Chapter 28: Ungrateful
After making up her mind, Gu Qiuyue suppressed her worries and went to work as usual.
As soon as she stepped into the office, Sun Juan mysteriously pulled her to a corner and lowered her voice, "Qiuyue, now the whole family compound has spread the word that you are an expert in growing vegetables. The vegetables growing inside the wall are lush and green, a hundred times better than those in other people's gardens!"
Gu Qiuyue's heart skipped a beat. "Who told you that?"
"I don't know who said that." Sun Juan looked at her with a warning, "Be careful of those people who ask you for food."
"No way! It's just a few vegetables, and someone has the nerve to come and ask for them." Gu Qiuyue paused, "Didn't I hear there's a piece of land in the north that's specifically allocated to family members for their own use?"
"There are so many people living in the family compound now, and many of those who live in the apartment buildings don't have their own plots. They have to buy vegetables every day, so how can they not keep an eye on other people's vegetable plots? Especially now during the lean season, when I hear that the vegetables in your yard are lush and green, do you think they wouldn't be coveted?"
Sun Juan's words alerted Gu Qiuyue. When she returned home in the afternoon, she immediately shoveled up all the well-grown vegetables in the field and threw them into the space. She also turned the soil over before going back to the house to cook.
At this moment, an unfamiliar female voice sounded at the gate of the courtyard, "Is Deputy Headmaster Xie here?"
Gu Qiuyue opened the door and saw two people standing there. One was a woman in her sixties, and the other looked familiar. She smiled and said, "I'm Gu Qiuyue. May I ask who you are?"
"Thank you, Deputy Regimental Master. I'm Chen Cui'e, the wife of the Deputy Commander of the Third Battalion. This is Aunt Gao, the mother of our Commander..."
Chen Cui'e was interrupted by Gu Qiuyue: "What do you want?"
Chen Cui'e smiled and said, "Oh, it's like this. Gao Da's daughter Xiaobao has had a poor appetite these past few days and is craving fresh vegetables. I heard that your family grows very well. So I brought her here to see what you have and also asked for a few plants for the child to try."
Gu Qiuyue felt helpless, as what Sun Juan said was true.
An apologetic look appeared on her face. "I'm sorry, Aunt Gao. My vegetables are actually no different from everyone else's. And I don't know what happened, but there were bugs in the field, so I dug up the newly grown seedlings at noon."
"That's not right. Everyone says that the vegetables you planted are growing very well, so how come they attracted insects? I see that the onions and ginger you planted are still fine." Chen Cui'e stretched her head to look inside.
Gu Qiuyue simply stepped aside and said, "It's because we're still planting onions and ginger. Even though it's painful for the seedlings to attract insects, we have to shovel them. Look, didn't you just plow that field?"
Mrs. Zhang from next door heard the noise and came over: "What's going on?"
"Sister Zhang, didn't you say that Deputy Commander Xie's wife is a good vegetable grower? Why did she shovel away all the vegetables when Xiaobao from Gaoda's family wanted to eat some fresh vegetables? Don't you want to give them to her?" Chen Cui'e said maliciously.
Gu Qiuyue ignored Chen Cui'e and said to Aunt Gao, "Auntie, I don't know what the deputy battalion commander's wife said to you. What season is it now? Even the most skilled vegetable grower can only grow a few seedlings at best."
Aunt Gao was stunned. She was also confused by her grandson's crying. How could there be any lush green vegetables at this time of year? Even the wild vegetables were only barely sprouting. She nodded to Gu Qiuyue and Mrs. Zhang, then turned and left.
"Hey, Auntie!" Chen Cui'e hurriedly followed.
Seeing the two of them leave, Mrs. Zhang quickly apologized: "Sister Qiuyue, I really didn't mean it..."
"I believe my sister-in-law," Gu Qiuyue consoled her. "It's not a big deal. It's just a few vegetables. If they really grow well, there's no reason to be reluctant to give them up. But at this time of year, where can you find lush green vegetables? There are only a few seedlings."
Mrs. Zhang understood: "That's right, last time I saw your vegetable seedlings, they were growing very well."
"Alas," Gu Qiuyue smiled bitterly, "I guess I can't praise them. One day my sister-in-law said my vegetable seedlings were growing well, but the next day they were infested with bugs, so I had to dig them all up."
A small storm was thus settled.
But a few days later, on the way home from get off work, Gu Qiuyue saw Wang Zhaodi and a woman in a tweed coat at the door of her house - Wang Sufen, the family member of Captain Liu.
Gu Qiuyue raised an eyebrow, unsure what Wang Sufen wanted to talk to her about. Wang Sufen pulled out a brand new copy of "Common Sense of Home Care" from her bag. "Hey, Qiuyue, I'm here to ask for advice today. Everyone knows how attentive and considerate you were when you took care of Deputy Commander Xie! My sister Dayong," she paused, observing Gu Qiuyue's expression, "has been feeling unwell lately and has been taken to the family home for recuperation. The doctor has advised careful care. I'm clumsy and unsure, so I wanted to learn something practical from you, an 'expert'!"
Gu Qiuyue sneered inwardly, but remained polite on the surface, speaking in a distant tone: "Sister Wang, the most important thing in caring for a patient is to follow the doctor's orders. Do whatever the doctor says. Good ventilation is required, the diet should be light and soft, and frequent turning to prevent bedsores is required - these basics are all written in the textbooks. For the specific operations, it is best to ask the nurse to demonstrate."
Wang Sufen's fake smile was a little awkward. She simply closed the book, leaned forward, and lowered her voice, "That's true! But... well, my son Dayong has to go to work, and I just started working at the kindergarten, so I really can't spare the time to watch over him all day.
"I know the work in the Propaganda Department... needs to be a little more relaxed, right? I wanted to ask... could you spare some time to help out? Don't worry, you won't work for nothing! You'll be paid! It's calculated by the day!" She said the last three words clearly and heavily, her eyes locked onto Gu Qiuyue's reaction like hooks.
Gu Qiuyue's heart froze. She was being asked to serve Liu's eldest sister-in-law? Was she mentally ill? She ignored Wang Zhaodi's attempts to persuade her and looked at Wang Sufen with a sharp gaze. "Sister-in-law Sufen, I'm sorry. You have work to do, and I have my own work to do. It's not appropriate for me to ask for leave. Sister-in-law Zhaodi next to you has more time. Why don't you ask her for a favor? I think she'd be happy to help."
Wang Zhaodi didn't expect to get into trouble. She waved her hands repeatedly and said, "I can't do it, I can't do it. How can I take care of patients when I can't even read a few words? Sister Qiuyue, when it comes to taking care of patients, you are the best." She gave Gu Qiuyue a thumbs up and said, "Just think of it as helping Sister Sufen."
"Since the two Wang sisters have such a good relationship, Sister Zhaodi can just lend a hand to Sister Sufen," Gu Qiuyue said in a cold voice. "Anyway, Sister Zhaodi is free anyway, and Sister Sufen also said that it's not for free, she'll be paid. It's just right that Sister Zhaodi can also help supplement the family expenses, so other families don't have to cook the dishes you just didn't buy."
"You!" Wang Zhaodi's face turned red from choking.
Wang Sufen's fingers were gripping the book so hard that her knuckles turned white, and wrinkles appeared on the brand new cover. She glared at Gu Qiuyue with resentment in her eyes. After a long while, she squeezed out a sentence from between her teeth: "Hmph! You don't know how to be polite. You are so arrogant." After saying that, she suddenly swung her hand and the book almost flew out of her hand. She turned around, stomped her feet heavily on the ground, and rushed out of the courtyard as if she was escaping.
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