The Reborn Sidekick Rejected The Male Lead-Chapter 49 - The Two Unexpected Visitors
Chapter 49: Chapter 49: The Two Unexpected Visitors
Chapter 49 -49: The Two Unexpected Visitors
The Gao Shu’s home had a courtyard alone that spanned fifty square meters, plus another thirty-something square meters in the back yard, three rooms, and an outdoor kitchen.
Xia Lin knew that in another seven or eight years, there would be a demolition, and at that time, housing would be allocated based on area and population. Although it wasn’t like later demolitions where several homes could be allotted, and the resettlement housing wouldn’t be in the city center, of course, at the time that felt far, but not so later—it would be smack in the center of the city. There would be another demolition later on, when one house turned into three.
It was a pity that by then, she had already divorced Gao Shu.
Her two children ended up with the houses; she was to provide for herself in her old age, the place her son had arranged for her was there. Thinking of her two sons from her ‘previous life’, Xia Lin’s face faltered.
“Ah Shu, that house next to us seems empty too, whose is it?”
Gao Shu shook his head, “I don’t remember now, I only remember when I was little their courtyard had a fragrant osmanthus tree and a tangerine tree heavy with fruit. It was a couple of old traditional Chinese medicine doctors who lived there. I haven’t been here in many years, so I don’t know where they’ve moved to.
They had two children, they most likely moved to be with them.”
“Oh…” Xia Lin mused thoughtfully, considering how to find someone to buy that house.
Of course, this was just a plan; although she had bought some clothes back in her hometown, she didn’t save much money—only five to six hundred yuan.
According to the current prices, it would be worth two to three thousand yuan. Even though the house was uninhabited, it was well-constructed, and from their vantage point, it could be seen that the house was deeper than theirs.
Two to three thousand? For her, it would take just two to three months to earn that back.
Zhuang Yan, that fool, to think she had asked him to help with selling goods, and even had him bring back a batch of cloth for her. Yet he had somehow got involved with cotton. Cotton is so soft that it is easy to tell when it is being transported. She couldn’t count on him now, but it was a good thing he was locked up, saving her the trouble.
Now in the big city, she wasn’t worried about not being able to sell her clothes.
Once settled here, she planned to investigate the local fabric factories. It would be even better if she could buy a sewing machine.
The main reason for choosing to move out was to make it easier for her to make money.
The school Gao Shu applied to was far from here; he wouldn’t be able to come back in the evenings, but she could.
…
By March, the admission notices had started to arrive, and the compound had its fair share of students who had applied for schools.
Some were overjoyed, others disheartened.
Yet for Gao Shu and Xia Lin, the couple both got into university. Gao Shu was admitted to West City University of Political Science and Law, and Xia Lin to West City Normal University.
When Lu Jingqiu heard Aunt Cuihua spreading the news, her heart was both shocked and surprised, somewhat incredulous she asked, “Aunt Cuihua, are you saying that Xia Lin really got into university?”
Aunt Cuihua replied, “Indeed, she is a capable wife. She followed Gao Shu and also got into university. Now the Gao Family is beyond pleased. Tell me, how does Gao Shu have such good judgment, to have found such a good wife to bring home.”
Lu Jingqiu inwardly rolled her eyes, wondering who it was that had previously said that Gao Shu married someone from a rural background.
She felt her rebirth had created a butterfly effect. In this life, not only did Xia Lin not get pregnant, but she also got into university and even proactively moved into Gao Shu’s old family home.
With a cloud of doubt in her heart, she observed the happenings in the compound these past days.
Some families whose children had gotten into university had even hosted meals for relatives and friends.
Big Uncle Gao had a couple of tables arranged, and dad had gone over. She wasn’t too keen on participating, on Xia Lin and Gao Shu’s business.
…
As the university admission notices were arriving one after the other, many of the students began preparing for their return to school for registration.
Lu Jingqiu’s days were rather leisurely. Today was Sunday, with the weather gradually warming up, it was now possible to shed the heavy coats and wear something lighter. She was wearing the trench coat her mother had bought her today, with a thick half-skirt made from the grey-white checkered fabric underneath. She had moved a chair out into the yard and sat basking in the sun with Hua Hua.
Xiao Shun and Xiao Yin showed up with two young hens in their arms.
“Sister Xiao Qiu, these are the chicks my mom prepared for you.”
Lu Jingqiu, seeing the two well-favored chicks, was overjoyed and hurriedly asked Xiao Shun to put them in the wooden cage dad had prepared.
“What do they eat?”
“Bugs, leftover vegetables, and food. When we’re free, Xiao Yin and I dig up earthworms in the yard for our chickens.”
Lu Jingqiu, somewhat troubled, asked, “Ah, then can I join you in digging when I have the time?”
Xiao Yin replied, “Sister Xiao Qiu, we’ll help you out.”
“Okay, how about Sunday?”
Xiao Shun said, “No problem.”
Knowing that Aunt Liu wouldn’t take her money, Lu Jingqiu purposely got a one-kilogram meat coupon from inside the house and half a kilo of brown sugar, along with four large White Rabbit milk candies, and gave them to Xiao Shun.
Xiao Shun chuckled and accepted them eagerly, running off with Xiao Yin, and called out as they went, “Sister Xiao Qiu, I’ll bring some worms to your house tonight.”
“Great, I’ll be waiting,” she said.
Lu Jingqiu, feeling quite pleased, settled back down in her chair, picked up her brush, occasionally stroking Hua Hua and making a few strokes on the paper now and then.
Because Lu Jingqiu had seen an ad in West City Daily News calling for illustrations for Arbor Day.
Lu Jingqiu was busy composing her drawing.
Thus passed a leisurely afternoon, barely starting to relish it fully when suddenly, dad brought over two guests.
The two people following Dad startled Jingqiu so much that her hand slipped, ruining what she had just drawn.
“Comrade Lih?”
She stood up in a flurry, hastily greeting him, and of course, she also saw the man standing behind her father.
She just didn’t know how to address him.
“Qiuqiu, let me introduce you. This is Jiang Nanzhou, and this is Lih Huakun, whom you’ve met in Capital City. We owe them a great deal for helping out when your mom was hospitalized there,” Dad introduced.
“So, you’re Comrade Jiang Nanzhou? What a coincidence.”
Lu Xianrun was taken aback and looked at Jiang Nanzhou behind him, then back at his daughter. “You know each other?”
“Yes, Comrade Jiang Nanzhou acted heroically just the other day, and I happened to be there.”
“Oh, I see, as a soldier, that’s to be expected. Qiuqiu, Dad plans to have our guests stay for dinner today. Check what we have at home and start preparing.”
“Of course, I was actually planning to invite you both for a meal at the hospital earlier. An unexpected pleasure to meet here today, please come in and make yourselves comfortable.”
Jiang Nanzhou pressed his lips into a smile and nodded at Jingqiu.
Lih Huakun stepped forward with a smile, “Comrade Lu will have plenty of opportunities in the future. We have both been transferred to West City, close to your station.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Lu Xianrun chatted with the two in the living room, while Jingqiu was busy in the kitchen.
Luckily, her aunt had brought her a piece of meat yesterday.
There were also dried vegetables and mushrooms at home.
While cooking, Jingqiu’s thoughts drifted to other matters. She carefully recalled and realized that in her previous life, she never encountered these two men, nor did Dad know them.
No, Dad knew Jiang Nanzhou’s grandfather, so he must have known Jiang Nanzhou as well, but in her previous life, Jiang Nanzhou didn’t seem to be in this military region.
Perhaps… it was after Dad was transferred? Or maybe, it was during those ten years she spent in the sanatorium.
Her return from the dead had changed many things, particularly the people and events around her.
Like Gao Shu and Xia Lin, for instance.
Although she felt uneasy about these changes, her life remained largely unaffected.
Jingqiu made a mushroom rice noodle soup, a dish of twice-cooked pork, and a plate of scrambled eggs.
“I apologize for the hasty meal, I hope you don’t mind,” she said.
Jiang Nanzhou looked at the full plate of meat and said, “This is very good.”
Lih Huakun commented with a laugh, “I didn’t expect Comrade Lu to be such a good cook, it smells delicious.”
“I learned it all from my aunt, she’s a head chef at a state-owned restaurant.”
Lih Huakun praised her, “Impressive.”
Lu Xianrun urged the others to eat, “We’ll have plenty of time in the future, Uncle Lu welcomes you to visit us often.”
“Dad, would you like some wine today? Shall I stir-fry some peanuts?” Jingqiu asked.
Before she finished speaking, Jiang Nanzhou hurriedly said, “No wine, we still have things to attend to later.”
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Seeing this, Jingqiu took her seat and began serving them with the serving chopsticks, “Then please eat, don’t be shy. Thank you for your help when we were in Capital City.”
Jiang Nanzhou looked at the meat and eggs being served to him and felt a bit embarrassed. “It’s the least we could do.”
Visiting others, they rarely had the luxury of eating meat and eggs so freely.
Jingqiu’s hospitality was palpable.
Most of the dinner conversation revolved around work, and Jingqiu didn’t feel it was her place to interject, so she ate quietly, listening in and learning through their discussions that Jiang Nanzhou had started at a company commander’s rank upon his appointment.
Jingqiu expressed her astonishment, “Comrade Jiang looks so young, yet so accomplished.”
Lih Huakun chuckled, “Jiang Nanzhou has been a soldier for eight years. He was recommended by his unit to attend college for two years and has just been transferred here. But this fellow is also not so young—he’s already twenty-six and still unmarried.”
Jiang Nanzhou shot a look at Lih Huakun and corrected, “Don’t listen to his nonsense, I’m only twenty-five.”
“Twenty-five, eh?” Not too young—in this era, it’s considered rather late to be unmarried. But he is quite attractive—goodness, if he were in a later time, he’d definitely be celebrity material.
As the topic turned to age, Lu Xianrun shared stories from when he was twenty-five. By then, he’d been married for three years, even though he hadn’t had his Qiuqiu yet: “Your generation is different from ours; none of you seem in a rush to marry. Quite a few young men in our unit are just waiting to build their careers. I was talking to the political commissar about this; maybe it’s time we arrange a mixer for you all.”
“Dad, working on a career is good, isn’t it? With a career comes money, and with money, the family becomes stable, and with stability comes happiness.”
Taken aback by her words, Lu Xianrun caught on to something, “What kind of thinking is that? Where did you read it?”
“Our unit is full of intellectuals.”
“Men can focus on their careers, women don’t have to. Just the other day, your aunt mentioned that one of her colleagues has a son working at the electric motor factory; he’s a decent guy. She thought you two should…” It hadn’t even been a year since Mom passed away; there was no rush, but still, it was worth considering a meeting.
“Dad, you’ve finished eating, right? I’ll clear up now,” Jingqiu cursed inwardly for her momentary indiscretion and, before Lu Xianrun could finish, she scooped up the dishes around her and dashed to the kitchen.
