The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Gu’er and the others took Lin Shan to where he was leaving from. The path was in much better shape than the last time they’d come, likely because so many people had been traveling recently.

"I’ll come back for your wedding with Jia Ming, Gu’er. Take good care of yourself, and don’t work too hard."

Lin Shan whispered to Gu’er as they were about to part.

"Okay."

Gu’er nodded, her cheeks flushing. Hearing her father say that made her truly realize she was getting married this year. In just four more months, she wouldn’t be on her own anymore.

On the way back, Li Zhi asked Gu’er, "So what did Uncle Lin say to you? Whispering behind our backs so we couldn’t hear."

"I-It was nothing."

’How could she possibly tell them that?’

"You’re lying. He definitely said something."

But Li Zhi didn’t believe her.

"My dad told you guys not to bully me, or he’ll sort you out next time he sees you."

Gu’er suddenly found her confidence and said loudly.

"That’s right, you’d better not bully Gu’er. Uncle Lin is pretty tough."

Sun Jiaming chimed in to back Gu’er up. As Gu’er nodded emphatically, Sun Jiaming added, "And I’m pretty tough, too. I can take you in a fight."

Gu’er shot Sun Jiaming a playful glare.

"Alright, alright, I’m scared, okay? I’m telling you, Sun Jiaming, you’re going to be totally whipped."

Li Zhi grumbled.

"Listen to my wife, follow the Party—it’s my honor," Sun Jiaming declared loudly, making even Gu’er blush this time.

Li Zhi threw his hands up in surrender, but the moment they left the steering wheel, the car nearly swerved into a ditch. Dingzi shot him a cold glare, and Li Zhi went back to driving properly.

"So, when are you guys planning to renovate the apartment? I went to see it the other day. The place is huge! We’re all on the same floor, so it’ll be super convenient from now on."

Li Zhi couldn’t stay quiet for two minutes before bringing up the apartments again.

"I’m hiring someone after the eighth day of the New Year."

Sun Jiaming wished he could have someone start the renovations right now, but most workers around here don’t start until after the eighth day, and some wait until after the fifteenth.

"What’s the big rush? Let’s just wait until after the second month of the lunar calendar and do it together."

Li Zhi was surprised Sun Jiaming was hiring people so soon.

"I’m not doing it with you guys. I’ll renovate my place first. After mine’s done, I’ll do Gu’er’s, and then yours. It’s a great plan."

’Of course, Sun Jiaming couldn’t just admit that he was in a hurry because he wanted to marry Gu’er as soon as possible.’

Gu’er, however, understood completely, and her face grew a little red.

"Hey, are you two hiding something from me?"

Li Zhi caught Gu’er’s expression in the rearview mirror. He tried to turn his head for a better look, but Dingzi grabbed it and forced him to face forward.

"You guys are ganging up on me! Why am I the only one who can drive? None of you bother to learn. I don’t care, I’m not driving next time."

Li Zhi grumbled, but his expression told a different story. He was actually quite proud of being the driver.

"Why would we learn? We’ve got a free chauffeur," Gu’er laughed. She had no interest in driving.

"Exactly. We’re happy to just be passengers."

Sun Jiaming chimed in.

"Yep." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Dingzi nodded.

Li Zhi was speechless. He opened his mouth to protest, but after receiving another cold glare from Dingzi, he could only groan and focus on his driving.

Life returned to normal in the following days. Business at the store was good; they now had stable supply channels for domestic goods, so Gu’er didn’t have to worry about that. It was just the goods from the Soviet Union that still required them to lead teams of people to haul them over by hand.

While Sun Jiaming had found workers to renovate the apartment, Gu’er was preoccupied with their Soviet supply line.

’Next year would be 1989, the last year of the eighties. When did the Soviet Union collapse, again? In her previous life, Gu’er had never paid attention to such things, so she didn’t know the exact year.’

’Before it collapses, they should expand the business. This method of hauling goods by hand isn’t a long-term solution. How can they move more goods over there, and how can they bring more goods back?’

’By train? But chartering a whole freight car to the Soviet Union and back would require an enormous amount of capital, not to mention the support of powerful people.’

’On the Soviet side, she could approach Inspector Ivan and just give him a cut of the profits. Those Vietnamese could help, too. If she could pull it off, with a steady supply of goods, business would boom.’

’But what about the domestic side of things? She needed connections here at home, too.’

’Who could she possibly ask?’

’Doing business wasn’t considered illegal "speculation and profiteering" anymore, but would the government support such a large-scale shipping operation?’

’To ship goods from the Soviet Union by train, they’d first have to get them to Harbin, and she didn’t have any connections there.’

’Gu’er thought of Vice Secretary Yuan, but quickly shook her head. They had only met twice. She didn’t want to leave him with a bad impression over this and have it negatively affect Lin Shan.’

’She had to think about this long-term. If the train idea didn’t work out, they could wait for the river to thaw in the spring and try chartering a boat first. If that was successful, then they could move on to shipping by rail.’

Lost in these thoughts, Gu’er soon found that March had arrived. March was meant to be a season of warmth and blossoming flowers, but not in the Northeast; spring wouldn’t truly arrive until April. On this day, however, Sun Jiaming took Gu’er to their new apartment. As she looked at the spacious, sunlit home, spring finally blossomed in Gu’er’s heart.

Sun Jiaming had consulted her on the apartment’s layout and decor, because she would be the lady of the house. Now, seeing it all come together, she was thoroughly satisfied.

The apartment had three bedrooms and two common rooms, more than enough space for them. Besides, she had her own apartment right next door, just as large as this one. Even if they had lots of relatives visiting, there would be plenty of room.

"Gu’er, I plan to let the place air out for half a month. Didn’t you say we can’t move in right after renovations are done? We’ll give it two weeks, which brings us to the eighth of the fourth lunar month. The weather will be warmer by then, too. What do you say we get married then?"

Sun Jiaming asked, holding her hand, his voice full of sincere affection.

Gu’er nodded, a blush coloring her cheeks.

"Gu’er, I’ve heard some people wear Western-style wedding dresses now. Do you like them? I could go out of town in a few days and buy one for you?"

Sun Jiaming asked.

’A wedding dress?’

Gu’er’s eyes grew misty. Every woman dreams of being the most beautiful bride, wearing a pristine white gown, marrying the man she loves most, and living happily ever after.

What did she wear when she got married in her previous life? It was a new set of clothes her mother had managed to get for her only after taking a beating. A wedding dress... she had never even heard of such a thing back then, let alone dared to dream of one. But now, Sun Jiaming was asking if she wanted one.

’Do I want one?’

Gu’er asked herself.

’It seems... I don’t really want one that badly.’

"There’s no need, Brother Jia Ming. I want to wear a traditional red wedding gown. I’ll have one made when the time comes, so you don’t have to worry about it."

Though her face was red, Gu’er answered him earnestly. What she wore didn’t matter. The important thing was that she was marrying him, Sun Jiaming. As long as that was true, no matter what she wore, her heart would be filled with sweetness.

"My Gu’er looks beautiful in anything. You’re the most beautiful no matter what."

Sun Jiaming gazed at Gu’er, his eyes burning with a fiery passion.

"Brother Jia Ming..."

Gu’er murmured, flustered. His gaze was simply too intense; she felt like she was about to melt under it.

"Gu’er,"

Sun Jiaming murmured again. The moment Gu’er looked up, his lips met hers.

Her eyes were wide open at first, but then she slowly closed them, her heart intoxicated. She felt herself responding to Sun Jiaming as their lips and tongues tangled together. It was wonderful, it was sweet, and she loved this feeling.