Back To The 80s-Chapter 448 - 458: Naming_1

The commander in chief had already received an anonymous report accusing Bai Pingtian of bribery, and had recently been investigating the matter. Now, looking at the crops in the field, it confirmed that Bai Pingtian was leveraging his power for personal gain, committed to the crime of profiteering.

Not many days later, the judgment on Bai Pingtian had arrived - his position had been stripped and his party membership cancelled.

Ji Xiangdong received a telegram from the provincial city half a month after his son was born, which read: "Xiaolan has given birth, mother and son are safe." He stared at the telegram in a daze, unable to speak for a long time.

Suddenly, like a madman, he kept telling the deputy head and technician in the regiment’s office:

"I’m a dad now, my wife has given me a son."

"My wife gave birth, it’s a son."

When he laid in bed that night, his heart ached. Looking at the date on the telegram, his child had already been born half a month before, and he was not there. He was supposed to be back in August, but now because of the Bai Pingtian incident, it was likely to be delayed a little longer.

With a restless night, Ji Xiangdong got up early in the morning, without even shaving his beard, and went to see Elder Ji with red eyes.

Elder Ji had never seen such a distraught Ji Xiangdong.

Since reaching adulthood, Ji Xiangdong had never been so flustered. He handled every situation with calm and composure, always appearing indifferent.

"What’s happened?" Elder Ji asked in surprise.

Ji Xiangdong raked through his hair and said, "Elder Ji, let’s have a few drinks."

Elder Ji nodded, fried a plate of peanuts, made a cold dish, took a bottle of locally produced spirits, and started drinking with Ji Xiangdong under the grape arbor.

After guzzling three cups, Ji Xiangdong blurted out excitedly, "Xiaolan has given birth, it’s a son."

"That’s a good thing, we should have a drink. At noon, I’ll catch a couple of fish and we’ll celebrate properly," Elder Ji said happily.

Ji Xiangdong nodded, "Elder Ji, the formal name for the child, Xiaolan and I have discussed, we want you to decide on it."

Elder Ji was taken aback and looked at Ji Xiangdong, "Xiangdong, are you doing this to repay me?"

Ji Xiangdong shook his head, "No, it’s about inheritance. If it weren’t for you, today’s Ji Xiangdong would be a thug who strayed from the right path."

Elder Ji poured wine for the two of them and said, "Since you said so, I won’t decline. When I named you Xiangdong, I hoped you would always head east, toward the sun, where warmth resides. As for your son’s name... let me think..." As he spoke, Elder Ji looked up at the sparkling bunches of grapes on the grapevine and silently said a few names.

"How about Mu Bai? Bai symbolizes purify, Mu Bai means aspiring for purity and keeping untainted by the world, hoping to be a man of noble character in the future," Elder Ji suggested.

Ji Xiangdong silently repeated: "Mu Bai, Mu Bai, Ji Mu Bai, it’s a good name." Moreover, he felt there was another layer of meaning, indicating that Ji Xiangdong had admired Xiaolan for his whole life.

Elder Ji happily raised his glass, "Come, let’s have three more, from today on, I have a grandson."

Little Doudou, who is feeding in Xiaolan’s arms, is unaware that his formal name has been decided by his father, who he hasn’t met yet. He is feeding so eagerly that he’s sweating and using a lot of effort.

Zhou Siping, seeing his son sweating from feeding, wondered, "Is your milk not enough? Why is Doudou making so much effort to feed? If not, I’ll stew you two pigs’ feet tonight."

Touching her bloated face, Xiaolan wailed, "Mom, can I not eat? Look at me, it’s all been put on my body."

Zhou Siping glared at her, "Don’t think I don’t know, you take a few bites of the meat and throw it out the window to the soldiers, you wastrel."

Gu Xiaobei came in with a bowl of soup, laughing mischievously, "Get up, your mom made you fish soup, drink it quickly."

Xiaolan’s postpartum period was painful yet joyful.

Her mother-in-law was making all kinds of soups every day, and her mother was preparing stewed chicken and pig’s feet daily.

Even Xiaopang and Mo Wang have gained weight from the indulgence.

Gu Xiaobei laughed at Xiaolan every day, who had to grit her teeth to drink soup and eat meat in order not to offend her mother-in-law and mother.

Zhou Siping looked at the creamy fish soup and said, "It’s perfect, you drink this soup first, then eat the pig’s feet tonight, no rush."

Covering her face, Xiaolan pretended not to hear. She felt her mother-in-law’s approach was reasonable, having some fish or chicken soup daily was not bad. But she couldn’t bear to disappoint her mother, so she would take a few bites and then throw the meat out the window for the soldiers when Zhou Siping wasn’t looking.

Gu Xiaobei put the fish soup on the windowsill, "You drink this first, I’ll go to the store. Is there anything you want?"

Xiaolan had been drinking tasteless soup and eating tasteless meat every day and was becoming unbearable. She requested, "Buy a watermelon on your way back."

Gu Xiaobei smirked, "Watermelon, you can’t eat that yet. I’ll check if there are any peaches, I’ll bring some peaches back for you."

Gu Xiaobei rode to the store first. Xiao Hong in the store said that business has been average recently due to the hot weather.

He looked around the store, then went to the courtyard warehouse.

Qin Li was supervising everyone packaging tea.

Gu Xiaobei asked Qin Li, "How is it? Will it be possible to deliver by the end of the month?"

Qin Li nodded, "Yes, and Chen Zhao and the others have been watching closely every day."

Gu Xiaobei looked around and didn’t see Big Yellow, so he asked, "Where’s Big Yellow?"

Qin Li pointed at the roof and laughed, "Wang Wei built a shed for Big Yellow on the roof. He says it’s a hidden sentry post, and normal people wouldn’t be able to find it. This way, Big Yellow is better equipped to detect any enemies."

Gu Xiaobei laughed along, his overcautiousness had everyone on edge. However, that was a good thing, it minimized any chances of omission.

Yang Tianhua felt anxious due to Gu Xiaobei’s cautiousness and couldn’t help but complain to his third brother, "Third Brother, this woman is incredibly cunning. She even has a military dog guarding the yard, and the three men who work for her are like commandos."

The third brother listened, frowned, gave off a cold laugh, then confidently said, "Don’t worry, no matter how capable this woman is, she’s still just a woman. At any sign of trouble, she’ll panic."

Yang Tianhua didn’t see it that way, warning, "Third Brother, from the moment she took this order, there hasn’t been a single process she hasn’t been overly cautious about. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. When goods arrive, they first go to her house, and she definitely checks them. Recently, she’s been guarding the stockroom almost all the time. I’m afraid when it comes to the delivery date, if she delivers successfully, we’ll be paying Mr. Huang."

The third brother’s fingers rhythmically drummed on the armrest of his chair. After a while he said, "When is Ou Ruoshui coming back? Tell Zhao Honghe to give her a call and ask, it would be best if she could delay coming back for another month."

Yang Tianhua muttered, "If she wants to come back, who can stop her? What excuse could we have to delay her for a month?"

"Give Zhao Honghe a hundred dollars, he’ll make something work," said the third brother confidently.

Ou Ruoshui, no, Ma Xuerong, I’m glad you forgot what happened that year.