Back To The 80s-Chapter 392 - 402: Family_1

Lu Zhanguo suddenly said, "Mom, let’s butcher a chicken later and stew it for dinner."

Wen Xiuqing nodded, went back to the east room carrying Xiaopang.

It was then that Lu Zhanguo said to Gu Xiaobei, "Ruixue went to the black market to sell blood."

Gu Xiaobei was startled. She had read plenty of news about selling blood in the black market. These procedures employ large, crude needles for blood extraction which are washed in hot water as a means of disinfection. In some villages, almost everyone sold their blood, leading to widespread transmission of Hepatitis C and other infectious diseases.

"When you’re making the chicken soup later, add some of the red dates that our sister-in-law sent us. Let her drink it. Just be careful with her used dishes. Don’t let the children use them afterward," Xiaobei instructed.

"What’s wrong?" Zhanguo was confused.

Gu Xiaobei explained, "Ruixue went to sell blood. There are all sorts of people in those places. The needles used for blood extraction are not sterilized. Who knows what diseases she could catch."

Lu Zhanguo nodded with a furrowed brow. Anything concerning children was always a big deal. After finishing dinner, Zhanguo talked to Xiuqing about this matter.

Xiuqing was washing dishes when she heard the news. Shocked, she let the dish slip into the basin. She tearfully boiled all the dishes and utensils, though the pots developed some scale. Still, she didn’t feel it was enough, so she threw away Xiaopang and Mo Wang’s small bowls and decided to buy new ones the next day.

The following day, Lu Songyuan rented a nearby room for Rui Xue. He bought coal, lit the stove, and also purchased oil, flour, cabbage, and potatoes. After arranging everything, he said to the quiet Lu Ruixue, "Ruixue, it’s not that our home cannot accommodate you, but you need to learn to depend on yourself. Find a job."

Ruixue was resentful at heart, but she couldn’t complain as she was now reliant on her family. She felt that just because she made one mistake, her family was being excessively heartless towards her.

Lu Songyuan noticed that Lu Ruixue kept her head down and didn’t speak. He said, "The cotton-padded clothes you’re wearing were bought by your mother early in the morning at the mall. If she didn’t care about you, would she secretly patch up your clothes?" After speaking, he sighed, "I’ll butcher another chicken for you later. Rest well for a few days then go out and find some work."

Seeing that Ruixue remained silent, Lu Songyuan shook his head and turned to leave.

Not long after, Shen Heng brought news that Chen Dajun was arrested for carrying a large quantity of drugs during a transaction. The amount he carried was enough for him to be sentenced to death.

Upon hearing the news, Wen Xiuqing was so shocked that she kept wiping her tears: "That beast has ruined Ruixue’s whole life."

Lu Songyuan sighed. Ruixue was so stubborn that she wouldn’t turn back until she ran down a dead-end. Perhaps now they could finally give up on her.

Gu Xiaobei, hearing this, didn’t react much. She always believed that good and evil will eventually be rewarded, and heaven’s justice is self-evident.

She was busy preparing for various New Year’s goods. The latest batch she received was canned fruit. Everyone did not understand why she would stock so much canned food. Moreover, they had to stoke fires in the room where the canned foods were stored. Otherwise, the bottles would freeze and explode.

Qin Li looked at everyone unloading cans into the courtyard, she was counting the numbers. Wang Wei asked while moving boxes, "Sister, why do you need so many canned goods? Moreover, canned foods are sold in every store, and the prices are roughly the same as ours. If we stock so much, will the sales be good?"

Qin Li blinked her big eyes and shook her head, "Sister Xiaobei must have her reasons. Besides, we are not afraid of having too many canned foods in the market. Our cans taste better. I hope customers can compare products of three stores."

Wang Wei shook his head and said, "Cans are not like instant noodles, they are too fragile. Look, more than twenty bottles have been broken by unloading now."

Qin Li smiled and didn’t say anything else. She knew about Xiaobei’s plan, but no one could reveal it now.

After unloading the goods and returning to the store, Qin Li said to Xiaobei, "Xiaobei, Jiujiu and the others will arrive in the provincial capital tomorrow. Do you want to come and pick them up at the station?"

Gu Xiaobei thought for a while and said, "You go to the station. I will close the store early in the afternoon and go home directly." It was so cold, and if there were customers who came to stock up and found the door closed, it would damage their reputation. Also, when it came to cash matters, she didn’t trust anyone to handle it.

"Alright, I’ll go to the station in the morning. I’ll write the address down for you. You just come directly in the afternoon." Qin Li said and wrote down the address for Xiaobei.

The next afternoon, Xiaobei told everyone to get off work early. She planned to go to the mall to buy some things first, then go to the Jin family.

She didn’t know how tall Jiujiu and Chen Gang had grown, so she didn’t dare to buy clothes. She bought pens for the two of them, new school bags, and saw women’s thick wool shawls that could be worn as large scarves. Xiaobei bought a plaid one for Zhuang Shuxian, and a beige one for Wen Xiuqing.

She came out after shopping and saw a familiar-looking woman standing across the street, wearing a brown padded jacket, her hair neatly coiffed at the back of her head, as if she was waiting for someone.

Out of curiosity, Xiaobei walked a few steps forward. Then a red Charade car drove up and stopped in front of the woman. The woman smiled and opened the passenger door and got in. Smoke billowed from the back of the car, and it sped off quickly.

The woman’s smile startled Xiaobei, making her jump. She was certain that this woman was Jiujiu’s mom -- Ma Xuerong. At first, she found her familiar, but when she smiled, she was exactly like Jiujiu, even the dimples at the corners of her mouth, which she saw clearly.

equals Xiaobei, holding back her shock, followed the car for a few steps. The road was generally quiet, and the Charade had already disappeared within a few moments.

Xiaobei was sure she wasn’t seeing things. The woman she saw was definitely Ma Xuerong. But it didn’t make sense. If Xuerong hadn’t died, why wouldn’t she go find Jiujiu? Jiujiu was easy to find, and from the look of her clothes, Ma Xuerong was doing well now. Could it be Ma Xuerong’s relative?

Still lost in her thoughts, Xiaobei, pushing her cart, walked a long way. She wondered whether she should tell Zhuang Shuxian that she seemed to have seen Ma Xuerong. In the end, she decided not to. She didn’t want to stir up unnecessary speculation and potentially cause more grief.

When she arrived at the Jin family’s new house, it was Jiujiu who ran to the door laughing, "Auntie, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time."

Xiaobei was surprised as she looked at Jiujiu, "Oh my gosh, Jiujiu has grown so tall." After more than a year, Jiujiu had grown much taller. Her little face was delicate, white, and rounded, and her hair was now dark and shiny.

Qin Li also came over laughing, "I was startled when I saw her. She seems to have grown up into a young lady all of a sudden."

Chen Gang followed, laughing as he looked at Xiaobei, "Auntie is here."

Xiaobei exclaimed once more, "Oh my gosh, Chen Gang has also gotten taller, almost taller than me. How did you turn into a young man all of a sudden."

Chen Gang, blushing from the praise, just smiled shyly and didn’t say anything.

Zhuang Shuxian came out of the kitchen, holding dumpling wrappers in her hand, and said with a smile, "Why are you all standing at the door? Come in and talk."

Jiujiu, holding Xiaobei’s hand, didn’t want to let go, and said cheerfully, "Auntie, does this mean we will meet regularly from now on?"