Chen Li Shu: "..."
Seeing her staring at him expressionlessly, Gu Xing Dong gave a sheepish laugh. "I suddenly remembered Old Wu said he had something to discuss with me."
"If you walk out that door now, don't bother coming back tonight."
A faint voice came from behind him, and Gu Xing Dong's hand, which was reaching for the door, froze.
Seeing that he couldn't escape, Gu Xing Dong turned back helplessly, unbuttoning his shirt as he said, "I'm standing right here, perfectly fine, and you still want to check."
He knew Chen Li Shu was this anxious not for that reason, but likely to see if he had any injuries.
"See? There's nothing wrong with me."
As his shirt came off, his sturdy arms and lean waist were revealed.
Chen Li Shu was familiar with the old scars on Gu Xing Dong's body. Now, on his tanned skin, besides the old ones, she noticed several new ones. Each was about a finger's length and had a faint pinkish-white hue, clearly having healed not long ago.
Chen Li Shu bit her lip, a pang of concern in her heart.
Seeing her reaction, Gu Xing Dong didn't stop his actions and went to unbuckle his belt. "Since I've already undressed, why wait until tonight? How about..."
Chen Li Shu, her thoughts interrupted, looked up and glared at him. "You wish."
After watching her pull the door open and leave, Gu Xing Dong let out a silent sigh. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly. If she had seen the wound on his leg, she would likely have worried for quite some time.
With Gu Xing Dong back, Chen Li Shu was in a particularly good mood. She tidied up the house briefly and then took a basin to pick vegetables from the garden.
Zhao Gui Ying was sitting by the flower bed, knitting a sweater while watching the children play. She was visibly surprised to see Chen Li Shu emerge, thinking time had passed too quickly.
Seeing Rui Rui come to find her two sons, and then seeing Chen Li Shu and her husband go into the house with the door closed, she assumed the young couple wanted some intimacy after a long separation. She had even brought the children out to the yard to watch, just in case they accidentally disturbed the couple's private moment. Now, seeing Chen Li Shu's demeanor, she realized she had been mistaken and felt a little embarrassed.
"My garden has grown string beans. Take some home to stir-fry with meat."
Chen Li Shu didn't visit often, so in early spring, she had only planted easy-to-grow eggplant and potatoes in the vegetable patch.
"Then I'll thank you, sister-in-law."
"Why be so formal with me?" Zhao Gui Ying said with a smile and then continued knitting her sweater.
Not far away, the three children's heads were huddled together, starting to whisper.
Wang Yan Chao, the eldest and most imaginative, looked at Gu Rui and said, "You know Bai Er Pang, right? His family bought a TV set last month. Do you know what a TV is?"
Gu Rui shook his head; he had never seen such a chicken.
"It's a big square box. Inside, little people appear – real people. They can talk and walk. It's a hundred times more exciting than the picture books we read, no, a thousand times."
Gu Rui looked at him, waiting for him to get to the point.
"I'm telling you, they're showing a really good show lately, 'The Man from the Bottom of the Atlantic.' It's fantastic, full of foreigners. If you watch it, you'll definitely love it too."
Wang Yan Hui saw his brother taking too long to get to the point and was so impatient he scratched his head. "Gu Rui, my brother is afraid Mom won't agree if we say we want to watch TV. You go talk to Aunt Gu, and bring us along. Then my mom won't have a say."
Honestly, if they delayed any longer, the show would start.
Gu Rui thought about it and nodded. "Okay, then."
Seeing him nod, the brothers hadn't even had time to grin before they heard him slowly add, "I lost a lot of marbles and cards to you two last time."
"I'll return them to you later when we go back." Wang Yan Chao wasn't very good at studying; he poured all his effort into mastering various games. Gu Rui was no match for him, so he had lost a lot of things to him.
Now, as long as Gu Rui could help them speak to their mother, Wang Yan Chao was willing to give him back marbles and cards, let alone anything else.
"Mom, Auntie, can the three of us go to Bai Er Pang's house to watch TV? We'll be back before dinner."
Zhao Gui Ying saw his earnest promise and was delighted. "Oh, this child, he talks like a little adult. Go ahead, and take your brother Yan Chun with you too."
Upon hearing that they had to bring along a tag-along, the Wang brothers' initially happy mood diminished by half.
Wang Yan Chao: "Mom, the third one doesn't listen. If we take him, he won't behave at their place, and we won't be able to watch TV properly."
Zhao Gui Ying: "If you don't watch the child, then none of you go."
How could that be? It was a hard-won opportunity.
The Wang brothers could only reluctantly take the still-in-open-crotch pants-wearing Wang Yan Chun with them.
Wang Yan Hui: "Gu Rui, you're too honest. You said watching TV. If you had said studying, Mom definitely wouldn't have let us take the third one."
Gu Rui furrowed his small brow. "If you two said studying, Auntie definitely wouldn't believe it. Besides, my mom said children should be honest."
Wang Yan Hui: "Then didn't you trick me into losing marbles to you last time?"
Gu Rui added, "You should be honest with grown-ups."
The Wang brothers: "..."
"The Bai family bought a TV?" Chen Li Shu finished picking the beans and didn't hurry back inside. Instead, she sat by the flower bed with Zhao Gui Ying.
"It cost over four hundred yuan. They say a relative of theirs in Inner Mongolia helped them buy one without needing coupons. It's not just the children who are eager to watch; even I'm itching to. But an adult can't just sit at someone else's house for half the day, can they? It's just too expensive, otherwise, I'd buy one too."
With the average monthly wage being only thirty to forty yuan, a TV or washing machine cost four to five hundred, or even six to seven hundred yuan. It was indeed difficult for ordinary families to afford such an expense.
After chatting for a while longer, Chen Li Shu finished picking the string beans. As Zhao Gui Ying was about to start cooking, they gathered their things and started walking back.
Meeting Gu Xing Dong, who had changed into his home clothes and was holding a shovel, Chen Li Shu couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are you going to do?"
"The sun isn't as strong in the afternoon. I think the potatoes are about ready to be dug up."
If potatoes mature and are left in the ground too long, they will sprout. But if they are exposed to the sun, they turn green and don't taste good. Therefore, they are usually dug up in the afternoon, aired out overnight, and then harvested the next morning.
Chen Li Shu smiled and nodded. "Then work hard."
Her words implied that anyone would work hard.
Wu Zheng, returning from work, saw Gu Xing Dong diligently working in the vegetable garden from afar and couldn't help but laugh. He quickened his pace and, leaning over the fence, said cheekily, "Old Gu, you're working right after coming back?"
Gu Xing Dong glanced at him. "I'm not working in someone else's vegetable garden. What's so remarkable about it?"
"Hey, take it easy. If you use up all your energy, you'll suffer tonight."
"Old Wu." Gu Xing Dong straightened up, his dark eyes looking at him with a half-smile. "I've been away for a while, so I've accumulated quite a bit of energy, haven't I? It's time to start training from tomorrow."
"Look at you, why are you getting agitated?" Wu Zheng said with a sheepish smile. "Seriously though, do you need any help?"
Gu Xing Dong didn't even look up. "No, this little bit of work will be done soon. You should hurry back."