I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 116: Wrestling

"Whose letter?"

"Your letter came from Sichuan Province." The comrade in the mailroom handed the letter to Yuan Xiu.

Yuan Xiu took the envelope and glanced at the writing on it. It wasn't Yuan Xinmin's handwriting. That made sense; at this moment, he was probably too busy taking care of himself. As the husband of a spy, even if he didn't go to jail like Yuan Xiaoshen, he would probably suffer some hardship.

"Thank you."

Yuan Xiu didn't rush to read the letter. After entering the house, she first made herself a cup of malted milk powder, took a few sips with relish, and then sat down on the sofa and tore open the envelope.

The letter was written by Aunt Yuan. Unlike Yuan Xinmin, she wrote in a completely traditional tone, like an elderly couple. Aunt Yuan first asked about her situation, and then began to talk about what had happened in the family recently.

"...The commune cadres came to our house with their men and took your uncle and grandparents away. Two days later, your grandparents returned, but your uncle didn't. Later, the commune broadcast a notice saying that Cheng Dazhu was a spy and had been arrested, along with several other spy gangs. It was all reported in the newspapers. Your grandparents had wanted to ask about it, but after hearing this news, they didn't dare."

"The commune cadres said that Cheng Dazhu is living with other spies outside..."

"Our Yuan family has been utterly disgraced! Your grandparents, along with many relatives, went to Cheng Dazhu's family home. It's all because of those Chengs that our whole family has been ruined! We're ashamed to even walk down the street. The commune keeps sending your uncle and grandparents to the commune to publicly apologize and be reprimanded in front of everyone. In the production team, our family is always doing the hardest work..."

"A few days ago, the commune cadres came to our house again and said that Yuan Juan was gone. They told us to send someone to collect her body, or they would just bury her anywhere. Your uncle wanted to go, but your grandparents wouldn't let him go anywhere. He's had mental problems; after being released, he's been a bit confused. One minute he's calling out Yuan Juan's name, the next he's jumping up and cursing Cheng Dazhu. Your grandparents are crying at home every day..."

"Your grandparents asked me to write you a letter, telling you to talk to Yuan Juan's husband and ask him to give her a proper burial, so she won't become a wandering ghost."

"Xiu'er, your uncle's family did wrong, and they're getting their comeuppance. Your grandparents have always been good to you. Don't hate them because of your uncle. Your aunt doesn't know, but if she did, she would definitely stop him."

After playing the family card, Yuan Xiaogu began to reveal her true thoughts.

"Your cousin was supposed to join the army this year, but the commune rejected his application, saying that a relative in his family is a spy and he's ineligible. Xiu'er, you're knowledgeable, and your son-in-law is an officer in the army, could you help me inquire and see if there's any way to get around this?"

There's no such thing as a free lunch; that's probably the real reason why Yuan Xiaogu wrote this letter.

Yuan Xiu thought for a moment, then got up and went upstairs to her study, where she picked up a pen and wrote a reply.

The letter didn't say anything else, only that she couldn't do anything about her son joining the army. She also said that she was lucky she hadn't listened to the old couple's letter to the commune to speak up for Yuan Xinmin, and that she was lucky she hadn't listened to the old couple's mutual support with Yuan Juan in the family compound. If she had listened to them, she would have been implicated by Yuan Juan and her daughter.

She also said that she was a military dependent with a clear political stance and now wanted to sever ties with the Yuan family because she reasonably suspected that the letters she had received were written by Yuan Xinmin and his wife using the elderly couple as a pretext to win her over while she was in the military, in order to achieve their ulterior motives.

For example, it is very likely that they had already been in contact with spies.

She still has the letter.

At this point, Yuan Xiu paused, unable to suppress a smile. She had written it this way on purpose, as she was certain that the Yuan family didn't know much about the series of events that had occurred after her aunt came to the army.

They probably only knew that Aunt Yuan had become a spy and was living with another man, and then there was the death of Yuan Juan.

In her letter, Yuan Xiaogu suggested that Zhou Lei bury Yuan Juan, implying that neither of them knew about Zhou Lei and Yuan Juan's divorce.

As for news about Aunt Yuan, the letter didn't even dare to ask.

You must be terrified.

Let's scare them a little more, so they don't do anything rash and think they can become the Yuan family's protector.

As for Yuan Juan, she wasn't that kind-hearted.

As the father of Yuan Juan's unborn child, Zhou Lei must have known about Yuan Juan long ago.

Yuan Xiu mailed the letter the next day.

It was quite a coincidence that I ran into Teacher Shen, who was also mailing a letter, when I was mailing one.

After mailing the letter, the two talked about how Political Commissar Wang and Jiang Zhou had gone on an inspection tour of the company a couple of days ago. They had visited more than one place and estimated that it would take them ten days to return.

Yuan Xiu wanted to ask her if she needed to prepare anything in advance.

"Training uniform, service uniform, toiletries, water bottle, and shoes. Last time my husband went out, his shoes broke halfway through, and he had to borrow some shoes from a young soldier..."

Yuan Xiu kept everything Teacher Shen said in mind.

On the day before Jiang Zhou left, Yuan Xiu packed all these things into her luggage bag.

When Jiang Zhou was about to pack his luggage, Yuan Xiu pointed to the luggage bags behind the sofa, "Where are they? See if you need anything."

Jiang Zhou took out the suitcase from behind the sofa, placed it on the coffee table, and opened it to look inside.

He pulled out a small cloth bag. "...What's this?"

"Mosquito fumigation sachets, Teacher Shen said that some companies are stationed in the woods where there are many mosquitoes. You can take them out and hang them by your bedside at night to get a good night's sleep."

"And this?" Jiang Zhou took out another paper bag, opened it, and saw that it contained small packets of... medicine?

"This is for preventing colds. It's inconvenient to brew medicine, so I went to a Western doctor and got some pills. They can be taken for common fevers and colds."

Yuan Xiu reached in and pulled out a tube of anti-inflammatory medicine. "This is anti-inflammatory medicine."

She continued rummaging through her things: "This is gauze, this is iodine and cotton swabs. I've put them all together for you. Be careful when you take them, don't get them dirty."

"I also prepared a raincoat for you and put it at the bottom. The weather has been bad lately, and it could rain at any time, so please take it with you."

"I've put another bag of candy in the little bag next to you." Yuan Xiu didn't take it out to show him, but just patted the spot where the candy was. "Eat one to replenish your energy when you're feeling tired."

"I've prepared three sets of clothes for you to change into, two pairs of shoes, and two sets of your training uniform and regular uniform, just like I've prepared for you."

"Toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and three towels have been prepared: one for washing the face, one for bathing, and one for drying the feet."

As Yuan Xiu counted them off one by one for Jiang Zhou, she was also wondering if she had missed anything.

"Are you still short of supplies?"

Jiang Zhou shook his head, his eyes fixed on her.

"Why are you staring at me? Is there something dirty on my face?" Yuan Xiu touched her face; she hadn't touched anything.

Jiang Zhou shook his head. "It's because you're good-looking."

Yuan Xiu glanced at him, blushed, and put the things she had just taken out back into her bag.

"Don't tidy up yet." Jiang Zhou took her hand and led her upstairs.

"It's just a little bit of stuff, let me finish packing it, so I don't forget anything tomorrow..."

Jiang Zhou used all his strength to pick her up and carry her upstairs: "I can't put her down..."

……

It started raining the day after Jiangzhou left, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, and it kept raining.

Yuan Xiu was afraid of slipping while riding her bicycle, so she switched to walking to and from get off work.

Because of the rain, the temperature dropped again after the weather had warmed up.

She was home alone. She ate something lightly in the evening and went upstairs to her study to take out her textbooks and start studying.

"Knock knock knock! Knock knock knock! Yuan Xiu! Yuan Xiu!"

The knocking on the door downstairs startled Yuan Xiu, who was engrossed in reading her textbook. She got up and went downstairs, looking out through the glass of the first-floor window.

It's Wang Ting.

The rain outside hadn't stopped, and Wang Ting stood soaking wet at her doorstep, anxiously calling her name.

Yuan Xiu's heart skipped a beat. She grabbed the umbrella by the door and quickly went outside. "What's wrong?"

Wang Ting was soaked to the bone and looked utterly disheveled. She wiped her face, grabbed Yuan Xiu, and pulled her away, saying, "Come with me!"

Yuan Xiu was pulled along by her and ran into her house.

As soon as Yuan Xiu entered the room, she heard Sister Zhu's shouts.

"What am I going to do! How am I going to explain this to Political Commissar Wang! My poor sister!"

Yuan Xiu's expression changed, she threw the umbrella in her hand on the ground, and hurried a few steps inside. When she saw the scene at the stairwell, she was shocked and her eyes widened!

Wang Ting, her face pale and trembling, pointed at the unconscious Teacher Shen lying on the ground and said, "She fell from the building! Quick! You have to save her..."

Hearing the noise, Sister Zhu glared at her hatefully, "It's all your fault, you little bitch! You pushed her down the stairs! I saw it with my own eyes! You're just afraid that if my sister has a son, your brother won't have a share in this family! That's why you did this to her!"

Wang Ting trembled all over, "I didn't! It wasn't me! I didn't touch her, and I don't know why she lost her balance..."

While they were arguing, Yuan Xiu had already squatted down next to Teacher Shen. "Teacher Shen, can you hear me? Teacher Shen..."

Teacher Shen was still conscious. She opened her eyes, glanced at Yuan Xiu, and groaned in pain.

"It's you! It's you! You knew your dad wasn't home, so you ran back to harm people. My poor sister was so happy to see you back that she asked me to fry you eggs. You heartless beast..."

"Stop arguing!" Yuan Xiu interrupted Sister Zhu loudly, "Have you called the hospital yet?"

Wang Ting nodded: "I called, I called before I went to call you. You work at the hospital, which is the closest hospital to our home."

Sister Zhu started making a scene again, "Why did you make that call! How long are we supposed to wait for them to arrive? I think you just don't want my sister and the baby in her belly to live! I told you to go and get someone to take my sister to the hospital, but you insisted on calling Xiao Yuan over. She's not a doctor, she's not a midwife, what good will she do!"

"If you won't take her, I'll take her myself. I'll carry my sister all the way to the hospital!"

As she spoke, she reached out to help Teacher Shen up.

Yuan Xiu shoved her away, "Shut up! Wang Ting did nothing wrong. She fell from upstairs. How do you know if she's injured anywhere else? Moving her will only worsen the risk of placental abruption and uterine rupture!"

Sister Zhu: "What danger?! It's dangerous if you don't get her to the hospital right away! Little Yuan, I thought you were a good person, why are you siding with that little bitch?! My sister treats you very well!"

Yuan Xiu ignored her and said directly to Wang Ting, "Go and get a blanket, a sheet, and a towel."

Wang Ting quickly ran upstairs. Perhaps because of fear, she slipped and her knee hit the stairs hard. Ignoring the pain, she ran upstairs and grabbed a blanket, clean sheets, and a towel.

"Give."

"Cover her with a blanket, put a towel under her head to elevate it a little."

Yuan Xiu picked up a bed sheet and placed it under Teacher Shen, then took off her pants to check. Her water had broken and there was slight bleeding from her genitals.

Yuan Xiu placed her hand on her abdomen; there was fetal movement, but it was not obvious.

"Teacher Shen, Teacher Shen..."

Teacher Shen opened her eyes, her voice barely audible: "Xiao Yuan, the child..."

"The baby is fine, you can feel it, right? It's still moving inside you."

Teacher Shen closed her eyes; she could sense that the child wasn't moving as violently as before.

"Do you have any other pain anywhere?"

Teacher Shen gently shook her head, "Stomach..."

Sister Zhu immediately chimed in, "Is the baby about to come out? Her water broke, the baby is definitely coming out. We need to deliver it for her right away. You don't understand, let me do it. I know how to deliver babies. I gave birth to all my babies myself."

As she spoke, she reached out to lift the blanket covering the lower half of Teacher Shen's body.

Yuan Xiu grabbed her hand: "Stop! In her current condition, if you deliver the baby carelessly, it will only cause the pregnant woman to have severe bleeding and infection! I have already checked, and her current condition is not at the point of extreme labor. The doctor will be here soon, so you don't need to do anything."

"You don't know anything! The amniotic sac has broken! If the baby dies in the womb, it'll be your fault!" Sister Zhu cursed and insisted on delivering Teacher Shen's baby.

"Wang Ting! What are you still standing there for! Pull her away!"

Wang Ting stood hunched over, too afraid to move, until she heard Yuan Xiu call her, at which point she came over and pulled Sister Zhu away.

"Girl! You see? They're all trying to harm you! They're going to kill your baby! Why are you so unlucky!"

Her shouting only added to Teacher Shen's psychological burden. Yuan Xiu was furious and grabbed a towel to stuff into her mouth!

Wang Ting was terrified. "Is she...is she alright?"

Yuan Xiu: "The doctor will be here soon, don't worry."

Just then, people from the hospital arrived, along with Wu Yufen.

Wu Yufen came over after seeing the hospital vehicle enter the compound from her apartment building, and entered the gate one after the other with the hospital staff.

She was also shocked when she saw Teacher Shen lying on the ground!

Yuan Xiu immediately informed her colleagues in the hospital's emergency department about Teacher Shen's condition.

Teacher Shen was quickly lifted onto a stretcher, followed by Wang Ting and Yuan Xiu.

When boarding the bus, family members were required to accompany them. Yuan Xiu pulled Wang Ting to sit down, while Sister Zhu seemed quite anxious. When it came time to actually have someone accompany her, she took a few steps back.

Wu Yufen: "I'll go too."

Yuan Xiu grabbed her hand that was gripping the car door and quickly whispered a few words in her ear.

Wu Yufen withdrew her hand: "Then I won't go."