Chapter 8

Suddenly, the sound of Gu Juncheng speaking came from outside, as if he was ordering someone to stand in the corner again.

Lin Qingping quickly got out of bed and freshened up, then saw Gu Juncheng coming out of Zhiyuan’s room.

When he saw her, Gu Juncheng coughed twice and turned his gaze to the side. 

Lin Qingping wondered: What is this person thinking? 

“What’s wrong with Zhiyuan?”

Gu Juncheng’s expression finally returned to normal. “That brat, he’s learned how to run away from home! I caught him at the village entrance!” 

Lin Qingping suddenly remembered what Zhiyuan had said yesterday: He would leave… and he actually did leave!

She still held a cup of milk and went into Zhiyuan’s room. 

Zhiyuan’s small body stood at attention in perfect military posture, his little frame straight as a stick. When he heard someone enter, he didn’t turn around. 

“Zhiyuan.” she called: “Have you not drunk your milk yet today?” 

Zhiyuan tilted his head slightly but didn’t respond to her. 

There was still a distance between them.

Ever since she had married into the family, she had been indifferent to Zhiyuan.

Zhiyuan didn’t like her, but he understood one thing clearly: she was Uncle Gu’s wife and one of his own people.

Therefore, whenever someone spoke ill of her, he would always defend her, as it was also protecting Uncle Gu’s reputation. 

Lin Qingping looked at the small boy with sympathy in her heart. 

“Come, drink your milk first.” she said, offering it to him just like last time, bringing it to his lips. However, this time, he didn’t drink it. He lowered his and avoided the cup of milk.

“What’s wrong? Can you tell me?” she asked patiently. “I heard from your Uncle Gu that you’re going to leave?”

The word “leave” finally made him react, but only by lowering his head even further. “I’ll leave once Uncle Gu returns to the Military Unit.”

She asked in surprise. “Why do you want to leave? Where are you going?”

Zhiyuan fell silent again.

Lin Qingping thought for a moment, then put down the cup of milk. “What if I told you that I won’t allow you to leave?”

As soon as he heard that, Zhiyuan suddenly raised his head. Lin Qingping noticed that his eyes were indeed red.

“I won’t allow you to leave, Zhiyuan.” she repeated.

“Then… then why did you give me eggs, give me milk powder…” the little guy stammered.

“What does this have to do with you leaving?” she was confused.

Zhiyuan lowered his head. “In the plays and books, it’s always like this. You give good food and drink, and then send the guests off with some gifts…”

Lin Qingping: …So this was the misunderstanding.

A sensitive and precocious child, he really thought too much…

“I… I…”

Lin Qingping hugged Zhiyuan, who had been saying “I” for a long time. “Zhiyuan, I didn’t mean that, you misunderstood. From now on, you’ll have eggs to eat and milk to drink every day. I’ll make them for you, right here in this house, I’ll make them. I just want you to grow up tall and strong, like your Uncle Gu.”

Zhiyuan didn’t speak, but Lin Qingping could feel that, against the thin fabric of her summer shirt, a spot near where Zhiyun’s eyes had been was now damp.

Zhiyuan, thank you for calling me ‘Mom.’ In this life, let’s start over, just the two of us…

Lin Qingping didn’t make Zhiyuan continue standing in the corner.

She watched as he drank the milk, then boiled an egg for him to eat, before she started preparing the meal.

In her past life, she had worked in the catering industry and had considerable skill in cooking. However, during her time at the Gu Family, she had earned a reputation for being lazy and unwilling to do any work.

Not only that, but she never allowed anyone to enjoy the good food she made.

But today, she walked into the kitchen. Her mother-in-law seemed as though she had seen the sun setting in the west. 

“Well… Chengzi finally came back, so I’ll make something for him to eat.” Lin Qingping explained. “You… go do something else. I’ll handle this.”

No matter how difficult this daughter-in-law usually was, the fact that she had this intention toward her son made Liu Fen feel a little better. She reluctantly gave up the kitchen to her. 

In the rural areas of this time, resources were indeed limited. Oil and sugar were treated like treasures by the mother-in-law, and she was usually reluctant to use them. Lin Qingping didn’t dare waste anything either, so with the ingredients she had, she made a meal. 

She steamed a large pumpkin and mashed it into a puree, then mixed it with cornmeal to make a full bowl of pumpkin cakes.

Reluctant to use too much oil for frying, she pan-fried them with just a little oil, but they were delicious. The pumpkins grown in the countryside were naturally sweet, and when cooked, they had just the right level of sweetness—similar to the not-too-sweet desserts that became popular decades later. 

Then, she roasted the tofu directly, sprinkling chili powder and salt on it. Although it didn’t have the dramatic effect of tofu bursting open with sauce, it was far better than her mother-in-law’s usual method of stir-frying tofu, which often ended up burnt.

The broad beans, however, were charred in the iron pan, and the green peppers were burnt as well. When they were mixed together and stir-fried, the aroma was so strong that her mother-in-law thought she had set the kitchen on fire. After stir-frying a large plate of cabbage, the meal was ready.

She brought it to the table, and Zhiyuan stared at the pumpkin cakes with shining eyes. Her mother-in-law was also shocked.

Lin Qingping first gave Zhiyuan two pumpkin cakes, then turned to her mother-in-law. “Mom, you eat first. I’ll go call Dad and Chengzi to come eat.”

She thought Gu Juncheng was helping Father-in-law with work, but when she went to the field, she found only her Father-in-law there.

After calling her Father-in-law, she continued searching for Gu Juncheng.

She walked around the village, but didn’t see him. However, she noticed that everyone in the village was running toward the back mountain.

“Quick! The back mountain collapsed, and I heard someone got injured!” 

“Let’s go! Let’s see!”

The villagers, both young and old, were still very enthusiastic, all running toward the mountain. Lin Qingping’s heart tightened, wondering if Gu Juncheng was also up there. She had searched everywhere and still hadn’t found him! Without hesitation, she followed the villagers up the mountain. 

They soon reached the site of the collapse. Lin Qingping looked up from below and saw Gu Juncheng hanging from a tree, one hand holding onto a branch and the other pulling someone up: Chen Xia.

The entire valley echoed with Chen Xia’s cries: “Brother Chengzi, Brother Chengzi, don’t let go! I’m scared…”

Lin Qingping’s heart was hanging by a thread, her focus entirely on Gu Juncheng.

The tree he was clinging to was shaking, about to fall. The two of them weren’t very high off the ground. If Gu Juncheng let go and jumped down, neither of them would die, but it was hard to say whether they would break any limbs.

What terrified Lin Qingping the most was that in her past life, Gu Juncheng had passed away young, and the thought of him encountering any danger sent shivers down her spine.

She couldn’t even bring herself to shout, afraid that it would startle Gu Juncheng and cause him to fall.

The villagers below the cliff spread out a fishing net and shouted up at the two: “Chengzi, come down! We’ll catch you!”

“Okay! I’m letting go! Pull tight!” Gu Juncheng shouted loudly.

Then, Gu Juncheng let go, and the two of them fell into the net. 

Seeing Gu Juncheng land safely in the net, Lin Qingping let out a relieved breath.

However, she was puzzled by what happened next. In the net, Chen Xia was holding onto Gu Juncheng’s neck, crying uncontrollably: “Wuwuwu, Brother Chengzi, thank you, wuwuwu, Brother Chengzi, I was really scared…”

Lin Qingping noticed that Chen Xia was wearing a green top.

She suddenly remembered the figure she had seen flitting behind the big tree that day…

Her woman’s intuition sounded a warning bell in her mind.

Chen Xia was the one who had canceled her engagement with Gu Juncheng because she disliked Zhiyuan.

But hadn’t Chen Xia gone to the city to be engaged to a young man sent from the city to work in the countryside? That had happened before she and Gu Juncheng had gotten married.

So, why was she here now?