Back To The 80s-Chapter 562 - 554: Observation_1

Lu Zhanguo could only leave the kitchen.

Mo Wang looked at his father with a worried expression in his eyes. If his mother got angry, then his father could no longer teach him awesome skills.

Lu Zhanguo patted Mo Wang’s small head, decided to compromise in plain sight but secretly to "add meals" to Mo Wang.

Gu Xiaobei wasn’t really angry. When it came to educating children, their intentions were good, but as a mother, she tended to be more concerned about her child.

In the days that followed, if Gu Xiaobei was at home, Lu Zhanguo would inform both children of how to protect themselves from harm in any dangerous situation and how to avoid detection by bad guys when hiding and escaping.

Gu Xiaobei looked at the children’s bewildered expressions and wondered how much they could understand.

Three-year-old children are highly malleable. Lu Zhanguo feared that Xiaopang and Mo Wang couldn’t remember the lesson after one explanation, so he tried to express everything as simply as possible and then repeat it, constantly asking questions to both children.

......

With the arrival of November, winter came to the provincial capital. Every day, Gu Xiaobei would set aside half the time to visit the store or the factory. Now that daily sales were stable, Gu Xiaobei didn’t want to expand any further. Knowing that a person’s energy is limited, she wanted to spend more time with the children. Money could be earned at any time, but the children’s growth only happens once.

As usual, Gu Xiaobei sent the children to the courtyard and then went to the store.

As soon as she entered the store, she saw Qin Li listlessly leaning on the table.

"What’s wrong?" Gu Xiaobei went over to touch Qin Li’s forehead and asked with concern.

Qin Li said somewhat sadly, "I need to go back to T City. I called home yesterday and heard from my mom that they’re planning to build some base in Canger Cliff, and they want to relocate Jin Cheng’s grave."

"Where are they moving it to?"

With a bitter smile, Qin Li said, "I thought about moving it to the provincial capital. Today, I’m going to Jin’s mother’s house to discuss it."

Gu Xiaobei also started feeling upset. A few days ago, on the day of Jin Cheng’s memorial, Gu Xiaobei had let Qin Li go back for two days, and she still hadn’t recovered.

"On the bright side, we don’t have to travel back and forth anymore." Qin Li tried to comfort herself.

Gu Xiaobei quietly sat with Qin Li.

"By the way, Sister Xiaobei, I got my accounting certificate. I’m thinking about learning something else when I have time." Qin Li didn’t want her mood to affect Gu Xiaobei, so she changed the subject.

After some thought, Gu Xiaobei said, "You could learn painting. It’s calming and a good way to pass time."

Qin Li nodded, "Yeah, I had the same idea. I’ll check at L University later to see if I can audit classes."

Gu Xiaobei agreed, "That sounds good. You already have a foundation in painting, so it should be quick for you to learn."

Xiao Hong, dressed in red, and Chen Zhao walked into the store. Xiao Hong said cheerfully, "Sister Xiaobei, Sister Lily, it’s great that you two are here."

"Weren’t you and Chen Zhao visiting your relatives in your hometown these days? Why did you come back so soon?" Gu Xiaobei gave them time off in late October and early November since it wasn’t a busy period, yet these two came back just a few days later.

With a broad smile on her face, Xiao Hong said, "Chen Zhao was worried about the workload at the factory, so we just visited my aunt and uncle’s place and hurried back."

"You should have stayed longer. I wouldn’t have given you such a long vacation if it was busy." said Gu Xiaobei. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Xiao Hong waved her hand, saying, "It’s fine. Relatives are a case of ’far-off fragrance, close-off stench.’ If you stay too long, they get annoyed."

Gu Xiaobei thought about Xiao Hong’s wedding day. She saw Xu Yanhong’s name on the gift list and she asked Xiao Hong, "Do you have a neighbor named Xu Yanhong?"

Xiao Hong nodded, "Yeah. Originally her sister was named Xu Yanhong and she was called Xu Yanli. But after her sister passed away, she changed her name to Xu Yanhong, saying that she wanted to live her sister’s life. She’s almost thirty and still unmarried."

Curious, Gu Xiaobei asked, "How did her sister die?"

Xiao Hong shook her head, "According to whispers among the neighbours, when her sister was in her teens, her family arranged a marriage for her. But she didn’t agree and ran away. Several years later, they said they found her body, and her family even had to go identify the body."

Gu Xiaobei was stunned. It really was just a coincidence of having the same name.

Xiao Hong was somewhat puzzled, "Sister Xiaobei, why did you suddenly ask about this?"

"Just curious. I know someone else named Xu Yanhong, so I was wondering if they were the same person."

Xiao Hong nodded, "It’s probably just a common name. Our neighbor, Xu Yanhong, hardly ever leaves her house."

As a customer just walked into the store, Xiao Hong quickly went to serve them after she finished speaking.

Gu Xiaobei hurried back to the courtyard in time for lunch.

Wen Xiuqing was cooking. Hearing the front door, she came out of the kitchen and said to Gu Xiaobei, "I thought you weren’t coming back. Zhanguo took the children home."

"Huh? Wasn’t he saying he was busy today and wouldn’t be home for dinner? Why did he come back at noon?" Gu Xiaobei didn’t stop her bike and prepared to head out again as she spoke.

Wen Xiuqing also wondered, "I don’t know, but he did take some vegetables from here."

Gu Xiaobei nodded, "Mom, I’m going home, too. You carry on with your work."

Wen Xiuqing watched Gu Xiaobei leave, puzzled. Lu Zhanguo had picked up the kids right after Gu Xiaobei had left that morning.

.....

As Gu Xiaobei cycled home, she thought: Lu Zhanguo must have secretly taken the kids home again for his so-called training.

As for Lu Zhanguo’s duplicity, Gu Xiaobei was speechless. Seeing that Mo Wang was happy, she decided to turn a blind eye.

Just as she was about to reach the gate of the housing complex, she saw Xu Yanhong carrying a piece of pork, apparently going to visit Zhao Hongmei’s house.

Seeing Gu Xiaobei, Xu Yanhong stood in the middle of the road and smiled, "Just getting home, sister-in-law?"

Unable to ignore her, Gu Xiaobei got off her bike and politely replied, "Yes, you’re going to visit your sister?" As she spoke, she began pushing her bike into the yard.

Quickly following, Xu Yanhong kept chatting, "I didn’t want to eat in the factory cafeteria at lunch, so I came to my sister’s place to grab a meal. I bought some meat. Sister-in-law, why don’t you ask Xiaopang and Mo Wang to come over for a meal?"

Gu Xiaobei suddenly stopped her bike and looked at Xu Yanhong. She smiled and suppressed her surprise, "Mo Wang doesn’t like eating at other people’s houses."

How did Xu Yanhong know that Mo Wang and Xiaopang were at home?

Usually at this time, many people would think that the children would be at their grandmother’s house because Lu Zhanguo would typically be at the army base during these hours.

Seeing Gu Xiaobei stop the bike, Xu Yanhong laughed and said, "Your son Mo Wang is really something special. Even at such a young age, he’s so independent. Sister-in-law, you’ve taught him well."

Gu Xiaobei smiled without replying and continued walking home with her bike.

Yet Xu Yanhong continued, "Sister-in-law, when you have time and when my sister is free too, let’s take the children to the zoo, okay?"

Gu Xiaobei was getting annoyed with Xu Yanhong’s enthusiasm and her smile vanished. She said flatly, "We just went to the zoo last Sunday."