1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 210 Even if I'm destitute and have nothing left, I'll still come back to your side no matter what.

"I know, Xiaobin told me."

With mixed feelings, Grandma Gu held her hand with a touch of emotion: "Actually, Grandma should apologize to you. When Xiaobin's grandfather passed away, the funeral hall was deserted and there wasn't even a single person to pay their respects. At that time, Grandma resented you, thinking that Xiaobin was so good to you, but you were so heartless, just like the Fu family, protecting yourself and abandoning him when he needed you the most."

“Xiaobin just told me that you wrote him a letter. Only then did Grandma realize that I had misunderstood you. Thank you for waiting for him all these years. You gave him confidence and hope. If it weren’t for you, Grandma is afraid that she would never have seen him come back in this lifetime.”

-

"I've been here before."

Lin Xiyu recalled the past, tears instantly blurring her vision: "But when I came back, you were all gone, and the courtyard gate was tightly closed. I couldn't get in even if I wanted to."

"You came back?"

Gu Bin looked surprised.

Even he knew nothing about this long-buried past.

-

Five years ago, Lin Xiyu learned from Wang Fan that Gu Bin had gone abroad. She immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.

She lay in the hospital for a day and a night before finally waking up from her coma. Despite her weakened state, she insisted on returning to Jinan.

Wang Fan couldn't argue with her, so he could only accompany her back to the Gu family's old house.

The old house was locked up tight, and the house was deserted.

Lin Xiyu's eyes showed despair, and she almost fainted again.

It was around that time that she asked Wang Fan to help her find out Gu Bin's whereabouts and sent him a letter to a sanatorium in the United States.

Things didn't go as planned; a twist of fate occurred.

The letter was accidentally knocked away by Gu Bin's mother and fell into the crack of the bed. Several months later, after her death, it returned to Gu Bin's hands.

-

"Good boy, I'm sorry for you."

When Grandma Gu learned the truth, she felt even more guilty and uneasy: "Our Gu family has wronged you and made you suffer."

"Xi Yu, you should have told me sooner."

Gu Bin pulled her into his arms, his heart aching with heartache: "I didn't know you suffered so much for me, even coughing up blood and falling into a coma. If I had known, I definitely wouldn't have been able to bear it for so long. Even if I were destitute and had nothing left, I would have come back to you without hesitation."

"So much time has passed, there's no need to dwell on who was right and who was wrong."

Lin Xiyu leaned on his shoulder and comforted him in return: "Just think of it as God's test for us. The five years of separation were painful, but compared to the decades of being together in the future, it's nothing. I don't want anything else now, I just want you to be healthy and not get sick again. If you don't take care of your body and let yourself get hurt, I really won't talk to you anymore."

"As you command, my dear wife."

Gu Bin smiled jokingly and said, "Considering that Wang Fan took care of you after you fainted, I will help him this time in the future. I will repay this favor on your behalf."

"You helped him before."

Lin Xiyu smiled and scolded, "Have you forgotten that he was stabbed five years ago and was hospitalized? At that time, he asked us whether he wanted five thousand yuan or a promise. Wu Meng and I wanted the money, but you wanted a promise."

"Is this happening?"

Gu Bin chuckled and teased, "So many years have passed, I really couldn't remember. It's amazing that you remember it so clearly."

"That's why Mengmeng and I are so wise."

Lin Xiyu was a little arrogant: "Let him pay off the debt with money and settle the account right away. Like you, you're so stupid to ask for promises. If you meet someone who is trustworthy, that's fine, but someone like him who talks big but never tells the truth, after so many years, he's long forgotten about it. It's no wonder he won't repay your favor."

"Yes, yes, yes, whatever my wife says is right."

Not content with flattering himself, Gu Bin also brought Xiao Rui Rui into the conversation: "Rui Rui, tell me, isn't Uncle right? Isn't Aunt the wisest person? Nobody can compare to her?"

Little Rui Rui nestled in his arms, listening intently to the adults' conversation. When she heard this, her eyes lit up, and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Rui Rui is such a good girl."

Lin Xiyu was amused and affectionately pinched his little cheek.

"whee."

Little Rui Rui loves it when his aunt praises him; his eyes crinkle into crescent moons when he smiles.

"This child is really close to you two; at first glance, he looks like your own son."

Grandma Gu watched with envy, clicking her tongue in amazement: "I didn't believe Xiao Bin when he first told me, but now it seems that Xiao Zheng's approach is right. It's more suitable for you to take care of Rui Rui than for him to be the father."

"Rui Rui, call her Great-Grandma."

Gu Bin smiled and patted Xiao Rui Rui's head affectionately.

"Your great-grandmother is your father's and uncle's maternal grandmother."

Lin Xiyu was afraid that Xiao Rui Rui wouldn't understand the meaning of "great-grandmother," so she patiently explained to him, "Just like grandma, she is the closest person to them."

Let me put it this way.

Gu Bin was even more direct: "Your uncle's mother's mother is called maternal grandmother, and your uncle's father's mother is called paternal grandmother, understand?"

Little Rui Rui was a bit confused by his string of "Mom"s. He was stunned for a while before he came to his senses and called out "Great-Grandma" in his little voice.

"Hey."

Grandma Gu beamed with joy and hurriedly took out two hundred yuan from her wallet, considering it as New Year's money, and stuffed it into his little hand.

Little Rui Rui clutched the money, her smile growing even wider.

"I've discovered a great way to make money."

Lin Xiyu joked with a smile, "From now on, whenever we're short of money, we'll just take Rui Rui to visit our relatives and friends and bring back a stack of red envelopes."

"hehe."

Gu Bin was amused by her money-grubbing expression and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

-

For lunch, there was braised chicken and sesame flatbread, and Lin Xiyu also made a winter melon and egg soup.

"Soup and sesame flatbread, this tastes so good."

Gu Bin ate with great relish, praising it enthusiastically: "Our local salt and pepper flatbread is still the best. I eat pizza every day in America and I'm almost sick of it. I dream about this taste."

"I like to eat more."

Grandma Gu smiled kindly, handed him another sesame seed cake, and also gave Xiao Rui Rui a chicken leg.

Gu Bin glanced at the sesame seed cake in his hand, then at the chicken leg on Xiao Rui Rui's plate, and said speechlessly, "Grandma, I'm not your favorite grandson anymore. You used to always give me the chicken leg."

"How old is Rui Rui?"

Grandma Gu laughed in exasperation: "You have the nerve to compete with him for it?"

"Uncle, eat."

Little Rui Rui looked up at him, then grabbed the chicken leg and held it to his mouth.

"Good nephew, your uncle has not spoiled you for nothing."

Gu Bin was pleasantly surprised and, to his credit, took a bite.

"Auntie will eat too."

Seeing that he was very happy eating, Xiao Rui Rui held up the chicken leg in front of Lin Xi Yu.

Lin Xiyu smiled broadly: "Rui Rui, be good, you eat by yourself."

Little Rui Rui insisted that she eat it, and still held it up without moving.

"Just eat it."

Gu Bin chimed in from the side, "Look how much face I'm giving them, I took a big bite."

"You're shameless."

Grandma Gu was amused and scolded her with a smile.

Lin Xiyu smiled and didn't refuse anymore. She went along with Xiao Rui Rui's wishes and took a bite of the chicken leg.

Little Rui Rui was so happy that her eyes were squinting with laughter.

"This child is so lovable." The more Grandma Gu looked at her grandson, the more she liked him. She had an idea and wanted to help the couple take care of the child: "I've decided, I won't go back to Guangdong, I'll go back to Shanghai with you."

"what?"

"You're not going back to Guangdong?"

This surprised not only Gu Bin and Lin Xiyu, but even the eldest uncle.

"Won't come back."

Grandma Gu had her reasons: "Rui Rui is young and needs someone to be with him. Xi Yu has to go to work and doesn't have time to watch over him. Even if we hire a nanny, someone still needs to be at home to keep an eye on him. We can't just leave the child to her alone."

"I'm still here."

Gu Bin didn't want his grandmother to have to work so hard, so he volunteered: "I'm free from being a lawyer, so I'm at home doing nothing. Taking care of the kids would be a decent job."

"Relying on you?"

Grandma Gu looked disgusted: "You can break a window just by kicking a ball. How is it any different for you to watch the child than to destroy the house?"

"Grandma, you're really looking down on people."

Gu Bin rarely showed a hint of embarrassment: "You're making me sound like a husky, someone who destroys the house."

"I just look down on you."

Grandma Gu laughed and scolded, "Don't you know how naughty you've been since you were a child? I would never trust you to take care of the child."

"Mom, you're getting old."

My eldest uncle, not wanting my mother to overwork herself, also chimed in, "Don't worry about that. When you have free time, go hiking, go shopping, or go to the park to do some square dancing. Isn't that better than staying at home taking care of the kids?"

"I'm only 75, I'm still young compared to those who are 90."

Grandma Gu was most sensitive about her age, and she glared at her, displeased: "Besides, even if I'm taking care of the child, it won't stop me from doing square dancing. I can just have the nanny come along and take Rui Rui with me."

"Rui Rui is three and a half years old."

The eldest uncle smiled helplessly and said, "Shouldn't you be starting kindergarten by now?"

"I've reached that age."

Gu Bin didn't tell him about Xiao Rui Rui's somewhat withdrawn nature, and casually replied, "Grandma loves him very much and doesn't want him to go to kindergarten, so he hasn't been."

"Children need to be picked up and dropped off at kindergarten."

Grandma Gu was determined to watch the child and wouldn't budge no matter what anyone said: "Such a small child, if we don't keep a close eye on him, someone might take him away, and then you'll all be crying."

"alright."

Gu Bin glanced at Lin Xiyu, and seeing that she didn't object, he stopped refusing: "It's an honor for us that Grandma is willing to live with us. It shows that I, her grandson, am still very important to her. Grandma not only likes Rui Rui, but also feels sorry for me and doesn't want me to work hard, so she wants to do her part to help us take care of the child."

"You've hit the nail on the head."

The eldest uncle exclaimed, "No one can compare to your maternal grandmother's love for her grandson. Even your three cousins ​​combined can't match your love."

"I think so too."

Gu Bin echoed him earnestly.

"You"

The eldest uncle laughed in exasperation: "If your cousins ​​heard you say that, they'd be angry again."

Why are they angry?

Grandma Gu was displeased upon hearing this and stood up for her grandson with a righteous air: "Leaving the old house to Xiaobin was the old man's decision. Xiao Zheng didn't say anything, so what do they have to complain about?"

"Uncle, I'm entrusting this matter to you."

Gu Bin then added, "Please tell my cousins ​​again when you get back that I will not sell the old house. As long as it is not demolished, this house will not be moved. This is the root of our Gu family. With the old house here, no matter how far or how long we are away from home, we can come back anytime we want. Not only me, but my cousins ​​are the same. If they want to bring their children to Jinan to play sometime, they can stay in the old house for a couple of days. It is our own home, and it is more comfortable than staying in a hotel."

"That's the truth."

Grandma Gu knew exactly what was going on, and glared at her eldest uncle with displeasure: "Don't think I don't know what those three girls are thinking. They just want the house to be worth more than before, and they can get a share of the profits if they sell it. That's why they keep thinking about it, afraid that Xiaobin will pocket all the money."

"Cough cough."

The eldest uncle knew exactly what his daughter was thinking, and coughed awkwardly twice.

"Boom bang bang."

Just then, someone came to visit, and the large iron gate was banged on loudly.

Who is it?!

Grandma Gu frowned in displeasure: "Knocking on the door at this hour, don't they want people to eat?"

Who will come?

Lin Xiyu felt a pang of panic, instinctively thinking that perhaps her mother was still upset and had come looking for her.

"You guys eat first, I'll go open the door."

Gu Bin gave her a reassuring look, got up from the chair, lifted the curtain, and went out of the room.

Lin Xiyu listened intently to the sounds coming from the front gate, and was quite surprised to see that he had returned shortly after leaving.

"Who is it?"

Grandma Gu voiced her doubts on her behalf.

"do not know."

Gu Bin secretly guessed, "It's probably a businessman asking if we want to rent out our house."

"These people are really well-informed."

Lin Xiyu scoffed, "We've only been back for a day, and they've already come knocking on our door."

"What did you say?"

Grandma Gu frowned, annoyed by the uninvited visitor.

"I declined."

Gu Bin answered decisively: "The old house will not be sold or rented; it will only be left for our family to live in."

"Ah."

Grandma Gu nodded in satisfaction.

"Actually, we can consider it."

My eldest uncle is a businessman, and he's used to thinking from a businessman's perspective: "The old house is just sitting empty anyway, so we might as well make good use of it."

"Don't even think about it!"

Before she could finish her sentence, Grandma Gu interrupted her: "The old house is a memento left to me by my father. None of you are allowed to touch it."

I didn't mean anything by it.

The eldest uncle explained sheepishly, "I just said it offhand. If you don't like it, that's fine too."

"I'm not eating anymore. They can't even let me eat in peace."

Grandma Gu still disliked him, so she put down her chopsticks and went back to her room to rest.

The eldest uncle was extremely embarrassed. He exchanged a few more awkward words with Gu Bin, then packed his luggage and returned to Guangzhou that same day.

His hasty departure suited Grandma Gu's wishes, and he went back to Shanghai with Gu Bin and his wife, whereupon the arrangement to help them take care of their child was made.

-

Lin Xiyu's children's diplomacy went very smoothly. After Xiao Ruirui finished his afternoon nap, she indeed took him to Grandma Liu's house again.

Little Rui Rui rarely has a playmate of the same age, and she quickly became familiar with Little Niu Niu.

The little girl taught him to play hopscotch, jacks, and shuttlecock.

Little Rui Rui teaches Little Niu Niu to play with Rubik's Cubes, marbles, and roll iron hoops.

The two children played freely in the alley, gradually attracting the attention of other children.

More and more children joined in, and as the number of participants increased, there were more games to choose from.

The older children played jump rope, beanbag toss, and hide-and-seek with the younger ones, and the children's happy laughter could be heard throughout the alley.