Chapter 14 The main point is a stable

“Gu family’s standing? What kind of ‘family standing’ does the Gu family even have?” Old Madam Gu widened her eyes, nearly driven mad by her son’s pretentiousness.
“Three generations back, weren’t we all farmers? Now you suddenly care about ‘family background’?”

Gu Wanqing: -_-||

Sure, the Gu family wasn’t what it once was, but it wasn’t bad either. Even though he had now moved into a civilian post, he used to be a division commander. His parents were retired but had been real fighters—his father a seasoned commander who clawed his way up with a rifle, his mother a battle-hardened member of the women’s army.

They were a red-blooded, revolutionary family through and through—why shouldn’t he care about family background?
And as a father, wanting his son Gu Xiao to marry a woman who could help his career—how could that be wrong?

Sigh.
Gu Wanqing felt emotionally exhausted, like he was the only one truly worrying and planning for the family’s future.

While he brooded in silence, the other three—his parents and son—were chatting enthusiastically.

“Xiao’er,” Old Madam Gu said, “Listen to your grandma—you better not think just because you tricked that girl into marrying you that you can slack off now. Getting married means you need to show sincerity! Besides a proper bride price, the three must-haves and one sound must not be lacking. Otherwise, the girl might think our family doesn’t value her and won’t treat you seriously. If that happens, don’t come crying to me!”

She had waited so long for a granddaughter-in-law, and now that it was finally happening, her main priority was simple—lock it down! No letting her escape!

“And another thing,” she went on, “you better tame that reckless temper of yours. You need to dote on her and sweet-talk her. What girl in her right mind would willingly stick around to suffer with some stinky man, bear his kids, and raise a family?”

“If you don’t believe me, ask your grandpa. If he hadn’t treated me with such care and attentiveness, I—once the belle of the unit, with so many men chasing after me—wouldn’t have picked him!”

Old Commander Gu had been nodding along the whole time in agreement—until that last part.
Immediately disgruntled, he retorted, “If not me, who else would you have picked? That Wei Jin guy who chased after you? Hmph, was he taller than me? A better shot?”

Old Madam Gu gave him a look of disdain.
“We’re talking about our grandson here. Why are you dragging up ancient history? How many years has it been, and you’re still jealous about that?”

“Hmph…”

“…”

After hearing all that, Gu Wanqing finally understood where Gu Xiao got his ridiculous way of thinking. Definitely inherited.

Gu Xiao, meanwhile, had taken his grandmother’s advice to heart. He reined in his usual nonchalance and asked with sincere focus—more seriously than he’d ever studied before:
“Grandma, what should I do now to make her feel I truly value her, so she’ll want to stay with me, raise a family, and all that?”

When he submitted the marriage report, his head had been full of just get married—he hadn’t considered all the details.

Gu Wanqing’s face darkened further when he heard his son’s unambitious question. He couldn’t help but snap,
“Just look at you—so whipped! Letting a woman lead you by the nose…”

“You want to go against me again?” Old Madam Gu gave him a slow, side-eyed glance. Her voice was calm, but packed with threat.

Gu Wanqing’s back straightened with a jolt, and wisely shut up.

Gu Xiao looked at his dad with a faint smile that said: See? Know your place.
Gu Wanqing stiffened, then simply turned around—Out of sight, out of mind.
Fine, he wouldn’t say a word.

With him quiet, the trio continued happily planning away.

They basically finalized when to buy the three must-haves and one sound (a wristwatch, bicycle, sewing machine, and radio), when to bring the girl over for dinner, and the bride price.

Also, knowing that Song Youyou had severed ties with her family, Gu Xiao specifically emphasized that he was marrying her, not her background—and that when the family met her, they must not mention her relatives at all.

After the marriage discussion was settled, and seeing there was still time, Gu Xiao decided to go find Song Youyou.

But just as he stepped out the door, he was intercepted by a group of childhood buddies waiting at the courtyard gate.

State-run restaurant, private room.

They were childhood friends who had practically worn the same pair of pants growing up. The moment they sat down, the room exploded in chatter.

“Holy crap, Xiao-ge, you’re something else! Quietly chasing down that school goddess and even marrying her?!”

“Yeah! If Old Six hadn’t told us, we’d still be in the dark!”

Old Six was the buddy Gu Xiao had dragged into helping him write the marriage report.
Realizing he’d been a blabbermouth, Old Six looked guilty and explained,
“Xiao-ge, I was just too shocked. If I didn’t tell someone, I was gonna explode…”

Gu Xiao sat in his chair and casually gave him a deadly look. Big mouth.
Old Six immediately shrank in his seat.

“Alright, stop glaring at Old Six. You think you’re in the right not telling us?” Oldest Brother teased.

Gu Xiao called him “Big Bro,” then said to the others,
“I wasn’t trying to hide it from you. I just wanted to wait until it was official before saying anything.”

There were six of them in total—similar in age, all grew up together in the military compound. Through thick and thin, they were as close as real brothers.
So close, in fact, they’d mimicked Romance of the Three Kingdoms and sworn brotherhood.
According to age, Gu Xiao was second, so he was known as Old Two. The rest went by Old One, Three, Four, Five, and Six.

“Hmph, at least you still have a bit of brotherhood in you. So tell us—how did you manage to hook the school goddess, Song Youyou?”

Old Three threw an arm around Gu Xiao’s shoulder, face full of curiosity and admiration.
“I knew you liked her back in school! But she didn’t even give you the time of day, remember?”

Fourth Brother came over too and added, “Yeah, I can vouch for that. Back then, Brother Xiao really liked her. That group of idiots with the red armbands used to bother Fairy Song when she was trying to study, and Brother Xiao secretly dealt with them a few times.”

Big Brother He Jun nodded as well. “Yeah, I can confirm that too.”

Gu Xiao didn’t bother hiding it and admitted openly, “Yeah, I liked her even back then. Got a problem with that?”

Fifth Brother chimed in a bit sourly, “A lot of people liked Fairy Song at the time. She was still young but already ridiculously pretty, and her personality was so gentle and sweet…”

“Don’t describe my wife like that,” Gu Xiao interrupted him.

“Tsk tsk, can your possessiveness be handled by Fairy Song?” Fifth Brother said jealously. If he had known that persistence would win the fairy, he might’ve tried harder back then. But that was something he only dared to grumble about silently—he didn’t want to get beaten up.

Sigh. Originally, both he and Gu Xiao were single, but now that Gu Xiao was married, he was the only pitiful single dog left.

“Hehe, marrying such a lovely girl, who wouldn’t be possessive?” Third Brother chuckled and then suddenly remembered something. He looked at Gu Xiao and asked, “But Brother Xiao, didn’t Fairy Song have some kind of childhood engagement? I think the guy’s name was… He Wenqing?”

Gu Xiao’s lazy smile didn’t fade as he casually replied, “Yeah, that engagement was something your sister-in-law agreed to out of desperation back then. But now, she’s seen the light.”

“Whoa—Brother Xiao, you’re seriously lucky!” Sixth Brother joined in. “So, when are you bringing Fairy Song around to meet us? She was already gorgeous back then—must be even prettier now, like a real fairy!”

“Not letting you see her,” Gu Xiao replied lazily, fingers idly rubbing the rim of his teacup.

“Damn! That’s not fair!” Third Brother, who was sitting closest, threw an arm around him.

“With this whole ‘hiding your beauty in a golden house’ act, you’re totally blinded by lust and abandoning your bros.”

“Guys, when the wedding banquet happens, we gotta make sure to get him so drunk he’s useless on his wedding night—ha ha ha!”

“Get lost,” Gu Xiao cursed with a smile.

Their brotherly banter passed quickly, and soon it was time for everyone to get back to business.

As for Gu Xiao, naturally, he went off to find Song Youyou.