Xiao Aiguo wanted to stop them, but Li Xiulan firmly pulled him back. She kept giving her husband meaningful looks, cold sweat dripping down her forehead!
Even after leaving the village for a long time, Xiao Nanchu still hadn’t come back to her senses.
She couldn’t understand why her grandmother had suddenly changed her mind! Letting them leave so easily?
Xiao Huaidong and Xu Huaying exchanged a tacit smile.
When they arrived in town, the three of them casually grabbed a few bites at a state-run restaurant before catching the last bus to the county seat.
Three hours later, Xiao Huaidong and his daughter Xiao Nanchu stood in front of a beautiful two-story white house, their eyes wide open in unison.
Xiao Huaidong had only thought that Xu Huaying was living well after getting married, but he hadn’t expected her life to be this prosperous. In this era, being able to live in a small Western-style house was no ordinary feat.
“Come on, Brother Dong, Little Bean Sprout. This will be your home from now on—hurry in!”
Xu Huaying took out her keys and was about to open the iron gate when it suddenly opened from the inside.
A pair of about ten-year-old twin boys—one with a tear mole under his left eye, the other with prominent ears—both dressed in matching suits, stood there. Beside them was an eight-year-old girl in a fluffy dress with a high ponytail, her face full of arrogance. The three blocked the gate aggressively.
They glared fiercely at Xiao Huaidong and Xiao Nanchu behind Xu Huaying.
“Mom, you can come in, but these two cannot. Our family doesn’t welcome a gigolo and a burden.”
Xu Huaying’s smiling face instantly darkened. “Move aside. This is my house, Xu Huaying’s house—it’s not your place to decide. What gigolo? What burden? Who taught you those words? Has all your upbringing been fed to the dogs?”
She placed her hands on her hips, suppressing the emotions in her eyes.
“Uncle Xiao and Little Bean Sprout will be part of our family from now on. If you accept it, then get along with them properly. If you don’t and deliberately cause trouble, don’t blame me for sending you back to the Gu family.”
Gu Qingling pouted stubbornly. “Why should we accept them? As long as the three of us siblings are here, that gigolo and burden will never step into this house!”
Xu Huaying rolled up her sleeves, glaring at the three stubborn children, raising her hand to strike.
Seeing more and more people from the residential compound across the street and neighbors coming out to watch, Xiao Huaidong hurriedly grabbed her wrist. “Huaying, they’re still young. If you hurt them, you’ll be the one who feels the most pain.”
Back when Xu Huaying had been taking care of Xiao Huaidong in the hospital, rumors had already spread.
Their relationship was known to everyone in the hospital.
The Gu family lived across from the small house, in the fertilizer factory residential compound across the street. Some residents there were nurses from the county hospital.
The three children must have been instigated by the Gu family.
“No need for your fake kindness. Grandma said you’re only after my mom’s money. My mom may be fooled by you, but we’re not that stupid!”
Gu Dahu pulled what he thought was clever Gu Erhu back and looked seriously at Xu Huaying. “Mom, in this house, it’s either them or us.”
Xu Huaying looked at her eldest son with disappointment, snorted coldly, and waved her hand. The three instinctively stepped aside.
Ignoring them, she took Xiao Nanchu’s hand and softened her tone. “Come, Little Bean Sprout, go home with Auntie. Your room has already been prepared. All the decorations are newly bought—you can see if you like them.”
Xiao Nanchu was small and weak. With her hand tightly held by Xu Huaying, she followed almost mechanically. When she turned back to look at her father, she saw that he had also followed into the courtyard.
The three siblings wanted to block them again, but when they met Xu Huaying’s sharp glare, they shrank back.
Xiao Huaidong looked at them and sighed inwardly.
In his previous life, Huaying’s third daughter had died before reaching adulthood. Of her two sons, one died in a car accident, and the other was tricked into a black coal mine for twenty years. By the time he was found, he was already a cold corpse.
He had met Huaying in a psychiatric hospital. At that time, they were both in their sixties.
His own nephew had seized his company and family assets and forcibly sent him there.
In his last ten years, he stayed by Huaying’s side. When she was on her deathbed, she regained clarity and told him how glorious the first half of her life had been—and how painful the second half had become.
In his previous life, he deeply regretted his foolish filial piety, which caused him to miss Huaying. Not only did he end up alone, but he also harmed his own children and Huaying. If he had known she had married in the county, living so close by, he might have found her with just a little effort…
Clearly, in his previous life, he had never met Huaying at the county hospital, and he only woke up after more than a month. In this life, perhaps heaven had shown mercy—not only letting him be reborn, but also allowing him to wake early and reunite with her so soon.
In their previous life, their regrets were the early deaths of their children and a lonely old age.
In this life, he would never let tragedy happen again. He would do everything he could to make up for the regrets of his past life.
“Brother Dong, don’t mind them. They’re just young, not stupid. They’ve been instigated and don’t even trust me, their own mother. They’ll learn from this. Only when they see the true faces of the Gu family elders will they grow. My children, Xu Huaying’s children, must not be cowards, nor should they fail to distinguish right from wrong.”
Xu Huaying pointed to the bike shed by the wall in the courtyard. “There are three bicycles at home. The new one was just bought recently—for you to ride in the future, Brother Dong.”
Xiao Nanchu was surprised. Goodness—he hadn’t even arrived yet, and the bike was already bought.
Wasn’t this basically being kept by a rich woman?
Calling her dad a gigolo wasn’t wrong after all.
Xiao Huaidong hadn’t expected Xu Huaying to give him something as soon as he stepped in. He felt a bit embarrassed, but also happy. “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
Xu Huaying smiled, her tone softening. “Brother Dong, I just want to live a steady life with you. All these years, Dahu’s grandparents have used all kinds of underhanded means to stop me from remarrying. Ever since Dahu’s father died, starting from the second year, they kept introducing relatives from the Gu family to me. They tried every method to prevent me from marrying someone else. The three children were also influenced by them.”
“I work as a translator at the steel factory, earning a fixed salary of 300 a month. On top of that, I also work as a broadcaster and take on temporary translation jobs for other factories—my monthly income exceeds 500. The Gu family has always been eyeing my money.”
Xiao Huaidong held Xu Huaying’s hand with concern and assured her, “Don’t worry. With me here, you’ll never suffer any grievances again.”
Squeezed in between them like a thousand-watt light bulb, Xiao Nanchu: “…”
She had figured it out—whenever these two were together, they only had eyes for each other.
Her stepmother was beautiful and bold, smart and rational, exuding a queen-like aura. A little bit of dominance could be ignored.
She wondered if her stepmother would show her affection because of her father. After all, the woman already had sons and a daughter—she didn’t lack a “burden” like her.
This was 1977. The average monthly wage of an ordinary worker was only around 30 yuan. Xu Huaying’s monthly income equaled two years of someone else’s salary. Her father, back in the countryside, was a militia squad leader who knew some martial arts and could hunt with a rifle. He earned eighteen yuan a month plus grain and oil. But once in the city, all his skills were useless.