Chapter 236: Buying Things for Children
Mother Gu’s initial priority had been to keep Gu Jingjing close by her side, but she knew that if the child hadn’t been thoroughly deprogrammed first, the little girl would have resisted. Now, by taking advantage of Wang Chunmei’s prolonged absence, she had finally managed to sever the unhealthy, anxious attachment the child felt toward her mother.
How could she possibly let her granddaughter be led astray by Wang Chunmei all over again?
Gu Jingjing was inherently a sensible, sweet, and well-behaved child, but Wang Chunmei’s relentless brainwashing had nearly twisted her spirit. Mother Gu had labored intensely during this period to reshape her granddaughter’s perspective; there was no way she would allow her to be thrown back into harm’s way.
If Wang Chunmei, as a biological mother, refused to cherish such a precious daughter, Mother Gu, as her grandmother, would gladly protect and treasure her precious granddaughter!
When Wang Chunmei realized that Gu Tinghao had completely agreed to the custody arrangement, a sharp surge of bitter resentment flared in her chest.
Ten yuan every single month! That totals one hundred and twenty yuan a year—and every single cent of that fortune belongs to my future son!
Yet now, that massive sum was being squandered on a worthless, ungrateful little girl. In Wang Chunmei’s eyes, this daughter lacked any basic awareness of her proper role as an older sister; she was actively plundering resources right out of her future brother’s hands!
Wang Chunmei fixed a venomous, lethal glare on Gu Jingjing, her expression packed with the raw hostility one would reserve for a bitter enemy.
Terrified by the sheer malice in her mother’s eyes, Gu Jingjing flinched, burying her face into Sheng Wanyan’s arms as her small frame began to tremble violently.
“Don’t be afraid, sweetheart,” Wanyan murmured softly, pulling the child close. “We are all right here to protect our Jingjing.”
Sensing the little girl’s intense tremors, Wanyan’s heart darkened. The psychological trauma Wang Chunmei had inflicted on this child was staggering. What kind of mother stared down her own biological daughter as if she were a mortal foe?
“Get out of my sight!”
The moment Old Master Gu caught sight of his great-granddaughter’s trembling frame, his volatile military temper exploded, and he thundered at Wang Chunmei to get out of his house.
Terrified by the general’s roaring fury, Wang Chunmei snapped her eyes away, quickly scrambling toward the door. Gu Tinghao turned on his heel and strode out ahead of her, his voice drifting back coldly. “If you refuse to cross my threshold under these terms, you are more than welcome to march right back to the Wang estate.”
Hearing his definitive threat, Wang Chunmei scurried to match his stride. She would endure anything before returning to the living hell of her parents’ home.
The moment the front door clicked shut behind them, Gu Jingjing’s composure fractured, and she burst into heavy tears. Mother Gu hurried across the living room, gathering the weeping girl into her arms to cradle and soothe her.
“Our Jingjing is going to live right here with Grandpa and Grandma from now on,” she cooed softly. “No one will ever be permitted to bully our baby again.”
“Jingjing will be incredibly good,” the child sobbed, her voice muffled against her grandmother’s shoulder. “I promise I won’t cause any trouble for Grandpa and Grandma…”
“Jingjing knows how to build the cooking fires, and I can boil the rice. I can sweep the floors and wash the heavy laundry too… I can execute so many, many chores for you…”
With every small, desperate vow that left the child’s lips, Mother Gu’s heart broke a little further. The little girl was a mere four years old! For a toddler barely past her fourth birthday to operate with such hyper-vigilant, anxious caution was a devastating tragedy.
“Hiccup… Jingjing promise… I won’t be a burden, and I won’t eat too much of your plain rice.”
“Our Jingjing doesn’t have to execute a single chore for the rest of her life,” Mother Gu choked out, her eyes misty with tears as she held her tighter. “Your singular duty in this household is to play happily and grow up safe and strong.”
Mother Gu felt a savage urge to march out and deliver a physical beating to Wang Chunmei. How could a biological mother warp a child to this extent?
“Those hard labors belong exclusively to the adults,” Mother Gu explained patiently, breaking the concepts down into simple terms. “Jingjing is a child, and children are meant to be cherished.”
She spent a long time gently re-educating her, and because Jingjing possessed a highly sensitive, receptive nature, the loving words began to sink in. Tragically, it was that exact same compliant nature that had previously allowed her to be so thoroughly manipulated by Wang Chunmei’s toxic conditioning.
Following the old general’s terrifying outburst, Wang Chunmei didn’t dare show her face near the main military villa for a long time.
Gu Tinghao, however, walked over to the house constantly to bond with Gu Jingjing, frequently arriving with packages of beautiful new clothes for her. In the past, whenever he attempted to purchase something for their daughter, Wang Chunmei would throw a massive, bitter tantrum over the expense, but Gu Tinghao refused to indulge her whims any longer.
The fourth branch’s entire financial assets were now firmly locked within Gu Tinghao’s custody, and he restricted Wang Chunmei to a strict monthly allowance of twenty yuan for basic household provisions. Given his standard military salary of fifty yuan, after deducting Jingjing’s child support, Wang Chunmei’s allowance, and a formal contribution to Father and Mother Gu’s estate, his monthly income was entirely exhausted.
Fortunately, Gu Tinghao still possessed his substantial share of the liquid capital from the recent family division to fall back on. In the past, when Wang Chunmei managed their accounts, she had systematically funneled every single yuan of her own factory director salary back to her parents, never saving a single cent for their own household.
Gu Jingjing stared down at the crisp, beautiful garments her father had placed before her, her eyes wide with lingering disbelief. Were these stunning items truly destined for her?
“Go ahead and try it on, Jingjing,” Gu Tinghao urged gently.
The little girl’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the pristine, white plush coat resting in his hands. In her entire memory, her parents had never once purchased a luxury item exclusively for her person.
“Is this… is this truly for me?”
Witnessing the pure shock and tentative hope radiating from his daughter’s face, a wave of profound sorrow washed through Gu Tinghao’s chest. He forced a warm, encouraging smile and nodded. “Yes, sweetheart. This belongs entirely to our Jingjing.”
A radiant grin erupted across her face as she carefully took the soft fabric from his hands, her small fingers tracing the plush trim.
“Jingjing has beautiful new clothes too,” she whispered ecstatically to herself. “Jingjing is so incredibly happy~”
Though the child was merely expressing her pure joy, her innocent commentary struck the adults in the room like a physical blow. For Gu Tinghao, it felt as though a hundred sharp needles were driving straight into his heart, the intense guilt making it physically difficult to draw a breath.
“Yes, sweetheart,” he rasped, his voice thick with emotion. “Daddy is going to buy you an abundance of beautiful things in the future.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
Jingjing looked up at him, her eyes shining with new adoration. Mother Gu stepped forward to help her slide into the coat. The garment was a beautiful fit, with a generous margin of extra room tailored into the cut. This way, the child would easily be able to wear it through the coming year as she grew.
“Oh, look at you, Jingjing,” the eldest sister-in-law, Liang Nazhen, cooed affectionately. “You look absolutely spectacular, just like a delicate little doll.”
Unaccustomed to receiving praise, Gu Jingjing’s cheeks instantly flushed a brilliant red. “Auntie~” she murmured shyly, entirely unsure of where to place her hands as she squirmed with happy embarrassment.
Jingjing was a naturally lovely child. While Wang Chunmei possessed a toxic personality, she was undeniably a highly attractive woman, and Jingjing had seamlessly inherited the sharp, aristocratic facial features of the Gu family line. Dressed with her hair gathered into two neat braids and her straight bangs framing her face, she looked like a picture-perfect young lady. The furry texture of the coat amplified her delicate, porcelain appearance.
“Come, let’s try on the matching trousers and shoes,” Gu Tinghao said, unboxing the remaining parcels.
He was entirely consumed by a deep sense of paternal guilt, and he was actively utilizing these tangible gestures to initiate his long-term atonement. It wasn’t a fatal tragedy when parents stumbled or made mistakes; the true disaster manifested when elders stubbornly refused to acknowledge their shortcomings, instead weaponizing their senior status to stand on a hypocritical high ground, branding their children ungrateful or ignorant.
Thankfully, Gu Tinghao possessed the integrity to cast aside his adult pride to save his daughter. Executing these course corrections while Jingjing was still young and malleable was infinitely better than waiting until she reached adulthood. He had been terrified that if he delayed his apology, an invisible, unyielding wall of resentment would permanently solidify between them, leaving him entirely unable to bridge the emotional chasm later in life.
With Wang Chunmei permanently barred from the villa, the Gu clan enjoyed an exceptionally peaceful, joyous conclusion to their holiday season.
Sheng Wanyan refused to let her pregnancy relegate her to the bedroom all day. Taking advantage of the final days of the holiday before Mother Gu and Liang Nazhen had to report back to their executive offices, she organized a grand shopping excursion to the exclusive Overseas Chinese Store. Grandma Gu’s advanced age made navigating the winter drafts highly painful for her knees, so she opted to remain behind by the hearth. This left Gu Tingxiao as the most unrestricted person in the villa, automatically designating him as the personal chauffeur and heavy laborer for the trip.
This marked Wanyan’s very first formal shopping excursion since her pregnancy had been confirmed, and her consumer instincts triggered instantly. Clutching the thick stack of premium foreign exchange certificates Gu Tingxiao had systematically converted for her, she felt a fierce eagerness to spend. Her eyes sparkled with economic ambition; she was determined to cleanly liquidate every single voucher in her purse!
“This is the perfect window to secure our primary infant hardware—like premium bottles and specialized accessories,” Liang Nazhen noted, steering their cart through the aisles. “That way, everything will be perfectly archived by the time the baby arrives.”
Wanyan nodded in firm agreement. Although her secret spatial dimension possessed an endless inventory of modern childcare goods, specialized hardware like imported glass baby bottles were exclusively sourced through these high-end Overseas Chinese Stores in this era. If she suddenly pulled a modern bottle from her stash later down the line, she wouldn’t possess a logical narrative to explain the source to her hyper-vigilant husband. Securing a paper trail for the items now was the superior strategy.
“We should hold off on purchasing the infant milk powder for now,” Mother Gu advised, looking over the shelves. “If we hoard canisters today, the shelf life will expire within six months. Besides, during the initial stages, maternal breast milk is infinitely superior for the baby’s immunity. When the timing is right, I’ll personally arrange fresh shipments for you.”
Wanyan smoothly deferred to her experience, guiding their group toward the dedicated infant department. The specialized wing was a visual treasure trove, overflowing with imported developmental toys, miniature hand-knit garments, and tiny leather shoes.
