Back To The 80s-Chapter 235 - 245: 30 (Additional content with 380 monthly tickets)_1
Li Fengmei laughed and said, "Three ordinary people like us can be wiser than a Zhuge Liang. But that said, neighborhood relationships can sometimes be better than family relations. So if we have any issues, we should openly communicate and solve them. It’s a way of supporting each other."
Gu Xiaobei nodded in agreement. She liked Li Fengmei’s straightforward personality.
The three of them happily discussed their New Year’s plans. Li Fengmei, having spent three Spring Festivals here, had much to share from her experiences and expertise with Gu Xiaobei and Ge Chunling.
"Since tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, we will eat lunch with the soldiers. After lunch, we will make dumplings together, set off fireworks in the evening, and also watch a movie."
Listening to this, Gu Xiaobei looked forward to the celebrations. Such a large crowd celebrating the New Year was bound to be lively.
On the morning of New Year’s Eve, Lu Zhanguo was still in bed when Gu Xiaobei woke up. She nudged him and said, "Wake up, no time for lazing around today."
Lu Zhanguo was helpless. What was the fuss? It was just the New Year, but she was excited and couldn’t sleep.
"Let’s eat breakfast. Then, we’ll put up the couplets," said Gu Xiaobei, excitedly dressing herself. She was three months pregnant, and the bump was visibly protruding from her abdomen.
Lu Zhanguo watched as Gu Xiaobei hurriedly pulled on a sweater, his warm eyes resting on her small belly. He couldn’t help but reach out and touch it.
Gu Xiaobei paused in pulling down her sweater, her eyes wide as she looked at Lu Zhanguo and blurted out, "Have you prepared red envelopes for our son?"
As Lu Zhanguo stroked her small belly, he chuckled, "I have, but he can’t receive it yet, right?"
Gu Xiaobei’s eyes twinkled with a crafty light. "His mother can keep it for him, remember to give the red envelope."
"Okay, I’ll give him the red envelope," said Lu Zhanguo, amused. They had a laughing tumbling bout in bed then got out of it.
After breakfast, some older boys in the courtyard had already started setting off fireworks. These were not electric sparklers like the recent ones, but smaller strings of firecrackers with less power and not as loud.
The boys unwound the strings of firecrackers into individual pieces and put them in their pockets. They used thread from their mothers’ sewing baskets or a stick of incense to light the firecracker, removing one from their pocket and throwing it after lighting it, causing a muted "pop" sound.
Inside the house, Gu Xiaobei was mixing paste and hearing an occasional firecracker from the courtyard. She felt that this was the true atmosphere of the New Year.
Once the paste cooled, Gu Xiaobei started to measure where to affix the couplets on the doors. She feared that she might miss the auspicious time.
When she finished putting up the couplets, Li Fengmei came and invited her to the canteen.
As the two of them prepared to go downstairs, Xiangmin and Ding Guihua stepped out of their room. Xiangmin appeared sullen and did not speak.
Ding Guihua, however, said to Gu Xiaobei, "How many months pregnant are you? You don’t seem to show much."
"Three months," replied Gu Xiaobei dismally. She was wearing a down jacket, making it hard to notice any changes.
"Three months? You’re going to give birth in summer. It’s certainly going to be tough. You can’t shower or even open the window. Heat rashes would pop up all over your body," Ding Guihua said sympathetically.
Gu Xiaobei hadn’t considered this. Hearing Ding Guihua’s words, she felt nervous.
Li Fengmei comforted from the side, "It’s alright. By the time you give birth, we’ll move to the new house. The place will be larger. Also, during the summer here, while it is hot outside, it’s relatively cool indoors."
Upon consideration, Gu Xiaobei agreed. Worrying too much currently was merely looking for trouble. While she was not afraid of hardship, she didn’t want the baby to suffer.
Off to the side, Xiangmin snickered maliciously. Gu Xiaobei didn’t bother arguing, not wanting someone else to ruin her New Year spirit.
When the military celebrated the New Year, family members accompanied their men. Whichever unit the men served in, the families celebrated with them.
Gu Xiaobei and a few others belonged to the Regimental Headquarters family group. Due to the small number of people in the Headquarters, they had been divided among various battalions. The only thing that displeased Gu Xiaobei was the fact that she was assigned to the same battalion as Xiangmin, while Li Fengmei’s family was assigned to the Communications Battalion.
Lu Zhanguo and his fellow soldiers had left for the barracks early, so Gu Xiaobei had to proceed with Ding Guihua and Xiangmin to the Third Battalion.
Ding Guihua was someone who loved to gossip. She said to Gu Xiaobei, "It seems as though your baby is a girl." There was an unmistakable note of regret in her tone.
Gu Xiaobei was rather bothered by Ding Guihua’s tone. What was wrong with a girl? Yes, she often talked about having a son, but it wasn’t like she was sexist. Daughters were treasures too. Why did Ding Guihua have this regretful tone as if having a daughter was a disgrace?
Noticing that Gu Xiaobei stayed silent, Ding Guihua continued on her own accord. "People say mothers become less attractive when they give birth to sons, but you seem to become prettier during your pregnancy. I’m sure it’s a girl."
Xiangmin, overhearing their conversation, felt satisfied. After all, during these times of strict birth control, having a son would raise a woman’s status significantly within her in-laws’ family.
Gu Xiaobei caught sight of the triumphant Xiangmin and felt a rush of mischief. If Xiangmin wanted to make her feel uncomfortable, Gu Xiaobei would ensure Xiangmin wouldn’t have it easy either. Smiling at Ding Guihua, she said, "Auntie, you’re really lucky, having a surefire grandson. Plus, it was almost two."
Upon hearing this, Xiangmin was so angry she felt like she was going choke. At home, Ding Guihua often scolded her about this, and now that Gu Xiaobei had brought it up, Xiangmin shot Gu Xiaobei a venomous glance.
As expected, upon hearing Gu Xiaobei’s words, Ding Guihua shot Xiangmin a sharp glance and said, "Exactly! I always say I’m a lucky person, but this glutton here has ruined half of my blessed fortune."
Gu Xiaobei saw the duo’s uncomfortable expressions and instantly felt better.
Red couplets had already been affixed to the main entrance of the barracks canteen. Inside, more than thirty large round tables were lined up in two rows. Including the seasoned soldiers and the newly enlisted ones, there were around three hundred men.
Cold dishes were already on the tables, while a dozen soldiers were bustling about in the kitchen, cooking and stewing meat.
It reminded Gu Xiaobei of a wedding banquet. The soldiers hadn’t arrived yet, so Gu Xiaobei found a place near the wall to sit down, far from Xiangmin and her mother-in-law.
The soldiers who were to cook took turns to bring out piping hot dishes – stewed pork with glass noodles, braised fish, stir-fried pig’s blood with pickled pepper, and a dish of braised chicken pieces. All were served in large bowls.
There were also four cold dishes – shredded radish salad, tickle-taste strips, stir-fried pork liver, and a large plate of pork head meat.
Given the limited daily food allowance for the soldiers, the mess hall had done remarkably well to prepare the feast under budget. Thanks to several fat pigs raised by the cooking team, they were able to serve up such a spread.
Just as the dishes were being arranged on the tables, synchronized chants of "one-two-one, one-two-three-four" approached from a distance.
After singing a song at the canteen entrance as usual before a meal, a leader gave a speech. Gu Xiaobei listened to Lu Zhanguo’s message with pride. This powerful and domineering man was her man!
