Back To The 80s-Chapter 409 - 419: Inviting Guests_1

Just before noon, Wu Aihua and his wife Miao Cuixian arrived with their son Niuniu. Miao Cuixian was not very tall, looked pretty, had a good complexion and didn’t have the usually spoken of ruddy complexion of the people from G Province. When she spoke, her voice was small and slow.

Niuniu was a lively and active child. As soon as he arrived, he ran straight away, hugging one person and then another, playfully chasing the other children.

Wu Aihua was a southerner, radiating an air of scholarly elegance. He greeted Gu Xiaobei with a smile and then went to watch over his son, ensuring he didn’t knock over the little ones.

Miao Cuixian entered the kitchen laughing, offering to help. Gu Xiaobei politely declined, "You don’t need to lift a finger. I’m almost done, just a little stir-frying left."

"It’s okay, I can wash some dishes." Miao Cuixian said, still laughing.

Tian Yuanyuan, who had been living in the courtyard for a while, knew Miao Cuixian, so she asked, "Is your work on holiday?"

"The seed company isn’t very busy in winter so we start our vacation early. Just a few people are left on duty." Miao Cuixian always spoke with a grin, she wasn’t the type to talk without a smile.

Gu Xiaobei thought this woman seemed kind-hearted, the type people would call a "nice guy". But the fact that she could muster the strength to discipline Niuniu probably meant that she was driven to the brink by Zhao Hongmei.

After Ge Chunling’s baby woke up from the morning nap, she let the elder Wu family member babysit. She and Wu Guanghan came over and walked straight into the kitchen. She smiled at Gu Xiaobei and said, "We planned to come early to help, but Xiaobao slept until just now."

Gu Xiaobei poked her head into the living room and said, "Why didn’t you bring Xiaobao with you?"

"He’s so little, can’t play at all, and needs constant holding. It would be too much trouble. I’ve left him with my mother-in-law at home." Ge Chunling also rolled up her sleeves, ready to help in the kitchen.

Gu Xiaobei wondered why Zhao Hongmei and her family, who lived right across the street, had not yet arrived.

...

Zhao Hongmei was at home, angry with Zeng Changzhi. On hearing that Gu Xiaobei was hosting people including the Wu Aihua family, she held Erhu and said, "I won’t go. If you want to, you can go yourself. Every time Erhu is wronged, it makes me so angry."

Zeng Changzhi slapped his forehead helplessly, saying, "I don’t know whether you love Erhu or are spoiling him. Let me tell you, you’re going to spoil him if you keep doing this."

Zhao Hongmei disagreed and coldly snorted, "People say children should be raised tough, well, Dahu was raised tough and see what happened? If we’d taken better care of him back then, he wouldn’t have gotten into trouble." Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke.

Zeng Changzhi helplessly said, "You need to know when to stop. Look at the situation now, Erhu is two years old and still won’t eat on his own. How is that good?"

Zhao Hongmei held Erhu and sat on the sofa without saying a word. Zeng Changzhi sighed and said, "Then you stay home with Erhu and eat by yourself. I’m going over there."

Zhao Hongmei still ignored him, and Zeng Changzhi shook his head, opened the door, and left.

When Gu Xiaobei saw Zeng Changzhi come in alone, she was puzzled, "Why didn’t my sister-in-law and Erhu come?"

Zeng Changzhi gave an awkward laugh and said, "Erhu was having a nap at home so we decided not to come over. Let’s not worry about them, okay?"

Gu Xiaobei didn’t say anything further, thinking that Zhao Hongmei probably didn’t want to come because Miao Cuixian and Niuniu were here.

The living room table couldn’t seat this many people, so Gu Xiaobei divided the food into two parts. The men ate in the living room, and the women ate with the children at a small table inside the room.

Gu Xiaobei had specifically stewed mutton soup for the four children. The soup contained potatoes and carrots, and the noodles in it were especially thin, making them easy for the children to digest.

Xiaopang, Mo Wang, and Jiajia watched Niuniu eat with chopsticks and the three children hummed and gestured for chopsticks too.

None of the three children could use chopsticks. Though their posture was accurate, they couldn’t get the food into their mouths. But even so, they were very happy. If they couldn’t pick the food up with their chopsticks, they would use their hands to grab it and stuff it into their mouths. Their small faces and hands were all greasy.

Miao Cuixian said softly, laughing, "Children should be allowed to eat this way, they will learn to use chopsticks over time."

"We do feed them, otherwise look at the food stains on their clothes, they won’t wash off." Tian Yuanyuan pointed at the oil specks on Jiajia’s chest and said helplessly.

Gu Xiaobei also agreed with Miao Cuixian’s opinion, "You should make some reversible clothes for Jiajia, like Xiaopang and Mo Wang. She can wear them when eating at home. It doesn’t matter if the stains don’t wash off."

When mothers get together, their conversations always revolve around their children. The men in the living room, however, mostly talked about politics and work.

Zeng Changzhi had had a little to drink, and was no longer cautious when speaking. He asked Lu Zhanguo, "Is our turn for the war against Vietnam coming now that the 27th Army Group has withdrawn?"

Liu Hongbing, having had few drinks too, said, "We’re all friends here, let me share a bit of insider news. It’s probably the 47th Army Group going, but it’s very likely that we’re going to be assigned to another secret mission."

Wu Aihua and Wu Guanghan were both curious, "What secret mission?"

Just as Liu Hongbing started to say, "Shule...",

Lu Zhanguo interrupted, "Alright, let’s drink and not spill too many words just because of alcohol."

Liu Hongbing slapped his forehead, "Almost let it slip. We’re all friends here, but let’s just pretend we didn’t hear anything about a mission today. These are only valid when we receive official orders."

Zeng Changzhi also quickly changed the topic, "This year’s recruits are the real headache. Why can’t we just wait for the March recruits to be deployed and pick the best ones? It would be so much better."

"Isn’t it like this every year, with good and bad mixed together?" Liu Hongbing said nonchalantly.

And so, the conversation moved on to the topic of new recruits training.

As the New Year approached, Gu Xiaobei bought a refrigerator for the small yard. The remaining New Year goods would be bought after Lu Songyuan and the others arrived.

Lu Zhanguo had insisted on taking a few days off before the New Year. Since reporting back to his unit, he had often been working late into the night.

The day before Lu Songyuan and his family arrived in the provincial capital, Lu Zhanguo went to the small courtyard to start heating the kang bed stove. That night, his family of four stayed overnight in the small courtyard.

Early the next morning, Lu Zhanguo went to the railway station to pick up the others. Gu Xiaobei took the opportunity while the children were still asleep, she made a large pot of porridge and warmed up some steamed buns, so that when they arrived they could have a quick simple meal.

After the porridge was done and the two children woke up, Gu Xiaobei dressed the children and prepared them for the arrival of the guests, when she heard the doorbell ring.

She leaned over to look out the window and was taken aback. It was a huge crowd that had returned. Lu Songyuan and Wen Xiuqing were walking at the front, looking not so well. Lu Aiguo’s family of three also came, and trailing behind were Ji Xiangdong and Bai Xiaolan. Behind them, there was a man and a woman, who appeared to be father and daughter, their faces flush with excitement.

Gu Xiaobei wondered to herself: Who are this father and daughter? Why haven’t I ever seen them before?

Lu Zhanguo led everyone into the east room. Fang Jing, leading Yueyue and Bai Xiaolan, entered the east room and did not find Gu Xiaobei, so she turned and went into the west room.