Back To The 80s-Chapter 342 - 352: Sprout_1

After finishing her speech, Bai Xiaolan raised her head to see Gu Xiaobei standing at the bedroom door, smiling mischievously at her.

Wen Xiuqing didn’t ask any more questions: "Hurry up and wash your hands for dinner. I have stewed lamb chops today, it took me all afternoon." She was bent on replenishing Ji Xiangdong’s strength and wanted him to put on weight.

After washing her hands, Bai Xiaolan rushed into the bedroom and pretended to be angry, whispering, "Why were you laughing earlier?"

Seeing Bai Xiaolan’s guilty look, Gu Xiaobei couldn’t help but laugh, saying, "Did my big brother rescue you like a knight in shining armor?"

Bai Xiaolan was slightly embarrassed and whispered, "I could have handled them if they weren’t so many."

Watching the honest Bai Xiaolan, Gu Xiaobei had just asked a hypothetical question and she confessed everything. Seeing that Wen Xiuqing was busy bringing food into the room and didn’t ask further, he decided to keep quiet. Wen Xiuqing shouldn’t learn about this.

Wen Xiuqing had made thin noodles for the two children in the mutton soup. After being cooked for a while, the noodles became soft, easy to swallow and digest. She had also cooked carrots in it.

Dinnertime each day saw Wen Xiuqing feeding the two children, allowing Gu Xiaobei to eat first. She claimed she couldn’t eat hot food, and enjoyed watching the children eating non-stop.

After insisting on a few occasions, Gu Xiaobei naturally began to finish his meal first, then let Wen Xiuqing have hers.

While eating, Gu Xiaobei observed Ji Xiangdong and Bai Xiaolan’s reactions. Unfortunately, Ji Xiangdong was good at hiding his emotions, and she couldn’t make anything out.

Right in the middle of the meal, there was a knock on the door. Ji Xiangdong, who was sitting near it, got up to answer.

Lu Zhanguo saw Ji Xiangdong opening the door and was stunned on the spot. He had already planned to take leave in May to search for Ji Xiangdong at the Shule River. Now, seeing his big brother standing there, he didn’t know what to say.

Ji Xiangdong was also silently looking at Lu Zhanguo, a smile in his eyes.

"Brother, are you back?" Lu Zhanguo asked after regaining his composure, his voice full of emotion.

Ji Xiangdong nodded, "Yes, I’m back."

Then there was silence again as the two just stood quietly, looking at each other.

Out of curiosity, Gu Xiaobei wanted to see who was at the door, since no one had come in for such a long time. Upon looking in that direction, she saw the brothers recognizing each other. They weren’t crying or too excited to speak. It was as if they had just met a couple of days ago.

On seeing Lu Zhanguo’s return, Wen Xiuqing gave the bowl in her hand to Gu Xiaobei and asked her to feed the children without delay. She then rushed to prepare food for Lu Zhanguo, saying, "What are you doing standing there at the door? Come in quickly and have your meal." She then felt tears streaming down her face and quickly wiped them away, laughing, before heading into the kitchen.

Lu Zhanguo was excited, but being an inward person, he didn’t know how to express his feelings.

Ji Xiangdong was also excited inside. As he had been keeping a track of Lu Zhanguo for a long time, seeing him now felt as if they had never been apart.

Once Lu Zhanguo walked in, Xiaopang stopped eating. He yelled for his dad to hold him, confident he wouldn’t get faces mixed up this time.

Lu Zhanguo, holding Xiaopang in his arms, used the soft body of the little one to calm the emotions in his heart, asking, "Are you here for a meeting?"

Ji Xiangdong replied, "For education. It goes on until August."

Gu Xiaobei, with her sharp eyes, noted that Bai Xiaolan’s gaze blackened slightly after Ji Xiangdong said those words.

Wen Xiuqing came in with a big bowl of mutton soup and said to Lu Zhanguo, "I called your father. He is planning to come in a day or two. Aiguo said that once Fang Jing gets a leave, they will come too. We need to find a larger house. This one isn’t big enough for all of us."

Gu Xiaobei had heard Wen Xiuqing mention this before and was concerned. Even without Aiguo’s family of three coming over, living with their father-in-law under the same roof was awkward. This small house was so confining that one had to be careful even while changing clothes, especially in the summer.

Moreover, now that Xiaopang had started crawling over and pulled her clothes to eat milk, it was necessary to buy another house. It would be even better if a small courtyard could be bought in the neighborhood.

Thinking of this, Gu Xiaobei started considering the vacant piece of land she had noticed that afternoon. She wondered whether it was left idle because it was too small, with no use, or if there were other issues. If it could be sold as residential land, then it was a good piece of land. It had a great location. If a small two-story house was built, it could claim a good amount of demolition cost under city planning in the future.

The more Gu Xiaobei thought about it, the more she considered the vacant plot of land. She planned to find time to inquire about it.

After finishing dinner, Wen Xiuqing began chatting with Ji Xiangdong about family matters, "Speaking of, you should tell me what kind of girl you like. I can ask the aunties in our yard to keep an eye out for you." Feeling sympathetic towards her elder son, she believed he needed someone by his side to mend his clothes and provide hot meals after a long day of work. However, she sounded cautious in case Ji Xiangdong found it bothersome.

Gu Xiaobei glanced at Ji Xiangdong and saw his eyes lingering on Bai Xiaolan before he started speaking, "Mom, it’s so remote there. It takes seven to eight days by train and bus from G Province to get there. Which girl would be willing to go such a distance?"

On hearing this, Wen Xiuqing grew upset and asked hesitantly once again, "Don’t you have anyone suitable there?"

Ji Xiangdong patiently replied, "There are few Han people there and the Han and other minorities don’t intermarry, so no, there isn’t anyone suitable."

Wen Xiuqing became anxious. If they kept delaying, it would get more difficult for him to find someone due to his increasing age, and there would be a generation gap with people of the same age.

Since Gu Xiaobei had the feeling that her elder brother had a bit of a soft spot for Bai Xiaolan – her conclusion drawn from his caring gaze every time he looked at her, she quickly said, "Mom, it’s something that should not be rushed. It might just be that my brother’s time hasn’t come yet. When it does, it won’t be evadable."

Bai Xiaolan, who was sitting by the side, pretended to be busy playing with Little Mo Wang but secretly listened to every word of Ji Xiangdong’s conversation. She felt a strange sensation which she couldn’t explain.

After chatting for a while, Ji Xiangdong and Bai Xiaolan got up to leave. Gu Xiaobei laughed and said, "Xiaolan, come over tomorrow after work, I have something to discuss with you." She wanted to create more opportunities for them to meet.

Just outside the housing complex, Bai Xiaolan said with a smile, "Thank you for today, I didn’t expect them to be a part of it."

Looking at Bai Xiaolan, Ji Xiangdong smiled gently and said, "You can’t be so reckless again in the future. In your opinion, what kind of people run arcades? Do you think there’s nobody backing them? You must remember, when you go to a new place, you have to accommodate them, irrespective of their strength. If you don’t have the ability to control the situation, you shouldn’t interfere. Otherwise, you will bring bigger trouble upon yourself."

A bit defiant, Bai Xiaolan asked, "So does no one keep an eye on these people?"

With a look of indulgence in his eyes that even he had not noticed, Ji Xiangdong shook his head and said, "There will be vigilance, it’s just not the time yet."

Bai Xiaolan was quiet with frustration. Today, while on her way to buy dinner, she passed an arcade. She saw two miscreants harassing a middle school student for money. She couldn’t bear it and rushed over.