The Most Romantic Words

They had been married for less than a year, yet their life lacked any of the romance usually associated with newlyweds.

Just a month after their wedding, they packed their bags and moved to a bustling city to find work. However, with only a middle school education and no connections, they couldn’t find suitable jobs after many days of searching.

Their money was nearly gone, so they decided to collect and sell recyclables, like many others from their hometown.

Every day, they left before dawn and returned late at night. They dared not slack off because they needed to divide their meager income into four parts each month: one for the 300-yuan rent, one for living expenses, and two to send to their parents back home.

After she became pregnant, her movements became less convenient, and he took on the full burden of their livelihood. He worked tirelessly from morning till night, determined to save every penny.

He wanted to ensure she could give birth in a hospital, which required a significant amount of money for them.

He never spent extra money on himself during the day, eating only two steamed buns with some pickled vegetables from home. Yet, on his way back, he always bought two yuan worth of meat or small fish for her to ensure she got proper nutrition.

Sometimes, he even bought her a string of candied hawthorns or squeezed through the crowds to buy her some fried stinky tofu, just like the fashionable city girls ate.

When they got home, she cooked while he sorted through the recyclables they had collected.

During meals, he never touched the small amount of meat or fish on their plates. When she insisted, he would say, “I had some fried fish for lunch; I’m a bit tired of meat. You should eat more for the sake of our baby.”

Her nose would sting with tears as she ate, knowing she had to listen to him for the sake of their unborn child. During that time, he once got soaked in the rain and had a high fever for several days.

His already thin frame became even thinner, yet he still refused to rest.

One evening, he found two small fish by the roadside near a seafood market. They looked fresh, so he brought them home.

That night, she made fish soup with the two small fish. She didn’t take a sip but insisted he drink it, saying, “You’ve been sick for so long and are so weak. For me and our baby, you must drink this fish soup.”

Her tone left no room for refusal.

This time, he complied. It had been a long time since he had eaten fish, and the soup tasted particularly delicious to him. He drank the whole bowl without realizing it.

She smiled contentedly.

In the middle of the night, he felt severe abdominal pain. As he tried to go to the bathroom, he collapsed to the floor.

Panicked, she rushed out to call for help. With the assistance of some fellow villagers, she got him to a nearby hospital. After emergency treatment, he regained consciousness and was surprised to find himself in a hospital bed, receiving an IV.

He weakly asked her, “What happened to me?”

With red-rimmed eyes, she sat beside him, sobbing silently.

The doctor looked at him incredulously and shook his head, saying, “You country folks are really something, daring to cook and eat the highly toxic pufferfish. If you’d come an hour later, you would have died.”

He was stunned for a long time after hearing this. Suddenly, he realized the gravity of the situation and tightly grasped her hand, saying with lingering fear, “Thank goodness I drank the fish soup. If you had eaten it, our baby would have…”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.

She threw herself into his arms, trembling with fear. She cried again, clinging to him as if afraid he might disappear from this world.

Seeing her so terrified, he smiled gently and reassured her, “Although our life is tough, we must be the luckiest couple in the world because even poison can’t kill our love.”

These were the most romantic words she had ever heard from him.

Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “