The mother of the era is reborn to support her cannon fodder children!

Chapter 394 "People with powerful connections are really arrogant."

"Dad!" Li Bao stamped his foot, looking incredulous.

Gu Yuanshan revealed a devilish smile.

The little boy, using his clever little head, imitated Hengbao's coquettish manner, tugged at his father's clothes, and drawled, "Daddy~~"

Gu Yuanshan looked at him with a strange expression. When did this silly, sharp-tongued brat start to know how to act cute?

"Let's go home." He patted his son on the back of the head.

Li Bao continued tugging at his clothes, "Are you still going to tell your mother?"

"I'm not going to sue anymore, I'm not going to sue anymore, stop pulling, you've already pulled the cotton out." Gu Yuanshan slapped his son's hand down.

He reached out and touched the new cotton-padded coat that Li Bao was wearing.

"Did your third aunt make it for you?"

Li Bao raised her chin, "My third aunt had a tailor make it for me, just like Yu Bao and Heng Bao's."

He rolled up his cotton coat with his fingers, revealing the thick sweater underneath, and continued to show off, "My third aunt knitted it for me, it's so warm."

Gu Yuanshan gritted his teeth, "That silly boy has a lucky life."

"I'm not stupid!" Li Bao frowned angrily.

He quickly laughed again, "I'm lucky, hehe, my third uncle and aunt treat me well."

Meng Jiusi handed the luggage in her hand to Gu Yuanshan, "This is Li Bao's luggage."

Wow, one small duffel bag has turned into two big duffel bags.

How much stuff did the third son and his wife buy for their son?

Gu Yuanshan quickly accepted it, saying apologetically, "Thanks, you must be tired from the journey. Did this kid cause you any trouble?"

“No, Li Bao is very well-behaved,” Meng Jiusi said.

His sister liked the child, and he extended that affection to him, so he didn't find him annoying. Besides, Li Bao was indeed well-behaved and wouldn't bother him on the way, except when he needed to use the restroom.

Gu Yuanshan was relieved. "That's good. That's the only good thing about this kid."

Li Bao complained, "Dad! I have so many good qualities! I'm diligent, you and Mom don't have to worry about my studies, I'm kind, brave..."

Spending too much time with Yu Bao and Heng Bao can indeed make people arrogant.

Gu Yuanshan couldn't bear to look at it.

"Which child in the village doesn't possess these qualities you're talking about?"

Li Bao choked on his words and walked forward in silence.

Meng Jiusi shook his head.

The group left the station and boarded an oxcart. Midway through the journey, Meng Jiusi got off and headed straight for the Dongfeng Brigade.

He came back with bags and packages, all for his family.

Lin Zhao sent a package before the Lunar New Year, which has been received by both the Lin and Gu families.

……

When Li Bao returned to the village, he was stopped and questioned by the villagers before he even got home.

"Iron Hammer, what's it like spending the Spring Festival in the army? I heard there's lots of meat and fish, did you get to eat any?"

"Iron Hammer seems to have gained weight; his face is a bit rounder. Looks like your third uncle and aunt haven't been neglecting your food. How are they doing in the army?"

"Iron Hammer, did you see Su Yuxian and Baozhen at the army base?" This was someone who loved to watch the drama unfold.

Liao Hongjuan, Su Yuxian's biological mother, rushed to Li Bao, her large, thin eyes staring at him. "Li Bao, why hasn't my Yuxian sent money home for months? She didn't even send a package for the New Year. Has something happened to her?"

Gu Yuanshan grabbed his son by the back of his collar and pulled him behind him.

"Just ask questions, don't get so close. Can you take responsibility if you hurt my son?"

Liao Hongjuan gave a forced smile, "Do you think I'd eat your son?"

She looked at Li Bao, "Has something happened to my Yu Xian?"

Li Bao shook her head. "No. When I got home, she said she was going to make dumplings for Uncle Lu."

Everyone fell silent, their gazes instinctively falling on Liao Hongjuan.

"Impossible." Liao Hongjuan impulsively stepped forward, wanting to find Li Bao and question him carefully.

Gu Yuanshan retreated with his son.

"I'm not the kind of person who doesn't lay a hand on women. You'd better stay where you are. I warned you. Don't blame me if I hurt you."

You can't get by in the countryside without some backbone, especially for men. If you're too weak, people will think you're a fool.

Gu Yuanshan almost suffered a loss when he was young, and ever since then he has become very tough on outsiders.

Having a soft belly facing family members and a hard spine facing outsiders is conducive to family harmony.

Liao Hongjuan remembered Gu Yuanshan's personality and didn't dare to get close.

"Li Bao, are you sure you didn't see wrong? You're not just making this up, are you?"

Holding his father's hand, Li Bao felt a strong sense of security, but frowned and said, "Everyone in the brigade knows I'm an honest kid, I never lie!"

Liao Hongjuan gritted her teeth, making a crunching sound.

That heartless good-for-nothing has money to make dumplings, but no money to send money or mail to her family.

Look at the wife of the third son of the Gu family. After she went to join the army, she sent a package every few days, to both her parents' and her husband's families. The packages were huge!
She turned around and went home in anger, then asked her son to write a letter to Su Yuxian.

The letters sent to the military region were inspected by designated personnel. After reading the letter, the inspector in the communications room sighed. It was yet another victim of a family that favored sons over daughters.

Feeling sorry for Su Yuxian, she gave her a piece of candy when Su Yuxian came to collect the letter.

Su Yuxian was stunned.

……

After Liao Hongjuan left, Li Bao saw his mother running towards him. He ran over and happily called out, "Grandma, Grandma, I'm back!"

Gu's mother looked him over carefully. "You've gained weight and grown taller. I almost didn't recognize you in this outfit; you look like a city kid."

Li Bao turned around and said, "My third aunt asked someone to make it for me."

He pulled out a few photos from the cloth bag he carried with him. "Grandma, these are photos that Third Aunt took for us. Yu Bao said you can look at the photos if you miss them."

"Oh right, there's also a letter. Yu Bao, Heng Bao, and Qian Bao wrote a letter, and Yao Bao drew a picture."

Mother Gu laughed so hard her eyes disappeared from her mouth.

“Come on, let’s go home. Grandma will make you noodles. There’s also canned fish that your third aunt sent back. Let’s open a can for our Li Bao.”

All the kids in the family have had a taste. She left a bottle for Li Bao, and as for Yu Bao and the others, she knew that the third son's wife wouldn't skimp on their food.

Sigh, a year has passed, I really miss her four grandchildren.

A hint of disappointment flashed in Gu's mother's eyes as she led Li Bao home.

"Grandma, I've had canned fish! My aunt opened it for me, and it was so delicious! The sauce was great with noodles too," Li Bao said. "Grandma, Yu Bao and Heng Bao asked me to tell you they miss you. They also said you and Grandpa shouldn't work too hard. They've saved all their New Year's money to support you. We're another year older now, and we'll be all grown up soon. Then we'll buy you new clothes, meat, and candy..."

Gu's mother was on the verge of tears.

Her grandson.

"I miss Yu Bao and Heng Bao too." Her voice trembled slightly, and her nose felt dry.

"Li Bao, tell me about your experiences in the army. Did no one bully you?"

“No!” Li Bao shouted. “Nobody’s bullying us. Wherever we go, Da Huang and Hu Po will follow and protect us. We always go with a group of people. Anyone who bullies us is blind. Don’t worry, Grandma, we remember what you said. We will never go anywhere alone.”

Mother Gu said, "It's good that they weren't bullied."

The grandmother and grandson returned home warmly.

Huang Xiulan kneaded the dough, rolled it out, and placed it on the cutting board, waiting for her son to come back. But she waited and waited and waited and he never came.

Gu Lan went out to inquire and found out that the boy had been taken to the old house by his grandmother.

"Well, all that noodles was for nothing."

Tie Dan popped up, "How could it be a waste? I'm still here, aren't I? Mom, Li Bao doesn't want to eat it, but I do."

Huang Xiulan said irritably, "What don't you care about?"

“I don’t care about shit,” Tie Dan replied naturally.

Gu Lan: "..."

"You disgusting brat, get lost." Huang Xiulan glared at her son and went to the old house to see her youngest son.

"Mother, I'll go with you." Gu Lan caught up. Tie Dan followed too, "If you go, I want to go too."

"You're such a tagalong," Huang Xiulan said with a laugh.

Tie Dan ran ahead of them, turned around and smiled, "Now I'm in front of you."

Before the last words had faded, he ran away quickly.

"This kid really deserves a beating," Huang Xiulan said angrily, feeling even more that her son, Alan, was better; boys are too naughty.

Gu Lan smiled but didn't say anything; she knew her mother was just saying it in anger.

The mother and daughter arrived at the old house.

Mother Gu greeted her eldest granddaughter, "Alan is here. Come in and get some noodles. Have some too. I made a lot."

Gu Lan didn't stand on ceremony with her grandmother and walked briskly into the kitchen. Inside, Li Bao and the others were eating. She took the extra bowl from the stove and sat down next to Yu Yu to eat.

Tie Dan picked up a piece of fish for his sister, saying, "Sis, you eat fish. One piece for each of you."

There were only a few pieces of meat in each can, so all the children shared it and tasted it.

"Alright, there's no more meat. Let's divide the remaining sauce among ourselves, one spoonful each. Anyone have any objections?" Bangbang asked.

A chorus of unanimous replies rang out.

"No……"

Bangbang divided up the sauce from the canned food jar; it was oily and glistening, and it smelled especially good when mixed with noodles.

"I want this bottle," Tie Dan raised his hand, "I want to be a kettle."

Bangbang: "I have no objection."

Lai Mei: "I second that."

Yu Yu used her chopsticks to twirl noodles and stuff them into her mouth, her face smeared with sauce. Hearing her brothers' words, she blinked her eyes and obediently said, "I'll listen to my brothers."

Li Bao grinned, "I have a water bottle, so I have no objection."

Upon hearing this, the others looked at him with disdain.

I really want to punch someone!

“If the minority obeys the majority, then the bottle belongs to Tie Dan,” Bangbang said.

Tie Dan chuckled and scooped up the glass bottle, revealing a set of bright white teeth.

After finishing the hot noodle soup, Li Bao went home with his parents.

The first thing I did when I got home was to unpack my luggage.

Gu Yuanshan and Huang Xiulan were taken aback when they saw that their son, Li Bao, had several new clothes.

"My third sister-in-law is so good to Li Bao, I don't know how to repay her..." Huang Xiulan sighed.

At this moment, Li Bao took out the money notes that his parents had asked him to bring.

"Mother, here you go."

Huang Xiulan's expression changed slightly, and she said anxiously, "Why did you bring it back? Didn't I tell you to give it to your third aunt? It's to offset your food rations. How can you eat and drink for free?"

“Auntie doesn’t want to,” Li Bao said. “Auntie said she treats me like her own child and doesn’t need me to pay for my meals.”

He said solemnly, "My third uncle and aunt are good to me, and I will take good care of them when I grow up."

Gu Yuanshan patted his son's head and said, "Being grateful is what a real man does. Remember what you said. Be filial to your third uncle and aunt. They are devoted to you. Don't be ungrateful."

The third son and his wife don't want anything in return, but the younger generation who benefit from it cannot be ungrateful.

“I’m not an ingrate,” Li Bao said earnestly.

They took out their New Year's money, put it into their piggy bank, and smiled happily.

I've saved up another five yuan. I need to keep working hard so that when Hengbao buys a big car, I can give him all of it.

The first wife and her husband had no idea what their son was thinking.

Huang Xiulan glanced at the large amount of money and exclaimed in surprise, "How come there's so much money? Is it the New Year's money your third uncle and aunt gave you?! This is too much!"

He's just a child who's not even ten years old.

She was almost twenty back then, and she didn't have that much money in her pocket.

“It wasn’t just my third uncle and aunt who gave it to me, but also my great-grandfather Meng, my uncle Meng, my grandmother Ning, and my uncle Ning…” Li Bao counted on her fingers.

He looked at his iron egg warily. "Brother, you're not allowed to touch my piggy bank."

Tie Dan: "!!!"

"Who do you think you are?" He pinched his younger brother's soft cheek with a little force, angrily.

"It's because you used to always steal my food," Li Bao retorted.

“Stealing food and stealing money are two different things, you brat…” Tie Dan took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, “You’ve just come back and you’re already making me angry. Sure enough, your younger brother is the most annoying person in the world.”

Li Bao paused for a moment, then said, "I'm just reminding you, what are you so sensitive about?"

Tie Dan almost vomited.

After not seeing him for several months, his brother started saying hurtful things... It's awful.

……

After the New Year, Lin Zhao started working. She didn't have to be in the office regularly, and her salary was quite good, which made some envious comrades who couldn't stand seeing others doing well extremely jealous.

After all the commotion, it was naturally not the talented Lin Zhao who suffered, but the troublemakers who were publicly criticized.

When Lin Zhao heard about it, those who were criticizing her were reading a letter of self-reflection.

Seeing her bewildered expression, Song Zhi told her the reason, and Lin Zhao then realized what had happened before.

"...I didn't notice."

Song Zhi looked at her enviously, "Of course you wouldn't notice, but Deputy Regiment Commander Gu and Dr. Meng both got angry. Director Qian quickly investigated and caught those who spread words that were detrimental to unity, which is why things are like this now."

Lin Zhao said "Oh," and then added, "No wonder I felt that other people were looking at me strangely. I see."

It was a complex expression, a mixture of envy and sourness, sourness and disdain, like a pie chart.

Lin Zhao didn't mind at all; she wasn't ashamed at all for having powerful connections.

The young man worked so hard to improve the prescription, develop new drugs, and strive for promotion, all to support her and prevent her from being bullied.

It's only natural for him to stand up for his sister.

And as for Gu Chenghuai, needless to say.

How could he not be angry when his wife was the subject of sarcastic remarks?
Because of this, Gu Chenghuai was seething with anger. He felt that his position was too low and he needed to climb higher until he reached a position where no one had the thought of picking a fight with Zhaozhao.

Song Zhi comforted her, "Don't pay attention to those people. They envy you for having someone to protect you. You live your life peacefully, and if something else happens, no one will notice."

"It doesn't matter, I don't care," Lin Zhao said calmly.

She doesn't have many friends, and she doesn't care what those people say.

"There's nothing to see here, I'll head back now."

Song Zhi paused for a moment, then smiled, "Go ahead, I'll take another look."

Lin Zhao turned and left. The person who was reciting the letter of self-reflection saw this and almost tore the paper in their hand to shreds.

So angry.

People with powerful connections are so arrogant!

Not long after Lin Zhao arrived home, Gu Chenghuai returned from get off work.

He approached his wife and casually asked, "Do you know what's going on outside?"

"What about those sisters-in-law reading their self-criticisms in public? I know. I didn't find it interesting, so I came back," Lin Zhao said.

Seeing that his wife was in a good mood, Gu Chenghuai lowered his head slightly and asked, "You're not sulking, are you?"

The things those people were saying were unpleasant, and he got angry just listening to them. He didn't tell Zhao Zhao because he was afraid she would get upset, thinking that she would naturally find out after things were resolved.

"No, you've already taken care of everything." Lin Zhaoying's bright eyes were full of smiles as she hooked her arm around Gu Chenghuai's. "Gu Chenghuai, you and Xiao Ge protected me very well. I wasn't wronged. Don't overthink it."

Gu Chenghuai stared at his wife for a few seconds, then leaned down and hugged her soft waist. "It's good that you're not wronged."

Fearing that Zhao Zhao would suffer more grievances while he was on a mission, he immediately reported the rumors to the military region and demanded a thorough investigation and severe punishment. He was quite satisfied with the result. In this way, no one should dare to complain anymore.

Zhao Zhao wanted to go to work to relieve her boredom; she couldn't stand being mistreated. She was only twenty-five, still a young woman, and there was no need for her to suffer for such a small amount of money. As her husband, he couldn't bear to see her suffer like that.

(End of this chapter)