Chapter 237: Blessed with a Son

Chapter 237: Chapter 237: Blessed with a Son

He hated her for abandoning her daughter and leaving all those years ago.

But when this day truly came, he wished he could have blocked those hands for her.

How could such a vibrant, lively person just vanish without a sound?

Shen Jiajia stared at the newly erected tombstone, silent for a long while before finally shaking her head.

"Sigh... What can you say? At the end of the day, she’s the one who raised that child with her own two hands."

Yang Wanqing sighed along with her, her fingers twisting the corner of her clothes.

"Who could have thought... it would come to this."

When you’re gone, you can’t take anything with you.

All that could be done was to let the deceased depart in peace.

Ruan Xinxin was sentenced swiftly.

The sentence was carried out just a few days after the verdict was delivered.

...

Song Yao gave birth toward the end of summer vacation. It was a chubby baby boy.

With this happy news, the oppressive atmosphere in the house finally started to dissipate.

Everyone gradually stopped mentioning Yao Yuzhen, focusing all their attention on Song Yao and the baby.

While Song Yao was in her postpartum confinement, her food stall was temporarily closed.

The task of caring for Song Yao during her confinement fell entirely to the two sisters, Shen Jiajia and Shen Jiayue.

As a result, after a month, not only had Song Yao not gained any unhealthy postpartum weight, but she had also lost a layer of fat from her belly.

The little guy was round and chubby, grinning at everyone he saw.

One day, Song Yao mentioned her milk supply was a little low.

The very next morning, Shen Jiajia showed up with a can of formula.

"Supplement with this for now. Don’t let the baby go hungry!"

The baby ate well and grew strong.

He felt heavy and solid in your arms, and anyone who saw him wanted to pinch his cheeks.

Qi Xi hadn’t been idle that summer either, helping Song Yao find many new customers.

By the time Song Yao finished her confinement, there were already over a dozen stall owners wanting to source products from her.

Her small home kitchen was so cramped that just a few flips of the wok would fill the space. She simply couldn’t keep up with the demand.

So, Song Yao discussed it with her family.

"I want to open a small factory, properly registered, for standardized production."

The words had barely left her mouth when the whole family raised their hands in approval.

Shen Jiajia was the most decisive. She voiced her support that day and delivered several stacks of cash the next.

Song Yao was stunned on the spot.

"I appreciate the thought, but I really don’t need this much money! I’m quite well-off right now. If I’m ever truly short on cash, I promise you’ll be the first people I ask!"

Shen Jiajia waved her hand with a smile.

"Don’t be like that. We’re family. There’s no need to distinguish between you and me."

Song Yao nodded quickly.

"Of course! We’re family, we don’t act like strangers! I’m really not short on money. I earned more this one summer than in the previous three years combined, and I still have money coming in every day!"

Although the new semester had started.

Li Ying and Qi Xi had both gone back to school, but Song Yao’s sales channels were already well-established.

She didn’t need to run a stall herself. Just by wholesaling her goods, she was steadily making several hundred a day.

She really wasn’t worried about being tight on cash.

"Just give us a shout if you need anything!"

"Okay, okay!"

Song Yao agreed with a smile.

Getting the factory up and running involved picking a location, building the facility, and handling the paperwork...

None of these were tasks that could be solved with a snap decision.

Song Yao ran around tirelessly and also asked Shen Zhenwu to pull some strings for her.

After meeting a ton of people and facing many closed doors, she finally managed to get the factory officially registered and operational by the spring of the following year.

By then, the baby was almost a year old.

Wei Guilan was taking excellent care of him, so Song Yao didn’t have to worry at all.

She could finally devote all her energy to the factory.

To get the factory on the right track, Song Yao worked herself to the bone.

When production first started, she practically moved her bedroll into the workshop office, eating, drinking, and sleeping at the factory.

After six months of working around the clock, the production line was finally running smoothly, and orders had stabilized.

Only then could Song Yao catch her breath and go home on time for a hot meal.

That autumn, Li Ying was accepted into a graduate program in Beijing and moved there for her studies.

Guo Shushu also found out she was pregnant that summer, bringing another happy event to the Shen Family.

There were more smiles on everyone’s faces, and the heavy, oppressive feeling that had lingered since Yao Yuzhen’s passing faded away without anyone noticing.

He was always taking his little nephew out for walks, and his temper remained as gentle as ever.

He greeted everyone with a warm smile and spoke in a slow, soft voice.

But the moment the topic of marriage came up, he would clam up and shake his head, refusing to say a single word.

Yang Wanqing often sighed in front of Song Yao.

"Do you think our family burned the wrong kind of offering paper in a past life?"

"How did we end up with all these problems?"

"Look at them, what’s become of them all..."

Song Yao could only try to console her.

"Second Brother just hasn’t met the right person yet. Once he does, there’ll be no need to rush him."

"You shouldn’t push him either. Marrying the wrong person, that’s what’s truly heartbreaking!"

As for just how heartbreaking it could be?

Shen Zhenwu was a living example.

Yang Wanqing certainly didn’t want her grandson to repeat the same mistake.

Sometimes, Song Yao would secretly wonder.

’If I hadn’t gone looking for Li Hanchen back then, if I hadn’t returned to the Shen Family to be acknowledged, would this family have been more peaceful?’

’Yao Yuzhen was troublesome, but Shen Zhenwu had put up with her for the better part of his life. It didn’t make sense that he’d suddenly lose his patience in his old age.’

’If things had been different, maybe Shen Rongdan would still be the same Shen Rongdan from before.’

’But the man he was now, though still gentle on the surface, had eyes that seemed veiled in a thin mist.’

One day, when Shen Rongdan had a day off, he drove over to pick up his nephew to take him out.

Just as he parked the car, he ran into a travel-worn Song Yao returning with her bag.

"Second Brother!" Song Yao called out.

"Song Yao!"

He responded quickly, even managing a smile.

It was only then that Song Yao realized.

Since the incident with Yao Yuzhen.

Other than seeing him briefly at the Shen Family home during holidays, she had hardly seen Shen Rongdan at all.

Even when she came back to the Shen Family home for meals, he would always hide in his room.

He’d only show his face when it was time to eat, then turn and leave the moment he put his bowl down.

So... she gazed at his slightly gaunt profile.

"Second Brother, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Song Yao asked.

Shen Rongdan didn’t hesitate and nodded.

Leaving the child with Wei Guilan, Song Yao led him into an old teahouse on the street corner.

They sat down facing each other, and she poured Shen Rongdan a cup of hot tea first.

A thin wisp of white steam rose as the tea filled the coarse porcelain cup.

Just as she was about to pour her own, Shen Rongdan suddenly spoke.

"How’s the factory doing lately?"

"It’s going very smoothly. Money’s constantly coming in."

Song Yao said, her fingers lightly tracing the rim of her cup.

"We just took on two new jobs last month. The veteran craftsmen all praised how detailed the blueprints were."

"That’s good!"

He nodded and took a sip from his cup.

He drank the hot tea to the last drop, leaving only a few unfurled tea leaves at the bottom of the cup.

After that, neither of them spoke.

It was Song Yao who broke the silence first.

"What about you? How have you been lately?"

"Nothing major. Work isn’t busy, so it’s been pretty relaxed."

She paused, then suddenly put down her cup and asked softly.

"Second Brother, do you think... if I had never gone to find Li Hanchen, and never returned to the Shen Family, would everyone’s lives have been more stable?"

The moment she finished speaking, Shen Rongdan shot his head up, instinctively waving his hand in dismissal.

"What are you talking about? Why would you think that?"

His hand stopped halfway up and then slowly lowered.

The moment he asked the question, he froze.

Thinking of Yao Yuzhen, his shoulders slumped and his voice grew quiet.

"Mom’s passing... it really had nothing to do with you. You shouldn’t blindly take the blame."

In his heart, he had actually been grieving all this time.

But this grief had absolutely nothing to do with Song Yao.

This grief wasn’t because Song Yao had returned, nor because she had appeared in their home.

This grief had existed long before, like a stone weighing down the bottom of his heart.

But none of it, from beginning to end, had anything to do with Song Yao.