and Luo Shibin meant. If they were sensible, it would be easy to talk; if not, he could just kill them. Actually, he thought about not killing Luo Shibin because he wanted to torment him. After all, dying simply is far less miserable than living in misery.

"Hey, Brother, can you look at eyes? It's been so many years, you can't always just treat headaches and fevers."

"Want me to look at Zheng Juan's brother's eyes?"

"Yeah, take a look." Zhou Bingkun nodded: "I asked Zheng Juan, Guangming's eyes weren't born with problems; it was an inflammation from an illness when he was young. It can't be cured, but you're a doctor too, take a look and see how it can be treated. If we can afford it, I want to help him. You haven't seen Guangming; that child is very sensible, it's just a pity about his eyes."

"Bring him over in a while, I'll take a look and see."

"Fine, let's wait until I settle things with Zheng Juan."

After talking about this, the two chatted a bit, and then each did their own thing; there wasn't much to talk about. And now Zhou Bingkun was struggling, lying on the warm kang, laughing and frowning, silly. Wang Yan continued to read his book; this time he didn't read the previous medical book, but changed to a "Friend of Military and Civilian Dual-Purpose Talents." That is, one of the three great divine books later mentioned by netizens; the other two are the "Barefoot Doctor Manual" and the "Militia Military Training Manual," both of which he has.

Speaking of these three books, one has to mention the previous international situation, and then the Third Front construction currently in full swing; there is too much to say. In fact, it can be summarized as: China is backward.

It was like this until after three o'clock in the afternoon, when Li Suhua walked in: "Oh my, it's so cold, it's warmer inside."

"Mom, stay at the head of the kang, the fire was just added." Zhou Bingkun flipped over: "How did it go with the partner you were organizing for my brother? Is there anyone suitable?"

"It was just said, how could it be so fast." She gave her youngest son a look and said to Wang Yan: "Xiao Yan, you should pay attention yourself. Our Guangzipian is not big, but not small either. There are so many people coming to your health clinic for consultations every day, who knows whose family has a relative suitable for you, right?"

"Okay, I'll pay more attention and strive to get married this year and have a child next year to expand the branches and leaves for our old Wang family." Wang Yan nodded with a smile; this cheap aunt is enthusiastic and treats him really well.

"Bingkun, you should hurry up too. Your big brother and sister are married, pay attention, you know?"

"Oh, Mom, I know." Zhou Bingkun waved his hand impatiently: "It's past three, almost four, Mom, hurry up and cook, we're both hungry, right Brother?"

"No conscience, your mom just came back and isn't even warm yet, and you're making your mom serve you? Hey, a life of toil." She gave her youngest son a slap and stood up to take off her hat and scarf: "Xiao Yan, come, get off the kang and help me."

"Mom, I'll help you too."

"Forget it, you're not as nimble as your brother, just stay there."

Li Suhua wasn't really asking Wang Yan to work; she wanted to ask if the matter she entrusted this morning had been done.

Facing Li Suhua's expectant gaze, Wang Yan nodded and said: "I asked him, but he was wishy-washy and didn't tell me. Looking at him, he has something going on, he just won't say. Auntie, anyway, no matter what, Bingkun is dating, so he has to bring her back for you to see."

"That's true, I just wanted to know first, it's itching in my heart." Li Suhua shook her head and smiled, sighing that children grow up and don't listen to their mothers: "Fine, Xiao Yan, you go back to the room, you don't need to help."

"It's okay, Auntie, help you out and we can eat early." As he spoke, Wang Yan went to the side to cut vegetables. Yesterday, today braised pork.

Li Suhua didn't say anything more; Wang Yan has been like this since he came, working whenever there is work. She knows that the child is thanking their old Zhou family for helping out...

A few days passed. During this period, Zhou Bingkun went to Taiping Alley every day to see Zheng Juan and talk. Qiao Chunyan and Cao Debao also met their in-laws and set their wedding for next month, first treating Zhou Bingkun, Xiao Guoqing, and the others to a meal at the state-run restaurant.

And on the day Zhou Bingkun and the others ate, a family letter from Zhou Zhigang, who came from far away in Bashu, also arrived. Just like in the original drama, it detailed the search for Zhou Rong in Qian Province, talked about Zhou Rong's state, spoke about his views on Feng Huacheng, affirmed Feng Huacheng's character, and forgave Zhou Rong's unfilial act of sneaking away from home and marrying a man ten years her senior. The letter wrote about the children, which made Li Suhua worry enough, and another long letter full of a mother's love for her daughter was sent out.

After Zhou Bingkun knew his father's attitude, he also had a bottom line in his heart. He felt that, by comparison, he and Zhou Rong were about the same. Zhou Rong could be forgiven, so it shouldn't be a big problem for him. Just like his good brother said, there are no grudges that can't be resolved between father and son.

As for Wang Yan himself, there was nothing else to do but sit in the clinic all day, starting to truly show his strength as a national medical expert. Every day, people came to tell him they were uncomfortable, and he no longer sent them to the municipal hospital, but clearly stated the body's problems. If they didn't believe him, he suggested they go to the hospital for a check-up, and said his medical skills had improved recently, so he could try to treat them.

Matters involving human life cannot be spoken of lightly.

Most people would believe him; of course, in the final analysis, it was because they were poor. Unless it was life-threatening and death was imminent, they didn't even want to spend money on a check-up at the hospital, so they just did whatever he said. If the medicine wasn't expensive and didn't have much impact on their lives, most of them would agree. Very simple: better to believe it exists than to believe it doesn't.

Among the patients, of course, there were some difficult and complicated illnesses, and he said he could try to treat them. In these few days, he took on quite a few patients.

Although he saw patients quickly and grabbed medicine quickly, explaining the condition to the patients couldn't be accelerated, especially since he was a nobody, and people still wanted to understand in detail. But his life experience was there, so relatively speaking, he saw quite a few people a day and sold a lot of medicine.

In this situation, the person in charge of the entire health clinic, the man in his thirties, certainly wouldn't ignore it. He was afraid that Wang Yan would grab medicine blindly and harm the lives of the masses, which would be terrible.

So Wang Yan diagnosed him, stated the problems in his body clearly, and prescribed a formula for nourishing yin and kidney and strengthening yang. The next day, he came over with a glowing face to encourage him to work hard and said he would write a report to give him a raise... ===== CHAPTER 374 =====