Back To The 80s-Chapter 29: Humanity_1

After hearing what was said, Lu Zhanguo’s face darkened, and after a moment of reflection he said, "You go back first."

Li Juan felt embarrassed staying there, so she decided to leave. After all, she had already spoken her piece, and given the relationship between Lu Zhanguo and Wen Dong, they should probably help.

After Li Juan left, Lu Zhanguo sat on the edge of his bed with a somber face. Gu Xiaobei held his hand and asked, "What’s wrong, are you troubled?"

"This matter will be handled as it should be, but thinking of the fact that one or two spoiled apples in our unit can damage our reputation makes me angry. When he puts on that uniform, he’s not just representing himself. Yet he still acts recklessly."

Gu Xiaobei knew how much the integrity-driven Lu Zhanguo loved and was dedicated to his career. Naturally, she couldn’t bear to see such disgraceful things happen. Leaning against Lu Zhanguo, she remained silent, knowing that her silent companionship was the best comfort she could offer.

When Li Juan arrived home, she jumped in surprise upon seeing Wen Dong there. "Why are you home so early today?"

"What were you up to?" Wen Dong asked, a sour expression on his face.

"Nothing...I didn’t do anything..."

"Did you go upstairs to beg for favors? What did I tell you? Do you find it enjoyable to make a fool of yourself?" Wen Dong’s voice rose involuntarily in his anger.

"Why are you shouting at me? This is my only brother. If he goes back like this, his life will be ruined," Li Juan retorted angrily when she saw Wen Dong losing his temper.

"If he ruins himself, it’s his own doing. Doesn’t he know the discipline of the army? Why can everyone else abide by it, but not him? If he can’t control himself, he shouldn’t be a soldier."

"What’s the use of saying all this now that things have happened? If you’re not going to help, then don’t. Stop acting so self-righteous." Li Juan felt that since it had all blown up, she might as well vent all her grievances.

"If he has done wrong, then as a man, he should own up to it. And he must own up to it." Wen Dong walked out the door after saying that.

Li Juan knew if she didn’t help her brother, her parents would surely blame her for everything. There were five siblings in Li Juan’s family, with Li Juan having three older sisters, and then finally a cherished younger brother. Because he was pampered at home from a young age, he became idle and aimless. There was no choice but to send him to the army through connections in hopes of straightening him out. Unexpectedly, he still remained obstinate and unyielding.

If she didn’t intervene this time and let her brother go back home, her parents would make her life a living hell.

The next morning, Li Juan went to seek out Chi Xiaoyue, thinking that Chi Xiaoyue had more connections than her.

When she explained her intentions to Chi Xiaoyue, Chi Xiaoyue agreed without hesitation. Chi Xiaoyue, however, was not firm on her promise. "Don’t worry sister-in-law, I will try to handle this matter. Even if he can’t continue serving in the army, I can still find him a good job in T City. No one will care about the mistakes he made once he has money, after all. Besides, if the girl agrees, they can settle down here after he’s discharged from the army."

After hearing this, Li Juan felt that Chi Xiaoyue’s words made a lot of sense. If he could secure a good job, it wouldn’t matter whether he would continue to serve in the army. Moreover, being so far away from their hometown, nobody would find out. When they returned with money, who would care about what he had done in the past?

After sorting out her thoughts, Li Juan felt much better and thanked Chi Xiaoyue profusely.

By the afternoon, the punishment for Li Hao had been settled - he was to be sent back to his original domicile under escort, and his file was personally delivered to the local authority.

When Wen Dong returned home, he saw Li Juan, who had been causing a ruckus the night before, being oddly calm, and even making dinner. Wen Dong thought that Li Juan must have calmed down and accepted reality.

However, Li Juan didn’t mention to Wen Dong the fact that Chi Xiaoyue would arrange a job for Li Hao. She knew that if she did, Wen Dong would definitely be against it. In fact, she didn’t want to quarrel with Wen Dong, as she still had to live her own life. Once Li Hao’s job situation was sorted out and he started to achieve success, Wen Dong wouldn’t be able to criticize him anymore.

Gu Xiaobei was preparing to return to T City on Sunday. Early in the morning, she cuddled up to Lu Zhanguo, cooing, "Visit me in the city when you’re off. I don’t want to stay at Gu Xiaodong’s house anymore."

"Alright," Lu Zhanguo responded, his arms around Gu Xiaobei, speaking with an indulgent tone.

After cuddling for a while, Gu Xiaobei checked the time and reluctantly got up. She had to get the supply truck to the town, and then take the bus back to the city. Lu Zhanguo had said the previous night that he had an urgent training assignment today and wouldn’t be able to escort her, she had to take the bus back alone.

When she reached the spot where the bus was scheduled to stop, she saw that both Chi Xiaoyue and Li Juan were also waiting for the same bus.

Li Juan glanced at her and then quickly turned away, pretending not to see her. This was totally different from her previous warm demeanor. Gu Xiaobei snorted quietly to herself. This was just the nature of people like her, becoming friends for the sake of shared interests.

Chi Xiaoyue, from beginning to end, acted as if she hadn’t seen Gu Xiaobei at all. Gu Xiaobei also didn’t bother to engage them. Once the bus arrived, she climbed on board and took a seat as far back as possible.

Unexpectedly, after grabbing a bowl of wontons, when she boarded the bus to T City, she ran into Li Juan and Chi Xiaoyue again.

Gu Xiaobei selected a seat near the window. Li Juan and Chi Xiaoyue sat in the back, completely ignoring Gu Xiaobei the whole time.

The bus moved slowly and kept stopping to pick up and drop off passengers. By the time they arrived in T City, it was already noon.

Gu Xiaobei alighted from the bus and directly headed towards the bus stop to commute to Gu Xiaodong’s house. The moment Chi Xiaoyue got off the bus, she said to Li Juan, "Let’s go get some lunch. Afterward, I’ll take you to meet Boss Gao. You can also take a look at the working environment of your brother in the future. That should put you at ease."

"Sure, lunch is on me." Li Juan thought that while handling her brother’s affair, she couldn’t let Chi Xiaoyue pay for the meal.

Chi Xiaoyue smiled and led her to a restaurant. They ordered two dishes, one double-cooked pork and one scrambled eggs with Chinese toon. Plus, two big bowls of rice. When the bill came, it was five yuan. Li Juan felt a little heartache. Five yuan was enough to buy half a month’s worth of vegetables for both of them.

Chi Xiaoyue noticed Li Juan’s distressed expression, paid the bill, and then led Li Juan to the company.

When Gu Xiaobei reached home, she made it just in time for lunch. Surprisingly, Liu Mei was also at home, but Gu Xiaodong was not.

Chen Qiumei had just finished cooking lunch. She took off her apron and started speaking, "You have to go to work tomorrow, why don’t you go and buy some clothes to wear to work? Look at yourself, always dressing like you don’t care how you look."

Gu Xiaobei looked down at her white blouse, black vest, black trousers, and white sneakers. She didn’t see anything inappropriate about her attire.

"Buy something flashy, something suitable for a young girl. Wearing black every day, how unattractive," Chen Qiumei continued.

Liu Mei, for once, spoke up: "Xiaobei, do you have dormitory accommodations for your job?"

"No, but I will move out into a rented place as soon as possible," Gu Xiaobei replied, without putting too much thought into it.

Chen Qiumei took exception to Liu Mei’s remark: "Are you insinuating that Xiaobei is a burden, eating and drinking our resources? All this time living here, I haven’t seen you bring a single vegetable or grain of rice."

Liu Mei didn’t get upset, simply saying, "Think whatever you want."

Gu Xiaobei had to speak up, "Mom, I’ve thought about it. I’ll rent a place near the company. It’ll be more convenient for work."

Chen Qiumei wanted to continue arguing, but Gu Xiaobei quickly served her some food and said, "If I stay here, where will Zhanguo stay when he comes? After all, I’m a married woman."

Upon hearing that, Chen Qiumei didn’t have grounds to say anything more.