Back To The 80s-Chapter 239 - 249: Kiss (Seeking Monthly Ticket)_1
Gu Xiaobei took advantage of the situation to sit on Lu Zhanguo’s lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and asked curiously, "What’s the matter?"
Lu Zhanguo hugged her, buried his face in her neck, and said with a magnetic voice, "Nothing, I just wanted to hold you."
"Hehe, feel free to hug. Of course, you can do whatever you want," Gu Xiaobei teased.
Lu Zhanguo did not respond. Instead, he slipped his hand into Gu Xiaobei’s clothes and touched her slightly protruding belly. He had not drunk much and was considering the matters regarding Gu Xiaobei giving birth in the fall and his admission to military academy.
If he had to give up something, he was willing to let go of the opportunity to further his studies. He believed he could strive for a bright future on his own.
Seeing Lu Zhanguo silent, Gu Xiaobei thought he was drunk and couldn’t help but touch his face and say, "Finish your tea first, then rest for a while."
"Alright," Lu Zhanguo agreed, but he didn’t drink his tea. Instead, he directly carried Gu Xiaobei into the room for a good night’s sleep.
After they were both naked, Lu Zhanguo cautiously asked, "Is this okay?"
"It should be okay, right?" Gu Xiaobei had no experience in this regard. The two novices completed their first "homework assignment" after finding out about the baby.
The second day of the Chinese New Year was the day to visit her mother’s family. Now, Gu Xiaobei had no family to visit. She wanted to go to the city, but there were no hitched rides available, and public transport had ceased operation for the New Year’s holiday.
While Lu Zhanguo was on shift, Gu Xiaobei sat at home with nothing to do, until Qin Li brought Jiujiu over.
"How did you come? The buses have all stopped running," Gu Xiaobei said, surprised and delighted.
"Uncle Jin arranged for us to be driven here and picked up again tomorrow," said Qin Li, removing her thick scarf and down coat.
Jiujiu excitedly pulled on Gu Xiaobei and said, "Auntie, happy New Year. Jiujiu has come to pay a New Year visit."
"Good, Jiujiu is such a good girl," Gu Xiaobei looked at Jiujiu, who had grown a bit taller and looked cuter under the care of Zhuang Shuxian.
"We had planned to come earlier, but Uncle Jin and the others were too busy, and no one could drive us over. Jiujiu has been talking about you every day. As soon as the first day of the New Year was over, we rushed over here." Qin Li was laughing, looking at Gu Xiaobei’s bulging belly: "Wow, it’s grown so quickly. After you give birth, I’ll come to take care of you during your postnatal confinement."
Gu Xiaobei laughed and said, "Cut it out. You can’t even cook. If I have my baby and you come to look after me, you’ll probably starve me to death."
Qin Li retorted, "During your postnatal confinement, you just need to eat porridge and boiled eggs. I can manage that. Don’t worry. Oh, by the way, I’ve taken unpaid leave. I don’t have to work after the New Year."
Gu Xiaobei was astonished, "If you’re not working, what are you going to do? Have you figured out your back-up plan?"
"Not yet, but after I return from Dazhao Temple, I want to start a business. How about we team up?" Qin Li scratched her head and asked Gu Xiaobei.
Gu Xiaobei thought for a moment and said, "Alright, let’s thoroughly discuss this matter when you come back. It would also be better if we can do it in the provincial city."
"Okay, we’ll talk about it later. I’m not in a rush. I’m hungry now. Do you have anything to eat? I overslept this morning and left without eating," Qin Li said without any hesitation.
"Hang in there, I’m going to prepare lunch now. We have pre-cooked food; just need to heat it up." Gu Xiaobei began to prepare lunch.
Qin Li nodded and looked around the room: "You know, if you gave birth to two or three kids, your house wouldn’t be big enough."
Gu Xiaobei glared at her, "Am I a pig that I would give birth to two or three children? Besides, we will be moving to our new house in the spring," she added, a bit proudly.
"Your room could hold a communal bed directly on the floor. Then when Jiujiu and I come over, we can stay too," Qin Li said seriously.
"Good idea. My baby can roll and sleep on it without worrying about falling off," Gu Xiaobei completely agreed.
Gu Xiaobei heated up some buns and baked meat, then fried some braised chicken pieces, stewed fish and sautéed black fungus. Even though it was just the three of them, it was the New Year after all, so she couldn’t be too casual while preparing the dishes.
As Gu Xiaobei and her family happily celebrated New Year at home, Xiang Min in the hospital was beyond annoyed.
She couldn’t accept that she had given birth to a daughter. Looking at her skinny, little girl that was barely much bigger than a kitten, she felt both frustrated and upset.
Ding Guihua went to the hospital first thing in the morning on the second day of the New Year. As soon as she walked into the ward, she gave Xiang Min a cold look. She had waited for so long only to get a malnourished granddaughter, which left her fuming.
Ding Guihua glanced at the baby beside Xiang Min and said, "I reckon this child won’t survive."
Xiang Min was furious. Even though it was a girl, she was still a part of her. Ding Guihua’s words made her feel as if her child wasn’t even as valuable as an animal. Angrily, she retorted, "Mom, this child is alive and well, why do you curse her?"
Ding Guihua scoffed, "Me? Curse her? I think she was born just to cause trouble. Giving birth on the first day of the New Year, how tough will life be for her?"
"If you hadn’t pushed me, would I have fallen? Would the baby have been premature?" Xiang Min argued back angrily.
"You give birth to a daughter and you shout at me! If you hadn’t been so careless and lost the first one, it might have been a son!" Ding Guihua replied, not backing down.
The two of them argued fiercely in the ward. Guo Huaqiang, who had gone to get hot water, came back to this scene. He yelled, "What are you two trying to do? Are we going to be able to live in peace?" Recently, he felt he was being tormented by these two women and had lost all his dignity and honor. Adding to it, he had also betrayed Lu Zhanguo.
Thinking about it now, he realized it was all because of Xiang Min’s instigations. If he hadn’t been provoked, he wouldn’t have impulsively reported Lu Zhanguo. Although Lu Zhanguo was fine now, their relationship was not as good as before, and there was a thick wall between them.
Upon being shouted at, Ding Guihua and Xiang Min were stunned. After a pause, Ding Guihua finally spoke, "Qiangzi, buy me a ticket. I am going back to the hometown. I can’t look after this master."
"Mom, at least wait till after the New Year and until Xiangmin is through her full month, otherwise what will people in the housing area say about me." Guo Huaqiang said helplessly.
Xiang Min watched coldly from the side, only to be brought back when the baby next to her started crying softly.
The baby was too small to breastfeed, so they had to use a syringe to feed her milk powder a little at a time.
Seeing this, Ding Guihua shed tears, "What kind of karma had our Guo Family accumulated to produce such a debt-collecting specter?"
Xiang Min held her breath and clenched her teeth without uttering a word, and just slowly fed the baby the milk powder.
Ding Guihua stayed in the hospital for a while before deciding to return to the housing area. There was no transportation available, so she had to walk slowly back.
When she reached the housing area, she saw Gu Xiaobei, Qin Li, and Jiujiu retrieving vegetables from the commissary. Ding Guihua felt embarrassed.
She had just finished making fun of them about to have a baby girl, and then she immediately got a granddaughter. It seemed like the heavens were slapping her in the face.
Gu Xiaobei acted as if she didn’t notice Ding Guihua’s awkwardness and greeted her with a smile, "Auntie, Happy New Year. I didn’t have a chance to wish you."
Ding Guihua gestured with her hands, "Happy New Year, it’s fine. My family has been quite restless this New Year, it’s quite the spectacle."
