Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander
Chapter 233 - 179: Home Sweet Home

Chapter 233: Chapter 179: Home Sweet Home

The first watch of the night passed.

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"The doctor said since Baohe’s illness was detected early, a minor surgery would suffice. Once recovered, he’ll be just like anyone else, not hindered at all," knowing Fat Auntie was worried about Lin Baohe’s condition, Li Aiyuan didn’t waste any words. Luckily, Luo Gangshun also got the news and rushed back. Hearing this, he sighed with relief, "I just knew it, Baohe and his wife are such good people, even the heavens have to look out for them."

"Why didn’t you say that a couple of days ago?" Fat Auntie gave him a glare, "Had you not been sighing and fretting, would I have been so worried?"

Luo Gangshun, smiling helplessly, said, "You just love to point out my faults," as he invited Zhao Yushan and Li Aiyuan into the house, "Let’s talk inside, relatives."

"How old is the regimental commander who took a liking to Chuxia? What does he look like? What’s the outcome now?" Once they were inside, Fat Auntie barraged them with a string of urgent questions.

Ever since Lin Baohe and his wife went to City A, her heart had been hanging by a thread, and after so many days of waiting, all she got was a letter from Zhao Yushan saying that Lin Baohe was ill and needed to stay in City A for treatment. The illness wasn’t serious, he said, but that was all he wrote.

Anxiously, she had assumed Lin Baohe’s illness was caused by the angst from the regimental commander who had taken a liking to Chuxia, regretting that she hadn’t accompanied them.

Now that she had learned Zhao Yushan was alright, she hurriedly turned to the issue that concerned her most.

Zhao Yushan and Li Aiyuan exchanged a glance and both smiled.

"Relatives, actually, the regimental commander who took a liking to Chuxia, you know him too," said Li Aiyuan.

As Luo Gangshun was busying himself with pouring water, his hand trembled in disbelief while he looked at Zhao Yushan and Li Aiyuan, "Are you talking about Commander Zhou?"

Fat Auntie’s eyebrows immediately furrowed, "Didn’t he... wasn’t he already betrothed?"

"He was betrothed, but to our Chuxia. The wedding date has been set as well, the ninth day of the ninth month. You all just wait to celebrate then," Zhao Yushan, completely satisfied that his niece was marrying into such a good family, spoke with great pride.

"Really?"

Both Luo Gangshun and Fat Auntie still wore faces of disbelief, voicing their uncertainty in unison.

"Really!" Li Aiyuan smiled, "It’s completely true. Yushan and I accompanied Yulan and Baohe to the Zhou family. The Zhou family members were quite pleased with our Chuxia. Regarding the engagement, the Zhou family wanted to bring over relatives from the Lin Family, but Baohe and Yulan declined, saying we could discuss it at the wedding."

"What... does the Zhou family look like?"

Luo Gangshun glanced at his wife, "Stop asking unimportant questions..." He then turned to Zhao Yushan and Li Aiyuan, "The Zhou family isn’t your ordinary family, right?"

Fat Auntie looked at Luo Gangshun with disdain, "Hey, aren’t you asking the same thing I am?"

"Seems like..." He paused, then Luo Gangshun smiled awkwardly, "Seems you’re right, I’m just so happy. You see, Xiao Chuxia is truly blessed, she went away for just a few days and found such a good family. Uncle Dagang said the Zhou family is no ordinary family, they are equivalent to our provincial leader, aren’t they? No, wife, pinch me, I still can’t quite believe it."

"Tsk... Tsk... Tsk..."

Fat Auntie reached out and grabbed the soft flesh on Luo Gangshun’s waist, twisted it mercilessly in a full circle. Luo Gangshun had no choice but to suck in a breath of cold air, which made Zhao Yushan and Li Aiyuan smile even more.

"Alright..." Finally catching his breath, Luo Gangshun slapped away Fat Auntie’s chubby hand from his waist, "When else do I ever see you this obedient?"

Having gained the upper hand, Fat Auntie pretended not to hear and turned to Zhao Yushan and his wife, "At least Baohe and Yulan can rest easy now. Speaking frankly among ourselves, with Chuxia’s delicate appearance, it truly wouldn’t be reassuring if she didn’t find a solid family to settle down with sooner."

Li Aiyuan nodded in agreement, "Yes, once they knew about this, Chuxia’s grandparents felt their ailments lift by more than half. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have made it here today."

"What’s wrong with the uncle and auntie?"

Li Aiyuan couldn’t help but sigh, "After we left, the old couple got so anxious that they brought on their chronic conditions. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have put off coming here until today."

Fat Auntie quickly asked, "They’re alright now, aren’t they?" Luo Gangshun also looked at Zhao Yushan and his wife with concern.

"They’re almost fully recovered..." Li Aiyuan said, smiling, "It was my mother-in-law who hurried us to come and explain to you, afraid you’d keep worrying."

"See, I told you you worry too much..." Fat Auntie poked Luo Gangshun, then explained to Zhao Yushan and Li Aiyuan, "I had thought of visiting you as soon as I got your message, sensing that if you were held up by something, you wouldn’t have just sent a few words.

My husband here kept stopping me, saying that if I did that, you would think I was dissatisfied with you not coming in person. But had I visited earlier, wouldn’t that have saved you the trouble of coming here?"

"That’s how officials are, making a simple matter complicated," Li Aiyuan said, pointing at Zhao Yushan, "My husband is the same way."

Zhao Yushan then defended, "We call that being prudent!"

Knowing that the other party was deliberately giving him a way out, Luo Gangshun couldn’t help but smile awkwardly, "I was in the wrong here."

Zhao Yushan waved his hands with a smile, "I have a daughter too, and I understand what you’re thinking. You’re just afraid that being too eager would make others look down on your own girl..." He chuckled twice, changing the subject, "I’ve got some good news to tell you guys, it’s about our Xiaoqiong. The child is really lucky. She’s been there for only a few days and already caught the eye of the head of the big hospital..."

Fat Auntie, startled, immediately interrupted Zhao Yushan, "My dear, even if the director of the Department of Health took a shine to her, our family would never do such an immoral thing."

"Hehe..." Li Aiyuan laughed and put her arm around Fat Auntie’s shoulder, "Mother-in-law, you’re overthinking it; the director is a woman. She took a liking to our Xiaoqiong to become her assistant."

Fat Auntie immediately sighed in relief and patted her chest, "You scared me to death, I thought that Xiaoqiong had done something immoral..."

"Could our Xiaoqiong even do such an immoral thing?" Luo Gangshun glared at his wife, "You’re her own mother, she’d be upset if she heard you, might even quarrel with you." He then turned to look at Zhao Yushan and Li Aiyuan, "My dear, could you explain in detail? If our Xiaoqiong becomes the director’s assistant, can she still be a soldier?"

"Of course she can be a soldier; it’s an army doctor’s position at the best hospital in A Province..." Li Aiyuan proceeded to report in detail Xiaoqiong’s situation to Luo Gangshun and his spouse, making them smile from ear to ear. What parent wouldn’t want their children to succeed? They hoped even more for their children to be accomplished in their own right rather than just marrying well.

After chatting idly for a while, Li Aiyuan steered the topic towards the big house being constructed behind the Luo family’s home, "We noticed that there’s a big house being built behind your place when we came. Which family in your village has the means to do that?"

"Don’t know..." Fat Auntie shook her head, "We’re also puzzled. The land wasn’t allocated by Gangshun, but through a direct order from above. They said the plot was given away, maybe some retired official wants to come back here to retire? But we’ve thought and thought and still can’t figure out who it is."

Zhao Yushan then speculated, "It might be one of the old cadres who were sent down to the village in the past, someone who has feelings for this place and wants to retire here."

"Hmm, that’s actually possible." Luo Gangshun clapped his forehead suddenly, "How come I didn’t think of that? My dear, it’s true what they say, you have a sharper political sense. Me? I just keep guessing amongst these few villagers."

"Sharp nothing, I’m just making wild guesses too."

"I didn’t even get to the wild guessing."

"..."

Listening to the two men’s self-deprecating humor, Li Aiyuan and Fat Auntie exchanged glances and shook their heads together.

...

After almost a day’s journey, Zhou Mikang, driving Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe, finally arrived at the Red Flag Commune. Seeing the familiar scenery outside the window, Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe’s gloomy mood from parting with their daughter finally eased a bit.

Occasionally, passersby would stretch their necks curiously to peek inside the car. In those days, cars were indeed a rare sight.

As Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe looked outside and noticed people trying to peer in, they quickly withdrew their heads and shuffled uncomfortably in their seats.

Zhou Mikang, noticing their slight movements through the rearview mirror, realized they were worried about not greeting people outside and being labeled as snobs later on, so he explained, "Dad, Mom, the windows of this car have been specially treated. People outside can’t see clearly who’s inside."

Lin Baohe immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "That’s good, that’s good."

"Little Zhou..." Zhao Yulan called Zhou Mikang, hesitating to speak.

"Mom, if you have something to say, just say it. We’re family now, there’s no need for formalities."

Zhao Yulan smiled sheepishly, "Little Zhou, there’s something I didn’t want to ask, but I can’t help it."

"Mom, just say it."

"It’s just..." Zhao Yulan glanced at Lin Baohe, who nodded, and then she hesitantly said, "It’s about the gift money. Of course, we don’t think it’s too little; we just want to know if your family has any dislikes towards Chuxia. Otherwise, once back home, your father and I won’t be able to calm down."

This issue had been bothering Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe, who’d been holding it in for days. Seeing that they were almost home, Zhao Yulan truly could not hold it back anymore.

Judging from Zhou Mikang’s behavior and attitude, it was clear that he was very pleased with Chuxia. But the more he showed it, the more anxious her parents became.

If the Zhou family members didn’t have significant grievances, how could he have compromised on the monetary gift without any explanation? Probably because saying it out loud would sound unpleasant, right?

But no matter what, the couple still wanted to know the reason, so they could address it at its root.

Zhou Mikang looked at them with a smile, "Dad, Mom, allow me to keep you in suspense a bit longer. I’ll tell you when we get home, is that okay?"

The couple nodded their heads.

Could they really say it wasn’t okay? At that moment, their concerns grew even deeper. If not for fear of them not being able to handle it, why would he be afraid to speak during the ride? (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets or monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)