Back To The 80s-Chapter 116 - 115: Eating Candy_1

Having registered the children, there was not much else for them to do. A few of them decided to stay behind to clean up the classrooms and receive their textbooks. Gu Xiaobei told Chen Gang to bring Jiujiu back home after school. But Chen Gang hesitated, "Aunt, perhaps I should go home..."

Before Chen Gang could finish, Gu Xiaobei interrupted him, "Go home tomorrow. Today is Jiujiu’s first day of school. Spend some extra time with her."

After some thought, Chen Gang nodded in agreement. Now, Gu Xiaobei, along with Qin Li and Li Fengmei, left for the housing compound.

On their way, Gu Xiaobei told Qin Li about Jiujiu’s situation, to which Qin Li responded, "Sister Xiaobei, you truly have a heart like the Goddess of Mercy. But here in our rural mountain village, many girls get married at fifteen or sixteen and many of them have never been to school."

"I can’t control what others do, mainly I feel a connection with Jiujiu." Gu Xiaobei understood that she need to live within her means. She had her own life to lead too.

"Yes, Jiujiu is indeed special. I always feel a sense of familiarity around her. Maybe we are also connected somehow?" Qin Li said with a laugh.

Gu Xiaobei nodded and seized the opportunity to say, "We are indeed. Remember to buy new clothes for Jiujiu on holidays."

Just as the women were entering the army compound, a truck carrying supplies arrived. Changyuan, who was in the truck, asked the driver to stop and called out to Gu Xiaobei, "Sister-in-law, our squad leader sent something for you. You can take it straight home."

With that, Changyuan jumped out of the truck with a cloth bag and handed it to Gu Xiaobei.

"Thank you. Sorry for the trouble," said Gu Xiaobei, glancing unintentionally at the back of the car as her eyes caught Xiangmin and Chi Xiaoyue sitting together. Now that Xiangmin was over her morning sickness, the duo seemed to be inseparable lately.

Once the truck drove off, Gu Xiaobei looked into the cloth bag. She found some meat and two parcels wrapped in oil paper, probably egg cakes.

Qin Li peeked into the bag and commented, "Your man really is considerate. How come you’re so lucky?"

Gu Xiaobei raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean lucky? It’s because I’m so capable. If he didn’t treat me well, who would?"

Qin Li burst into laughter, "Now I know why we get along so well. It’s because both of us have thick skin."

Li Fengmei, who was watching by the side, couldn’t help but laugh as well.

The women entered their housing unit and saw Sun Aiqin, Changyuan’s wife, playing with her child under a tree. Gu Xiaobei figured she should thank her for her husband’s help and handed over some of the egg cakes to Aiqin’s child. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Sun Aiqin hastily responded, "Thank you, sister-in-law." Without any pretense, she accepted the cakes.

"No need to thank me. I should be thanking your husband Changyuan for his help. Have a seat, we’re heading upstairs," Gu Xiaobei said with a smile.

Once they got to their apartment, Qin Li turned to Gu Xiaobei and said, "Sister Xiaobei, can you find me one of your clothes to wear? I need to wash mine; it’s soaked with sweat."

"Alright, we’re about the same size. I’ll find you a dress to wear." Gu Xiaobei fetched a short-sleeved white dress from her cabinet and gave it to Qin Li to change into.

"Isn’t this too short?" Qin Li said, looking at the dress that just reached her knees, a length she was not accustomed to.

"It’s because you’re taller than me. I think it looks good on you," Gu Xiaobei noted. The low neckline beautifully exposed Qin Li’s delicate collarbone. Her bosom was small, her waist thin, and her legs slender and firm. Combined with her naturally good looks, the dress added a sense of youthful vigor to Qin Li.

Spinning a circle to admire herself in the dress, Qin Li agreed, "I also think it looks nice reaching just to the knees."

Gu Xiaobei thought Qin Li was right. Initially, to keep up with the fashion of the time, she’d made the dress longer, which had changed how it looked on the body.

Looking at the small alarm clock on the table, Gu Xiaobei noted it was almost noon. Thinking that the children should be back soon, she cut some meat and began to make celery and meat noodle soup. As per her plan, she used ready-made noodles since she hadn’t mastered the skill of making them at home.

While she was making the noodles, Jiujiu, Chen Gang, Big Dong, and Little Dong all arrived.

Jiujiu, her face filled with joy, walked up to Gu Xiaobei who was cooking in the hallway. She held out her hand and said, "Aunt, today our teacher gave each of us a piece of candy. I’m giving mine to you, aunt. Brother Six is going to take his home for mom."

Gu Xiaobei, touched by Jiujiu’s offer, looked at the candy in her palm. It was a piece of fruit candy wrapped in a yellow printed paper, damp from being held for so long. She responded, "Aunt doesn’t like sweets, Jiujiu. You can have it." With that, she took the candy, unwrapped it, and put it into Jiujiu’s mouth.

"Is it sweet?" Gu Xiaobei asked with a smile.

"Sweet," Jiujiu confirmed, her little mouth full of candy and her eyes squinted with happiness.

Li Fengmei, who was also cooking in the hallway, saw this and turned to ask Big Dong and Little Dong, "Where are your candies?"

"I ate it as soon as I got it," said Little Dong with a big grin.

Li Fengmei laughingly scolded them, "Still, girls are better. Look at you two, two little ingrates."

Chen Gang watched the interaction between Gu Xiaobei and Jiujiu, and Jiujiu herself, who had been smiling non-stop for days. He found his eyes getting a bit misty.

Qin Li also sighed with emotion, "I wish I could have Jiujiu as a daughter in the future, she’s so caring and sweet."

Aren’t you ashamed as an unmarried girl to be talking about this?" joked Gu Xiaobei.

Qin Li shot back, "Don’t mention the word ’marriage’ to me. Any person who does is going to regret it."

Gu Xiaobei jokingly stuck out her tongue at Qin Li. Once they finished eating, Chen Gang and Jiujiu sat in the room, perusing the textbooks they’d received that day. Meanwhile, Gu Xiaobei and Qin Li headed to the washroom to do the laundry.

The two were barely done when Chi Xiaoyue and Xiangmin carrying two large basins walked in. Seeing Gu Xiaobei, both paused. However, they chose to stay silent, moving to the faucet on the opposite side to start washing the chicken and fish in their basins.

Gu Xiaobei glanced at the food in their basins, wondering if they were planning to host a grand banquet.

Qin Li was unaware of the tension between Gu Xiaobei, Xiangmin, and Chi Xiaoyue. However, as an ardent fan of Gu Xiaobei, she decided not to like anyone that Gu Xiaobei disliked.

Chi Xiaoyue was upset. She’d been told that she was being introduced to a suitor, but Xiangmin’s lack of courtesy had annoyed her. She’d bought chicken, fish, meat, a ton of fruits, and spent ten yuan. She didn’t even know if the venture would be successful.

Seeing Xiayue’s sombre face, Xiangmin assumed it was because of Gu Xiaobei’s presence and intentionally spoke louder, "Xiayue, if you and Xiaocheng end up together, why not get married during the National Day holiday? I feel that the Qijia’s quite fond of you."

Chi Xiaoyue allowed herself a shy smile. "It’s not that simple. To register to get married is a long process, and we haven’t even met our respective parents yet."

Xiangmin, lowering her voice, said, "I heard that the Qi family holds considerable power in the capital. If you marry into their family, you’ll be set for life."

Gu Xiaobei silently wondered, ’ Why would the Qijia even consider Xiaoyue? There’s something off about this.’

Chi Xiaoyue smiled faintly and replied, "We aren’t even engaged. Keep talking about marriage and if it doesn’t pan out, won’t it be embarrassing?"

Xiangmin’s voice hardened, "Who dares to mock you? I’ll teach them a lesson. You won’t have to lift a finger." She raised her head to see Gu Xiaobei’s teasing gaze.