Back To The 80s-Chapter 405 - 415: Joy_1
Gu Xiaobei pretended not to notice Qin Li’s fleeting sadness and said, "When you leave later, take some food to Auntie Jin’s house. It’s New Year’s Day, we didn’t prepare much, but canned food and instant noodles should be enough."
Qin Li nodded, "Okay, I’ll drop by your house to wish you a happy new year when I get back."
Gu Xiaobei reassuredly locked the store door, planning to spend the next month at home with her husband and child.
Ding Daquan, from the store opposite, noticed that Gu Xiaobei and Zhou Tiezhu were closing up and he ran over to say, "Boss Gu, you’re closing early today."
Gu Xiaobei laughed and said, "We’re on holiday, it’s time to prepare for the New Year."
Ding Daquan said enviously, "How nice, we still have a lot of stock to sell. We’ll hang on for a few more days. You can relax and enjoy the New Year. I can help watch your shop, I can assure you no one will try anything funny."
"Thank you, Boss Ding." Gu Xiaobei laughed and said thanks.
When Gu Xiaobei got home, Lu Zhanguo was in the living room, busily hammering away at something. Xiaopang and Mo Wang squatted on one side, watching him with wide-eyed fascination. Xiaopang even held a small hammer in his hand.
Gu Xiaobei looked at the several wooden boards and a few steel bars the thickness of little fingers on the ground. She asked curiously, "What are you making?"
"A sled. I’ll take them out to play on it tomorrow." While saying this, Lu Zhanguo bent the ends of the steel bars with pliers and fixed them to a square wooden pole. Thanks to his strength, this task would be quite difficult for an ordinary person.
Gu Xiaobei was amazed, "You know how to make one? Why haven’t you made one for me before?"
Lu Zhanguo didn’t even lift his head as he replied, "Tomorrow, all three of you can ride it."
Xiaopang hit the wood with his little hammer and said, "Daddy, slide slide."
Gu Xiaobei took the hammer from Xiaopang’s hand, laughing, "We’re going ice skating, not sliding."
Mo Wang watched as his father secured a steel bar in place and hustled over dragging his little butt to help grab another steel bar.
Lu Zhanguo praised, "My little Mo Wang has been helping me all afternoon. He’s already figured out what to do next."
Mo Wang, with his round eyes, watched his father’s movements seriously. When he got tired of squatting, he simply sat on the ground directly. Xiaopang followed suit and sat down too.
Gu Xiaobei laughed, "You guys make the sled, I’ll go make dinner. By the way, how many more days are you resting?"
"Five days."
As Gu Xiaobei headed to the kitchen, she said, "Then, when we have time, let’s go buy a refrigerator, and get the kids some clothes for new year, we should also start buying things for New Year."
After some thought, Lu Zhanguo said, "There will be a lot of people this New Year, let’s buy a sheep. We can slaughter it in the courtyard when the time comes."
Gu Xiaobei paused and asked, "They said they will be in the provincial city on the 20th day of the 12th lunar month, are they leaving from the Capital City?"
"To the provincial city." Lu Zhanguo put his work down to reply.
"Then let’s wait for them to come back before buying the sheep. We can also buy a few chickens. We’ll have time to slaughter them then." After finishing speaking, Gu Xiaobei went to the kitchen to make dinner.
After Lu Zhanguo finished making the sled, he cut off a piece of wool felt from the bedding spread on the bed and nailed it to the wooden board. This way, the children wouldn’t catch a cold sitting on it.
As soon as the sled was finished, the two children clambered onto it. Lu Zhanguo tied a hemp rope to the front and pulled it back and forth within the room.
Xiaopang, sitting in front, shouted with joy, "Dad, go faster! Dad, good!"
Mo Wang, who was sitting in the back hugging Xiaopang, had a look of excitement on his face, but he didn’t say anything.
During dinner, Xiaopang didn’t want to get off the sled and insisted on eating while sitting on it. Lu Zhanguo, indulging his son, squatted in front of the sled holding a bowl and spoon, feeding the two children who had their mouths open like little birds.
The next morning, when Gu Xiaobei woke up and saw the nice weather, she decided to take the children out skating after breakfast. Through the window, she could see the rime and icy coating on the tree branches under the blue sky.
Before food was served, Zhao Hongmei arrived, carrying Erhu. As soon as she entered, she smiled and said, "I didn’t see you leave this morning, so I thought you hadn’t left yet."
Gu Xiaobei was helpless about Zhao Hongmei. Other than indulging her son unconditionally and loving to gossip, she was not a bad person at heart. She laughed and said, "We’re not going out today, we’re taking the kids out later."
Lu Zhanguo came back upstairs with Dahuang and Dabing after taking them out. At the sight of the two big dogs, Erhu starts crying out of fear.
Zhao Hongmei had previously seen Lu Zhanguo carry the two children to buy groceries several times from the window, with the two dogs trodding along with baskets in their mouth. Now, seeing them at such a close distance gave her quite a shock. "Why do you keep such big dogs at home? They’re so dirty."
"They’re from my mom’s yard. They recently went back to Capital City, so we brought them back." Gu Xiaobei explained while serving the food.
Because Erhu was frightened by the two dogs, he refused to get off Zhao Hongmei and stayed obediently in her arms. Zhao Hongmei chatted, "Is your business still hiring? My brother is already 30, he’s honest and reliable, he can do a good job if you tell him what to do."
Gu Xiaobei’s eyebrows furrowed imperceptibly. This situation was troublesome because whether she agrees or disagrees, she might offend someone. If he is indeed capable, that would be great. But if he’s lazy, it would be hard to fire him. Moreover, once she agrees to this, given Zhao Hongmei’s loose-lipped nature, word would spread throughout the complex, and she would be swamped with job seekers. Could she accommodate them all?
Seeing that Gu Xiaobei remained silent, Zhao Hongmei quickly added, "If it’s inconvenient, just forget what I said. I’m just worried about my brother, he’s already 30 and still unmarried, it’s quite pitiful."
Gu Xiaobei thought for a moment then spoke, "After the New Year, our business will enter the off-season. We won’t need that many people for a while. Besides, to be honest, and I don’t mean it as a joke, the major stakeholder is someone else. I only invested a small amount of money for a share."
Zhao Hongmei showed a look of understanding and said, "No worries, no worries. It’s a partnership. You can’t make decisions unilaterally, otherwise the other shareholders might get upset."
Gu Xiaobei was sure that by the time she says this, before New Year’s Day, everyone in the compound will know that her business is a partnership, and she is a partner who can’t make decisions because she invested less.
After sending Zhao Hongmei away, the family hurriedly had their meal, so they could go ice skating after eating.
After the meal, Gu Xiaobei dressed the two children in their cotton-padded clothes, over which they put on their little down jackets. They wore woolen socks knitted by Wen Xiuqing, and felt-lined boots given by Bai Xiaolan on their feet. After putting on their hats and scarves, they were ready to embark!
Lu Zhanguo asked Dahuang and Dabing to pull the sled and he guided them towards the Yellow River.
In the city, the snow on the roads had been trampled and was not smooth. It’s not until they reached the Yellow River did Lu Zhanguo let Gu Xiaobei sit on the sled as well. She held the two kids, while he directed Dahuang and Dabing to pick up speed and start running.
Gu Xiaobei held the children tightly as the sled flew over the snow, kicking up a spray of snow that hit the faces of three of them. Gu Xiaobei cried out in delight, and the two children sitting in front and in the back huddled in her lap were also screaming, "Ah...Ah..."
Lu Zhanguo ran alongside the sled, looking at the joyful mother and children, he couldn’t help but smile.
