Chapter 450 - 445: Lin Shan Returns

Gu’er didn’t answer Cao Qiu, and Cao Qiu didn’t press the issue. Gu’er had given her a grandson, after all. She’d be willing to put Gu’er on a pedestal for that.

Besides, as long as Gu’er could have children, and with Sun Jiaming and Gu’er having such a good relationship, she wasn’t worried about Gu’er not getting pregnant again. In time, she’d be holding her first grandson, then her second, then her third, one after another. Just thinking about it made her happy.

Regardless, Marina’s pregnancy was a happy occasion. That evening, everyone gathered at the Sun Family’s home. Aunt Zhao made a lot of delicious food, and even Li Zhi came over.

Li Zhi had been spending most of his time at the hospital lately. After all, Feng Ling had no one else. If it were just up to Grandpa Guan, he would probably collapse before Feng Ling was even discharged. So, Li Zhi had hired a middle-aged woman, and the three of them—her, himself, and Grandpa Guan—took turns caring for Feng Ling.

During dinner, the topic of children came up, and inevitably, the conversation turned to Liu Yuan and Bai Xiaohua. Why them? Because they had gotten married before Dingzi and Marina. Now Marina was expecting, but there was still no news from Bai Xiaohua. Apparently, Liu Yuan’s mother was getting very anxious and had said quite a few things to Bai Xiaohua’s face. Even though Liu Yuan defended his wife, Bai Xiaohua still had to endure a lot of grievances.

But at the end of the day, it was their family’s private matter. Sun Jiaming and Li Zhi could only offer Liu Yuan some words of advice; they couldn’t interfere.

Two more days passed just like that, and the baby was now twenty-five days old. That day, Gu’er was organizing the baby’s little clothes. Since his birth, the child had been utterly doted on. Cao Qiu and Chen Fengjiao had bought him lots of clothes. Li Zhi, Dingzi, and Marina had bought quite a few as well, not to mention the ones from Lin Shuying and Xinghua. Liu Yuan had visited twice and brought plenty of gifts. It got to the point where Gu’er’s own plans to buy things for the baby after his first-month celebration seemed pointless. He had enough new clothes to wear a different outfit every day.

"Gu’er! Gu’er! Quick, look who’s here!"

Aunt Zhao’s cheerful voice called from outside.

"Keep it down! Jiji’s sleeping. If you wake him up, he’ll start crying."

Before Gu’er could even go out, Cao Qiu had already shouted in displeasure. She didn’t care who was visiting; her grandson was the most important thing right now.

Gu’er knew that her mother-in-law only had eyes for her grandson—even Sun Jiaming had to take a backseat now. She shook her head helplessly. ’I just hope he doesn’t grow up spoiled.’

Gu’er walked outside and froze. A moment later, joy flooded her heart, and a smile spread across her face. "Dad! Mom! What are you doing here? Dad, when did you get back? How come I didn’t know?"

It was none other than Lin Shan and Chen Fengjiao.

"I just got back. Came straight here to see you and my first grandson."

Lin Shan smiled, his face beaming with fatherly love.

Gu’er didn’t know why her eyes were turning a little red. Her father hadn’t even seen the baby since he was born.

"Come on, Dad. I’ll take you to see Jiji."

Gu’er went over and hugged Lin Shan’s arm. He patted her hand.

"Oh, my dear in-laws, you’re here! Quick, have a seat."

By now, Cao Qiu knew who had arrived and hurried out, her face wreathed in smiles as she warmly welcomed Lin Shan and Chen Fengjiao.

Lin Shan first greeted Grandma Sun and Grandma Dingzi and chatted with them for a bit before following Gu’er to see the baby.

"Lin Shan is always so thoughtful and considerate, no matter what," Grandma Dingzi remarked with a sigh.

"Yes, he is. Even though he doesn’t come back often, every time he does, just seeing him warms my heart."

Grandma Sun nodded in agreement.

Setting aside the two grandmothers’ musings, Gu’er led Lin Shan and Chen Fengjiao to see the baby.

Jiji, as if he knew he had visitors, was awake. He wasn’t crying or fussing, just looking around with his dark, sparkling eyes, wriggling his little hands, and even smiling at people.

Gu’er actually knew that babies can’t see things very clearly before they’re three months old, but it really felt like he was watching them.

Lin Shan was absolutely captivated by Jiji. He reached out, wanting to hold the baby, but it had been so many years since he’d held one that he’d almost forgotten how.

"Dad, hold him like this."

Gu’er showed Lin Shan how. As Lin Shan held Jiji, his expression was incredibly gentle. This was his first grandson. He was a grandfather now. ’Time really flies,’ he thought.

Jiji really put on a good show. As Lin Shan and Chen Fengjiao cooed at him, he just kept smiling, sometimes even drooling a little. He was so adorable that an enamored Lin Shan couldn’t help but kiss him several times. And as for his mother, Gu’er, her heart simply melted.

"You must be tired, my friend. This baby doesn’t look big, but he’s heavy in your arms. You just got back, don’t wear yourself out. You should chat with Gu’er for a bit. I’ll take Jiji and put him to sleep."

Cao Qiu simply couldn’t stand it anymore. She spoke up with a smile, but watching them hold the baby was making her antsy.

"Alright. Thank you for your trouble."

Without another word, Lin Shan handed the baby to Cao Qiu. Then he smiled at Chen Fengjiao and said, "Why don’t you go help her put the baby to sleep?"

Chen Fengjiao glanced at him, realizing he wanted to speak with Gu’er alone, and nodded.

"Where’s Jiaming?"

With only Lin Shan and Gu’er left in the room, Lin Shan asked about Sun Jiaming.

"Liu Yuan called today. He said there was a problem with a shipment at the mall, so he and Dingzi went to take care of it. I don’t know when they’ll be back."

Gu’er didn’t hide anything. The shipment was from Guang City. They couldn’t get goods from the Soviet Union anymore, and even though they’d had a lot of stock, it sold so well that almost nothing was left. They had to start importing popular goods from places like Guang City and Wenzhou. It had been going smoothly at first, but when they inspected this latest shipment, they found what seemed to be quality issues. That’s why Liu Yuan had called for Sun Jiaming and Dingzi to go take a look and figure out a solution.

Lin Shan nodded.

"Dad, did your transfer orders come through? Are you being transferred back here?"

Gu’er asked Lin Shan. She hadn’t called in the past few days, so she didn’t know the details.

"They came. There were some complications, but it’s all settled now. The appointment for Deputy Mayor came through as well. I’ve already arranged everything for my work in the countryside, and I’ll be starting my new post the day after tomorrow."

Lin Shan said with a sigh. After two years in the countryside, he felt as if the world had changed completely.

"That’s wonderful!"

Gu’er was genuinely happy. This meant her father’s work had been recognized. With her dad coming back, her mom would be happy, and she was happy too.

Lin Shan smiled at Gu’er’s excited expression. He used to have grand ambitions, but his experiences over the last two years had given him a new perspective. He’d come to accept that no matter his position, the most important thing was to do his job well.

"Dad, what did you mean earlier when you said there were some complications?"

Gu’er suddenly remembered what Lin Shan had said.

"It’s nothing. Let’s not talk about it. You’re still in your postpartum confinement. You should focus on resting and not worry about anything else."

Lin Shan didn’t plan on telling Gu’er.

"Dad, that’s exactly why you should tell me. If you don’t, I’ll just start overthinking things."

Gu’er wanted to know what was going on.

Lin Shan looked at Gu’er and considered it. His daughter was level-headed; there was no harm in telling her.

"Do you remember Zheng Dabaihua?"

Lin Shan asked Gu’er.

"I remember. Did he cause trouble again?"

How could Gu’er forget? She believed he was the one who had arranged for her to be taken away as a baby, changing the course of her entire life. She had even asked Sun Jiaming and Li Zhi to help her investigate, but Sun Jiaming told her that her dad didn’t want them to get involved, so the matter was dropped. ’Why would Dad bring him up again today?’