Chapter 107

This old house was a typical four-sided courtyard home, commonly seen in Yunshui County. When they opened the door, they could see the intricate carvings on the entrance were faded but still visible. The courtyard, though not large, was paved with blue bricks and had a clean and tidy layout. There were three brick-tiled rooms on the north side, with a small kitchen behind them and a small wing room at the back. On the east side of the courtyard, there was a water pipe with a stone sink underneath, and in the corner, there were two natural wood-colored barrels, likely used for fetching water.

Lin Yao was pleasantly surprised, “Does this courtyard have running water?”

Gu Doudou, excited to see his new home, eagerly wriggled out of his father’s arms and began toddling around the courtyard. Gu Shi’an followed closely behind, explaining, “The county’s new waterworks have just been built, and this area in the old city is the closest. In a while, our courtyard will also have running water.”

Lin Yao nodded with satisfaction. Having running water would make life much more convenient.

On the west side of the courtyard was a small vegetable garden. It was originally lush and green, but now, with no one to tend to it, the wild grass had taken over, giving it a somewhat neglected appearance.

Lin Yao looked around the courtyard, examining the rooms. The main hall was bright and sunny, and the sunlight streaming in lifted her spirits. The other two rooms were also well-lit, and even the kitchen had two small windows. However, since the house had been unoccupied for a long time, a thick layer of dust had accumulated inside, and the window paper was tattered.

In the southwest corner, there was a brick-built toilet. Lin Yao thought that after moving in, they would need to hire a bricklayer to fix it up quickly. It couldn’t be like the communal toilet in their current courtyard, where they had to nervously rush in with a flashlight.

She shared her thoughts with Gu Shi’an, who simply smiled. It wasn’t until Lin Yao noticed the brand-new wooden door on the toilet that she realized all the necessary facilities, including a squat toilet and a water tank, had already been installed.

Lin Yao jumped for joy and rushed over to give Deputy Director Gu a rewarding kiss.

Lin Yao tried to pull away after a brief peck, but Deputy Director Gu wasn’t willing to let her go. With his strong arms, he easily lifted her into a princess carry and deepened the kiss.

Lin Yao let out a soft cry, startled, and wrapped her delicate arms around his shoulders.

The kiss left Lin Yao breathless, her lips rosy and alluring. Gu Doudou ran over with wide-eyed curiosity and spent the entire way home pestering his mother, asking what delicious food she had eaten.

Why didn’t he get any?

“….”

The house allocated to the family was previously used by the county’s Cultural Bureau. After the bureau relocated to a new area, the staff also moved to a new residential compound in the new district. This house had been unoccupied for several years. The Public Security Bureau staff had been facing a housing shortage, so the old director had applied to the county leaders several times. The county leaders eventually allocated a few houses for the staff to settle into. The old house assigned to the Gu family was in good overall condition, but several tiles on the roof had been blown off. They needed to hire a craftsman to repair it, repaint the walls, bring in some new furniture, and air it out. It would take some time before they could move in.

After several autumn rains, the morning chill set in. Zhang Cuilan pulled out the autumn clothes for her son and dressed Gu Shidong. But she quickly noticed that not only were the sleeves too tight, but the pants were also half an inch too short.

When they left the house that morning, Comrade Cuilan was muttering, saying she had to alter her son’s pants again.

Lin Yao suggested to her mother-in-law, “When you have time, go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some cotton fabric.”

After the family of three finished looking at houses, they headed to the North City Supply and Marketing Cooperative. They bought two pieces of soft, comfortable cotton fabric—one was navy blue in a naval style, and the other was a dark red plaid. Both were the latest fashionable patterns among the children in the county.

The saleswoman at the cooperative wrapped the fabric in straw paper while chatting with Lin Yao. “Sister, you really have a good eye. These are all popular styles from Haishi. You’re an old customer and Chunmei’s sister-in-law, so I’ll give you the internal price.”

Working as a saleswoman at a supply and marketing cooperative was an enviable position in those days. It was a stable job with an easy workload, and the monthly salary of around twenty yuan was easy to earn just by selling goods.

Many saleswomen would knit behind the counter during work hours, barely acknowledging customers. After all, they had an iron rice bowl.

However, their attitude depended on who the customer was. Since Gu Chunmei also worked at the cooperative and Zhang Cuilan was a social butterfly with good relations with many saleswomen in the county, their family was well-known. There were even a few times when Xu Xiangqian went to the provincial capital for work, and this saleswoman asked Da Tou Brother to deliver several packages to her brother, who was studying in the provincial capital, for free. This saved her the cost of mailing the packages.

Having received favors, the saleswomen at the North City Supply and Marketing Cooperative recognized Lin Yao’s family. The saleswoman couldn’t stop smiling at the chubby little Gu Doudou, who sweetly called her “pretty auntie.” Lin Yao was also a straightforward shopper. If she liked something, she would pay for it immediately, unlike some men who would look around, ask a bunch of questions, and then walk away, complaining about the price.

The difference between men who had married was truly noticeable.

After picking out the fabric, Lin Yao mentioned that they were out of lamp oil at home, so she bought three jin of it. Gu Shi’an saw candles at the counter and decided to buy two packs as well. If they ran out of lamp oil and couldn’t buy more in time, it wouldn’t do to sit in the dark. It was always good to have some on hand. The saleswoman looked on with envy.

She thought to herself, “What a great husband she married. He’s so considerate.”

Lin Yao, unaware of the saleswoman’s thoughts, realized they were out of fragrant soap at home, so she picked four bars of jasmine-scented soap—Shanghai Bee Flower brand—at 1.35 yuan each, three new towels, two jin of white sugar, and one jin of brown sugar.

After the saleswoman bid them farewell, the family of three left the supply and marketing cooperative.

On the street, they saw a child eating snacks, and little Gu Doudou started drooling, his expression so comical it was endearing.

Lin Yao took out a handkerchief and wiped the drool from the chubby little boy.

“Mommy, I want something tasty.”

Lin Yao held back her laughter and teased, “Mommy spent all her money. There’s nothing left.”

But the little boy didn’t give up and threw himself into his father’s arms, kissing Deputy Director Gu’s handsome face with milky kisses, just like his mommy. “Daddy, I want something tasty.”

Gu Shi’an was usually stern, but he had no resistance against his son’s sweet pleas. Soon, the little boy was perched proudly on his father’s shoulders, kicking his chubby legs. The father and son took a detour to the specialty foods store, where they bought half a jin of glutinous rice sticks, one jin of honey treats, and the milk candies and orange candies that Gu Shidong loved. The glutinous rice sticks were also a new favorite among the children—golden and crispy, coated in sugar, with a satisfying crunch and a sweet taste.

The family of three, carrying their purchases, headed to Guihua Alley. On the way, they ran into Xiao Jia from the Public Security Bureau, who informed them of a new case in the county. Deputy Director Gu, with the noisy Gu Doudou in tow, returned to the bureau.

Lin Yao strolled alone leisurely by herself. In early autumn, Guihua Alley was much cooler than in the summer, and the mosquitoes were fewer. The neighbors always slept with their windows open during this season.

Gu Chunmei’s bedroom, however, had its windows covered with thick red curtains, and a cotton curtain hung over the door, letting in no breeze. She lay under a quilt, her pale face visible to the naked eye.

When she saw Lin Yao enter the room, she was delighted and tried to get out of bed.

Lin Yao urged her to stay put, noticing how weak she looked as she clutched her belly and slowly lay back down. Worried, Lin Yao said, “You look so pale, and you don’t even have the strength to walk. How will you manage to give birth?”

Gu Chunmei sighed, “I don’t know. When I was pregnant with Tangyuan, it wasn’t like this. I could eat and drink just fine. But with this second child, I can’t keep anything down. I can’t even bear the cold. Only sour foods help my appetite a bit.”

Lin Yao tucked her in and said, “The other day, Eldest Uncle sent over half a basket of dried hawthorn. I’ll make some hawthorn jelly for you when I get home to help with your appetite.”

“Okay, I’d like to eat something sour.”

Gu Chunmei’s pregnancy was unstable, and in town, Lin Hongna who was also heavily pregnant, was seething with frustration.

That rascal Sun Jialiang had been sneaking around with a young woman from the art troupe and had taken her to a guesthouse. Ever since Lin Hongna got pregnant, Sun Jialiang couldn’t keep his hands off other women. With sweet talk, he seduced the young woman, inviting her for some fun at night. Little did he know that the woman from the art troupe wasn’t innocent either. Although she claimed to be single, she actually had a fiancé in the county.

The day Sun Jialiang and the woman from the art troupe went to the guesthouse, someone tipped off her fiancé. Enraged, he gathered his family and stormed the guesthouse to catch them in the act.

In the guesthouse, Sun Jialiang had just taken off his pants, with his legs still bare, when a group of people burst through the door, pinned him to the ground, and gave him a brutal beating. The girl from the art troupe was so terrified that she tried to flee but was caught by her fiancé’s sister, who slapped her hard across the face twice, leaving her lips bleeding. The pair, who had been so arrogant moments before, immediately became submissive after the beating. When the fiancé’s family interrogated them, they quickly discovered that these two had been involved in an affair for the past three months.

Now, with the authorities cracking down on moral conduct issues, Sun Jialiang and his partner were guilty of hooliganism, a serious crime that would undoubtedly result in severe punishment.

The fiancé, feeling utterly betrayed, wasn’t going to let Sun Jialiang and the woman off easily. After giving them a good beating, he went straight to the Public Security Bureau to file a report.

The county’s Public Security Bureau responded to the report quickly. The diligent officers, along with the bored inspection team, who had been itching for action, all mobilized. The inspection team members had been frustrated recently, unable to catch anyone on the black market, and the small street vendors had all disappeared. They were so idle they were about to grow mold.

So, when the inspection team leader heard that two unlucky people had been caught in a guesthouse, he got all fired up, leading his team with their red armbands to the scene.

What were they going to do? Of course, they were going to lock up those two unfortunate guys and then publicly shame them the next morning!