Chapter 85

Lin Yao blinked her eyes, ultimately she had the intention but not the courage.

After all, every time she had playfully “bullied” Deputy Director Gu in the past, it always ended with her being overpowered.

It was just her bad luck. If only Gu Shi’an wasn’t so strong. She felt like a weak chick compared to him.

Lin Yao gave up on the thought, contentedly cuddling Doudou to sleep.

Now, Doudou was no longer satisfied with just sleeping in the crib. Every time his parents were affectionate, the little guy wanted to join in.

Once, during the night, when Doudou had been placed back in the crib after falling asleep, he woke up and found himself alone on the big bed. Upset, he cried out. The old father went to hug him. The kid held Deputy Director Gu’s handsome face with his two chubby hands and nibbled and bit it. In the end, it was Lin Yao who stepped in to calm the little guy down.

Gu Doudou, with his hand still in his mouth, fell asleep soundly in his mother’s soft and warm embrace.

Gu Shi’an, after placing Doudou back in his crib and covering him with a blanket to ensure his comfort, sat beside Lin Yao.

Lin Yao yawned, saying, “Doudou is still young now, but when he grows up and starts moving around, it’ll be even more tiring. You’ve worked hard, Deputy Director Gu.”

Gu Shi’an raised an eyebrow and smiled, his eyes showing clear amusement. “I wonder, Comrade Lin, what reward do you have in mind?”

Reward?

What’s that?

Lin Yao, feeling drowsy, didn’t quite understand the question.

Gu Shi’an chuckled softly, turned off the light, and pulled Lin Yao closer, kissing her gently.

Lin Yao enjoyed the kiss, thinking it was just a sweet moment until Gu Shi’an began to unfasten her nightgown. She pushed him away, saying, “What are you doing? Doudou is still here.”

Gu Shi’an with his face buried in her hair, whispered, “Be good, let me take a look.”

“Huh?”

“Claim my reward.”

“Pff!”

*

Autumn gave way to winter, and everything grew desolate. The large banyan trees at the entrance of the alley had long shed their leaves, leaving only bare branches.

In the blink of an eye, little Gu Doudou was already over five months old and nearing six months. As the old saying goes, “At three months, they lift their heads. At four months, they can roll over. By six months, they sit. At seven months, they start to tumble. At eight months, they crawl, and by one year, they learn to walk.”

Once the chubby little guy mastered the skill of flipping over, he refused to stay still on the bed. If there were no adults around, he would manage to flip off the bed and onto the floor.

Lin Yao’s maternity leave ended, and she went back to work at the cotton textile factory in October.

Since Gu Doudou wasn’t sent to daycare, Deputy Director Gu took the chubby child to the police station each morning, balancing work with looking after the baby.

Fortunately, only half of the factory was operating, and the logistics department’s work wasn’t too busy. Lin Yao could work half a day in the morning and then pick up Gu Doudou from the police station around two in the afternoon.

As soon as Lin Yao got home, the little guy wouldn’t settle down. Either he cried for milk or fussed to go outside to see the new sights.

Unable to stand the noise, Lin Yao resorted to using Deputy Director Gu’s baby-carrying device. She strapped the chubby baby to her back with a cloth pouch and took him out for a walk.

One could say she was happily serving her child.

With Gu Doudou strapped to her back, the little guy peered out with his head held high, his chubby hands forming little fists. His big eyes followed the bare pomegranate tree in the yard and the rabbit nest.

The early winter sunlight was warm and gentle. Lin Yao strolled around the yard with the baby. When Gu Doudou saw the snow-white little rabbits in the rabbit nest eating leaves with their three-lobed mouths, he moved with excitement and wished he could stretch out his little hands and eager to grab it.

The mother rabbit, protective of her young, made Lin Yao quickly take the baby farther away.

Mother and child walked around the yard a couple of times, and Gu Doudou started making noises, signaling that he was hungry and needed milk.

However, at over five months old, just drinking breast milk was no longer enough for the little guy’s appetite.

Lin Yao began introducing easily digestible solid foods to the baby, such as egg yolk, fruit puree, rice porridge, and so on.

Among these, Gu Doudou’s favorite was the sweet and sour apple puree that his mother made.

Lin Yao changed his diaper, laid him on the small crib that her father-in-law had recently set up. This crib resembled modern baby cribs but was a size larger, with a cotton-padded mattress that was soft and comfortable, covered with bamboo mats and a matching blanket and small pillow.

Lin Yao sewed a few small toys for the baby out of leftover fabric—little rabbits, tigers, turtles, and fat fish. She had washed and sun-dried them. The designs were simple but sufficient for Gu Doudou to play with.

Gu Doudou’s favorite toys were the fat fish his mother made and a small sailboat from his father. The chubby baby often sat in the crib, nibbling on the fat fish while making happy noises.

Lin Yao kissed her son’s chubby face and said, “Baby, Mommy is going to make apple puree now. Be a good boy and wait for Mommy, okay?”

Gu Doudou seemed to understand, blowing bubbles with his fair little face and reaching for the fat fish toy.

Lin Yao, smiling, placed the fat fish in his hand. The little guy lay in the crib, nibbling his toes and babbling while hugging the fat fish.

Lin Yao went to the kitchen, glancing over occasionally.

The chubby baby was very obedient, which relieved Lin Yao. She quickly peeled and chopped two large red apples, adding them to a pot of water and steaming them.

Time flew by when taking care of the baby. Lin Yao looked at the old clock in the room and realized it was already 4:30 in the afternoon.

The family would return home by six. Lin Yao spent some time chatting with the chubby baby and then prepared some pumpkin. She peeled, seeded, and cut it into chunks, rinsed some brown rice, and slowly cooked a pot of sweet pumpkin porridge.

When the pumpkin porridge came to a boil and the apples were steamed, Lin Yao turned off the heat, mashed the apples into puree with a small spoon, and put it in a bowl to cool. She then spoon-fed Gu Doudou with the apple puree.

The little guy sat in his walker, taking bites of the apple puree with his small tongue, his beautiful eyes squinting with delight. Daju curiously stood by, watching Gu Doudou eat the apple puree and lick his paws. He wanted to understand why the little master ate it so happily, since dried fish were obviously more delicious, weren’t they?

Seeing Daju lounging around, Lin Yao suddenly remembered that it had been days since the cat had a bath and was always jumping on the bed. She grumbled about needing to bathe the cat.

Daju, scared, immediately perked up its ears and ran away, leaving no time for Lin Yao to call it.

In the evening, Gu Shi’an returned home carrying a bag of red apples. Lin Yao didn’t need to ask. It was clear that someone had used their connections to get them from the countryside.

Her chubby son loved these apples.

When no one was home, Lin Yao also took out bananas, oranges, pears, and pomelos from storage to make baby food.

Unfortunately, Gu Doudou wasn’t fond of these fruits, especially bananas. When Lin Yao tried to feed him, he would even push the spoon away with his little tongue.

Fine then.

If he didn’t like it, don’t eat it.

Deputy Director Gu put down the red apples and went to check on Gu Doudou, who was now full and sleepy, his little mouth making soft noises. Daju that had escaped just now had sneaked back at some point and was sleeping in his nest with his paws as his head resting on it.

Lin Yao, annoyed, complained to Gu Shi’an about the cat.

“Daju is being so disobedient. It hasn’t had a bath in several days, and when I said I’d bathe it, the little rascal ran away.”

She stomped her foot and added, “If Daju doesn’t take a bath, it won’t be allowed on the bed tonight!”

Gu Shi’an stayed silent, thinking that Daju never got on the bed anyway, because it was afraid of being petted too much by a certain little girl.

This thought was kept to himself. Deputy Director Gu said with a tactful look, “Don’t worry. I’ll boil some water later. Daju won’t be able to escape.”

Lin Yao was pleased and went back to the kitchen to continue her work.

Tonight’s dinner was pork, vermicelli, and cabbage stew. Gu Shi’an washed his hands and rolled up his sleeves to help out.

The couple worked well together, and it didn’t feel tiring.

Before long, the kitchen in the Gu household was filled with the aroma of the meal.

In the alley of the large courtyard, every household was cooking, with smoke rising from their stoves. Gu Mancang, carrying a full basket of bamboo shoots, entered the courtyard and immediately sat down on the steps, too exhausted to move.

Zhang Cuilan lifted the curtain and came out.

“Old man, you’re back? What did you bring?”

Zhang Cuilan called for her son to get some water for Gu Mancang.

“Second brother brought winter bamboo shoots from the countryside.”

Gu Shidong went inside to pour a cup of warm water. Gu Mancang drank it down quickly and rested on the steps.

It turned out that this morning, Second Uncle Zhang had come to the city to deliver winter bamboo shoots grown by the production team to the supply and marketing cooperative. He also left a basket for the Gu family, but the timing wasn’t ideal.

With everyone either at work or school, the house was locked tight.

Second Uncle Zhang had no choice but to give a cigarette to the head of the steel plant and leave the basket of bamboo shoots in the mailroom before hurrying back to the village.

As soon as Gu Mancang finished work, he went straight to the mailroom.

Zhang Cuilan slapped her forehead. “Look at my brain. My eldest brother told me that but I was too busy at the pig farm that I forgot about it. Second brother came to the city and didn’t even get a drink.”

Lin Yao comforted her mother-in-law and said generously, “Next time Second Uncle comes, we will treat him to hot pot.”

Gu Shidong clapped his hands with excitement. “Hot pot is good, hot pot warms the body.”

Zhang Cuilan glared at her son. “All you think about is eating. If your grades are poor again this year, I’ll make you eat duck eggs!”

The young man quickly ran away, covering his backside.

This winter, the Gu family had a series of happy events. First, Lin Yao was officially converted from a rural household to an urban household with a food quota.

The household registration procedures in Yunshui County were quite complicated, but with Gu Shi’an’s help, Lin Yao’s registration was handled smoothly.

While others would have had to make multiple trips in the cold, Lin Yao was able to relax at home, leaving the rest of the process to Gu Shi’an.

In just two days, Lin Yao’s household registration was completed in Yunshui County.

Once the registration was complete, the food quota was also processed.

Zhang Cuilan was thrilled and said, “Having a food quota is great. From now on, Yao Yao will have her rations.”

Lin Yao nodded happily.

What made her even happier was the news from her elder brother Lin Yi in Xinjiang.

The packages and letters Lin Yao had sent took over a month to reach the Gobi Desert in Xinjiang.

Considering the extreme cold of the Gobi Desert in winter, Lin Yao had included not only food in the packages but also dozens of pairs of work gloves and ten cans of frostbite ointment. She wrote in her letter that the ointment was bought by a friend and the gloves had been collected over the years. She reassured her brother that it was nothing unusual and to use them with peace of mind, so as not to draw attention.

When Lin Yi received his sister’s letter and package, he was overwhelmed with emotion, shedding tears and wiping his nose.

This was not an exaggeration. Since their parents passed away and Lin Yi returned to the military, they had not been in touch for over two years.

Lin Yi had sent numerous letters and allowances to Linjia Village, but none had received a reply.

Lin Yi knew his sister’s nature—gentle, weak, and lacking in assertiveness—but not the type to cause trouble for the family.

He was certain she would reply if she received the letters, so the lack of news could only mean one thing.

The letters must have been intercepted before reaching his sister!

Thinking of this, Lin Yi immediately suspected Lin Daguo’s family.

His sister was living under Lin Daguo’s roof, so if the letters and money didn’t reach Lin Daguo and Li Aifeng, they must have ended up in the hands of Lin Hongna and Lin Hongwu!

Lin Yi knew how despicable Lin Daguo’s family was but never imagined they would have such a vicious heart, marrying his sister off to the Gu family!

Seeing his sister’s words, Lin Yi’s eyes turned red. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. If he weren’t thousands of miles away in the Gobi Desert, he would have flown back to Linjia Village to deal with that heartless bunch!

Seeing Lin Yi’s troubled expression, the political commissar of the camp hurriedly said, “Old friend, take a deep breath.”

Lin Yi was no longer the hot-tempered young man he once was. He sneered, keeping the account of Lin Daguo’s family in his mind. His sister’s marriage to Gu Shi’an, breaking free from the Lin family’s confinement, was not a bad thing.

Truthfully, Lin Yi had a good impression of Gu Shi’an. He was intelligent, composed, and reassuring, and the Gu parents treated his sister like their own daughter. From the letters, it was clear that the young couple was living a sweet and happy life.

As a brother-in-law, Lin Yi should have been fully supportive, but his heart felt sour, like a jar of vinegar had been overturned.

My sister is only in her early twenties, and Gu Shi’an is already thirty!

The old cow eats the young grass and just took his sister away. As a brother, there is always a sour feeling in his heart. Lin Yi bared his teeth, read a few lines, and suddenly grinned, laughing happily.

“I’ve got a nephew now, haha! Old Jia, I’m an uncle now!”