Back To The 80s-Chapter 242 - 252: The Big Battle (Request for Monthly Tickets)_1

Upon hearing Ding Guihua swearing at her, Xiangmin, enraged, put the child on the bed and retorted, "You, an old hag, should be the one to leave!"

When Ding Guihua heard Xiangmin scolding her, she stubbornly sat down and put on a show: "Oh my god... Everyone, listen to how this daughter-in-law is cursing at her mother-in-law... Look at what the world has come to, where daughters-in-law sit on their mothers-in-law’s neck and do their business..."

Ding Guihua continued crying and banging her hands on the floor.

The door was suddenly kicked open and in walked a stern-faced Guo Huaqiang. He stared at Xiangmin, "What did you say? Apologize to my mother!"

Xiangmin snorted, "Why should I apologize? How about when your mother insulted me? Did you say anything then? Are you upset because I gave birth to a girl? Now both of you are ganging up to bully me!"

Seeing her son, Ding Guihua, feeling emboldened, cried with more vigor, "The wise saying holds, marry a virtuous wife. It’s definitely true. Look what you married; what has she done everyday?"

Begrudging, Xiangmin, ignoring Guo Huaqiang’s angry demeanor, shouted, "What did I do? Ever since I gave birth to a girl, look at your faces. Both longer than the other. What’s so wrong with having a girl? It’s your Guo family’s line that’s bad, not anyone else’s fault."

"Who are you calling bad!" On hearing these words, Ding Guihua sprung up from the ground and pointed at Xiangmin’s nose, yelling, "You evil witch, you poured oil on the doorstep, aiming to cause me to fall to my death."

Ding Guihua made such a fuss just to show Guo Huaqiang how wicked Xiangmin was to her mother-in-law, but ended up inadvertently helping Xiaobei.

Xiangmin felt choked up by Ding Guihua’s words but did not retort. She did indeed intent to harm Xiaobei – every night when the baby cried, she saw illusions of Xiaobei sneering at her. Hence, she poured oil on the doorstep hoping that Xiaobei would fall and lose her baby.

Upon hearing this, Guo Huaqiang flew into a rage feeling Xiangmin had pushed it too far. He slapped a palm over to her without hesitation.

Only then did Xiangmin react. Holding her face, she stared at Guo Huaqiang in disbelief, "You dare hit me! I’ll fight you today!" Charging at him, she scratched and kicked Guo Huaqiang.

In a conflict between a man and a woman, the woman is naturally at a disadvantage. Adding that Guo Huaqiang had a military background, in two to three moves, he grabbed Xiangmin’s arm and threw her against the wall.

Xiangmin’s head banged against the wall and she collapsed onto the floor like a rag doll.

Seeing this, Ding Guihua became afraid. Surely, Xiangmin wasn’t fatally injured with that single throw.

"Qiangzi, quickly check on her, see if she’s alright," Ding Guihua trembled as she called out.

Guo Huaqiang, a bit stunned, had acted without thinking in the heat of the moment; he feared that his full force might have caused serious harm. Seeing Xiangmin lying on the floor, taking shallow breaths, he too became scared.

He quickly picked her up, patted her face and seeing that she wasn’t responding, he ran to the medical post carrying her in his arms.

Neighbors, hearing the commotion, peeked out but none dared intervene. Only when they saw Guo Huaqiang carrying Xiangmin down the stairs, did they realize that the fight had gone too far.

Sitting at home, Xiaobei heard the argument and guessed what had happened. Though it started because of her, she felt no guilt. She was only surprised that Guo Huaqiang had actually hit Xiangmin.

Li Fengmei and Ge Chunling, having witnessed the dispute, took shelter in Xiaobei’s home. Li Fengmei was puzzled, "Why are they arguing again?"

Xiaobei, not wanting to reveal her part in the incident, shook her head and said, "I don’t know; they never stop arguing."

Ge Chunling grumbled, "This instructor seems sensible usually, why did he hit his wife?"

"I guess he lost his temper," Li Fengmei replied.

Ge Chunling sighed, "In our countryside, wife-beating is common. My mother-in-law always tells Guanghan, ’A kneaded wife is like kneaded dough, a wife needs to be beaten. Otherwise she will create chaos.’ Fortunately, Guanghan doesn’t listen to her."

Li Fengmei laughed, "When I first married Zhang Lijun, we used to fight too. We were young then and would start fighting over the smallest issues. Lucky for me, he always held back. Otherwise, I, being so petite, wouldn’t be able to withstand his punches."

Laughing over this, they chatted for a while before Li Fengmei and Ge Chunling left.

April came swiftly and the weather began to get warm. The grass along the road began to sprout. Xiaobei’s pregnancy sickness had also diminished significantly, but she had to make sure to go out for a walk everyday. Otherwise, the baby in her belly would start kicking. Fortunately, the weather was warm and she could get by with just a sweater.

Her stomach had grown larger and the red sweater she had knitted last year, which had become a bit loose after a few washes, now fit perfectly. It tightly outlined her belly even as it accentuated her thinness.

As Xiaobei was near the main entrance of the military base, she heard a car approaching. Without looking back, she thought it might be a logistics vehicle.

Lu Zhanguo, the co-driver, caught sight of Xiaobei’s red figure as soon as they entered the base. She looked frail. As their truck passed Xiaobei, Lu saw the round belly making him really surprised and his eyes filled with tears. Two months had passed since he left home and Xiaobei, then just a mere 21-year-old girl, was suffering at home, pregnant with their child.

Only after the second truck had passed did Xiaobei realize that this was Lu Zhanguo’s return. Her heart was filled with bittersweet joy, all jumbled up with the whimsy brought on by her pregnancy.

Standing there dazed, she stroked her belly and said, "Baby, Daddy’s back. Let’s go wait for him at our door."

Xiaobei, carrying a five-month-old pregnancy that made her belly look like a basketball, stood at the entrance of the residential compound. Her face was lit up with uncontainable joy as her lips curled into a constant smile.

From a distance, Lu Zhanguo and Zhang Lijun saw Xiaobei standing at the compound gate. Zhang Lijun couldn’t help but ask, "When is your wife due? Her belly is so huge it looks like she is almost ready to deliver."

"It’s not until August, you have bad eyes." No matter how he looked at it, Lu Zhanguo thought his wife looked adorable with her pregnant belly.

"In August? Isn’t that when you will be leaving for your studies? What will she do? Stay here or go back to Capital City?" Zhang Lijun said, curious.

"We’ll see when the time comes." As his wife was now in sight, Lu Zhanguo had lost interest in further conversation with Zhang Lijun. His gaze was completely fixed on Xiaobei’s figure.

Seeing Lu Zhanguo and Zhang Lijun approach, Xiaobei tilted up her face, and said smilingly, "You’re finally back."

Zhang Lijun, very aptly, greeted them quickly and rushed back home, leaving the space to the couple.