Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 340 - 328: Second Follow-up Update (Part)

The next day happened to be the weekend. Li Xianglu didn’t get up, she went to the bathroom and then nestled in bed, watching Ba Yi still deep in sleep. She felt a dull pain in her heart. This was her child, the one she carried for ten months, who had to be cut out from her belly. That her child had suffered so much hurt, it would be a lie to say she didn’t feel distressed.

At eight in the morning, Su Yan came to check in out of concern. Seeing that both children were in deep sleep, she asked about Ba Yi’s hand injury and if it was severe. Assured that it was indeed nothing serious, she then left.

Breakfast was buns. Li Xianglu, who had skipped dinner, felt her stomach growling when Qin Xi brought in the buns and porridge. She reached out, took a bun, and bit into it—pork with green onion. She finished off a fist-sized bun in three or four bites. Qin Xi, seeing this, hurriedly brought over the porridge, which had cooled a bit, and urged her to take a few sips.

Just as the two of them were about to talk, they heard some whimpering sounds. Li Xianglu turned her head and saw Ba’er crawling out of bed, his eyes groggy, looking at the porridge in his dad’s hand.

Li Xianglu was somewhat amused. She peered inside to see that Ba Yi was still sleeping, so she picked up her son to take him to the bathroom to pee, and after cleaning his hands and face, she put him in the dining chair.

Ba’er took a sip of porridge, then peeked curiously at the bed and called out "Brother".

Li Xianglu tore off a piece of meat-filled bun, cooled it, and fed it to him before saying, "Brother is tired, he’s sleeping. You must be good, little brother."

Ba’er ate fast. After a few chews, he gulped it down and promptly nodded, "Little brother good."

One’s own child will always seem unbearably adorable—watching her youngest son not fuss and assert that he would be good, Li Xianglu’s heart instantly melted.

While the three were eating, they heard a whining and whimpering from the bed. Li Xianglu hurriedly put down what she was holding and ran to the bedside. Ba Yi was squinting, looking around in all directions. As soon as he saw Li Xianglu, he called out for his mother loudly, his voice carrying a crying tone, sounding so aggrieved, a stark contrast to his usually well-behaved demeanor.

Li Xianglu quickly picked up Ba Yi, kissed the little bruised face of her son, and after comforting him for a while to stop his crying, she took him to the bathroom. After cleaning him up, it was time for the family of four to eat.

The two children had a bun each and some porridge, then started to play and make a ruckus. Seeing this, Li Xianglu knew the boys must be full, so the couple hurriedly sped up their eating.

Throughout the entire day, Li Xianglu realized that Ba Yi was still shaken. He was usually the most well-behaved and sensible child, but today it was strange; he just wanted to cling to her. In the past, if Ba’er was making a fuss, he would make space and let mom hold his little brother, but not today. When Ba’er fussed, he would burrow his head into Li Xianglu’s embrace, showing no intention of leaving her side.

This made Li Xianglu’s heart ache even more.

So she did nothing all day, simply playing with the two kids in the house. In the heat of the midday sun, she took the little ones and grandpa out to the yard to hoe weeds and tidy up the vegetable garden behind the house.

The Sunday one day later, Xu Wu arrived. Although Ba Yi liked this little uncle, he was still unwilling to stray too far from his mother. Even playing with him had to be in a way that allowed Ba Yi to glance up and see mom.

Su Yan sighed and said, "The child is losing trust in those around him. Old Ma came when the children were only two months old, and now he almost lost them. It’s no wonder Ba Yi doesn’t trust anyone around him now."

Li Xianglu also realized this. Children are the most sensitive, she thought. But she was about to start work again—what was she to do? 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

That evening, after dealing with Ma Guihua’s matters, Qin Xi and Xu Wu came back. Qin Xi felt endless heartache listening to Li Xianglu talk about the children’s condition. Xu Wu, holding Ba Yi—who did not want to sleep even at ten o’clock—also looked disheartened, understanding all too well the feeling of insecurity.

After some thought, Qin Xi said, "Around July, I’m planning to go work at the grassroots level. You can take the kids with you, and maybe you can take a break for half a year before starting work again, how does that sound?"

Li Xianglu was stunned for a moment, "Go to the grassroots, and do what?"

Qin Xi sat down, took her hands in his, and said, "Still in the bank. The only bank in the county, though it has much less business than here in the capital."

Li Xianglu felt that this arrangement might not be bad. She could just take a break for about half a year, then start work there in winter. But why so suddenly?

Qin Xi sighed and explained, "I originally planned to stay in the secretary department for three years before moving on, but grandpa saw a good opportunity and suggested I go earlier, rather than wait and lose the chance."