Who Was He?
These past few days, Gu Ningning’s appetite had grown noticeably.
When she was first born, she was like a little kitten, with a pitifully small appetite.
Her health was also poor, spending entire days in the incubator, only occasionally leaving it.
Day by day, Gu Ningning’s body grew stronger.
She didn’t remember many things, only that she was not an ordinary person.
She had memories from the moment she was born.
She also heard the doctors’ conversations. She didn’t understand what they meant, only that her mother was in great danger.
She didn’t know how to help her mother either, except by using her tail… Huh? Why use her tail?
She didn’t understand that either, only remembering that by wrapping it around her mother like that, her mother got better.
Her breathing became smooth again.
Her mother opened her eyes, and the doctors said her blood pressure had risen, and her heartbeat had stabilized.
Then she was carried by a nurse into her father’s arms.
That man with a stubbly chin was her father.
Father looked so haggard, but it couldn’t hide his handsomeness.
Even though she had seen many handsome men and beautiful women in her past life, her father was still exceptionally good-looking.
Why mention a past life? Gu Ningning didn’t really know either. She just had these memories, though they weren’t very clear.
In her mind, there was always a voice telling her to protect her parents in this life.
To protect her father and mother, to change their fate.
This voice had been in her mind since she was born, and now it was even clearer.
Gu Ningning didn’t know who the man constantly speaking in her ear was, only that she should call him Heavenly Dao Father.
Gu Ningning let out a little burp and opened her eyes.
She saw the doctor examining her mother.
But Father wasn’t there.
Tilting her head, she tried hard to remember, but still couldn’t recall where Father had gone.
He must have left while she was asleep.
Gu Ningning loved her father, and she loved her mother too.
Father would feed her delicious milk, and Mother would gently hold her and sing lullabies.
“Comrade Ning, your anemia is quite severe. You still need to strengthen your nutritional intake, and breastfeeding is necessary for the child to grow stronger.”
How could Ning Zhi not know?
Her body was simply too weak, not just because of the premature birth, but also because her health had been severely depleted over the past ten or twenty years.
It was only in the last two years, after marrying Fan Minghua, that things improved slightly. Although the Fan Family still treated her harshly, her husband did his utmost to take her out for good meals.
That was how she had gained a little weight.
The doctor added, “Your surgical wounds, however, are healing quite quickly. At this rate, you should be able to be discharged in a few days.”
Ning Zhi nodded repeatedly. She knew her postoperative recovery was going well.
Rebuilding her depleted health would require slow, careful nurturing—it couldn’t be rushed.
As for breastfeeding, her husband was also helping her recuperate.
Every day, there was fish soup and chicken soup.
The fish was bought from the Black Market, and the chickens were sourced from farmers.
Going to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative required ration coupons. All the family’s coupons had been exchanged for milk powder and brown sugar coupons, leaving only a tiny amount for grain and meat coupons.
But it still wasn’t enough, so they had no choice but to risk buying from the Black Market and sourcing from farmers.
Fortunately, the situation was better now than before, and Black Market management wasn’t as strict as it used to be.
Everyone knew it well, they were all the same—everyone needed things, and if they couldn’t buy them in state-run stores, they had no choice but to turn to private purchases.
Although the Black Market was not permitted, it was an open secret.
Even those working in government departments, living off public rations, secretly went there too.
With the recent supplements, Ning Zhi felt her body had become much lighter.
These past few days, she had noticed her chest feeling swollen, likely a sign that her milk was about to come in.
Gu Ningning didn’t fall back asleep; she played with her fingers, occasionally putting them in her mouth.
Listening to the doctor and her mother talking, she understood some of it, but not everything.
However, one thing she did understand was that her mother’s health was not good.
Because of carrying her, her mother had been pushed, fell to the ground, and went into premature labor.
It was critical—the doctor had to make an incision on her mother’s stomach to deliver her via cesarean section.
She had heard this over the past few days while awake, listening to her parents chatting.
That bad person might still come looking for her mother.
Gu Ningning pursed her little lips. If that bad person dared to come, she would spit a mouthful of water at them.
Drown them, that’s what she’d do.
Just thinking about such a scene made Gu Ningning giggle.
Her laughter caught Ning Zhi’s attention, and seeing her daughter playing with her hands, she picked her up.
Gu Ningning naturally wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck.
Her arms weren’t long enough, so she ended up clinging to her mother’s chest, playing with the buttons there.
Her plump breasts were filled with her food supply—she knew that.
Mm, she wanted to drink milk.
Her little hand tapped lightly on her mother’s chest.
And on her body.
Ning Zhi held her daughter, gently patting her back to burp her.
Seeing the gentle smile on her daughter’s face, Ning Zhi’s heart felt as if it were bathed in warm spring water, overflowing with love.
Ever since she could remember, her family had suffered due to their class background.
Her mother struggled to raise her and her older brother, life was very hard.
Later, her mother could no longer bear the pressure, fell ill, and eventually passed away.
That pressure then fell onto her older brother.
After her sister-in-law married into the family and more children were born, the burden grew even heavier.
After graduating from high school, she encountered that political movement and volunteered to go to the countryside.
In the countryside, no one looked down on her, and no one dragged her out for criticism or struggle sessions.
Especially after she married her husband, such days were completely kept at bay by him.
The villagers of Jiangtaiba were lovely, simple people. Although every household had its own trivial disputes, they never strayed far from the right path.
It was mainly because the brigade’s Cadres were good.
The birth of her child poured a stream of spring water into her heart.
She had never felt so fulfilled as she did in this moment.
Even if it meant trading her health for it, she was willing.
Whether it was an illusion or simply because her mood had improved, her body felt better too.
She suddenly felt warmth spreading through her body—a sensation she had experienced before, right after giving birth, when she thought she might die.
Gu Ningning finally withdrew her hand, satisfied.
She looked at her mother, babbling “yiyayaya,” though no one understood what she was saying. But it looked quite amusing, showing she was in a very good mood.
Ning Zhi naturally didn’t understand her daughter’s baby talk either. She looked down at her daughter, gently rubbing her chin against the top of the child’s head, and whispered, “Is Ningning missing Daddy?”
Daddy?
Gu Ningning turned her head, as if looking for her father.
Ning Zhi said, “Daddy has gone to the city for a meeting. When he comes back, he’ll buy delicious treats for Ningning.”
Delicious treats!
Gu Ningning drooled with anticipation, wanting to eat.
Ning Zhi: “You can’t eat them yet. Wait until you’re a bit older.”
Gu Ningning pouted—she couldn’t eat them.
When would she be able to eat them?
She vaguely remembered there were many delicious treats, flavors that made one’s mouth water.
She couldn’t recall exactly what they were, but she remembered the taste.
There were sweet ones, salty ones, and spicy ones.
She babbled and gestured again, twisting her hands together and even putting them in her mouth.
Drool kept flowing down.
Ning Zhi smiled and wiped the drool from the corner of her daughter’s mouth.
Speaking of her husband, she missed Minghua too.
…
At this moment, Fan Minghua had already arrived in the city with the county’s vehicle.
This trip to the city was also an opportunity.
Coincidentally, the meeting in the city was a discussion on the drought issue.
As the leader in addressing this drought, how could Fan Minghua be absent?
Fan Minghua felt that over the past month, one good thing after another had come together.
He had separated from the Fan Family and found a job.
His wife’s health was improving day by day, and their child was growing stronger.
If he weren’t so worried, his wife could have been discharged from the hospital earlier.
Now, with him coming to the city for a meeting, he was even more concerned, so he decided to postpone her discharge.
It was just a matter of money—money could be earned again, but his wife’s health was priceless.
They were arranged to stay at the State-run Hostel. After presenting their introduction letters, they checked into two rooms.
With many people, they shared rooms in pairs, occupying two rooms in total.
Fan Minghua shared a room with Clerk Liu. After having meals with the group, the two went out to stroll around.
Here, strolling wasn’t exclusive to women; men enjoyed it too.
Especially Fan Minghua and Zhu Ganshi. One wanted to buy things for his wife and child, while the other, though with less money in his pocket, still tagged along. Sometimes, when he saw something good, he gritted his teeth and spent his ration coupons and money.
Fan Minghua had a lot to buy.
The baby couldn’t eat anything other than milk for now, so he decided to wait until the baby could eat solid foods before buying supplements.
Thus, what he bought for the baby was mainly clothing and toys. For clothing, since the baby’s skin was delicate, he could only buy fine cotton. He had some cloth ration coupons, but not many, so he would decide based on the situation.
As for toys, they were hard to come by and required further observation.
As for what he bought for Ning Zhi, there was much more, mainly nutritional supplements.
Ning Zhi’s health was poor, with severe anemia. There were no good blood supplements in Shun County, so he came to the city to try his luck.
If there were any, no matter how difficult, he would find a way to buy them.
Fan Minghua and Clerk Liu entered the city’s largest Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
The variety of goods there was extensive, dazzlingly displayed.
Then, Fan Minghua’s eyes lit up. His gaze fixed on a canned item on the shelf, unable to look away for a long time.
“Brigade Commander, what are you looking at?” Nearby, a young man gently nudged another young man beside him with his arm.
Both were wearing military uniforms, each with four pockets.
Clearly, they were Cadres.
Judging from the enthusiastic attitude of the supply and logistics department’s staff, it was clear that these two individuals likely held a high rank.
The young officer addressed as “Brigade Commander” snapped back to attention, withdrawing his gaze, and said, “It’s nothing.”
Setting aside his doubts, he added, “Let’s go.”