Back To The 80s-Chapter 377 - 387: First Encounter_1

Wen Xiuqing said with a smile, "This is our first meal as in-laws, how could we be careless?"

"I wouldn’t have thought that we would have this kind of in-law relationship by our children, thinking about it now, this destiny is really inevitable," Zhou Siping sighed.

In the courtyard, Gu Xiaobei kneels by the sheepfold with Xiaopang’s hand, watching the lambs eat grass. Xiaopang is picking up a blade of grass and handing it to the lamb. The lamb rolls the grass into its mouth, inadvertently licking Xiaopang’s hand with its tongue. The ticklish sensation makes Xiaopang laugh out loud.

Bai Xiaolan comes over, squats down and feeds the lamb with Xiaopang. Smiling, she says to Gu Xiaobei, "I really want to take Xiaopang away. How could he be so adorable?"

Gu Xiaobei teases her: "If you like it, have one as soon as possible. When you come back for the Chinese New Year, have one in your belly."

Bai Xiaolan retorted, "I want to have a son. It’s too hard to bear seeing a daughter getting married and leaving." Especially when Zhou Siping held her and cried today, she decided not to have a daughter. It was too heartbreaking to raise and then marry her off.

Gu Xiaobei shook his head, "Having a daughter is just like having a little cotton-jacketed sweetheart." Wen Xiuqing, who came out to call them, overheard their conversation and turned around to go back with mixed feelings.

After lunch, the sun was scorching. The leaves on the grapevine were wilting. Ji Xiangdong accompanies Bai Xiaolan to her dormitory to get luggage. Gu Xiaobei leaves the children to nap as she thought Zhou Siping was resting there, she can go home to take a bath and then go to the store to relieve Qin Li so she can go home and rest.

As she rode her bicycle into the residential area’s front gate, she saw a green jeep driving out. Because they were in the residential area, the car wasn’t driving very fast. Out of curiosity, Gu Xiaobei glanced into the car, where she saw Ge Chunling and the Wu family sitting, with Ge Chunling wiping away tears.

Gu Xiaobei quickly got off her bicycle, watching with shock as the car sped up and drove away. Has something happened? Her first thought was that something had happened to Wu Guanghan. Feeling uneasy, she pushed her bicycle back to her house and thought about asking Zhanguo when he came back in the evening.

She was preoccupied the whole afternoon in the store, thinking about what might’ve happened. She closed the shop for the day a little after five, hurriedly went back home, and anxiously awaited news.

Only after dinner, when she returned to her residence and Zhanguo still hadn’t returned did, Gu Xiaobei become even more certain about her speculations. She fell into an uncertain sleep until about five in the morning, the sky had already begun to lighten, when Zhanguo finally came back.

"Did something happen to Guanghan?" Gu Xiaobei, hearing the door open, hurried out before even putting on her shoes.

With bloodshot eyes, Zhanguo spoke in a hoarse voice, "It’s nothing serious, he’ll be fine by tomorrow."

Gu Xiaobei walked up and hugged his waist, saying, "Why would something happen? It almost scared me to death."

Zhanguo patted her hair, "There was a slight hiccup in training. He’s okay now. I’ll take a shower and head back to the base. You should get back to sleep."

Wu Guanghan, who had been frequently distracted in training due to the uproar at home, made a major error. During a live ammunition training during the day, a soldier muddled up and after pulling the pin on a grenade, accidentally dropped it behind him. Wu Guanghan, who happened to be standing to one side, was distracted for a few seconds and by the time he realised what had happened, he quickly pushed the soldier into a nearby safety trench. The exploding grenade injured Wu Guanghan’s back with its shrapnel.

Once Gu Xiaobei heard there was no danger to his life, she felt a lot better. The anxiety she’d been feeling all night gradually dissipated. She asked which hospital Wu Guanghan was admitted to and planned to return home for a bit more sleep. Later in the day, she intended to find time to visit him, especially considering that Ge Chunling was still pregnant.

The next morning, Gu Xiaobei first went to the store to inform Qin Li, then went to the market to buy two chickens. One would be made into soup to send to Wu Guanghan and Ge Chunling, and the other would be kept for her family.

She had been stewing the chicken soup over a coal-fired stove for two or three hours. Gu Xiaobei served a little to her children and transferred the rest into a thermal pot. She then took it to the military hospital.

When Gu Xiaobei arrived at Wu Guanghan’s ward, Cheng Qijia and Liu Hongbing were present. Ge Chunling was sitting on the bedside with reddened eyes. The Wu family was wiping away tears by the window. Cheng Qijia and Liu Hongbing stood on the other side of the bed, nodding their head as a greeting when they saw Gu Xiaobei entering.

Gu Xiaobei gently placed the thermal pot on the bedside table, looked at the unconscious Wu Guanghan, and asked Ge Chunling in a whisper, "How is he now?"

Ge Chunling choked, "He woke up earlier in the morning and has fallen asleep now."

"I made some chicken soup. You should have a bowl and then sleep a little while on the bed next to you. If you don’t sleep, the baby in your belly still needs to."

Cheng Qijia and Liu Hongbing left after standing for a while, just in time when a doctor was coming in for rounds.

Upon seeing the doctor, Liu Hongbing said, "He Qin, so you are the chief physician, that’s really great. He is our good brother, and you must make sure he gets better soon."

He Qin glanced at him and said, "I’m a doctor, not a god." Afterward, he walked to the bed, bent over to examine Wu Guanghan and asked Cheng Qijia standing by the bed to step back. His tone was stern.

Liu Hongbing and Cheng Qijia both awkwardly took a couple of steps back.

Gu Xiaobei quietly watched this Doctor He Qin from the side. He was about 27 or 28 years old, with skin so pale you could see the tiny blood vessels underneath. His eyes were thin and long, appearing emotionless. He had beautiful, delicate, and fair hands. His fingertips were devoid of wrinkles, with neatly trimmed nails displaying a healthy pink hue.

Such hands looked like they were indeed made for playing the piano.

Liu Hongbing felt uncomfortable and asked Cheng Qijia to leave along with him.

After examining Wu Guanghan, He Qin glanced at Ge Chunling and said, "Chicken soup is good for the body, drink some and rest up. He’s alright now." His tone was somewhat softer. Turning his cold look on Wu’s mother, he said, "What use is your crying now? If you hate your son and want him dead, then you should be more decisive next time at home." Then he turned around and left with three nurses.

Wu Guanghan’s mother was speechless. She watched He Qin’s receding figure with disgust.

Outside the ward, Liu Hongbing was puffing on a cigarette, gossiping about He Qin with Cheng Qijia. "This Doctor He Qin also studied abroad in Country E. He’s said to be very odd and still unmarried at the age of 28."

He Qin heard this as she left the ward. Her hand, holding the patient’s folder, tightened. She approached Liu Hongbing and said, "You really are a soldier, you can’t even obey a no-smoking rule!" Then, she walked off towards her office, not giving him another glance.

Liu Hongbing was once again feeling awkward. He stubbed out his cigarette and said to Cheng Qijia, "Did you see that? Who would dare to marry such a woman? She would be so quiet at home that it would be like living with a ghost, going in and out without sound."

Cheng Qijia laughed and said, "Everyone’s personality is different. But, given that, it seems like she would be a rather skilled doctor."