Chapter 31: The Gu Family

In those days, rural people were allowed to raise pigs, but each household had to contribute at least one pig to the collective.

The collective, in return, provided monetary compensation and meat ration tickets.

This meant that if a family raised only one pig, they had no choice but to hand it over.

However, if they raised two or more pigs, they could keep the extra ones for themselves or trade them with fellow villagers for other goods.

During the recent swine fever outbreak, many pigs in the village had died.

The Liu family was left with only one pig, which had to be handed over.

But… not everyone was unlucky. For instance, her cousin, Liu Hongmei’s family, had managed to keep both of their pigs alive.

One pig was handed over to the collective, but the fate of the second one was unknown. Would they sell it within the village?

She needed to ask about it later. If she could buy some pork, she would stock up as much as possible.

This was what she had in mind, and she shared her thoughts with Gu Cheng.

“If they do sell it, the price will definitely go up.”

With high demand and limited supply, a price increase was inevitable.

“If there’s any available, buy as much as you can,” Gu Cheng said, completely unconcerned about the cost.

Hearing this, Liu Yinyin was delighted. Gu Cheng never restricted her spending, and that was good enough for her.

The next morning, after breakfast, Gu Cheng set off.

Meanwhile, Liu Yinyin stayed busy at home. Previously, Gu Cheng had brought back a good amount of fabric and cotton from the county.

Over the past few days, Liu Yinyin had sewn two thick cotton outfits for the baby, a small padded jacket, and a set of tiny quilts and mattresses. She had also made over a dozen cloth diapers.

Baby clothes didn’t require much fabric, and she had secretly taken a little extra cloth and cotton from her system stash.

There was still some leftover fabric, so Liu Yinyin decided to make two new shirts for Gu Cheng since he would be starting work soon.

After all, he was going to be a leader—he had to dress appropriately. Moreover, they were now husband and wife; if Gu Cheng appeared shabby in public, people would only blame her for being a poor housekeeper.

---

The Gu Family

Gu Cheng stopped by the county and bought a box of red date cakes and two pounds of small apples. By the time he arrived at the Gu family home, it was still work hours.

However, Mother Gu happened to be off that day and was at home.

“Mother, I’m back.” Gu Cheng stepped inside and placed the items on the table in the main hall.

Upon seeing her son return, Mother Gu remained seated in her reclining chair, barely lifting her eyelids. With a blank expression, she said coldly, “Oh, so you still remember to come back? I thought you had settled in so well at the Liu family’s house that you couldn’t bear to leave.”

He had been gone for so many days without visiting even once. It felt like she had raised this son for nothing, only for the Liu family to reap the benefits.

Gu Cheng sighed helplessly. “Both you and Father are here—of course, I’d come back.”

Mother Gu snorted, her expression slightly softening. “If you truly cared about your parents, you’d break things off with Liu Yinyin as soon as possible.”

Gu Cheng exhaled and said, “Mother, I’m not breaking up with Yinyin. And… she’s already pregnant.”

“Pregnant? She got pregnant that quickly? Are you sure the child is even yours?”

Mother Gu’s voice rose anxiously, afraid that her son had been tricked.

What if Liu Yinyin had been fooling around with another man and was now trying to pin the baby on her foolish son?

Gu Cheng frowned at her words. “Mother, of course, the child is mine. She’s already eight months along.”

He really didn’t understand why his mother held such a strong prejudice against Yinyin. When they first got married, she had seemed fine with it.

“What?” Mother Gu widened her eyes in disbelief. “That can’t be! Why didn’t she say anything back then? There’s definitely something suspicious going on here. Son, you must not let their family deceive you. Who knows? They might have been scheming all along to trap you!”

She was determined not to believe that the child in Liu Yinyin’s belly was her son’s. The more Gu Cheng listened, the darker his expression became.

Not wanting to argue any further, he simply said, “I’m going to the fields to help Father.”

With that, he turned and walked out.

Mother Gu had ranted so much, yet Gu Cheng remained unmoved. Furious, she rolled her eyes and pointed at him, scolding loudly from behind, “You ungrateful brat! I’m your real mother—would I ever harm you? Instead of trusting me, you believe a bunch of outsiders. Be careful, or you’ll end up raising another man’s child like a fool!”

At noon, when the family returned from the fields, Mother Gu still looked displeased. However, at least she didn’t say anything nasty anymore.

The food was set on the table, and the family began their meal.

The Gu family’s meals were noticeably better than those at the Liu household. It was the busy farming season, so they needed to eat well.

There was stir-fried garlic shoots with cured meat, green peppers with eggs, mushrooms with vegetables, stir-fried eggplant and beans, cucumber salad, and winter melon soup.

The staple food was mixed-grain cornbread made from wheat flour, cornmeal, and buckwheat flour—a high-quality meal by rural standards.

As they ate, Gu Cheng spoke up, “Father, Mother, I’m heading back this afternoon.”

Mother Gu’s face immediately darkened. “Back? Back to the Liu family? Are you planning to be their live-in son-in-law?”

Why would he choose to stay at the Liu family’s place instead of coming home?

Gu Cheng sighed helplessly. “Yinyin and I have moved out and are living on our own.”

Mother Gu immediately cursed, “You’ve been bewitched by that vixen! You can’t even tell right from wrong anymore!”

“Exactly…” Eldest Sister-in-law Gu couldn’t help but chime in. “Gu Cheng, as your sister-in-law, I don’t mean to meddle, but our family hasn’t split up yet. If you go live in Liu Village, what will the people in our village think of our family? What will they think of Father and Mother?”

“And what exactly would they think?” Gu Cheng, having endured enough, finally showed his frustration. “When I wasn’t around, Yinyin lived at her maternal home all along. None of you had anything to say about that.”

“Oh, heavens, are you blaming me now?” Mother Gu slammed the table, wailing dramatically. “I knew it! They must have told you that I was the one who drove Liu Yinyin out, right? But did any of you stop to think—why would I drive her out and not my eldest daughter-in-law? If she were a decent person, would I have kicked her out?”

Eldest Sister-in-law Gu eagerly added fuel to the fire. “Gu Cheng, Mother wasn’t targeting her for no reason. You don’t know this, but Yinyin is restless at home. The moment she steps out, she flirts with other men!”

“Flirts with other men?” Gu Cheng chuckled, amused. “Sister-in-law, do tell—how exactly does Yinyin ‘flirt’?”

Eldest Sister-in-law Gu shot him a glance, then began counting on her fingers. “Don’t doubt me—I saw it with my own eyes! While working in the fields, she chatted with Junzi, Dameng, Gouzi… She’s talked to all of them! And some of them even helped her with her work. If there wasn’t something going on, why would these men help her for no reason?”

“Oh… so all this was your doing, Sister-in-law?” Gu Cheng suddenly understood.

No wonder his mother had changed so much—his sister-in-law must have been constantly badmouthing Liu Yinyin in front of her.

Eldest Sister-in-law Gu immediately became flustered. “I’m not making things up! I saw it with my own eyes! I didn’t falsely accuse her!”

“Sister-in-law, when you’re outside, do you never speak to other men? Right now, you’re talking to me—does that mean you’re flirting with me too?” Gu Cheng countered.

“You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting?!” Furious at his sharp tongue, Mother Gu picked up a pair of chopsticks and threw them at him.