1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 124 List of Martyrs: With Grandpa around, no one dares to bully you.
"Cough cough."

Gu Bin knew that his grandmother harbored resentment towards his maternal grandfather for taking away his beloved grandson years ago, and she had not been able to let go of it even after all these years. Whenever he was mentioned, her resentment would be particularly strong.

So be it if the character is broken; he didn't want to argue with his grandmother over such a small matter.

As long as Grandma is happy, she can say whatever she wants, since Grandpa can't hear her anyway.

"Hello, grandparents."

Wang Fan and Li Liang had both visited the military compound before and met the two elderly people.

Seeing that Gu Bin was a little embarrassed, the two, as childhood friends, felt it was their duty to help him out.

"Xiao Fan, Xiao Liang, you're both here."

Grandma Fu was delighted to see the two energetic young men and instantly forgot about the annoying old man.

"Grandma, I remember you love nectarines the most, so I bought some for you this time."

Wang Fan is good with words and knows how to make people happy. He handed over the fruit basket in his hand, smiling like someone's own grandson.

"Come on in, what are you buying?"

Grandma Fu said she was disgusted, but she was secretly overjoyed.

"Hello grandma."

Lin Xiyu and Wu Meng also took advantage of the old lady's good mood to go up and greet her.

"Who are these two little girls? They're so pretty."

Grandma Fu looked at the two delicate young girls, her smile spreading across her face, and her loving gaze lingered on Lin Xiyu's face for a moment.

The documentary about the people of Quanshui was broadcast locally, and Lin Xiyu's natural performance deeply impressed the audience.

Grandma Fu recognized her at a glance, but because there were outsiders present, she was too embarrassed to ask directly.

“She is my classmate.”

Without any hesitation, Gu Bin grasped Lin Xiyu's hand in front of everyone: "She is also your future granddaughter-in-law."

Hello, classmate.

Grandma Fu smiled at first, then her smile froze. Her gaze fell on the two people's tightly clasped hands, and she was stunned in disbelief.

"Wife? Whose?"

Grandpa Fu, whose legs were weak, sat in a wheelchair, listening intently to their conversation. He was greatly shocked when he heard the words "granddaughter-in-law".

"Yours."

Gu Bin raised an eyebrow, deliberately teasing him.

"Don't try to distract me, kid."

The old man laughed in exasperation, his cane thumping against the floor: "I asked whose wife she is? Your brother's or yours?"

"My wife."

Gu Bin raised his hands, which were clasped tightly with Lin Xiyu's, to assert his ownership.

You're only 18.

Grandpa Fu exclaimed incredulously, "Your brother doesn't even have a girlfriend yet, and you already have one?"

"My brother hasn't found a girlfriend, so why can't I?"

Gu Bin chuckled and retorted, "Besides, it's not that I don't have it, it's that I don't want to give it to you."

"Cough cough."

Fu Zheng's heart skipped a beat. He pretended to cough and kept giving him meaningful glances.

Dear brother, please don't tell anyone, I'm begging you.

What benefit would I get from keeping this a secret for you?
If you help me, I'll put in a good word for you with Mom, and we'll be even.

Fine, seeing as you're a romantic at heart and completely devoted to your girlfriend, I'll continue to keep it a secret for you.

The brothers' private argument displeased Grandma Fu: "What are you two doing? Exchanging glances, what are you hiding from us?"

"No, no..."

Fu Zheng's heart was pounding, and he almost bit his tongue.

"My older brother said..."

Gu Bin smugly admired his elder brother's rare flustered expression: "I'm very lucky to have found such a perfect girlfriend."

"Xu."

Fu Zheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he hadn't implicated him.

"You two brothers are really something."

Grandma Fu glared at Fu Zheng with a hint of resentment: "The older brother should be looking for someone, but the younger brother has already taken the lead."

"This is life."

Gu Bin seemed to be joking, but he was actually giving his older brother a piece of advice: "What is destined to be yours will not run away, and what is not destined to be yours cannot be forced."

"I'm just a cursed star, I'm not destined to get married."

Fu Zheng understood the implication in his words and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Grandma Fu slapped him in dissatisfaction: "You're only 23. You have a long life ahead of you. If you dare to say such discouraging things again, I'll beat you up."

"Grandma, please forgive me, I was wrong."

Fu Zheng promptly admitted defeat and begged for mercy, covering his head in his hands.

"Oh dear, this child, even at his age, still causes us so much worry."

Grandma Fu pretended to be angry and punched him hard again.

"Grandma, I'm still young."

Gu Bin deliberately tried to make his grandmother happy by shaking her arm and acting coquettishly.

"You brat, don't try that on me."

Grandma Fu smiled and scolded, "Tell me honestly, when did this happen between you two? You kept it a secret for so long without telling me beforehand."

"I didn't hide anything."

Gu Bin smiled slyly, shifting the blame: "Big brother already knew. I thought he told you guys."

"Xiao Zheng, do you know?"

Grandma Fu's face darkened, and she vented her anger on her eldest grandson: "Why didn't you tell Grandpa and Grandma that we hadn't prepared anything for our guests? You deliberately wanted them to laugh at you."

"Cough cough."

Fu Zheng, knowing that his younger brother had leverage over him, had no choice but to take the blame: "I didn't know their relationship was progressing so fast. They brought her home after only two months."

"Is this what you call fast?"

Gu Bin then pointed at Li Liang and smiled slyly: "He's the one who's really fast; he's already engaged."

"Xiao Liang is engaged?"

Grandma Fu was shocked yet again, clutching her chest, barely able to bear it.

"Grandma, don't get agitated."

Fu Zheng was afraid that she would have a heart attack, so he quickly supported her.

"Why am I excited? I'm happy."

Distracted by Gu Bin, Grandma really lost her mood to complain about him; all her thoughts were occupied by the words "engagement."

“Xiao Liang’s father and your father are best friends. Grandma watched him grow up and treated him like her own grandson. I’m satisfied to see him get engaged in my lifetime.”

"grandmother."

Fu Zheng frowned: "A perfectly good engagement, but the way you put it, it suddenly sounds a bit sad."

"Snapped."

Grandma Fu laughed in exasperation and slapped him on the forehead: "Sadness my foot! Can't I even say a few words of sentimentality?"

May Grandma enjoy good health and live a long and healthy life.

Gu Bin used his sweet tongue to coax his grandmother into being happy: "If you live a long and healthy life, you will definitely be able to see all the younger generations of our family get married and have children, and have four generations under one roof."

"Xiao Bin knows how to talk."

These words really struck a chord with Grandma, making her beam with joy: "Unlike your eldest brother, who's been single-minded since he was little, like a blockhead, always making people angry."

“As a pilot, you have to be composed.” Gu Bin suppressed a laugh, deliberately avoiding looking at his older brother’s embarrassed expression.

"What does this have to do with flying a plane? He and your dad are the same people who were made like this by your grandfather."

Looking at her two grandsons, whose personalities were so different—the ones she had raised herself were clearly less endearing than the ones raised by her in-laws—Grandma Fu complained, "What kind of military-style education is this? It's just rigid dogma."

"Old woman, what are you saying now?"

Grandpa Fu jabbed his cane hard in protest: "I'm not dead yet, it's not your place to make decisions about this family."

Listen to this, listen to this!

Grandma Fu was furious and wouldn't tolerate him. She retorted, "He's in a wheelchair and can't move, yet he still has such a bad temper. If I hadn't been accommodating to him all my life, I wouldn't have been able to live like this."

"Were you giving in to me?"

Grandpa Fu also lost his temper and started arguing with her: "I say one thing, and you can say ten. You've been picking on me since I was young, finding fault with this and that. I haven't even bothered with you, but you're getting more and more worked up."

Am I picking on you?

Grandma Fu didn't want to lose face in front of the younger generation, so she had to prove herself: "Your stinky socks are thrown under the bed, piled up, and you don't wash them for half a month. Ask any young girl, who can stand that smell?"

"Cough cough."

Grandpa Fu choked, his old face turning a deep liver color.

Lin Xiyu and Wu Meng were both stunned, suppressing their laughter and not daring to utter a sound.

"Grandma, let's not talk about this anymore."

Gu Bin was both amused and exasperated: "This is really damaging to Grandpa's glorious image as an old revolutionary."

"Don't take his side."

Grandma Fu had the upper hand and was somewhat smug: "What I said is all true."

"Grandma, there are outsiders here."

Gu Bin whispered, "Give Grandpa some face."

"Humph."

Grandma Fu snorted smugly, "I knew it! You brats all side with your grandpa. I'm just not so lucky. I've been hoping for a granddaughter, but none of my five daughters-in-law have given birth to a daughter. They're all just here to collect debts."

"If I don't have a granddaughter, a granddaughter-in-law will do too."

Gu Bin raised an eyebrow and winked at Lin Xiyu: "Isn't there a ready-made one? As long as Grandma wants, Xiyu will be your own granddaughter. With her and me making you happy, I guarantee you'll like her. Before long, you'll treat her even better than your own granddaughter."

"Hello grandma."

Lin Xiyu understood immediately and sweetly called out "Grandma".

"This child seems quite well-behaved."

Grandma Fu was overjoyed and immediately got into character, launching into a household registration inquiry: "How old are you? How many people are in your family? What do your parents do? How many siblings do you have?"

"Grandma, you're asking so many questions at once, how am I supposed to answer them all?"

Seeing that Lin Xiyu's palms were sweaty from nervousness, Gu Bin tried to smooth things over by saying, "Why don't we find a place to sit down, have a cup of tea, and take our time?"

"It's all because of your grandfather."

Grandma Fu only realized what he meant after he reminded her, and greeted the guests with a smile: "I forgot about that. Come, come, children, come in. Don't go to the restaurant for lunch. I'll have Xiao Zhou cook some dishes, and we can eat at home."

"hey-hey."

Wang Fan flattered, "I'm actually a little hungry, and I've been waiting for you to say that."

"Little slippery man."

Grandma Fu was delighted to hear this, and wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes as she smiled.

-

“Grandpa, Xiyu’s biological father also served in the Jinan Military Region and died during the Sino-Vietnamese War.”

The group sat down in the living room, and Gu Bin immediately revealed that Lin Xiyu was the daughter of a martyr, playing the emotional card.

What's your father's name?

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Fu's cloudy eyes lit up instantly, and his gaze toward Lin Xiyu was full of affection.

"Lin Jianjun".

Lin Xiyu's eyes welled up with tears as she thought of her biological father.

"Lin, Jian, Jun."

Grandpa Fu slowly repeated the name, word by word, searching his mind for related memories.

"His father was only 31 years old when he sacrificed his life; he was still very young."

Seeing his grandfather lost in thought, Gu Bin tentatively said, "Perhaps Grandpa has never had any contact with him, so he has no memory of him."

"Do not."

Grandpa Fu raised his hand, interrupting him: "When the war ended, I personally went to the front lines to bring back their ashes. Every fallen martyr is recorded in the roster. They were soldiers in our army, so I definitely saw them. Go to the study, get the roster, and you can check it out."

"How would he know where the roster is?"

Grandma Fu got up from the sofa: "I'll go instead."

"Grandma, I'll go with you."

Gu Bin stood up immediately and affectionately took his grandmother's arm.

An old man and a young boy went to the study and soon returned with a list of names whose pages were yellowed and looked quite old.

Grandpa put on his reading glasses and turned the pages one by one.

He flipped through the pages slowly and carefully, as if recalling the past through the names of each martyr recorded on the roster.

The living room was silent. Everyone held their breath, not daring to make the slightest noise that might disturb the old man at this moment.

"found it."

Time passed second by second, and a quarter of an hour later, the old man's slightly hoarse, choked voice, filled with joy, finally rang out in the silent living room.

The boys and girls gathered around the list without prior arrangement, looking at it.

The old man was pointing to a spot where the three characters "Lin Jianjun" were clearly written.

"dad."

Lin Xiyu burst into tears in an instant, covering her mouth and sobbing.

Gu Bin pulled her into his arms and patted her back reassuringly.

"Good boy."

Grandpa Fu wiped away his tears of sorrow, his voice choked with emotion but carrying an undeniable authority: "Your father was my soldier, so you are my child. From now on, this will be your home. With me here, no one will dare to bully you."

"This is just great."

Gu Bin wiped Lin Xiyu's tears with his fingertips, jokingly saying with a smile, "Your status in the family has risen dramatically. I won't dare to bully you anymore."

"If you dare to bully Xiaolin, Grandpa will never forgive you."

Grandpa Fu pretended to be angry and raised his cane to hit him.

"Grandma, help! Grandpa's going to hit me!"

Gu Bin wasn't about to wait to be beaten; he dodged and hid behind his grandmother.

"Aren't you sad now?"

Grandma Fu's face darkened, and she glared at Grandpa with displeasure: "You were just crying a moment ago, but you've got the strength to hit people."

"Who's crying?"

Grandpa Fu denied it: "I'm just a little angry with myself for not looking at the roster and forgetting all the comrades who sacrificed their lives."

"You haven't wiped your nose clean yet."

Grandma Fu tickled him with a smile.

"Uh."

Grandpa Fu was embarrassed and involuntarily sniffed.

"Pfft."

Lin Xiyu burst into laughter through her tears. The originally sad atmosphere was instantly changed by her grandmother's interruption.

"That happened ten years ago."

Gu Bin didn't want the two elders to argue again, so he quickly changed the subject: "It's normal for memories to be blurry. Xi Yu also lived in a military compound when she was a child. She probably doesn't even remember what happened back then."