Chapter 84

In the afternoon, with the large courtyard’s trees casting dappled shadows and the lingering heat of the autumn tiger. Lin Yao, having nothing much to do recently, harvested the mint leaves she had transplanted from Gujiaao village in the spring, dried them, and made a pot of mint honey water daily, paired with some snacks. The little one’s life was quite pleasant.

As Gu Chunmei started talking, she felt thirsty after spending time picking vegetables and preparing dumpling filling with her sister-in-law.

Lin Yao brought her a pot of mint honey water and a plate of mung bean cakes. The refreshing honey water paired with mung bean cakes was just right.

After eating the mung bean cakes and drinking the mint water, Gu Chunmei, under Lin Yao’s urging, cleared her throat and began to speak.

The chaos at the old Sun family was usually related to the Lin Daguo family. However, this time, the Sun family’s trouble had nothing to do with the Lin family.

Ever since Li Aifeng stole from the Sun family and was sent to the farm for reformation, Lin Daguo and his son had been scared stiff and stayed quietly in the village, rarely going out.

The Sun family had been quite peaceful for a while.

Previously, when the old factory director of the town’s light bulb factory retired, Father Sun naturally became the new factory director and factory secretary.

Mother Sun, having achieved her wish, finally became the factory director’s wife. In front of outsiders, she held her head high and elevated the family’s standard of living. During the famine years, the Sun family’s food was just average. Back then, the county had nothing good, and even if Mother Sun had money, her status prevented her from shopping at Mother Market.

Now that the famine had just passed, Mother Sun’s spirits were lifted. She bought everything fashionable: Kaiser cakes, Russian sausages, wool sweaters, and more.

She wore whatever the city’s high-ranking officials’ wives wore and drank whatever they drank.

The Sun family’s fortune seemed to be declining, but Mother Sun didn’t mind. If things couldn’t be bought in town, she would go to the county. If the county didn’t have it, she would wait for Sun Jialiang and Father Sun to go to the provincial capital or a big city on business and then make a shopping list for them. They had to buy everything on the list, no matter how busy they were.

Mother Sun had spent her life being pretentious in front of her husband and son, manipulating them skillfully.

These things, whether food or clothing, were just for personal use. Mother Sun wore and used them, and she never left any chance for outsiders to find fault with her.

Moreover, Father Sun repeatedly instructed her not to wear wool sweaters or leather shoes outside, urging her to live a modest and simple life in line with the revolutionary masses.

Mother Sun was still fond of beauty at her middle age. She admired the youthful, vibrant young girls who wore just two braids and no makeup, finding their natural look charming.

Especially when Father Sun returned home and occasionally praised the young female workers at the factory for their bright smiles, Mother Sun felt a pang of jealousy.

She worried that if the young and attractive female workers at the light bulb factory caught Father Sun’s eye, her status as the factory director’s wife and her current comfortable life would be at risk.

To show her discontent, Mother Sun made a special trip to the state-run hair salon to get a perm. She put on thick makeup, painted her eyebrows, and applied lipstick, then wore leather shoes to deliver lunch to Father Sun.

In fact, the real purpose was to use the lunch delivery as an excuse to make a show of strength and warn those young women to keep their distance.

—She was saying, “My husband is already taken, so stay away, you little vixens!”

Whether Mother Sun’s display had any effect was uncertain, but some nosy individuals seized the opportunity to file a complaint. They wrote a letter to the Yunshui County Light Bulb Factory headquarters, alleging that the factory director’s family had problematic lifestyle behaviors.

As a result, Father Sun, who had just taken office, was suspended and investigated because of his wife’s paranoia.

To make matters worse, Mother Sun, while stepping down from the stage, lost her balance and fell, fracturing her thigh. She was unable to walk and had to go to the hospital for a cast. She depended on Sun Jialiang to carry her back and forth when she went out.

Gu Chunmei, chattering away, filled her cup with water again and said, “The taste isn’t sweet anymore. Yao Yao, bring me some rock candy!”

Lin Yao, reflecting on Father Sun’s misfortune and how he was unfairly dragged into trouble because of his wife, quickly got up to fetch some rock candy.

After finishing discussing the Sun family’s situation, the two sisters continued chatting about their own matters.

Gu Chunmei mentioned that with the addition of Xu Tangyuan, the three-room tile house was no longer enough. Father Xu planned to modify the living room into a bedroom for the growing grandson.

Mother Xu disagreed, saying that the house shouldn’t be limited to just one child. If they had two or three more children in the future, one room wouldn’t be enough. Instead of modifying the living room, they should hire a bricklayer^[1]Bricklayers lay bricks, pre-cut stone and concrete blocks in mortar. They construct, extend and repair domestic and commercial buildings, and other structures such as foundations, walls, chimneys or … Continue reading to build a few more rooms. Also, if they turned the living room into a bedroom, they wouldn’t have a place to entertain guests. They couldn’t just put a table in the yard, could they?

Father Xu considered this and agreed with the reasoning.

As for Xu Xiangqian, he was a doting father who spent his time washing diapers or holding his son, talking to him affectionately. He seemed even more of a devoted dad than Gu Shi’an.

Father Xu planned to dismantle the shed in the middle of the yard, combine the areas, and lay a green brick floor. He intended to build two new red brick rooms, move the vegetable garden from the west to the east, and plant some fruit trees.

Lin Yao suggested, “Since you’re short on meat, make some space for a rabbit hutch and raise a couple of rabbits for meat.”

Gu Chunmei had often eaten rabbit meat from the Gu family’s rabbit breeding, whether it was stewed, braised, or spicy. It was always delicious.

Gu Chunmei immediately agreed.

“That’s a good idea. Yao Yao, you have a good eye. When these little rabbits grow up, save me a couple of the best ones and let Da Tou bring them back!”

Lin Yao agreed.

In the cool autumn evening in Yunshui County, as workers from various factories left in groups with bicycles or cloth bags, heading home, the county public security bureau was not busy. By 5:30, a group of young officers was already rushing out with their bicycles.

Xu Xiangqian was lounging with a dogtail grass in his mouth, waiting for Gu Shi’an to return home. After a while, he saw a young girl who had just joined the Public Security Bureau shyly talking to Gu Shi’an and even pulling out a letter from her bag.

Is this… a love letter?!

Xu Xiangqian’s eyes widened.

“Oh dear, our old Gu has a family. He must keep himself in check.”

It was clear that Xu Xiangqian was overthinking. The young girl, glancing at Gu Shi’an, saw that the deputy director’s face was as indifferent as ever, his expression cold and unapproachable.

Indeed, Gu Shi’an’s expression remained impassive, and after saying something, the girl’s eyes turned red. Feeling embarrassed, she stomped her foot, tossed her braid, covered her face, and ran away.

Xu Xiangqian clicked his tongue. He had no sympathy for such girls.

Knowing that someone was married with children and still trying to get close, it was simply shameless.

Furthermore, with her appearance and figure, she was no match for Lin Yao.

Isn’t this asking for trouble?

You deserve it!

*

In the quiet evening of the small alley, the workers returning home from their jobs brought life back to the otherwise silent neighborhood.

Zhang Cuilan and her husband returned home, one after the other. Tonight, Gu Chunmei and her family of three returned to her parents’ home to eat reunion dumplings.

As soon as Zhang Cuilan walked in, she saw her daughter and daughter-in-law busy in the kitchen, making dumplings with a filling of cabbage, chives, glass noodles, shrimp, and eggs, seasoned with several drops of sesame oil. The dough was a mix of sorghum flour and wheat flour, giving the dumplings a dark color but a delicious taste.

She washed her hands and wanted to help, but Lin Yao smiled and told her to rest, assuring her that there was no need to worry about the housework.

Zhang Cuilan felt like she had been treated with sweet syrup, sitting happily in the courtyard with a fan.

Gu Mancang held his eldest grandson in his left arm and his younger grandson in his right, grinning widely. Gu Shidong, the little rascal, came running in with his school bag, playing around with the two chubby kids in the yard.

By the time Gu Shi’an and Da Tou Brother returned, the kitchen had already prepared three large trays of dumplings, about seventy or eighty in total. Each dumpling was thin-skinned and packed with filling. Da Tou Brother brought two bottles of fine wine and some pastries for his father-in-law. After washing his hands, he cheerfully went to help his wife with the dumpling-making.

Gu Chunmei added firewood to the stove while glancing at him. “What’s the big deal? It’s always me and Mom who light the fire at home every day. Go on, get busy with my brother, and help with the dumplings!”

Da Tou Brother grumbled but complied. “Big men shouldn’t be in the kitchen making dumplings.”

Gu Chunmei replied, “What did you say? Speak up, I didn’t hear you.”

Da Tou Brother nodded and fawned. “Nothing, I was just saying how capable my wife is. Look at these dumplings, the folds are so pretty.”

Gu Chunmei coolly responded, “These aren’t made by me. It’s Yao Yao who made them.”

Da Tou Brother: “……..”

In the evening, the hot dumplings came out of the pot, and the whole Gu family sat down to enjoy their reunion dinner. They ate heartily, and after dinner, Da Tou Brother’s family, feeling full and content, took two green-skinned watermelons that Second Uncle Zhang had given them and returned to Guihua Alley.

Lin Yao sent them off and happily went back home. In the kitchen, the diligent Deputy Director Gu had already cleaned the dishes and polished the big iron pot until it shone.

Little Gu Doudou, having eaten his fill, was now wide awake, playing contentedly in his crib. Lin Yao saw this scene and felt a pang of tenderness, hugging the chubby little boy and giving him a kiss.

Gu Doudou, delighted by his mother’s affection, waved his little chubby hands and made happy noises.

Gu Shi’an came in from the kitchen, and seeing this, a smile appeared on his usually stern face.

Lin Yao, feeling exhausted from the day, lay on one side of Gu Shi’an’s lap with Doudou on the other, looking ready to fall asleep. Gu Shi’an, dressed in a white shirt, as usual, had his shirt buttons fastened all the way to the top.

Lin Yao blinked and gazed at his handsome throat, suddenly having a bold thought: what if she bit him?