The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Gu’er shook her head, pulled Sun Jiaming away, and left Zhou Duo’er’s shouts behind them until they faded into silence.

That evening, Gu’er went to see Lin Shuying and asked her to pass a message to Li Hua: let Zhou Feng’er get married. Since she was already pregnant and wanted to marry Zhang Da, she should be allowed to live the life she had chosen. Everyone has to pay the price for their own decisions.

The reason she didn’t go see Li Hua herself was to avoid watching her mother cry, which would only upset her as well.

Lin Shuying sighed but said nothing.

"Aunt, could you have a word with Master Qin Dali? Tell him my mom is going through a rough time. If he’s free, ask him to help her out, to spend more time with her and help her through this wedding. Once this is all over, and after the New Year, if they’re both still interested, they should just get married."

Gu’er added after a moment of thought that she had originally felt there was no rush for Li Hua and Qin Dali, but now it seemed her mother needed someone to help her stay strong.

"I can tell Master Qin is sincere," Lin Shuying asked. "But Gu’er, what about the children? What should Master Qin do? If he doesn’t treat them well, people will talk."

"Tell Master Qin that Zhou Cai belongs to the Zhou family; my mother can’t take him with her when she remarries. When the time comes, Zhou Mazi can come and get him. As for Zhou Duo’er, she can stay in the rented house if she wants. If she wants to move in with them, Master Qin just needs to make sure she has food to eat. If she causes trouble, he should hit her or kick her out as needed. No one will blame him. And as for Zhou Feng’er, she’ll be married and part of the Zhang family. There’s no need for her to keep running back to her mother’s house—besides, the Qin family won’t be her mother’s house. She has nothing to do with Master Qin. If she and Zhang Da show up at their door, Master Qin should just send them away. Don’t let them in. If she causes a scene, ignore her. Eventually, find someone to drag her away. Once Zhou Feng’er realizes she can’t set foot in the Qin Family’s home, let’s see what tricks she can pull. Over time, my mother will stop thinking about her and can finally focus on building a life with Master Qin."

Gu’er’s voice was hard. ’Isn’t Zhou Feng’er’s plan just to make sure that if she’s miserable, everyone else is too? I’ll cut off her every escape route and see who she can turn to then. She cultivated this bitter fruit, and she’ll have to eat it alone.’

"Alright, I understand. I’ll explain everything clearly to Master Qin. Once he has your go-ahead, he’ll know what to do."

Lin Shuying nodded, agreeing that this was the right approach. There was no sense in Qin Dali marrying Li Hua only to be burdened by her children.

The next day, Lin Shuying told Gu’er that Li Hua had agreed to the wedding. Not that she had much choice—Zhou Feng’er was already three months pregnant. In those days, abortion was rarely considered an option. Once a woman was pregnant, she had to marry, lest her growing belly become the talk of the town. So, after a discussion with Zhang Da, the wedding was set for the eighteenth of the twelfth lunar month, giving them some time to get things ready.

Gu’er nodded. The matter was settled, so there was nothing more to say. She didn’t offer Li Hua any money for Zhou Feng’er’s dowry. ’It wouldn’t be appreciated anyway, so I’m not giving her a cent.’

As it turned out, Master Qin did start helping Li Hua, but he only kept her company and helped with chores; he didn’t provide any money. This was at Gu’er’s request—otherwise, anything they bought would just be squandered by Zhou Feng’er and Zhang Da.

Qin Dali’s constant companionship during this period made Li Hua deeply grateful. She began to see him as a good, dependable man, and once Zhou Feng’er was married, her heart genuinely began to open up to him.

And so, the days slipped into the twelfth lunar month. The weather grew colder, and it snowed frequently. Gu’er became even more reluctant to go outside, not even daring to take Jiji to the Lin Family’s home for fear the baby would catch a cold in the biting wind.

With Qin Dali helping Li Hua, Gu’er didn’t have to worry. All she needed to do was take good care of Jiji and spend her days with the baby.

On the Laba Festival, Gu’er and Aunt Zhao cooked Laba porridge together.

"Back in the day, who ever had a full eight types of grain for Laba porridge like we do now?" Aunt Zhao said while sipping her porridge. "We were lucky if we could scrape together two or three."

"You think two or three was bad? You have no idea. One year, we had nothing for Laba porridge, so I tossed a handful of dirt into the pot, just to add to the count," Grandma Dingzi lamented.

"I thought things like that only happened in our village, I never imagined it was the same in the city," Grandma Sun chimed in. "There was a famine year with nothing to eat. For Laba porridge, we’d throw in dirt, straw, whatever we could find. Ah, those days... Looking back, I still don’t know how we made it through."

"In a famine, it doesn’t matter if you’re in the city or the countryside," Grandma Dingzi said. "Actually, the countryside was better. At least you had land, you could always find something to eat, like wild greens. The city had nothing at all. It was even harder."

Gu’er listened to the two grandmas reminisce about the past as she ate her porridge. Though her own life had been difficult, she had never experienced hardship on that level.

She had heard stories of people eating grass roots and tree bark when wild vegetables ran out, and then eating dirt when even those were gone. ’Just the thought of it is horrifying.’

Just as Gu’er was finishing her porridge, the phone suddenly rang.

"Gu’er, it’s for you. Your mom," Aunt Zhao called after answering the phone.

Gu’er put down her bowl. ’Is it Chen Fengjiao or Li Hua? It’s probably Li Hua. Did something happen with Zhou Feng’er again?’

Lost in thought, Gu’er took the phone.

It was Chen Fengjiao.

"Gu’er, you... you need to come over. Quickly."

Chen Fengjiao’s voice was laced with panic and urgency.

"What’s wrong, Mom?"

Gu’er was confused. ’Everything seemed to be fine with them recently.’

"Don’t ask questions, just get over here. It’s cold, so don’t bring the baby. And... if there are people at your place, come alone. If Li Zhi and the others aren’t there, have Jia Ming drive you."

With that, Chen Fengjiao hung up.

Gu’er’s heart sank. ’Something’s definitely happened. What could it be? Why has this year been so full of trouble? The drama with Zhou Feng’er isn’t even over, and now it seems something’s wrong on Mom’s end, too.’

Gu’er went back to her room and began to express milk. She wasn’t taking the baby out in the cold and had no idea when she would be back, so she needed to leave enough milk behind.

’She said not to bring Li Zhi and the others, which means this is something outsiders can’t know about. Dad went to Harbin yesterday and won’t be back for a few days. Could something have happened to Sui’er? But she’s been studying so hard lately, and I haven’t heard about her getting into any trouble.’

Her mind raced with possibilities as she finished expressing the milk. She gave Cao Qiu some instructions and, to the sound of Cao Qiu’s grumbling, left with Sun Jiaming.

When they arrived at the Lin Family’s home, Gu’er took out her key, but just as she was about to unlock the door, it swung open from the inside.

Chen Fengjiao poked her head out. Seeing Gu’er and Jia Ming, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She yanked Gu’er inside, and as soon as Sun Jiaming followed, she immediately shut and locked the door behind them. She was acting as if she were terrified of being seen, like a burglar in her own home.

"What on earth is going on?"

Gu’er asked, unwrapping her scarf and taking off her hat.

"Jia Ming, why don’t you wait in Gu’er’s room for a while? There are plenty of books in there you can look at."

Chen Fengjiao said to Sun Jiaming, ignoring Gu’er’s question.

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Thank you to Snow Under the Maple Tree, Lemon Lemon, and Dong Han Yue for the monthly passes. Thank you all for your support.