Chapter 111

Gu Qinglan followed the guard to the gates of the family compound.

Along the way, her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Li Daxiang.

Previously, Wen Nuan had mentioned to her that the group of trainee pilots who had gone to Shenyang for training would return to the unit by the end of the year.

Could it be that this group of people had come back?

Gu Qinglan walked briskly, so quickly that she soon left the guard trailing behind her by quite a distance. However, just as she was approaching the gates of the unit, she saw a familiar figure.

It happened to be the Winter Solstice today, as well as the market day in town. Because of this, many people from the family compound had taken the opportunity to go into town to shop.

In the preceding period, the northern unit had been in a semi-lockdown state. Apart from soldiers on missions, others had been required to stay within the family compound and were not allowed to leave.

It wasn’t until early December that the family compound gradually reopened for movement. After being cooped up for three months, the family members seized the chance to celebrate the holiday and went out in groups to the bustling market.

As a result, the gate of the unit was crowded with people entering and exiting while their documents were being checked.

Even after years of not seeing her, Gu Qinglan could recognize that person in the crowd at a glance.

Who else could it be but her biased mother—biased so naturally and righteously—if not Zhao Wuzhu?

With her mind full of questions, Gu Qinglan walked toward the gate. Had it not been for the freezing weather of winter, where the outdoor temperature had dropped to below minus ten degrees Celsius, she might have turned around and walked away right then.

The first moment she saw Zhao Wuzhu, memories of returning home from her rural post years ago flooded back to her.

Her mother hadn’t spoken a single kind word to her back then. Instead, she was wronged and even beaten severely.

In stark contrast, Wen Nuan, despite never having met her, immediately believed her when she heard about the incident.

But Zhao Wuzhu? Even if she had knelt down and begged for forgiveness, she still beat her mercilessly.

Perhaps recalling these unpleasant memories slowed Gu Qinglan’s steps as she approached Zhao Wuzhu. She even hesitated, almost disbelieving.

What could have brought her to this place?

Could it be that Zhao Wuzhu had heard about Big Brother’s wife giving birth to twin sons and came here to see the children? 

It wasn’t impossible—her mother was the epitome of someone who favored sons over daughters. 

If she really came to see the children, it wouldn’t be surprising. After all, these two boys were the eldest grandsons of the Gu family. 

While Gu Qinglan was still full of doubts, the guard finally caught up to her, panting white clouds of breath in the cold air as he said, “Comrade Gu Qinglan, that’s the person looking for you. She said you must come out to meet her yourself.” 

The guard, catching his breath after rushing over, added, “If you’re going to take her into the family compound, you’ll need to go to the Political Department for a pass.” 

This was due to a recent enemy agent incident within the unit. As a result, the military had tightened the regulations on the entry and exit of family members. 

Hearing the guard’s reminder, Gu Qinglan nodded and replied, “Alright, thank you, Comrade.” 

“No problem. You’d better hurry,” the guard said, glancing at the increasingly overcast sky. “The weather’s freezing—it might snow again soon.” 

Gu Qinglan pressed her lips together, thanked him again, and walked out of the gates of the unit. She headed straight toward Zhao Wuzhu. 

But as she neared Zhao Wuzhu, her mother kept craning her neck, looking toward the family compound, as if she hadn’t recognized her daughter yet. 

Noticing her mother holding two large bags in her hands, shrinking her head into her shoulders pitifully in the cold, Gu Qinglan finally walked up to her and called out, “Mom—” 

Zhao Wuzhu had been waiting at the gates of the unit for quite some time, watching the comings and goings of the people in line. But she still hadn’t seen her daughter, Gu Qinglan, come out. 

She was both frustrated and anxious. 

She hadn’t known that the North would be such a remote place. There wasn’t even a direct train to the county. 

After arriving in Beijing, she had to endure more than ten hours on a vehicle, crossing barren mountains and forests to reach this place. 

While riding on the truck into the base, she even thought she had taken the wrong route or boarded the wrong vehicle. 

How could such a desolate place exist? 

Even this so-called unit had no signage indicating that it was the North Air Force Base, apart from the guards at the gate. 

If it weren’t for the soldiers in uniform constantly entering and exiting, she would have thought she had gotten lost. 

However, the familiar “Mom” from Gu Qinglan instantly reignited hope in Zhao Wuzhu. 

She followed the voice and looked toward the person approaching her. At first glance, she was utterly shocked. Then, hesitantly and with uncertainty, she called out, “Qing… Qinglan?” 

In Zhao Wuzhu’s mind, her impression of Gu Qinglan was still stuck on the skinny, scrawny little girl from before she had been sent to the countryside.

Two years ago, Gu Qinglan had returned to her hometown briefly, but she had only stayed for two or three days. 

At that time, the incident with Lin Meizhi falling down the stairs and miscarrying had just happened. Before Zhao Wuzhu could properly take a good look at her daughter, Gu Qinglan had left home again. 

Now, seeing her, Gu Qinglan had grown tall and slender. Despite wearing thick layers for the winter, her round, healthy face made it clear that she was living well. 

Her skin had lightened considerably, her hair had grown longer, and she had tied it into two braids that hung neatly over her shoulders. She stood straight and graceful. 

Zhao Wuzhu honestly hadn’t recognized her own daughter. 

Gu Qinglan frowned slightly and responded, “Of course, it’s me.” 

—Your worthless daughter. 

Zhao Wuzhu was so stunned her jaw nearly dropped. “This… I really didn’t recognize you! You look so good. No wonder you’re a child of our Gu family—born to be stunning.” 

Gu Qinglan wasn’t in the mood to hear this pointless flattery. She reached out and took the bags from Zhao Wuzhu’s hands. They were so heavy that she needed both hands to carry them. 

She asked, “Mom, why did you suddenly come to the North? Why didn’t you let me or Big Brother know beforehand?” 

Due to the recent enemy agent incident, no new family members had come to the compound for quite some time. Everyone was afraid of causing trouble and bringing unnecessary scrutiny that could impact the family’s soldier, their pillar of support. 

But that wasn’t the only issue. The bigger problem was that Gu Qinglan simply didn’t have the time to take care of her mother, let alone her Big Brother, whom she hadn’t seen in ages. 

According to Wen Nuan, her Big Brother, Gu Qinghan, was now constantly shuttling between the North and Beijing. He often had to attend meetings late into the night, only returning home when the lights were about to go out. 

Her mother showing up at this time really wasn’t ideal. 

Zhao Wuzhu let out a heavy sigh and said in a displeased tone, “Don’t bring it up. It’s a long story. Isn’t it because your Big Brother’s wife gave birth to twin boys? I came to see the babies.” 

She glanced toward the gates of the unit and said, “Quickly take me to the house your Big Brother was assigned. This North is too cold—I’m about to turn into a popsicle.” 

As she spoke, she rubbed her arms and adjusted the collar of her padded jacket, as if afraid the cold wind would sneak in. 

Gu Qinglan glanced at her mother, annoyed, and replied, “I can’t take you inside. It requires approval from the Political Department. I’ll take you to the family guesthouse first.” 

Her mother’s sudden arrival was obviously unplanned, and it was clear that neither her Big Brother nor her sister-in-law knew about it. If she recklessly brought her mother to their place, what if her sister-in-law didn’t like it? 

She had heard about the rocky relationship between her mother and her sister-in-law. At this point, Gu Qinglan was firmly on Wen Nuan’s side!

If her sister-in-law didn’t like it, Gu Qinglan wasn’t about to let her mother cause any trouble or discomfort. 

Besides, getting approval for the entry pass was particularly difficult lately. As a medic, she knew she had no authority to request one. It was better to find her mother a temporary place to stay and then discuss the situation with her sister-in-law later. 

Gu Qinglan was thoroughly exasperated. Why did her mother always bring her trouble? 

If they weren’t separated by almost the entire expanse of China, she might have just sent her mother straight back to their hometown right then and there. 

Zhao Wuzhu frowned, skeptical. “Is it really that complicated? Qingsong said you’re a soldier with military status. Can’t you just take me in first? What’s all this talk about a guesthouse? Doesn’t that cost money?” 

She glared at Gu Qinglan, her voice rising angrily. “I’m not going! I want to stay at your Big Brother’s house!” 

What a joke. She was the mother of a cadre at the regiment level. The idea of coming all the way to the base, being denied entry to the family compound, and then wasting money on a guesthouse was unthinkable to her. 

Gu Qinglan shot her mother a glance and, seeing that she was truly unwilling to move, said, “You’ve come all this way without giving any notice. I’m just a nurse—I don’t have the authority to bring family members inside. If you don’t want to go, fine. Stay here and wait!” 

With that, Gu Qinglan plopped the luggage bags heavily onto the snow. 

Zhao Wuzhu was stunned. The Gu Qinglan who had always been obedient and submissive now dared to treat her with this kind of attitude. Her temper flared instantly. 

Pointing her finger at her daughter, she shouted, “Gu Qinglan, you ungrateful girl! How dare you speak to your mother like this? Are you trying to anger me to death? Go find your Big Brother and bring him to see me right now!” 

Gu Qinglan looked at her coldly and let out a sarcastic laugh. “What am I doing wrong? I’m trying to arrange a guesthouse for you, and that’s still not enough? What more do you want from me?” 

“And anyway, is this how a mother should act? When you need me, it’s ‘Qinglan, Qinglan.’ But when you’re beating me, it’s ‘you ungrateful girl’ over and over again. I was twenty years old that year, and you still beat me so hard I was covered in bruises! How do you even have the face to say anything to me now?” 

The fact that she still recognized Zhao Wuzhu as her mother was already a sign of how mature and forgiving she was. 

“You—” Zhao Wuzhu hadn’t expected Gu Qinglan to have grown so sharp-tongued. But the events from back then were undeniably her fault. Now, whether to respond or to stay silent, she didn’t know what to say.

“Gu Qinglan, no matter what, I’m still your mother! How was I supposed to know things would turn out so absurd back then? I was deceived by that wretched woman too!” Zhao Wuzhu exclaimed.

Gu Qinglan impatiently interrupted her, saying, “Alright, alright, are you going or not? If you’re not, I don’t have time to argue with you.”

Zhao Wuzhu frowned and said, “I’m not going! Get your Big Brother out here. I want to see him!”

“Big Brother is busy,” Gu Qinglan snorted. “I haven’t seen him in days myself. You’ve come at the wrong time.”

Zhao Wuzhu was dissatisfied and asked, “Then what about your sister-in-law? Can’t she come out and let me in?”

For the past few years, Zhao Wuzhu had not been in direct contact with Wen Nuan and had mostly relied on Gu Qinglan to act as a go-between. However, while Zhao Wuzhu was still in her hometown, she had heard that Wen Nuan had reconnected with her biological family. Gu Qingsong had told her that Wen Nuan turned out to be the granddaughter of some high-ranking general.

It was also said that the general had personally dealt with Wen Nuan’s adoptive parents—those so-called “bloodsucking” foster parents—and her younger brother, sending them off for re-education through labor.

Upon learning this, Zhao Wuzhu had felt both anxious and fearful, worried that Wen Nuan might retaliate against her family because of what had happened in the past. She no longer dared to cause trouble and instead stayed quietly in her hometown.

Eventually, however, she heard news that Wen Nuan and her Big Brother had given birth to twins. It seemed the two had developed real feelings for each other, which eased Zhao Wuzhu’s fears. At most, she figured she’d just need to maintain a good relationship with Wen Nuan in the future.

Gu Qinglan frowned. “My sister-in-law isn’t some bigshot. She can’t just bring you in whenever you want.”

Zhao Wuzhu didn’t believe her and muttered softly, “Isn’t your sister-in-law the granddaughter of that general? Bringing in a family member should be a piece of cake for her, right?”

“Shut up!” Gu Qinglan snapped, looking at Zhao Wuzhu with a serious expression. Her tone became stern. “Mom, let me make this clear. You can’t go around saying stuff like that in the military compound. If someone overhears you, it could cause a lot of trouble. Even Big Brother could get dragged down because of you.”

Gu Qinglan continued, “Besides, my sister-in-law’s status doesn’t change the fact that she’s simply a military spouse right now. She also has to take care of the kids. Where would she find the time to deal with you?”

Zhao Wuzhu, having lived through the Cultural Revolution, clearly understood the consequences of careless words. Now, faced with Gu Qinglan’s sharp retort, she was left speechless. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she finally gave in, saying, “Alright, alright, we’ll do as you say. I’ll stay at the guesthouse for now.”

Then, she added, “But I don’t have any money.”

Gu Qinglan barely managed to restrain herself and said, “Come with me. If we don’t leave now, you’re going to freeze solid.”

Soon, Gu Qinglan brought Zhao Wuzhu to the guesthouse, which was located next to the military district hospital. With a proper letter of introduction, one could check in there. Glancing at Zhao Wuzhu’s letter of introduction, Gu Qinglan asked, “Where did you even get this letter?”

Zhao Wuzhu, who could barely recognize a handful of characters, somehow made it all the way here. Gu Qinglan couldn’t figure it out.

It didn’t seem like Zhao Wuzhu was the type to go through all this trouble, even with her Big Brother’s wife having given birth to twins. Based on what she knew about her, Zhao Wuzhu was not the sort of person who would travel nearly across the entire country just for a glance at the babies—especially in the dead of winter.

Zhao Wuzhu shot a glance at Gu Qinglan. Before she could say anything, tears began streaming down her face, and she blurted out angrily, “Who else? Your Second Brother! That blind fool!”

Gu Qinglan frowned. “What happened?”

Had that idiot Gu Qingsong gotten himself into trouble again? Could it have something to do with that Lin Meizhi woman?

Wiping her tears with her sleeve, Zhao Wuzhu began recounting the situation between Gu Qingsong and Lin Meizhi. After their divorce, the two somehow reconnected. Just half a month ago, Gu Qingsong had even said he wanted to remarry Lin Meizhi and take responsibility for raising her son.

Zhao Wuzhu had been firmly against it. She cried and made a scene for nearly two weeks before Gu Qingsong finally relented and promised to cut ties with Lin Meizhi.

Gu Qinglan’s irritation deepened when Zhao Wuzhu explained further, “He said I should relax and come along to the North with him to see the eldest grandson of the Gu family’s eldest son.”

But who would have thought that when it was time to leave, Gu Qingsong would send her off alone? He had put her on a train by herself and asked a classmate of his, who was also heading North, to accompany her to Beijing. After switching trains twice, she was finally put on a vehicle heading for the northern military base.

Zhao Wuzhu, barely literate and unable to speak proper Mandarin, struggled with the northern dialect to the point that it was like chickens and ducks trying to communicate.

When she arrived, she had initially tried to ask a guard to help her find Gu Qinghan, but the guard couldn’t understand her heavy rural accent no matter how hard she tried. Left with no choice, she decided to write it down. However, she didn’t know how to write the character “Han” in Gu Qinghan’s name. Desperate, she wrote Gu Qinglan’s name instead, hoping it would get someone to help.

Thankfully, the guard found Gu Qinglan. Otherwise, Zhao Wuzhu might have frozen to death right at the gate of the military base.

“This is ridiculous,” Gu Qinglan muttered to herself, unable to believe that Gu Qingsong had, once again, willingly jumped into a pit of fire. She couldn’t hold back her anger and exclaimed, “Gu Qingsong must be out of his mind!”

“Exactly! He’s a lunatic!” Zhao Wuzhu’s fury reignited as she thought of her idiotic son. Clenching her teeth, she spat, “I think that wretched woman must’ve put some sort of spell on him!”

“I’m telling you right now: even if it kills me, I will never agree to him being with that shameless woman!”

Gu Qinglan sighed, realizing her mother was barking up the wrong tree. She frowned and said, “It’s not about whether you agree or not. For all you know, they might’ve already registered their marriage. Do they even need your permission at this point?”

“The real problem is why Gu Qingsong dumped you here like this. What does he think he’s doing?”

Could it be that he wanted to leave their mother here in the North for Big Brother to deal with? Did he think their sister-in-law would agree to that?

Gu Qinglan knew her mother too well. Even if Wen Nuan were willing to take her in, Gu Qinglan herself wouldn’t stand for it.