Back To The 80s-Chapter 389 - 399: Friction_1

On their way home, Gu Xiaobei voiced her concern to Lu Zhanguo that there might be a traitor in their shop, and her prime suspect was Sun Jiahe.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhanguo took the matter seriously, frowned, and pondered. He said, "Sun Jiahe has always demonstrated good behavior in the team; he’s honest and earnest. If he’s the culprit, it would be highly disappointing. In that case, I’ll conduct a thorough investigation on him. While I’m at it, it won’t hurt to investigate everybody in the shop. If there’s indeed a traitor as you suspect, it’s unlikely they’d stop at just one wrongdoing."

Gu Xiaobei agreed. Rather than indulging in baseless suspicion, it was better to investigate everyone stealthily. Although that could hurt feelings, they were left without a choice. If more mistakes were made, they would find themselves destitute.

As soon as they set foot in the courtyard, they were met with the sounds of Xiaopang’s weeping, struggling to catch his breath between sobs. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Gu Xiaobei hurriedly ran inside to see Xiaopang tugging at Mo Wang’s clothes, crying relentlessly. Wen Xiuqing and Lu Songyuan crouched beside them, each holding one and trying to console them.

"What happened?" Gu Xiaobei asked, seeing her daughter’s tear-streaked face. Upon noticing Xiaopang’s face — it was scratched and bleeding — she scooped him up into her arms without a second’s hesitation; Xiaopang must have inflicted it.

Wen Xiuqing explained helplessly, "It’s been cold today, so I didn’t go grocery shopping. We had only one apple at home so I cut it in half and gave one to each child. But Xiaopang outfoxed Mo Wang by eating his half exceptionally fast, then tried to snatch Mo Wang’s. When Mo Wang refused to give in, Xiaopang scratched him. Then Mo Wang pushed her away in anger, causing her to fall. When she got up, she was relentless and continued to scratch at Mo Wang."

Weighed by the recent troubles in her shop, Gu Xiaobei was already frustrated. Seeing Xiaopang scrapping with Mo Wang over half an apple, her frustration aggravated into rage. Releasing Mo Wang, she pulled Xiaopang towards her, seizing Xiaopang’s tiny hand and smacking it hard. Angrily, she chastised her, "How could you be so domineering? Look at what you’ve done to your brother."

Stung by the blow, and faced with her mother’s wrath, Xiaopang burst into tears, looking plaintively at Lu Zhanguo behind Gu Xiaobei.

Gu Xiaobei’s fury surged with each smack, seemingly venting out her frustration. "Don’t cry," she warned, "if you ever pull such antics again, I’ll punish you."

Wen Xiuqing was displeased at this and snatched Xiaopang away, her voice tinged with anger, "What are you doing? She’s only one year and four months old, what could she understand? Isn’t it normal for a child to compete for things? Look at what you’ve done, you turned her hand red."

Gu Xiaobei retorted, "Mom, she did something wrong, she should be punished. We can’t always be overly indulgent like that, look at what she’s become, fought over food, and even stole Mo Wang’s share. What if she stole other children’s toys outside, how embarrassing would that be? People would think we didn’t teach her properly."

"What child doesn’t have a sweet tooth? At their age, isn’t everything about food?" Wen Xiuqing, albeit sounding harsh, didn’t say anything too offensive. Then she stood up with Xiaopang and made for the bedroom.

Xiaopang, however, continued to cry, arms outstretched, struggling and calling, "Mommy, mommy, hug me~".

Tears welled up in Gu Xiaobei’s eyes, but she didn’t budge from her spot.

Lu Zhanguo approached, looking annoyed, and took Xiaopang from Wen Xiuqing. To everyone’s surprise, Xiaopang was unyielding and reached out to Gu Xiaobei, crying persistently. "Mommy, hug me~ Mommy, hug me~" Her face was covered in tears and snot.

Gu Xiaobei wiped her tears away and extended her arms to hold Xioapang.

Upon reaching her mother’s arms, Xiaopang balled her little fists around Gu Xiaobei’s neck, her mouth curling up into a smile. Her eyelashes were wet but the joy in her eyes was unmistakable; her cheeks were still wet with tears.

Wen Xiuqing huffed, "See, a child’s heart is that simple." And with that, she spun around and entered the east room.

Lu Songyuan, who was holding Mo Wang, also got up to make his way into the room. Just before going in, he turned to Gu Xiaobei and said tersely, "That wasn’t disciplining a child, that was discrediting us."

Gu Xiaobei stood there awkwardly, looking at Lu Zhanguo who had silently been standing beside her throughout the entire ordeal. His expression was one of resentment. Letting out a sigh, she walked to the west room with Xiaopang in her arms.

Lu Zhanguo followed in after them, gently closing the door behind him.

Cradling Xiaopang in her arms, Gu Xiaobei took a handkerchief and wiped Xiaopang’s face. Xiaopang still held on to her neck tightly, her face mimicking a pleasing smile.

"Do you also think I shouldn’t have beaten her?" Gu Xiaobei asked, looking up at Lu Zhanguo’s frustrated expression.

Lu Zhanguo nodded and replied, "She’s still young, teach her with patience, there’s no need to resort to violence."

Gu Xiaobei was adamant, "I’m afraid of spoiling her. It won’t be easy to discipline her if she becomes accustomed to having her way."

Reluctant to be harsh with her, Lu Zhanguo paused before finally saying, "While chastising Xiaopang, I think you were also venting your own frustrations."

Gu Xiaobei was taken aback and denied it immediately, "How could that be? All I wanted was to stop Xiaopang and Mo Wang from fighting over food."

"Which child doesn’t fight? You should think whether your actions consisted any lingering frustration. Don’t vent your anger on the child; if you need to vent, you can always vent on me." Having said that, Lu Zhanguo turned around and left the room.

Watching him leave, Gu Xiaobei knew that he was angry.

Xiaopang nestled into her mother’s embrace, her little face beaming like a tiny sun. Her eyes were still moist and rimmed with red, showing she been genuinely wronged.

Gu Xiaobei looked at Xiaopang’s little face and regretted her actions. When she examined Xiaopang’s hand, she noticed the skin had turned red due to the force she used. It pained her to see that, how could she have used so much force? Wasn’t she just trying to give her a scare?

"Xiaopang, I’m sorry. Mommy will be more careful next time." Gu Xiaobei apologized to Xiaopang, her eyes welling up with tears again.

Xiaopang grinned, revealing her cute milk teeth, looking ever so adorable.

At dinner, Gu Xiaobei held Xiaopang in her arms, apologizing to Wen Xiuqing and Lu Songyuan for her actions earlier, "Mom, dad, I’m sorry, I was in the wrong. I was just really frustrated then."

Wen Xiuqing served her a bowl of noodles and said, "I do understand your actions. But teaching a child needs patience. After a beating, she could easily forget about it once she wakes up the next morning. Look at how terrified you made her."

Gu Xiaobei was quick to agree, "I’ll pay more attention and exercise more patience from now on. Mom, is Mo Wang’s face okay? Will it leave a scar?" Seeing the three red scores on Mo Wang’s face in Lu Songyuan’s arms, she asked anxiously.

"No, it won’t. At this age, they don’t scar easily. Plus, the skin isn’t broken. It’ll be fine in a few days," Wen Xiuqing assured her.

Gu Xiaobei noticed Lu Zhanguo was still ignoring her, even though he kept piling food into her bowl. She wasn’t sure whether he was still angry or not.

Xiaopang, unusually clingy to her mother that night, insisted on her mother feeding her dinner. When her father tried to hold her, she promptly wrapped her arm around Gu Xiaobei’s, in fear of being taken away.

Wen Xiuqing chuckled, "See, that’s how children are. You hit her, yet she forgives you quickly. She fears you might abandon her and tries to gain your favor immediately."