Back To The 80s-Chapter 425 - 435: Old Friend_1

After hearing Gu Xiaobei’s words, Qin Li picked up her chopsticks, shoving noodles fervently into her mouth. Tears silently streamed down her face, mixing with the noodles that she crammed in.

Gu Xiaobei’s eyes reddened once again from sympathy. In truth, Qin Li had become quite strong. If it was Gu Xiaobei in her place, she wouldn’t be able to endure all this.

After eating, Gu Xiaobei persuaded Qin Li to stay for the night. In the afternoon, she would visit Qin Li’s uncle’s house to inform them. Otherwise, if Qin Li returned home with her puffy eyes, it would only cause her uncle’s family to worry.

After Gu Xiaobei left on her bike, Bai Xiaolan sat by the kang bedside to keep Qin Li company. She felt desperate, wanting to scratch her scalp. She had never been good at consoling others. If Qin Li were bullied, Bai Xiaolan could easily throw a punch for her. But for this kind of situation, she didn’t know where to start.

Seeing Qin Li sitting by the side of the kang, her body leant feebly against the wall, her swollen eyes still glistening with unbidden tears.

A thought suddenly struck Bai Xiaolan, and she moved to sit beside Qin Li. Holding her fingertips, she carefully suggested, "Shall we chat for a while?"

Sniffling, and in a slightly hoarse voice, Qin Li agreed, "Alright."

Upon hearing Qin Li speaking, Bai Xiaolan hurriedly started talking, "Let me tell you about my childhood. Just listening to my stories will cheer you up. But you must never tell Gu Xiaobei. After all, I am her sister-in-law now. If she knew my embarrassing moments, I would lose face completely."

Qin Li cracked a smile and nodded, "Mhm, I won’t say anything."

"When I was a child, I hated washing my hair. My mom was too busy to manage me. When I was in primary school, my head got infested with lice. In frustration, my mom shaved my head, so I went to school, bald. At that time, I was in the same class as Lu Aiguo. He made fun of me every day, chanting rhymes at me... ’Bald-headed, selling incense oil’...I beat him up for that. The more I hit him, the more he bitched. Once, I saw him go into the toilet to pee, so I snuck up from behind and pushed him into the septic tank..." Bai Xiaolan laughed at the end of her tale. Lu Aiguo was embarrassed by the episode and made a pact with Bai Xiaolan never to tell anyone about it.

Listening to the story, Qin Li laughed. Then rubbing her tired eyes, she said, "My Big Sister, when I was young, I got head lice as well. My mom also wanted to shave my head. She chased me around the courtyard with a razor in hand. In the end, Jin Cheng intercepted my mother and painstakingly removed the lice for me. He spent half a year disgustedly scraping my head until the lice were completely gone."

Bai Xiaolan wished she could slap herself twice. Her intention was to comfort Qin Li, but all she did was remind her of the past. Feeling embarrassed, she smiled awkwardly, "Shall we sleep a little? If those two little devils wake up, we won’t be able to sleep." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Having cried her heart out, Qin Li was feeling quite exhausted and agreed with Bai Xiaolan’s suggestion.

Gu Xiaobei rode her bike to Qin Li’s uncle’s house. Halfway there, she realized it wasn’t considerate to arrive empty-handed right after the lunar new year. Passing by a grocery store, she bought some items before hastily continuing to Qin Li’s uncle’s house.

After leaving Qin Li’s uncle’s house, Gu Xiaobei decided to buy some hotpot ingredients since Qin Li liked hotpot so much. She planned to have hotpot for dinner.

Noticing a market close to Qin Li’s uncle’s house, she detoured in and parked her bike.

She purchased fresh mutton, wood ear mushrooms, dried kelp, frozen tofu, and saw fresh pig blood for sale. She wished she could carry it all home as it would be great for hotpot, but it wouldn’t be convenient.

Gu Xiaobei stood in front of a pork stall, undecided about buying a small stainless steel pot to carry the pig’s blood.

"Sister-in-law?" A hesitant voice made Gu Xiaobei turn around.

To her surprise, the woman calling out to her wore a dark blue working smock that reached her knees. She wore a white work hat on her head, all her hair tucked under it. Holding a large piece of pork in her hand, she was Li Juan, a woman Gu Xiaobei hadn’t seen for more than two years, who had put on some weight since her days in the army.

"Li Juan? What are you doing here?" Gu Xiaobei had fought with Li Juan before but Li Juan had changed a lot since Wen Dong sacrificed himself.

Li Juan first placed the pork on the cutting board. She excitedly attempted to hold Gu Xiaobei’s hand, but then she remembered the pork grease smearing her hands, and awkwardly rubbed her hands together. Smiling, she said, "My parents and I have been selling meat here for over a year."

Gu Xiaobei looked at Li Juan’s hands which had significantly larger knuckles. Due to the cold weather, a few fingers were frostbitten and swollen. There was also a cut on the back of her hand. She couldn’t help but ask, "I thought you went back to your hometown. How’s your business going?"

"Not too bad. We don’t make a lot of money, but at least we get to eat meat every day. Sister-in-law, won’t you come inside and sit for a while? It’s been so long since I last saw you. I really miss the people from the camp." At the end of her sentence, Li Juan appeared a bit embarrassed. She had offended quite a few people back at the camp.

Seeing Li Juan speaking so earnestly, Gu Xiaobei could hardly turn her back and walk away. So, she followed Li Juan into the small house behind the meat stand.

Two elderly people were in the house, sitting on small stools, cleaning pig intestines. The whole room smelled awful. Pulled against the wall was a double-layer bed, with a folded bed next to it.

When Gu Xiaobei saw that the two old folks weren’t Li Juan’s parents, she realized that they must be Wen Dong’s parents. She couldn’t help but feel uneasy. If Wen Dong hadn’t made the ultimate sacrifice, would this be the life that the family of three would have had to live?

When Wen Dong’s parents noticed Gu Xiaobei entering, they cordially smiled before getting up to tend to the meat stand.

Li Juan briefly introduced Gu Xiaobei to Wen Dong’s mother.

Just as Gu Xiaobei sat down on the edge of the bed, Li Juan blurted out, "After I went to my in-laws’ house, my brother had an accident not long after. My parents made a fuss at my in-laws’ house every day, blaming me for their son’s demise. They demanded that I repay them for their son. Later on, my husband’s parents and I discreetly left for the provincial city to distance ourselves from them. I used to misbehave at home, trying my best to help that family. For Li Hao’s sake, I took advantage of my connections. Later, I remembered Wen Dong. He walked in a minefield because of me. If I hadn’t always nagged about Wen Dong’s inability to help Li Hao at home, Wen Dong wouldn’t have stepped on a mine in battle. He was usually so careful, he must have been distracted." Her eyes began to water as she spoke.

Wen Dong’s mother paused from her task and sighed, "My dear, I told you not to mention this anymore. It was Wen Dong’s destiny to face that disaster. He couldn’t have avoided it."

Even though Wen Dong’s mother was just over fifty years old, her hair had almost all turned white. Her face appeared older than most people of her age. Since she handles pig offal every day, her hands were swollen and chapped, with deep cuts.

Gu Xiaobei felt a sting in her eyes watching all this. Forcing a smile, she comforted Li Juan, "Having a small business is also quite good. Later on, when seafood from the south becomes available, you can also sell some. I’m sure your days will get better and better."

Wen Dong’s mother chimed in, "Yeah, at least we can eat meat every day now. And we even have some money to spend. It’s good. The only regret is that we’re holding back Juan. She’s still young and should find another place to get married."