Back To The 80s-Chapter 221 - 231: Mother-in-law (Additional updates with 280 monthly ticket purchase)_1
Gu Xiaobei washed her feet, then removed the clothes she had worn for three days on the train. Even she was bothered by them. Sliding into bed, she thought about taking a bath first thing in the morning.
When Lu Zhanguo returned, he saw Gu Xiaobei burrowed under the quilt, exposing only a tiny face to the outside, and looking at him with bright eyes.
"Why aren’t you asleep yet?" Lu Zhanguo lifted the quilt and climbed in, only to be startled by the fact that she was naked.
As soon as Lu Zhanguo lay down, Gu Xiaobei, like a little snake, wound around him and in a soft voice asked, "Why aren’t you happy, husband? Let me know what’s wrong, I can help you".
Lu Zhanguo gently stroked her silky smooth back and suppressed his instinctive reaction, his voice hoarse as he said, "I’m fine. Go to sleep now, it’s very late."
"I know you don’t want me to worry, but let me tell you, I will always be by your side." Gu Xiaobei murmured, rubbing her head subtly against Lu Zhanguo’s chest like a cat.
Lu Zhanguo laid on his side, hugging her, and after a brief silence, said, "It’s late. Let’s sleep."
Gu Xiaobei raised her face and feigned annoyance, saying, "After hearing what I’ve said, my dear husband, you should be moved and say ’It’s so good to have you.’"
Lu Zhanguo was silent, finding it too embarrassing to utter the words ’It’s so good to have you.’
Gu Xiaobei then dramatically gave Lu Zhanguo a smacking kiss on the face, saying, "This is a happiness stamp for your face. Does it make you feel a little better?"
Lu Zhanguo, seeing the twinkle in her eyes contrasted with a subtle concern, couldn’t help but smile, "I’m fine. You’ll understand some things in the future." Lu Zhanguo did not know where to start explaining his family affairs.
Gu Xiaobei slept until more than ten o’clock in the morning. When she woke up and saw the sunlight outside the window, she yelled in her mind, ’This is bad!’. She had been sleeping till now and her mother-in-law might be displeased.
Gu Xiaobei hurriedly put on her clothes, put on shoes, and prepared to go downstairs. Lu Zhanguo came in from the door, "You’re awake? Wash up, lunch is almost ready."
"Lunch? Is it that late? Why didn’t you wake me up." Gu Xiaobei said hastily.
"First go to the second-floor bathroom to wash and brush your teeth, I’ll go warm up some milk for you. After you drink it and take a shower, then come downstairs for lunch." Lu Zhanguo arranged.
Gu Xiaobei hesitated, "Is that ok? Would mom mind it?"
"It’s fine, go on, I’ll go heat up the milk." Lu Zhanguo said and turned to leave.
After drinking the milk and taking a shower, Gu Xiaobei came downstairs to see a young man and woman sitting on the sofa of the living room with Lu Zhanguo and Wen Xiuqing.
The man looked somewhat like Lu Zhanguo, but his skin was lighter, less sharp, and more unruly. This must be Lu Zhanguo’s younger brother, Lu Aiguo, and the serene, elegant woman beside him must be his sister-in-law, Fang Jing.
As soon as Lu Aiguo saw Gu Xiaobei coming down, he quickly stood up, "Sister-in-law, you must be tired from the journey." Fang Jing also stood up and called her ’sister-in-law.’
Gu Xiaobei gave an embarrassed smile and nodded. Then she sat next to Lu Zhanguo and addressed Wen Xiuqing, "Mom, sorry I woke up late."
Wen Xiuqing remained cold and indifferent, barely acknowledging with a monosyllabic mumble.
Gu Xiaobei felt wholly embarrassed. This mother-in-law was proving to be much more difficult to handle than Ding Guihua. Lu Zhanguo’s face instantly darkened.
Noticing the icy atmosphere, Lu Aiguo nudged Fang Jing, saying, "Fang Jing, why don’t you go check if Auntie Li has finished cooking lunch? I’m starving."
Fang Jing smiled at Gu Xiaobei and prepared to stand up and go to the kitchen. Feeling uncomfortable sitting down, Gu Xiaobei said, "I’ll go and take a look too.", and followed her into the kitchen.
The kitchen was large. Auntie Li, a forty-something industrious woman, was stewing meat over the stove.
Fang Jing led Gu Xiaobei away and spoke softly, "Don’t let her bother you. That’s just how our mother-in-law is."
Gu Xiaobei smiled as if she didn’t care, but thought to herself that this mother-in-law was an expert in acting cold and distant. Easier to ignore than to try to please her.
Auntie Li had prepared a lavish lunch with white cut chicken, braised fish, stir-fried mutton with spring onions, braised pork, fried leeks and eggs, and even off-season green vegetables, stir-fried baby rape, and spinach ball soup.
Gu Xiaobei and Fang Jing helped bring the dishes and announced that lunch was ready.
Wen Xiuqing sat at the head of the table, with her two sons on either side. Gu Xiaobei took a seat next to Lu Zhanguo, and opposite Fang Jing.
Gu Xiaobei noticed that Wen Xiuqing ate very slowly and used serving chopsticks to pick up food. The meticulousne XX of this meal struck her as odd, considering that people who had survived wartime usually weren’t so particular about such formalities.
Lu Aiguo was just about to use his chopsticks to pick up some food when Wen Xiuqing reprimanded him: "Use the serving chopsticks!"
Lu Aiguo grumbled in dissatisfaction, "We’re family. Does everything have to be so formal?"
"Don’t talk during meals!" Wen Xiuqing said coldly.
Gu Xiaobei felt miserable throughout the meal, not because the food was bad, but because the atmosphere was extremely oppressive. This didn’t feel like a family meal.
Lu Zhanguo ignored his mother’s order. He used his own chopsticks to serve Gu Xiaobei a piece of fish, a piece of chicken and some greens.
Wen Xiuqing’s face darkened, but she kept her silence, threw down her chopsticks and walked out.
Lu Aiguo, being more lively, exaggeratedly sighed with relief and said, "Good, now we can eat as we like. Don’t be polite."
Without Wen Xiuqing there, Fang Jing began to speak more, softly asking Gu Xiaobei, "Sister-in-law, how many days will you stay home this time?"
"Probably five or six days." Gu Xiaobei included the eight days of travelling back-and-forth in calculation.
"Not staying for the Spring Festival? We were hoping you could spend it with us," Fang Jing said, sounding a bit disappointed.
Lu Aiguo remembered to ask, "Bro, why did you and sister-in-law suddenly come back?"
"Mother said there was a major incident at home. I couldn’t get ahold of father, so we came back to check. How is Ruirui?" Lu Zhanguo obliged to help Gu Xiaobei with her meal while he asked.
Lu Aiguo looked embarrassed, "Ruirui is fine. You know her temper. It wasn’t a big deal originally. Chen Dajun hit Ruirui. I went over to argue with him, and got into a fight. One of Chen Dajun’s relatives pushed me and I twisted my arm when I hit the wall."
"After lunch, let’s go see Ruirui together." Lu Zhanguo said, somewhat helplessly.
Lu Aiguo nodded, then said to Fang Jing, "We’ll pick up Yueyue later today."
Fang Jing nodded. Gu Xiaobei knew that Yueyue was their daughter who was three or four years old. She curiously asked, "You came over here, why didn’t you bring Yueyue?"
Fang Jing looked a bit embarrassed, but Lu Aiguo didn’t care and said, "Our mother doesn’t like Yueyue."
Gu Xiaobei felt that Wen Xiuqing’s character was quite quirky and even volatile at times.
After the four had eaten, Gu Xiaobei and Fang Jing cleared the table and went to the kitchen to wash dishes together. Auntie Li was a part-time worker who came only to cook. All household chores were done by Wen Xiuqing herself because she felt others couldn’t clean properly.
While washing dishes, Fang Jing said, "Sister-in-law, you’re lucky to live so far away. We have to deal with the daily drama."
"Don’t you also live outside?" Gu Xiaobei’s curiosity was piqued.
