Free Web NovelChapter 428: Chapter 424: The Hardship of Forbearance
Everyone agreed that Li Zhi’s arrangement was a good one. Since he lived alone, his house was indeed more convenient than the Sun Family’s or Dingzi’s house.
"Alright, Brother Yicai, you should go stay with Li Zhi," Grandma Sun said, accepting on Guan Yicai’s behalf. "As for Feng Ling, you can decide whether you’d prefer to stay here with me or over with your Brother Li. Don’t worry, your Brother Li is a good man."
Guan Fengling glanced at her grandfather, Guan Yicai. She felt she ought to stay with him, but Li Zhi was a single man. If she also stayed at his house, she wasn’t sure if it would stir up gossip. On the other hand, if she didn’t go with her grandfather and stayed with Grandma Sun instead, she would feel terribly presumptuous, as it was her very first time setting foot in their home.
"Jinxiu, just let Feng Ling stay with you," Guan Yicai said, noticing his granddaughter’s predicament and making the decision for her. "It wouldn’t be right for both of us to trouble young Li Zhi."
"Li Zhi, we’re really imposing on you," Guan Yicai added, thanking him again.
"It’s no trouble at all. It’s the least I can do," Li Zhi said with a smile.
"In that case, Feng Ling can sleep with me at night. I’m not so mobile these days, so please don’t mind an old woman like me, Feng Ling. If you need anything, just tell your sister-in-law, Gu’er. Don’t be a stranger. Make yourself at home." Grandma Sun thought this was a good solution as well.
"Grandma, you’re so kind, how could I possibly mind? You’re the ones who aren’t looking down on us, giving my grandpa and me a place to stay. I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am," Feng Ling said with a look of pure sincerity.
"Feng Ling, I bought this set before I got pregnant and have never worn it," Gu’er said, taking out a new set of clothes. "I’m a bit taller than you, so it might be a little big, but you can make do for tonight. I’ll buy you some new things tomorrow."
"Thank you, sister-in-law! This is wonderful. You don’t need to buy me anything," Feng Ling said, thanking her hastily.
After they had chatted for a while longer, Grandma Dingzi, Dingzi, and Marina went home. Li Zhi then led Guan Yicai over to his place, while Gu’er took Feng Ling to the bathroom and showed her how to use everything inside.
When Feng Ling emerged from her bath, Gu’er’s eyes lit up. Feng Ling was naturally very pretty, and now, dressed in Gu’er’s clothes—though they were a bit large and didn’t fit perfectly—the delicate color only served to enhance her radiance. Petite and exquisite, with her damp hair hanging down her back, Feng Ling looked as fresh and lovely as a lotus blossom.
How did a girl like this find the courage to leave home and wander the country with her grandfather? How had she endured a life of living hand-to-mouth, never knowing where she would be tomorrow? Why would her parents let her leave? And what reason could she have had that was so compelling she had to leave home? Was it really just because she couldn’t bear to see her grandfather wandering all alone?
After a blushing Feng Ling went to her room, Gu’er peeked into the bathroom. It had been tidied up spotless—even the water on the floor had been wiped away. She was clearly a very neat person. This Feng Ling was the type of person no one could possibly dislike, but Gu’er was now even more certain that she was a girl with a story to tell.
Later, as Gu’er rested her head on Sun Jiaming’s arm, his hand gently stroked her pregnant belly.
Sun Jiaming told Gu’er about his day. The ribbon-cutting ceremony had gone smoothly. He had gone on stage to say a few words and had done a decent job. The city officials had shown their support by mentioning the mall and its contributions to the city. He expected the newspapers would feature the nursing home prominently tomorrow, and his mall would get some positive publicity as a result.
As for how he met Guan Yicai, the story was much as Guan Yicai himself had told it. At first, Jiaming thought the old man was just looking for a handout. But then he mentioned his grandfather’s name and asked after his grandmother. It was only when the man named members of his grandmother’s family that Jiaming finally believed him. Guan Yicai had misled him slightly, though, claiming to be a relative from his grandmother’s side of the family and omitting the part about having wanted to marry her in his youth.
On their way back, Guan Yicai mentioned that his granddaughter might not be able to find him, so he had them go pick her up first. When he and Li Zhi first saw Guan Fengling, they were both taken aback. Neither of them had expected Guan Yicai to have such a beautiful granddaughter.
"From the way Grandma was acting, I’m sure she won’t let Grandpa Guan and Feng Ling continue to live like that," Gu’er said to Sun Jiaming. "What do you think is the best way to help them?"
"I haven’t figured it out yet," Sun Jiaming admitted, clearly troubled. "Having Grandpa Guan stay here, and his granddaughter too... it’s not a long-term solution. He can’t stay at Li Zhi’s forever; Li Zhi has to get married someday. Plus, if Li Ting comes back, it’ll be awkward. But Grandpa Guan is elderly, and now that we’ve found him, we can’t just ignore him. As for how to help... Feng Ling is the easy part. We can find her a job. It’s Grandpa Guan who’s difficult to place. Gu’er, do you have any good ideas?"
"Let me tell you what I’m thinking, and you can see if it makes sense," Gu’er began. "I agree, having Grandpa Guan stay in the neighborhood isn’t a real solution, especially, like you said, since it’ll be awkward when Li Ting returns. But the new nursing homes just opened, right? Since this is the first group, the city will want to make sure they’re run properly to create a good public image. There’s one not too far from us. I was thinking we could pay to have Grandpa Guan stay there. He’d have food, drink, and other people to talk with so he wouldn’t be lonely. And since it’s close, he could easily drop by to visit and reminisce with Grandma whenever he wanted. What do you think?"
"That could work," Sun Jiaming said with a nod. "But we’d have to discuss it with Grandpa Guan and Feng Ling first. We can’t make that decision for them. If they’re willing, though, it would be a good solution."
"As for Feng Ling, she’s young and I hear she’s very capable. We can see what she’d like to do. If she wants to work somewhere small, Xinghua happens to be looking for help since her place is so busy. If she wants to work at the mall? She’s good-looking and a hard worker; with a bit of training, she could definitely be a salesclerk. Whatever she does, she’ll earn a salary and be able to support herself. In a couple of years, she can find a nice man to marry and live a stable life. If she’s doing well, Grandpa Guan will be at ease. And if he has a comfortable place to live, I’m sure Feng Ling’s mind will be at ease, too. I’ll talk to her tomorrow and see what she thinks, then we can make arrangements. Even if we want to help, they have to be willing to accept it, don’t you agree?" Although Gu’er wasn’t particularly fond of Feng Ling, she knew it would be wrong not to help the Guan family, given their situation.
"Alright, let’s do as you say," Sun Jiaming agreed, thinking how thorough Gu’er’s plan was.
"Gu’er, you’ll be seven months along soon. Is your stomach still bothering you?" Sun Jiaming asked, his hand stroking her belly back and forth.
"It’s fine," Gu’er replied. She didn’t feel unwell, just that her body was getting heavier by the day.
"Then turn over for me. I’ll be gentle, alright?"
As soon as he spoke, Gu’er knew what he wanted. She shot him a playful, reproachful glance but slowly turned over anyway, gently lifting her leg. It wasn’t that she was spoiling him, but he had been patient for the first three months of her pregnancy. Afterward, she had spent her days throwing up and feeling absolutely miserable, forcing him to keep holding back. Now that she was finally feeling better, they naturally couldn’t be as carefree as they were before, doing whatever they wanted in any position they pleased. Gu’er knew it had been difficult for him to restrain himself for so long. As long as he was gentle and careful, she would let him have his way.
