Chapter 82

Lin Yao was utterly confused. Rely on Gu Shi’an to take care of Gu Doudou?

Was this some kind of joke?

The county’s Public Security Bureau had so much work to do, and Deputy Director Gu was busy from dawn till dusk. How could he have time to take care of the chubby boy? Besides, the little boy usually gave his father a hard time. How could the two of them possibly get along?

Lin Yao wanted to ask for details, but Zhang Cuilan just gave a mysterious smile, as if saying, “You’ll see when the time comes.”

Since Lin Yao couldn’t get an answer, she let it go.

Anyway, she would find out eventually.

Soon enough, Deputy Director Gu’s chaotic child-rearing days were about to begin.

Over the next few days, every time Gu Shi’an returned home, Zhang Cuilan would train her eldest son to hold the baby, change diapers, wash Gu Doudou’s little bottom, and feed him the milk Lin Yao had squeezed and stored in bottles. Surprisingly, the “old father” was quite adept at these tasks, executing them effortlessly without much training.

There was, however, one thing that amused Lin Yao to no end.

Zhang Cuilan had made a cloth sling from soft cotton to carry the baby—a sling commonly used by rural women, often made from coarse red and black cloth. It was a simple cloth with two straps on the sides. When women had farm work to do, they would wrap their babies in these slings, carrying them on their backs as they went about their work, balancing both tasks and childcare.

Some women didn’t even bother with a proper sling. They would simply find an old piece of cloth at home, wrap their baby in it, and be done. Interestingly, those children raised in such a rough-and-tumble manner often grew up as strong as little calves, while the carefully nurtured city kids ended up much weaker.

In the Gu family, child-rearing wasn’t about being overly meticulous. Since Gu Doudou was a sturdy little boy, letting him rough it out wouldn’t hurt him. In fact, the fact that he hadn’t yet been allowed to crawl and roll on the ground was already a testament to his mother’s immense care.

As soon as the sling was ready, Deputy Director Gu put it to use. The old father, much like a rural woman, would sternly wear the sling on his back every time he came home from work, carrying little Gu Doudou, who would be fast asleep and drooling inside.

This sight amused Lin Yao to no end. Every time she saw it, she would burst out laughing.

As for Gu Shidong, the little rascal wanted to laugh too, but every time he saw his brother’s stern face, he’d get scared, shudder, and quickly slink away.

He wasn’t his sister-in-law, who could boss around at home. If his sister-in-law wanted to dismantle the roof, his brother would probably help her set up a ladder.

If it were him instead, he’d be spanked by Comrade Zhang Cuilan until his butt was sore.

The little rascal knew his place at home very well.

No matter what, with the sling as the new baby-carrying tool, Lin Yao found herself completely relieved of any burden. Gu Doudou was easy to take care of too. During the day, the little one would sleep for hours after a feed, leaving Lin Yao with plenty of free time.

As the fragrance of osmanthus filled the air in September, the primary school for steel factory workers’ children in Yunshui County was also about to start classes.

Due to the earlier famine and the county’s focus on large-scale steel production, schools in Yunshui County had been closed for nearly a year. Dongzi had been idling at home for a year too.

The little rascal wasn’t happy at all when he received the news about school starting again.

Lin Yao could totally understand. Kids never find school as enjoyable as staying home. She herself had felt the same back in college, relishing the two-month summer break and being as lazy as possible.

When it was time to go back to school, she would drag herself there, listless and reluctant.

To comfort the little rascal’s hurt feelings, Lin Yao took one of Gu Shi’an’s old military uniforms, altered it to a smaller size, and then went to the supply and marketing cooperative to pick out a piece of army-green fabric. She sewed a new schoolbag, carefully stitching a shiny red five-pointed star on it.

This made the little rascal so happy that he grinned from ear to ear, showing off his big white teeth as he hugged Lin Yao and acted all cute.

“Sister-in-law, you’re the best sister-in-law in the whole world!”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

“My brother and sister-in-law are the absolute best!”

Gu Shi’an was in the courtyard washing diapers with Gu Doudou on his back when he heard this. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, only smiling faintly.

Gu Doudou, however, wasn’t too happy. The chubby little boy was starting to get jealous now. At night, when Gu Shi’an wanted to be affectionate with his wife, the little rascal in the cradle would see it and angrily start screaming. At first, the old father didn’t know what was wrong, thinking the baby had pooped or peed. But when he checked, the diaper was perfectly dry.

The couple studied their chubby son and finally figured it out when Gu Shi’an wrapped his arm around Lin Yao’s waist, and the little rascal saw it. The baby puffed up his chubby cheeks and started spitting out saliva in protest.

When Gu Shi’an tried to pick him up, Gu Doudou would open his mouth and attempt to bite his father’s handsome face. Unfortunately, the little guy had no teeth yet, so his attack was harmless—he only managed to smear saliva all over Gu Shi’an’s face.

From then on, whenever the couple wanted to do anything intimate, they had to wait until Gu Doudou was asleep. Otherwise, the little rascal would kick and scream, making sure the whole household couldn’t get a wink of sleep.

Now, the chubby little boy was yelling in the courtyard like a tiny whistle, and Zhang Cuilan came out to see what was going on.

“My dear Doudou, what’s wrong?”

As soon as the little one saw his beloved grandmother, he immediately stretched out his chubby arms, asking to be held. Zhang Cuilan, beaming with joy, picked up the plump child and planted a kiss on his soft, chubby cheek.

“Doudou is such a good boy, knowing that Grandma loves him, right?”

Gu Doudou grinned, revealing his toothless smile. Forgetting about competing for attention with his uncle, he returned Zhang Cuilan’s affection with a sweet kiss.

Zhang Cuilan carried the playful child into the house, and Gu Shidong finally breathed a sigh of relief. He headed back to his room, carrying the small military uniform and the star-patterned shoulder bag his sister-in-law had made for him.

As the scorching summer quietly faded away, Yunshui County basked in the brilliant colors of autumn.

This year, Yunshui County enjoyed favorable weather, while other places were plagued by disasters or floods. Everyone cherished the hard-won peace and stability.

The sand melons in Zhangjia Village had a bountiful harvest. The fields of sand melons, stretching for dozens of acres, looked like a vast sea of green. Each melon, round and green with stripes, was juicy and sweet.

Knowing that Lin Yao loved melons, Eldest Uncle Zhang specially sent a basket of them over. There were at least a dozen melons in the basket. While most of the village’s melons were sold to the city’s supply and marketing cooperatives, Eldest Uncle Zhang brought these melons from his own farm to the Gu family.

Touched by the gesture, Lin Yao prepared two packages of pastries and a pack of cigarettes for Eldest Uncle Zhang. She also asked Gu Shi’an to take out the two young rabbits from their nest, tie them up with straw ropes, and send them to Eldest Uncle Zhang to raise at home.

When Gu Doudou had his full-month celebration, the younger rabbits, Little Three and Little Four had already been prepared for the table—one cooked red-braised, the other steamed.

Little One and Little Two, being a male and a female, were kept for breeding and thus escaped being turned into dishes.

Eldest Uncle Zhang looked at them happily and praised, “Yao Yao’s rabbits are well-kept. Little One and Little Two are clearly good breeding rabbits.”

Lin Yao felt a bit embarrassed. In reality, the rabbits were taken care of by Gu Shi’an, including cleaning their dung, tidying their nests, and providing fresh straw. As for their food, it was either cabbage leaves collected by Dongzi or vegetables from their own garden.

Lin Yao had only occasionally checked on them.

With farm work to be done, Eldest Uncle Zhang drank a bellyful of sugar water from the enamel cup Gu Shi’an offered and said, “Alright, you all keep busy, I’m heading back now.”

“Take care on the road, Uncle.”

“Don’t worry.”

Eldest Uncle Zhang cracked his whip, turned his old mule cart, and clattered away, the bells ringing as he went.

In the early autumn afternoon, the sun was still warm. Though not as scorching as in summer, it was still quite sunny. The big bed in the east wing was still covered with a cooling mat. Lin Yao, who was sensitive to the heat, napped on the mat during the hot midday. When the evening cooled down, Gu Shi’an would replace the mat with bed linens.

As Lin Yao napped lazily in the afternoon, Gu Doudou, who had just had his milk, fell asleep in his cradle, his little fists clenched. The courtyard was quiet except for a few cicadas chirping in the banyan trees.

Gu Shi’an chose a few green melons and chilled them in the well water. The water from the old well was icy cold, and after an hour in the well, the melons were as refreshing as those chilled in the refrigerator.

While Lin Yao slept, Gu Shi’an took a large melon, cut it into small pieces on the cutting board, and served them in a sweet white porcelain plate.

Lin Yao opened her eyes softly, and Gu Shian scooped a spoonful of watermelon with a small spoon and offered it to her mouth.

Lin Yao took a bite and complained, “It’s too cold.”

Gu Shi’an blew on the melon to warm it slightly before offering another spoonful.

Lin Yao ate slowly, enjoying the cold, sweet melon. With a satisfied smile, she said, “This melon is really sweet. Let’s take a few to Sister Chunmei tomorrow.”

Gu Shi’an nodded and replied gently, “Sure.”

Lin Yao’s lips turned red from eating the melon, and she didn’t notice Gu Shi’an’s intense gaze. After eating a small portion of the melon, she rubbed her little belly and said, “I’m full. Let’s save the rest for later.”

Gu Shi’an followed her request and put the remaining melon in the kitchen.

Lin Yao, feeling drowsy, yawned and prepared to nap again. Gu Shi’an took a quick shower in the bathing shed and, wiping himself with a towel, returned to the east wing with a refreshing coolness.

Normally, he was like a walking furnace, and Lin Yao didn’t let him sleep next to her at night.

The poor Deputy Director Gu had to wait until Lin Yao fell asleep before quietly cuddling her.

Now that he was cool and fresh, Lin Yao immediately clung to him like an octopus.

Gu Shi’an kissed her cheek softly, his breath warm. Lin Yao’s ears tingled as he asked, “Are you sleepy?”

Lin Yao murmured, about to say she was tired and wanted to be left alone.

But his warm kisses fell one after another, and Lin Yao’s responses were swallowed up in their fiery embrace.

…

After Gu Doudou’s full-month celebration, the Gu family planned to go to the local photo studio to take a family portrait to hang in their living room.

That morning, Lin Yao got up early, preparing for Gu Doudou’s first photo. She placed great importance on this occasion.

To make sure their clothes were neat, she even borrowed an old iron from the neighbor, Aunt Dafu, to iron everyone’s clothes so they could look their best for the photo.