Upon hearing this news, for some reason, Gu Chunmiao's earlobes suddenly felt hot, and her cheeks burned terribly.
Could Mother-in-law have... heard something these past two nights?
It's all He Zhanjun's fault!
Gu Chunmiao's face flushed red, and she glared fiercely at He Zhanjun.
He Zhanjun coughed guiltily and quickly changed the subject, "Mother, how much more money do we need to build our house?"
Li Xiufen shot him a look, "We still need ten thousand! Do you have it?"
"I don't have ten thousand, but I've brought back all my allowance from these past few years, which is two hundred and seven yuan. If it's not enough, I'll borrow some from my comrades-in-arms..."
Gu Chunmiao picked up the conversation, "No need to borrow, Mother. Please calculate how much more we need. I'll make up the difference."
Li Xiufen was delighted and patted her daughter-in-law's fair, tender hand, "No need for you to contribute. Save the money you earn from writing articles for yourself. I have the money for building the house!"
He Zhanjun said with a hint of grievance, "Mother~ that's not what you just told me."
Li Xiufen glared at him fiercely, "You're a grown man, isn't it your responsibility to earn money to support the family and build a house? Alright, where's the money? Hand it over!"
Taking her son's private savings, Li Xiufen unfastened the key ring from her waist, opened her dowry camphor wood chest, took out three hundred yuan, and hurried next door to discuss building the house with He Baoguo.
Gu Chunmiao thought building a house was a big deal, something that would take at least a few days to discuss. She didn't expect that after the noon meal that day, Li Xiufen would already be calling people to tear down their house.
"This... we're tearing it down now? Where will we sleep tonight?" Gu Chunmiao was dumbfounded.
He Zhanjun pointed to the house next door, "We'll probably borrow a place to stay at Second Aunt's for a few nights. When I was little, my mother would send me to Second Aunt's whenever she worked the night shift."
Before he finished speaking, Second Aunt Li Xiulan arrived.
"Zhanjun, there's no room at Second Aunt's tonight! The tiles on the lean-to rooms of my house have fallen off, and the roof has a big hole. We need to repair it these few days. I've told your mother that while your family is building the house, she can stay with me. Can you and your wife make do in the melon shed downhill for a few days?"
"The melon shed? That's quite far from our production team..."
Thinking of something, He Zhanjun's earlobes suddenly turned red.
"Is it far?" Gu Chunmiao looked over, confused.
Li Xiulan smiled exceptionally kindly, "Not far at all, not far. It's just a blink of an eye on a bicycle!"
"Then why is your face red?" Gu Chunmiao stared at He Zhanjun for a moment.
He Zhanjun coughed, "It's nothing, it's just... I'm afraid you won't get used to sleeping in the melon shed, so I'll go tidy it up first."
Saying that, he ran off as if he were a thief.
Li Xiufen watched from the side, shaking her head. She wondered if she had mistakenly held a baby when she gave birth.
Otherwise, why would He Zhanjun be so timid? If she, his biological mother, wasn't there to help, he would have already driven away such a good daughter-in-law as Gu Chunmiao, wouldn't he?
Because she was displeased with her son, Li Xiufen kept He Zhanjun busy all afternoon.
"He Zhanjun, go help Uncle Baoguo stack the tiles we removed from our house by the wall base."
"He Zhanjun, since you have nothing to do, clear this patch of land in the courtyard. Miaomiao gave me a lot of vegetable seeds, so plant them when you're done."
"He Zhanjun, what are you standing there for? Don't you see your wife boiling water? Can't you just carry the thermos flask over?"
He Zhanjun looked at the thermos flask, which seemed a million miles away, and took a sharp breath.
He was now beginning to suspect that perhaps he and Gu Chunmiao had also been switched at birth, and that Gu Chunmiao was his biological mother's child, while he was the "fake young master" who was mistakenly held?
The more Li Xiufen looked at Gu Chunmiao, the more she liked her. She had initially worried that her daughter-in-law, who grew up in the military compound, might be difficult to get along with.
After getting along for these few days, she realized that Gu Chunmiao was just a bit aloof and proud, with no ill intentions. Moreover, if someone was good to her by one point, she would be good to them by ten points.
Unlike this boy He Zhanjun, give him a bit of a good face, and he'd fly to the moon!
How could the Gu couple bear to drive away such a good girl?
..
Sometimes, people really can't stand being gossiped about. Just as Li Xiufen was muttering behind her back, the production team leader came with a message in the evening.
"Xiufen, your daughter-in-law's maternal family, Commander Gu's family, called our commune. They said they couldn't find your daughter-in-law and asked her to call them back at the commune tomorrow morning. It's urgent!"
Li Xiufen immediately started muttering, "No good deed goes unpunished. Could that true daughter be plotting some new scheme to harm someone?"
"Alright, I know."
Li Xiufen called Gu Chunmiao over, and He Zhanjun silently followed behind.
"Miaomiao, your maternal family called and asked you to call them back at the commune tomorrow. What do you think? The Gu family... should we still keep in touch?"
Gu Chunmiao lowered her head and thought for a moment, then shook her head, "There's no need to keep in touch. My adoptive parents... probably don't want me to keep in touch with them anymore."
"However, I should still make the call. My adoptive parents... after all, they raised me. What if it's really urgent..."
Li Xiufen nodded, "You should indeed call back and ask about the situation. If others are unkind, that's their business, but we shouldn't be unrighteous."
"How about this, since we need to buy some things for the workers tomorrow, we'll cook for them. Mom will go with you."
"And bring Second Great Aunt along too!"
With the two great debaters of Jiudaopo Production Team personally on the scene, they wouldn't believe they couldn't out-argue the Old Gu family!
..
Gu Chunmiao had imagined many times what her adoptive parents would say when they contacted her again.
Perhaps they had discovered Gu Sisi's true nature and realized they had misunderstood her, and with guilt, they wanted her forgiveness?
Perhaps they just wanted to know if she was doing well in the countryside after going down to the countryside?
But she never expected that the moment the phone was connected, her adoptive mother Jiang Hongying's furious scolding would come through the receiver.
"Gu Chunmiao, I thought you had changed your bad habits after going down to the countryside for reform. I didn't expect you to be so incorrigible!"
"You secretly wrote letters to your old classmates, spreading rumors about Sisi everywhere. How can you be so wicked? You truly are an ungrateful wretch. If you're not biologically related, you're bad to the core..."
Gu Chunmiao held the phone receiver, her entire body instantly numb.
Such vicious curses coming from the adoptive mother who once loved her the most felt like a slow torture with every word.
Gu Chunmiao bit her lip tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.
Li Xiufen, standing nearby, was so anxious she was practically spitting sparks.
"Miaomiao, give me the phone!"
Behind Gu Chunmiao, Second Great Aunt Li Xiulan also rolled up her sleeves.
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