Chapter 297: Chapter 297: Turmoil at the New Year’s Eve Dinner

Chen Ershu nodded, then took out a few pieces of cake and handed them out for everyone to try, making sure not to leave out the two children.

“These are mung bean cakes and red date foxnut cakes my wife made. You should all try them—they’re delicious.”

Gu Qinghuan tasted a piece of the mung bean cake and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. The flavor was a bit lighter than the pastries Aunt Xu made, but that allowed the natural taste of the ingredients to come through.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t like overly sweet desserts, so this was just right for her, though it might not suit the current popular taste.

Nowadays, people seemed to think the sweeter, the better.

She glanced at their stall and noticed they hadn’t sold much, probably because the cakes weren’t sweet enough.

“What are you hoping to trade for this time?” she asked.

Chen Ershu scratched his head. “We’re not picky, really. The main thing is we want to trade for things to prepare for the baby. We’re short on everything.”

As it happened, Gu Qinghuan had brought fabric and ration tickets, both of which they could use.

“How about I trade you some cloth and tickets for your cakes?”

Chen Ershu was overjoyed and immediately agreed.

At market value, Gu Qinghuan exchanged the cloth and tickets she’d brought for all the pastries they had.

The young couple thanked her and left, happily munching as they walked. They bought candied hawthorn and fried dough twists for the two kids, who were soon eating with sticky, happy mouths.

In a corner, Gu Qinghuan spotted an old man with three beautiful mink pelts on his stall. They were truly gorgeous.

But no one seemed interested in buying.

Gu Qinghuan went over to ask the price, and was shocked to hear that each pelt cost a hundred yuan—three would be three hundred. No wonder no one had bought them.

To be honest, Gu Qinghuan wasn’t short on three hundred yuan, and these mink pelts were indeed rare and valuable—worth tens of thousands in later years.

But maybe because of her upbringing, she’d developed a habit of being reluctant to spend big money on herself (except for buying a house), and always wanted to think things over.

Xu Huaian saw her hesitate even though she liked the pelts, so he stepped forward and pulled the money from his pocket.

“We’ll take all three.”

The old man was stunned for a moment, then beamed as he took the money and started counting.

“Young man, this must be your wife? You really dote on her!”

Gu Qinghuan quickly tugged Xu Huaian’s arm and whispered, “That’s too expensive! It’s really not necessary. And—where did you get the money?”

Honestly, Xu Huaian’s decisiveness in buying the pelts for her made her feel very happy—being cared for like this was a real joy.

But then she realized—she’d never given Xu Huaian any money, had she?

University didn’t cost anything, but he didn’t have a salary either. Where did he get the money for the pelts?

Xu Huaian carefully checked the pelts, then wrapped them up and held them close, treating them like treasures.

“As long as you like them, it’s worth it. Don’t worry about the money. I had a classmate who wanted to learn boxing, so I taught him for a month. This is what he paid me. I didn’t hide any money from you—I just forgot to mention it.” Xu Huaian almost swore an oath.

Gu Qinghuan grinned. “Well, thank you then.”

“As long as you’re happy.”

“Mom, do you like mink pelts? When I grow up, I’ll buy you some too!” Dabao had been watching them the whole time.

“Haha, you little rascal. You should buy them for your wife when you grow up. Mommy has your dad to buy them for her.”

The three of them traded for a few more daily necessities and then headed home.

This year, on New Year’s Eve, as usual, Gu Qinghuan brought Zhong Zijun and her grandparents over to celebrate together. The Ji family men joined as well.

It wasn’t as lively as last year, but it was still a warm gathering.

At noon, Gu Qinghuan and Xu Huaian went back to the old house for lunch—a once-a-year tradition.

Gu Qinghuan brought a symbolic kilo of meat.

Lin Xiaomeng was even stingier and only brought half a kilo.

The three sisters-in-law cooked together in the kitchen.

Yan Lijun took the initiative to talk about her life over the past few months.

After her postpartum confinement and another month of rest, she went back to work.

The baby was left with Liu Guifang during the day, fed with malted milk, and Yan Lijun would breastfeed at night.

But she noticed that every night when she came home, the baby was starving and desperately sucking.

So she made a surprise visit one day and discovered that Liu Guifang had been giving her son’s malted milk to Xu Meiling’s chubby daughter. No wonder her baby was always hungry and crying.

Xu Meiling now worked as a scorekeeper in the team, so she left her daughter with Liu Guifang during the day.

Miaomiao was a few months older than Jianjian, but looked a year older—plump and healthy. Jianjian had been born prematurely and was weak and small. Yet their grandmother could be so heartless as to take food from her own grandson.

So the things Yan Lijun bought with her own money were feeding someone else’s child. And the other mother could come back to breastfeed her daughter from time to time, while Jianjian had to rely on the malted milk.

Yan Lijun was furious and exploded in front of everyone, giving Liu Guifang a thorough scolding and not sparing her any dignity, saying her heart was “so biased it’s in her armpit.”

Liu Guifang knew she was in the wrong and couldn’t argue.

The family gathering ended on a sour note, and the next day Yan Lijun simply took her child to work with her.

The baby was weak and mostly just ate and slept, so it didn’t interfere much. Her boss was understanding and allowed her to bring the baby as long as work came first.

Sometimes, when she really couldn’t manage, she’d send the baby to her own mother’s house for the day—better than leaving him with a heartless grandmother.

Since giving birth to Jianjian, Yan Lijun had become completely disillusioned with Xu Huaiyu. He’d gone off to school these past months and never wrote to her.

When Xu Huaiyu came home for winter break and found out what Liu Guifang had done, he was furious on behalf of his son and had a big fight with Xu Meiling, telling her not to bring her child over anymore.

Liu Guifang tried to badmouth Yan Lijun in front of her son, but no matter what Xu Huaiyu said, Yan Lijun just ignored him.

That’s how women are—once they’ve been through enough pain and hardship, nothing else matters anymore.

Now, Yan Lijun just wanted to work hard and support herself and her son.

If she and Xu Huaiyu could make it work, fine. If not, so be it.

Gu Qinghuan and Lin Xiaomeng could sense the determination in her calm voice and felt a pang of worry for her.

Lunch was anything but peaceful.

Xu Meiling said her child was hungry and asked Yan Lijun to make some malted milk.

If it weren’t for what had happened before, a bowl of malted milk wouldn’t have been a big deal.

But Yan Lijun couldn’t stand Xu Meiling’s attitude—like she was entitled to take advantage, daring her to object.

The two nearly got into a fight.

Finally, Xu Mingshan lost his temper: “Eat if you want to eat. If not, get out!” That put an end to the drama.

Chen Jianghe arrived late, and when he heard what had happened, he slapped Xu Meiling in front of everyone.

“I told you not to be so greedy! Didn’t I give you money? Isn’t Miaomiao worth even a single bag of malted milk?”

Since having a child, Chen Jianghe had worked much harder to earn work points, and with help from home, their life wasn’t too hard.

He’d given Xu Meiling money to buy malted milk for their daughter, but this was how she “bought” it.

“She’s just a little girl—why spend so much money?” Xu Meiling stubbornly argued.

“So where’s the money? What did you spend it on?” Chen Jianghe was furious.

It turned out Xu Meiling had spent the money on doctors and folk remedies. She’d heard of a barefoot doctor who was supposed to be good at treating women’s fertility issues, so she’d gone to see him.

Because she’d been injured giving birth to Miaomiao, she might not be able to have more children. She was unwilling to accept that—she hadn’t given Chen Jianghe a son yet, so how could she stop now?

Everyone was both exasperated and amused by her antics.

“So you’re too stingy to buy your daughter malted milk and always mooch off us, but you’re willing to spend money on medicine for yourself? Xu Meiling, are you out of your mind?” Yan Lijun seriously thought Xu Meiling was crazy.

Everyone agreed.

Gu Qinghuan noticed Xu Meiling seemed a bit unhinged—her words didn’t make sense, and she was obsessive. She strongly suspected Xu Meiling was suffering from postpartum depression.

She was fixated on having a son, but ended up with a daughter, and then was told she couldn’t have more children. That would be hard for anyone to accept.

Still, someone like Xu Meiling didn’t deserve much sympathy.

After some thought, Gu Qinghuan quietly suggested to Chen Jianghe that he should take Xu Meiling to see a psychiatrist when he had time—she might really have a mental problem.

But as luck would have it, Xu Meiling overheard and thought Gu Qinghuan was badmouthing her behind her back. She charged at Gu Qinghuan, ready to hit her.

Xu Huaian and Chen Jianghe immediately stepped in front of Gu Qinghuan to block Xu Meiling.

It was an instinctive move for Chen Jianghe—Xu Meiling was big, and he was genuinely afraid she’d hurt Gu Qinghuan.

Afterward, he felt a deep sense of loss. What right did he have to protect Gu Qinghuan?

Xu Huaian shot Chen Jianghe a glare and pouted jealously—he’d protect his own wife, thank you very much.

Xu Meiling was nearly driven mad by the scene. One was her husband, who should have been on her side, and the other was her second brother, who should have supported her too.

But both of them stood firmly in front of someone else, leaving her out in the cold.

Xu Meiling snapped, grabbed a stool, and smashed it over Chen Jianghe. He felt guilty and just took the blow.

She went on a rampage, throwing anything she could get her hands on.

When she was done, she stormed out without eating.

Chen Jianghe had no choice but to leave the child with Liu Guifang and run out to look for her.

The meal ended in a mess. Gu Qinghuan only picked at her food—she had no appetite.

Liu Guifang wanted to scold Gu Qinghuan for being a troublemaker and ruining the family’s New Year, but after glancing at Xu Huaian, she held her tongue.

Things were different now—Xu Huaian was no longer the obedient son he used to be.

She had no doubt that if she scolded Gu Qinghuan today, Xu Huaian would “go crazy” and not care about family ties.

After finally finishing the meal and returning home, Gu Qinghuan’s mood improved.

“I really wasn’t just making things up. I suspect she has postpartum depression, so I wanted Chen Jianghe to take her to see a doctor. It’s not too bad yet, so early intervention would help,” Gu Qinghuan explained to Xu Huaian on the way home.

Xu Huaian rubbed her rabbit-fur hat.

“You don’t need to explain. I know.” He trusted her completely.

Gu Qinghuan cheered up again. No matter what the Xu family thought, as long as Xu Huaian believed her and she had a clear conscience, that was enough.

As for Xu Meiling’s illness, if they didn’t believe her, then let them deal with the consequences.

After all, kind words can’t persuade a doomed soul."