Back To The 80s-Chapter 93 - 92: Turbulence_1

Xiangmin, who was standing with her back toward the stairway, didn’t notice the arrival of Lu Zhanguo and others, she continued, "Every time you’ve seen me, you’ve had that sullen look on your face. Now, for no particular occasion, you’re cooking all this meat. If you say it’s not aimed at me, then who would believe it?"

"Had enough?" Gu Huaqiang, embarrassed by what he was hearing, couldn’t intervene, as his arrival was met with his wife behaving like a shrew, blasting off at Gu Xiaobei.

Xiangmin, taken off guard, turned around in confusion to see the unsightly expressions on her husband and Lu Zhanguo’s faces.

Only then did Gu Xiaobei notice them and she was barely able to stifle a laugh. What a golden opportunity!

She turned off the stove, walked over to Lu Zhanguo with a look of grievance and red-rimmed eyes, and said, "I honestly didn’t know my sister-in-law was pregnant and couldn’t stand the smell of meat. I made all this beef jerky today for Fengmei’s children to eat on their trip. They are taking the train the day after tomorrow, and as you know, there isn’t much to eat on the train, so bringing other food could spoil too easily."

Overhearing this, Gu Huaqiang looked even more upset. He glared furiously at Xiangmin. She got a fright and immediately fell silent, not knowing how to respond to Gu Xiaobei’s clever excuse.

Gu Xiaobei, with a pained look on her face, softly spoke: "I know everyone doesn’t like me very much. So, when I was making jerky today, I made a whole pot extra, thinking Fengmei could have the not-so-spicy ones for road, and the spicy ones could be shared among everyone. I never thought it would get misunderstood by my sister in-law." Tears welled up in her eyes, her voice filled with emotion.

The sympathies of the military wives immediately shifted towards Gu Xiaobei. After all, who would go out of their way to cook a large pot of meat just to cause others discomfort?

Lu Zhanguo was protective, and hearing that Xiangmin was at fault again, he patted Gu Xiaobei soothingly and gave Xiangmin a cold stare before heading back to the house.

Zhang Lijun had also developed resentment towards Xiangmin. And ultimately, it was Gu Xiaobei who had been wronged for the sake of his two kids. He, too, left with Li Fengmei without a word. Seeing this, the other military wives also left.

Gu Huaqiang, his face taut with anger, said, "How did you become so melodramatic?"

Xiangmin retorted angrily, "It’s clearly Gu Xiaobei’s act to win sympathy and you’re blaming me?"

"Enough. Don’t bring us more shame. Go inside," Gu Huaqiang scolded and entered the house.

Once they were alone, Lu Zhanguo turned to Gu Xiaobei, speaking softly: "Why didn’t you rebut when Xiangmin was accusing you? You usually are never at a loss for words."

"She’s pregnant, her mood swings are par for the course. I can’t stoop to her level." Gu Xiaobei thought: Xiangmin had really shot herself in the foot this time.

Seeing his wife being so understanding, Lu Zhanguo’s heart melted. He told her: "If you don’t want to connect with her, you don’t have to."

Gu Xiaobei nodded. This time, she was completely done with Xiangmin.

That night, every household in the compound received a small plate of beef jerky. After packing a jar for Li Fengmei, Gu Xiaobei looked at the small amount of beef jerky left for herself and started to feel stingy again.

She had originally thought she made extra and could stash some away as a snack. Little did she know her offhand remark meant she had to distribute all of it.

In the middle of the night, Gu Xiaobei woke up feeling restless and annoyed. What could possibly be making her so frustrated?

"What’s wrong?" Lu Zhanguo, rudely awakened, asked Gu Xiaobei who was tossing and turning.

"I’m annoyed!" Gu Xiaobei scratched her head and decided to get up. "I’ll wash my face and also use the bathroom. You go back to sleep."

Gu Xiaobei climbed over Lu Zhanguo to reach the ground. Lu Zhanguo quickly got up, saying, "I’ll go with you."

"No need. I will be right back." With a roll of toilet paper in hand, Gu Xiaobei made her way out.

The bathrooms were in the farthest corner of the corridor, next to the water room. Women’s bathroom was on the second floor, men’s on the first floor.

Gu Xiaobei went into the bathroom, and as soon as she squatted down, she felt a rush of warm fluid. Damn! Her period had started. She was even more frustrated now. She wasn’t pregnant.

Exiting the bathroom, she saw Lu Zhanguo waiting for her. Rolling her eyes at him, she walked past.

"What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?" Lu Zhanguo asked worriedly in a low voice.

Gu Xiaobei went into the room without a word. Once inside, she turned to Lu Zhanguo and said, "You wait here."

Sighing, she neatly folded her sanitary pad, only then opening the door to let Lu Zhanguo in.

Lu Zhanguo had a worried expression on his face as he took Gu Xiaobei by the hands and helped her sit at the edge of the bed, asking, "What’s wrong?"

Gu Xiaobei glanced at him and said ruefully, "I’m not pregnant. Seems like you didn’t work hard enough."

Lu Zhanguo was taken aback. He stroked her head and said, "It’s not been that long since we started trying, take it easy."

Gu Xiaobei snorted, "Then how come the first time round it happened so instantly?" There was a tinge of resentful sourness in Gu Xiaobei’s voice. Not to mention, back then it wasn’t even her, so she was jealous, very jealous! Excuse her for having premenstrual syndrome.

Lu Zhanguo didn’t know how to react. He put an arm around Gu Xiaobei’s shoulder and said seriously, "How about I try harder every day until you get pregnant, alright?"

"In your dreams," Gu Xiaobei laughed. How could he make it sound like a serious matter! Gu Xiaobei quickly got over it.

Remembering that she had to make sesame pancakes for Li Fengmei the next day, she said to Lu Zhanguo, "Wake me up when you leave in the morning. I have to make sesame pancakes for Fengmei’s family."

Lu Zhanguo gave a nod of agreement and pulled her down to lay beside him, "Go to sleep. Make fewer if it’s too tiring. Don’t exhaust yourself."

"Okay, it’s not a big deal, just some pancakes." Gu Xiaobei said, her words slightly slurred as she was falling asleep.

The next morning Li Fengmei came with eggs, flour, cooking oil, and sesame seeds.

Gu Xiaobei was surprised and asked, "Why did you bring all this? You’re too kind."

Without batting an eyes, Li Fengmei replied, "I can’t let you tire yourself out and also provide the ingredients." She then thought for a moment and added, "And about yesterday, I am still feeling guilty. You were wronged for no reason."

"It’s nothing, I didn’t take it to heart" Gu Xiaobei thought to herself that she bet Xiangmin took it more to heart than she did.

The two women quickly began making the pancakes — one rolled the dough, the other cooked it.

"Sister Xiaobei..." Gu Xiaobei, who was rolling the pancake dough, looked up to see Liu Cuicui standing at the opened door.

"Cuicui, why did you suddenly come over? Come in and take a seat." Gu Xiaobei still had a soft spot for Cuicui, the good-natured and straightforward girl. She was just a bit too timid for her taste.

Liu Cuicui, looking a bit shy, walked in and sat down on a stool.

"Why haven’t you gone back to T City yet?" Gu Xiaobei was slightly confused.

"My in-laws haven’t left yet, I’ve been staying at the guest house these past few days." Liu Cuicui explained helplessly.

"What did you all decide? Staying here, or going back with your mother-in-law?"

"I want to stay here. But my father-in-law said if we stay, we need to send them twenty dollars every month." Liu Cuicui said in a grieved voice.

On hearing this, Gu Xiaobei thought that twenty dollars was indeed a bit much. However, Li Hao now makes three hundred a month, doesn’t he? It shouldn’t be a problem for them. She couldn’t help but ask, "Did Li Hao agree? With his current salary, you guys should be able to afford twenty dollars."

Liu Cuicui’s eyes started tearing up, "During Li Hao’s recent trip out, he didn’t bring back a single penny, in fact, he even took my thirty dollars savings. Where in the world are we going to get the money?"

"Where did the money go?" Gu Xiaobei was puzzled.