Gu Junming frowned slightly, "My sister is probably out making money again."
This sister has always been thrifty and responsible. She never misses a chance to earn a little money, even though he sends money home on time every month, she still wants to save some for the kids. She’s been trying hard to save money.
Sun Chan nodded, "Elder sister is a good person, such a pity that Ding Quan is so bad."
"Don’t mention him," Gu Junming said flatly, "Fortunately, they’re divorced now. Otherwise, I’d have to hit him every time I come back."
"You can’t do that, you are a soldier, how can you hit someone for no reason? Better find a corner and beat him up there," Sun Chan laughed.
Gu Junming held Sun Chan’s hand, "What are you worried about? In the village, it’s all about whose fist is the hardest. If I hadn’t been away in the military for so long, I don’t think Ding Quan would dare treat my sister like that. Families without sons in the countryside all endure this kind of suffering, or else the countryside wouldn’t be so male-centered."
Sun Chan thought about it, and indeed, in her past life living in the village, those families with many sons were never bullied.
Then Gu Junming added, "But it doesn’t matter to me. Having a daughter is fine too."
Sun Chan blushed and shot him a glare, how indiscreet!
Gu Junming, however, felt his heart skip a beat. This little girl was quite cute when she was angry.
Traveling by cart, they were much slower than Wang Shufen, so by the time they arrived home, Wang Shufen along with Father Wang and Mrs. Wang, was already outside with Ding Kang to welcome them. Seeing the two of them walk in with big bags, everyone was delighted.
"You’re back! My uncle’s back!" Ding Kang was very excited.
"Did the long journey tire you out?" Mrs. Wang quickly walked a few steps and took Sun Chan’s hand.
Sun Chan smiled and said, "I’m fine."
"Come inside and warm up! I didn’t know you were coming today, so I didn’t prepare anything special. Tomorrow morning, I’ll kill a chicken!"
Sun Chan said shyly, "No need to trouble yourself, we’re all family."
"It’s no trouble." The old lady was very fond of Sun Chan, and continued to speak to her with a smile.
Over there, Ding Kang had already started playing with his uncle. Ding Kang had grown much taller and bolder in the few months they hadn’t seen each other. The two practiced wrestling in the snow in the yard, and in no time, Ding Kai was tossed into a snow pit by Gu Junming. Everyone laughed.
Wang Shufen helplessly said, "Stop fooling around! You’ve just come back, what if you catch a cold?"
"I won’t, I’m not cold at all!" Ding Kang laughed merrily.
The whole family went inside, and Wang Shufen and the old lady started preparing a meal. Sun Chan wanted to help but was firmly sent back.
"You just rest well! You can cook tomorrow. There’s nothing good to eat, just make do for a day."
Sun Chan could only sit by the edge of the kang, while Father Wang and Gu Junming chatted for a while about military matters. Although the old man was no longer there, he always kept an eye on the military’s development, and his insights were quite remarkable.
"By the way! Did your family agree to your relationship?"
Gu Junming smiled faintly, "Though things weren’t running smoothly, my grandfather supported it, so it’s fine. As for my father, I stopped caring about his opinion long ago."
"No need to listen to him! Passing up such a good daughter-in-law, only someone as foolish as Gu Zishan would do such a thing. Having power and wealth, would that make you happy? Look at Wang Guihua, so shallow, only favoring the youngest son, and see how he turned out? And he still wants his son to inherit the Gu Family, what a joke!"
Sun Chan helped wash the red dates outside, pretending not to hear.
Gu Junming said, "I don’t talk much about their affairs, and in the future, Sun Chan and I won’t be living with the Gu Family. In short, this thing is pretty much settled, Sun Chan will only be eighteen after the New Year, so we’re not in a hurry." He didn’t care at all about not inheriting the Gu Family’s wealth, nothing to brag about. He could certainly support his wife on his own.
"Hmm, how’s your job going?"
"For this position I’m striving for, there are two others, each with their own strengths..."
He briefly explained the situation.
Father Wang smoked a pipe, and after listening, said; "I won’t say much else, just be very careful about Bai Chuan. Wang Hu is now his grandson-in-law, so by all means, he’ll help him. Originally, he never liked you, and if he wants to look for a chance to get at you, it’s possible."
Gu Junming frowned and said, "All competition is fair and just."
"That’s where you don’t understand. That’s just the kind of person Bai Chuan is. How did I get ousted back then? Wasn’t it because he exposed my relationship with a nurse? Though times were turbulent back then, sometimes you had to do what you must to survive. I reported him, he reported me. But like Bai Chuan, to hold on and push it to higher-ups, that’s rare. Once he decides to ruin you, he’ll stop at nothing until he’s successful."
Saying this made him full of anger. That nurse had a fiancé who was his comrade, their relationship was good, and after he sacrificed himself, he looked after her more and exchanged letters several times. Who would’ve thought Bai Chuan noticed early on and kept several letters for ten years! Then during the critical moment of competing with Wang Fu, he took them out, not accusing him of wrongdoing, but the vague nature of it made people wonder what was going on.
Having an affair behind the wife’s back?
At that time, such an accusation was quite severe. Bai Chuan pushed it up to the top in one go, letters as evidence, and with the parties involved deceased, there was no way to verify, and that’s how he lost the opportunity and carried the stigma of seducing a friend’s girlfriend, returning to the countryside, ruining a lifetime. By the time things were cleared up, he was old, the old man was in poor health, feeling unable to serve the country anymore, hence declining to go back, but the grudge against Bai Chuan was deep.
Gu Junming had known some of this before, but today he learned the full story.
Sun Chan, not knowing this before, now heard the old man speak and frowned silently, surprised by how excessive Bai Fanglan’s grandfather was. No wonder the relationship between Gu Junming and him had always been lukewarm.
The old man said, "This person kept my letters for ten years, imagine how scheming he is? During that movement, he swayed left and right, being friendly with one today and someone else the next day, being a turncoat for over ten years, yet came out unscathed, even got promoted. How many people did he harm? Besides that spineless Gu Zishan, who didn’t look down on this bastard?"
Hearing his own father being scolded, Gu Junming felt no embarrassment at all. His father was indeed a disgrace in this regard and he couldn’t blame Father Wang for speaking ill of him.