Back To The 80s-Chapter 65 - 64: Initial Exposure - 1
On a Sunday morning, Gu Xiaobei really didn’t want to get up. It was too depressing, they were having a good conversation, but somehow it turned into a discussion about having a son.
After rolling around in bed a couple of times, he finally dragged himself out to find that Lu Zhanguo had already set breakfast on the table. Realizing that he had been incredibly slack lately, not cooking or washing dishes, he gave himself a mental reprimand before sitting down happily to eat breakfast.
Midway through the meal, there was a knock on the door. Xiaobei wondered who it could be so early in the morning. He heard Lu Zhanguo open the door and say, "Mom, you’re here."
It was indeed his stepmom whom he had not seen for a while. Gu Xiaobei looked at Chen Qiumei and asked curiously, "Mom, why are you here so early in the morning?"
Chen Qiumei glared at him, "Are you afraid of me eating your food? It’s been a long time, and you don’t even bother to visit your brother."
"Everyone is fine, there is nothing going on, what is there to see?" Gu Xiaobei muttered under his breath.
Lu Zhanguo poured a glass of water, placed it in front of Chen Qiumei, and then sat down next to Gu Xiaobei.
"Your father is coming this afternoon. I came to invite you for dinner tonight." Chen Qiumei announced enthusiastically.
Gu Xiaobei looked puzzled, "I thought my dad didn’t want to come? How come he suddenly agreed?"
Chen Qiumei boasted, "It was Liu Mei who took the initiative to invite your father over for a few days. Unlike you, you don’t even bother to visit home after you got married."
Gu Xiaobei kept silent, looking at Chen Qiumei who was enthusiastically talking, he suddenly felt like a saying he once heard was very true--when choosing a wife, look at the mother-in-law. If the mother’s character is not good, the children she educated can’t be good either..
Chen Qiumei is selfish, rude, prefers boys to girls, and her children turned out to be selfish and mercenary, her daughter is arrogant and wilful. Even her stepfather is a flatterer, obsessed with gaining personal benefits.
Chen Qiumei looked at Lu Zhanguo and continued, "Liu Mei treats me very well now. She buys me fabric or shoes from time to time. Look at you, I raised you for twenty years, and I haven’t even worn any clothes from you."
Gu Xiaobei rolled his eyes, but kept silent. He didn’t intend to buy anything for her, and there was no point in saying anything else.
Chen Qiumei looked around the room dismissively, "You haven’t even bought a fan, isn’t it so hot that people could die?"
"There are many people without fans, and nobody has died of heat." Gu Xiaobei replied, looking innocently.
"Look at you, you’re so useless." Chen Qiumei felt more and more that her son is better. "Alright, I still need to go grocery shopping. Don’t forget your father is coming this afternoon, and you two should come over for dinner."
"Okay, got it." Gu Xiaobei quickly got up to see Chen Qiumei off as soon as she heard she was leaving, earning another round of lecturing from her.
Gu Xiaobei sat against Lu Zhanguo on the sofa and said, "Why is my mom like this, you won’t make fun of me, right?"
"No, we really haven’t been back in a while. Let’s go out later and see if we need to buy anything for tonight." Lu Zhanguo suggested.
"I really don’t want to buy anything." Gu Xiaobei sighed deeply from the bottom of his heart.
Considering the impact of the hot weather in the afternoon, the two decided to go shopping in the morning, and visit Gu Xiaodong’s house in the afternoon when it was cooler, just in time to avoid the hottest part of the day.
Lu Zhanguo looked at the items Gu Xiaobei had purchased with some doubt, "Isn’t this a bit inappropriate? Why don’t we get mom a piece of fabric as well?"
"No need, what we have bought is the ’Sise gift’, they can’t complain." Gu Xiaobei had bought a bottle of sorghum liquor, two packets of sugar cubes, a chunk of brick tea, and a bag of egg cake, a total of less than five yuan. Gu Xiaobei felt slightly pained even at this small expense.
When they left the department store, they unexpectedly bumped into Liao Qing at the entrance. Liao Qing was holding her baby in one arm and a large cloth bag in the other, seemingly filled with many items.
Liao Qing glanced at her without saying anything, and hurried off with her baby. Gu Xiaobei found it strange and asked Lu Zhanguo, "Why is Liao Qing pretending not to know me?"
Lu Zhanguo remained silent. He had seen the fleeting panic in Liao Qing’s eyes, more like she was trying to avoid her.
At four in the afternoon, the two arrived at Gu Xiaodong’s house. Gu Xiaodong’s father, Gu Weimin, had already arrived and was sitting on the sofa chatting with Gu Xiaodong. Seeing Lu Zhanguo walked in, he warmly stood up and said, "Zhanguo is here, come and sit down, it’s hot outside." Gu Weimin’s speech still bore traces of the officialdom.
Lu Zhanguo called him "Dad" respectfully, then sat down on the single sofa opposite Gu Xiaodong, who only nodded at him without saying anything.
Gu Weimin, satisfied with Lu Zhanguo’s respectful actions, turned to Gu Xiaobei and said, "I heard from your mother that you have become estranged from the family after your marriage. This is not good, you should visit more often in the future, after all, this is still your parents’ home."
Thinking to herself, Gu Xiaobei silently scorned the idea of a father who starts lecturing his daughter as soon as he meets her. She indicated her understanding and moved a stool to sit next to Lu Zhanguo.
Seated on the three-seater sofa, Gu Wemin looked at his son and son-in-law, both with high military ranks, yet respectfully obedient to him, he felt extremely pleased. Turning to Lu Zhanguo with a gracious expression, he asked, "How have you been recently? Did anything come up in the recent military reshuffle?"
Lu Zhanguo frowned slightly and said, "I haven’t paid much attention to it, so I’m not sure."
"It’s good for young people to strive on their own, but sometimes, if there are resources that can be used, it’s worth utilizing them. You’re currently stationed in some remote outpost, it will be hard to have a promising future there. It would be better to seize the opportunity while your superior is still in office and arrange something for you." Gu Weimin urged with an air of superiority.
Although Lu Zhanguo was not thrilled, he didn’t show it and simply nodded slightly.
Chen Qiumei came out of the kitchen with a bunch of celery, saying to Gu Xiaobei, "You’re here and you don’t even offer to help in the kitchen. Your sister-in-law and I are sweating buckets in there."
Reluctantly, Gu Xiaobei got up and went into the kitchen. Seeing Liu Mei chopping vegetables, she greeted her politely, then asked, "Sister-in-law, what can I help with?"
"We’ve already prepared most of it, you can rest." Liu Mei glanced at her and responded indifferently.
Chen Qiumei was also standing by, picking celery leaves and said, "When do you and Lu Zhanguo plan to have children?"
Glancing at her, Gu Xiaobei replied, "We don’t have plans for a child yet."
Chen Qiumei lowered her voice and said, "I heard from your brother that his job is very dangerous. Are you really planning to spend your life with him?"
Gu Xiaobei was about to lose her temper and coldly retorted, "Let me go out and talk to my dad about it. If he agrees, I’ll divorce him tomorrow, okay?"
Chen Qiumei swiped at Gu Xiaobei with the celery and scolded, "You foolish girl, can’t you tell right from wrong? I’m saying this for your own good." Chen Qiumei knew very well about Gu Weimin’s fascination with the officialdom and admiration for Lu Zhanguo’s father. If he found out she was trying to push Gu Xiaobei to divorce, he’d probably divorce her first.
Liu Mei listened to the exchange silently from aside. She knew all too well what Chen Qiumei was like - impossible to please.
In the living room, the conversation was mostly dominated by Gu Weimin, he spoke on everything from the current situation to international affairs. Gu Xiaodong’s face was becoming increasingly annoyed. The phone suddenly rang, being closest to it, Gu Xiaodong casually picked it up and said "Hello,", paused for a moment without a word, until finally he uttered, "Alright, I got it," and hung up, his face somewhat grim.
