Previously, he had thought his youngest son, Lin Mojia, was the child most like him. Now, he doubted that former judgment.
Lin Tianlei quickly regained his refined and genial demeanor, looking at Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan with a face full of regret. “I had originally wanted to invite you both for dinner tonight, let you young people talk things out, so we could still be friends when we meet again. I didn’t expect you’d be leaving Suzhou so soon…”
Jiang Lizhu’s sharp wit and eloquence had caught him off guard, and Gu Mingyan, so young yet already holding a regimental position, made him even more wary.
And their Lin family had managed to offend both of these people.
“Old Lin is right, I was just about to go grocery shopping,” Fan Xue chimed in, following Lin Tianlei’s lead. She glanced at Gu Mingyan and the back of the baby’s head, a meaningful smile spreading across her face.
“Uncle Lin really does like you, it’s a shame we were too slow… otherwise, you’d be the one calling me ‘Mother-in-law’ now.”
The more Fan Xue thought about it, the more she regretted it. When Jiang Yuanbai first got into trouble last year, Lin Tianlei had wanted Lin Mojia to marry Jiang Lizhu. She had vehemently opposed it, even pushing forward the Jiang family’s adopted daughter, Xiao Jinzhu, instead.
Thinking back now, a biological daughter and an adopted one were ultimately different. Even if Ruan Yumin had raised Xiao Jinzhu for fourteen years, she wouldn’t go out of her way to find her a military officer husband like Gu Mingyan.
And what about Xiao Jinzhu? Even if she was still in contact with Ruan Yumin, so what? Without Ruan Yumin’s backing, she couldn’t even reach for a husband from a family like theirs!
Facts proved that only Jiang Lizhu could leverage the influence behind Ruan Yumin. Ruan Yumin’s capabilities were far greater than they had imagined.
With a simple remarriage, she had firmly protected her two biological children.
Most importantly, if Jiang Lizhu had married into the Lin family and become her daughter-in-law, she would have been malleable, easy to control. There’s no way she’d dare to be so presumptuous in front of her like this now.
After Fan Xue’s words, both Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan’s gazes towards her and Lin Tianlei turned cold.
“That’s impossible. My mother wouldn’t agree. And most importantly, I wouldn’t agree. No one can force me,” Jiang Lizhu stated. Having navigated complex wealthy families in her previous life, she could easily read between the lines of Fan Xue’s words.
Try to control her? Not a chance, through the door or the window!
“People should really have some self-awareness. The reason I fancy my son’s father is because he’s handsome and capable on his own… Lin Mojia, though.”
Jiang Lizhu didn’t need to say more; the disdain on her face was unmistakable.
“Lizhu is my wife. You two, we need to wait for our bus,” Gu Mingyan said. When those peach-blossom eyes of his turned cold, his entire demeanor shifted.
Sharp and piercing, like an unsheathed dagger.
Lin Tianlei tugged at Fan Xue, who had managed to offend them again in just a few sentences. Maintaining a barely polite smile, he nodded. “Alright, we won’t hold you up. Perhaps we’ll meet again someday.”
Failing to resolve the conflict before Gu Mingyan and Jiang Lizhu left was regrettable, but Suzhou was the Lin family’s home turf. Managing relationships here was what truly mattered.
Jiang Lizhu and Gu Mingyan remained unmoved, showing no desire to engage with them further.
“I…” Fan Xue didn’t think she’d said anything wrong. Her son was a university student; what gave Jiang Lizhu the right to be so dismissive? She, the wife of a vice-president at a major hospital, deigning to be Jiang Lizhu’s mother-in-law was an honor.
“Let’s GO!” Lin Tianlei practically dragged Fan Xue away, his actions somewhat rough, tinged with blame. When he had pushed for Lin Mojia to marry Jiang Lizhu last year, it would have been offering help in a time of need, with a high chance of success.
But she had opposed him fiercely, arguing loudly. Now, regretting it was useless; Jiang Lizhu had found a better husband.
“So annoying,” Jiang Lizhu said in a sweet, coquettish tone, but her voice wasn’t low. Fan Xue and Lin Tianlei, who hadn’t walked far, definitely heard.
“Yeah, don’t be upset. Look at our son instead,” Gu Mingyan soothed her, shifting slightly to let the baby, with half his face peeking out, help cheer up Jiang Lizhu, whose mood had clearly been affected.
“Okay~” The disdain on Jiang Lizhu’s face instantly vanished. In a flash, she was smiling at Gu Mingyan and their son, her eyes crinkling, her mood vastly improved.
She had transferred her bad mood back to Lin Tianlei and Fan Xue; it was like psychological energy conservation.
“The bus is coming. You board first. I’ll take care of the baby,” Gu Mingyan said, spotting the approaching bus in the distance. It was one of the routes that went directly to the train station.
It was just past 6:30, and the bus wasn’t very crowded. Unless they were in a hurry, the elderly people out for their morning grocery shopping usually preferred to walk and save the twenty-cent fare.
Jiang Lizhu boarded first and paid for both their fares. Gu Mingyan came through the rear door, stowed the luggage, and they sat down in two adjacent seats.
The baby had recently gotten used to being carried around by Gu Mingyan for meals and strolls, his curiosity about the outside world undiminished.
But this was his first time on a bus, and his little round head turned this way and that, taking everything in.
As soon as she sat down, Jiang Lizhu cracked the window open a bit, then took masks from her bag. She put one on herself, then gently turned the baby’s face towards her and put a tiny, miniature mask on him.
“Be good, baby. Don’t pull it off, okay? Mommy will take it off for you when we’re on the train.” Jiang Lizhu didn’t expect the baby to wear a mask the whole train ride, but in the crowded waiting hall, it was necessary.
“You too.” Jiang Lizhu didn’t give Gu Mingyan a chance to refuse. She cupped his chin, turned his face towards her, and put his mask on for him.
Better safe than sorry. If Gu Mingyan got sick, their journey would become a real hassle.
Over the past few days, Gu Mingyan had gradually finished reading two medical science books. He could generally understand Jiang Lizhu’s reasoning. Although it felt strange, he didn’t avoid her help.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Suzhou Railway Station. They entered the bustling waiting hall, waited another ten minutes, then lined up to board the train platform.
With the “woo woo woo” of the train whistle, Jiang Lizhu began her brand new journey.
…
Fen County, under Fenzhou City, Hebei Province, Qiaoguan Village, subordinate to the Fourth Production Brigade.
During the autumn harvest season, the villagers and the sent-down youth who had been assigned heeded the call of Village Party Secretary Chen Erye, working vigorously in the fields to meet the deadline.
Men were worked like oxen and horses, women were worked like men. Children aged six to ten followed the adults, carrying baskets to pick up stray wheat ears or potatoes.
“No loafing! No fighting! There’s no upper limit on work points; more work means more gain, same for adults and children!” The lean, dark, and capable Chen Erye had a loudspeaker hanging from his waist, which he lifted to shout every now and then.
He understood the principle of the carrot and the stick, effectively motivating both the villagers and the sent-down youth.
At the end of the dirt road connecting to the village square, two bicycles slowly approached.
By the edge of the golden, waving wheat fields, a little boy of about four or five bounced over to the nearest field. He cupped his hands around his mouth like a trumpet, his young, childish voice carrying far.
“Grandpa! Grandma! Dad! Mom! Uncle! Aunt! Eldest Brother! Third Brother! Second Sister! Fourth Sister… Little Uncle is back! He brought lots and lots… lots of stuff!”
Bringing stuff meant tasty snacks and fun toys. The little boy bounced excitedly at the edge of the field until Chen Erye, who was closest, hauled him back onto the ridge.
“What’s all this ruckus? Gu Xiao Liu, go tell your little uncle to come work in the fields,” Chen Erye said. As village Party secretary, he naturally knew that the fourth son of the Old Gu family worked at a factory in the city and could be considered the second most capable person in the Gu family.
But no matter how capable he was, coming back to the village at this time meant he had to work in the fields. Chen Erye thought this, utterly impartial.
“Oh.” Gu Xiao Liu usually obeyed Chen Erye; after all, he was the one who could make his grandpa, grandma, and the whole family work obediently.
Gu Xiao Liu turned, then immediately turned back, facing Chen Erye’s dark gaze. Frightened yet still hesitant, he continued.
“And… and two… no, three people. A tall man, and a white woman, really, really white. She was holding a baby, and she smiled at me.”
But at that moment, his eyes had only seen the luggage piled onto the bikes. Then, he had dashed off here to spread the news.
“A man? A woman? A baby?” Chen Erye frowned deeply. He didn’t think Gu Xiao Liu was lying; the kid had always tagged along with his grandma and knew every bit of village gossip he could possibly chatter about.
“Coming back with your little uncle… The man wears a military uniform, uh, wears green clothes?” Chen Erye remembered the wedding invitation that had been in his house for over half a month. He had also heard Old Gu and his wife mention that Gu Mingyan had agreed to come back for their youngest daughter’s wedding feast.
But that had been said at the beginning of the year. Gu Mingyan was a soldier with duties and missions; whether he could actually make it back was uncertain.
“Mm-hmm, yes!” Gu Xiao Liu nodded repeatedly, eyes wide with surprise. “Uncle Chen Erye, you saw him too? Then… shall I call them to work?”
“I’ll go with you,” Chen Erye said, putting down his sickle. He picked up his loudspeaker and shouted the same spiel again before striding towards the village square.
Two train rides, plus a county bus from the city, then switching to these bicycles—a journey totaling 60 hours of travel time, taking four and a half days in reality. Jiang Lizhu and her little family had finally arrived at their destination: Qiaoguan Village.
When they changed trains in the capital, they rested overnight at a nearby guesthouse. Upon reaching Fenzhou City, Gu Mingyan’s fourth brother, Gu Minghua, received them, and they rested another night.
After arriving in Liming County, Gu Mingyan even borrowed a bicycle from a friend in the county town for transportation. He kept his promise to Jiang Lizhu: to do his utmost not to exhaust her.
Jiang Lizhu, for her part, focused on eating, sleeping, and nursing the baby. She was a little tired, but her overall condition was acceptable. Now, she even had the energy to hold their son and look at the village where Gu Mingyan was born.
In her previous life, Jiang Lizhu had traveled extensively to famous foreign sites during her studies abroad. But before she could start planning trips within China, she was “bumped” into this world.
The original owner harbored deep hatred for her adoptive family, and by extension, she strongly disliked the countryside. Any rural scenes Jiang Lizhu could recall were tinged with intense, emotional colors, clearly distorted.
Setting those memories aside, this was the first time Jiang Lizhu had seen such an era-typical autumn harvest landscape, and the first time she had visited such a remote and uniquely characteristic small village.
“That Xiao Liu, running off after barely saying a word. Third Sister-in-Law must be tired. Let’s go home first; Xiao Liu will soon call Mom and Dad back,” Gu Minghua said, consciously lowering his voice when speaking to Jiang Lizhu.
To be honest, when he had met Gu Mingyan and Jiang Lizhu yesterday, he was shocked. He couldn’t imagine his brother, the rational and assertive Gu Mingyan, marrying such a delicate, seemingly helpless city girl.
Jiang Lizhu, in his eyes, seemed completely mismatched with their rural life, out of place in their countryside.
But after this short day of being together, he could somewhat understand his brother. Besides Jiang Lizhu’s undeniably beautiful appearance, which made refusal difficult, her personality was unexpectedly pleasant.
She wasn’t condescending for no reason, and she didn’t constantly complain about this or that… In short, she wasn’t the city girl of his stereotypes, and she was very different from the sent-down youth in their village.
“Alright… Xiao Liu is bringing people over,” Jiang Lizhu started to nod, but then saw a lean, dark old man walking towards them with a broad smile, Gu Xiao Liu bouncing along behind.
“Ming Yan! It really is you! Good lad, haven’t seen you in four years!” Chen Erye strode over and vigorously patted Gu Mingyan’s shoulder several times.
“Uncle Er, long time no see,” Gu Mingyan said, a clear smile appearing on his face as he let Chen Erye look him over and pat him.
Once Chen Erye’s excitement had settled slightly, Gu Mingyan turned to Jiang Lizhu and their son. “Uncle Er, this is my wife, Jiang Lizhu, and our son. He’s a little over three months old.”
“Hello. Ming Yan often mentions you; it’s so nice to finally meet you,” Jiang Lizhu responded with a polite and appropriate smile. She then proactively turned slightly to show the baby’s face. “Baby, this is Second Grandpa. Let’s say hello to Second Grandpa.”
“Good, good, I’m just fine!” Chen Erye beamed. His hand started to rise, then went down to pat his pocket. But he had come out to work today; there wasn’t even a single coin in his pocket, let alone a piece of candy.
“You sure know how to keep a secret, huh? Good, good. No need to worry about you anymore.”