Back To The 80s

Gu Xiaobei didn’t feel like speaking much more. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Lu and Yuan families had a long-standing relationship, she would certainly have turned Qin Ximei away.

Lu Zhanguo was also confused about why Qin Ximei would suddenly show up. He watched her with a frown as she wandered around each room, making appreciative noises. "The house is big enough this time, and there’s plenty of room for visitors. When your mum comes to visit, she will have a place to stay as well."

Gu Xiaobei didn’t respond. She would never be the one to offer Qin Ximei a place to stay.

Both Gu Xiaobei and Lu Zhanguo thought that Qin Ximei would stay, but she left after lunch. Gu Xiaobei was puzzled and asked Lu Zhan Guo, "What was the purpose of her visit?"

Lu Zhanguo also didn’t understand, he shook his head and said, "She mentioned having relatives in town, but I’m not sure how she suddenly has more relatives."

Gu Xiaobei suddenly remembered seeing Jia Xiu and asked Lu Zhanguo, "I saw Jia Xiu the other day, could she be from around here?"

"I’m not sure. If I’m not home and she comes to bother you with any harsh words, just ignore her." Lu Zhanguo was worried that Qin Ximei would upset Gu Xiaobei.

Gu Xiaobei nodded and said, "Don’t worry, as long as she doesn’t physically hurt me, I’ll be fine. I don’t care about other people’s slander."

Lu Zhanguo stroked her head, admiring how she always took things in stride and didn’t dwell on the negatives.

Gu Xiaobei gently touched her stomach and spoke, "We should build a chicken cage by the window, and raise a few chickens. This way, our child can eat fresh eggs."

Lu Zhanguo has always been very accommodating to Gu Xiaobei’s wishes, especially now that they were expecting a child. The next day, he used scrap materials from the vegetable garden to build a chicken cage under the kitchen balcony. He bought a dozen chicks from a local farmer. The fluffy chicks were cute but their survival rate was low. By the time they reached adolescence, only four or five were left. Every time a chick died, Gu Xiaobei would mourn for a while.

Once May passed, Gu Xiaobei felt her stomach growing dramatically. It felt so heavy that she had to support it when she walked, and she could only sleep on her side.

Li Fengmei joked, "I’m sure you will give birth to a big eight or nine pounds baby boy."

Gu Xiaobei laughed and followed Li Fengmei to the vegetable garden with her hands on her stomach. The celery and cucumbers were ready to eat in the garden while the tomatoes and chillies would be ready by the end of June. Li Fengmei picked the vegetables, while Gu Xiaobei, holding her stomach, bent down and plucked some hay, planning to mix it in the chicken feed.

Just as she started pulling up the hay, Lu Zhanguo hurriedly ran over and said, somewhat reluctantly, "We have a mission and probably won’t be back for half a month. If you need anything, ask Fengmei."

A feeling of unease immediately washed over Gu Xiaobei, but she still managed to smile and say, "You go ahead, Fengmei lives upstairs, I can just call her if I need help."

Lu Zhanguo looked at Gu Xiaobei’s stomach with a hint of worry, "Should I ask Aunt Wang to come and keep you company for a few days?"

"No need, it’s still a long time before the baby comes. You should go, I’ll be fine," Gu Xiaobei reassured him.

On the side, Li Fengmei chimed in, "Captain Lu, you go ahead. Zhang Lijun can go with you. I’ll simply bring Dadong and Xiaodong to stay at your place tonight. That should put your mind at ease."

Lu Zhanguo, satisfied with Fengmei’s response, extended his hand to touch Xiaobei’s face, but because Fengmei was standing there, he pulled his hand back halfway. He gave Xiaobei a long, deep look before turning around and rushing off.

After watching Lu Zhanguo run off into the distance, Li Fengmei sighed and said, "You know, it’s said that having an elder in the house is like having a treasure. Even though you don’t get along with your mother-in-law, when it comes to having a child, no one beats a grandmother."

Gu Xiaobei gave a bitter smile. Her mother-in-law had made her position clear, she would not be helping out with the baby.

In the evening, after dinner, Li Fengmei did in fact bring the two children downstairs to stay, saying. "With your stomach being this big, it’s better to have someone by your side. Anyway, I have nothing to do, I’ll stick with you, otherwise, I won’t be at ease."

Seeing Li Fengmei, Gu Xiaobei felt more secure. After cleaning up, Li Fengmei took the children to stay in the guest room, reminding Xiaobei to call if she needed anything.

Lu Zhanguo had been home every night for the past two months. Suddenly him not being around felt strange to Xiaobei. She couldn’t sleep and turned restlessly on her bed. The baby in her stomach was especially active, kicking and punching, it was only late into the night when she finally fell into a light sleep, only to be woken by a leg cramp.

With great effort, Gu Xiaobei propped herself up on the bed, grimacing in pain as her leg muscle cramped painfully. She bit her lower lip, trying to stretch out her leg, but it didn’t help. The pain brought tears to her eyes.

She tried to move her leg off the bed, putting her foot on the ground first and gradually shifting her weight onto it. The pain was so intense it shot right up to her belly. She ended up sitting on the edge of the bed again, massaging her leg and trying to move it gently. The tears began to fall freely.

The next morning, Li Fengmei saw that Gu Xiaobei’s eyes were slightly swollen and almost jumped in fright. "What happened to you, sis?"

Gu Xiaobei pursed her lips and said with a hint of grievance, "I had a leg cramp last night and couldn’t sleep well because of the pain."

Li Fengmei comforted her, "It’s common in the later stages of pregnancy. Try soaking your feet in warm water before sleeping, it might help."

Gu Xiaobei nodded, "Alright, I’ll try it tonight."

"As your pregnancy progresses, you need to be more careful. Looking at your belly, it seems to be dropping. Are you sure you didn’t get the dates wrong?" Li Fengmei said while looking at Gu Xiaobei’s belly.

Gu Xiaobei quickly calculated again in her head and found no mistake. Shaking her head, she said, "I didn’t get it wrong, my last period was at the end of October, so I’m just over seven months pregnant now, right?"

Li Fengmei looked worried and said, "I’ll come over and keep you company every night for the time being, just to be safe."

Gu Xiaobei nodded, everything related to the baby’s arrival was important and there was no room for negligence.

As the two of them were chatting at home, Qu Yan showed up for a visit. She smiled and said to Gu Xiaobei, "Sis, I was doing nothing at home so I thought I’d come over and stay for a while." After that, she greeted Li Fengmei and said, "Aunt Fengmei, you are here too."

Gu Xiaobei didn’t feel like talking and silently sat on the edge of the bed in a guest room. Qu Yan instinctively brought over a stool to sit down and said, "Sis, you should tell me when you are due to give birth. I’ve got nothing to do at home."

"It’s still a long way off, there’s nothing to worry about yet," Gu Xiaobei said, not wanting to owe Qu Yan any favors.

Curious, Li Fengmei asked Qu Yan, "When are you and Xiangyang planning on having a child? You’re not that young anymore."

Qu Yan awkwardly smiled and said nothing. Since moving into their new home, Xiangyang came home every night but only slept on the folding bed in the living room. He never entered their room or spoke to her, treating her like a stranger.

Every day, watching from her window as Xiaobei and Zhanguo took their evening walks after dinner, she felt envy and jealousy. Especially when Zhanguo walked by Xiaobei’s side, showering her with love and attention, it made Qu Yan feel bitter. Why hadn’t she met such a wonderful man sooner?