14
The Family Comes to Visit
Gu Wenshu met his suspicious gaze, raised an eyebrow and glared at him: “What are you looking at? If you don’t want to eat, then put down the food.”
She knew that being different from before would arouse others’ suspicion, but so what if they were suspicious? Her body was the original, only the soul was different. Everything else could be investigated, but a swapped soul truly couldn’t be detected. Even if there were doubts, what could they do if she didn’t admit it?
Wasn’t she allowed to hide her capabilities or have an epiphany after the child-selling incident?
As for Li Xiuran’s suspicions, she felt this man only wanted a wife who wouldn’t betray the country and would wholeheartedly care for the children. Whether she was the original owner or not, this man wouldn’t care. Moreover, even if he suspected, it could only remain suspicion.
She would never admit to anything.
Li Xiuran left the kitchen under the woman’s glare, but his doubts didn’t disappear. He compared the Gu Wenshu he saw today and yesterday with the woman he saw during previous homecomings – there were significant differences.
Had this woman been pretending all along?
But could someone really pretend to that extent?
And why would she pretend?
He felt he needed to keep an eye on this woman, worried she might be a domestic spy cultivated by the opposing Jiang Family.
While the family of four was eating, noisy voices came from outside the courtyard.
The voices were familiar. Gu Wenshu looked at the two children and saw they had already turned pale with fright, their eyes reddening as if about to cry.
Li Xiuran stood up and said to her: “You take care of the children. I’ll go send away the people outside.”
Gu Wenshu said: “My mother is already dead. I only have this family, only you all as relatives.”
She originally intended to say only the two children, but at the last moment included the man as well.
Living under the same roof, and being the children’s father – could he be considered family?
Li Xiuran instantly understood her meaning. He nodded: “Good, I know what to do.”
Walking outside, he saw his cheap mother-in-law and father-in-law making a scene, especially the tall, thin mother-in-law with her sharp, mean-looking face who seemed ready to kick their courtyard gate open.
When she saw him come out, Bai Xiuying, who had been cursing, immediately shut up.
She had thought the person coming out would be that damned girl Gu Wenshu, never expecting it to be her son-in-law Li Xiuran. Seeing such a tall young man, she actually felt somewhat afraid. But remembering she had heard that Gu Wenshu’s family received over a thousand yuan after dividing the family property, she suddenly felt emboldened by the thought of money. Looking at Li Xiuran, she asked: “Xiuran, where’s Wenshu?”
“Are you eating? Perfect, your father and I haven’t eaten either.” After saying this, she pulled her husband to squeeze inside – she could already smell meat, her stomach growling with hunger. She absolutely had to go in and eat her fill.
Little did she know, after taking just a few steps, she was blocked outside the door.
She stared at her son-in-law for a moment: “What’s this about? Let your father and me in to eat.”
Li Xiuran sneered: “Why should I give food from my house to someone who tried to sell my wife for just a few dozen yuan?”
With that one sentence, both Bai Xiuying and Gu Aiguo’s faces changed.
“Son-in-law, what kind of talk is this?” Bai Xiuying’s face instantly darkened as she recalled the butcher causing trouble at their home yesterday. “Your father-in-law and I only wanted to find Wenshu a good match because we heard about your accident and thought it would be hard for a woman like her to raise two children alone.”
“How could you accuse us of selling your wife?”
Gu Aiguo nodded repeatedly: “Exactly. If we hadn’t seen how your family mistreated those three after news of your sacrifice came, we wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to find her a new family.”
When it came down to it, wasn’t this all because your mother and sister-in-law had been bullying the helpless widow and her children?
Li Xiuran didn’t deny that his mother and sister-in-law would target his wife and children after news of his sacrifice spread. The Li family wasn’t innocent, but neither were this greedy couple standing before him.
Standing in the center of the courtyard gate, he regarded the insatiable pair coolly: “No matter what you say today, it won’t change the fact that you tried to sell my wife. From now on, don’t come to my home anymore, and I won’t allow Gu Wenshu to return to your house either. During festivals, I’ll send you gifts, but that’s all you’ll get.”
“How dare you!” Bai Xiuying flared up instantly upon hearing this. She still planned to squeeze money from this couple to build houses for her two sons – if they cut ties, wouldn’t that mean severing relations entirely?
“Gu Wenshu was born a Gu daughter and will die a Gu daughter! We raised her all these years – you can’t just decide to abandon your responsibilities like this!”
Just as Li Xiuran was about to respond, Gu Wenshu’s clear, cold voice came from behind him: “I married into the Li family years ago and became a Li woman. I live as Li Xiuran’s wife and will die as a Li ghost – even death cannot change that I’m Li Xiuran’s wife. Since my marriage, we haven’t been family anymore.”
She stepped forward, pushing Li Xiuran aside, and glared at the despicable pair whom the original host had deeply resented: “If I report to the Commune Women’s Director that you took the butcher’s money to sell me off, even if you aren’t paraded through the streets, your fate won’t be pleasant.”
“Don’t try to scare me! I only accepted a betrothal gift for my daughter’s marriage!”
Gu Wenshu chuckled coldly: “Betrothal gift?”
“Are you planning to have Gu Chunfang divorce first before marrying the butcher?”
“How dare you speak of my Fangfang like that! I’ll beat you to death!” Bai Xiuying’s face contorted with rage as she raised her hand to slap Gu Wenshu, but Li Xiuran caught her wrist before she could strike: “Just try it.”
Had she been his biological mother-in-law, he might have shown some respect, but a stepmother without an ounce of compassion deserved no consideration.
Even if he didn’t particularly like Gu Wenshu, he wouldn’t stand by and watch her be bullied.
Especially not physically.
Li Xiuran shoved her away, making her stagger two steps before regaining balance. Her eyes blazed with fury – the initial intimidation she’d felt from his height had completely vanished. Planting her hands on her hips, she glared fiercely at the couple and shouted: “I was just disciplining an unfilial daughter! How dare you interfere!”
Li Xiuran sneered: “She’s not your biological daughter.”
Bai Xiuying gritted her teeth: “Even if I didn’t give birth to her, I still raised her!”
Gu Wenshu scoffed derisively: “You really know how to glorify yourself. You don’t even need to go back to the Third Production Team – just ask around in my current Production Team and everyone knows my story.”
“I was raised by my grandmother who gleaned wheat to support me. After you married into the Gu family, I never had half a bowl of porridge from your household, let alone anything else.”
The original host’s mother went missing after getting lost in the mountains when she was three years old. After several days of searching, only a blood-stained shoe was found, and she was eventually declared dead. Less than a month after the original host’s mother died, Gu Aiguo married Bai Xiuying. Before Bai Xiuying entered the household, the original host’s grandmother had already moved out with her.
Everyone in the entire commune knows that Gu Wenshu was raised by her grandmother.
Until the day her grandmother passed away, they had lived apart for fifteen years. During that time, Gu Aiguo never gave them a single grain of rice, let alone any money.
“Don’t talk to me about any debt of upbringing. You have shown me no kindness whatsoever. I don’t want to see you now. Will you leave on your own, or shall I fetch a stick to send you on your way?”