Back To The 80s-Chapter 226 - 236: Deserved (Additional release for 320 monthly tickets) _1
The next day, Gu Xiaobei did not sleep in. She rose early, ate breakfast, and urged Lu Zhanguo to take her to the market.
"What do you want to eat? We could ask Auntie Li to buy it for us. It’s so cold; we shouldn’t go." Lu Zhanguo didn’t quite understand her insistence.
Gu Xiaobei whined, "I want to eat belt fish. I’ll feel better if I pick it out myself. Besides, I can check if there’s any seafood I like."
Gu Xiaobei was under the impression that there would be seafood available even in the winter in the Capital City. However, she was overly optimistic. Apart from frozen fish and shrimp, there was nothing else.
Undeterred, Gu Xiaobei asked Lu Zhanguo if there was a market for birds, flowers, fish, and insects.
"There is one close by, called Guanyuan Market." Lu Zhanguo thought for a moment and replied.
Gu Xiaobei excitedly suggested, "Let’s go check it out."
Naturally, Lu Zhanguo was more than happy to oblige her. After purchasing the frozen belt fish from the market, they visited the Guanyuan Market.
By the time they returned home, it was almost noon. As they entered the living room, they saw that Qin Ximei and her daughter were already there.
After briefly greeting Wen Xiuqing, Gu Xiaobei delivered the fish into the kitchen before heading upstairs with her cloth bag, without even glancing at Qin Ximei and her daughter.
Gu Xiaobei made a quick round upstairs and then descended without changing her clothes. Her bag remained undisturbed this time because she had deliberately locked the door before leaving.
"Zhanguo, Aiguo and Fang Jing still haven’t arrived. Let’s go outside," Gu Xiaobei said to Lu Zhanguo after descending the stairs.
Lu Zhanguo had no objections, and he stood up to follow Gu Xiaobei out of the villa.
Once they stepped outside, Lu Zhanguo queried, "Didn’t Aiguo and his wife state that they wouldn’t be coming today?"
"I can’t stand to be in the same room as those two. It’s nice to get some fresh air. We can go back when it’s time for dinner," Gu Xiaobei retorted, pouting.
Sympathetically, Lu Zhanguo nodded his head. Looking at the mountains, Gu Xiaobei commented, "The mountains must be beautiful in spring."
"Yes, they are beautiful. Covered with apricot and peach trees, the mountains burst into blossoms each spring," agreed Lu Zhanguo.
"You haven’t watched this with any other girl, have you?" Gu Xiaobei asked cheekily, her hand inside her sleeve.
"Not previously, but maybe with a girl in the future," Lu Zhanguo dutifully replied.
Gu Xiaobei nodded satisfactorily. "Well, I suppose I could reluctantly accompany you when the time comes," she said proudly.
Lu Zhanguo laughed, his eyes deep as an ancient well. "Are you still a maiden?" he asked.
Gu Xiaobei glared, playfully suggesting, "Why don’t we go back right now and find out?"
Lu Zhanguo was left speechless and once again was defeated by the thick-skinned Gu Xiaobei.
Their conversation continued sporadically until a scream from inside the house prompted Gu Xiaobei to triumphantly pull Lu Zhanguo back inside.
Upon entering the living room, they found Qin Ximei jumping around like a monkey, screaming wildly and flapping her arm about with a turtle clinging onto her finger.
The more Qin Ximei thrashed her arm, the tighter the turtle clung onto her finger. It was biting hard, and everyone knows how painful it is when a finger is hurt.
Yuan Qing was in tears, Wen Xiuqing gave Gu Xiaobei a significant look, and then said to Lu Zhanguo, "You must help your Aunt Yuan get rid of this thing."
Gu Xiaobei quietly tugged at Lu Zhanguo and said seriously, "I’ve heard that if a turtle bites your hand, you should bray like a donkey and it will let go."
At this moment, Qin Ximei was not in a position to question the truthfulness of Gu Xiaobei’s statement. Upon hearing this, she started braying like a donkey immediately.
Wen Xiuqing’s expression darkened as she glared at Lu Zhanguo, "Hurry up and help her!"
Gu Xiaobei could barely contain her laughter as she pretended to be concerned, pushing Lu Zhanguo, "Why don’t you go check? Perhaps the turtle didn’t let go because Aunt Yuan’s imitation wasn’t convincing enough."
Lu Zhanguo didn’t act until he thought Gu Xiaobei had had enough fun. Then he grabbed Qin Ximei’s arm, led her into the kitchen, and held both her hand and the turtle under the running tap.
As the water hit the turtle, it naturally let go, and Qin Ximei hastily withdrew her hand, her index finger was a bloody mess.
She came out flapping her hand around as Wen Xiuqing brought out a first aid box and treated her wound before wrapping it up in gauze.
Regaining her senses, Qin Ximei glared at Gu Xiaobei and accused her, "Did you do this on purpose?"
Gu Xiaobei blinked and asked innocently, "Aunt Yuan, what have I done on purpose?"
"Did you intentionally put a turtle in your bag intending to hurt me?" Qin Ximei asked, looking angry. When she arrived earlier in the morning, she had gone upstairs but found the door locked.
After seeing Gu Xiaobei going upstairs then coming back down, she thought the door wouldn’t be locked this time. She gave Yuan Qing a look, and Yuan Qing asked Wen Xiuqing for embroidery tools, claiming she wanted to learn embroidery.
While Wen Xiuqing went to her room to get the embroidery tools, Qin Ximei seized the opportunity to go upstairs. She opened Gu Xiaobei’s bag, and out of curiosity, she reached in and felt something under the clothes. Upon touching it, she was bitten by a turtle.
Gu Xiaobei said innocently, "Aunt Yuan, that’s my bag, and I should have the freedom to put whatever I want in it. Besides, if you had told me that you were going to look through my bag, I certainly wouldn’t have put it there."
Qin Ximei’s face turned pale, but she stubbornly retorted, "Who in their right mind puts a turtle in their bag?"
Gu Xiaobei coldly shot back, "Who in their right mind looks through other people’s bags? If you want something, you can just ask me; you don’t need to go through my stuff."
"Xiuqing, see what your daughter-in-law has done. I was only checking to see if she had secretly put anything inappropriate in there," Qin Ximei said indignantly.
Wen Xiuqing’s face fell, and she sternly said to Gu Xiaobei, "Xiaobei, apologize."
Gu Xiaobei sneered inwardly but maintained a smile on her face. She refused, saying, "Mom, I can’t apologize for this. Think about it. If news about this gets out, anyone with common sense will understand who’s in the wrong. If I apologize even though I did nothing wrong, what will others think? They’ll undoubtedly believe that you’re a wicked mother-in-law who teamed up with an outsider to bully your own daughter-in-law. In the end, it’ll be your face that will be lost."
Wen Xiuqing was speechless, but Qin Ximei refused to back down and lunged at Gu Xiaobei.
Gu Xiaobei stepped back, and Lu Zhanguo stepped in front of Qin Ximei, "Aunt Yuan, what do you want?"
"Zhanguo, are you going to let your wife defy your mother and do nothing?" Qin Ximei continued to stir the pot.
"I think she’s right. She did nothing wrong, why should she apologize?" Lu Zhanguo responded coldly.
Qin Ximei, living in her own world, promptly turned back to Wen Xiuqing and started crying, "Xiuqing, have you forgotten how I helped you back then? If it hadn’t been for me, would you still be alive? Now, you’re letting your son and daughter-in-law bully me together..."
Wen Xiuqing looked uncomfortable. After a moment of silence, she raised her head and sternly told Gu Xiaobei, "Xiaobei, you must apologize to your Aunt Yuan today."
