Back To The 80s

Chapter 260: Chapter 270: Quarrel (Additional update with 8000 recommendation tickets)_1

Because of her enormous belly, the two couldn’t embrace face to face anymore. Gu Xiaobei leaned forward, putting her slender arms around Lu Zhanguo, and complained, "Why did you come back so late? I’ve been out to check several times."

Lu Zhanguo stroked her little face, his eyes full of laughter, "I went to take care of some things and got a bit delayed. I brought some food for you."

Only then did Gu Xiaobei notice Lu Zhanguo’s bag at the door, her eyes lighting up, "What goodies did you bring?"

"Dates and walnuts, and some dried meat." Lu Zhanguo looked at Gu Xiaobei’s slightly plump face, which somehow eased the heaviness in his chest.

While Gu Xiaobei watched Lu Zhanguo taking out packs of local specialty products from X Province, she joyfully nodded her head and said, "They say eating walnuts when pregnant makes the baby smarter. I wonder if it’s too late to start now?" X Province’s walnuts had paper-thin shells, which easily crumbled to disclose the full walnut inside. They were black, having not been bleached.

"And this dried meat, I heard boiling it does the trick." Gu Xiaobei had tasted this meat before and of course knew how to cook it properly. The dried meat from X Province was made from beef or horse meat. After fresh meat pieces were marinated with the appropriate amount of mashed garlic and salt for one or two days, they were hung in a cool and well-ventilated area to dry.

Despite dried meat being suitable for frying and cooking, it tasted best when boiled. It was usually eaten with onions and the broth could be used for noodles.

Lu Zhanguo pinched Gu Xiaobei’s nose affectionately, "Where do you hear all this?"

Gu Xiaobei laughed cheekily, "Guess, is it from reading thousands of books or traveling thousands of miles? How do you think I learned all this?"

"Traveling thousands of miles," Lu Zhanguo smiled teasingly.

Gu Xiaobei’s eyes widened in surprise, "You guessed right. I really did learn all this from traveling thousands of miles." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Lu Zhanguo looked at Gu Xiaobei with a minimalistic smile and deep eyes. He knew Gu Xiaobei had a secret she hadn’t told him yet. He wasn’t impatient though. He believed she would tell him when she was ready.

After looking at the food Lu Zhanguo brought back, Gu Xiaobei hurriedly pulled him to have a meal. Knowing Lu Zhanguo had returned, she had prepared a chive and egg pancake and cooked millet porridge, even smashing a cucumber with garlic ahead of time.

After dinner, Gu Xiaobei wanted to take a walk, but seeing that it was already dark, she decided to pace around the living room while holding her stomach as Lu Zhanguo cleaned up the dishes and cutlery in the kitchen.

Upon hearing a knock on the door, Gu Xiaobei was curious. Who would visit at such a late hour? She opened the door to find Qu Yan standing outside, which immediately left a sour taste in her mouth. Blocking the doorway, she asked, "What do you want, Qu Yan?"

Qu Yan, holding a plate, gave a strained smile, "I simmered a fish today and thought it might be good for you since you’re pregnant."

"I just finished dinner and I’m too full for anything more. Plus, since I got pregnant, I can’t stand the smell of fish." Gu Xiaobei deliberately put stress on the words ’smell of fish’, a playful look in her eyes as she watched Qu Yan.

Qu Yan paused, did Gu Xiaobei discover something? That’s impossible, she hadn’t done anything to this point. Collecting herself, she laughed and said, "I saw that Captain Lu isn’t home. Even if you don’t want it, he could have it."

Gu Xiaobei snorted coldly. So this was the main purpose. She called out to Lu Zhanguo in the kitchen, "Qu Yan brought over some fish, do you want some?"

"No!" Lu Zhanguo’s rejection from the kitchen was swift and straightforward.

Gu Xiaobei gave a wry smile, "Lu Zhanguo doesn’t want it. You should take it back."

Completely embarrassed, Qu Yan had no choice but to turn around and leave with the plate in hand.

Gu Xiaobei’s loud voice reached Xiangyang, who was sitting across the door. He looked gloomy as he watched Qu Yan enter the house.

"You’re really shameless." Xiangyang humphed coldly, his voice full of menace.

Qu Yan slammed the plate on the table, indignantly saying, "How am I shameless? I’m doing this to help you."

Xiangyang stared at Qu Yan for a few minutes, then mockingly said, "Don’t pretend, Qu Yan. Do I not know what you are? You can’t wait to jump any man you see."

Qu Yan was angered as Xiangyang hit the nail on the head. She bitterly questioned, "Xiangyang, don’t tarnish my reputation. Are you not afraid of losing face from all this?"

Xiangyang sneered, "Do I still have any face left? Doesn’t everyone know I’m a cuckold? If you want to have a decent life, then rein in your lust."

Qu Yan threw the plate on the floor with a hysteric scream, "If you dare, divorce me."

Xiangyang coldly looked at Qu Yan throwing her tantrum for a long while before he got up. Approaching her, he bent down and coldly said, "As much as I, Xiangyang, enjoy being an official, I don’t dare divorce. But don’t push me. If I’m pushed to the limit, it won’t do you any good."

The malicious look in Xiangyang’s eyes made Qu Yan involuntarily shudder.

After saying his piece, Xiangyang, too indifferent to give Qu Yan another glance, left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Gu Xiaobei, who had been standing at her own door eavesdropping on the argument next door, finally retreated to her bedroom once she heard the crashing plate and the door banging shut.

Lu Zhanguo looked helplessly at Gu Xiaobei as she entered the room, belly first, "Done enjoying your dose of neighborhood drama?"

"Hey, how did you know I was watching the drama?" Gu Xiaobei sat on the bed, swung her legs onto Lu Zhanguo’s lap and ordered, "Come on, massage these legs for me."

While Lu Zhanguo twitched at the corner of his eyes, he cooperated and began gently massaging Gu Xiaobei’s legs.

With her belly now so large, Gu Xiaobei couldn’t sit upright anymore. Both her hands supported her weight behind her while she reclined back.

"Have you felt uncomfortable anywhere these past few days?" Lu Zhanguo asked while massaging her legs.

Gu Xiaobei shook her head, laughing, "Just that my stomach feels heavy, and I have to hold it while walking."

Lu Zhanguo stopped his hand, couldn’t help but reach out to touch her round belly: "Works hard, you."

Gu Xiaobei burst into laughter, "The way you put it sounds like a commander addressing his soldiers, comrades, you’ve worked hard." She continued her fit of giggles.

Lu Zhanguo fell silent and lowered his head to focus on massaging Gu Xiaobei’s legs.

After laughing enough, Gu Xiaobei corrected, "You should say, ’Honey, you’ve worked hard. From now on, I’ll take good care of you and our family.’"

Lu Zhanguo paused his hands, thinking to himself that after hearing such words, even he would get goosebumps. He couldn’t bring himself to utter it.

Gu Xiaobei struggled to sit up a bit and poked Lu Zhanguo’s arm, "Come on, study after me."

Lu Zhanguo stopped, took a glance at Gu Xiaobei, and then stood up, "I’m going to get you some water to soak your feet."

He moved quickly to leave the room.

Gu Xiaobei started laughing again as she lay down. This man actually ran away out of shyness.

By mid-June, Gu Xiaobei’s belly seemed to have stretched to its limit. It was so big she couldn’t see her toes. Getting up and lying down had become a strenuous task.

Lu Zhanguo was on a mission to the Tibetan Area and was expected to return in late June or early July.

Gu Xiaobei didn’t dare venture far from home and just paced around the house every day. Luckily, Li Fengmei didn’t leave her side.