Back To The 80s

Gu Xiaobei carried Mo Wang upstairs, but her mind was occupied by Shi Xiuying’s words. The oldest son of the Lu family no longer existed because of Wen Xiuqing’s mistake, and so, for many years, her mother-in-law had been living in a shadow of self-reproach. That made Gu Xiaobei even more curious. What exactly happened that year?

She definitely couldn’t ask Lu Zhanguo about it. From his facial expression just now, it was clear that he didn’t want to revisit that part of the past.

Lu Zhanguo came back holding Xiaopang with an exasperated look on his face. When he’d gone upstairs earlier, Xiaopang had started laughing riotously, showing her little set of teeth. As she played and laughed, Lu Zhanguo sensed that something smelled off. He glanced down and saw that the mischievous child had dirtied his arm. He remembered her being changed just a while ago and hadn’t thought to put another diaper on her, and now this whole fiasco had happened.

Gu Xiaobei laughed as she put Mo Wang down on the bed. She first cleaned up Xiaopang and told Lu Zhanguo to go take a shower.

"Why are you so mischievous?" Gu Xiaobei said with a smile as she touched Xiaopang’s forehead with her own.

Xiaopang opened her little mouth and laughed even more radiantly, sputtering out chirpy noises as if trying to tell Gu Xiaobei about the grand deed she had just accomplished.

"Look how calm your brother is, little chatterbox," Gu Xiaobei said, pointing to Xiaopang’s nose and laughing. Mo Wang was lying on the bed, trying to figure out how to move forward. Upon hearing his mother praise him, he lifted his head and laughed at her.

Fang Jing, with Yueyue following closely behind, just got back from her parents’ house. Seeing the door to Gu Xiaobei’s room open, she didn’t rush to go back to her own room but instead walked in.

"What are these two cherubs so happy about?" As she cooed over Mo Wang who was laying on the bed, she encouraged him to crawl over to her.

Mo Wang was excited and repeatedly jerked his head forward, but he didn’t manage to advance even half a centimeter. Gu Xiaobei chuckled. "He’s not even six months old yet. Don’t they say a baby starts crawling between seven and eight months?"

Fang Jing rose and sat down, picking Mo Wang up. "That’s the general rule of thumb, but it’s not always accurate, Yueyue is already a year old, but she can only crawl backward, not forward."

Then Fang Jing asked Gu Xiaobei, "Did Aunt Xiuying and her daughter come?"

Gu Xiaobei nodded. "They came over for lunch, but their relationship seemed strained."

"Aunt Xiuying has a loose mouth, loves to gossip. If you say something to her at noon, she can make sure it’s known to the entire village by sundown. When mother-in-law was being re-educated, Aiguo and Ruirui were fostered at their house. By the time we got them back, Ruirui was so malnourished she could hardly walk."

"I heard that Mom gave them a lot of money and food coupons every month, and still the kids were starved like that. Meanwhile, her three kids are all plump and healthy," Fang Jing said quietly to Gu Xiaobei, sharing a little of what she knew about the past.

Gu Xiaobei found it strange. "Don’t we have other relatives? Why did they have to be sent to Aunt Xiuying’s house?"

Fang Jing grimaced. "As soon as our maternal relatives heard that mom was being re-educated, they quickly distanced themselves from us. You seriously think they would have helped with the children? It was already good enough that they didn’t report us to the authorities."

Hearing this, Gu Xiaobei understood that Shi Xiuying wasn’t all that bad. At least she was willing to take in the Lu children when the Lu family were going through hard times.

Fang Jing continued, "At first, Aunt Xiuying’s family also refused to take them in. It was only after Uncle saw the money and food coupons that Mom was giving that he agreed. Moreover, they wouldn’t let Mom visit Aiguo and Ruirui, saying it would ’cause issues’. Now thinking about it, they probably didn’t want her discovering that they were starving the kids."

"Why do we still associate with them if that’s the case?"

"Dad says that regardless of their intentions, the fact that they were willing to lend us a hand during those tough times is something we must not forget. He says, there are plenty of people who will add flowers to your tapestry, but very few will lend a hand in your hour of need." Fang Jing didn’t seem to agree with this viewpoint. She believed that Lu Songyuan was simply indulging them.

Gu Xiaobei initially wanted to ask Fang Jing about the eldest son of the Lu family, but when she saw that Lu Zhanguo had finished showering and was lingering at the door, presumably about to hang the clothes out to dry, she swallowed her words back.

Fang Jing also saw Lu Zhanguo flashing past the door. She put Mo Wang down, stood up, took Yueyue’s hand and said, "You should go to bed early, too. I’m off tomorrow, so I’ll come over to help with the kids."

Gu Xiaobei agreed with a laugh, feeling that one benefit of a big family was the abundance of helping hands. If everyone took turns holding the children, things could be a lot easier.

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Early next morning, when Shi Xiuying found out that Lu Songyuan hadn’t returned the previous night, she began to worry. She asked Wen Xiuqing, "Xiuqing, when is Songyuan coming back?"

Without raising her eyelids, Wen Xiuqing replied, "A new recruit is always busy. He’s probably been sent to the local branches. He should be able to come back after the New Year."

"Oh, but I can’t stay that long. Can’t you call him? We mustn’t delay the matter of Da Linzi any further." On hearing this, Shi Xiuying seemed a little anxious.

"I don’t know." Wen Xiuqing replied indifferently.

Not knowing what to do, Shi Xiuying considered it for a moment and then said, "In any case, I’ll stay on for a couple more days to see if Songyuan comes back. It’ll be a wasted trip otherwise."

Wen Xiuqing didn’t respond to this. Instead, she turned to Gu Xiaobei and said, "Xiaobei, come to my room, I have something to tell you."

Gu Xiaobei was feeding Xiaopang rice soup when she heard her mother-in-law call her. She was a bit taken aback. She couldn’t think of anything she could have done wrong recently.

She handed Xiaopang over to Fang Jing who was beside her and followed Wen Xiuqing into her bedroom.

Once seated, Wen Xiuqing began, "Are you and Zhanguo using contraception?"

Gu Xiaobei was taken aback. It seemed they hadn’t thought about birth control. Despite having a child, they’d not yet resumed their sex life. There was only that one time that had been interrupted by Xiaopang.

Seeing Gu Xiaobei’s awkward expression, Wen Xiuqing said calmly, "Find some time to get an IUD placed at the hospital."

Gu Xiaobei uneasily nodded her head. It felt a bit odd discussing these matters with her mother-in-law.

Wen Xiuqing noticed Gu Xiaobei’s discomfort and quickly changed the topic. "Be careful before you get the IUD. Okay, go take care of the children."

For once, Gu Xiaobei blushed and almost ran from the room.

The handful of people in the living room saw Gu Xiaobei’s flushed face when she came out and all had the same thought. Wen Xiuqing must have given Gu Xiaobei a hard time, and the blush was out of anger.

Gu Xiaobei didn’t care about the others’ expressions. She blushed as she pulled Fang Jing, who was holding Xiaopang, aside. "Go upstairs. I have something to talk to you about."

As soon as they entered the bedroom upstairs, Gu Xiaobei, still blushing, hesitantly asked Fang Jing, "Did you get an IUD?"

"Yes, I did. Why? Oh my, did my mother-in-law talk to you about this?" Fang Jing nodded, then suddenly comprehended the situation.

Gu Xiaobei, feeling awkward, nodded. "Yes, she did talk to me about it. Had she not done so, I would have forgotten."

Fang Jing burst into laughter. "It’s hard to understand Mom. When it was my turn, she also mentioned it to me. There are a lot of things she has suggested, but I cannot stand her attitude. Despite being part of the same family, she always treats us like outsiders and is cold towards everyone."