Chapter 536: The Gossip-for-Survival System (35)

Wang Lin chatted with Grandma Xie in a distracted manner, her gaze drifting aimlessly toward the kitchen in the back half of the main room.

Accompanied by the sounds of washing and chopping vegetables, the conversation coming from the kitchen wasn't very clear, but one of the voices was obviously a man's—it was definitely Bureau Chief Gu!

Wang Lin frowned in displeasure, thinking to herself, Bureau Chief Gu is a guest, so why is he helping out in the kitchen?

If he were at her house, she would certainly treat him as a guest of honor.

"Grandma Xie, I just saw Bureau Chief Gu come to your house. My mother instructed me to come and thank him. Thanks to Bureau Chief Gu's help regarding the trouble my sister-in-law caused last time, those three families didn't come to cause trouble for my family again."

Hearing her say this, Grandma Xie looked up at Wang Lin.

She thought to herself, how long ago did that happen? It's almost the end of the first lunar month, and she's only thanking him now?

Ginger is spicier when it's old; with this look, Grandma Xie saw through the clues.

This young girl from the Wang Family is clearly talking to her, but why does her gaze keep drifting toward the kitchen?

So, the drunkard's heart is not in the cup!

Seeing the old lady remain silent, Wang Lin cursed inwardly: This old woman is definitely doing it on purpose! Letting Bureau Chief Gu help in the kitchen is actually to let him and Xie Yang spend more time together, preferably to let them take a liking to each other. Her abacus is clicking really well!

If she doesn't rescue Bureau Chief Gu now, there's no guarantee he won't fall for the old woman's schemes and become the Xie Family's grandson-in-law!

Thinking this, she stood up abruptly and walked toward the kitchen: "Bureau Chief Gu, are you inside? My mother asked me to come and thank you!"

In the kitchen, Gu Yu'an, who had just reached an agreement with Xie Yang, still had a smile of satisfaction on his face.

Hearing the boisterous voice approaching from afar, he restrained his smile, lifted the navy blue printed half-curtain, and looked at Wang Lin with a faint gaze: "Thank me? Thank me for what?"

Wang Lin twisted her fingers shyly: "Thank you for arriving in time that day to help my family drive away the harassment from those three families."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yu'an frowned slightly. He ignored Wang Lin and instead turned to ask Xie Yang: "Those three families haven't come to cause trouble for you and Grandma again, have they?"

Xie Yang was seasoning the beef brisket stew; she scooped a small spoonful of broth to taste it before saying: "Ever since you warned them that coming to cause trouble again would only result in their sons' labor reform terms being extended, they haven't been back. It's been very peaceful lately."

Gu Yu'an: "Tell me in time if anything happens. If I'm not at the bureau, you can find Xiao Zhao. He is my orderly and also transferred from the military; he is trustworthy."

"Okay."

Xie Yang replied, and seeing him still holding the Chinese cabbage, she took it from him: "You go outside and chat with Grandma; leave this to me."

"Grandma is outside coaxing Xiao Shitou to sleep, so I'll stay here and keep you company. Is there anything else that needs chopping? Leave it all to me."

"Then help me chop the cabbage heart, and I'll pan-fry the tofu. Beef brisket stewed with Potato, cabbage heart mixed with jellyfish head, scallion pan-fried tofu, and then boil a dried scallop, kelp, and radish soup. Is three dishes and one soup, four dishes in total, enough?"

"That's plenty rich. From now on, I'll eat whatever you make; as long as I can be full, that's enough."

"So easy to feed?"

"Must be."

The two smiled at each other, their interaction seemingly more familiar and natural than that of newlyweds.

Not to mention Wang Lin, who was stunned, even Grandma Xie was a bit confused.

She did want to play matchmaker between Gu and her granddaughter, but in the time it took to cook a meal... no, the meal wasn't even finished yet, and these two children were already as familiar as a couple?

"Grandma, dinner is ready soon."

Gu Yu'an came out of the kitchen with a smile on his face.

Grandma Xie: "..."

Well! He's even calling her Grandma; I'm afraid they are already a couple.

Seeing this scene, no matter how unbelievable it was, Wang Lin had to believe it. She covered her mouth in distress, let out a whimper, turned around, and ran home.

Seeing her run toward her room as soon as she returned, Niu Cuifen scolded with a straight face: "What are you doing, girl? It's dinner time and you're not helping at home, but hiding in your room as soon as you get back..."

Wang Lin interrupted Niu Cuifen's nagging with a sobbing voice: "Didn't you say that if the last matchmaker didn't work out, you'd look for another one? Why didn't you hurry? Now it's done, Bureau Chief Gu and Xie Yang are a couple!"

"What!!!"

The spatula in Niu Cuifen's hand dropped to the ground.

"Who did you hear that from?"

"Do I need to hear it from someone? He's already at the Xie Family, and even helping in the kitchen! The two of them are acting like a married couple. In front of them, I'm just a clown!"

After shouting the last sentence, Wang Lin lay on the bed and sobbed.

Niu Cuifen's expression changed again and again.

She had guarded against the widow Guo in the west Ear Room, the Hu Laotai in the front yard, and Liu Dajie who worked at the Vegetable Station; she had guarded against everyone, but she hadn't guarded against Grandma Xie.

Didn't this old woman keep saying that her granddaughter was still young and she wasn't in a hurry to find her a partner? How did she suddenly end up with Bureau Chief Gu?

In the end, it's just because she saw that his conditions were good.

I really underestimated this old woman!

"Achoo!"

"Achoo!"

Grandma Xie sneezed several times in a row.

Worried that she had caught a cold, Xie Yang sent off her fresh-out-of-the-oven boyfriend after lunch, brewed a cup of Brown Sugar ginger tea for the old lady, and urged her to drink it and take a nap to sweat it out.

The old lady, however, pulled her to sit on the edge of the kang: "Gu was here just now, so Grandma didn't ask too much, but have you two established a relationship?"

Seeing her granddaughter nod, the old lady was both happy and emotional.

She was happy because she had originally wanted to play matchmaker between her granddaughter and Gu, and she hadn't expected it to go so smoothly, which could be considered fulfilling a wish; she was emotional because the pace of these two children was too fast—in the time it took to cook lunch, they had established a relationship. That child Gu was also quite proactive in changing his form of address.

But in the end, Grandma Xie was still happy that her granddaughter had found such an excellent partner.

"Grandma, you don't have to worry. Gu Yu'an said that even after we get married, our family will remain as it was before; I will support you in your old age and also support my younger brother."

These words weren't something she used to coax the old lady; it was indeed something Gu Yu'an had said on his own initiative.

He said he had lost his parents when he was fourteen, and although his aunt was very good to him, she had her own family after all.

All these years in the military, he had been all alone, but deep down he also longed for a warm home.

He said that after he builds a family with her, her grandmother will be his grandmother, and her younger brother will also be his younger brother. How she took care of them before, it will be the same in the future. Adding him will only make this family even better.

"Ah? That wouldn't be appropriate." Grandma Xie hurriedly waved her hand, "Once you're married, you should manage your own little family well; how can it be the same as before. Grandma's pension, if I spend it sparingly, is enough for your brother and me to live on. It's just that when he goes to school in the future, he might need your help. But it's okay, it's still many years before he goes to school, Grandma can save some up..."

Xie Yang hugged the old lady: "Grandma, you are being a stranger to me now. Have you forgotten? You have already transferred the authority of managing this household to me; even if I get married, I will still be the one in charge of our home. Rest assured, your granddaughter's salary will continue to rise."

The old lady took it as her trying to make her happy and said cheerfully: "Alright! Then Grandma will wait for your salary to rise!"