Chapter 261: Nineties: Spring Water Family Chapter 261: Old Feelings Rekindled, Fu Father's Second Marriage

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

Old House.

"Hey, this kid, he doesn't look like Wang Fan's son, he looks like my son."

The small courtyard and the Wangfu Pool are separated by only a wall; Guben stood by the pool and, through the courtyard wall, heard the conversation outside clearly.

"Look at how smug you are......"

Lin Xiyu said coquettishly, "I've figured out why you like standing by the pool — turns out you have a habit of eavesdropping."

"You're wronging me."

Guben lifted the basin in his hand and explained seriously, "I'm here to wash the babies' diapers, not to eavesdrop on purpose; they just weren't careful, their voices were too loud and drifted into my ears."

Lin Xiyu felt deeply moved: "I never expected Wang Fan's son to actually be a romantic type, completely unlike his father."

"You're speaking too soon."

Guben deliberately argued back: "I actually think Wang Fan is right; eighteen years is too long, no one can predict what will happen, to talk to oneself now and say one can definitely do it is indeed a bit childish."

"Even so, at least right now he still has a child's pure heart, unpolluted by this big dye vat called society."

Lin Xiyu sincerely hoped: "I hope he can keep it up in the future too, and absolutely not grow crooked."

Guben teased jokingly: "You, this future mother-in-law, value this son-in-law quite a lot?"

"Do I?"

Lin Xiyu refused to admit it: "I'm just judging the matter on its merits, I feel this child is a promising talent, that's all, no other meaning."

"Best if there isn't......"

Guben sneered, and just as Wang Fan predicted, his face changed instantly: "That brat dares to covet our daughter, and still pretends to acknowledge her as a younger sister — who gave him the audacity to fool us husband and wife, just watch me not torture him to death."

Lin Xiyu: "......."

She knew it; after such a big detour, this sentence was the main point.

"Ah-choo."

At the same time, Wang Jiarui felt a chill down his back, covered his mouth, and sneezed.

——

The Fu family has many members; Guben deliberately spaced it by a day, separate from other relatives and friends, and invited his father and a group of relatives and friends to visit their home.

Fu Nainai had passed away two years ago, unable to see the four clever and adorable great-grandsons and great-granddaughter, which was somewhat regrettable.

Fu Father was very happy, giving each of the four babies a big red envelope; the heavy weight made it obvious at a glance that the big bills inside were at least in the tens of thousands.

Lin Xiyu smiled until her eyes curved, accepted the red envelopes on behalf of the babies, and had Grandpa hold each one in turn.

Fu Father hadn't held a child in many years and was quite unaccustomed; holding the soft, milky little bundle in his arms, his arms stiff as if paralyzed, he didn't dare move.

"Hahaha."

Fifth Aunt found it funny, took Dabao from his arms, and held him happily in her own embrace.

Guben's paternal cousins also wanted to follow suit, but were glared back by a single sharp gaze from him.

Fu Father held each of the four babies in turn, had an intimate grandparent-grandchild interaction with them, lingered for a good while, until the babies grew sleepy and yawned, then reluctantly handed them to the nanny to carry back to the room to sleep.

"Guben, you brat have now achieved career success and have children too, you can't keep acting shameless like before, using health maintenance as an excuse not to drink."

"Our brothers came from far away, we must drink to our heart's content."

"And Fu Zheng, neither of you brothers can think of running; both sit down for me, today if we don't get you drunk, Eldest Brother's name will be written backwards."

The group of cousins failed to snatch the babies, so they took it out on Guben and his brother.

Fu Zheng also wrongly became the brothers' punching bag, forcibly dragged to the wine table and plied with alcohol.

The other brothers had the numbers advantage; the two brothers couldn't refuse, and with no suspense they were poured drunk until they collapsed on the bed, unable to rise.

Before passing out unconscious, the two hazily seemed to hear Father say a few sentences.

No time to think more before sleep; when they woke early the next morning after the alcohol wore off, the brothers looked at each other, both a bit bewildered.

"Eldest Brother, yesterday I seemed to hear Dad say a sentence, that he's going to remarry?"

"You heard it too? I thought I was dreaming."

"What's the situation?"

Guben felt a bit stifled: "He's already near retirement age, what second spring is he fantasizing about?"

"I don't know the specifics either."

Fu Zheng also had some resistant feelings; saying he doesn't care would be false — who wants a mother to appear out of nowhere, letting a strange woman barge into their life.

"You go find out."

Guben had no intention of hiding it: "I'm afraid if I go ask, I won't be able to stop myself from arguing with him."

"Alright, I'll ask, you'd better not go."

Fu Zheng laughed helplessly and sighed deeply.

He also didn't want to provoke Father's displeasure at this critical juncture, but who made him the eldest brother.

He couldn't ignore his younger brother's feelings either; after all, Mother's death dealt him a heavy blow.

He didn't want this matter to cast an even larger shadow over his heart.

As long as this matter can be resolved satisfactorily, even if it means risking a beating, being violently thrashed by the old man, it's worth it.

——

A certain big brother who cherishes his younger brother, on the pretext of persuasion, made a trip back to the Military District Compound.

However, the reality was far from as simple as he had imagined.

Fu's father wanting to remarry in his sixties was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather another tortuous, sigh-inducing emotional entanglement.

Back then, Fu Yeye and Guben's maternal grandfather were old comrades-in-arms with a deep bond; the two families were well-matched in social standing and interacted closely.

After their children grew up, the two old men also had the idea of strengthening ties through marriage.

The two of them calculated that Fu's father and Fu's mother were of comparable age, so they settled this marriage.

Before the engagement, Fu's father already had a girlfriend he fancied, but unfortunately her family background was bad, and Fu Yeye firmly disagreed, forcibly separating the two.

After the breakup, the girl married before Fu's father did.

Fu's father also gave up and agreed to his own marriage arrangement.

Many years later, both their partners passed away one after another, they met again, and old feelings reignited in just an instant.

——

The moment Fu Zheng heard the woman his father wanted to remarry was his old flame from back then, he knew there was no room for maneuver in this matter.

He couldn't persuade his father, so he could only persuade his younger brother.

He thought it over and still didn't dare to speak up himself, so he could only entrust the heavy responsibility to his sister-in-law.

Lin Xiyu was quite speechless toward a certain big brother-in-law who shirked responsibility, but for the sake of her beloved man, she could only reluctantly agree.

That very night, after the four little babies fell asleep, she carried a bottle of Moutai to the guest room next door and sat before Guben with great solemnity.

"Wife, don't scare me, I'm afraid......"

Seeing his wife's posture, Guben was so startled his little heart jumped wildly.

"Today I'll keep you company for two cups."

Lin Xiyu set down the cup and twisted open the bottle cap.

"Wife, you're not doing this for real, are you?"

Guben grabbed her hand in fright: "You're still nursing, you can't drink alcohol."

"Even if I don't drink today, you absolutely must drink."

Lin Xiyu pushed his hand away and smiled meaningfully.

"Whatever it is, just say it directly, no need to get me drunk......"

Guben understood, and turned to tease her back: "Actually, wife needn't be like this; I'm just sitting here, letting you do whatever you want, anything goes."

"Hopefully after hearing what I have to say, you'll still be able to laugh."

Without letting him refuse, Lin Xiyu still poured a full cup of wine into the cup before him.

As expected, after Guben learned the truth, he indeed got drunk, lying in his wife's arms, silently shedding tears.

Lin Xiyu gently embraced him, using her own way to soothe the pain in his heart.

——

On the third day after the Full Moon Banquet ended, Grandma Gu, no matter how reluctant, still had to harden her heart and see Fu Zheng and his son off on the plane.

Lin Xiyu stayed home writing with her head down for many days, revising dozens of times, and finally managed to prepare all the materials and submit them before the Intangible Cultural Heritage application deadline.

Next was waiting for the review results; watching the staff take the thick stack of application materials, and properly safekeep the works Grandma Hu had cut out with the last of her heart's blood, she finally felt at ease; the moment she walked out the Cultural and Tourism Bureau's main gate, rubbing her sore shoulders, she let out a long breath of turbid air.

"Finally done, really not easy."

"Wife, you've worked hard."

Guben was waiting for her at the doorway; seeing her come out, he opened the car door and made a welcoming gesture: "Where to next? Need to soak in a hot spring to relax? This husband can accompany you the whole way, serve you, with a complimentary full-body massage."

"Forget the hot spring."

Lin Xiyu lazily leaned against the passenger seat, too tired to open her eyes: "Let's just go home, right now I just want a good sleep; raising four little brats is truly not easy, sleep has become a luxury."

"You should relax properly precisely because you're tired."

Guben started the ignition, skillfully maneuvering the steering wheel, driving in the direction opposite the Old City District.

"Where are you going?"

Lin Xiyu sensed something was off, blinked, and instantly lost all drowsiness.

"Going to Ji Steel."

Guben had his own plan: "There's a famous hot spring resort hotel over there."

"No way?"

Lin Xiyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "You really want to go?"

"Finally finished the mission, might as well reward ourselves."

Guben deliberately played the victim: "These days I've stayed up late with you, I'm also quite tired, need to replenish energy too."

"If neither of us goes back, Grandma will be worried."

Lin Xiyu tried to reason with him.

"No problem......"

Guben didn't care: "Liu Jie and the others are there."

"You can not go back, but I can't not go back; what if the babies get hungry?"

"There's formula, they can drink formula."

"What if Lele cries?"

Seeing he was immovable, Lin Xiyu had no choice but to play her trump card: "She relies on you the most; besides you, no one can coax her."

"Then let's go back."

Guben indeed took those words to heart, slammed on the brakes, and at an even faster speed, made a U-turn back.

Lin Xiyu couldn't help covering her mouth and laughing.

She knew it; no one is more important than his precious daughter.

When Lele cries at the top of his lungs, the whole family's hearts tremble three times over.

Want to soak in hot springs? We'll talk about it after the kids grow up.

——

Ever since she got great-grandchildren, Grandma Gu became obsessed with taking photos; every day she carried a camera around the babies, the shutter clicking non-stop.

A roll of film would be used up in two or three days.

Rolls were developed, the best ones enlarged, put in frames, and placed on tables.

Before long, the living room was occupied by the babies in another way.

Frames were everywhere; even the anti-Japanese war books Grandfather had cherished most in life were ruthlessly cleared out, taken off the antique shelves, and replaced with the babies' photos.

"Grandma, Eldest Brother bought you a new mobile phone..."

While organizing photo albums, Guben rubbed his brow with a headache: "You take photos with a mobile phone and store them on the computer — how nice; at this rate, there won't be any room left in the house."

"Grandma's eyes are blurry; I can't see the mobile phone clearly."

Grandma Gu had her own persistence: "The camera still takes the best pictures; they're just a few photographs — how can there be no room? Buy a few more stacks of albums and put them in."

"You've already bought over a hundred frames."

Guben stated the fact: "It's only been two months, and you've already shot dozens of rolls of film."

"Why do you have so much nonsense?"

Grandma Gu listened impatiently, glared, and was displeased: "Grandma is old, has no other hobbies, just likes amusing the kids and taking a few photos — what's wrong with that?"

"Okay okay, fine fine..."

Guben feared the old lady would flare up and suffer for it, so he promptly backed down: "You want to shoot, you shoot; I won't say anything."

"I saw on TV dramas they all use video cameras..."

Grandma Gu wasn't satisfied with just photos and started thinking about video: "You go buy a video camera too; I want to film the babies as well."

Guben: "......."

——

His own birth grandma wanted a video camera; what opinion could Guben have?

Buy it, absolutely!

That very afternoon, he went to the tech market and bought the latest Samsung tape camcorder for Grandma Gu to practice with.

With the video camera, Grandma Ge was even more high-spirited; as long as the babies weren't sleeping, the camera never left her hand — she vowed to record every beautiful moment of their growth and preserve them in memory.

Under their parents' meticulous care, the babies grew up happy and carefree; days passed one by one, and in a blink it went from late autumn to winter.

——

Winter Solstice of '05, Jinan welcomed the first snow of early winter.

Early in the morning, snowflakes fluttered down from the sky.

Guben got excited, held his precious son and precious daughter one by one, and brought them to the window to watch the snow.

The babies were already three months old, their little bodies plump and visibly a size bigger; dressed in little cotton jackets and cotton pants, they looked even more delightful.

Guben picked up Dabao Pingping first, brought him to the window, and pointed at the snowflakes outside for him to see.

"Yiya ya."

Seeing the snowflakes, Pingping waved his arms and kicked his legs in excitement.

Guben wanted to let him see more clearly, just thought to support his head and prop him upright, when he saw Pingping, drawn by the snowflakes, summon a great burst of strength on his own, stiffen his neck, and lift his head.