Gu’s mother complained he sent too little; Gu’s father thought he was a dullard; Gu Jianbin considered it only natural; and Gu Xiuxiu never gave him a single kind look.
The original host might not have known these things, but Lin Wanxing could piece together the general picture from the fragments in the original book.
Now, hearing Gu’s mother’s sarcastic remarks and looking at Gu Jianfeng’s silent back, Lin Wanxing’s mind turned.
“Mom, I know you’re concerned about Jianfeng and think I’m not doing well. Here, these dishes are left for you. As a new bride, I still have much to learn. Why don’t you show me how, so I don’t upset you again in the future!”
Gu’s mother was choked off again, her face turning livid.
Make her do it?!
But Gu Jianfeng also chimed in: “Wanxing is right. Mom, if you have ideas, do it and show us, so we know how to make you satisfied.”
The way he said it, the way he said it!
Gu’s mother was so angry her vision went dark again.
The general had just visited yesterday; the whole village was watching. If she made a scene now, it would disgrace the Gu family.
Gu’s mother gritted her teeth fiercely and took the loofah gourd scrubber.
Lin Wanxing was still calling out: “Oh dear, this is really so embarrassing…”
…
After washing the dishes, Gu Jianfeng said he wanted to check on their private plot.
The Gu family had a third-of-an-acre private plot west of the village, where they grew some vegetables, usually tended by Gu’s father and mother.
But Gu’s father was lazy, and Gu’s mother was getting old. The weeds in the plot grew taller than the vegetables.
Gu Jianfeng’s leave this time wasn’t long. He wanted to properly tidy up the plot in these few days.
“I’ll go with you,” Lin Wanxing said.
Gu Jianfeng was taken aback: “The field is dirty, there are bugs, and the sun is hot…”
“I’m not afraid.” Lin Wanxing cut him off, already turning to fetch a straw hat from the room and put it on. “Let’s go.”
Gu Jianfeng looked at her earnest expression, and a warm feeling surged in his heart.
He didn’t say anything more, just nodded, went to the utility room to fetch a hoe and a straw basket.
They walked out one after the other.
The morning sun had already risen. Golden sunlight spilled on the dirt road. Cornfields on both sides were lush and green; the corn tassels were beginning to emerge, swaying gently in the breeze.
In the distance, commune members were already heading to the fields carrying hoes. Seeing them, they greeted with smiles.
“Jianfeng, taking your wife to the field?”
“Wanxing, so diligent, working right after the wedding?”
“Jianfeng is so blessed! Such a pretty wife, and so capable too!”
Gu Jianfeng responded one by one, his face expressionless, but Lin Wanxing could feel his steps lightening somewhat.
Reaching the private plot, it was indeed as Gu Jianfeng had said—the weeds grew taller than the vegetables.
Eggplants, peppers, and beans all looked wilted, robbed of nutrients by the weeds.
Gu Jianfeng set down the straw basket, picked up the hoe, and started weeding.
He worked efficiently. The hoe came down accurately and powerfully, uprooting weeds, turning the soil.
Sunlight shone on his bronze skin. Sweat quickly soaked through his undershirt, clinging to his body, outlining his robust back muscles and narrow waist.
Lin Wanxing wasn’t idle either.
She squatted in the field, pulling weeds by hand that the hoe couldn’t reach, between the vegetable seedlings.
She’d never done farm work before; her movements were somewhat clumsy but earnest.
Soon, her hands were covered in soil.
Fine beads of sweat also formed on her forehead, sliding down her cheeks, tickling.
After hoeing for a while, Gu Jianfeng looked back at her.
He saw her squatting in the field, her small figure almost swallowed by weeds. Under the straw hat, her profile was pale, a speck of mud on the tip of her nose, yet she still pulled weeds seriously.
His heart softened suddenly.
“Wanxing,” he walked over, taking a faded, washed-white handkerchief from his pocket, “wipe your sweat.”
Lin Wanxing looked up.
The sunlight was a bit blinding. She squinted before seeing the handkerchief Gu Jianfeng offered.
The handkerchief was very old, its edges frayed, but washed clean, folded neatly square.
She took it, wiping the sweat and mud from her face.
The handkerchief carried the faint scent of soap beans and his unique aroma—a mix of sunlight and sweat.
“Thank you,” she said.
Gu Jianfeng shook his head, squatting down beside her, also starting to pull weeds by hand.
They were very close.
Lin Wanxing could smell the strong sweat on him, mixed with the scents of soil and grass—not unpleasant, instead carrying a primitive vitality.
“Jianfeng,” she suddenly spoke, “when you were little… in the Gu family… did you have a very hard life?”
Gu Jianfeng’s hand pulling weeds paused.
He turned his head to look at Lin Wanxing.
She was bowing her head, intently pulling out a stubborn weed. Her profile looked especially soft in the sunlight, her long eyelashes like little fans casting a small shadow under her eyelids.
“It was alright,” he said softly after a few seconds of silence. “Had food to eat, a place to live. Better than many children without parents.”
He spoke lightly, downplaying it.
But Lin Wanxing knew from the fragmented information in the original book that it was far from that simple.
Gu Jianfeng’s parents had died when he was five—reportedly caught in a flash flood while gathering herbs in the mountains, their bodies never found.
He became an orphan, relying on the charity of various families in the village, eating when he could, often hungry.
Later, the Gu family adopted him—not out of kindness, but because the Gu family lacked labor at the time.
Gu’s father was lazy, Gu’s mother was in poor health, and Gu Jianbin was still young. They needed someone to work.
Gu Jianfeng was a relative’s child and at an age where he could work. Adopting him would bring them a good reputation and an extra laborer.
After some calculation, the Gu family brought him home.
Gu Jianfeng was extremely grateful when he arrived at the Gu family.
He would get up before dawn, standing on a stool to cook at the stove. In winter, his hands were covered with frostbite, ulcerated and oozing pus. Gu’s mother would only toss him some cheap frostbite ointment, scolding him for being clumsy.
All the farm work fell on him. Gu Jianbin could go to school with a backpack; he could only carry a hoe to the fields.
At night, returning home, he still had to wash Gu’s father’s and mother’s feet and give them massages.
Gu’s father had athlete’s foot; his feet stank terribly. Gu Jianfeng had to endure the disgust every time he washed them.
Gu’s mother also complained he didn’t massage well enough.
Later, when he joined the army, in the first few years, his allowance was meager. He saved every bit, neither eating well nor dressing properly, sending it all home.
The Gu family built a new house, yet he didn’t even have a proper room, always sleeping in the side room used for storing odds and ends.
Gu Jianbin being able to join the army was also through his connections.
Gu’s mother forced him to beg his superiors. Initially, he refused, feeling it was using backdoors, against regulations.
Gu’s mother cursed him as an “ungrateful wretch,” “forgetting who raised you,” “without the Gu family you’d have starved long ago.”
Pushed beyond endurance, he swallowed his pride and begged his old leader, finally managing to get Gu Jianbin into the army.
This incident became a hurdle in his heart he couldn’t get past.
Every time he thought of it, he felt he’d betrayed his military uniform.
These things, Gu Jianfeng had never told anyone.
He was accustomed to silence, to swallowing all bitterness into his stomach.
But now, Lin Wanxing’s gentle question was like a key, unexpectedly opening the long-sealed door in his heart.
“Actually…” his Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice even lower, “the Gu family… showed me kindness. Without them, I wouldn’t have lived to this day.”
He spoke the truth.
In that era of famine, an orphan without anyone to take them in might very well starve to death.
The Gu family gave him food to eat, a roof over his head.
This debt of gratitude, he remembered for a lifetime.
So no matter how the Gu family treated him later, he endured it.
He felt this was repaying their kindness.
Hearing his calm tone, Lin Wanxing felt as if a needle had pricked her heart.
She stopped her work, turned her head, and looked at him seriously.
“Jianfeng,” her voice was soft, yet each word clear, “kindness is kindness, but kindness shouldn’t be shackles. The Gu family raised you; you repaying them is only right. But that doesn’t mean they can trample on you however they please, not treating you as a person.”
Gu Jianfeng was stunned.
He stared blankly at Lin Wanxing.
He had never considered this.
“I…” his mouth opened, but he didn’t know what to say.
Lin Wanxing reached out, gently patting the back of his soil-covered hand.
Her hand was small, soft, with a slightly cool temperature.
“From now on,” she looked at him, saying word by word, “you have me. We are family. If anyone bullies you again, I won’t stand for it.”
Sunlight spilled on her face, casting a golden halo over her fair skin.
Her eyes were firm, her tone earnest.
Gu Jianfeng felt as if something had struck his chest hard.
In his over twenty years of life, no one had ever said such words to him.
No one had ever stood so firmly on his side, saying they would protect him.
He was used to giving, used to enduring, used to bearing all bitterness alone.
But now, this woman who had just become his wife told him in such a calm yet firm tone: You have me.
Gu Jianfeng’s nose suddenly felt a bit sour.
He lowered his head, hiding his instantly reddened eyes, and forcefully pulled up a weed, his voice hoarse: “Mm.”
Just that one word.
Yet it seemed to use all his strength.
Neither said anything more, just continued bowing their heads to pull weeds.
Working in silence like that.
The sun grew hotter, sweat soaked their clothes, hands were covered in mud, but neither complained of being tired.
…
Returning home at noon, Gu’s mother had already prepared lunch.
Very simple: cornmeal flatbread, pickled vegetable lumps, and a pot of watery porridge with barely any rice grains visible.
Gu Xiuxiu sat at the table, facing a small round mirror combing her hair. Seeing them return, she curled her lip: “Thought you weren’t coming back to eat.”
Gu Jianfeng ignored her. He went to the well to draw water so Lin Wanxing could wash her hands.
Lin Wanxing washed her hands clean and walked to the table to sit down.
Gu’s mother ladled porridge, handing a bowl to her, then another to Gu Jianfeng. She sat down, picked up a flatbread, and began eating.
Not a word the whole time, her face still dark.
Halfway through the meal, Gu Xiuxiu suddenly spoke: “Second Brother, how many days can you stay this time?”
Gu Jianfeng swallowed the flatbread in his mouth: “About half a month.”
“Oh.” Gu Xiuxiu’s eyes shifted. “Then… when are you returning to the army?”
“When my leave ends.”
“Then…” Gu Xiuxiu bit her lip, glanced at Lin Wanxing, then said, “What about Sister-in-law? Will she go with you to the army?”
This question, Lin Wanxing had also thought about.
According to the original book’s plot, Gu Jianfeng later arranged for the original host to join him as a military dependent, but that was much later.
Now, they’d just married. Gu Jianfeng’s rank wasn’t high enough yet to bring family along.
Sure enough, Gu Jianfeng shook his head: “Not possible for now. I have to return to the army first, submit a report, apply for family housing. Only after approval can I bring Wanxing over.”
Gu Xiuxiu let out an “oh,” a subtle expression appearing on her face—as if relieved, yet also faintly gloating.
“Then Sister-in-law will have to stay at home,” she said, her tone carrying a barely noticeable smugness. “There’s lots of work at home. Mom is getting old, can’t do much. From now on, we’ll have to rely on Sister-in-law.”
The way she said it made it sound as if Lin Wanxing had come to the Gu family to be a servant.
Gu Jianfeng’s brow furrowed.
He set down his bowl, looking at Gu Xiuxiu, his voice dropping several degrees: “Xiuxiu, Wanxing is your sister-in-law. Household chores should be shared by everyone. You’re not young anymore; you should help share the burden too.”
Gu Xiuxiu hadn’t expected her second brother to scold her for Lin Wanxing’s sake. Instantly feeling wronged, her voice sharpened:
“How am I not sharing the burden? I go to school every day, come back and still have homework. When do I have time to work? Besides, didn’t she marry into our family to fulfill filial duties for Elder Brother? What’s wrong with doing more work?”
“Gu Xiuxiu.” Gu Jianfeng called her full name, his tone unprecedentedly serious. “An elder sister-in-law is like a mother. You must respect your sister-in-law.”
“Elder sister-in-law like a mother?” Gu Xiuxiu snorted as if hearing some huge joke. “How much older is she than me? Elder sister-in-law like a mother? Besides, my real mother is right here. Does it even fall to her?”
That was going too far.
Gu’s mother also frowned, shooting Gu Xiuxiu a glare: “How are you talking to your second brother?”
But her tone wasn’t severe; instead, it held a trace of indulgence.
Gu Xiuxiu grew even more emboldened. Pointing at Lin Wanxing, her voice sharp and shrill: “Second Brother, have you lost your mind over her? She’s only been here one day, and you’re scolding me for her?”
“Gu Xiuxiu.” Gu Jianfeng stood up.
He was tall; standing up, he was like a mountain. His shadow fell over them, carrying an intimidating pressure.
Gu Xiuxiu was startled, instinctively shrinking back, but her mouth remained defiant: “You… what do you want? Did I say something wrong? She’s just—”
“Shut up.” Gu Jianfeng cut her off, his voice cold as ice. “Apologize to your sister-in-law.”
Gu Xiuxiu’s eyes widened, staring at Gu Jianfeng in disbelief.
This second brother of hers—usually silent, aloof to everyone—had never spoken to her in such a tone before.
“I won’t!” Gu Xiuxiu also stood up, her eyes instantly reddening, her voice tearful. “Why should I apologize? What did I say wrong? She’s just a jinx! She brought misfortune to Elder Brother, caused his death! Now she’s bewitching you! Just wait and see—sooner or later, she’ll bring misfortune to you too…”
Smack!
A sharp slap cut off Gu Xiuxiu’s words.
It wasn’t from Gu Jianfeng.
It was from Gu’s father.