"If the village chief says so, wouldn't the whole village be able to hear it?"

"Yeah yeah!"

Pfft!

Hearing someone laugh, Feng Jianguo put on a stern face and asked, "Who was it? Who was laughing just now?"

Now no one spoke again.

He was furious, feeling that the villagers were challenging his status and didn't take him seriously because of his age.

"I'll ask you one more time, who was laughing just now?"

Seeing that he was truly angry, the crowd became even more hesitant to speak and increasingly impatient.

There were more than a dozen people standing in the small village office, none of them speaking, which made it seem particularly eerie.

Feng Jianguo was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged. He stretched out his right hand, pointed at a group of people, and cursed.

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Aren't you just hoping I die sooner? Back then, I led everyone..."

He started counting his past achievements on his fingers, but it was always the same few things over and over again.

Besides, isn't that what the village chief does?

No one spoke, and it's likely that no one was really listening to him.

Fortunately, Feng Jianguo soon felt tired and stopped, as his health was not as good as before.

After the villagers dispersed, Feng Jianguo sat alone in his office and took out a small white medicine bottle from the drawer next to him.

There are no labels on it.

Without even looking, he poured out two small black pills and swallowed them directly with the water in the jar.

It took him a while to recover and he wasn't breathing so hard anymore.

A few days later, Gu Shi took Lin Qingyu back to his hometown.

Their child was also with them, and Li Xiuhua was holding her.

Gu Shi named him Gu Jue.

"Little Yuyu, let's go home!"

Li Xiuhua held her and couldn't resist teasing the child. The weather was nice today, a sunny day, and it wasn't cold holding the child.

Lin Qingyu and Li Xiuhua walked behind, and Pear Blossom Village seemed to have changed again.

"Mother, when you call her that, it feels like you're calling me!"

"I call you Xiaoyu, and she calls me Xiaoyuyu, how can you call each other the same?"

Li Xiuhua's happiest moment each day is when she holds Gu Jue and teases her.

However, Gu Jue is less than two months old and doesn't smile very well yet.

Lin Qingyu lost her temper, smiled but didn't say anything, and her status in the family plummeted.

No, for Gu Shi, she will always be number one.

So Lin Qingyu ran and jumped ahead to find Gu Shi, and walked alongside him.

"Go to my house first. You can go home and clean it up first. Once it's ready for people to live in, I'll take Xiaoyu back."

Gu Shi looked down at Lin Qingyu, who was clinging to his arm, and said with amusement, "Didn't you dislike being called 'Little Jade'? Why are you calling yourself that so happily!"

"Oh dear, she's a piece of my own flesh and blood, I don't dislike her at all!"

Even though Lin Qingyu is a mother, she still acts like a child.

In an ordinary family, no one would like a daughter-in-law like that.

However, Gu Shi is no ordinary person. Lin Qingyu is like a child, and he spoils her.

Besides, Lin Qingyu isn't really like a child. She can earn money to support her family and patiently coax her child. Her mindset is already much better than most people's.

In Lihua Village, there is a custom that women who give birth outside the village must bring their children home after the full moon celebration.

They want to go home to pay respects to their ancestors and also bring the gifts to their family members so they can feel the warmth and connection of their loved ones.

The three of them, along with Gu Jue in Li Xiuhua's arms, returned to the Lin family's old courtyard under the cover of darkness.

Lin Aiguo had received advance notice and had been preparing at home.

Fearing that Zhao Hongxia might cause some trouble again, he decided to take leave and go home to deal with it first.

Fortunately, Zhao Hongxia didn't say anything this time and even helped Lin Aiguo with the arrangements.

The two of them steamed a big pot of steamed buns and dumplings, and also cooked a big pot of vegetables, which included a lot of vermicelli and meat that Lin Aiguo had gone to buy early in the morning.

Now Zhao Hongxia doesn't feel bad about the meat anymore. Before, when Li Xiuhua cooked, she would nag for a long time if she put a little bit of meat in the pan.

Lin Qingyu pushed open the gate to the courtyard and went inside.

We're back!

The two people in the kitchen came out when they heard the noise. Lin Aiguo, who had difficulty moving, walked behind Zhao Hongxia.

"Oh my! Our family's hero is back!"

No one knew what she meant by those words, but nobody paid any attention to her.

Li Xiuhua, carrying the child, walked behind Lin Qingyu. Unexpectedly, Zhao Hongxia didn't even look at Lin Qingyu, bypassed her, and walked to the child.

"Oh my, this child looks just like Xiao Gu! Dong's mother, don't you think so?"

Gu Shi didn't greet her and followed Lin Qingyu into the kitchen.

They happened to run into Lin Aiguo, who was about to leave.

"Xiaoyu is back. Xiao Gu, you and Qingyu go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready in a little while."

Gu Shi nodded politely in response. Seeing that Lin Qingyu had only taken a quick look around before coming out, he decided not to go inside.

Just then, Gu Jue's crying came over.

"Wow! Wow!"

"Mother, please don't move. Xiao Jue is very shy around strangers and doesn't usually let others hold her."

Zhao Hongxia wouldn't listen and tried to snatch Gu Jue from Li Xiuhua's arms.

"Xiao Ju, right? That's a nice name. Let Great-Grandma hold you. Once she's held you, she won't be shy anymore!"

The last few words were spoken by Zhao Hongxia through gritted teeth. She was determined to snatch it, and Li Xiuhua didn't dare to really fight her.

Instinctively, Li Xiuhua let go of her hand.

However, the child did not end up in Zhao Hongxia's arms; Gu Jue was directly held in Gu Shi's arms.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!