Back To The 80s-Chapter 36: Approval_1

As soon as Lu Zhanguo heard "Fuhai Group," wasn’t that the company where Gu Xiaobei worked? How had this Li Hao managed to get in?

He mulled it over in his heart but still maintained an air of nonchalance on his face.

Wen Dong was dissatisfied inside, but due to the presence of others and not wanting to spoil the atmosphere, he could only smile and invite everyone to eat dumplings.

Chi Xiaoyue felt nauseous as soon as the dumplings hit her stomach. She tried to endure the discomfort and swallowed them down.

But she really couldn’t bear it any longer, ran outside the door, and started retching violently. Wen Dong asked with concern, "Was the meat you bought not fresh? Why did she start throwing up after eating just a few dumplings?"

Li Juan gave him a disdainful look and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? The pork I bought today was freshly slaughtered. You guys keep eating; I’m going to go check on her." Saying that, she took a bowl of water and went outside.

Chi Xiaoyue took the bowl and rinsed her mouth, explaining, "I might have caught a cold last night, got a bit of a stomach flu. I’m going back to take some medicine, and won’t come in."

After saying that, she left, somewhat like she was fleeing in panic. Li Juan wondered to herself why being sick felt like she had committed a crime.

In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday, and there was no work tomorrow, Gu Xiaobei felt that he should go back home tomorrow to see his stepmom and see if he could find out anything.

Li Hao happened to pass by the window and saw Gu Xiaobei sitting there, one hand propping up his cheek, the other hand idly playing with the abacus beads, lost in thought. He found the sight so heartwarmingly beautiful that he couldn’t help but stare.

It wasn’t until Liu Cuicui called him that he came back to his senses, and afraid of being seen, he quickly ran into the kitchen.

"What were you looking at out there?" Liu Cuicui asked, curious.

"Nothing. What did you call me for?" Li Hao replied irritably.

"This bucket of dirty water is full now, and I’m pregnant, so I can’t lift something so heavy."

"Why are you being so delicate? You can’t even lift a bucket of water; what do you think you are, a city princess?" Li Hao said disdainfully.

Liu Cuicui felt wronged. Li Hao was a man with particularly strong desires and regardless of Liu Cuicui’s pregnancy, he still wanted his way every night. When Liu Cuicui woke up this morning, she felt a bit of bleeding down there and couldn’t afford to take it lightly.

Fearing that Li Hao would get angry, she said in a low voice, "I’m bleeding down there; I’m scared."

Li Hao replied impatiently with a "Troublesome," and carried the dirty water out.

For lunch, Liu Cuicui made mashed potato buns, which involved steaming the potatoes until done, then putting them in a wooden trough and pounding them with a hammer until they were firm enough to be shaped into buns. Next, she made a sauce with sauerkraut, dried chili, and scallions, which was poured over the potato buns served in a bowl.

Gu Xiaobei couldn’t stop praising this novel way of eating and urged Liu Cuicui to teach her how to make it. Although Liu Cuicui’s meat dishes were not great, and her other dishes also average, she excelled at various potato recipes.

Even the usually reticent Old Zhang praised Liu Cuicui’s mashed potato buns for being authentic.

Liu Cuicui, flattered by everyone’s compliments and recognition, blushed, but deep down she was very happy. She silently resolved to practice her craft diligently to improve even further.

Sometimes, a word of recognition, an affirming look, can do wonders for someone’s confidence.

On Sunday, Gu Xiaobei slept until he woke up naturally, cooked some porridge, and simply had it with some pickles. After cleaning up, he lazily left the house.

He bought two cans of preserved food and two bags of egg cakes from the store and then went to Gu Xiaodong’s house. After all, his salary hadn’t been paid yet, so he didn’t have the money to buy anything better.

When he arrived at Gu Xiaodong’s house, it was almost noon. Only Chen Qiumei was at home, while Gu Xiaodong and Liu Mei were nowhere to be seen.

Chen Qiumei saw Gu Xiaobei and reproached her, "You girl didn’t come back earlier, and we don’t have any good dishes at home. You’ll just have to make do with a bite to eat."

Gu Xiaobei thought to herself that it probably wasn’t a lack of good dishes, but rather Gu Xiaodong not coming back for dinner.

As expected, she then heard Chen Qiumei say, "Your brother has gone to his father-in-law’s place. You’re not aware, but Liu Mei is making a fuss about divorce again!"

"What’s the reason this time?" Gu Xiaobei asked, curious.

"Who knows, I suspect Liu Mei has someone on the side. She claims to be starting a company and is never at home," Chen Qiumei said with a disdainful face.

"You shouldn’t speak so carelessly," Gu Xiaobei felt that Chen Qiumei’s thoughts were really odd. Just two days ago she claimed Gu Xiaodong was having an affair, and today she changed her tune to Liu Mei.

"That’s right, from what your brother said, he’s thinking about transferring out of the military this year," Chen Qiumei finally burst out with some useful information.

"Why does he want to transfer? Isn’t he doing well and has a promising future?" Gu Xiaobei asked, somewhat puzzled.

"That I don’t know. I only heard it when he was talking on the phone with someone else. He said someone is out to get him. If your father finds out, he’ll be livid," Chen Qiumei knew her husband was obsessed with officialdom, having retired, and now pinned all his hopes on his son.

Gu Xiaobei thought that Gu Xiaodong must be bottling up some frustration. If he really wanted to transfer, he wouldn’t be so eager to go and appease Liu Mei.

Lunch was indeed a makeshift meal, with millet porridge, corn pancakes, and pickled cucumber. As she ate, Gu Xiaobei thought she’d have to go out for a bowl of mutton soup later. If her mother didn’t care for her, she’d have to care for herself.

Not long after lunch, Gu Xiaodong and Liu Mei came back together, both with displeased expressions.

Seeing the two of them return together, Gu Xiaobei thought that despite their unhappy faces, they must have made up somewhat; otherwise, Liu Mei wouldn’t have come back with him.

"Xiaobei’s here," Gu Xiaodong said as he greeted her and went into the bedroom, followed by Liu Mei.

Soon after, their voices, arguing softly at first and then growing louder, could be heard. It was hard for Gu Xiaobei not to listen.

"I said I want a divorce, and you don’t agree. Are you afraid of losing the support of my father?" Liu Mei roared.

"I said let’s stick to the matter at hand, stop dragging in irrelevant things," Gu Xiaodong replied impatiently.

"I’ve said it, your mother poured ashes from burned paper into my drinking cup. And I’ve also said it, either she leaves or we divorce."

Gu Xiaobei looked at Chen Qiumei in astonishment; she really was something else.

"It’s all because she’s not getting pregnant. I went to the temple and got a Fertility Talisman for her, burned it and let her drink it," Chen Qiumei said, with a look of having done nothing wrong.

Gu Xiaobei was dumbfounded, thinking how ignorant one must be. Liu Mei certainly wasn’t going to let this go.

The house grew quiet, and after a while, Gu Xiaodong came out with a dark face and sat on the sofa, taking a long time before finally speaking, "Mom, you should go back in a few days. Dad’s also by himself at home. You better keep Dad company."

Chen Qiumei looked at her son in shock, "Are you driving me away? For a woman, are you ready to abandon even your mother?"

"Mom, are you really planning to make my life impossible, to ruin my future too?" Gu Xiaodong said helplessly.

"That’s no big deal, we can quit the military. Didn’t you also say that day that you want to transfer? And you have your own company to run, don’t you?" Chen Qiumei retorted, also getting angry.

"What nonsense are you talking about, when do I have any company? I’m in the military, how could I run a company. You keep making things up every day, just look at what you’ve done," Gu Xiaodong said, glancing at Gu Xiaobei and then angrily confronting Chen Qiumei.

"If there’s no company, then there’s no company. Why are you shouting at me? You buy me a ticket for tomorrow, and I’ll leave. I won’t be in your way anymore. Look at the good son I’ve raised; I’m here cooking and washing for you, and it seems I’m only being repaid with resentment," Chen Qiumei slammed the table and yelled.