Back To The 80s

Jiang Jiahua had taken the day off from work and was taking Gu Xiaobei to look at a house. On the way, he couldn’t help but ask, "How old are the kids? Are they boys or girls?"

As soon as the children were mentioned, a smile appeared on Gu Xiaobei’s face, "They are boy and girl twins and are only four months old. That’s why we urgently need a place that’s comfortable for them. We can’t even properly wash diapers at the service house." Saying this, Gu Xiaobei suddenly remembered something and asked Jiang Jiahua, "You won’t mind it, right?" After all, the children were still young, so diapers were inevitable.

Jiang Jiahua was envious and chuckled, "Not at all. If my house gets graced with the joy of children, maybe I’ll be able to have twins when I get married in the future."

Gu Xiaobei laughed but didn’t continue the conversation. She thought their relationship was not there yet to make such jokes.

Jiang Jiahua’s house was located on the second floor and it was a two-bedroom apartment. The living room was so small that it couldn’t even fit a dining table. However, the master bedroom was quite spacious, and the second bedroom was a bed-stove style room. Although the house was small, the heating system was remarkably good.

Gu Xiaobei thought that it was pretty good for temporary accommodation, and expressed her gratitude to Jiang Jiahua, "Thank you so much. We may only stay for half a month. Don’t worry, we will clean everything thoroughly before we leave."

"There’s no need for such politeness. Everyone has their own inconveniences when they’re away from home. My house would be vacant anyway." Jiang Jiahua waved off, smiling. This house was the marriage suite that his family had prepared for him. It had been empty for two years now.

Gu Xiaobei returned to the hospital satisfied after leaving Jiang Jiahua’s house. Lu Zhanguo was awake, and the nurse was taking his blood pressure.

Seeing Gu Xiaobei arriving with her cheeks flushed from the cold, sweat forming on her forehead, Lu Zhanguo said sympathetically after the nurse had left, "You don’t need to come in the afternoon, I’m feeling much better."

Gu Xiaobei did not respond. First, she bent down to check Lu Zhanguo’s complexion. He seemed much better after getting some sleep. Relieved, she said smiling, "Don’t worry, I’ve just rented a house. Chunling, the children, and I will move in. This will make taking care of you much easier."

Lu Zhanguo was concerned that Gu Xiaobei had to take care of the children and him while shuttling back and forth. Thinking for a while, he said, "Renting a house is a good idea. Once I’m better in a few days, I can be discharged."

Gu Xiaobei rolled her eyes at him, sat down, and started massaging his fingers and arm to alleviate the discomfort from the IV. While massaging his arm, she said, "Stay here peacefully and focus on recovering. Once you’re absolutely fine, we can go home together."

After staying at the hospital for a while, Gu Xiaobei got some porridge from the cafeteria for Lu Zhanguo to eat, and then hurriedly went back to the service house where the two little ones were waiting to be fed.

When she returned to the service house panting and sweaty, Xiaopang was indeed crying. Li Fengmei was carrying him around the room.

Seeing Gu Xiaobei back, Li Fengmei sighed with relief and said, "Your daughter...I doubt anyone could win her over. Without her mum around, she keeps crying."

Gu Xiaobei washed her hands before taking over the baby, and only then was she able to sit down and catch her breath. This day seemed as hectic as if she had been fighting a war.

Once Xiaopang had been fed, Gu Xiaobei spoke, "I’ve found the house. But let’s first buy a couple of bed sheets and bed nets tomorrow. Fengmei, could you help me make the bedding?" Gu Xiaobei felt slightly uncomfortable using other people’s bedding.

Li Fengmei nodded, "The new fabric has to be washed before it can be used for the quilt."

Gu Xiaobei shook her head, "Let’s just make do. We don’t have time. If we wash it now, it will delay us by two more days. Thankfully, the children have their own little quilts. As long as the kids aren’t inconvenienced, it’s fine."

After spending another night in the service house, early the next morning, Gu Xiaobei went to have breakfast with Li Fengmei and the babies. After that, she took them to the house Jiang Jiahua had rented for her.

Wu Guanghan went to the hospital to see Lu Zhanguo after breakfast, so Gu Xiaobei didn’t need to rush there. She decided to quickly go buy some cotton fabric instead.

At the mall, without much ado, Gu Xiaobei quickly picked up ten meters of floral fabric, scissors, needle thread, and a tape measure. She rushed back, handed the fabric to Li Fengmei, checked on the sleeping babies, looked at the time, and felt that she could still make a trip to the hospital. She felt uneasy if she didn’t see Lu Zhanguo.

Seeing Gu Xiaobei coming in with sweat pouring down her brow again, the dark circles under her eyes deepened, and Lu Zhanguo said with concern, "Guanghan is here with me. You didn’t need to rush over. I’m feeling a lot better."

On seeing Wu Guanghan, Gu Xiaobei didn’t say anything. She just smiled at Lu Zhanguo. As long as he was alive and well, all her hardships would be worth it.

Lu Zhanguo recovered quickly. Within ten days, he could move freely and his wounds healed well. Seeing Gu Xiaobei run back and forth several times every day, each time at a panicked pace, Lu Zhanguo felt sorry for her. Since Li Fengmei had gone back and only Ge Chunling was left, Gu Xiaobei was worried that she couldn’t handle both kids, so every time she rushed to the hospital and back.

After a few days of this routine, her normally plump face had grown thin. Lu Zhanguo discussed it with the chief doctor and requested to be discharged. He was heartbroken looking at Gu Xiaobei frantically running back and forth. Besides, he missed his daughter and son as well.

The doctor checked him and thought about it before saying, "You’re lucky to live nearby. If you feel uncomfortable, get to the hospital immediately. And, remember to come in regularly to have your wounds redressed."

Gu Xiaobei felt that this was also a good plan. Staying at home to recuperate, looking at their children everyday, would not only improve his mood but speed his recovery as well. After processing the discharge formalities and when she was about to return to the ward, she bumped into Jiang Jiayan. Gu Xiaobei had a sinking feeling as she realized she had forgotten about Jiang Jiahua’s unreasonable sister. If Jiang Jiayan got to know that they were staying at her brother’s house, it could lead to a lot of trouble in the future.

Jiang Jiayan had come for a check-up. She had been married for only half a year and hadn’t conceived yet. Although her mother-in-law did not dare to criticize her outright, her attitude had clearly changed. She had come to the hospital to obtain some official results to shut her mother-in-law up and to stop her passive-aggressive comments.

Upon seeing Gu Xiaobei, Jiang Jiayan was even more infuriated. Already upset about not being pregnant, she was now more indignant having seen Gu Xiaobei. For the first time, the normally spoilt Jiang Jiayan, had to swallow her pride in front of Gu Xiaobei.

"Oh, who in your family has contracted a deadly disease? Too poor to afford treatment in the countryside that you’ve finally decided to come to the city?" Jiang Jiayan said maliciously.

Gu Xiaobei thought this was even more disgusting than stepping in dog shit. She glared at Jiang Jiayan and warned, "You should better keep a check on your words, lest you suffer retribution unknowingly."

Jiang Jiayan snorted, "I am not scared of anyone. I was just kindly reminding you that hospitals in the city are very expensive."

Gu Xiaobei didn’t feel like dealing with this sick woman. She turned around and was about to go to the ward, but her last bit of sanity reminded her that she had important matters to attend to, or else she would have stormed over and slapped Jiang Jiayan a couple of times.

Jiang Jiayan, however, was not ready to let it go just like that. With a sarcastic tone, she continued, "If you really can’t afford the treatment, once you exit the hospital, turn right. Not far away, there’s a place that sells wreaths."