Chapter 114.2

When Gu Qinghan returned home, it was already quite late. By the time he got back, everyone in the house had already gone to sleep.

However, when he climbed onto the kang, the noise he made woke Wen Nuan up.

Gu Qinghan, holding his warm, sleeping wife, gently asked, “Did I wake you?”

Wen Nuan hadn’t really been asleep. She had planned to wait for him to come home, so when she heard him, she shook her head and asked, “Why are you so late tonight?”

Normally, Gu Qinghan came home quite late, but Wen Nuan usually went to sleep by 10 p.m., so it was probably already past midnight by now.

Gu Qinghan buried his head in his wife’s neck, gently inhaling her scent, and said, “I was in a meeting.”

After a moment, he asked, “Did my mom… do anything?”

If it hadn’t been for how busy he was, Gu Qinghan had planned to come back earlier in the afternoon, but he just couldn’t get away.

Wen Nuan smiled, reaching out to ruffle her husband’s hair. She didn’t intend to hide anything from him, so she said, “It wasn’t anything major, just that your mom wanted to tie the children’s legs. I stopped her, and after that, she didn’t say anything for the rest of the night.”

To be more precise, she had purposely avoided speaking to Wen Nuan and had been chatting with Aunt Chen the whole time.

Wen Nuan was actually fine with it; she didn’t really like to talk much herself.

In the darkness, Gu Qinghan furrowed his brows and then sighed, “I’ll talk to her tomorrow. I’ll tell her not to do such things to the kids.”

Wen Nuan smiled and then asked, “By the way, did you manage to get in touch with Gu Qingsong? What’s going on with him?”

Since Zhao Wuzhu couldn’t read, there was no way it had been her idea to come to the North. It must have been Gu Qingsong pulling the strings.

Gu Qinghan spoke in a low voice, “I sent a telegram and made a phone call home, but he probably won’t respond.”

“I contacted an old comrade of mine from the Public Security Bureau. He said that Gu Qingsong has already gone with Lin Meizhi to get their marriage certificate. It seems he purposely sent my mom away.”

“Your brother is really something else, thinking that this will solve anything. Won’t Mom just be even angrier when she finds out?”

Wen Nuan couldn’t help but laugh and sigh. In order to marry Lin Meizhi, Gu Qingsong had completely disregarded his own mother. It was truly eye-opening.

Even if they got married, what difference did it make?

With Zhao Wuzhu’s temper, she could break them apart at any time.

Gu Qinghan scoffed, “Forget him. When things settle down and I’m not so busy, I’ll send my mom back and give that brat a good lesson.”

Even though Zhao Wuzhu was troublesome, she was still his real mother. Just sending her off like this without any care was truly outrageous.

Wen Nuan laughed and playfully hugged her husband’s broad shoulder. “Just don’t hit him too hard.”

If Zhao Wuzhu was going back, Wen Nuan figured she might as well buy her something to take with her, so that she wouldn’t return home empty-handed and embarrass herself, while badmouthing her son.

Gu Qinghan wrapped his arm around his wife’s slender waist and pulled her closer, smiling, “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on him, so he won’t try to scam me for medical fees.”

The two of them laughed together, but their laughter almost woke up Zhou Zhou, who was lying beside Wen Nuan. The little one suddenly let out an “Ah!” which startled them both, and they quickly fell silent.

Zhou Zhou was the most prone to crying and fussing. When he woke up at night, he could cry for half an hour or more. Gu Qinghan often had to comfort him.

After a while, as Wen Nuan lay in Gu Qinghan’s arms, she thought of something and asked, “By the way, did Da Xiang pass the pilot’s exam?”

Gu Qinglan and Li Daxiang were a good match, and Wen Nuan had a good impression of him. She just wasn’t sure what Zhao Wuzhu thought. But if Li Daxiang had the title of fighter pilot, it would probably make things more satisfactory.

Of course, even if Zhao Wuzhu didn’t agree, Wen Nuan would support Gu Qinglan.

“He passed.” Gu Qinghan squeezed Wen Nuan’s hand and, with a hint of jealousy, said, “Wen Nuan Comrade, your husband has been thinking about you like this, and you still have the energy to talk about other men.”

Feeling Gu Qinghan tense up, Wen Nuan muttered under her breath, “Gu Qinghan Comrade, you clearly…”

She was interrupted by him whispering fiercely in her ear, “My Nuan Nuan, your husband has been bottled up for a long time…”

Then, without another word, Gu Qinghan moved closer to Wen Nuan and kissed her before she could say anything else.

Zhao Wuzhu spent several dull days at the family compound, rarely leaving the house. The only time she went out was to chat with Aunt Liang next door, but on her way back, she slipped and fell before she even entered the yard, wincing in pain as she cried out.

After that fall, she didn’t dare venture out again.

None of the children really needed her. Bao Bao and Zhou Zhou recognized people, and when they were in good spirits, they were fine, happy to be held and comforted. But when they got tired or hungry, they didn’t want her. As soon as she held them, they would cry loudly.

At first, Zhao Wuzhu had wanted to play with little Lele, but Lele was perfectly content entertaining herself. Every day she either listened to the radio, singing and dancing, or took out paper and pens to draw. Sometimes, she preferred playing house with Zhuzi rather than playing with her grandmother.

Zhao Wuzhu had also wanted to teach Lele some things, but Lele pulled out a book titled “One Hundred Thousand Whys” and asked her to read it to her.

Since Zhao Wuzhu couldn’t read, she ended up just sitting around doing nothing every day.

Originally, Zhao Wuzhu had planned to visit the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, but the North was clearly different from her hometown. In the middle of winter, not only were vegetables stored in the cellar, but meat was also left outside in the yard to freeze.

As a result, Zhao Wuzhu felt more and more uncomfortable and thought about returning to her hometown sooner. She wanted to check whether Gu Qingsong had really married Lin Meizhi behind her back.

That morning, Aunt Chen looked at the clear skies outside and immediately said that she was going to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative to buy some bones to make soup to help Wen Nuan recover.

Zhao Wuzhu had been thinking about going out for a while, so she followed Aunt Chen when she left.

Perhaps because the weather had improved, more people from the family compound were out walking around. Zhao Wuzhu walked along the way and met several military wives.

When they arrived at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, Aunt Chen was standing in line to buy pig’s leg bones. Zhao Wuzhu remembered a savings book that Aunt Chen had locked away in her cupboard that morning, so she asked, “Comrade Chen, the money for the groceries is all from my Big Brother, right? Do you have enough money? If not, I still have some.”

Aunt Chen, thinking that it was better to avoid trouble, smiled and said, “It’s enough, it’s enough. Qinghan always gives enough money.”

These past few days, she had realized that it was better to listen to Wen Nuan when it came to family matters.

Aunt Chen definitely knew that she couldn’t let Zhao Wuzhu find out about the savings book. If she did, it would only lead to another argument.

Aunt Chen didn’t mind—it was just that Master Lu had repeatedly instructed her to take good care of Wen Nuan.

Especially after Wen Nuan had just given birth, when her emotions were more volatile. If they ended up arguing, it would be difficult to resolve.

Zhao Wuzhu had nothing more to say. The cold weather had made the line move quickly, and soon it was their turn.

Zhao Wuzhu looked at Aunt Chen as she took a big bone and some pig offal and frowned. “Comrade Chen, that leg bone has almost no meat on it, it’s all bone. How are you going to eat it? I think it’s better to get some fatty meat. Not only can we render the fat, but we can also eat the pork cracklings.”

She was puzzled. Did Aunt Chen even know how to buy things? It seemed like throwing money away into the sea.

Who buys bones like this?

Aunt Chen took the bones from the vendor and explained, “This leg bone doesn’t require a ticket. Our General Lu’s doctor asked me to make more bone soup for Xiao Nuan to drink. Don’t worry, mother-in-law, there will be plenty of meat. There are still a few chickens, ducks, and geese frozen in the yard.”

Zhao Wuzhu replied, “Even though it doesn’t require a ticket, one leg bone costs several cents. That’s too expensive, isn’t it…”

If they had that much money, wouldn’t it be better to just go to the black market and buy a few pounds of meat?

Zhao Wuzhu then said, “Just give me the money, I’ll go buy the groceries.”

Given Aunt Chen’s way of buying groceries, Zhao Wuzhu thought that she must be spending dozens of yuan every month.

Aunt Chen furrowed her brows and said, “Mother-in-law, this matter can’t be decided by you. It has to be arranged by Xiao Nuan.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wuzhu’s face immediately changed, and she almost wanted to snatch the money from Aunt Chen’s hands right then and there.

However, Aunt Chen didn’t want to argue and simply put the money in her pocket. She went to another counter to buy some snacks for Lele.

Zhao Wuzhu was displeased again when she saw this and remarked that Lele, being such a young child, shouldn’t be eating so many snacks—it was a waste of money.

Aunt Chen didn’t engage in an argument. She finished her shopping and went straight home.

Zhao Wuzhu knew that Aunt Chen couldn’t make the decisions, but she also couldn’t bring herself to talk to Wen Nuan about this matter.

Instead, when Gu Qinghan came home, she pulled him aside and asked, “Eldest, is Aunt Chen the one who usually buys the groceries?”

Gu Qinghan thought Zhao Wuzhu had something serious to discuss, but when he realized it was just this, he responded.

He heard several children with Wen Nuan in the room and said, “Yes, what’s the problem?”

“This is a huge problem!” Zhao Wuzhu glanced toward Wen Nuan’s room, then pulled Gu Qinghan down to sit with her, lowering her voice. “I think Aunt Chen is so careless with money, and she doesn’t know how to shop—she just buys whatever.”

Gu Qinghan frowned, pursed his lips, and remained silent.

He had thought that after Zhao Wuzhu had been quiet for a few days, she would behave, but instead, she had found something else to complain about.

Seeing that Gu Qinghan wasn’t responding, Zhao Wuzhu assumed she had a chance and continued, “You see, Mom doesn’t have much to do here. How about you give me the money? I’ll go buy groceries every day, and I can definitely save you a lot of money.”

Gu Qinghan gave her a cold look and said in a deep voice, “Mom, don’t bring this up again. Aunt Chen has been taking great care of Xiao Nuan and the children. There’s no need for you to worry about it.”

“You—” Zhao Wuzhu couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was Gu Qinghan really not concerned about this?

Gu Qinghan didn’t plan to waste any more words with her. He said, “By the way, Bao Bao and Zhou Zhou’s 100-day celebration is coming up soon. You’re the children’s grandmother. We’ll have a meal with their great-grandfather, and then I’ll send you back to the old house.”

“See if you want to bring some local specialties. I’ll have Aunt Chen prepare them for you.”

When Zhao Wuzhu heard about the children’s great-grandfather, she stopped pushing the issue. She asked, “Is it that General from their family? Qinghan, are they really that powerful?”

Zhao Wuzhu had never lived in the military, so she wasn’t sure how powerful a General really was, but Gu Qingsong had always said they were important, so she was a bit curious.

Gu Qinghan’s expression darkened slightly, and he said flatly, “That’s not important, Mom. Just relax and enjoy your time here. Don’t worry about the household matters anymore.”

Sensing his mood, Zhao Wuzhu quickly relented, saying, “Alright, alright, I won’t worry about it.”

But she still couldn’t let it go. She tried again, suggesting, “You should at least remind Aunt Chen not to spend money so freely. And tell her not to buy so many snacks for Lele. Look at how chubby that little girl has gotten…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Gu Qinghan suddenly stood up and called toward the room, “Lele, come here to Dad.”

Lele immediately came running out with the sound of her little feet pattering against the floor. She dashed toward Gu Qinghan, her face lit up. “Dad, why did you call me?”

Gu Qinghan scooped her up effortlessly and pulled out a paper-wrapped treat from his pocket. He handed it to her and said, “Dad got you some candied hawthorns. Do you like them?”

Lele’s big, shiny eyes sparkled with delight as she exclaimed, “Wow! Lele hasn’t had candied hawthorns in so long. Dad, you’re the best!”

The little girl wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek, giggling all the while.

The happier the father and daughter looked, the darker Zhao Wuzhu’s expression became. She sat stiffly, her face completely sour, and looked as if she might explode at any moment.