Rebirth Counterattack with Space
Chapter 102: Undiscussable Topics

Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Undiscussable Topics

"You should thank your brother-in-law instead; most of the work here was actually done by him, I just showed up once or twice to make an appearance." Xia Na didn’t try to take any credit at all.

"Your brother-in-law made it clear when he rented the place that if you wanted to move out, just give a three to five days’ notice and you could, without any penalty. The only thing is that the rent is due at the beginning of the month, and there are only a few days left until then, so these days will be charged on a daily basis. We’ll keep looking, though, because this place is still a bit too far from the school. It’s not convenient for the kids," Xia Na said softly.

"Mm. Thank you, brother-in-law," Xia Yuan indeed thanked Gu Tianming solemnly once again.

"No need to thank me, no need at all. Don’t listen to your sister. We’re all family; it’s what we should do," Gu Tianming was visibly embarrassed and waved his hand hastily.

"It’s just that all these things are old, I don’t know if you mind? If you don’t like them, I’ll find a way to source some wood later on. Actually, making some furniture ourselves would be even cheaper. And getting rid of these old things would be easy, it wouldn’t cost much."

"Even within the family, it’s still necessary to say thank you. I think what we have here is very good. We all like it; my brother-in-law has taken a lot of trouble," Xia Yuan nodded happily without a trace of disdain.

Seeing her like this, Gu Tianming also became very happy.

"Then I’m off. I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow morning," Xia Na couldn’t help but smile at Xia Yuan with tears twinkling in her eyes, "You’ve just arrived, and it’s been so many years since you’ve used that stove, I don’t know if you still remember how to use it or not? Don’t bother cooking for now, wait until I come to teach you."

Xia Na still remembered how Xia Yuan could never quite learn to light the coal stove back home, and her letters from Yushu Village said they use firewood there, not coal stoves, so she was afraid Xia Yuan might be even more out of practice with lighting a stove.

"Mm."

Xia Yuan nodded, clearly recalling old memories, and couldn’t help her eyes from becoming wet as well.

"Sister, brother-in-law, take this with you." Lu Aiguo came out with a newly woven backpack on his back and also carried a newly woven basket, walking from another room. Without further ado, he helped Gu Tianming put the backpack on. He then stuffed the basket into his hands.

Gu Tianming just felt a weight on his back, the items on his back must have weighed at least forty or fifty pounds. Then his hands sank too; that must weigh another dozen or so pounds.

"What is it?" Xia Na craned her neck to see and noticed the backpack on Gu Tianming’s back, topped with lotus leaves. Through the gaps in the leaves, she could see the bright green lotus seeds.

She reached out to take a lotus pod in her hand and looked in the basket, which was also covered with a layer of lotus leaves. Underneath, half of the basket was filled with chestnuts, the other half with yams. On top, there were several bunches of grapes and five or six apples.

"These are all wild things we’ve found in the mountains, the meat has all been preserved, and after you get home, sister and brother-in-law, you can hang it up right away." Seeing that Xia Na was asking, Lu Aiguo dared not neglect and promptly replied with utmost respect.

His obviously nervous demeanor made Lu Yun laugh while watching from the side, and Shitou, who followed Lu Aiguo into the room, was also trying not to grin.

"Didn’t you just send us stuff recently? We still have plenty of that left at home; you really don’t need to give us anymore."

Xia Na gave Lu Aiguo an especially meaningful glance, then turned to Xia Yuan with a reproachful tone. She seemed to be blaming her for not knowing how to manage household affairs, but deep down, she worried that this might have been her younger sister’s idea. If her sister was so devoted to her, could it bring about covert discontent from her brother-in-law?

"Yes, you should keep these for yourselves. Don’t you want to start a small business? These will surely sell well." Gu Tianming hurriedly tried to put down the basket in his hand and the basket on his back, but Lu Aiguo stopped him, "Sister, brother-in-law, we’ve brought a lot of things this time, and there’s still a batch of items we haven’t collected from the shipping area."

"Sister, brother-in-law, please don’t be polite with us. These were specifically brought for you. You should head back quickly now, so Gu Feng and Gu Meng don’t wait too long at home," Xia Yuan urged, pushing Xia Na towards the door.

Gu Feng and Gu Meng were Xia Na’s two sons, aged nine and seven, respectively. At this age, children are usually playful and mischievous. Despite Xia Na and Gu Tianming’s careful instructions and their threats and scare tactics before leaving, who knew if the boys would actually stay at home and behave?

Upon mentioning her sons, Xia Na suddenly mustered courage, and seeing her sister and brother-in-law speaking sincerely, without any trace of reluctance on her brother-in-law’s face, she finally felt at ease and no longer declined their offer.

"Alright, let’s not talk about these trivial matters. I’ll come over tomorrow to help you sort out what you have, see if anything is missing, and we can go out to buy it. The day after tomorrow is Sunday, and it’s a good day to rest. Then we can all go and have a meal at my place."

In fact, Xia Na’s mind had always been preoccupied with her two sons being alone at home, and she hadn’t felt entirely settled. Now that they were brought up again, she felt an even stronger urge to return home.

She had initially planned to leave, but time had slipped by without her noticing. Xia Na could no longer spare any more words, hastily taking the basket from Gu Tianming’s hands and pulling him to leave.

"Sister, this basket and back-basket were woven by Lu Aiguo and Shitou themselves. Take a look, and if you find them useful, there’s no need to bring them back to me," Xia Yuan called out as they were leaving.

"Got it. Don’t come out, go back inside," Xia Na looked back to see her sister, brother-in-law, Lu Yun, and Shitou all seeing them off, so she waved at them, signaling them to go back inside. She continued walking into the night with Gu Tianming without stopping.

On the road.

Gu Tianming smiled and said to Xia Na, "Your brother-in-law seems very concerned about your sister, they look like they have a good relationship."

"Yuanyuan has finally encountered some good fortune. You don’t know how worried I was for her over the years. She’s my only little sister left. I even regret marrying you so early. If it was my turn to go to the countryside then, she wouldn’t have been so easily manipulated in the city," Xia Na spoke angrily, yet with a sense of helplessness about the past. At the end of the day, her sister had been protected too much back then, which is why she was naive about people’s malevolence.

"..."

There was no way for Gu Tianming to respond to that. He could only secretly feel fortunate that he had acted swiftly to marry her back then. If his wife had been the one sent to the countryside, where would he be now? From where would he get his two sturdy, rascally sons?

However, he would never dare to express such a thought clearly. Doing so would surely earn him a berating from his wife as selfish, callous, and heartless, watching her younger sister walk into a fire pit without blinking an eye...

Faced with this topic that couldn’t be discussed openly, Gu Tianming very wisely chose to keep his mouth shut, resolutely deciding not to add anything to the conversation no matter what.