Back To The 80s-Chapter 376 - 386: Relying on the Mountain_1

Lu Zhanguo gently stroked her hair scattered over her shoulders and said, "I wish to stand by you, no matter when, no matter what."

Gu Xiaobei rested her head against his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, whispering, "I’m sorry, I thought I could handle it. I didn’t want to burden you since your training is already so hard."

"You’re not a burden," Lu Zhanguo said, hugging Gu Xiaobei as they enjoyed the warm moment.

The next morning, Zhan Hezhi and several workers arrived at the shop. He smiled broadly and said, "Comrade Gu, it was all a misunderstanding. Our work was not in place. My apologies." They then removed the seal from the store.

Gu Xiaobei responded unenthusiastically, "Director Zhan, you didn’t have to personally come all this way. In the future, please don’t."

Zhan Hezhi’s smile faltered for a moment, then he harmoniously continued, "Comrade Gu, you are now considered one of the economic leaders in our city. Our Northwest region is always lagging behind the mainland, so in the future, you must work even harder. Strive to stimulate everyone’s enthusiasm for business and catch up with the economic development pace of the mainland."

Gu Xiaobei sneered inwardly, she wasn’t that lofty, she just wanted to make money. In the end, giving herself such a big hat to wear would be difficult to take off. She laughed and accepted with polite rejection, "Director Zhan, you flatter me. After all, I’m just a woman doing small business. A real economic leader should be someone more ambitious and broad-minded. As for me, I’m just trying to make some money and buy more goodies for my child." She implied she was just an ordinary woman who wouldn’t accept extravagant gestures.

Zhan Hezhi’s smile froze on his face. He had planned to give Gu Xiaobei recognition and then use it to extract donations from her for various reasons, but he never expected her straightforward refusal.

Seeing Zhan Hezhi leave with an unhappy face, Gu Xiaobei felt satisfied. At least now, Zhan Hezhi wouldn’t dare to harass her anymore, and her money would be safer.

Qin Li soon arrived. Seeing the store already open, she exclaimed in surprise, "I couldn’t help but tell my uncle about it last night. He said he would confront them at work today. How come the store’s open before he even went?"

Gu Xiaobei chuckled. If Qin Li’s uncle visited Zhan Hezhi later, his face would undoubtedly turn green. On the bright side, Zhan Hezhi would realize that she had backers — not just the military but also the Provincial Public Security Bureau.

Qin Li laughed and added, "I heard from my dad that Uncle Jin will be transferred to the provincial government office this fall. We are going to see Jiujiu’s family often."

Gu Xiaobei got excited, "We were just talking about meeting Jiujiu again. Now they’re going to move here soon. That’s great, it will be even more convenient for us to meet."

"Yes, and my dad said that if he doesn’t get promoted next year, he will retire and move to the city, which would make him closer to me and my sister," Qin Li said happily.

In the following days, Gu Xiaobei had to manage the store and find time to write for the publishing house. Thankfully, she had some free time during the day to think about the plot of the short story and could write it quickly in two hours at night.

Bai Xiaolan had resigned and was preparing to move to Shule River with Ji Xiangdong. Unable to part with his daughter, Zhou Siping traveled from the Capital City to see the couple off.

Zhou Siping had brought Xiaolan her favorite honey tribute, pastries from Daoxiang Village, and a large box of clothes for all seasons, along with double ply knitted trousers and even ten bars of soap.

Bai Xiaolan brought Zhou Siping to the dormitory and was dumbfounded by the three large bags her mother had brought. "Mom, they sell these things in Shule River too, right? We don’t need to bring soap and toothpaste, do we?"

Holding her daughter’s hand, Zhou Siping lamented, "Our neighbors said that buying anything in that place would require riding on horseback for a day. You should take more with you to save the trouble of purchasing there later. They even have heavy snowfalls in August. Arrange your warm clothes on top when you pack so you can easily access them if the weather changes. Also, I got some cold and diarrhea medicine for you. I brought some soil from our home city, they say if you suffer from a local climate or food adaptation problem, drink water boiled with hometown soil. And..."

Feeling a lump in her throat, Bai Xiaolan said with a choked voice, "Mom, we still have another week before we leave, stop talking, I feel upset." After that, she started wiping away tears.

Zhou Siping also started crying, touching Bai Xiaolan’s face, and tenderly adjusting her loose bangs, "You’re married now, you must behave like a grown-up. Don’t leave everything for Xiangdong to worry about but instead use your mind. To have a good life, both of you have to work hard together."

"Mom, don’t say anymore, it hurts," Bai Xiaolan whimpered with her arms around Zhou Siping’s neck.

Zhou Siping patted her daughter’s back, "Okay, okay, I won’t say anymore. Don’t cry. Remember to write us a letter every month. If there are any needs, telegram or call us. I’ll send them to you." Despite saying she wouldn’t nag anymore, she couldn’t help herself.

Bai Xiaolan buried her face in Zhou Siping’s shoulder and couldn’t help but cried aloud. Soon, both mother and daughter found themselves in each other’s arms weeping.

When Ji Xiangdong arrived to take them for lunch, he sighed at the sight of the tear-stained mother and daughter pair. He had suspected this would happen when he picked up Zhou Siping in the morning and decided to leave them alone, knowing they needed time to say goodbye.

"Mom, let’s go and have lunch at the courtyard. In the afternoon, we’ll move Xiaolan’s stuff to the courtyard," Ji Xiangdong said to Zhou Siping, noting that Bai Xiaolan had already resigned and needed to move out of the dormitory soon.

Zhou Siping nodded, "Alright, let’s go now."

Wen Xiuqing had prepared a table of dishes at home, even buying a couple of champagne bottles.

Gu Xiaobei didn’t go to the store but stayed at home to help care for the children. Now that both children could walk, they couldn’t be looked after by just one person since they never kept still and Xiaopang loved to put everything he found into his mouth. Dahuang could see to it that Xiaopang didn’t fall and get hurt, but he couldn’t control Xiaopang’s habit of mouthing everything.

By the time Ji Xiangdong arrived with Zhou Siping and Bai Xiaolan, Wen Xiuqing was already frying dishes. Zhou Siping greeted her as she entered the kitchen, "Xiuqing, you didn’t have to go to this trouble. Cooking anything would have sufficed. We’re all family."