The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Shuying came home and told Gu’er what Li Hua had told her. Apparently, on the second day of the New Year, Zhou Feng’er and Zhang Da had gone to Li Hua’s. After the meal, Zhou Feng’er demanded money from her mother, claiming they were broke and couldn’t make ends meet. She said that since she was pregnant, she couldn’t risk going hungry and insisted that Li Hua give her money.

Li Hua had already spent all her money on Zhou Feng’er’s wedding. Now, for the New Year, she had bought new clothes for her other children, as well as for the baby in Zhou Feng’er’s belly. On top of that, she had purchased meat and other groceries, hoping for a proper celebration. Then Zhou Cai and Zhou Duo’er had also asked for money, so she ended up spending her entire salary and bonus. She simply had no money left to give Zhou Feng’er.

But Zhou Feng’er couldn’t care less. She threatened that if Li Hua didn’t give her money, she and Zhang Da would just come over to eat every single day. After all, they couldn’t be allowed to starve.

Li Hua was beside herself with worry. She had thought that once she married her daughter off, she would finally have some peace. But she never imagined that after getting married, her daughter would bring her son-in-law back to freeload. Far from having any peace, she now had an extra person to look after.

Gu’er had seen this coming. ’What kind of person is that Zhang Da, anyway? He’s more than capable of doing something so shameless. He’d wanted me to take him to the Zhou family home back then. When I refused, he even hit me. But even though he beat me, I never took him. Now look at Zhou Feng’er—she actually took him home with her. They’re determined to bleed Li Hua dry.’

But there was no rush. She had no intention of helping. ’Let Li Hua feel the pressure. Let her heart grow cold toward Zhou Feng’er. Only after she marries Qin Dali will she be ruthless enough to ignore Zhou Feng’er and Zhang Da.’

So, Gu’er told Lin Shuying to just listen to Li Hua vent every day, but not to lend her any money or get involved.

Lin Shuying understood Gu’er’s reasoning. Besides, she was saving all her money for her son’s wedding this year and was truly short on cash, so she agreed.

「Just like that, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month—the Lantern Festival—soon arrived.」

Big red lanterns had long been hung on the windows outside, creating a traditional, festive atmosphere.

That evening, the family made sweet dumplings, serving them both boiled and fried.

Gu’er had barely swallowed a sweet dumpling when Aunt Zhao called out for her to get the phone. In her rush, Gu’er swallowed the dumpling whole and began to choke. Sun Jiaming rushed to pat her on the back.

"COUGH, COUGH... I’m fine... COUGH... I’m okay now."

Gu’er took a sip of soup and was finally able to catch her breath.

"Who is it?"

she asked Aunt Zhao.

"I don’t know. He had a really thick accent; I couldn’t understand most of it. I only caught that he was looking for Gu’er. Oh, and it’s a man."

Aunt Zhao replied. She’d never heard the man’s voice before; he was clearly from out of town.

’Who could that be?’ Gu’er wondered as she took the phone.

"Hello? Hi, is this Lin Gu’er? It’s Zheng Changsheng. Do you remember me?"

The voice came through the receiver.

Zheng Changsheng?

The name ran quickly through Gu’er’s mind, and then she remembered.

’Zheng... Zhongshan and Xinghua’s last name was Zheng. This Zheng Changsheng had helped them before, and he’d seemed interested in her aunt, Lin Shuying. That’s why she had given him their phone number back then, thinking he might get in touch if he was serious. But nearly two years had passed without a word from him. She had assumed he wasn’t coming and had almost completely forgotten about him. She never thought he’d call today.’

"Oh! Oh, Uncle Zheng! Hello! Where are you calling from?"

Gu’er asked.

What Zheng Changsheng said next startled Gu’er. She never imagined he was actually in their city.

"Where are you? The train station? Okay, I know where that is. Do you see a place called Hongyun Restaurant nearby? You do? Great. Wait for us right at the entrance. I’ll send someone to pick you up. Okay? Okay. And don’t wander off, the area around the station is a bit chaotic. Right, right. Okay. Just be sure to wait right there."

Gu’er repeated the instructions into the phone. By now, Sun Jiaming had come to her side.

"It’s Uncle Zheng," Gu’er explained. "You know, the one who helped us sort things out for my aunt? The one who’s interested in her. He just called. He’s here, at the train station. I told him to wait at the entrance of Hongyun Restaurant."

"I’ll go pick him up," Sun Jiaming offered. "Should I bring him here to the house?"

Sun Jiaming asked for Gu’er’s opinion.

"Bring him here," Gu’er decided after a moment. "After all, I’m the one who gave him our number. I thought he was a decent person back then, and now that he’s come all this way, we can’t just ignore him. But when you pick him up, talk with him for a while first. See if he’s changed. If he doesn’t seem like the same man he was, just find a hotel for him to stay in. We can figure out the rest from there."