Chapter 26.2

Three days later, in G Province.

After Gu Qingsong and Lin Meizhi left the Lin family home, Lin Meizhi wore a long face, her steps quick as she walked ahead.

This was supposed to be a good day for them to register their marriage, and the two had long agreed to hold a few tables for a banquet at the Lin family home today.

However, Lin Meizhi did not expect Gu Qingsong to deceive her time and again. He had first promised two hundred yuan as a wedding gift, but it ended up being only one hundred and twenty.

That was acceptable; after all, her older brother had said that they could not let the elder sister-in-law lose face and that it should not exceed Wen Nuan’s gift.

But today, at her family’s banquet, they had agreed to buy meat and fish to treat her relatives. What happened?

The promised pork was only half a catty, and everything else had been swapped for eggs. They did have fish, but they were merely finger-sized fish fry, with bones too few to get stuck between the teeth!

Lin Meizhi recalled the looks of her relatives when they saw her, wishing she could just find a hole to hide in. After eating a few bites, she simply pulled Gu Qingsong back to their home, feeling that she could not afford to lose face any further.

Gu Qingsong had downed a few cups of yellow wine and was not very quick to react. However, seeing Lin Meizhi walking so fast, he hurried after her, grabbing her arm with a smile, “Wife, wait for me! Why are you walking so fast?”

Lin Meizhi looked at the hand on her arm and felt a wave of nausea, quickly shaking off Gu Qingsong’s hand. “If we don’t hurry, it’ll be dark. We need to sleep early tonight; I have to go to work tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingsong thought Lin Meizhi meant she wanted to rush home to sleep. As he remembered that tonight was their wedding night, his anticipation grew.

Although Lin Meizhi was already pregnant, she still felt that being careful was essential.

Thinking about how he was now a man with a wife and had married the woman he had longed for filled his heart with excitement, completely oblivious to Lin Meizhi’s anger.

Throughout the journey, Lin Meizhi remained silent. When they approached Gu Qingsong’s home, she instinctively slowed her pace, subconsciously resisting the idea of living in his house.

Clearly, it was she who was marrying Gu Qingsong, yet for some reason, she now felt a bit of reluctance and disgust. It was all Gu Qingsong’s fault; he had made promises time and again, only to let her hopes shatter and allow her relatives to mock her.

In the past, she had clearly been a well-regarded girl, praised by neighbors and relatives alike—not only was she good-looking and tall, but she had also graduated from high school, was considered an educated person, and was even a sales clerk at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Who would have thought that she would end up like this now?

To be honest, Gu Qingsong wasn’t a bad man. He also graduated from high school and was a team leader at a soy sauce factory, earning fifty yuan a month. Although his salary was not particularly high, it was already double hers. Moreover, Gu Qingsong was tall and handsome, and many people praised him for that.

But after experiencing the situation with the wedding gifts and the banquet, Lin Meizhi found herself increasingly annoyed with him, feeling like she disliked everything about him!

Seeing her slow down, Gu Qingsong caught up, smiling, “Meizhi, I know you’re anxious to get home, but you also need to think about our child. If you walk too fast, you might fall, and that wouldn’t be good.”

Lin Meizhi frowned, “I will be careful.”

Then Lin Meizhi asked, “Your mom should know we had a banquet at my family’s home today, right?”

Since the Gu family had few relatives, while the Lin family had many extended family members, Lin Meizhi had mentioned early on that they would hold a banquet at her family’s house after their marriage.

Gu Qingsong nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ve taken care of it. My mom has known me for a long time and has no objections. She even asked us to treat your relatives well, so don’t overthink it.”

Not overthinking was easier said than done. Lin Meizhi had heard that her mother-in-law was somewhat fierce, but every time she had met her before, she felt that she was quite nice. Now, she wasn’t sure what to expect.

However, she was relieved that Gu Qingsong’s elder sister-in-law had gone to North City with his brother; otherwise, having to deal with two elders made Lin Meizhi feel overwhelmed just thinking about it.

Her expression softened, and she followed Gu Qingsong’s side. “Then I’ll go in with you. Let’s head back; it’s quite cold out here.”

Since they were registering their marriage today, Lin Meizhi had purposely worn a new cotton jacket. However, to appear slimmer and more stylish, she had only put on a shirt under the jacket. With the cold front that had come through these past few days, the nights were quite chilly, and she was starting to struggle with it.

Gu Qingsong noticed that there weren’t many people on the street and casually wrapped his arm around Lin Meizhi’s shoulders, leading her toward the residential compound.

“It’s just ahead. We’re on the first floor; I’ve already tidied up the room. Once we get in, you can freshen up, and then we can rest.”

Lin Meizhi had been here before, so she was no longer curious. Following Gu Qingsong, she directly entered the residential compound and arrived at their home.

Zhao Wuzhu had been waiting at home for Gu Qingsong and Lin Meizhi to return. Knowing that Gu Qingsong was hosting a banquet today, she hadn’t cooked, thinking he would definitely bring back some leftover meat.

However, when Zhao Wuzhu saw the two of them enter empty-handed, her disappointment was evident. Where was the fish or meat they were supposed to bring back?

Zhao Wuzhu’s expression darkened slightly, but upon seeing her new daughter-in-law, she made an effort to put on a cheerful face. “You’re back! Did you greet all your relatives?”

Lin Meizhi nodded, “Yes, Mom, we greeted everyone.”

Zhao Wuzhu pondered for a moment, feeling that she couldn’t let the new wife see a happy face, otherwise, what if Lin Meizhi ended up like Wen Nuan?

Since they hadn’t brought anything back, she didn’t feel like cooking either. “I thought you’d bring something back to eat. I didn’t cook, so why don’t you make me some noodles? I’m starving!”

Upon hearing this, Lin Meizhi’s expression soured. She directly replied, “I’m a bit tired today, so I won’t chat with you, Mom. I have to go to work tomorrow. I’ll head to the room to rest first.”

With that, she walked straight toward the room, although she didn’t yet know which room was hers with Gu Qingsong.

Zhao Wuzhu was taken aback, the smile that had been on her face froze, feeling a bit annoyed. Just as she was about to say something, Gu Qingsong quickly interjected, “Mom, Meizhi, and I have been busy all day, and we have to get up early for work tomorrow. We’ll come back early tomorrow evening and cook for you.”

Gu Qingsong didn’t care about his mother’s displeasure and opened the door to their room for Lin Meizhi. “Meizhi, this way.”

As soon as the door opened, Lin Meizhi frowned and asked Gu Qingsong, “Didn’t you change the bed?”

Gu Qingsong scratched his head, unsure how to explain the situation. He replied, “It hasn’t been delivered yet; it should come tomorrow or the day after. But don’t worry, the pillowcases and duvet covers are all new.”

Lin Meizhi felt her chest rise and fall with anger. Those sheets and duvet covers were part of her dowry. So, was Gu Qingsong saying he had only bought two new pillowcases?

Thinking this, she asked him directly if he had just bought two new pillowcases.

Gu Qingsong frowned and replied, “That was my elder brother and sister-in-law; they said it was a wedding gift for us…”

Lin Meizhi shoved the tall man towards the door. “Gu Qingsong, get out!”

Knowing Lin Meizhi was pregnant, Gu Qingsong didn’t dare push back. He could only leave the room, planning to coax her back later.

Zhao Wuzhu stood with her hands on her hips, watching Gu Qingsong and the closed door, feeling furious.

Just as she was about to demand an explanation from her beloved son, Gu Qingsong blocked her way. “Mom, Meizhi is carrying your grandson. She’s probably just tired after a long day; don’t make a big deal out of it.”

Then Gu Qingsong added, “Today is our wedding night; just let us handle our matters.”

Zhao Wuzhu was so angry that she felt like her eyes might pop out. In the end, she kicked Gu Qingsong and exclaimed, “Gu Qingsong, I won’t bother with you anymore. You’ll see what happens next!”

—o—o—o—

North City.

After three days of snow, the weather cleared up.

The sky was exceptionally blue after the snowfall, and icicles hung from the eaves at the door. Initially, Wen Nuan thought they looked beautiful.

However, Gu Qinghan warned her that these icicles could be dangerous and extremely sharp. He recalled that someone had been injured by an icicle before, so he got up early to clear the icicles from the eaves and the snow from the roof.

In addition to Gu Qinghan, the neighbor’s sister-in-law, Guihua, and Zhou Jianshe also got up early to shovel snow, fearing that the weight of the snow would collapse the roof, which would make it impossible to survive the winter.

While the two men were on the roof clearing the snow, Wen Nuan held the child and prepared a pot of red date and ginger tea with Guihua, chatting as they enjoyed their tea.

Just as they were deep in conversation, they heard the voice of Juxiang, the sister-in-law, outside.

It turned out Sister Juxiang had brought over some frozen pears and a fish, saying she had received some local specialties from the frontier that Gu Qinghan had given her earlier. Since the weather was clear, she wanted to return some items to Wen Nuan.

She also brought a fish for Guihua.

Sister Juxiang said, “This morning, my husband Zhao took our son fishing, and since it wasn’t snowing today, I thought I’d bring over a fish for you.”

Then she pulled out some frozen pears. “Here are some frozen pears. I wasn’t sure if you like them, but I thought I’d bring some for you as well.”

Wen Nuan had anticipated that Juxiang would eventually return some items to her. She hurriedly accepted the frozen pears and the fish, saying, “Thank you, Sister Juxiang. I just told Gu Qinghan today that I was craving fish. I still haven’t eaten the pickled vegetables you gave me before, so I didn’t expect you to bring me a fish. I’ll make pickled fish tonight.”

The fish that Juxiang brought was particularly fat, weighing several catty, enough to feed their family for several meals!

Sister Juxiang smiled and said, “If it weren’t for the fact that we already had a few fish at home, I would definitely bring my child over to share a meal with you. My husband Zhao has been talking about your vegetarian rice balls for a while now and asked me to learn how you make them. Next time you have some free time, I’ll come over to ask you for the recipe.”

Wen Nuan chuckled, “I’m not sure it’s as delicious as you say. When you have some free time, I’ll come over to visit you.”

Sister Juxiang replied, “That sounds great. I’ll be waiting for you.”

Sister Juxiang glanced at Gu Qinghan in the living room, he always had that cold and indifferent attitude, which made it hard to imagine that he was someone who cared for his wife and child.

Seeing Gu Qinghan busy with some walnuts, she joked, “We also made a walnut bracelet for the child; it’s nice for them to wear.”

Wen Nuan had seen several children in the residential compound wearing such bracelets and guessed Gu Qinghan had noticed it too, which was why he wanted to make one for their child.

Wen Nuan smiled and said, “Yes, I saw Xiao Dong and Xiao Mei wearing them last time, and they looked quite nice. Lele doesn’t wear one, but it’s fine to let her play with it as a toy.”

After sitting for a while, Juxiang drank a cup of red date and ginger tea that Wen Nuan poured for her, feeling a bit warmer.

Then she continued, “By the way, I heard that the residential compound is organizing some ideological education classes. Have you received any news about that?”

Then Juxiang, the sister-in-law, excitedly added, “Can you guess what it’s for? You definitely can’t guess; I didn’t think this matter would suddenly come up again. I heard that Zheng Wei himself is coming to give us these classes!”

Ideological education classes?

Wen Nuan had been here for quite some time and hadn’t known about such classes, nor had Gu Qinghan mentioned them to her. Why was Zheng Wei suddenly launching this class? Did someone make a mistake again?

Sister Guihua, the sister-in-law, was also very curious. “Come on, tell us! You’re making us all so curious; our hearts are racing! How could Zheng Wei waste his time giving us a class?”

Then Sister Juxiang lowered her voice conspiratorially. “You won’t believe it!”

“It’s about the incident where He Dazhuang stole pork. Someone reported it to Zheng Wei!”