Back To The 80s-Chapter 122 - 121: Big Ruckus_1

Chen Gang nodded, although he didn’t quite understand, but he was certain that Gu Xiaobei was correct.

Gu Xiaobei got up early in the morning to make breakfast instead of lazing in bed, Qin Li was drinking her porridge with low spirits, talking big but finding it hard to act.

"Why don’t you stay a few more days?" Gu Xiaobei couldn’t stand to see Qin Li in such a state.

"No, who am I, I’m Qin Li. The chairman said, those with self-confidence could live two hundred years and make a great impact.," Qin Li said defiantly.

Gu Xiaobei nearly choked on her congee at this — what on earth was this conversation now? 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Watching as Chen Gang and Jiujiu left the house with their backpacks, she then sent Qin Li to catch the bus.

She bumped into Cheng Qijia at the camp entrance. Cheng Qijia didn’t know why, but everytime he saw Qin Li, he felt a bit nervous. Smiling at Gu Xiaobei, he greeted, "Sister-in-law, you’re going into town?"

"I’m not going, I’m seeing off my younger sister. She’s going back to T City." Gu Xiaobei pointed at Qin Li.

Qin Li only smiled, not uttering a word. Ever since the thought of returning to T City and the trouble she had to face came to her mind, she had no desire to engage in conversation.

Seeing Qin Li’s distant smile, Cheng Qijia felt a strange sense of loss. He politely bade farewell to Gu Xiaobei and proceeded towards the entrance of the camp. However, he couldn’t resist turning back; seeing the vibrant figure bathed in the early autumn sunlight, he felt so distant from her.

After sending off Qin Li, Gu Xiaobei returned home, suddenly realizing how empty the house felt. She wondered where Lu Zhanguo was and whether he was safe.

Feeling down, she washed some clothes and hung them out to dry. Seeing the fine weather, she took Jiujiu’s and her own bedding to dry on the clothesline downstairs.

Just as she was unfolding the bedding, she saw a few people entering the compound gate. Before Gu Xiaobei could look over, she was attacked with a slap on her face.

Gu Xiaobei staggered, her face burning; seeing stars in from of her eyes. She then heard Chen Qiumei’s shrill voice, "I’ll kill you, you ungrateful wretch." Chen Qiumei was going in for another slap.

Shen Heng quickly stepped in to separate Gu Xiaobei, catching Chen Qiumei’s outstretched arm. He and Yuan Tan had run into Gu Weimin and his wife holding their child in the car and thought they were here to visit Gu Xiaobei. They didn’t expect them to turn on Gu Xiaobei immediately.

Gu Xiaobei’s face was burning, but her heart was shaking with rage. She couldn’t hit back — this woman was her birth mother after all. If she hit back, she would be labeled as disrespectful. But if she didn’t, she wasn’t sure she could swallow her anger. She glared at Chen Qiumei, eyes blazing.

Since her hand was restrained by Shen Heng, Chen Qiumei could only curse louder, "Why did I give birth to such a wretch of a daughter, refusing to look after her own parents, raising other people’s wild child... How could you be so vile? If you wanted a child, you could take care of your nephew. What are you doing raising someone else’s child? What evil did I do in my past life to end up with a wicked daughter like you..." Her words got cruder and cruder, her voice louder.

Hearing the commotion, the residents of the compound emerged from their houses and gathered around. Strangely, Xiangmin was standing at the edge of the crowd, munching on sunflower seeds and entertaining herself with the spectacle.

Gu Weimin stood to one side, holding his child, coldly watching his own daughter without uttering a word. Yuan Tan, on the other hand, was somewhat gleeful, inwardly blaming Shen Heng for intervening — she felt Gu Xiaobei deserved a good dressing down.

With a frosty look on her face, Gu Xiaobei said, "Shen Heng, let go. Let her hit. Once she’s done, our ties as mother and daughter will be completely severed."

Chen Qiumei was beside herself with anger. Pointing at Gu Xiaobei’s nose, she told the crowd, "You listen to this, is this what a daughter says? To sever ties with her mother? To raise a wild child..."

"Enough, what do you want today?" Gu Xiaobei didn’t want to keep the ruckus up in the compound. She needed to uphold Lu Zhanguo’s dignity.

"What do I want? Now you’ll have to take care of me, your dad, and your nephew." Chen Qiumei said arrogantly.

Gu Xiaobei huffed, so it all came down to money in the end: "I said I would give you living expenses. but Liao Zhe is not my responsibility to raise. He has his own parents, grandparents."

"Let everyone pass judgement. You have spare money for wild children, but won’t look after your nephew." Chen Qiumei was holding on to her rationale.

Seeing the situation getting out of hand, Shen Heng said to Chen Qiumei, "If you want to solve the issue, let’s sit down and have a proper talk."

Feeling that the ruckus was dying down, Gu Weimin came up to Chen Qiumei and said, "That’s enough. Discuss the issue. Look at the state you’re in."

Shen Heng turned his head to look at Gu Xiaobei. One side of her fair face was swollen and there was blood at the corner of her mouth, "Sister-in-law, are you alright? Let’s go upstairs to talk."

Gu Xiaobei shook her head, "I’m fine, let’s go."

Xiangmin spat out sunflower seed shells, a smile on her face, and a sense of smug satisfaction in her heart. Gu Xiaobei got what she deserved.

Shen Heng glanced at Yuan Tan and said, "You stay downstairs, I’ll go upstairs and check." Yuan Tan wouldn’t want to miss the chance to see Gu Xiaobei brought down a peg or two. Just as she was about to protest, she saw Shen Heng’s imposing gaze and reluctantly nodded.

The moment Chen Qiumei entered the room, she plopped down on the bed, implying that she wouldn’t leave until her demands were met.

Gu Weimin held the child, took a stool, and sat down. He spoke in a conciliatory tone, "Xiaobei, your mom and I are very heartbroken. Your mom was just agitated when she hit you. How could you ignore your own parents and nephew to care for someone else’s child?"

Gu Xiaobei stood in the middle of the room, casting a cold look at the two of them, "I’ve said from the start that I would give you pension money, but I can’t care for Liao Zhe because Liao Qing might return any day."

Chen Qiumei was displeased again, "Even if Liao Qing comes back, Liao Zhe is still the descendant of the Gu family."

He’s the descendant of your Gu family, not mine, thought Gu Xiaobei.

Seeing that Gu Xiaobei didn’t reply, Gu Weimin took up the conversation, "Xiaobei, since you said that, you’ll have to look after us, right? Your ten dollars a month is simply not enough." Now that his son was in a hospital, he feared it would be a while before he could be released. Gu Weimin’s own retirement pension could barely cover the child’s expenses, let alone saving some more. It seemed improbable.

Gu Xiaobei looked indifferently at the two of them, "How is ten not enough? I won’t spare another penny to fill the hole Gu Xiaodong left behind."

"Gu Xiaobei, I can’t believe you. I must’ve committed great sins in my previous life to raise such a beast like you," Chen Qiumei began cursing again.

Gu Xiaobei calmly replied, "I advise you to save your strength — you still have to walk to town later."

"You’re actually kicking your parents out?" Gu Weimin was also startled — she was beyond disrespectful.

"I’ll state it clearly today — if you want to cause a scene, go ahead. When that time comes, I will not give a penny, and I will not shoulder any blame either." Gu Xiaobei’s tone did not fluctuate in the slightest.

It wasn’t for the child he was holding, Gu Weimin would’ve pounded the table in anger, "Your mother was right in cursing you — you’re indeed a beast. I don’t believe it. I’m going to find Commander Zhanguo. Let’s see if they won’t intervene."