Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Dabao’s Longing Gaze

After leaving the hospital, Gu Qinghuan hopped on her bike and headed to the department store. The house was completely bare—she had nothing—so she needed to pick up some essentials.

The department store mainly sold bicycles, watches, sewing machines, radios, clocks, clothes, fabric, rubber shoes, pencils, pens, paper, stationery, toys, and so on.

She definitely needed a bicycle, but not right now—it would draw too much attention.

Besides, you needed a ration ticket to buy a bike at the department store, and she didn’t have one. She figured she could just get a high-quality knockoff from the vending machine later.

As for a watch, the original owner used to have one, but it was taken by her stepmother’s daughter.

A watch wasn’t a necessity, but the house did need a clock. She could get a cheap one from the vending machine, just ninety-nine cents with free shipping.

A sewing machine required a ticket too, which she also didn’t have.

Once she got the house settled, she’d have to get one no matter what. Winter was coming, and she’d need to make winter clothes and quilts for the family. Sewing by hand was way too slow—it’d take months to finish.

In her previous life, she’d learned to use a sewing machine from her grandmother. All her childhood clothes were made by her grandma, and she’d picked up the skills by watching her.

At first, she posted videos online of clothes she designed and made herself, gaining a small following. She never expected that one day, during a livestream, her food looked so delicious that she went viral, and eventually she switched to being a food blogger.

But that’s getting off topic.

Pulling her thoughts back, Gu Qinghuan walked straight to the children’s clothing counter. Judging by the kids’ sizes, she picked out a set of autumn clothes for each of them.

The rags they were wearing could hardly be called clothes. There was no time to make anything today, so she’d just buy them something to wear for now.

The styles these days really weren’t much to look at, and the most common colors in the shop were green, blue, black, and gray.

Other colors were basically nonexistent. It wasn’t that you couldn’t wear them, but hardly anyone bought white, pink, or yellow for kids—those bright colors got dirty too easily and were hard to wash.

Gu Qinghuan picked out two blue tops and black pants. The colors weren’t great, but at least the quality was decent—they felt sturdy.

The two sets cost four yuan in total. Kids’ clothes didn’t use much fabric, so they were relatively cheap.

As for the “madman,” she’d have to skip him for now—his situation wasn’t suitable for normal clothes.

After that, she grabbed two pairs of cloth shoes with layered soles from the next counter.

With her purchases in hand, Gu Qinghuan headed to the local goods store, which mainly sold iron pots, bowls and chopsticks, wooden furniture, and the like.

There were four people in the family, so after thinking it over, Gu Qinghuan just picked up four sets of bowls and chopsticks.

Her last stop was the grain store, where she chose some cheap cornmeal, dark flour, and brown rice—all healthy whole grains she used to like. She didn’t buy much, just ten jin (about five kilos) of each.

Honestly, whole grains were ridiculously cheap in those days. All that grain only cost her ninety cents.

Of course, she was only buying these as a show for others. Eating them occasionally was fine, but there was no way she’d eat them every day.

If she wanted white rice and fine flour, she’d just order them from the vending machine.

On the way back, she passed the grocery store and peeked inside—they sold meat, eggs, fish, fruit, seasonings, and so on. She still had plenty of those at the villa, so she didn’t need to buy any for now.

After making the rounds, it was almost three in the afternoon. Gu Qinghuan strapped her purchases to the back of her bike and pedaled home.

—

“Big Brother, those white flour meat buns were so tasty! When Stepmom comes back, I’m going to give her all the sweet berries I picked today,” Beibei said, licking the lingering flavor from her fingers.

To her, the sweet berries were the best thing she had to offer.

Dabao didn’t say anything. He sat alone on the doorstep, his deep eyes pitifully fixed on the entrance. It was already afternoon, and Stepmom still hadn’t come back. Maybe she thought they were too much of a burden and had already left.

Maybe that was for the best. Someone as wonderful as her shouldn’t be dragged down by them.

Actually, he’d heard of Gu Qinghuan before. The village kids all said she was the prettiest girl in Xujia Village, and plenty of men wanted to marry her.

That morning, as he was leaving, he’d overheard Erlai talking to someone: “What was Gu Qinghuan thinking, marrying herself off to a madman? If I’d known, I’d have sold everything I owned to buy her. A hundred yuan for such a beautiful wife—what a bargain!”

For some reason, Dabao felt a surge of anger at that moment. Like a little bull, he charged over and knocked Erlai to the ground, and ended up getting scolded by him.

Maybe it was because of that fragrant bowl of porridge last night—he’d already started thinking of her as family.

“Big Brother, I don’t think Stepmom is as bad as Erdan and Gou Dan say. She’s even better than Grandma—at least she gives us food.

I’ll work hard and eat less from now on, so Stepmom will stay with us, right?” Beibei, though young, had her own sense of judgment.

Dabao gave a bitter smile and ruffled his sister’s messy hair. He couldn’t give her the answer she wanted—he was afraid that if she got her hopes up, she’d only be more disappointed.

He knew full well that Gu Qinghuan had some kindness toward them, but how long could that kindness last in the face of harsh reality?

Their grandparents had treated them decently before, but after their father got sick, things had turned out like this.

So young, and he already understood the cruelty of human nature. He was truly afraid.

They’d struggled in darkness for so long that this sudden bit of warmth felt like a blessing from the gods.

But would the gods keep watching over them?

He didn’t know.

—

As soon as Gu Qinghuan entered Xujia Village, she ran into the “Xujia Village Gossip Squad”—a few gossipy aunties chatting away as they worked.

Seeing the star of their gossip coming into the village, Qian Caihua quickly waved her over. “Huai’an’s wife, you’re back! Where have you been, with all those bags?”

Gu Qinghuan didn’t react at first to being called “Huai’an’s wife,” but she knew these women were up to no good, so she didn’t bother being polite.

“The house is missing everything, so I went to buy some necessities. You ladies go on with your work.”

She was about to leave, but the women’s eyes were glued to the bundles tied to her bike.

Qian Caihua even reached out to touch them.

“Did you buy white rice?” she exclaimed. “My goodness, these city girls really don’t know how to live. At this rate, a hundred yuan won’t last you long.”

“It’s just brown rice and cornmeal. There wasn’t a single grain of food at home—I can’t feed the family on air, can I?” Gu Qinghuan opened the bag to show her.

Sure enough, it was just dark flour, cornmeal, and brown rice.

“Listen, Huai’an’s wife, you’d better be careful with your money. You’re not a city girl anymore—you’ve got three more mouths to feed now,” Qian Caihua said meaningfully.

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t take it anymore and rolled her eyes. “Aunt Caihua, so you’re saying I shouldn’t spend money at all? Should I just bring the whole family to eat at your place?”

Qian Caihua’s face darkened. “That’s not what I meant.”

Wang Xiaohua, who was working nearby, chimed in in surprise, “Huai’an’s wife, didn’t your mother-in-law say she gave you three hundred jin of grain—enough to last until next spring? Why are you out buying food?”

“When did my mother-in-law say that? I haven’t seen a single grain at home,” Gu Qinghuan’s eyes lit up. Finally, she’d caught them in a lie.

“This morning! She said she delivered it herself. Didn’t she?”

Realizing the village chief’s wife had lied, the women all looked at Gu Qinghuan with excitement—nothing like a good drama.

Gu Qinghuan slapped her thigh. “I swear to God, my house is cleaner than a mouse hole—there’s not a single grain of food! I’m going to find my mother-in-law and ask for my grain.”

With that, she hopped on her bike and rode off. The old ladies dropped their work and hurried after her—there was no way they’d miss a good mother-in-law vs. daughter-in-law showdown.

Which was exactly what Gu Qinghuan wanted. Today, she was determined to get something out of that shameless Liu Guifang."

"Chapter 10: Asking for Grain, Xu Huaizhi

Gu Qinghuan parked her bicycle to the side and started banging on the door.

A crowd of nosy old women trailed behind her, eager to watch the drama unfold.

Liu Guifang was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Her eldest son was coming home to eat tonight, and she’d found a few wild eggs while gathering firewood earlier, planning to make an egg sauce.

“Eldest, why are you back so early?” she called out as she went to open the door. But when she saw it was Gu Qinghuan, her smile froze. Glancing at the crowd behind her, she had a bad feeling.

“Why are you here, Second’s wife?” Liu Guifang forced a smile.

Gu Qinghuan replied earnestly, “Mom, I’m here to pick up our share of the grain. I can carry it back on the bicycle, so you don’t have to trouble yourself delivering it.”

Liu Guifang nearly jumped with anger. “What grain? Your grain is at the educated youth compound, not here!”

“Didn’t you tell Auntie Wang and the others that you were giving us three hundred jin of grain after the split? No need to trouble yourself, I’ll just take it myself.

I knew it—you could never be so heartless as to throw Huai’an and the two kids out and ignore them.”

Gu Qinghuan deliberately put her on a pedestal, forcing her hand. If Liu Guifang refused to give the grain, she’d lose face in front of everyone.

Liu Guifang shot a glare at Wang Xiaohua in the crowd, wishing she could slap herself. That morning, she’d bragged to Wang Xiaohua about giving three hundred jin of grain to save face and seem generous, but in reality, she hadn’t planned to give a single grain.

She’d thought Gu Qinghuan was the quiet type who kept to herself and wouldn’t hear the gossip. Who’d have thought the boast she made in the morning would come back to bite her that very evening?

If she refused, she’d lose face in front of the crowd. But if she agreed, three hundred jin—even if it was coarse grain—was a lot to part with.

They stood at an impasse for a minute.

“Don’t just stand at the door, come in and talk,” Liu Guifang finally said, reaching out to pull Gu Qinghuan into the courtyard. Once inside her territory, she could decide what to do.

“Mom, I won’t go in. There are three mouths at home who haven’t eaten all day. I need to get back and cook. Just weigh out the grain for me and I’ll be on my way.”

So Liu Guifang really does care about her reputation. Good, that’s a weakness. Maybe I really can get three hundred jin of grain for free and make her feel the pain, Gu Qinghuan thought.

Liu Guifang glared at Gu Qinghuan, fuming. This little wench—she’d thought she’d be easy to deal with, but turns out she had some tricks up her sleeve.

Just then, Xu Huaizhi arrived home.

He was a good-looking man—after all, he was the legitimate male lead in the novel. Not only was he handsome, but he also had a skilled job at the steel factory, making him one of the most eligible young men in the village.

The main characters of the novel “The Seventies’ Delicate Wife” were Xu Huaizhi and his wife Lin Xiaomeng.

Lin Xiaomeng was among the first batch of educated youth sent to the countryside. With no hope of returning to the city and getting older by the day, she married the eldest son of the village party secretary, Xu Huaizhi, a steel factory technician.

In her previous life, she abandoned her husband and child, got swindled out of her money and affection, and died miserably on the streets. Meanwhile, the husband she left behind, Xu Huaizhi, found success in middle age, went into business, and became wealthy.

In the novel, Lin Xiaomeng is reborn. Having seen the wider world, she realizes her original husband was the best choice. She decides to be a good wife and mother, support her husband, raise her son well, and reach the peak of life together.

She uses her “lucky space” cheat to steal others’ good fortune, ultimately achieving her own success.

Dabao and Beibei are important sources of her luck, and all those “stepping stone” side characters are just tools for her rise.

Xu Huaizhi is portrayed as a paragon of virtue in the book—but who knows if that’s true?

Thinking of this, Gu Qinghuan pinched her thigh hard, forcing out two tears to hang on her cheeks.

“Mom, please just give me the grain. At least let us survive this winter,” she said, her acting skills successfully drawing Xu Huaizhi’s attention.

After understanding the situation, Xu Huaizhi sighed. His parents had gone too far. Even if Second Brother hadn’t achieved much, he’d worked hard and sent all his earnings home. Now that he was sick, how could they just abandon his family?

Winter was coming. If they didn’t give them grain, weren’t they just sending them to their deaths?

But… was it really a good idea for Dad to find a wife for Second Brother? This woman looked even prettier than city girls, but would someone so delicate know how to take care of a family?

Still, he spoke up: “Mom, weigh out the grain for my sister-in-law. I’ll supervise it myself. Give her the good grain—the kids are growing, and Second Brother can’t work. How do you expect a woman to support a family of four on her own?”

Xu Huaizhi knew full well what his mother was thinking, but he had his own life to worry about. He couldn’t take care of his brother and the two kids. Maybe it was better to split the family—he could always help out more later.

Most villagers lived with their eldest sons, and Liu Guifang was no exception. In her old age, she’d have to rely on her eldest. Since he’d spoken, she had to give him this face.

Still, she muttered under her breath, “Those two little bastards, do they deserve my good grain?”

Gu Qinghuan heard her.

Crazy old hag. I only planned to take three hundred jin, but since you can’t keep your mouth clean, don’t blame me for what happens next.

Once inside, while they argued over which grain to give, Gu Qinghuan quietly slipped her hand into the grain store and secretly transferred a portion of each type of grain into her own space, totaling several hundred jin.

There was so much grain in the storehouse that it wasn’t noticeable right away.

She’d figured out that anything her fingers touched, she could choose to put into her space.

This old woman clearly had plenty of grain, but she’d rather let a madman and two kids starve to skin and bones than give them any. Wasn’t she afraid of being struck by lightning?

Thanks to Xu Huaizhi’s insistence, Liu Guifang finally had no choice but to weigh out one hundred jin each of millet, wheat, and corn for Gu Qinghuan.

Aside from the corn, the millet and wheat were both fine grains—not bad at all.

Once the grain was weighed, Xu Huaizhi even offered to help carry it back to the old house.

Gu Qinghuan was delighted. With Xu Huaizhi involved, everything was aboveboard—she’d have a legitimate reason for eating this grain in the future.

She carried a hundred jin of corn herself, while the remaining two hundred jin went on Xu Huaizhi’s bicycle.

The onlookers, having had their fill of excitement, dispersed, but the incident gave the village plenty of new gossip.

The Xu family had certainly provided a lot of entertainment lately.

Gu Qinghuan carried the corn home. As she neared the house, she saw two small figures standing at the door, looking out anxiously.

When the two kids saw her, their eyes, once dull, suddenly sparkled. They ran over to help her push the bicycle.

They didn’t say a word, just took up positions on either side of the bike, pushing hard on the bundles of grain tied to the back.

Gu Qinghuan hadn’t expected them to be so timid last night, afraid to even approach her, but today they dared to help her. She couldn’t help but smile.

Xu Huaizhi watched this scene from behind, thoughtful. It seemed his sister-in-law wasn’t so bad after all. Those two kids were usually so wary, but today they’d come out on their own to help her push the bike."

"Chapter 11: Moving House, Arguments

As they got closer to the house, even someone as mentally strong as Xu Huaizhi couldn’t help but have a change of expression, feeling ashamed as he looked at his family.

The old house was in such disrepair, yet Mom and Dad hadn’t bothered to fix it up at all—they just brought people over directly.

“Sister-in-law, maybe you should just move back over there. I’ll talk to Mom. This house is too rundown, it’s not fit for living in. What if something happens?”

No way—living under the same roof as you all would be like stepping into a den of wolves, left at your mercy.

Gu Qinghuan quickly waved her hand. “No need, Big Brother. I already spoke to Dad this morning—we’ll move to Old Wang’s house at the edge of the village.”

“Huaian’s illness is pretty serious. It’s better to be a bit farther from the village. I’ll just need your help finding someone to carry him over.”

Xu Huaizhi thought that sounded like a good idea. Old Wang’s house was decent, with a tiled roof. He immediately rolled up his sleeves. “No need to find anyone. I can do it myself.”

Without another word, Xu Huaizhi went inside and hoisted Xu Huaian onto his shoulder.

Xu Huaian was so thin now he looked like a stick, probably not even a hundred pounds. Xu Huaizhi could carry him with ease.

Gu Qinghuan saw Xu Huaizhi getting ready to leave with Xu Huaian slung over his shoulder. Xu Huaian only had a towel wrapped around his waist for modesty, and nearly exposed himself, his two long, skinny legs dangling over Xu Huaizhi’s shoulder.

In that instant, she seemed to see a tangle of emotions in Xu Huaian’s eyes—shame, pain, humiliation...

“Big Brother, wait a second.”

Gu Qinghuan hurried inside, rummaged through her luggage, and pulled out an old bedsheet.

She didn’t know if Xu Huaizhi was doing it on purpose, or if he just thought his crazy brother had no dignity left, but he hadn’t even bothered to cover him up before carrying him out.

Gu Qinghuan carefully wrapped the old bedsheet around Xu Huaian’s waist, covering his entire lower body.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Xu Huaizhi scratched his head, embarrassed. “Women really are more thoughtful. I was too careless.”

He led the way out the door.

Gu Qinghuan bent down and waved to the two children.

Dabao took his little sister’s hand and walked over.

He’d overheard their conversation and understood what was going on. Seeing that Gu Qinghuan had brought back so much food and supplies, he figured she probably wasn’t leaving, and felt relieved.

“The food on your uncle’s bike is what we’ll be living on for a while. You two stay here and watch it, okay? I’ll take one load over first, then come back for you both. Sound good?”

Gu Qinghuan explained patiently.

Both kids nodded earnestly.

“I’ll keep a good watch. I won’t let anyone take it,” Dabao said seriously.

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help but smile at his solemn expression, patting his back. “Good job, little man. I’ll make you something tasty tonight.”

They hadn’t talked much, but it felt like there was a new bond between them.

Gu Qinghuan pushed the bike and followed Xu Huaizhi to the house at the foot of the mountain.

There was a rusty lock on the courtyard gate. Xu Huaizhi simply smashed it with a rock.

Old Wang had only been gone a year, but the yard was already overgrown and needed a good cleaning.

The courtyard was small but had everything they needed—ten thousand times better than the Xu family’s old house.

There was a main room for guests and meals, east and west rooms for sleeping, each with a heated brick bed, and a kitchen in the corner next to the main room.

What pleased Gu Qinghuan most was that, in an era where hygiene wasn’t a priority, Old Wang’s house actually had a half-decent outhouse, not just a makeshift straw hut over a pit like most families.

The house wasn’t filthy, just dusty—it needed a thorough cleaning.

Gu Qinghuan moved their things inside, checked the rooms, and saw that Xu Huaizhi had already settled Xu Huaian on the heated bed in the east room.

They went back to the old house for the rest of the luggage.

On the way, Xu Huaizhi seemed like he wanted to say something several times.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t like people beating around the bush, so she said directly, “Big Brother, if you have something to say, just say it.”

“I know this isn’t really fair to you, but I still hope you’ll take good care of Huaian.

Mom and Dad really care about him, you know—they’ve worried themselves sick over him these past two years. But they’ll get old one day.

After that, Huaian will be your responsibility. If you ever need help with anything, just let me know. I’ll help however I can.” Xu Huaizhi prided himself on being a good brother.

If you and your lovely wife would just stay away from us and stop using those ridiculous tricks, that would be help enough, Gu Qinghuan thought to herself.

Cherish your life, stay away from the main characters, she reminded herself, but outwardly she agreed cheerfully, “Alright, Big Brother. If I need anything, I’ll let you know.”

All that talk about love and care—she’d just take it at face value. If she could use it, she would.

From a distance, they could already hear shouting from the old house, and the sound of children crying.

Gu Qinghuan quickly hopped on her bike and rushed over, only to see Liu Guifang bullying the two kids. The little girl had been pushed to the ground, crying loudly, still shouting, “This is ours, not yours!”

Giving up three hundred pounds of grain had felt like cutting off her own flesh. Liu Guifang had counted the family’s grain over and over, and something felt off—there was less than there should be.

Without thinking, she’d come straight to the old house. Seeing Gu Qinghuan wasn’t there, she tried to take the two sacks of grain from Xu Huaizhi’s bike, figuring she could just claim they were lost—after all, the grain had already been given away, and if it was gone, it was Gu Qinghuan’s problem.

But the two brats wouldn’t let her. In the struggle, the little girl even bit her, so she pushed the child over—just as Gu Qinghuan arrived and caught her in the act.

Xu Huaizhi, who had hurried over behind, frowned at the scene.

“Mom, what are you doing? Why are you picking on the kids?”

Gu Qinghuan’s brows knitted together. She set the bike aside and quickly helped the little girl up, gently wiping away her tears and checking her over. Nothing serious.

“It’s okay now, sweetheart.”

Beibei wasn’t really hurt—she was crying out of grievance. Grandma had tried to steal their food, but Stepmom had told her and her brother to guard it. If they lost the food, they’d go hungry.

She remembered what it was like to be hungry, and if she didn’t do what Stepmom said, Stepmom wouldn’t like her and her brother anymore. There’d be no more rice porridge or soft white buns.

Thinking of this, Beibei’s sadness overwhelmed her, and she cried even harder.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t scold her, but comforted her gently. The little girl, starved for affection, threw herself into Gu Qinghuan’s arms.

So this is what it feels like to have a mother’s protection? In that moment, Beibei felt like the happiest child in the world.

Gu Qinghuan held her close, patting her back comfortingly, as if she’d done it a thousand times.

For a moment, it was like she was hugging her own childhood self—the little girl who’d longed for her mother’s embrace whenever she was wronged, but her mother had never once been there.

Dabao looked at his sister enviously, then clearly explained what had happened. “Uncle, as soon as Grandma came in, she tried to take the grain. No matter what we said, she wouldn’t listen, and she pushed my sister down.”

Seeing things weren’t going her way, Liu Guifang slapped her thigh and wailed, “You little brats! I haven’t even started crying yet. Guard against outsiders all you want, but it’s the family thieves you really need to watch out for.

Gu Qinghuan, tell me—did you steal my grain? In just a short while, hundreds of pounds have gone missing. You have to pay me back for that grain!”

Gu Qinghuan looked at her as if she were an idiot. Even if what she said was true, who would believe it?

Xu Huaizhi felt a headache coming on. What a mess."

"Chapter 12: One Call of ""Mom,"" a Lifetime of Responsibility