Chapter 73

In the scorching heat of midsummer June, the weather was unbearable. Even standing outside for a few minutes would make a person sweat profusely, let alone giving birth on such a hot day, which was truly torturous.

Gu Chunmei was giving birth to her first child, and the baby was large. The labor lasted most of the day. Mother Xu anxiously prayed in the hospital corridor, while Gu Chunmei cried out in pain in the delivery room. Xu Xiangqian, drenched in cold sweat, was so distressed that he almost burst into the delivery room.

Father and Mother Xu quickly held him back, saying, “What are you doing, child? There are doctors and nurses in the delivery room. What are you going to do in there?”

Xu Xiangqian tried to calm himself, pacing back and forth in the corridor, which only made him more agitated.

Father Xu didn’t criticize him, remembering that he had been just as frantic when Xu Xiangqian was born.

In the blink of an eye, the child had become a father himself.

When the sound of a baby’s cry echoed from the delivery room, the family excitedly stood up, exclaiming, “It’s a boy! It’s a boy!”

Xu Xiangqian leaned at the delivery room door, asking, “Why isn’t she out yet?”

Just as Mother Xu was about to pull him away to calm down, a nurse came out holding the cleaned baby.

“Congratulations! Both mother and baby are safe. It’s a chubby baby boy weighing six pounds and three ounces.”

Oh, six pounds and three ounces. This child is indeed a real little chub.

Mother Xu, murmuring about how much Gu Chunmei had suffered, could hardly contain her joy when she saw the chubby baby. She held him and couldn’t take her eyes off him, showing him to Father Xu.

“Our grandson! I’m a grandmother.”

“I’m a grandfather.”

“This child is fair-skinned with delicate features, just like Chunmei. He’ll surely grow up to be a handsome young man.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Nurse, how is my wife?”

“Yes, nurse, is my daughter-in-law okay?”

“Auntie, the mother is resting in the delivery room. She’s not in serious condition, just very tired.”

“Good, that’s good.”

Mother Xu was even happier now, vying with Father Xu to hold the grandson. Xu Xiangqian went into the delivery room and saw Gu Chunmei sleeping soundly. He brought water to wipe her face. Father and Mother Xu held the baby and went to see their daughter-in-law. Xu Xiangqian also wanted to see the baby. When he peeked in, he exclaimed, “Oh my, he’s all wrinkled, like a little old man.”

“This is my son. Why does he look so ugly?”

Xu Xiangqian asked in disbelief.

The newborn baby seemed to understand his father’s criticism and started crying as soon as his mouth opened.

Mother Xu comforted the baby while giving Xu Xiangqian a slap on the head, and Father Xu also gave him a reprimanding pat.

“You brat, what nonsense are you talking about? Is this how you behave as a father?”

“Exactly, you brat, you need a good talking-to!”

Xu Xiangqian, holding his head, made a sound and sulkily ran back to the delivery room to stay with his wife.

*

The news of Gu Chunmei’s safe delivery spread to the countryside, and the Gu family was thrilled.

Zhang Cuilan picked a basket of cucumbers and tomatoes, chose a dozen eggs, and carried a can of milk powder given by her daughter-in-law. Together with Gu Mancang, they happily went to the city to see their grandson.

Outside, the cuckoo bird was calling, and the wheat in the mountains was ripe. The Gujiaao village was covered in swaying golden wheat waves. With the wheat harvest approaching, every household in the village was sharpening their sickles and preparing to go out to cut the wheat.

The Gu family didn’t need to participate in the double-barrel event. The mischievous Dongzi had been busy with business. He went to the town’s ice cream factory to buy a hundred ice creams and started selling them in the town and nearby villages.

These days, the difference between the wholesale and retail price of an ice cream stick is less than a penny. The wholesale price for a hundred sticks is only one yuan. Dongzi sold each ice cream for three cents. In the scorching heat, whether it was the elderly or children, everyone was suffering from the heat. Spending three cents for an ice cream to get a bit of relief was quite worth it.

Dongzi was also quite eloquent, having learned from his sister-in-law. He addressed the elderly as ‘Auntie’ and the old men as ‘Uncle.’ Within half a day, he sold out all one hundred ice creams. After deducting costs and running expenses, he made a net profit of one yuan and seventy to eighty cents a day, which amounted to forty to fifty yuan a month.

That’s a lot more than what you can earned working in the factory.

This kid could make money and also spend it well. Every day, he went to the ice cream factory to buy ice creams, always starting his morning with a meat pie from the state-run restaurant and bringing back a few bottles of North Ice soda for cooling off in the water well at home.

Zhang Cuilan couldn’t help but complain, saying that her son was spending money too freely. As soon as he got to town, he bought meat pies, and just because he had money doesn’t mean he should be so wasteful.

Gu Shidong’s left ear caught it, but the right ear let it slip. He thought that eating meat-filled flatbread made him a spendthrift, but he also bought fabric for his eldest nephew.

However, he didn’t dare let his mother know about this and secretly came back to show Lin Yao.

That day, Zhang Cuilan was tidying up the vegetable garden, where the amaranth, tomatoes, beans, and leeks were all thriving. If she couldn’t use them herself, she planned to let the old hens peck at them.

The scorching sun outside was unbearable. Lin Yao, due to the baby in her belly, felt heavy and could only lie in bed for most of the day, with her feet feeling numb.

In the evening, Gu Shi’an was home, able to massage her arms and legs, which was a relief.

Without Gu Shi’an at home, Lin Yao took a nap, and when she woke up, her neck was covered in sweat, and she felt sticky all over. After wiping with a towel a couple of times, she felt like a big, bloated frog, unable to even roll over on the bed.

Lin Yao patted her belly, impatient for the delivery date to come. She got out of bed to get some water.

A dusty Gu Shidong rushed into the room with a burlap sack.

“Sister-in-law, I bought something for my nephews.”

Lin Yao smiled and asked, “What did you buy?”

Gu Shidong placed the sack on the ground, which looked quite heavy and bulging.

Maybe it contained wild fruits picked from the back mountain.

Lin Yao guessed silently.

Gu Shidong’s small black hands rummaged through the sack, first pulling out a handkerchief package used by elderly women, which Lin Yao knew was the little money box earned by the little one.

“This is not it.”

Gu Shidong placed the handkerchief package on the ground and continued to dig. He pulled out a bag of candy, a water bottle, two melons, a few bottles of soda… various items. Finally, he pulled out two pieces of colorful cotton cloth and two pairs of baby sandals.

Lin Yao: ???

Her eyes widened. Did the little rascal rob a supply and marketing cooperative?

Gu Shidong had no idea what his sister-in-law was thinking. Otherwise, he would surely have protested, claiming she was wronging him.

The little rascal neatly folded the empty burlap sack and put it back on his back, grinning at his sister-in-law, “Sister-in-law, I met a beautiful lady on the way back. She was dressed fashionably and was from the neighboring commune. Her family had two pieces of good fabric and two pairs of small shoes. They were just lying there unused. I thought they were pretty good, so I bought them for my younger nephew and eldest nephew. Isn’t that great?”

The child spoke with conviction.

Lin Yao looked at the two pieces of cotton cloth and then at Gu Shidong, who was looking up at her with a clear, naive expression, like a middle school student from the back mountain.

The little rascal blinked his eyes, indicating that he was telling the truth.

“Don’t doubt me, sister-in-law. I actually wanted to visit the pigeon market too. But I met that big sister halfway, hey, isn’t that fate? Two pieces of cotton cloth for ten yuan, and two pairs of sandals for three yuan. I really made a profit.”

The little rascal spoke so casually that Lin Yao was stunned.

It took her a moment to realize that the pigeon market was actually a black market, and the kid really wanted to visit it!

What kind of place is the black market?

It’s a gathering place for all sorts of people in the town and city, where everyone is shrewd and unscrupulous. Dongzi, who is considered smart among his peers, would be like a lamb among wolves if he went there. He might even be sold off and end up helping others cheat!

She knew Dongzi was fearless, like a mule that refuses to be controlled. This kind of child can’t be corrected with a stick; beating him only makes him more rebellious.

People say if a mule won’t pull a millstone, it just won’t pull.

Hadn’t the little rascal already received enough beatings?

Lin Yao was fuming inside but maintained a smiling appearance. She spoke to the little rascal with earnest advice, “It’s quite a coincidence that you bought such practical things.”

The little rascal looked very pleased with himself.

“See, sister-in-law? What’s the use of studying? It’s about making money.”

Lin Yao continued, “There were sisters in our village before, one named Jinhua and the other named Yinhua. Jinhua was smart, while Yinhua was average. Jinhua, like you, was clever but didn’t want to study and wanted to do business. How could she do business without capital? She followed a peddler who was selling things, and at first, she made some money. Jinhua dressed extravagantly every day, and Yinhua advised her to be practical and avoid petty speculation and small business. Jinhua mocked her sister as a blockhead and thought that eating well and living comfortably was better than studying…”

Gu Shidong’s eyelids twitched. He wondered if his sister-in-law knew about his plans to visit the pigeon market and was trying to teach him a lesson about making money.

Seeing his sister-in-law’s meaningful look, the little rascal cautiously asked, “So, what happened then?”

Seeing such a young child with a crooked path of thinking, Lin Yao coldly replied, “Later, Jinhua’s speculation and petty business were discovered by the inspection team. The peddler shifted all the blame onto her, and she was sent for labor reform. It became a big mess. Yinhua, on the other hand, was diligent and went to a normal school to become a teacher and educate others.”

“What?”

Gu Shidong was immediately horrified. Just for petty speculation, how did it lead to labor reform?

He was only eleven years old and didn’t want to end up in labor reform working hard, eating corn cakes and pickles every day, exhausted and crying!

The little rascal, who had been eager to go to the pigeon market, was now disheartened by his sister-in-law’s story.

He promised, with tears and snot, to stay far away from the pigeon market and begged his sister-in-law not to tell his mother about it.

He needs to study hard and make progress every day!

Lin Yao forced herself to think, while the little rascal was crying so hard he was almost convulsing, she wore a look of “this child is worth teaching” and patted his head. In reality, she was suppressing her laughter.

Gu Shidong had no idea that his sister-in-law’s flowery words were just empty talk to get him back on track.

Gu Shidong was genuinely frightened and even stopped working at the ice pop wholesale business.

Actually, this job was also short-lived.

In the town and village, there were only so many households. Initially, there were many buyers for ice pops, but now that the season for ice pops was winding down in the countryside, the little rascal’s business was coming to an end.

Moreover, the two pieces of fabric that Gu Shidong brought back were not the soft cotton cloth he thought but work cloth.

The kid was young and inexperienced, easily fooled by someone who swindled him.

In the evening, when Gu Shi’an came home from work, Lin Yao was working with the two pieces of work cloth. This kind of cloth wasn’t suitable for making clothes for little kids, so she planned to make shirts for the men in the family.

Lin Yao could handle making shirts for Deputy Director Gu and Dongzi herself.

As for Gu Mancang, that would be up to Zhang Cuilan.

Speaking of which, Gu Shi’an hadn’t been home for two days. The day before, there was a robbery at the county train station where an elderly couple visiting relatives were robbed by a group of ruffians. The old man, who was quite elderly, was helped by a station staff member but was attacked by two of the ruffians. He was stabbed and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment…

After the incident, the ruffians scattered and committed several more crimes along the way.

The county police pursued them for a day and a night, eventually spotting the ruffians on a coal truck heading to the provincial capital. To evade capture, they had climbed onto the train transporting coal and hid in the cargo compartment.

These ruffians were desperadoes, with numerous crimes to their names over the years. Once caught, they would face severe punishment.

In their desperate resistance, the ruffians were extremely dangerous. One of them took a railway worker hostage. Gu Shi’an did not hesitate and fired, hitting the ruffian’s arm. The police then rushed in and subdued the ruffians.

As soon as the ruffians were captured, Gu Shi’an hurried home without rest, having gone without sleep for a day and a night. He came back with dark circles under his eyes and an obviously exhausted look on his handsome face. When he returned home, he barely had the energy to speak to Lin Yao.

Gu Shi’an brought in the kettle to pour water and intended to call his brother to wash his face. He called several times with no response.

Lin Yao went to check and found that he was so exhausted he couldn’t even cover himself with a blanket. He lay quietly on the bed, wrapped in his clothes, fast asleep. Gu Shi’an had not eaten well these past two days, his skin tanned and rough, with deep and cold features, and a few rough stubbles on his chin.

Lin Yao’s heart softened. She sighed, spread a towel over him, and covered him with its familiar fragrance. Gu Shi’an, whose tense nerves had been relaxed for days, slept deeply and peacefully.

By the time he woke up, the sky was full of stars. The window was open, and the evening breeze brought the distinct aroma of wheat from Gujiaao village into the room.

In the kitchen, Lin Yao was cooking a pot of crucian carp soup, which bubbled enticingly. The milky white soup was mouthwatering.

“Sister-in-law, it smells so good.”

Gu Shidong, like a little dog, licked his lips.

The big orange cat was also circling around.

“Don’t be greedy. There’s a whole pot of fish soup for you.”

Lin Yao instructed Dongzi to set the table. There was a pot of sweet potato and brown rice porridge, a steamer with egg custard, and some pickled bamboo shoots stir-fried with red chili peppers. The dinner was all set.

Gu Shi’an’s lips curved into a slight smile as he was about to help.

Lin Yao, seeing him, scolded, “Why are you just standing there? There’s wash water in the room. Go wash your face and hands, and change your clothes. You’re acting like a big fool. You don’t even know these things and need reminders. You’re such a big person and still acting so clueless…”

Lin Yao chattered on with a lot of complaints, but Deputy Director Gu was happy in his heart. Whatever his wife said, he would listen.

*

At the end of June, with this year’s summer grain harvest, the factories in Yunshui County, which had been shut down for months, finally resumed operations.

Because Lin Yao’s due date was in July, the family finished breakfast and started packing their luggage and furniture, preparing to move back to the large courtyard.