Chapter 24: Mother Sheng’s Little Thoughts
He has such a strikingly cold face, Mother Sheng thought.
Relying on her sharp wisdom and conversational tact, Mother Sheng had managed to subtly draw out all the details of Gu Tingxiao’s family background.
Sheng Wanze fully understood what his mother was trying to do. She was truly a woman of great foresight. And honestly, he had to admit that Gu Tingxiao was an excellent candidate for a brother-in-law.
Don’t be fooled by his icy exterior—his character and capabilities were top-tier. At only twenty-six years old, Gu Tingxiao had already been appointed as a deputy regiment commander. If it weren’t for his young age, his accumulated military merits would have seen him promoted to full regiment commander long ago.
The man had exceptional skills and a solid education. As his comrade-in-arms, Sheng Wanze knew him best. Back at the military base, countless women from the art troupe had tried to get close and strike up a relationship with him, but his perpetually frosty expression was usually enough to scare them off completely.
Out of politeness to his host, Gu Tingxiao answered every question he could. Mother Sheng was socially adept; she knew exactly where to draw the line and didn’t ask anything too invasive.
Grandpa Sheng also pulled Gu Tingxiao into a conversation about everyday matters. Though Gu Tingxiao was a man of few words, he responded to every remark with respectful attention.
“This fish is delicious,” Gu Tingxiao suddenly remarked out of the blue.
Hearing this, Mother Sheng’s enthusiasm doubled. “Wanyan made the fish! If you like it, please eat more. Don’t be polite.”
Gu Tingxiao nodded and glanced at Sheng Wanyan. He hadn’t expected someone so young to possess such excellent culinary skills.
Feeling his gaze, Sheng Wanyan offered a polite smile and a quick nod, then lowered her head and continued eating.
The meal concluded with everyone feeling incredibly satisfied. Gu Tingxiao hadn’t expected the Sheng family to be so generous in an era of such severe scarcity. Suddenly, he felt that the gifts he had brought were entirely insufficient. He mentally noted that he would have to find a way to give the Sheng family a bit more before he returned to the base.
After dinner, Gu Tingxiao didn’t overstay his welcome. Sheng Wanze walked him downstairs to see him off.
“Tingxiao, I have a favor to ask,” Sheng Wanze said as they reached the courtyard.
“What is it?” Gu Tingxiao asked directly. Given their deep familiarity, there was no need to beat around the bush.
“My family is planning to buy two bicycles, but we’re still short one bicycle coupon. Is there any way you could help me source one?”
“Sure. Give me two days,” Gu Tingxiao agreed without hesitation. He didn’t have one on him right now, but he was certain his aunt in Chengdu could find a way to get one. If all else failed, he would just make a call to his mother in the capital and ask for her help.
“Thanks, brother! I’ll treat you to meat next time!” Sheng Wanze grinned.
“You should be saving your money to marry a wife,” Gu Tingxiao remarked dryly, turning and walking away with long strides.
“Hey! Don’t look down on me!” Sheng Wanze called after him, genuinely a bit offended. He had been in the army for years; did Gu Tingxiao really think he was too poor to afford a wife?
Gu Tingxiao ignored him, climbing into his borrowed jeep and driving off, leaving Sheng Wanze staring at the taillights.
Upstairs, Sheng Wanyan and her mother finished clearing the table and washing the dishes. Afterward, Mother Sheng sat in the living room, her brow furrowed as she calculated the logistics for the in-laws’ visit the day after tomorrow.
“Yan’er, ask for a few hours off work tomorrow afternoon. You need to come with me to buy the groceries to entertain the guests,” Mother Sheng instructed. It would be her first time officially meeting her future daughter-in-law’s family, and she was feeling a rare surge of anxiety.
“Mom, let me go with you tomorrow,” Sheng Wanze offered enthusiastically, walking into the living room.
Mother Sheng just rolled her eyes at him. Why should he go? Just to give me high blood pressure?
Right now, she fully appreciated the advantages of having a daughter. Whenever she had something weighing on her mind that she couldn’t comfortably discuss with the men, her daughter was always there to talk it through easily.
“Just looking at you annoys me. Go away,” Mother Sheng grumbled.
Sheng Wanze stared at his mother in disbelief. Hadn’t she just hugged him and cried tears of joy yesterday? How had her attitude flipped so drastically in twenty-four hours?
“But I’m strong! I can help carry all the heavy things,” he protested.
“Oh, please! Your mother isn’t an invalid yet!”
Truth be told, Mother Sheng was just thoroughly annoyed with him at the moment. He hadn’t given her a single word of advance notice about his engagement. Now his future in-laws were arriving the day after tomorrow, and she was caught completely off guard.
She desperately wanted her son to get married, but she also refused to lose face by acting like a poor, unprepared host. Her son knew perfectly well how scarce decent food was right now. If Wanyan hadn’t miraculously brought back that fatty pork today, what on earth was she supposed to serve his future in-laws? What would the girl’s high-ranking family think of the Sheng household?
“Mom, don’t worry. I’ll go with you tomorrow,” Sheng Wanyan chimed in, smoothly putting out the fire before it could spread.
Mother Sheng nodded in satisfaction and told Wanyan to go back to her room and rest. Before turning in herself, Mother Sheng shot Sheng Wanze one last glare, muttering that sons were nothing but karmic debt collectors sent to torture her.
Sheng Wanze rubbed his nose, completely bewildered. His mother’s temper was getting more explosive by the day. She had wept with sorrow when he returned, yet now she looked at him with sheer disgust.
The next day at the factory, Sheng Wanyan discreetly handed twenty White Rabbit candies to Niu Fangli. In return, Niu Fangli pressed a crisp one-yuan note into her hand. Authentic White Rabbit candy was such an incredibly rare luxury that Niu Fangli was actually worried one yuan wasn’t enough.
Sheng Wanyan accepted the money without any false modesty. Later that afternoon, she went to Director Li’s office to request a two-hour leave before the end of her shift.
Since Sheng Wanyan’s brilliant promotional campaign had just earned him massive face with upper management, Director Li agreed without a second thought.
“No problem at all. I’ll write you a permission slip right now,” he smiled, quickly drafting the note and instructing her to get it stamped at the Logistics Department on her way out.
“Thank you, Director.”
With her leave officially approved, Sheng Wanyan walked out of the factory gates to find her mother already waiting for her. Standing right behind Mother Sheng was Sheng Wanze, looking thoroughly thick-skinned and shameless.
When Mother Sheng got off her shift and saw him waiting, she hadn’t said a word, simply letting him follow her. She figured it would be stupid to turn down free labor.
“Let’s go, Mom,” Sheng Wanze said brightly.
He had specifically tracked down Gu Tingxiao earlier to borrow a bicycle for the day, and true to his word, Gu Tingxiao had handed over the promised bicycle coupon as well. Sheng Wanze had immediately paid him fifty yuan for it. Gu Tingxiao accepted the cash without hesitation. The going black-market rate for a bicycle coupon was exactly fifty yuan; there was no reason to give away such a valuable item for free. Furthermore, Sheng Wanze hated taking advantage of his brothers-in-arms. He always paid what was owed and returned favors when the time came.
He knew Gu Tingxiao must have pulled strings with his aunt to secure it so quickly. He silently wondered how much effort Gu Tingxiao had expended on his behalf.
“By the way, Mom. I managed to secure that bicycle coupon for you,” Sheng Wanze said, handing the precious slip of paper over. “We can buy the two bicycles today, and you two can ride them home.”
“Excellent. We’ll head to the department store later to buy them,” Mother Sheng said, carefully tucking it away. She had been carrying the first coupon Father Sheng acquired in her pocket for days, waiting for this exact moment.
“Can Yan’er even ride a bike?” Sheng Wanze asked, looking at his sister skeptically. He didn’t recall her ever learning.
“Your sister knows how to ride,” Mother Sheng defended quickly. “When she was in high school, she used to borrow her teacher’s bicycle to run errands for the staff all the time.”
Although Sheng Wanyan’s academic grades had plummeted in her final year, she had always been a sensible, helpful girl, and her teachers had liked her enough to trust her with their bikes.
Sheng Wanyan nodded, grateful that the original owner had actually learned how to ride. It saved her the trouble of making up an excuse.
“Alright, you two take the bike and ride ahead. I’ll jog and catch up,” Sheng Wanze offered, handing the handlebars over.
Sheng Wanyan took control of the bicycle, waiting for her mother to settle onto the rear rack.
“Brother, meet us at the butcher’s stall first,” Sheng Wanyan called over her shoulder as she pushed off.
Sheng Wanze nodded. In this era, if you wanted decent pork, you had to get in line early. If you arrived too late, all the fatty cuts would be sold out, leaving only the less desirable lean meat and bare bones.
