Chapter 5

Wen Nuan looked at the extra money in the account, and her first thought was of the conversation Zhao Wuzhu and Gu Qingsong had about raising the bride price a few days ago.

200 yuan for the bride price—this amount wasn’t far off from that.

Did Gu Qinghan send this money to the family to help Gu Qingsong with the bride price?

But over the past year, all family expenses had never been sent through her. Was this a mistake, or was it specifically meant for her?

With these doubts in mind, Wen Nuan decided to head home first to figure out what was going on.

As soon as she walked through the door, Zhao Wuzhu saw her and awkwardly smiled, “You’re back? Come over and have some food.”

Zhao Wuzhu’s warm expression was not commonly seen, at least not in front of Wen Nuan.

However, Wen Nuan tried to avoid arguing as much as possible, knowing that it truly affected her mood.

Zhao Wuzhu did not mind Wen Nuan’s attitude. He walked over with a smile and teased the little one in Wen Nuan’s arms, saying, “Zhaodi, come here, let Grandma give you a hug. Look at this little one, with those big, shiny eyes, so adorable. Are you hungry? Grandma has cooked some egg custard in the pot; how about I give it to you later?”

As she spoke, Zhao Wuzhu extended her arms, wanting to take the child from Wen Nuan.

Seeing that Zhao Wuzhu had not washed her hands and was casually naming the child, Wen Nuan casually shifted to the side and then turned to walk into the room. “I’ll wash her hands before she eats.”

Zhao Wuzhu was left empty-handed and clicked her tongue in frustration, muttering, “What a fuss! How dirty can a little kid be? If you wash her 8 or 10 times a day, her skin would be raw!”

Wen Nuan pretended not to hear her. She took a child-sized basin from inside the room and then went to the kitchen to scoop a spoonful of water from the washbasin, carefully washing each little finger of the child.

At first, the little one enjoyed having her hands washed by Wen Nuan. However, as time went on, she started splashing the water, soaking her clothes and even getting Wen Nuan wet in the process.

Wen Nuan frowned and scolded: “You can’t play like that!”

The more she scolded, the more the child got into it, even preparing to step into the basin with her feet.

Wen Nuan simply picked her up and placed her on the bed, letting her lie down as she intended to put away the remittance slip.

At that moment, Gu Qingsong’s voice came from outside the door. “Mom, I’m back.”

Hearing her son return, Zhao Wuzhu immediately stepped forward, lowering her voice intentionally. “So, did your older brother reply? Did you go to the post office to check if the remittance came through?”

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingsong threw his army-green shoulder bag onto the wooden sofa and replied gloomily, “Don’t mention it; there’s nothing!”

Zhao Wuzhu frowned, her expression turning a bit ugly. “What’s going on? It’s been two days, and there’s not a word from your brother? Does he even care about his mother?”

Then, Zhao Wuzhu picked up an enamel cup, filled it halfway with water, and handed it to Gu Qingsong. “No way. Didn’t you say your brother is about to be transferred to the Northern Military District? He needs to come home once before he goes!”

Whether it meant crying or making a fuss, she was determined to help Gu Qingsong resolve this bride price issue before Gu Qinghan left for the Northern Military District.

Gu Qingsong took the enamel cup that Zhao Wuzhu handed him and gulped down several big mouthfuls. “Yeah, otherwise, once my brother goes to Northern Military District, he’ll be busy with his own things and won’t have time for me.”

Zhao Wuzhu snorted. “Don’t worry; your Mom will definitely help you solve this matter.”

—o—o—o—

In the room, Wen Nuan perked up her ears, catching just a word or two, but she was sure that Gu Qinghan hadn’t agreed to help Gu Qingsong yet.

Looking at the remittance slip in her hand, Wen Nuan rubbed her chin against her daughter’s little head and murmured to herself, “Baby, do you think your dad understands what I mean?”

“Looks like he doesn’t understand and even misunderstood.”

The little one naturally could not comprehend what Wen Nuan meant, but upon seeing the remittance slip in her hand, she immediately stretched out her chubby little arms, wanting to grab the paper.

Unfortunately, her little arms weren’t long enough, and she could only flap them in the air, making excited “ya ya ya” sounds.

Seeing that the little one’s expression had drooped because she couldn’t reach it, Wen Nuan chuckled and said, “You can’t play with this!”

Wen Nuan guessed that Gu Qinghan had received her telegram for two consecutive days and probably misunderstood her meaning, thinking she was urgently asking him for money.

It wasn’t surprising that Gu Qinghan misinterpreted her intentions. After all, since their marriage, she had only actively contacted him once.

And that time was solely to ask for money.

So that was why Gu Qinghan had sent her such a large sum of money at once.

However, Wen Nuan hadn’t expected Gu Qinghan to have that much money!

No wonder Zhao Wuzhu and Gu Qingsong thought of him immediately when they needed funds.

This money came at a fortunate time because if she wanted to take the child along with the military, she would definitely need money for various expenses.

If you don’t have any idea how to manage a family, you won’t know how precious every penny is. Everything—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—required money and tickets.

Now that she had to care for her hungry little one and had no job, every single penny had to be tightly held onto.

Moreover, she harbored a bit of a mischievous thought; she didn’t want Gu Qinghan to help Gu Qingsong with such a large bride price.

She recalled that in the original story, Gu Qinghan had sent most of his money back home.

He was warm-hearted and often helped his comrades and the families of martyrs, preferring to go hungry himself so that others could eat well and dress warmly.

He hardly had any money to spare.

“Wen Nuan” had always been troubled by this.

This was likely one of the early signs that “Wen Nuan” wanted to abandon her daughter.

Now, with Gu Qinghan sending her a remittance of one hundred and eighty yuan, it was probably all of his savings.

‘Never mind; since the money had already arrived in her account, she would manage it well. There would be plenty of places to spend money once they went to the Northern Military District.’

As she walked into the living room holding the child, Zhao Wuzhu intentionally teased the little one in front of Wen Nuan. “Zhaodi, do you miss your daddy? Your daddy is about to be transferred to the North. Oh dear, that place is quite far away; we won’t be able to see him easily in the future!”

Then she glanced at Wen Nuan and said with a smile, “Tomorrow, let’s go to the post office to send a telegram to your husband, telling him to come home quickly. Otherwise, we won’t even be able to see him when we want to!”

The little one had eaten a few spoonfuls of egg custard, and her mouth was smeared with bits of egg. Zhao Wuzhu felt sorry upon seeing it and was about to use her finger to scrape it into the child’s mouth.

The little one’s skin turned red where Zhao Wuzhu’s finger had scraped it, and her mouth pouted, as if she were about to cry.

When Wen Nuan saw this, she furrowed her brow and quickly switched the child to her other arm.

Zhao Wuzhu didn’t mind; she cheerfully popped the egg custard from her finger into her mouth, licking it clean, and continued, “By the way, you should tell your Dad and Mom to hurry up and have another little brother for you. That way, you’ll have a playmate in the future!”

Wen Nuan: “…”

“Maybe it’ll be a little sister!”

Wen Nuan’s expression darkened even more, and she said, “And she doesn’t have a name, she’s not Zhaodi. Don’t say such nonsense anymore!”

Wen Nuan didn’t care about her. She put down her chopsticks, picked up her daughter, and went back to the room, slamming the door with a loud “bang.”

Zhao Wuzhu’s face was as dark as ink, and with a jab of his chopsticks, he clattered the dish loudly.

Seeing this, Gu Qingsong, afraid he would have to wash the dishes, quickly licked the egg fragments clean from his bowl, then abandoned the bowl and chopsticks, rushing toward the door. “Mom, I’m going to find Meizhi,” he called out.

Zhao Wuzhu looked at the table full of bowls and dishes and, realizing the situation too late, cursed, “Damn it, all of you just know how to eat!”

—o—o—o—

It was early November.

With winter slowly approaching, Wen Nuan had been at home for the past few days helping her daughter make a cotton-padded jacket.

Wen Nuan consulted several sisters-in-law in the family courtyard and learned a bit about sewing. Although she couldn’t make it look perfect, her strong hands ensured the stitches were tight and even.

Since the child grew quickly and wore many layers in winter, Wen Nuan intentionally made the cotton-padded jacket a bit larger.

After days of hard work, the clothes finally took on a rough shape. Wen Nuan placed the jacket on her child and smiled as she said, “Look at the cotton-padded jacket Mommy made for you! Isn’t it beautiful?”

The little one could sit steadily now. Hearing Wen Nuan’s words, she excitedly grabbed at her new clothes, giggling happily.

Wen Nuan smiled gently, her eyes warm. “I knew you would like it!”

After finishing two pieces of clothing for her child, there was only a little cotton left, but not much fabric. It wasn’t enough to make another full outfit, and using it to make underpants would be a bit too much.

Wen Nuan hadn’t decided what to make yet, so she put the remaining fabric and cotton back in the cabinet.

Thinking that the child had just taken a nap and could “stay put” for a few hours, Wen Nuan decided to go out and buy some groceries. Tonight, she planned to treat her crafty self to a nice meal!

In this era, even having enough to eat was still an issue. The meat was a rare treat that they could only have a few times a year, but luckily, the city was near a river, so seafood wasn’t as hard to come by as pork.

By the afternoon, if she was lucky, she might even catch a sale without needing ration tickets.

Wen Nuan didn’t have a job, so she was very careful with her spending. However, Gu Qinghan had recently transferred her 180 yuan in one go, and she hadn’t started spending it yet.

In this moment of self-care, Wen Nuan’s spirit echoed the sentiment of Virginia Woolf, who once said, “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well.” For tonight, a good meal would be the reward she deserved.

Although she was reluctant to spend money, it had been too long since she had enjoyed any fish or meat, and she was truly craving it. She decided to buy a big fish tonight to make a steamed fish head with chopped chili and also simmer some fish soup. It could also be considered a way to replenish the “grain store” for the little one in bed.

As soon as she left the family courtyard, Wen Nuan ran into a sister-in-law who was also planning to buy fish.

The sister-in-law said, “I’ll take you to a place where they have a lot of things for sale.”

Wen Nuan didn’t have a wooden cart, so she always carried her child when going out. However, the sister-in-law happened to have a wooden cart she had made herself, which had been sitting idle since her child had grown up. Now it would come in handy.

Wen Nuan smiled gently and said, “Sister-in-law, thank you so much.”

“No need to thank me; it’s just a small thing.”

Wen Nuan followed the sister-in-law for about four streets before arriving at a fishing village dock. There were many families living on boats, making their livelihood from fishing.

This place was also quite close to her parents’ home.

In addition to seafood vendors, there were many stalls selling vegetables, and the crowd was large. The sister-in-law became so engrossed in shopping that she forgot to keep Wen Nuan company.

Wen Nuan also intended to buy some vegetables to have on hand, as they would make it easier to cook noodles at home.

After purchasing the vegetables, Wen Nuan bought a large fish weighing about three to four catties. It would be enough for soup, steaming, frying, and stewing.

However, when she spotted a stall selling shrimp nearby, she felt tempted again.

But before she could make a move, she heard her daughter in the stroller crying out, “Ah! Ah! Ah!”

Wen Nuan worried that the child was being squeezed, preparing to give up on buying shrimp. However, the next moment, she heard a young man’s teasing voice say, “Little girl, why are you crying? Don’t you recognize your uncle?”

He reached out to pick up the child from the stroller.

Wen Nuan immediately straightened her face and scolded, “Don’t touch her! My child is scared!”

The man chuckled casually and glanced at Wen Nuan. “Sister, look at you getting so nervous; when a stranger hears you, they will think I am a kidnapper or something.”

The man who just arrived was Wen Nuan’s younger brother, the family’s beloved child.

Ever since Wen Nuan married Gu Qinghan, he often came over to ask her for money.

From a young age, Mother Wen had taught “Wen Nuan” to “take care” of her brother and support her maternal family. As long as her family was doing well, she would have the confidence to stand her ground in the Gu family.

In fact, Gu Qinghan sent “Wen Nuan” twenty yuan a month, which was enough for her needs. However, because she often let Mother Wen and her brother drain her finances, “Wen Nuan” ended up with nothing left.

Now, she was no longer that naive sister who supported her brother unconditionally, nor would she allow Mother Wen and her brother to brainwash her into constantly subsidizing her maternal family. So, she sarcastically said to Wen Wenkang, “You’re even more annoying than a kidnapper!”

Wen Wenkang had never been treated this way by Wen Nuan, and in a fit of anger, he kicked a nearby wooden bucket—it made a jarring “thud” that startled both Wen Nuan and the child.

However, the next second, Wen Wenkang’s gaze slowly fell on the large fish that Wen Nuan was carrying, which weighed several catties.

“Wow, such a big fish! Looks like you’re living quite comfortably, sis. Sigh, while your life is so good, you don’t even care about your family. I’m eating pickled vegetables and dried radishes with Mom and Dad every day; we can hardly get by. How can you be so ungrateful and disregard the sacrifices our parents made for us?”

His words painted Wen Nuan as an ungrateful, callous person, someone whom everyone should despise.

But Wen Nuan couldn’t confront him at that moment. The child had already been scared by him, and if they got into another conflict, she might start crying again, which would make her anxious at bedtime.

So, Wen Nuan decided to ignore him and pushed the stroller, preparing to head back home.

However, when Wen Wenkang saw her action, he immediately followed her, his long arm pressing down on the hand that was pushing the stroller. “You shameless person, you think you can just walk away?”

“Give me the fish!” he said, reaching out with his other hand to snatch the fish that Wen Nuan had just bought.

Wen Nuan was already prepared to give up the struggle, but the next second, she heard a piercing scream.

“Ah—!”

Then, a cold, menacing male voice came through. “Move again, and I’ll break your hand!”

Wen Nuan paused, gripping the handle of the stroller tightly as she pushed it forward.

She was afraid that the now trembling, and shouting Wen Wenkang would hurt both her and her child. But the next moment, she felt a tall figure stood in front of her, instantly shielding her and the child behind him.