Chapter 292: “out Of Moves”
“Sister-in-law, what do you do? You’re really brave.” Lin Zhao was somewhat admiring. To dare to be with a man who mixes with the underworld, her heart must be incredibly strong.
“I do clothing manufacturing.” Gu Chenghuai said, “Cheongsams and various dresses.”
Lin Zhao: “??”
“How did two people like that get together?” she asked with great interest.
“Hero saves the beauty.” Gu Chenghuai told his wife everything. Besides, he knew Old Han didn’t mind and actually liked telling people about his past events.
“Tell me in detail.” Lin Zhao clung to Gu Chenghuai’s arm.
“Old Han’s wife’s family background was good. She could have married someone of equal social status, but because of some matters, her reputation was damaged. Her parents sent her away, and unexpectedly she encountered bandits on the road, just happening to be met by Old Han…” Gu Chenghuai slowly recounted.
Lin Zhao’s eyes lit up. It was nice to hear, and she loved listening.
“What happened later?” she asked eagerly.
Gu Chenghuai chuckled, “Later, feelings developed during their time together, and the two got married.”
Of course, there were all sorts of hardships in between.
Old Han looked like the eldest son, but he was actually very talkative, especially to people he trusted. He spoke without any guard.
These years, he had inherited his family’s cooking skills, occasionally entertaining acquaintances, living a very comfortable life, completely unlike a dangerous figure who engaged in fights and killings.
Lin Zhao looked around and curiously asked, “Where’s the female master of this house? Why haven’t I seen her?!”
“Sister-in-law’s body isn’t well. Even I’ve only seen her twice.” Gu Chenghuai said, “When there’s an opportunity, I’ll introduce you to know each other.”
Lin Zhao was very expectant, “Great.”
She was very interested in this family’s female master’s eventful life. Once they got familiar, she could know, right.
Heng Bao moved his stool closer to Gu Chenghuai, “Father, why is that child’s hair shaved so clean?”
“Why are you asking so much? What does it have to do with you.” Gu Chenghuai was too lazy to deal with his son’s overly exuberant curiosity. “Go drink your water.”
Heng Bao puffed up his cheeks and let out a soft hum, looking toward Lin Zhao, “Mother, I want to drink your tea.”
“Don’t you have some?” Lin Zhao poked her son’s head away with one finger.
“It’s not the same as yours.” Heng Bao grinned cheekily, his little hand reaching for Lin Zhao’s tea cup.
His hand was gently slapped away by Lin Zhao.
“Go drink your red date water. Little friends can’t drink tea.”
Lin Zhao tasted the water that the little friends were drinking. It was also very delicious, with a faint date fragrance. Let’s call it red date water for now.
Heng Bao argued reasonably, “Mother tasted my water, so I want to taste yours too.”
Before his mother could speak, Gu Chenghuai snorted lightly, “Settling accounts with my wife?”
Upon meeting Father’s half-smiling eyes, alarm bells rang in Heng Bao’s mind. The child’s brain turned quickly, and he hurriedly said: “No, how could I? I’m the cub born by my mother. I wouldn’t settle accounts with my mother, not even once in a lifetime.”
Yu Bao put down his tea cup, his brows and eyes serious, “If we really have to settle, we can never repay what we owe Mother, because Mother put in tremendous strength to give birth to us.”
He could say such words because it was Gu Mu’s masterpiece. When the twins were only one or two years old, she would say in their ears… Your mother had a hard time giving birth to you. She was so thin, carrying such a big belly through ten months of pregnancy. It was real suffering.
So the twins knew from a very young age that it wasn’t easy for Mother to give birth to them. They had to be filial to Mother.
It had to be said that Gu Mu’s indoctrination was very successful.
It was also good that she had no malice. Everything she said and did was for the harmony of her son’s family.
It was the first time Lin Zhao heard Yu Bao express such views. She was slightly surprised and called Yu Bao over, placing her hands on his tender little shoulders.
“Why do you think that way?” Her tone rose, the astonishment in her eyes unable to be concealed. “Whether it’s you or Heng Bao, or even Qian Bao and Yao Bao, none of you owe me anything. You are my children, the crystallization of love between me and your father. With you, our family is complete. Your father and I made full preparations for your arrival and were full of expectation. So there’s no owing or not owing. Got it, cubs?”
She spoke patiently and gently, guiding step by step, wanting to correct her son’s deviated cognition.
Before the twins could react, Gu Chenghuai’s heart skipped a beat, his mouth corners unconsciously curving up, hooked into a smile by Lin Zhao’s phrase “crystallization of love.”
The curve of his mouth didn’t fade for a long time.
Yu Bao met Mother’s gentle eyes, his face hot, his eyes bright like summer night stars. He couldn’t hear clearly what she was saying.
“Mm-hmm.” He nodded dazedly.
Mao Dan’er could tell at a glance that Yu Bao was dazed and couldn’t help laughing.
Savoring Lin Zhao’s words, the little youth lowered his head and actually thought of his mother.
His mother had said similar words before. She said… There was no one owing the other between her and his father.
She had known early on that the man she married had great ambitions, with eyes and heart full of national righteousness. Marrying him was her choice, giving birth to children for him and taking care of his parents was also her choice. She had no regrets and would wait and wait for him to return, until she could wait no longer.
The reason Mao Dan’er forgave his biological father who hadn’t been home for many years so quickly was because he had a open-minded and kind mother.
When he was young and ignorant, she taught him a crucial lesson.
Hearing Lin Zhao’s words, his mother’s voice and smiling face appeared in Mao Dan’er’s mind. The little youth with his head down gradually had wet eyes.
He missed his mother.
Heng Bao finally drank Lin Zhao’s tea water. Not only did he drink it himself, he also let his brother and Jing Mo and the others taste it. Everyone took a sip, and the little friends were extremely satisfied.
“Now you’re happy, right? Don’t bother me anymore.” Lin Zhao patted Heng Bao’s little head.
“Mother is so good.” Heng Bao snuggled beside her acting spoiled.
“Sit properly. Didn’t you say your legs hurt from walking before? Don’t your legs hurt standing?” Lin Zhao countered.
“They hurt.” Heng Bao sat back, raising his fist to thump his own legs.
“Mother, are you tired? I’ll thump for you…” He leaned toward Lin Zhao, his little fist landing on her leg with just the right force.
Gu Chenghuai gave his son an approving look.
And praised: “Not bad.”
The little friend’s eyes lit up instantly, even more enthusiastic, “I can thump with both hands.”
Yu Bao walked behind Lin Zhao and thumped her shoulders. His voice carried the clear brightness unique to little boys, “Mother, if it’s too heavy, tell me. I’ll do it lighter.”
“Good.” Lin Zhao said softly.
She secretly gave Gu Chenghuai a thumbs up. Impressive, two words made the two sons compete!
Gu Chenghuai smiled. Filial sons must be cultivated from a young age.
His sons—he wouldn’t allow any lack of respect toward his wife.
Seeing Yu Bao and Heng Bao, Xiao Bai followed suit. Jing Mo looked embarrassed, a bit at a loss.
Mao Dan’er: Should he stand at the door?
“Going to the outhouse?” Mao Dan’er asked Jing Mo softly.
Jing Mo nodded several times, “Yes, yes, go.”
The two children held hands and slipped away to pee.
Heng Bao was busy with his hands, but his gossip heart wasn’t dead yet. He asked, “Father, what about that younger brother?”
“…Younger brother?” Gu Chenghuai said in a breathy voice, his expression inscrutable.
“That’s a sister, not a younger brother.” he said.
Lin Zhao’s eyes widened slightly, “It’s a girl. I knew it… felt weird.”
Her temperament was straightforward and generous, yet she looked exceptionally delicate and pretty, like a little girl. Unexpectedly, she really was a girl.
“The little girl’s temperament is pretty good. I like it.”
Gu Chenghuai: “With her dad’s personality, it’s normal to raise a girl with that character.”
Lin Zhao thought yes.
Heng Bao widened his eyes and said loudly: “That’s a younger brother, not a sister. Sisters have hair, younger brothers don’t. Father is lying.”
Gu Chenghuai wanted to laugh speechlessly, “…”
For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
How to prove to a six-year-old little friend that a child without hair could also be a girl?
He looked at his wife, indicating he was out of ideas.
Lin Zhao gave the man a “watch me” expression and said to her son: “Boys can also grow long hair, and girls can have short hair too. If one day I cut my hair short, would I no longer be your mother?”
She tossed the question to her son.
Heng Bao shook his head hurriedly, “No way! Mother is Mother! Even without hair, she’s Mother!”
Lin Zhao inexplicably felt heartbroken.
You don’t have hair!
Her hair was thick.
“So, you have to call that child Juan’er sister, not younger brother.”
Yu Bao said first: “Got it, Juan’er sister, not Juan’er brother.”
Lin Zhao praised him for being good.
The oiled paper behind the wooden rack to the left front moved, and a small figure disappeared.
The delicate and pretty bald little girl went to the backyard and entered an antique-style room.
“Mother.”
The woman was sitting on the bed looking at the sky through the window. Only when her daughter called her did she come back to her senses. She lowered her eyes, her gaze clear and cold, but when it fell on the little girl, it showed a bit of gentleness.
This was a woman of outstanding temperament, with poetic grace.
“Why are you here? Didn’t you say you had to entertain guests?”
Juan’er sat on the bed’s edge, hands on her knees, “I poured tea. Afraid Mother was bored, so I came to keep you company. There are so many people in the front yard, no need for me.”
The woman looked at her daughter with heartache, “Didn’t you say there were peers your age? Why not play with them? Go play. I don’t need company.”
“I’m not going. That twin’s younger brother asked why I have no hair. So annoying.” Juan’er pouted unhappily.
She didn’t show it in front of guests, but in front of her biological mother, she didn’t hide her little temper at all.
“Little friends have no malice. He was just curious. If you don’t want to say, don’t say. Don’t be upset.” The woman patiently advised her daughter.
Her fingertip touched Juan’er’s bald head, an indescribable guilt in her heart.
“Okay, I’m not angry anymore.” Juan’er scratched her scalp and was coaxed good right away.
“Mother, do you need me to help with anything?”
Hearing this, the woman on the bed immediately understood her daughter’s intentions.
She smiled, “No need. Go play.”
Juan’er suppressed the excitement in her eyes, pretending to be calm, putting on the air of a little host, “I’m not playing. I’ll go help Father greet the guests.”
“Good, good, good. You greet the guests.” The woman followed her words. “You have a good impression of the few children who came today?”
Juan’er tapped her toes on the ground silently. After a good while, she said: “They’re not annoying.”
They asked about her hair out of curiosity, not mockery.
“Uncle Gu’s children won’t have bad temperaments.” the woman said.
Gu Chenghuai was also her savior. She kept it in her heart.
“Juan’er, help Mother get the cosmetic box.”
Juan’er hugged the cosmetic box wooden chest that was taller and heavier than her without a word and brought it to the bed’s side.
Though small, her strength followed her father’s, very great.
Chef Han took a few things from the wooden chest and handed them to her daughter, “Give this to Uncle Gu’s wife for me. You know what to say, right?”
The little girl took the things, “I know. Mother, don’t worry.”
Juan’er brought the things to the front yard and generously gave them to Lin Zhao.
“Aunt Lin, this is the meeting gift my mother asked me to bring you. Please accept it. My mother can’t be exposed to wind and can’t go out. Hope you understand. I’ll greet you well on behalf of my mother and father.”
The little girl spoke prim and proper, revealing good upbringing.
Lin Zhao was slightly stunned. She didn’t expect this family’s female master to be so particular. No wonder she was from a prominent family.
“…It’s fine. We understand. Thank your mother for me.”
She took out a beautiful agate bracelet from her shoulder bag—actually a storage ring—and put it on the little girl’s wrist.
“Your mother gave us a gift, so I’ll give you one.”
Juan’er’s eyes showed surprise, “Elders’ gifts cannot be refused. I’ll accept it. Thank you, Aunt Lin. You and Uncle Gu are both good people. I like you.”
This good person card.
Seeing the little girl’s sincere eyes, Lin Zhao accepted her liking.
Juan’er loved the bracelet Aunt Lin gave her very much and happily ran into the kitchen to show it off.
“Father, look at my bracelet.”
The bright red bracelet on the little girl’s fair wrist made her arm look even whiter.
Chef Han glanced at it and said, “If you like it, wear it.”
Juan’er pouted, “Never mind. If someone sees it, it’d be like mud falling into the crotch—not shit but still shit.”
Chef Han’s expression changed slightly, “Daughter, don’t say that in front of your mother, or your father will be in big trouble.”
His wife was a fairy-like figure. If such words reached her ears, he felt it was blasphemous.
“I’ll not say it if you let me eat lychee meat.” The little girl made a request.
Chef Han: “…Talk about it another day.”
The little rascal who wouldn’t let go of the rabbit before scattering the eagle.
Juan’er hummed a tune out of the kitchen.
After a few steps, she bumped into the twins.
“What are you doing here? The kitchen is a restricted area. No idlers allowed.” The little girl hugged her chest, chin held high.
Heng Bao said, “We’re not idlers. We’re guests. Uncle Han said we can go anywhere.”
Juan’er thought about it and agreed. She didn’t block them anymore and said nicely: “My father doesn’t like people watching him cook. Let’s wait outside.”
“Good.” Yu Bao didn’t like forcing people and agreed.
Heng Bao shrugged his nose, “Juan’er sister, your father cooks so fragrantly.”
Juan’er was immensely proud, “My grandfather cooks even more fragrantly.”
“What have you eaten?” Heng Bao asked greedily for food, wanting to know clearly so Lin Zhao could make it for them when they got back.
Juan’er was stumped, touched her bald head, and said awkwardly: “I haven’t eaten it. My father said so.”
Before Heng Bao could say something unpleasant, Yu Bao said: “Juan’er sister, did your mother make the handkerchiefs you gave us? There are flowers on them, so pretty.”
Hearing this, the girl beamed with joy, “That’s nothing. My mother can make anything.”
Thinking of her own pretty skirt that she couldn’t wear out, little Juan’er felt it was such a pity.
