Chapter 39: Someone Got Infuriated
The next day at noon, Gu Wenlin returned home from work. Just as he finished changing his shoes, he noticed a telegram receipt on the five-drawer cabinet and was so furious he felt his lungs were about to explode.
“Pan Huijuan, come out here!”
Pan Huijuan walked out, wearing an apron and holding a spatula. “What’s wrong?”
Gu Wenlin slammed the receipt onto the table and demanded, “What do you mean by this? I warned you last night not to send a telegram to our son. He’ll come back when the time is right. Tell me, what did you say in the telegram to Yan’an today? And it was only five words long.”
“Grandfather critically ill, return immediately! What about it?”
Gu Wenlin felt his blood boil. He slammed his palm heavily on the table. “Pan Huijuan, you’re something else. Just to trick your son into coming back, you’d lie and curse my father. If my father finds out, your days as the eldest daughter-in-law of the Gu family are numbered.”
Pan Huijuan stole a glance at Gu Wenlin, her tone softening. “Dad’s health hasn’t been good anyway. If I didn’t say he was critically ill, should I have said you or I were sick? Your son definitely wouldn’t believe that…”
Gu Wenlin was so angered by Pan Huijuan’s words that he laughed bitterly. “Pan Huijuan, oh Pan Huijuan, I really don’t know what to say about you. Yan’an is such a sensible person. If he rushes back in a panic only to find that Dad isn’t anywhere near as serious as you claimed, I’d like to see how you explain yourself to him and to Dad!”
“He’s my son. Why should I have to explain myself to him? Can’t I even ask him to come home? What kind of logic is that? Anyway, the telegram’s already been sent. You don’t need to worry about this anymore. I’m going to cook.”
As soon as Gu Yannan returned home, he sensed the tense atmosphere and asked Gu Yanbei beside him, “Xiao Bei, why is Dad sitting alone on the sofa in a daze?”
“Second Brother, I was just helping Little Sister with her homework, so I’m not sure exactly what happened. It seems Dad is upset with Mom for sending a telegram to Elder Brother.”
“Why would Mom send a telegram to Elder Brother?”
“Mom wants Elder Brother to come back sooner.”
“Elder Brother has a mission to complete in Haishi, and after that, he needs to treat his leg. A bone injury takes a hundred days to heal. He probably won’t be back that soon, right?”
Suddenly, Pan Huijuan called out loudly from the kitchen, “Tingting, come help Mom with the dishes! Yannan, Yanbei, stop chatting and call your dad for dinner.”
Gu Wenlin stood up angrily. Gu Yanbei walked over to console him, “Dad, don’t be mad at Mom. If Elder Brother comes back sooner, he can report to the Material Reserve Bureau earlier.”
“Your Elder Brother has a three-month leave after his demobilization. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to your second aunt’s hospital to treat his leg after completing his mission in Haishi. And now that your Elder Brother is seeing someone, it’s even less likely he’ll come back early.”
Gu Yanbei exclaimed in surprise, “Elder Brother is seeing someone? Then what about Sister Weiwei?”
Bai Wei again. The mention of Bai Wei made Gu Wenlin’s blood boil. He glared coldly at Gu Yanbei and said, “Yanbei, you’re twenty years old now. I hope you have the ability to distinguish right from wrong. Our family never made any engagement with the Bai family. What does your Elder Brother seeing someone have to do with Bai Wei?”
“How can it not have anything to do with Sister Weiwei? Sister Weiwei is almost twenty-three. The reason she hasn’t married yet is because she’s been waiting for our Elder Brother, isn’t it? Now that Elder Brother is finally demobilized from the army, how could he start seeing someone without even saying a word?”
“Hehe…! It seems all of you have been bewitched by that Bai Wei, talking about her day in and day out. What’s so great about Bai Wei anyway?”
Just then, Gu Yanting walked over carrying a dish, coaxing playfully, “Dad, Sister Bai Wei has been so good to us. Third Brother and I have always seen her as our Elder Sister-in-law. Isn’t Elder Brother in Haishi? How could he have a girlfriend there?”
Pan Huijuan gently placed a freshly stir-fried bowl of shredded potatoes on the table and said irritably, “Your brother found some delicate young lady in Haishi. He’s probably so lost in pleasure he’s forgotten where home is.
Your mom had no choice but to send him a telegram, telling him to come back early. And your dad just takes his temper out on me. Tell me, isn’t he getting senile?”
Gu Yannan, afraid his parents would start arguing again, quickly tried to mediate, “Dad, let’s sit down and eat first! We can talk about Elder Brother’s matter later. Mom, you should say less too. In the end, it’s Elder Brother himself who decides who he wants to marry.”
Pan Huijuan glanced at Gu Yannan and said, “Yannan, you’re already twenty-three now. Your Elder Brother is only a year and a half older than you. Once Yan’an comes back and his engagement is settled, we’ll arrange a match for you by the end of the year too!”
Before Gu Yannan could respond, Gu Wenlin slammed his chopsticks on the table and said, “Pan Huijuan, are you ever going to stop? Engagement? What engagement? Not only would Yan’an never agree to marry Bai Wei, I wouldn’t agree either!”
Pan Huijuan retorted stubbornly, “If Yan’an doesn’t want to marry her, then let Yannan marry her! After all, Yannan and Bai Wei are about the same age!”
Gu Yanbei joked, “Mom, if Elder Brother won’t marry her, I will! Sister Wei is exactly three years older than me—they say a wife three years older brings a gold brick.”
Ignoring Gu Yanbei, Gu Wenlin stared intently at Gu Yannan, waiting to hear his thoughts. If he, like Yanbei and Yanting, also liked that Bai Wei, then he would wash his hands of their marriage affairs.
“Yannan, tell me, do you also want to marry that Bai Wei?”
“Dad, if even Elder Brother doesn’t fancy her, why would I? Bai Wei isn’t my type.”
Gu Wenlin smiled with satisfaction at this. Those who had served in the military indeed had backbone, not taken in by that kind of frail, two-faced woman.
The eldest and second son had good judgment, just like him. The third and fourth, like his wife, had never served in the military and were clearly blind.
Gu Yanbei felt a bit upset by this. “Second Brother, how can you not like Sister Wei? I always thought you two got along well. Every time she comes, she asks about your health and how your work is going.”
Gu Yannan put down his bowl and chopsticks, smiling instead of getting angry. “Do you really think she comes every time just to ask about our health?”
Gu Yanting couldn’t stand her second brother’s coldness and pouted, “Second Brother, Sister Wei always brings us things when she visits. Look at how many big Infusion Bottles we have at home now. And she’s given me so many discarded medicine boxes—I’ve been giving them to classmates to use as pencil cases.”
“Alright, let’s eat and stop talking about her. You’ve all been bought off with just a few small favors. Anyway, neither Yan’an nor Yannan will marry Bai Wei. Yanbei, if you’re really serious about marrying her, then move out.”
Hearing his dad tell him to move out, Gu Yanbei immediately backed down. “Dad, I’m only twenty, and I’m still a temporary worker. I’m not thinking about finding a wife yet. If Bai Wei can’t be my Elder Sister-in-law or Second Sister-in-law, then let her be my big sister. After all, I don’t have one.”
Gu Wenlin shot Gu Yanbei a fierce glare. “Enough with the nonsense! Sister? What sister? I only have Tingting as my daughter. Don’t you dare bring another daughter into this family, or you’ll be in for a world of hurt.”
Gu Yanbei shuddered in fear. His father was really something—why did he hate Sister Weiwei so much? What had Sister Weiwei ever done to offend him?
Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Gu Yanting didn’t dare make a sound either. It was Saturday, and she had half a day off in the afternoon. She needed to break this bad news to Sister Weiwei, or she’d feel too guilty for all the kindness Sister Weiwei had shown her.