Back To The 80s-Chapter 582 - 574: Rumors_1

Spring Festival in the year ’88 falls in mid-February. Gu Xiaobei felt this winter was particularly long. With Spring Festival so far away, she hoped that Lu Zhanguo would return home for the festivities and they would have a peaceful and joyous celebration together as a family.

As December arrived, there was still no news from Lu Zhanguo. No phone calls or letters. The first thing Xiaopang would do every morning after waking up was to ask, "Mom, where’s dad? Why hasn’t dad come back yet?"

"If dad doesn’t come back soon, I’ll be all grown up!"

Gu Xiaobei was amused and helpless. She playfully pinched Xiaopang’s little nose and said, "You’re going to grow up in just a few days? Wait till spring arrives. When the peach blossoms in our yard bloom, dad will be back."

Xiaopang was disappointed and let out a sigh. When would the peach trees blossom?

In a blink of an eye, it was the end of April, and the peach trees in their yard were in full bloom.

Looking at the exuberant peach blossoms, Xiaopang burst into tears, "Mom, you lied to me! The peach blossoms have bloomed, and dad still hasn’t returned!"

Gu Xiaobei was also feeling bitter inside. Why was there still no news after so long? She had looked for Liu Hongbing many times, but all she got were ambiguous responses and claims of ignorance.

Xiaopang had transformed into a sentimental little girl, never having been separated from her father for such a long time. With a tearful voice, she asked, "Mom, does dad not want us anymore?"

Gu Xiaobei was somewhat taken aback, "How could that be? Dad is away on work. Once he finishes his work, he will be back."

With a pouted mouth, Xiaopang replied, "While we were coming back home from bathing yesterday, Erhu said that dad doesn’t want us anymore, that’s why he doesn’t come back home. But his dad comes home every day." And with that, tears flowed down her cheeks.

Gu Xiaobei was upset with Zhao Hongmei for always making such irresponsible comments in front of the children. After hearing her say those things, Erhu would run to Xiaopang and show off.

"Dad is catching the bad guys for us," affirmed Mo Wang, who was standing by, watching Xiaopang intently.

Gu Xiaobei nodded, "Yes, Dad wants us. He’s just been delayed and will be back a little late."

Despite the reassurance, Xiaopang was not very happy and didn’t want to go to the courtyard. Holding Lu Zhanguo’s clothes in her arms, she pouted and entered her room with teary eyes, clutched her father’s pillow and sobbing alone. She felt like she hadn’t seen dad for a very, very long time.

Gu Xiaobei sighed. Xiaopang has always been close to her father, and this separation of several months must have been hard for her.

Biting his lower lip, Mo Wang wrinkled his little brows in thought and finally said, "Dad is like a soldier. He’s on a mission to catch the people who kidnapped me last time."

Gu Xiaobei was surprised, "Mo Wang, the bad people who took you last time have already been caught. Don’t think too much," she quickly reassured him, scared that he would start fretting.

Shaking his head, Mo Wang, wise beyond his years, said, "It’s true. This is a secret between me and dad."

Gu Xiaobei was intrigued, "What secret that even mom can’t be told?"

Mo Wang shook his head even more vigorously, his mouth tightly shut, as if afraid he might accidentally blurt it out.

Seeing this, Gu Xiaobei patted Mo Wang’s little face and said, "Alright, mom won’t ask anymore. Shall we go check on your sister now?"

Gu Xiaobei had to put in a lot of effort to bring a smile to Xiaopang’s face:

Zhao Hongmei brought Erhu over to visit. Gu Xiaobei, not in the best of moods, allowed them inside with a rather indifferent attitude.

Zhao Hongmei asked curiously, "Still no news from Old Lu? Did something happen? Why hasn’t he written a single letter?"

Suppressing her anger, Gu Xiaobei retorted, "Why don’t you ask Commissar Zeng? He knows the situation better."

"His lips are as tight as a clam, I couldn’t get anything out of him. That’s why I’m asking you," said Zhao Hongmei awkwardly.

Gu Xiaobei didn’t hide her displeasure towards Zhao Hongmei, "You keep saying something has happened, have you not been spreading rumors around the compound, guessing what might have happened to Lu?"

Zhao Hongmei, oblivious to Gu Xiaobei’s sarcasm, whispered, "Everyone is saying that Old Lu made a serious mistake and was transferred to a border post. He won’t be back for at least three to five years." While saying this, she looked empathetically at Gu Xiaobei.

Gu Xiaobei, filled with laughter and anger, reckoned that Zhao Hongmei, having been in the army for considerable time now, surely knew better. With Lu Zhanguo’s position, if he made a serious mistake he’d be directly sent home, and if it were a minor mistake, just a warning would suffice. Being transferred to a border post seemed like a joke.

Zhao Hongmei clearly had more gossips to spill, but held back considering Gu Xiaobei’s sullen face.

Erhu went over and pulled Xiaopang’s braids. Xiaopang, not fond of Erhu in the first place, launched herself at him and slapped him across the face.

Wimpy Erhu covered his face and cried, "My mom said your dad is dead. Your dad will never come back. You don’t have a dad anymore, but you are still so fierce."

Not fully understanding the concept of death yet, Xiaopang burst into tears hearing she has no father and prepared to charge at Erhu.

Before Xiaopang could do anything, Mo Wang rushed forward, knocked Erhu down, and started delivering a flurry of slaps and scratches to his face. He took the job quite seriously, his face menacing and his actions fully committed.

Xiaopang, crying, clenched Erhu’s hand with her teeth. Her milk teeth were sharp and biting, she wished she could chomp off a piece of flesh.

Erhu was crying loudly in pain, constantly calling out for his mother.

The moment Erhu uttered the words ’My mom said your dad is dead,’ Gu Xiaobei’s anger reached its peak. Seeing Zhao Hongmei rushing over to pull Erhu away, Gu Xiaobei blocked her and said, "Who did you say is dead? Why can’t you watch your words for once? Aren’t you afraid of retribution?"

Zhao Hongmei, fretting over Erhu, blurted out anxiously, "I didn’t say it. I heard it from someone else!" At the sound of Erhu’s wailing, her heart was breaking. She tried to move Gu Xiaobei aside to get to Erhu.

"Who is that someone? You have to clear this up today," Gu Xiaobei insisted, determined to get to the bottom of the matter.

Driven to desperation, Zhao Hongmei protested, "I don’t know, I really don’t know. Everyone in the compound is saying it. You can ask them yourself."

Gu Xiaobei froze. If everyone in the compound is spreading the rumor, could something really have happened?

With her son crying his heart out, Zhao Hongmei quickly left for home, but not without saying, "It’s not me who said it. Everyone in the compound knows. If you have the guts, go shout at them."

Gu Xiaobei ignored Zhao Hongmei and stood still, dazed. Even though she knew it was false, she found herself unable to suppress her panic.

Xiaopang, clutching Gu Xiaobei’s leg, sobbed incessantly, "Mom, I want dad, I want dad."

Mo Wang, standing to the side, had red eyes. The tears that were welling up in his eyes eventually fell. He quickly wiped them away with his little hands.

Gu Xiaobei felt that being at home was only feeding her anxiety. She swiftly decided to take both the children to their courtyard, hoping to come up with some ideas together.

After changing both children’s clothes, she hurriedly led them back to their courtyard.

Upon entering the yard, Gu Xiaobei saw Wen Xiuqing gardening. She couldn’t hold her tears back and explained everything to her in a crying tone.

Confused and afraid, Wen Xiuqing dropped the hoe she was holding. Lu Songyuan, frowning, said, "Looks like Zhanguo has offended somebody."

"Even if he has offended somebody, how could they be so heartless and say such vicious things about us," said Wen Xiuqing, wiping her tears.

Seeing her grandma cry, Xiaopang wailed again.

Lu Songyuan tried to comfort them, "Don’t cry. Let’s discuss it when Xiangdong gets back."