Chapter 1233: Chapter 1233: Discussion
Over here, Lv Beiguang was also chatting with Guodong.
He probed a bit and only then found out his son hadn’t done anything out of line, which finally put his mind at ease.
Otherwise he’d feel he really owed that girl an apology.
"Dad, Yang Zhongyi likes Jing Chu. I already warned him and told him to stay away from Jing Chu."
"Why?" He himself quite liked this young fellow Yang Zhongyi.
"Dad, the Yang Family looks down on Jing Chu. They’ve already picked someone for Yang Zhongyi, a later-arrived female educated youth. The two families are well matched in social status.
Uncle Han warned Yang Zhongyi before, said if he couldn’t get his family’s approval, then he absolutely wasn’t allowed to provoke Jing Chu.
And Uncle Han really guessed right. The Yang Family disagreed.
Actually, if Yang Zhongyi were from an ordinary family it’d still be negotiable, he’s a decent person, but there’s no way I can just watch Jing Chu go live a life where she’s looked down on and has to bow and scrape."
"Right. You did the right thing. Our Jing Chu is not suited for life in that kind of big family, she’s too straightforward."
"Luckily Jing Chu doesn’t have any special feelings toward any boy."
Hearing this, Lv Beiguang felt unsettled again. Xinyu had talked to him before about Jing Chu, said that Jing Chu had no curiosity about the opposite sex at all, which was not how a girl her age should be.
Looked like this really was a problem. A girl this big, and she didn’t feel the slightest bit of liking toward boys.
"Guodong, Jing Chu really hasn’t treated any boy special?"
"No, she usually doesn’t talk to boys at all. Even if someone takes the initiative, she just answers a word or two and that’s it. There are a lot of boys in the village who secretly like her, maybe because of Aunt Jiang and Uncle Wei, but the most important thing is that she never talks to others with a smile."
Now Lv Beiguang realized how serious this was.
What should he do! The girl was this old already. It was time to start looking for a husband’s family, but this girl clearly wasn’t just slow to mature; she was indifferent to the opposite sex.
"Dad, when Aunt Jiang comes back, you should talk to her. Aunt Jiang is quite worried too."
Lv Beiguang sighed. He really was an unqualified father. When they were little, he never saw his children. Luckily they hadn’t been brought up crooked. The few years they were finally by his side were his happiest years.
Who knew something would happen again. Because of his own incompetence, he could only send the children away when they were still so young.
Then it was another few years he’d been absent from their lives.
Guodong didn’t need him to worry; he already had a partner and was even engaged. The future daughter-in-law looked quite sensible too.
But what about Jing Chu? Lv Beiguang felt he had failed both children.
"Guodong, do you think it would be okay if I came with you two?"
"How could it not be okay? It would actually be the best. Uncle Wei told me he’ll definitely be leaving that place.
Aunt Jiang has been teaching us so painstakingly because she hopes Jing Chu and I can have real abilities.
If we get into university, we definitely won’t come back here.
By then you’ll just get older and older. How could we feel at ease if you’re living alone in the old hometown?
So when Jing Chu told me she wanted you to come with us, of course I was willing.
Also, I really am planning to build a house next year. It’s fine for me to stay at Aunt Jiang’s, but if I bring Xue to live there too, it’s not so appropriate. I want to build a house next door to Aunt Jiang’s."
"Alright, I’ll think about it."
He waited until he heard his son was already asleep, then Lv Beiguang turned over.
Now he really couldn’t sleep. He truly was torn. It’s hard to leave one’s native soil; asking him to leave the place he’d lived half his life in, he really wasn’t willing.
But the two most important children in his life both wanted him to stay with them.
He didn’t sleep the whole night. The next morning he got up early to light the fire, wanting to let the children stay under the covers a bit longer.
Guodong heard the sounds and got up as well.
"You wash up and then go buy some fried dough sticks, I’ll cook the porridge."
"Dad, just let the two of them sleep. We’ll eat when they wake up."
"Alright, then I’ll go have breakfast in the canteen. If you don’t feel like cooking at noon, go to the restaurant and find your Uncle Ding."
After giving his instructions, Lv Beiguang finally rode his bicycle to work.
Many coworkers saw him and were quite puzzled. "Secretary Lv, how come you’re at work?"
"The kids won’t leave until after the New Year. I thought I’d spend a few more days with them over the holiday."
After his father left, Guodong started the fire. He was already used to the Northeast temperatures, but he still wanted his wife and sister to be a bit more comfortable.
Because Jing Chu was finally home, she slept especially soundly.
Li Xue heard the noise outside and got up too.
Seeing his wife get up, Guodong hurried to prepare hot water for her.
He pulled Li Xue into his own room and hugged her, kissing her.
This was his own home, so Guodong didn’t feel so uneasy.
Early in the morning like this, being treated like that by Guodong, Li Xue was still a little groggy.
"Xue, let’s get married as soon as we go back, okay? There aren’t many people in the village who even have marriage certificates. When we reach the legal age, we’ll go get ours."
Li Xue lay against Guodong’s chest and gave a soft "mm."
What Guodong loved most was Li Xue’s admiration and dependence on him.
So he picked her up so their eyes were level. "Xue, don’t worry, I swear I’ll be good to you, good to you for a lifetime."
Li Xue wrapped her arms around Guodong’s neck. "I trust you."
That "I trust you" was more moving than any sweet nothings. Guodong hugged Li Xue and kissed her excitedly.
Not until the kettle on the stove outside boiled and started whistling did Guodong help Li Xue get dressed.
"Wife, I can barely hold back anymore."
Li Xue’s face was red, her eyes dewy as she lay back on the kang. She didn’t say it out loud, but Guodong knew that if he really wanted to, Li Xue definitely wouldn’t refuse.
He pulled her up; they couldn’t stay on the kang together like this, or he really couldn’t guarantee what might happen.
After he filled the thermos bottle, Jing Chu got up too.
Seeing the two of them all lovey-dovey early in the morning, she really couldn’t understand it.
"Bro, let’s go eat out. I want to eat the tofu pudding from that stall at the end of the street."
"Okay. Hurry up and wash, or it might be sold out later."
"Take Aunt Jiang’s house key with you. We have to get it cleaned up today. I’ll stay there this afternoon to keep the fire going."
Guodong had no objections. The three of them went to the breakfast stall and each got a bowl of tofu pudding. Jing Chu added a small spoonful of minced garlic; it tasted just like in her memory.
"Sister-in-law, do you think it’s good?"
Li Xue was a bit puzzled. Wasn’t this just ordinary tofu pudding? How was it any different?
Seeing his wife’s conflicted look, not knowing how to answer his sister’s question, Guodong laughed.
"Don’t bother with her. She’s just happy to be home and thinks everything is great. It’s actually just ordinary tofu pudding."
"What do you know? This is the taste of home. And these fried dough sticks and fried cakes—sister-in-law, you didn’t taste what’s different about them?"
Li Xue shook her head; she really couldn’t taste any difference.
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