Back To The 80s-Chapter 208: Waterfall (Asking for Monthly Ticket)_1
After setting a date, Zhuang Shuxian left with satisfaction, eager to get home and come back as soon as possible. She was eager to investigate what was happening in Chen Family’s Ping.
Once Zhuang Shuxian got home, she anxiously waited for Jin Xueping to finish work.
As soon as Jin Xueping arrived home from work, before he could even change his shoes, Zhuang Shuxian grabbed his sleeve in her excitement and struggled to articulate her words.
Worried, Jin Xueping asked, "What’s the matter? What happened?"
"I found... I found..." Zhuang Shuxian stammered in her excitement.
"What did you find?"
"The child of Xuerong and Jiadong... wu wu wu..." Zhuang Shuxian broke down in tears after her disclosure.
"Are you saying Jiadong and Xuerong’s child is alive and Xuerong is not dead?" Jin Xueping was also stunned by the good news, and it left him a little bewildered. He led Zhuang Shuxian to sit on the couch and excitedly asked for more details.
"I don’t know. The Jiujiu I met is our granddaughter... I can’t believe she’s been living in front of us all this time... I only recognized her today... " Zhuang Shuxian wept again, overwhelmed with emotions.
"Shuxian, don’t cry. Tell me what’s going on quickly." Jin Xueping was eager to have the full picture.
Zhuang Shuxian dried her eyes with a handkerchief, settled her feelings, and relayed the sequence of events. Then she said: "Now we’re going to confirm whether Jiujiu really is the Chen Family’s child. If not, why does she have this pendant? Besides, Jiujiu looks so much like Xuerong."
In her heart, Zhuang Shuxian was already convinced that Jiujiu was the child of Xuerong and Jiadong.
"Let’s go tomorrow." After listening, Jin Xueping was also excited and eager to meet Jiujiu forthwith.
.........
At noon, Gu Xiaobei warmed some bread and cooked some noodle soup with cabbage on her indoor stove. Then she added some green onions, chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt, with a few drops of sesame oil for flavoring. It was similar to hot and sour soup. Doing so avoided the fumes caused by frying dishes indoors, else throughout the winter, the entire room would have been covered in oil.
Chen Gang and Jiujiu didn’t look too pleased when they returned home. Gu Xiaobei figured they had debated over the issue she talked about earlier.
Unable to contain his confusion, Chen Gang asked Gu Xiaobei, "Aunt, is Jiujiu really not my little sister?"
"We’re still aren’t sure. Don’t overthink things." Gu Xiaobei tried to ease Chen Gang’s worry.
Surprisingly, Chen Gang maintained a stoic expression on his young face and added, "No wonder my fourth sister-in-law keeps disparaging her as a wild child. It must be because she’s not my real sister that she’s so ruthless." He choked back tears at the thought.
"Hasn’t anyone in your village spoken about this before?" Gu Xiaobei inquired.
Chen Gang shook his head, and after a moment of thought, he said, "Only aunt Wang often says that Jiujiu looks like her mother."
Gu Xiaobei thought to herself, it would seem the villagers know the inside story. But they’re an honest and straightforward bunch, which explains why they guarded this secret. When Jiujiu registered her residence, some villagers disagreed about the division of land, but no one ever made an unkind remark.
Standing off to one side, Jiujiu remained silent. Gu Xiaobei reached out to hold Jiujiu’s hand, "Jiujiu, if there is something bothering you, you should speak up. Don’t keep it to yourself."
"Aunt, I’m okay," Jiujiu responded firmly, shaking her head, but the look on her face suggested she was wrestling with serious thoughts.
"Alright, it’s time to eat. Jiujiu, you need to know, we all love you very much and none of us would ever abandon you." Gu Xiaobei reassured her and gently stroked Jiujiu’s head.
Chen Gang held Jiujiu’s hand and said soothingly, "Jiujiu, no matter what, you’ll always be my sister."
Jiujiu nodded in agreement and said, "Mmm."
Watching their conversation unfold, Gu Xiaobei was both touched and found wanted to laugh because this was supposed to be discussed after Jiujiu’s identity was fully discovered, and she reclaimed her ancestry.
It appeared the two children had already acknowledged the reality of the situation.
Gu Xiaobei devoted the afternoon to carefully reviewing the book transcript she’d translated.
These past two days, she had been so occupied with Jiujiu’s affairs that it was affecting her work schedule slightly. Looking at the thick stack of manuscripts, she estimated she could make a few hundred Yuan from this project.
If she truly was pregnant, she could earn a few thousand Yuan by the time her child is born. It would offer some peace of mind if she had some savings when the baby arrives.
Remembering the little cotton jacket Ding Guihua made, Gu Xiaobei worked out that if she’s pregnant for ten months, the baby should be due in late August, so she should prepare a few cotton jackets too.
Unfortunately, smart as Gu Xiaobei was, she didn’t realize that a pregnancy cycle is gauged in 28-day months. The so-called ten lunar months equates to just over nine months, so her estimated due date was a whole month late.
After some calculations, Gu Xiaobei figured if her period doesn’t arrive in two weeks, then she must be pregnant. She can then start preparing baby clothes. The thought excited her a bit.
While Gu Xiaobei was amusing herself at home, Ding Guihua and Xiangmin were arguing next door.
The loud voice of Ding Guihua resonated, "Yet eating again, all you know is eat, how come you’re so gluttonous? I prepared five pieces of meat with the vegetables, yet you ate three. Remember the old days when the good food was always for your father and mother first. Not like you, always so uncontent..." And so continued her tirade.
Gu Xiaobei chuckled to herself. They’re getting what they deserve for making a spectacle out of their lives. Thinking back, ever since the major quarrel between the mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law, Xiangmin has given her bitter looks whenever they met.
While Gu Xiaobei listened to the commotion next door, Li Fengmei brought some shoe uppers to pay her a visit.
"Sister-in-law, where will you be spending the New Year?" Li Fengmei asked Gu Xiaobei while working on the shoe uppers.
"Ah? I’m not sure. Maybe here?" Gu Xiaobei was not certain.
"Let’s go get our hair permed together. Isn’t that the latest trend? To have them curled?" Li Fengmei proposed excitedly. Yesterday, she read the newspaper she got from Zhang Lijun, and among the pages was a section featuring movie stars. Their permed hair looked rather cute.
Gu Xiaobei stared at her in horror, "I won’t go. I’ll just trim my hair a bit, that’s all." Gu Xiaobei didn’t find the notion of permed hair appealing; it looked too rigid and made one appear older.
"I mentioned it to Chunling this morning. She’s coming along as well. Let’s go together. You’d look lovely with permed hair." Li Fengmei enthusiastically tried to convince her.
"I won’t have it. I dislike it. I like straight hair." Gu Xiaobei promptly voiced her dislike.
"Then Chunling and I will go. With New Years around the corner, we should groom ourselves a bit. Plus, I’ve heard that after the New Year, Zhang Lijun and the others will have a pay rise," Li Fengmei added excitedly.
Gu Xiaobei realized that a raise in wages signaled an impending hike in prices as well.
When Lu Zhanguo came home that evening, Gu Xiaobei asked him, "Where are we spending New Year?"
"We should be here, why do you ask?"
"Nothing... Li Fengmei asked me today, so I just got curious." After replying to Lu Zhanguo, Gu Xiaobei saw Jiujiu eating her meal and said to Jiujiu, "Jiujiu, when New Year’s comes, let’s all celebrate it together, okay?" In this context, ’all’ included Zhuang Shuxian and Jin Xueping.
"Okay, can we visit my mother during New Year?" Jiujiu nodded, hesitated and then asked.
"Of course, we can all celebrate New Year’s together cheerfully."
