Back To The 80s-Chapter 178: Speed_1

The weather was cold, so Gu Xiaobei made hot soup noodles for lunch for the two children.

Chen Gang and Jiujiu appeared taller than when he first saw them, and they looked much healthier.

Jiujiu’s hair also started to shine. Gu Xiaobei had cut off a bit of the dry and yellow ends, and now it was just long enough to tie into two small ponytails. Her face looked softer and delicate after being washed and moisturized every day.

Chen Gang was becoming sturdier by the day. He started running to and from school every day. He had heard somewhere that running with sandbags tied around the legs could help improve lightness of foot. He sewed two sandbags from scrap cloth, each weighing about four or five pounds.

At first, Gu Xiaobei worried that this would stunt their growth, but Lu Zhanguo was in favor of it. He said that it was part of the army training. However, seeing that the sandbags Chen Gang sewn would easily leak sand, he gave him two made for beginner soldiers from canvas.

The weight of the sandbags was gradually increased as they got used to it. If it started to feel like nothing, they could add another pound or two.

Chen Gang could run very fast. His power at the start of the race needed some refining, but his endurance was excellent. He could run ten kilometers without showing exhaustion.

Now, in order to train Chen Gang’s arm strength, Lu Zhanguo had him carry a ten-pound stone to and from school.

Having heard many stories of Lu Zhanguo’s heroic deeds from the soldiers, and knowing that his nickname is "Cheetah" for his speed, Chen Gang viewed Lu Zhanguo as a god-like figure, and therefore trained even harder.

Seeing Chen Gang refusing to eat after finishing two bowls of noodles, Gu Xiaobei knew that he was being polite again. With such a large amount of exercise, he must be starving: "Chen Gang, you might as well finish the noodles in the pot. Jiujiu and I are full, and it won’t be good to eat the leftovers in the evening."

After hearing Gu Xiaobei say this, Chen Gang filled another large bowl from the pot.

"Do you wear those sandbags even during school?" Gu Xiaobei asked.

"Hmm, I only take them off when I sleep." Chen Gang nodded.

"Don’t tie them too tight. Otherwise, it could restrict blood circulation." Gu Xiaobei was a bit worried.

"It’s okay, I don’t even feel it when my uncle gave them to me." Chen Gang paused his eating to answer.

Gu Xiaobei nodded, and after watching the two kids finish their meal, she started speaking again, "Chen Gang, don’t forget to study English while running."

"Aunty, don’t worry, I recite out loud while running every day."

"Ah, doesn’t that make you short of breath?" Gu Xiaobei was puzzled.

"No, I felt that way on the first two days of running, now it’s easy, like walking." Chen Gang thought that the Breathing Technique that Lu Zhanguo taught him was very effective.

Gu Xiaobei was satisfied and nodded. She had heard that Chen Gang could run very fast, but she didn’t know how fast.

Dadong had also come carrying his books. In order to stay in the same class as Chen Gang, he decided to take the junior middle school entrance exam next year.

However, Xiaodong did not want to learn the tongue-twisting English and insisted on dragging Jiujiu to play with him. His school bag was half-filled with poplar leaf stalks, coloring his books green, but he didn’t care.

Jiujiu shook her head: "I won’t play, I still have to study."

"You know all that already, just play with me for a while." Xiaodong stubbornly held onto the poplar leaf stalks, pleading Jiujiu.

Li Fengmei came in, immediately grabbed Xiaodong by the ear and dragged him outside, laughed and scolded: "You don’t like studying, and you don’t let Jiujiu study. In the future, all you’ll be able to do is farm."

Gu Xiaobei laughed, and told Jiujiu, "If you want to play, just play for a while. You can’t always be studying."

"Aunty, I don’t want to play." Jiujiu was very serious.

Gu Xiaobei stroked Jiujiu’s head: "Why don’t you want to play? You can’t just read books all the time, you’ll become a bookworm."

Jiujiu shook her head: "I also want to go to junior high school as soon as possible, this way Aunty will spend less money."

Gu Xiaobei was moved by her words. She knew that Jiujiu, despite being young, had a lot on her mind. She comforted her: "Jiujiu, you have to lay a good foundation, take it slow. I’m not afraid of spending money. If you’re capable, wouldn’t you be able to earn back the money in the future?"

Jiujiu nodded. Dadong, however, cut in: "Aunty, I will give you money when I earn some in the future. I will do business and make a lot of money."

Gu Xiaobei laughed, Dadong’s ambition was indeed remarkably unyielding.

Li Fengmei brought Xiaodong back when it was time to go to school. After watching the four children walk to school, Gu Xiaobei brought out the half-finished sweater she was knitting. It was time to add the sleeves, which was a bit tricky with increasing and decreasing the number of stitches. Conveniently, Li Fengmei was around so she could keep an eye on it.

Li Fengmei examined the body of the sweater that Gu Xiaobei had knitted and said, "Sister, your skills have improved a lot since you first started."

Gu Xiaobei laughed, she also felt that she was getting better at it, sometimes she didn’t even need to look at the yarn in her hand to knit.

As the two of them were chatting, Wang Ping came for a visit. Gu Xiaobei thought Wang Ping was a nice person, it was just a matter of different approaches to doing things.

"Is Aunt Fengmei here too?" Wang Ping immediately said with a smile as she entered.

"Come in and take a seat." Gu Xiaobei invited Wang Ping.

As soon as she sat down, Wang Ping started, "Sister, don’t get me wrong. I visited Xiangmin only to see if she could help my husband with his job. When it comes to relationships, I know who is close and who is distant."

"Let’s each mind our own business, don’t overthink it. We don’t misunderstand, and don’t take Sun Aiqin’s words to heart, she’s quite straightforward." Li Fengmei also thought it’s better to clear the matter up. They were all living in the same compound, seeing each other every day.

Gu Xiaobei also nodded in agreement with Li Fengmei’s words. Compared to the intrigues of the workplace, this was nothing.

Wang Ping sighed: "In terms of ability, Chang Yuan is indeed stronger than Xiangyang. For this matter, Xiangyang even went to the hospital to make a scene with Xiang Min. I heard that when Instructor Guo went to visit Xiang Min later, the two of them had a big argument. Xiang Min stated that if Xiang Yang wasn’t transferred back to logistics, she would stay in the hospital indefinitely."

Gu Xiaobei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. What would that bratty Xiang Min achieve? The army wasn’t her family’s business and could not be changed just like that.

Wang Ping continued: "Instructor Guo finally threatened Xiang Min, saying if she didn’t return in a few days, they would divorce."

Li Fengmei disdainfully said: "Xiang Min is taking advantage of having Guo’s baby in her belly, otherwise how would she dare to be so audacious?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"I heard that Instructor Guo has already sent a telegram to his home, asking his mother to come and take care of Xiang Min, so that Dr. Chi won’t have to stay there all the time."

"This is going to be quite a spectacle. Mrs. Guo came to visit during the New Year the year before last, and she and Xiang Min had a big fight over a bowl of dumplings. Mrs. Guo said that Xiang Min had already eaten twenty dumplings and shouldn’t eat anymore, saying that eating too much was a waste of food." Li Fengmei shook her head. It was strange that they could live in peace with such a mother-in-law.

Gu Xiaobei had never heard of a fight over an extra dumpling, it was too novel to her. But thinking about it, the days ahead for the Guo family were bound to be lively.