Chapter 454 - 447: Taking a Fancy (3)

After chatting with Lin Shan for a while, Lin Shuying pulled Gu’er into another room.

"Hua’er asked me to bring this for the baby. She said she can’t come for the one-month celebration—it would just make everyone unhappy if she did. Here are some little clothes and shoes she bought for the baby, plus some eggs and brown sugar for you. She knows you don’t need any of this, but it’s the thought that counts, so she had me bring it over. Go on, take a look."

Lin Shuying finished and handed the things to Gu’er.

Gu’er took them and had a look. Inside were clothes for the baby, little handmade shoes, and cloth diapers, along with the eggs and brown sugar.

’Gu’er’s eyes reddened slightly. She’d never truly blamed Li Hua. Only a mother could understand that you can never abandon your own child, no matter how difficult they are. It was just like her and Zhang Juan in her past life. Li Hua knew perfectly well that her own children were a burden, that life with them would be hard, yet she still chose them. Was she stupid? Did she not know a good thing when she had it? No, it was neither. She simply couldn’t bear to let them go.’

’Besides, in her previous life, when she was in such a desperate state, Li Hua was the only one who helped her after she gave birth. That’s why she could never blame her. No matter what happened, as long as Li Hua was willing, she would support her.’

"Auntie, please thank my mom for me. Tell her that she can come see the baby whenever she wants. She’s the baby’s grandmother, and she always will be."

Gu’er said to Lin Shuying.

"Of course I told her that. But your mom, well... sigh. That Zhou Mazi is always making trouble for her, not to mention those kids. She knows if she came, they’d probably tag along. She said it’s better if she doesn’t come, to save you the trouble and the heartache of seeing them. To be honest, I know she misses you a lot and wants to see the baby. She’s mentioned it to me several times."

Lin Shuying was full of sympathy for Li Hua and understood her situation perfectly. It reminded her of her own son, Zhongshan. Everyone said he wouldn’t live long, that he was always sickly and a constant expense. She had been through so much to get him treatment, but abandoning her own child was something she could never, ever do.

Gu’er fell silent. ’Of course she knew. But she just couldn’t bring herself to soften her stance. She couldn’t get involved with those children from the Zhou family, not under any circumstances.’

"So, has Zhou Feng’er found anyone yet?"

Gu’er hadn’t asked for news about them lately.

"They found a family for her a while back, and Hua’er was pretty happy about it. She even told me. But that Zhou Feng’er refused. Said the guy had no prospects and wasn’t good enough for her. It made Hua’er so mad. She asked her what kind of man she thought she could find, considering their family has nothing. But Zhou Feng’er just clammed up and gave her this dark, frightening stare. Hua’er is at the point where she doesn’t even want to deal with it, but what can she do? It’s her daughter, and she has to marry her off eventually."

’Gu’er remained silent. She understood Zhou Feng’er all too well. Back in the village, under Zhou Mazi’s control, all Zhou Feng’er had wanted was a young man. As long as it wasn’t some old gambling addict, she would have married anyone just to get away from Zhou Mazi. But now that she was free of him, she was no longer so easy to please. She wanted to find someone impressive, someone she could use to compete with me.’

’But just as Li Hua said, they had nothing to their name. What kind of man did Zhou Feng’er expect to marry? She’d need to be destined for such a life, and she wasn’t.’

"Pay her no mind. Let her keep making her own trouble."

’Gu’er wasn’t worried. She knew Li Hua couldn’t leave those kids now. So what if Zhou Feng’er didn’t get married? Even if she did, there were still Zhou Duo’er and Zhou Cai. Li Hua wouldn’t be coming back to her regardless. So Zhou Feng’er could just take her sweet time.’

"That’s what I told Hua’er, too. She really doesn’t have it easy. Oh, right, Gu’er! I forgot to tell you something. There’s a man who works as a loader at our department store. His name is Qin Dali, and he’s forty-eight. His wife passed away from an illness a few years back. Things were tough for his family for a while—they even had debts. He has a mother who’s nearly seventy, but her health is still pretty good. He also has a daughter who’s married and out of the house, and a son who’s eighteen. He’s doing a good job at the store, so life is getting better for them. He’s paid off all his debts, and now he’s interested in remarrying."

Lin Shuying suddenly told Gu’er about a man.

Gu’er froze for a second, then asked, "What? Is he interested in you, Auntie? And are you interested?"

’For some reason, an image of Zheng Changsheng flashed through Gu’er’s mind. She’d thought he seemed quite taken with her aunt back then—her aunt had even given him her phone number. But all this time had passed, and he’d never contacted her. Looks like that’s a dead end,’ she thought.

"Oh, get out of here! You silly child, how can you joke about your aunt like that? How old do you think I am? I’ll be a grandmother once Zhongshan gets married. What do you mean ’interested’? He’s interested in your mom. In Hua’er. He asked me to inquire about it."

Lin Shuying glared at Gu’er.

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