Free Web NovelChapter 389: Chapter 387: The Goods Were Robbed
Gu’er left the living room. Wei Hong pursed her lips and muttered a few complaints, things along the lines of Gu’er not respecting her mother-in-law or her, the wife of the eldest son.
Cao Qiu glared at her. Today was supposed to be a happy day, and it wouldn’t have come to this if she hadn’t mentioned borrowing money.
With Gu’er gone from the living room, however, Jiaming was still there. Cao Qiu grabbed Sun Jiaming and began peppering him with questions. Her main concern, of course, was why there was still no news about a baby. She asked if there was something wrong with Gu’er’s health and told Jiaming he should take her to the hospital for a check-up when he had time.
Sun Jiaming was getting a bit of a headache, but he understood his mom’s desperate wish for a grandchild. He knew she wasn’t targeting Gu’er personally, so Sun Jiaming patiently sat and talked with Cao Qiu.
When Gu’er got to the bedroom, Grandma Sun and Grandma Dingzi were winding yarn with Aunt Zhao. It was for Zheng Xinghua. Zheng Xinghua’s little shop was doing quite well, and she spent her days just knitting away. She didn’t have time to wind the yarn herself, so Grandma Sun, feeling she had nothing better to do, had volunteered to help. After all, it wasn’t tiring, and it was something she could do.
"What did they say to you now?"
The moment Gu’er entered the room, Grandma Sun knew the chat outside must have been unpleasant.
"Nothing much. Just the same old story. Asking if I’m pregnant yet. And my sister-in-law wanted to borrow money, but I didn’t lend it to her."
As she spoke, Gu’er climbed onto the bed and pulled out the sweater she was knitting for Sun Jiaming. She had been working on it for a long time, but so far she’d only finished the torso. It still needed two sleeves, and she wasn’t sure she could even get it done before the New Year.
"Borrowing money again? What does she need it for?"
Grandma Sun frowned slightly. Her eldest grandson’s wife brought up money every time she visited. The last time, Tingting had secretly come to her for money, and she knew it must have been an idea from the girl’s mother. But Tingting was her great-granddaughter, so she’d given her a little. Not much, of course. She didn’t have any money of her own; everything she had was given to her by Gu’er and Jiaming. She rarely spent it, other than to give a little to the children during the New Year and other holidays. Her eldest grandson’s wife was just too calculating.
"She said her older brother wants to start a business and needs to borrow twenty thousand."
Gu’er didn’t need to hide anything from Grandma.
"That’s just being too greedy. Don’t pay her any mind. Some people are just bottomless pits. Don’t worry. For that much money, she’ll never get it past your mother-in-law."
Grandma Sun sighed. Her eldest grandson’s wife had money on the brain. But she knew her own daughter-in-law well. If Gu’er hadn’t married Jiaming, Cao Qiu might have helped Wei Hong borrow money from her. But now that Gu’er and Jiaming were married, Cao Qiu would absolutely never let Wei Hong take money from them.
Cao Qiu might have plenty of faults, but she was completely devoted to her two sons. She would never let her eldest son’s wife take advantage of Jiaming.
"Yeah, Mom wasn’t willing. She scolded my sister-in-law, and I didn’t want to listen to it anymore, so I came in."
Gu’er felt that chatting with Grandma was much more comfortable than being in the living room.
"That sister-in-law of yours... I don’t know what to say about her. Gu’er, don’t you be like her. If you don’t want to listen to her talk, then just ignore her."
Grandma Dingzi really didn’t like Wei Hong either.
"Mm-hmm."
Gu’er nodded.
"Gu’er, Dingzi’s been gone for a few days now. It’s about time he came back, isn’t it?"
Grandma Dingzi asked Gu’er. Even though she wasn’t usually worried when her grandson made these trips, it was almost the New Year, and she hoped he would return soon.
"It should be soon. I reckon he’ll be back in a day or two. Don’t worry, Grandma. Brother Dingzi is very capable. Nothing will happen to him."
Gu’er also thought that Dingzi should be back any time now.
"I’m not really worried about him. It’s just that a couple of days ago, someone introduced a potential match for your Brother Dingzi. From what I heard, she sounds pretty good. I was hoping they could meet before the New Year. If it works out, they could get engaged. You know what they say, ’Rich or poor, a wife makes the New Year better.’ We don’t have to get him married right away, but as long as they get engaged, I can stop worrying."
In her heart, Grandma Dingzi was still preoccupied with her grandson’s marriage prospects.
"Then let’s wait for Brother Dingzi to come back so he can meet her."
This was something Gu’er couldn’t get involved in.
"Mm-hmm. If I don’t stay on top of that boy, who knows when he’ll ever get married. If he were like Jiaming, I wouldn’t have to worry at all."
Grandma Dingzi’s words were a complaint about her grandson, but her expression told a different story. From her smile, it was clear she was actually quite pleased with him.
Grandma Sun and Gu’er both understood what Grandma Dingzi was getting at. Of course, everyone thinks their own grandson is the best. So they just smiled and didn’t say anything.
Sun Zhuzi, Cao Qiu, Wei Hong, and Sun Ting stayed for dinner. Sun Jiasheng came over after getting off work as well. They didn’t leave until after the meal was finished. Once they were gone, Gu’er finally breathed a sigh of relief. Being around people you didn’t get along with was a truly unpleasant experience.
The next day, Gu’er didn’t leave the house at all, staying home to go over the accounts.
By the third day, she had finished the accounts. There were no errors, and the past month’s revenue was quite impressive. But she wasn’t worried about the business; she was worried about Dingzi. Normally, he should have been back yesterday. At the latest, he should have been home today. But it was already past lunch, so why hadn’t he returned?
"Gu’er! Gu’er! Jiaming, where’s Gu’er?"
Li Zhi’s voice drifted in from outside. Gu’er’s heart sank; she had a feeling something bad was about to happen.
"She’s in the back room. What’s up? Did you come by yourself? Isn’t Dingzi back yet?"
"Come on, let’s talk inside."
Li Zhi pulled Sun Jiaming into the room.
"Gu’er, Jiaming, something’s happened."
Li Zhi spoke gravely the moment he entered. From his anxious expression, it was clear this was no small matter.
"What happened?"
Sun Jiaming grew serious as well. He had a feeling this had to do with Dingzi.
"Dingzi still isn’t back, right? So I went to ask around, and the news is bad. There’s trouble in the Soviet Union. I heard they’re fighting, that it’s a complete mess. Soldiers everywhere, armed men, and those gangs... All the goods that were taken over got stolen. The goods are gone, and the money’s gone. Some people have even lost their lives over there."
As Li Zhi spoke, he could feel the blood rushing to his head in waves.
Gu’er gripped the armrests of her chair. Her heart plummeted. ’So the Soviet Union is collapsing *now*? I thought it was supposed to be next year.’ She didn’t know the full extent of the chaos during the dissolution, but she had heard stories. If she had known this was the time, she never would have let Dingzi go.
"Did this news come from Dingzi? Where is he? Is he okay? The goods being stolen is one thing, but as long as Dingzi is safe, that’s all that matters. He’s okay, right?"
Gu’er was frantic. Goods could be replaced, money could be re-earned, but all that mattered was Dingzi’s safety. If something happened to him, she couldn’t imagine what it would do to Grandma Dingzi. She, Sun Jiaming, and Li Zhi would never be able to forgive themselves.
"This news didn’t come from Dingzi, it came from someone else over there. You know that kid who’s always competing with us? Didn’t he ship a huge load of stuff? All of his goods were stolen; he’s going to be completely wiped out. Normally, I’d be thrilled, but we still haven’t heard from Dingzi! How can I not be worried? Even if the goods were stolen, he should at least come back!"
