Back To The 80s-Chapter 109 - 108: Joy_1

Lu Zhanguo ignored him and walked directly into the room. Jiujiu timidly stood up and greeted her uncle.

Shen Heng didn’t give up: "Don’t you think she resembles your sister-in-law?"

Gu Xiaobei listened and looked closely but didn’t see any resemblance. Lu Zhanguo looked at Jiujiu. This little girl’s eyes and chin had some similarity to Xiaobei’s.

Xiaobei had already cooked dinner, but seeing Shen Heng bringing a big fish, she went to the water room to clean the fish.

Jiujiu was still a bit scared of Lu Zhanguo and followed Xiaobei to the water room. Within a day, everyone in the courtyard knew that Jiujiu was staying at Xiaobei’s place. Everyone pitied Jiujiu’s experience and asked a lot of questions when they saw Jiujiu and Xiaobei entering the water room.

"So this is Jiujiu, the girl is really pretty."

"Jiujiu, if you have time, come down and play at auntie’s house. We have a little girl here."

"Jiujiu, you can also come to my house. I have a little brother."

Jiujiu stood beside Xiaobei, shyly smiling without saying a word, but she was very happy inside.

Since it was getting late, Xiaobei boiled the fish in soy sauce. It was quicker and the flavor penetrated well.

Once the fish was served, Jiujiu swallowed heavily, gazing eagerly at the fish. Since her dad passed away, they could only afford to buy a fish for Lunar New Year’s Eve. It was mostly consumed by her fourth aunt, and they seldom even saw the fish.

As Xiaobei was portioning the rice, Lu Zhanguo saw Jiujiu’s eager eyes. He used his chopsticks to ladle some of the soft fish belly into Jiujiu’s bowl: "Watch out for bones and eat slowly."

Jiujiu’s eyes twinkled, but she didn’t move to eat. Seeing that Jiujiu was only holding her chopsticks, Xiaobei asked curiously: "Jiujiu, why don’t you eat?"

"You and Uncle haven’t started yet." Joy could be seen in Jiujiu’s eyes.

After hearing about Jiujiu’s experience from Lu Zhanguo, Shen Heng sighed deeply. How could someone possibly mistreat such a well-behaved and understanding child?

Lu Zhanguo paused for a moment before picking up a piece of fish. Once she saw this, Jiujiu eagerly took a bite of the fish. It was so delicious.

Of the three adults, Jiujiu consumed nearly all of one fish and also ate a big bowl of rice. Xiaobei was worried that Jiujiu might overeat, so she decided to take a stroll outside with Jiujiu.

When Shen Heng left, he left ten yuan and instructed Xiaobei to buy Jiujiu two new sets of clothes. Xiaobei didn’t hesitate, as Jiujiu was in need of clothes.

After Shen Heng left, Xiaobei lay on the bed discussing with Lu Zhanguo about bringing Jiujiu to town the next day to buy two sets of clothes.

"Yes, be careful. Maybe you can ask Fengmei to accompany you. I’m a little worried about you taking the child shopping alone," Lu Zhanguo was a bit concerned.

"Yeah, school is about to start for Dadong and Xiaodong. Let’s see what they need. I can also buy some notebooks and pencils for Jiujiu and Chen Gang." Xiaobei had already started thinking about how she needs to find ways to make some money. If these two children were to have a successful education, it would involve considerable expenses. Moreover, if she were to have another child of their own in the future, the expenses for the three children would definitely be significant.

"On Sunday, I’ll help you bring the potatoes home," Lu Zhanguo offered.

"But the road is impassable for vehicles, it’s narrow and riddled with potholes. How are we going to bring back four bags of potatoes?" Xiaobei was worried.

"We can borrow a handcart from the army and push it back," Lu Zhanguo suggested.

Xiaobei suddenly remembered what Shen Heng said about Jiujiu looking like her. She climbed up, leaned over, and asked Lu Zhanguo, her face inches from his: "Do you think Jiujiu and I look alike?"

Lu Zhanguo cooperatively glanced at Xiaobei and nodded. "Yes, you do."

Xiaobei suddenly changed the subject: "Let’s have a son." Lu Zhanguo raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Gu Xiaobei burst out laughing: "I’m afraid of having a daughter as dark as you." He finished speaking and then laughingly threw himself onto Lu Zhanguo.

Lu Zhanguo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, he found that his thinking could never catch up with Gu Xiaobei’s pace.

Before dawn, Jiujiu excitedly got up, made her bed neatly and the morning trumpet in the camp had just sounded. Lu Zhanguo came out from the bedroom and saw Jiujiu sitting quietly by the bed. He couldn’t help feeling warm inside. It was nice to have such adorable and well-behaved daughter.

He gently said: "Jiujiu, why did you wake up so early? Children need to sleep more."

Jiujiu shyly said, "Uncle, my auntie said she would take me to town today. I couldn’t sleep."

Hearing their conversation, Gu Xiaobei also got up. After Jiujiu had come, he had become more diligent and prepared breakfast for her punctually every day to keep her healthy.

"Jiujiu, Uncle is right, children need more sleep to grow taller. Look at your aunt, she is short because she didn’t sleep well when she was young. Unlike uncle, who grew so tall because he loved to sleep when he was young," Gu Xiaobei said while tying her hair as he came out of the room.

Lu Zhanguo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and wished Gu Xiaobei good morning and left for his morning drill.

After Gu Xiaobei helped Jiujiu freshen up, he fried two spring onion pancakes, sautéed some bok choy seedlings, and also fried an egg for Jiujiu.

Jiujiu felt that she was eating better each day than she had during the New Year and was happy. Her little face also brightened up. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Gu Xiaobei boiled a pot of water for Jiujiu. He didn’t have time to make porridge as they were in a hurry to travel.

Li Fengmei was also thinking about the start of school and making clothes for the two children. Money was tight at home, so they were saving to spend on the two children. When Gu Xiaobei proposed it, Li Fengmei didn’t hesitate and took the two sons to go to town.

Xiaodong looked at Jiujiu, who was neatly dressed, her face washed clean, and her hair neatly combed into two little braids, and said: "Mom, this sister looks really beautiful today."

Both Gu Xiaobei and Li Fengmei laughed when they heard this, Li Fengmei said: "You should call her Sister Jiujiu, she is two years older than you."

Xiaodong was unconvinced. He saw that Jiujiu was shorter than himself, how could a sister be so short?

Jiujiu didn’t say anything and quietly followed behind Gu Xiaobei.

They took a supply vehicle to the town. Gu Xiaobei thought for a moment and said to the quartermaster: "You don’t have to wait for us. We’ll have lunch and walk back."

"Okay, be careful on your way back," replied the quartermaster with a smile.

Li Fengmei was puzzled: "We’re going to have lunch in town?" She couldn’t help but worry about whether the money she brought would be enough.

Gu Xiaobei saw her embarrassment and said with a smile: "I’m treating the three children to dumplings to celebrate their starting school. You can enjoy the meal too."

Li Fengmei knew that Gu Xiaobei said it this way to spare her embarrassment later on when she wanted to pay. Since he mentioned treating the children, she couldn’t retort.

There was no children’s clothing store in the town. Gu Xiaobei thought of buying two pieces of cloth and getting them stitched from a tailor’s shop. They would later go to the city to see if there were any suitable children’s clothes to buy.

Gu Xiaobei picked a floral Dacron fabric with white background for Jiujiu, and another watermelon red twill cloth to make a shirt and a jacket. She then went to the shoe stall and picked a pair of red corduroy shoes for Jiujiu.

Jiujiu tried on the shoes and said, "Auntie, buy a larger size for me, my feet grow so fast. This way, I can wear them next year too."

Gu Xiaobei looked at sensible Jiujiu with affection and said, "Shoes that are too big are uncomfortable to wear. We’ll buy what fits you now, and if they’re too small next year, auntie will buy new ones for you."

After trying on the new shoes, Gu Xiaobei wanted to throw away the old ones, but Jiujiu stopped her, saying: "Auntie, these shoes can be cleaned and repaired, and they can be reused."

Li Fengmei sighed on the side, "This child is really sensible." (Half of a mini bonus Chapter, added in the author’s note. A small perk)