Back To The 80s-Chapter 229 - 239: Birthday (Ask for Monthly Tickets)_1
After Qin Ximei left, Wen Xiuqing immediately changed the sofa covers and started to wash them in the toilet. She didn’t even come out for dinner.
Gu Xiaobei was particularly curious about how Wen Xiuqing raised three kids like this. She suddenly remembered that she hadn’t asked Lu Zhanguo why Lu Ruixue called him brother. She turned to Lu Zhanguo, who was reading the newspaper at the table, and asked, "Why does Ruixue call you big brother, and Yueyue calls you uncle?"
Lu Zhanguo paused in flipping through the newspaper, fell silent for a moment, then said, "Haven’t I mentioned before? I had a twin brother who died when we were just over a year old."
Gu Xiaobei was taken aback and apologized awkwardly, "I’m sorry." She recalled that Lu Zhanguo had indeed mentioned the time when his mother was pregnant with him and his brother, but her attention hadn’t been on that at the time.
"It’s okay, go to sleep earlier. Tomorrow, Chen Dajun, Ruixue, Aiguo, and Fang Jing are all coming back with Yueyue. It’s going to be a busy day," he said.
Every night, after Gu Xiaobei undressed, she would lift her shirt and touch her belly. Today, she had the inexplicable feeling that her flat tummy had a slight bulge.
"Husband, husband, come over here. Doesn’t my belly seem bulging?" when they were alone, Gu Xiaobei always called Lu Zhanguo husband.
"It seems so," Lu Zhanguo came over to look and curiously touched it, too.
The two first-time parents-to-be put their heads together, analyzing their observation.
Gu Xiaobei was woken up early in the morning by the noise downstairs. Glancing at the watch under her pillow, it was just past seven. It seemed Lu Zhanguo was right, she couldn’t enjoy a lie-in with the house full of people today.
After getting up and washing, she came downstairs to see Lu Ruixue and Yueyue playing table tennis on the dining table in the living room. Yueyue, not yet four, was standing on a stool and couldn’t catch any balls. It seemed that Lu Ruixue was just trying to amuse the child, laughing heartily.
Chen Dajun wasn’t there, she had no idea why he hadn’t come. Lu Zhanguo and Lu Aiguo were playing chess on the sofa. Wen Xiuqing was sitting on a single sofa, watching everyone with a tender expression, though her lips were pursed tight.
"Did you get up? Fang Jing is making breakfast in the kitchen," Lu Zhanguo said, looking up as he saw Gu Xiaobei coming downstairs. He thought she could get along with Fang Jing, so he suggested she join her in the kitchen.
"Okay, I’ll go and see." Gu Xiaobei turned to greet Wen Xiuqing, and was surprised when Wen Xiuqing nodded back with a rarely seen gentle expression. She then entered the kitchen.
"Sister-in-law, did we wake you up?" Fang Jing was mixing a cold salad and smiled when she saw Gu Xiaobei come in.
"Why did you guys come over so early today?" Gu Xiaobei curiously asked.
Fang Jing skillfully put the radish mix into a dish and exclaimed, "You don’t know? Today is brother’s thirty-first birthday."
Gu Xiaobei was stunned; she indeed didn’t know that, and Lu Zhanguo hadn’t mentioned it to her either.
Seeing Gu Xiaobei’s surprised face, Fang Jing laughed and said, "It doesn’t matter if you didn’t know, brother doesn’t like celebrating his birthday. Since we all happened to be home this year, Aiguo and Ruixue decided we should at least have a birthday meal for him."
Gu Xiaobei felt a little awkward, "I didn’t prepare any gift for him. How about I cook lunch and give Aunt Li a day off?"
Fang Jing laughed out loud, "Do you need to prepare any gift? Isn’t the best gift for him already in your belly?"
Gu Xiaobei thought about it and laughed, "True, I guess this gift is indeed precious."
"Besides, we’re not having our meals at home today, we’re going to eat roast duck, our treat," said Fang Jing generously.
Gu Xiaobei knew that Lu Aiguo was a tax office employee, and Fang Jing worked in a textile factory. Both were salaried employees and their conditions were pretty good.
"Alright, I’ve never had roast duck before, oh and I bought some clothes for both you and Yueyue yesterday. You can check them out later," Gu Xiaobei didn’t stand on ceremony. However, they didn’t buy any clothes for Lu Ruixue yesterday, so she thought it would be better to give her a red packet worth fifty yuan.
"You’re too polite, now that you’re both going to be parents, there will be more expenses ahead," said Fang Jing.
Hearing Fang Jing’s words, Gu Xiaobei just smiled. She didn’t mention that she could also earn money; it would have led to explanations about her proficiency in English.
For breakfast, Fang Jing had prepared millet porridge, warm white buns, a radish salad, and a dish with soybean paste.
The dish was made by diced pork skin, green peas, diced carrots, and dried tofu cooked together. It looked like jelly when cooled and was eaten with dipping vinegar.
During breakfast, Fang Jing couldn’t resist asking Lu Ruixue, "Ruixue, is Chen Dajun coming later?"
Lu Ruixue snorted, "If he dares not come, I will divorce him when we get home!"
Wen Xiuqing glared at Lu Ruixue, "Don’t use divorce to scare people. If you have the guts, silently divorce them straight away!"
Lu Ruixue’s annoyance was apparent, "Mother, are you really my mother? Do you even behave like a mother? Since my childhood, did you ever take care of me for a single day?" Saying this, her eyes started to well up.
Wen Xiuqing turned pale and remained silent, while Lu Aiguo glared at Lu Ruixue, "Just eat your food, why do you always complicate things?"
Lu Ruixue glared back at Lu Aiguo, "Stop pretending to be the good guy. If you are that good, why did you move to Tube Building? Living here in the villa feels so spacious."
Fang Jing felt awkward and fed Yueyue in silence.
Seeing the situation, Gu Xiaobei hurriedly lowered her head and kept drinking her porridge. The best way to handle such a situation is to keep a low profile.
Lu Aiguo was about to speak, but seeing Lu Zhanguo’s cold gaze toward him, he turned to Lu Ruixue and said, "You’re such an ingrate."
Wen Xiuqing released her chopsticks, "If you don’t want to eat, go away." She said, standing up and going back to her bedroom.
Gu Xiaobei was taken aback, then noticed that everyone else simply continued eating and drinking like nothing had happened.
She recalled their first meal when Wen Xiuqing had left because of the issue with the communal chopsticks. Even then, her departure hadn’t affected the meal.
It seemed like such incidents were common in this family, and everyone had grown accustomed to them.
After breakfast, while Gu Xiaobei and Fang Jing were washing dishes in the kitchen, Gu Xiaobei couldn’t help but ask Fang Jing, "Mom’s angry now, will she still go with us later?"
"Yes, she’ll go. Her mood’s always unpredictable – sometimes she’s very chatty, sometimes she won’t say a word," Fang Jing said nonchalantly.
As expected, when everyone was preparing to go out, Wen Xiuqing came out of her bedroom expressionless and said to Lu Zhanguo, "Let’s go."
Lu Aiguo had borrowed a small sedan somehow. He was driving, with Lu Zhanguo as his co-passenger.
Gu Xiaobei, Fang Jing, Wen Xiuqing, Lu Ruixue with Yueyue were all squeezed in the back seat. Thankfully, all four of them were slim and thus it was doable. Fang Jing had Yueyue sitting on her lap.
When they arrived at Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, Chen Dajun was already there, waiting at the entrance in his blue cotton coat.
"Why are you so late? I’ve been here for ages," Chen Dajun asked anxiously upon seeing Lu Ruixue.
Lu Ruixue shot him a withering look, "Just look at the disgraceful state you’re in. The minute you hear about a free meal, you hang around in front of the restaurant like a dog."
Stung by this remark, Chen Dajun’s face alternated between red and white.
