Chapter 8: The House Collapsed

It must be said that this move really got to Chu Minghai and his wife.

Chu Minghai had no choice but to temporarily sit by the kang, holding his daughter.

At this point, the noise outside caught the attention of others.

Jia Chunhua opened the door and hurried in, her face full of concern. “What’s going on? I’ve been hearing the baby crying non-stop.”

Lin Shufen looked at her mother like a lifeline, quickly asking for help.

“Mom, please take a look. I don’t know what’s going on. As soon as Hai Ge left, the baby started crying. She only stopped when her dad held her. We thought she was fine, but when Hai Ge tried to take her from me, she started crying again. We’ve tried several times, but she just won’t stop crying.”

Jia Chunhua’s heart ached for her granddaughter, especially at the thought of her tiny throat getting damaged from all that crying.

Upon hearing her daughter’s words, Jia Chunhua raised her eyebrows and couldn’t help but scold her daughter and son-in-law:

“You two are grown-ups, and yet you’re trying this over and over? You only need to try once. Just let her dad hold her, what’s the big deal? The baby doesn’t understand anything, just do whatever makes her comfortable. You know her throat is so delicate. Are you two not worried she might ruin her voice?”

Chu Minghai felt deeply guilty.

Lin Shufen explained, “Mom, it’s not that we don’t care about the baby, but Hai Ge really has to go. Otherwise, people at the forest station might start gossiping, and it would reflect badly on him.”

“They can do what?” Jia Chunhua raised her voice slightly.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have your brother go to the forest station and talk to Uncle Zhang for you. I’ll tell him to give Big Hai a leave of absence. He twisted his foot during yesterday’s snowstorm, so he won’t be able to work even if he goes back. He’ll have to stay inside. What’s the harm in staying at home?”

Lin Shufen still wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Chu Minghai. He said, “Then thank you, Mom. Please ask Big Brother to go to the forest station and let them know. I’ll go back tomorrow.”

Jia Chunhua’s stern face softened a little as she said, “That’s better. A good father should be like this. Remember, nothing is more important than the child!”

After giving Lin Shufen a stern look, she turned and went out to ask her elder son to help.

Chu Linyu, the little one, was quite clever and hadn’t let go of her father for a moment. Once she realized the situation had changed and her dad wasn’t leaving, she finally relaxed.

Her crying turned into soft whimpers, and eventually, she stopped crying altogether.

Noticing that the baby had calmed down, Chu Minghai sighed in relief.

But this time, he didn’t dare let go, afraid that if he did, his daughter would start crying again. Her tears were too heartbreaking, and he just couldn’t bring himself to bear it.

Lin Shufen watched the father and daughter, helpless. She reached out and gave her husband’s forehead a good, hard push, then lightly tapped their daughter’s small forehead.

Frustrated, she said, “Chu Minghai, I can already tell you’re going to be a daughter slave in the future!”

Chu Minghai didn’t argue. It seemed he also admitted his wife’s judgment.

Hearing her mother’s words, Chu Linyu couldn’t be happier. Oh, yes!

Being a “daughter slave” was wonderful! In her previous life, she had envied all those children with parents, able to act spoiled and cute and have someone to rely on.

Now, in this life, she not only had both parents and a big family, but she also had a father who was a full-fledged “daughter slave” and doting grandparents!

It was so blissful! But she wasn’t going to stop there—she was determined to win over everyone in the family!

Excited, she shook her little fist and nodded proudly, even letting out a little giggle.

Seeing his daughter so lively, Chu Minghai couldn’t help but smile too.

Lin Shufen was utterly helpless with the two of them. She reminded, “Tian Tian hasn’t finished her milk yet, what should we do?”

Chu Minghai’s smile froze for a moment. After a few seconds, he said, “Well, I’ll hold her while you feed.”

After speaking, his face turned slightly red.

Lin Shufen hadn’t expected him to be so direct, and she felt a little embarrassed.

But, fearing that their daughter might be hungry, she reluctantly nodded and unbuttoned her shirt, signaling her husband to come closer.

After more than ten minutes, Chu Linyu finally got her fill of delicious, nutritious milk. Happily, she kicked her little legs back and forth.

She didn’t know that, because of her, her parents—who had been married for eight years as an “old couple”—were both blushing, too shy to look each other in the eye.

The elementary school had already started its winter break, so Lin Feng and Lin Zheng didn’t have to go to school.

However, Lin Zheng was eager to learn. When he realized his father wasn’t leaving today, he took out his little cloth schoolbag, prepared his notebook and pen, and grabbed anyone he could to give him a lesson.

His dad knew so much: literature, physics, chemistry, even English and Russian…

So, whenever he had the chance, Lin Zheng would absorb knowledge like a sponge. After all, the material at school was too easy for him now, and they weren’t teaching anything useful.

His son was smart and eager to learn, and Chu Minghai was more than willing to teach.

He had patience, was clear in his explanations, and made the lessons lively and interesting. Sometimes, even Lin Feng would listen in for a while.

At that moment, although Chu Linyu had already drunk her milk and fallen into a deep sleep, Chu Minghai was worried that if she woke up and couldn’t find him, she would cry and ruin her little voice. So, he stayed in the East Room, letting his son bring over his books and quietly teaching him.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng didn’t go out to play but stayed with his sister, watching over her.

Finally, it was his turn. His grandfather was very serious about education and wouldn’t come in to “cause trouble” and try to steal him away. Hehehe.

In the evening, Jia Chunhua and her daughter-in-law were in the kitchen preparing dinner.

Suddenly, the door curtain was violently lifted, and cold wind rushed into the room. The person who entered didn’t notice to close the curtain properly.

Jia Chunhua was about to scold them, but the newcomer’s words made her drop the ladle in shock.

“Mom, something happened at the forest station. The house where my son-in-law lives was crushed by snow!”

When Jia Chunhua heard that something had happened at the forest station, she immediately became anxious. Her son-in-law worked there!

Her face turned pale, and she collapsed onto the stool by the stove, feeling weak all over.

“Why is my son-in-law having such bad luck lately? Is there some kind of bad omen in our house?” she thought.

“What about my daughter? And the newborn granddaughter?”

Cai Honglian noticed her mother-in-law’s distress and quickly reminded her, “Mom, you forgot, today Big Hai didn’t go to the forest station. He’s fine. He’s in the next room.”

Jia Chunhua froze for a moment, then slapped her forehead. “Oh right, Big Hai didn’t go today. Your brother helped him take the day off.”

She sighed in relief, her strength slowly returning. Her concern had caused her to panic, and she had forgotten that he was safe at home.

“Ah, it’s just that my son-in-law twisted his foot, and the grandson was bothering him with lessons. He’s been in the East Room and hasn’t been out much lately.”

“Oh, what a big misunderstanding!”

Cai Honglian glared at her husband and scolded, “You’re so reckless! You’ve scared your mom half to death.”

Jia Chunhua patted her chest to calm herself and nodded in agreement, though she was still a bit shaken. She pointed at her son with a heavy hand but couldn’t say anything for a while due to the scare.

Lin Guodong felt wronged. How could you talk about something like this calmly?

This mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were always quarreling and blaming everything on each other.

But he didn’t dare to argue back, so he silently sighed and started taking off his heavy coat. Once he was cleaned off from the snow, he continued, “I heard that the house where my brother-in-law and a few other intellectuals are staying at the forest station was a temporary building made from poor materials. It hadn’t been maintained for years. And with the heavy snow these past few days, the roof wasn’t cleared in time. Around noon, we heard a loud ‘crack,’ and it collapsed.”

“Uncle Zhang told me that the worst-hit part of the roof was directly over my brother-in-law’s bed. Everything got buried under it, even the basin was crushed flat!”

“My brother-in-law was lucky. Uncle Zhang even said so. You know, the person next to him, an old man named Zhou, had arthritis and was resting in the room. His leg was crushed by the collapse. The transport team had to use a tractor to take him to the hospital.”

“If my brother-in-law had been in the forest station house that day, recovering from his injury, that beam could have fallen directly on him. Would he still be alive? It’s really a miracle!”