Gu Ye has completely retired. He changed out of his military uniform with epaulets and put on the sportswear that Bao Ni bought for him. It was quite comfortable, and he didn't feel too reluctant to leave.
"Commander Gu left so gracefully. If he had stayed a few more years, he might have even been promoted!"
"It's a bit of a pity. There are very few people in the military who are in such a hurry to retire as him. He's practically retiring right on time. He seems to be in a bit of a rush."
"What's there to not understand? Everyone has different priorities. He just wants to spend more time with his wife. Commander Gu has always been a wife-lover!"
"You're all worrying unnecessarily. Commander Gu's daughter is making great strides in the Air Force, and his son is a well-known figure in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Gu Ye is a true winner in life; he doesn't need to work himself to the bone for his children!"
"That's true, why don't we have such successful children!"
...
Gu Ye couldn't hear the envious and jealous voices; he was preoccupied with his retirement life.
Having made all the necessary preparations and packed everything up, Gu Ye moved to the retirement home with Bao Ni and their belongings. It was a two-story building with a yard, and the layout was similar.
"Honey, Bonnie, we'll be living here for the next few decades. You can decorate however you like."
"We need to replace some things. The sofa needs replacing, and the washing machine needs replacing too; it's been used for too many years. We'll get a bigger color TV; it'll be more comfortable to watch. We also need to replace the refrigerator; this space isn't big enough..."
Bonnie was making plans in her mind while constantly telling Gu Ye about her intentions.
"Okay, I'll change it. I'll change anything except my wife."
"Pay attention to your image, don't let yourself go and create a drastic personality contrast."
Write down what you need to do in a notebook. As you get older, your memory sometimes gets worse, and you tend to forget things easily.
Gu Ye and Bao Ni's lives slowed down after moving into the retirement home.
Every morning, they would get up and go for a morning exercise together, practicing Tai Chi to keep their bodies warm. Occasionally, they would run into Commander Mu and his wife, and they could keep each other company, but Gu Ye preferred to be with Bao Ni; he wanted to make up for the time he had missed.
After retiring, Gu Ye became the family's head chef. Sanqi suggested hiring a nanny, but Gu Ye and Bao Ni both disagreed, as they didn't like outsiders coming and going in their home.
The rooms in the retirement home weren't as big as those in the main compound, but it wouldn't take the two of them long to clean them. The yard, however, was quite spacious. Bonnie planned to continue growing vegetables, plant some fruit trees, and also some hardy flowers and grasses. She'd pass on the delicate varieties, as they were too difficult to care for.
A few days ago, Sanqi came over and transplanted quite a few of his family's aloe vera offspring, as his own supply wasn't enough.
The June 9th holiday is over. The family of four spent half a day here and then another half a day at Commander Mu's house.
A month had passed by the time everything inside the house was replaced. The vegetable seedlings in the yard had sprouted, and the fruit trees had taken root and sprouted new buds, looking quite vibrant!
On another sunny and warm morning, Bonnie and Gu Ye finished their morning exercise, ate breakfast at a nearby breakfast stall, and then carried their shopping baskets home.
"Old Gu, I heard you're going out?"
"You heard? You're quite well-informed. We're planning to leave in the next few days. The weather is just right, not too hot or too cold, perfect for going out."
Gu Ye looked at the elderly Mu couple walking towards him, his tone tinged with smugness.
Where are you planning to go?
"Go to the island to see my father-in-law and his family; that's where we first lived."
Bonnie's parents are in their eighties and in good health, able to take care of themselves. Gu Yu and his wife have remained on the island. Their seaweed farming is thriving, and they no longer need to do the work themselves, hiring help instead.
They're over sixty years old, their children are all grown up and have established their own families. They can still earn money and take care of their parents, so they can be considered a successful group.
In recent years, since retiring, Bonnie has returned to the island every year to spend some time with her parents, who are reluctant to leave.
"Oh, I really envy you guys, you can go whenever you want. We can't do that, our children are holding us back."
Mu Nanfang's mother was genuinely envious of Bao Ni; she lived such a carefree life.
Sanqi's children don't need their parents' care; they take care of them themselves. Liujiu's children are cared for by Nanfang. When Liujiu comes home from work, the two of them take care of them together. Their lives are well-organized, and they don't need their parents at all.
Unlike the two of them, who married later in the north, his wife was his colleague, and when they were busy, they would be gone for ten days or half a month at a time. She has been taking care of the child since birth, and still is.
As for Mu Jiaojiao, although she didn't completely leave the child with them, she would send him over every few days to keep herself at ease. The Dongfang family's child was getting older and had a heavy academic workload, so her mother took care of him herself. Tutoring took up most of her time every day, and her eyesight worsened rapidly.
"There's no other way. Their jobs are different up north, so you're the only ones who can take care of the children. They'll eventually have time to rest, and then you'll have time to go out and travel."
We plan to go to Hainan in winter, and to the far north in summer. If possible, we'd also like to visit Tibet, to see all the famous mountains and rivers, and to sample the local cuisines while our teeth are still strong enough to handle them.
Bonnie felt that they could travel for at least ten years and basically see all the mountains and rivers of the motherland.
"Let's go home! If I keep listening, I'm going to cry. It's true, everyone has a different fate!"
The mother from the south pulled her husband home; she really couldn't listen to any more of this.
"You don't need to be envious. When the North has a holiday, let them take care of their own children. The same goes for Jiaojiao. Let them take care of their own children, and we can go out for a walk too."
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