Chapter 199 : The Face Of Gu Nian Couldn't Help But Appear In His Mind

It's the same routine every year, and every time she came back, Gu Nian thought she's just watching a show.

Every time, Mu Lanshu asked Gu Nian to endure it, as if it was for Mu Dingjie's sake.

At this moment, after hearing what Cui Xinmei said, of course Mu Lanshu couldn't really go in and sit and rest.

She directly took off the apron hanging on the side and said: "I can't sit still on the train. How can I be so tired? But you, you are usually so tired, and you have to be busy during the New Year. You must be very tired this time. Hurry up. Go and rest."

Cui Xinmei smiled sincerely and quickly took off her apron: "Actually, there's not much left, just these few plates of vegetables left to stir-fry."

Gu Nian took the apron from Cui Xinmei's hand and tied it on, and said to Mu Lanshu, "Mom, let me help you."

"No, you go in and have a rest." Mu Lanshu said.

Gu Nian carried large and small bags all the way, and was busy with her on the train. She was not idle for a moment.

"No, I can help so we can go faster." Gu Nian said.

Cui Xin frowned, held her waist and returned to the living room.

There was a corridor and two doors in the middle between the kitchen and the living room.

Hence, the sound from the kitchen had not been heard by the two elders of the Mu family in the living room.

It could be seen that Mu Dingjie came back and Cui Xinmei also came in. The two elders were surprised.

Old Mrs. Mu asked: "Dingjie, have you picked up your sister and Nian Nian?"

"They are back and are preparing dinner in the kitchen." Mu Dingjie said sheepishly.

"These two people didn't know how to take a rest when they just came back." Mr. Mu quickly stood up.

Cui Xinmei's face turned darker, her face drooped, she held her waist, opened her mouth and let out a long belch, still in the same half-dead tone: "It's because my body is not up to par, my stomach is not good, and my back hurts. Sister saw that after working all day, I had to work hard to prepare the New Year's Eve dinner, so she took over for me. In total, there aren't many dishes left to cook."

Old Mr. Mu's face darkened. His daughter-in-law always spoke in a strange manner. They was celebrating the New Year, and he didn't want to be angry with her.

But his daughter came all the way back and she didn't even have a drink of hot water or sit down to take a breath, now she was working in the kitchen. What was it like ?

Normally, Cui Xinmei would come back to see them only to borrow money. When did she come back to see them?

It's the Chinese New Year. Today, not long after she got back from get off work, she started complaining again.

Normally, they gave her a lot of money and never paid them back. When she took the money, she praised them for all their good things. When she took the money away, it was as if she had never borrowed money from them. Every time she came, she had a slumped face, as if they owed her money.

Every time, the two elders felt angry in their hearts, but every time they thought of their son and wanted his family to be harmonious, they endured it.

Old Mr. Mu pursed his lips, sighed deeply, and went out with his hands behind his back.

When he arrived in the kitchen and saw his daughter and granddaughter whom he had not seen for a year, Old Mr. Mu felt a sore nose and said, "Stop busying for now. Let's go inside and have a sip of hot tea."

"Dad, it's okay, otherwise her aunt will get into trouble again. Don't get into so many troubles during the Chinese New Year." Mu Lanshu advised.

"Sister, let me do it." Mu Dingjie came out and said apologetically, "Don't be like Xinmei, she...she has such a temper."

Mu Lanshu patted Mu Dingjie on the shoulder: "I know, just go in and sit down. You're not good at cooking. It'll be fine here in a while."

In the end, it was Mu Lanshu and Gu Nian who arranged the New Year's Eve dinner.

After the food was put on the table, Gu Nian looked around and asked, "Qishan hasn't come back yet?"

"I just called her and she will be back soon." Old Mrs. Mu said.

Because they had to wait for Mu Qishan, everyone did not start eating.

Mu Lanshu pulled Old Mrs. Mu and said, "Mom, come with me."

Pulling Old Mrs. Mu into the back room, Mu Lanshu took out an envelope and said, "Mom, there are 10,000 yuan in it. Keep it."

"What are you doing? I don't need your money. Take it back quickly." Old Mrs. Mu refused to take it. "Xinmei always thought you made a lot of money in City B, but I know that you are alone with Gu Nian. It's too hard. You have to work several jobs to live in City B. You also have to save some money for Gu Nian's dowry. "

"Mom, I saved Gu Nian's dowry separately. These are for you and dad. I save less than a thousand a month, but I can save ten thousand a year. It's easy to save. I'm retired now , with a pension of more than 3,000 yuan a month. Gu Nian works as a policeman, and her salary was quite high. We don't have any extravagant expenses, so we can save money. Don't worry." Mu Lanshu explained.

"Your father and I also have pensions. We don't have much money in this small city. The two of us only spend one thousand and fifty-six dollars a month, and we can save the rest. If you take these, you won't be young anymore. You got sick from working in the past, why don't you buy some good supplements for yourself?" Old Mrs. Mu still refused to accept it.

"How much money do you have in your hands? Do I still not know? If you save a little, Cui Xinmei will find a way to borrow it and never pay it back. You two must have some money to protect yourself in old age, right? Dingjie doesn't have any. The money is all in his wife's hands. I'm far away in City B. If something really goes wrong with you two and you have to go to the hospital, you can only rely on the money you have in your own hands. Dingjie won't be able to get it at all."

Mu Lanshu's nose was sore and she was about to cry: "I'm not here, so you just keep it, just to make me feel at ease."

Mrs. Mu sighed and finally accepted the money.

Mu Lanshu said: "I have agreed that the money I give you will not be given to Cui Xinmei. No matter what she says or what excuse she has, you will not give it to her. Otherwise, I will fall out with you."

"Of course not. We have saved all the money you gave us over the years. I know how tired you are in City B. How can I let Cui Xinmei waste the hard-earned money you have saved so hard?"

After the two of them finished talking, they returned to the living room.

Mu Dingjie's daughter Mu Qishan has just entered.

Cui Xinmei's face was sallow and bitter. She glanced at the envelope in Old Mrs. Mu's hand. She suddenly thought of something and burst into tears.

"Sister, you and Gu Nian are getting better and better in city B, but Dingjie is still working as a janitor at the school. Our husband and wife only make three thousand yuan a month combined. You don't know, we live by saving every penny. Until now, we still rent a house and don't even own a house of our own."

Mu Lanshu pretended not to understand what Cui Xinmei meant, and comforted her: "Don't say these things during the Chinese New Year. You should say something nice, so that you will have good luck in the new year. Come on, come and have a meal together, we are a family. Being reunited is better than anything else."

Cui Xinmei gritted her teeth, still thinking about the envelope in Old Mrs. Mu's hand.

Looking at it, it's quite thick.

Everyone sat at the dining table, Cui Xinmei said: "We also want to have our own house to live in. Now...the down payment is still a little short..."

"Pak!"

Old Mr. Mu couldn't bear it any longer and slammed his chopsticks onto the table.

This daughter-in-law didn't want everyone to have a good New Year!

"Xinmei, we two old people have given you a lot of money over the years. Our pensions are only so little in total, and for you, there is nothing left. We really spent the money to buy the house. We can't go out. The consumption in city B is several times that of ours. Before your sister retired, she worked several jobs at the same time, which made her whole body sick now. Although she brings us money back every year, we never spend it."

"For no other reason, she just want to save it for us so that we can use it for urgent needs in the future. Otherwise, if one of us in our family is in poor health, can Dingjie provide the money, or can you?"

"Me neither -" Cui Xinmei said reluctantly.

"Okay." Mu Dingjie interrupted her, "It's because I don't have the ability to let you live a good life. From now on, I will work several jobs at a time and try to improve your quality of life. Let's work hard on things like the house. I am already over 40 years old, do I still have to ask my sister and parents to buy me a house. Eat!"

Cui Xinmei also put down her chopsticks and hiccupped again, saying, "I feel sick to my stomach and have no appetite."

"Then drink more water." Mu Dingjie said solemnly, making Cui Xinmei very angry.

"Gu Nian, you work as a police officer in City B, so you must know a lot of people. You police officers have a wide network of contacts, and aunt knows that." Cui Xinmei added.

Gu Nian couldn't eat anymore. She slowly put down her chopsticks and said, "I am a young policeman. I have only been working for a short time and I don't have that many contacts."

"Hey, that's better than those in a small place like ours." Cui Xinmei drawled, with a weak tone, as if she could faint from hunger at any time, "Look, help your sister find a place in B city to work, just like your family, you can make a lot of money."

Mu Lanshu couldn't listen anymore.

As for her, she could bear it, but as a mother, she won't be happy if the embarrassment comes to her mind.

"Sister-in-law, Gu Nian is really just a little policeman. She is still trying to find connections to transfer to a better position, but she really can't help anyone. Our family can't make much money either. The housing in City B is not as big as that of my parents' house., it is also this kind of large courtyard. If you want to say that, I have to explain it clearly to you to avoid misunderstanding."

"Since you've had such a hard life, you just have to come back." Cui Xinmei muttered, "Since you're not coming back, you'll have a much better life in City B than here. I'm also a mother, and I want my daughter to get ahead. Even this, as her aunt and cousin, won't help her?"

Mu Dingjie stood up and raised Cui Xin's eyebrows.

"What are you doing?" Cui Xinmei shouted.

"Aren't you feeling well? I'll take you home to rest."

"No! No need, let me go, let me go!"

"Cui Xinmei, don't make everyone feel uncomfortable during the Chinese New Year. Everyone still has to look at your face, right? If you like this meal, you can eat it. If you don't like it, go home!"

"Okay, Mu Dingjie, how dare you tell me this? How many hardships have I endured following you for so many years? I haven't enjoyed any blessings at all. I don't want Qishan to be like me, what's wrong?" Cui Xinmei covering her face, she cried "Wuwu".

"You don't have the ability, why don't you allow me to think about my daughter? You can do it at home, but why don't you know how to make more money outside so that we can live a good life? If our family is living well, how can I be like this? Don't you feel uncomfortable all day long and worry about your life? Do you still have the nerve to criticize me. Uuuuuuuuuuuuah...what kind of sins have I suffered!"

Mu Dingjie was clumsy, and after a few words, Cui Xinmei was speechless. He sat aside with red eyes, took out a cigarette and smoked silently.

***

Chu Zhaoyang knew nothing about the commotion in Gu Nian and drove back to his old home from the company after get off work to celebrate the New Year.

At a red light on the road, the car happened to be parked on the side close to the road.

Chu Zhaoyang looked out the window boredly, and happened to see a young couple walking on the roadside.

He didn't know why, but the woman seemed to have a stomachache. She covered her stomach with her hands that were blown red by the wind, and walked very slowly.

The man simply stopped, took off his gloves and put them on for her.

Then, he squatted down in front of her, let the girl lie on her body, and carried her on his back.

Chu Zhaoyang remembered that Gu Nian always liked to ask him to carry things on his back.

However, he will also take care of his face, and he will only do this when there was no one around.

The face of Gu Nian couldn't help but appear in his mind. Her smile was gentle, sweet, and sunny.

Even though her father was Gu Licheng, he was the one who kidnapped him.

But every time when he thought of Gu Nian, it was always sunny, without a trace of darkness.

Watching the young couple drifting away, Chu Zhaoyang couldn't help but thought about the way Gu Nian acted coquettishly towards him.