The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Gu’er saw that Sun Jiaming understood, so she didn’t say anything more.

Sun Jiaming’s relationship with Cao Qiu wasn’t like hers with Zhou Mazi. He couldn’t just cut ties with Cao Qiu. So, if Sun Jiaming could get Cao Qiu to change, that would be for the best.

As for how he would change her, Gu’er trusted that since Sun Jiaming had brought it up, he must have a plan. After all, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Seeing that Sun Jiaming had agreed to handle it, Gu’er’s mood brightened again. She started telling Grandma Sun and Sun Jiaming about the sights in the Soviet Union.

"Really? That tall, and it’s round? How on earth did they build that?"

Grandma Sun was amazed by the buildings there.

"Grandma, you just focus on getting better. In the future, Brother Jia Ming and I will take you abroad so you can see it for yourself."

Gu’er held Grandma’s hand. She could make money now, but she would never forget that during her most difficult times, the only ones who stood by her side were Grandma Sun and Sun Jiaming.

"Alright, then. Grandma will do her best to get well and wait for you to take me."

Even though Grandma Sun knew it was impossible, she accepted Gu’er’s kind gesture.

At four-thirty, Lin Shan arrived at the hospital. He was pleasantly surprised to see Gu’er, as he had no idea she was back.

The father and daughter had a warm reunion. Lin Shan asked Gu’er about her trip, and she gave him a brief summary.

Lin Shan nodded. He could imagine the dangers there, because opportunity and risk often go hand in hand.

"You must be exhausted from the trip, right? But you seem to be in good spirits, so Dad is relieved. Jia Ming said Auntie will be discharged in three days. When the time comes, let’s have a get-together. We’ll invite Li Zhi and Dingzi too. Dad wants to meet them."

Lin Shan noticed that although Gu’er had lost some weight, her eyes were sparkling. He felt that letting his child go out and experience the world wasn’t a bad thing; it helped her grow.

"Okay. When Grandma gets out of the hospital, we’ll bring her to our house and have a real celebration."

Gu’er looked at Sun Jiaming after she spoke, and he had no objections.

"Shan, we’ll be troubling you then."

Over the past few days, Grandma Sun and Lin Shan had become quite familiar with each other. Her way of addressing him had changed from "nephew" to "Shan," a clear sign that Grandma Sun had accepted him.

"Auntie, you’re still being so formal. Alright, I’ll head back first. Gu’er, are you coming with me, or...?"

Lin Shan sat for a little while longer, but he had to get home.

"I’ll stay here for the night. I’m not going back. Please let Mom know."

Gu’er had no intention of going back.

"Alright. Don’t overtire yourself."

Lin Shan stroked Gu’er’s hair.

Gu’er fed Grandma Sun dinner, and then she and Sun Jiaming ate as well. She told Sun Jiaming to go home and rest. He didn’t refuse; he was planning to make a trip to see Cao Qiu.

After Sun Jiaming left, Gu’er fetched some hot water and gave Grandma Sun a sponge bath. She massaged her for a while, and only after Grandma Sun had fallen asleep did she tuck her in.

She sat down beside the bed and took out her ledger.

Gu’er went through the accounts, entry by entry, flipping through the pages.

The book wasn’t just for accounting; it also recorded how much profit each item made. By looking at the ledger, Gu’er could see which of the goods they had brought over sold well and which were the most profitable. This way, they could stock up more on those items next time. In business, you always want to maximize your profits.

Gu’er looked through each item, calculating and making notes with her pen.

Before she knew it, it was late at night. Gu’er rubbed her sore neck.

The hospital was quiet at night. Gu’er suddenly heard footsteps but paid them no mind, assuming it was another patient or a family member. To her surprise, the door to the room opened, and Sun Jiaming walked in.

"Brother Jia Ming, why did you come back so late? I thought you were going to spend the night over there."

Gu’er quickly stood up. As she spoke, she poured Sun Jiaming a cup of hot water. The weather was still very cold, and the nights were especially freezing.

Sun Jiaming took the cup from Gu’er, and some color returned to his face. He pulled her down to sit on the stool with him.

"Gu’er, my mother won’t go bother your mom anymore. You can tell her not to worry."

Sun Jiaming said to Gu’er, his voice low and somewhat heavy.

Gu’er fell silent, her heart aching for him. ’Brother Jia Ming must be the one in the most difficult position.’

"Gu’er, I know my mom has a lot of flaws. She doesn’t get along with Grandma, because back then, my grandma wanted my dad to marry a woman from another village. My mom and dad got together secretly, and Grandma was against the marriage. That’s why my mom has resented Grandma ever since she married into the family. But when my brother and I were little, whenever my mom had even a little bit of food, she would give it all to us. She isn’t filial to Grandma, but she’s been a perfect mother to my brother and me. She’d go without food herself to feed us, and go without new clothes to buy them for us. So, anyone else can criticize her, but my brother and I can’t."

"My mom isn’t filial to Grandma, so I’ll be filial in her place. She gave birth to me, raised me, and gave me everything she could. It’s only right that I do things for her."

"Back then, my mom insisted on moving to the city and stayed with my older brother and sister-in-law. To be honest, my sister-in-law never treated her well. No matter what my mom did, my sister-in-law looked down on her. I told my mom back then, ’Why suffer this scorn in the city? Why put yourself through this?’ But she took my hand and told me that my brother is too honest and not very capable. She said if she didn’t keep an eye on things, she was afraid my sister-in-law would bully him to death. She also said that in the city, she could scrounge a little something together to save up for me to get a wife. I told her she didn’t have to, but she wouldn’t listen. Every time I went to the city, she’d make me delicious food. A lot of the time, my sister-in-law’s expression would be awful, but my mom didn’t care. Even if she didn’t get a single bite herself, she would cook and pack some for me to take back."

Sun Jiaming paused for a long while at this point, and a glint of tears seemed to appear in his eyes.

Gu’er remained silent, squeezing Sun Jiaming’s hand tightly. She remembered the first time she went to the city with him. That day, he had given her a pickled cabbage pastry. It was the first time she had eaten something so delicious since her rebirth. She knew Sun Jiaming’s older brother didn’t have an easy life, yet Cao Qiu had endured her daughter-in-law’s contempt to cook good food for her younger son. Just as Sun Jiaming had said, she may have wronged others, but she had never wronged her sons.

Even when Cao Qiu wanted Sun Jiaming to marry someone else, it was because she believed marrying a city girl was the only way for her son to leave the village and have a better life.

"Gu’er, do you know? Every time I saw my sister-in-law treating my mom like that, I felt terrible. Back then, I swore that I would one day marry a daughter-in-law who would satisfy my mom, someone who would be good to her. But... but I didn’t think about how my mom treated my grandma. I didn’t think about whether my mom was good to my sister-in-law when my sister-in-law was being mean to her. Relationships are a two-way street. If you want others to be good to you, you have to make an effort first. Because she’s my mom, I’m emotionally biased toward her. But she didn’t give birth to or raise anyone else. She wasn’t good to them, so why should they be good to her?"

Sun Jiaming was opening his heart to Gu’er.

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