21
You Caused Me to Hurt My Leg
Li Xiuran returned to the guesthouse a little past one in the morning. He knocked gently on the door, thinking that if Gu Wenshu didn’t hear him, he would just get another room.
Unexpectedly, after just one knock, the door opened.
Looking at Gu Wenshu’s face peeking out, he asked softly, “Did I wake you?”
Gu Wenshu shook her head. “No, Sanbao just woke up to drink some water, and I couldn’t fall back asleep after that.”
She was a light sleeper; the slightest disturbance would wake her, and once awake, it was hard for her to fall asleep again.
Li Xiuran glanced at the two children sleeping soundly on the bed and whispered, “You’ve had a tough time.” Had she been like this every day during the years he was away?
The thought left a bitter taste in his heart.
After closing the door, he held up a food container and said quietly, “Lu Yuan had someone prepare some food.”
She shook her head. “I won’t eat. I just managed to feel less full. Eating now would only make me uncomfortable.”
“If you’re hungry, you should eat.”
Li Xiuran glanced at her, then set the food container aside. “If you’re not eating, I won’t either. I’ll change and go to sleep.”
With his wife and children here, how could he possibly eat alone?
After changing his clothes, Li Xiuran came out to find Gu Wenshu already lying on the other side of the bed. He turned off the light and lay down next to Sanbao, whispering, “Lu Yuan helped arrange an appointment with a doctor. We need to be at the hospital by seven tomorrow.”
Gu Wenshu hummed in acknowledgment, holding Xiao Ni’er as she drifted back to sleep.
Hearing her steady breathing, the man assumed she was asleep and closed his eyes to get some rest as well.
But Gu Wenshu, who should have been asleep, had actually entered her Warehouse Space.
Before going to bed that night, she had tried several times and discovered that by concentrating, she could bring her entire physical body into the Warehouse Space. If she wanted to enter as if in a dream, she just needed to close her eyes and fall asleep.
Discovering these two methods excited her.
If she ever encountered danger, being able to enter the space entirely would be her ultimate lifeline.
She had tried bringing Xiao Ni’er and Sanbao in with her but failed. This meant that aside from herself, the Warehouse Space did not allow anyone else to enter.
Her Warehouse Space was vast, divided into three floors. The first floor had three sections: one was a freezer storing various types of meat.
This was the family’s meat reserve, kept for emergencies.
Another section held supplies ready to be loaded and transported to various supermarkets.
The third section contained goods shipped from around the world into the Main Warehouse, which needed to be inventoried on the first floor.
The second floor housed various food items (snacks, cured meats, grains, oils, sauces, tea, and various kitchen and daily necessities) along with a large wine cellar.
The third floor contained textiles, clothing designed and produced by the family’s conglomerate, sports equipment, and some affordable luxury items.
The items were numerous and varied, but the Main Warehouse had a comprehensive management system. Everything was well-organized, thoroughly implementing the principles of “easy access, clear visibility, and retrievability.”
On the first floor, three large screens clearly indicated the location of every item.
Gu Wenshu searched for all the items she needed in the Main Warehouse’s database, noted their locations, and gathered them in one spot for easy access when needed.
She was woken by Xiao Ni’er’s kisses. As soon as she opened her eyes, the little girl had smeared her face with drool. She immediately pulled the mischievous child into her arms and planted several firm kisses on her cheeks: “You covered Mommy’s face with drool, so Mommy will cover yours too.”
Xiao Ni’er giggled uncontrollably: “Daddy, save me, save me!”
Sanbao sat nearby, chuckling gleefully.
Li Xiuran stood watching with his arms crossed. For some reason, his heart felt completely full at this moment.
The children’s laughter dispelled all the gloom from discovering they had been sold when he first returned.
Life doesn’t always go as planned, and everyone makes mistakes. As long as we correct them and show mutual understanding, we can always get through.
He stepped forward and picked up Xiao Ni’er: “Alright, stop bothering Mommy now. Let Mommy brush her teeth and wash her face, then we’ll go out for breakfast.”
“If we go early, the State-Owned Restaurant will have lots of delicious food.”
Xiao Ni’er’s eyes lit up at the mention of food, looking at her mother: “Mommy, quick, hurry up.”
Gu Wenshu stood up and ruffled her hair: “You little ingrate, having so much fun just moments ago, and now you’re impatient with Mommy?”
“Who was it that covered Mommy’s face with drool anyway?”
Sanbao laughed and said: “It was sister.”
Hearing this, Xiao Ni’er turned and hugged her father’s neck, presenting her little bottom to her brother: “Not talking to brother anymore.”
Both Gu Wenshu and Li Xiuran laughed at the scene.
The morning menu at the State-Owned Restaurant included dumplings, porridge, vegetable buns, and meat buns.
Li Xiuran ordered two portions of dumplings, four bowls of porridge, two vegetable buns, and six meat buns.
The amount of food for two adults and two children surprised even the waitstaff, who couldn’t help asking: “Can you really finish all this?”
Gu Wenshu blushed at the question and said: “Yes, we can.”
All the items were ready-made, so the two adults quickly brought the porridge and buns back to the children.
The porridge was just the right temperature. Gu Wenshu split a large meat bun in half for them, reminding the siblings to eat carefully.
Perhaps because their mother had rarely paid attention to them since they were young, both children were quite independent. They could eat quietly without adult supervision once food was prepared.
Gu Wenshu took a vegetable bun for herself, beginning her day’s breakfast with plain porridge.
After finishing the vegetable bun, she slowly drank her porridge when suddenly half a meat bun appeared before her. The man’s deep voice came: “Try this, the meat bun is delicious.”
Gu Wenshu paused briefly before accepting it: “Thank you.”
Li Xiuran glanced at her, then reminded the children to eat slowly before focusing on his own breakfast.
They went to see the doctor arranged by Lu Yuan at the appointed time. Li Xiuran asked the doctor to first examine the injury on the back of Gu Wenshu’s head.
After examining it, the doctor frowned slightly: “Why did you wait until now to come?”
It was clearly not a recent injury from yesterday and hadn’t been properly treated. Such a large bump must be painful even when sleeping.
Gu Wenshu said: “It’s too far away. Besides some pain, there aren’t any other issues.”
Even as she spoke, she felt she was talking nonsense – the original owner had died from this very head injury.
The doctor cleaned the wound on the back of Gu Wenshu’s head, applied medication, and prescribed some medicine to reduce bruising.
Then it was Li Xiuran’s turn for examination, though all family members had to wait outside during the checkup.
Gu Wenshu waited outside holding her two children’s hands. Truth be told, she still didn’t know exactly where Li Xiuran was injured.
She had never asked Li Xiuran about his plans after leaving the military either.
Just then, a sharp voice reached her ears: “It’s you—that rude, ill-mannered girl.”
Gu Wenshu turned toward the sound and saw the middle-aged woman and elderly lady she had encountered yesterday at the Department Store.
The elderly lady was now sitting in a wheelchair, glaring fiercely at Gu Wenshu.
Gu Wenshu smiled at them: “Is there something I can help you with, ma’am?”
It was clear the old woman had injured her leg, yet Gu Wenshu couldn’t help feeling a sense of schadenfreude.
Despite her advanced age and being confined to a wheelchair, she still had so much energy to make a scene.
Old Mrs. Lu gritted her teeth: “You people are the reason I fell and hurt my leg.”