1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 270 Sixth Grandfather is critically ill; Joy ​​and laughter awaken the old man.

"What can I do?"

Lin Xiyu was both amused and exasperated: "The more I try to get him to sleep, the less he wants to sleep."

"Never mind him."

Gu Bin has his own parenting philosophy: "Let him do whatever he wants; he'll fall asleep when he's tired."

"What kind of father are you?"

Lin Xiyu gave him a playful, reproachful look.

"I am telling the truth."

Gu Bin said in a serious tone, "Raising children doesn't need to be so meticulous. Let them grow up freely and become whatever they become."

Lin Xiyu glanced at Lele, whom he was holding and gently rocking, and retorted with a smile, "What you're saying doesn't seem very convincing."

"Lele is different."

Gu Bin, without batting an eye, argued righteously: "Lele is our family's little princess, and we must take good care of her."

"whee."

Lele seemed to understand and gave her father a sweet smile.

"My sweet Lele, my darling daughter, Daddy's precious baby."

Gu Bin's heart melted at the sight. He hugged his precious daughter and called her his "darling" repeatedly.

Lin Xiyu couldn't bear to watch, so she sat by the small bed and gently patted An'an and Xixi to lull them to sleep.

An'an and Xixi were both very well-behaved; their mother comforted them for a short while, and they both closed their eyes and fell asleep.

Just as her father had predicted, Pingping kicked and struggled too much, exhausting herself in no time. She tilted her head to the side and fell asleep instantly.

Lin Xiyu smiled indulgently, covered the babies with their blankets, turned off the lights, and then got into bed herself, snuggling into the warm quilt.

"You just went to sleep like that?"

Lele was still awake, and Gu Bin held his daughter tightly, not daring to put her down.

"What else can we do but sleep?"

Lin Xiyu laughed and retorted, "Does that mean if your precious daughter doesn't sleep, no one else can sleep?"

"Uh."

Gu Bin choked, and then fell silent.

"Just spoil her."

Lin Xiyu looked at him with amusement: "She just takes advantage of your doting on her and bullies you. When Sister Liu and the others coax her to sleep, they put her in her crib and pat her until she falls asleep. But when you're the only one around, she insists on being held to sleep."

"is it?"

Gu Bin raised an eyebrow, lowered his head, looked at his beloved daughter, and smiled teasingly: "So Lele likes her dad so much? This is a unique affection that even her mom can't match."

Lin Xiyu: "."

Just as I was about to tease him a bit more, the slight vibration of my phone interrupted the unique little fun of our bickering.

Gu Bin took his phone out of his pants pocket with one hand, glanced at the number, and frowned slightly.

Who is it? Calling you so late?

Lin Xiyu was startled by the ringing of the bell and felt inexplicably uneasy.

"Gu Feng."

Gu Bin also felt that something was not right.

He has never been keen to associate with Gu's relatives. He didn't even tell them when his baby was born, and he didn't invite a single one to the baby's one-month celebration.

Although Gu Feng had no personal grudges against him, he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was often stationed abroad, so they didn't have much interaction on a daily basis.

If you're looking for him late at night, it's probably not for anything good.

"Gu Bin, hurry up and come to Sanya. Sixth Grandpa's condition is not good. The doctor has issued a critical condition notice."

The next second, sure enough, the words Gu Feng uttered as soon as the call connected made his heart sink to the bottom.

-

Grandpa Liu went to Sanya before the babies were born. The old man is getting old, and Gu Bin felt bad for making him travel back and forth. So when they held the full moon celebration, Gu Bin made a special promise with him that when the babies were a little older, he would take them to Sanya to visit him.

Grandpa Liu agreed readily, which pleased Gu Bin, so he didn't think much of it and put the matter out of his mind after hanging up the phone.

He had originally planned that since Lele was weak, he would raise her to be stronger before letting her travel by plane.

Now that his sixth grandfather was critically ill, he had no time to think about it anymore, so he bought plane tickets the next day and took his whole family to Sanya.

Grandma Gu and her three caregivers arrived, and the group of ten went straight to the hospital by taxi after getting off the plane. When they arrived at the entrance of the intensive care unit, the narrow corridor was already packed with people.

Gu Bin frowned. He glanced around and saw that almost all of Gu's relatives in Beijing had come.

Not only Gu Peng and his siblings, but also all the older uncles and elders came.

The elders all looked very nervous; no one knew better than them how important the old man's status and position were to the entire family.

It's no exaggeration to say that the entire family's livelihood depended on the old man.

Once the old man passes away, not only will the future and fate of his children and grandchildren be affected, but the family business will also suffer a huge blow.

"What's the current situation with Sixth Grandfather?"

Without thinking twice, Gu Bin walked straight up to Gu Feng and inquired about the old man's condition.

"The doctor said it's not good."

Gu Feng sighed sadly, "He's been unconscious for several days now."

"It's been so long."

Gu Bin was shocked: "Why didn't you tell me this all this time?"

"What good is your arrival?"

A slightly sarcastic voice cut in, carrying an undisguised sarcasm: "Gu Feng, why did you tell him? He's not really surnamed Gu. This is our own family matter. There's no need for outsiders to come here pretending to be filial sons and grandsons."

Who are you calling a hypocrite?

Gu Bin was furious; his anger was rising uncontrollably.

"Humph."

Gu Hui snorted coldly and continued to provoke, "Am I wrong? You're just a grandson, always pretending to be a good person in front of Sixth Grandfather. What are you after? Isn't it just his property? Now you're so smug. The moment Sixth Grandfather closes his eyes, the courtyard house will be yours. What are you doing here? Could it be that you can't wait to see Sixth Grandfather breathe his last?"

There was a moment of silence in the corridor. The elders, who were originally dissatisfied with Gu Hui's sharp tongue and wanted to scold her, were also stirred up by the courtyard house. Their gazes toward Gu Bin became even more unfathomable.

Gu Peng and Gu Lan's gazes were filled with hostility.

They know better than anyone the value of an old courtyard house in Beijing.

The fact that Sixth Grandfather did not leave his inheritance to the Gu family's own grandson, but instead gave it to his grandson-in-law, caused the seeds of envy and jealousy that were already in their hearts to spread and grow wildly.

What's the point of bringing this up now?

Gu Feng was the only one present whose mind wasn't consumed by jealousy and who managed to remain rational. He broke the silence with a voice even harsher than usual, glaring at Gu Hui with considerable displeasure, thus preventing the argument from escalating further.

Is Sixth Grandfather inside?

Gu Bin's eyes showed gratitude. At this moment, he really had no mood to pay attention to Gu Hui. All he wanted to see was the old man who genuinely cared for him.

"exist."

Gu Feng nodded: "Sixth Grandpa said he wanted to see the babies before his heart attack. Hurry up and take the children inside. I've already spoken to the doctor and nurses. Don't delay any longer."

“Okay.” The hospital has strict rules that only two people can enter at a time to visit patients. Gu Bin obtained permission from the nurse on duty, and he and his wife, each holding one of their daughters, squeezed through the crowd and entered the intensive care unit.

-

This wasn't the first time Gu Bin had been in the intensive care unit. He still vividly remembered what happened there last time. He had put aside all his pride and humbly begged the doctor to save his daughter.

To him, the intensive care unit was like a tomb filled with disinfectant, cold and devoid of warmth, where patients lay on the bed, attached to various instruments, waiting alone for death to come.

This time, the moment he stepped into the intensive care unit, his heart felt heavy. Seeing his sixth grandfather lying there unconscious, tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

"Sixth Grandfather, we've come to see you."

Seeing that he was crying and unable to speak, Lin Xiyu took her daughter and stepped forward to speak to Sixth Grandfather on his behalf.

The nurses weren't allowed to stay in the intensive care unit for too long, so she focused on the topics that Grandpa Liu cared about most, trying her best to let the old man feel as much warmth as possible from his family.

"Xixi and Lele are here too. Their names were chosen according to your wishes. Xixi is called Nianxin, and Lele is called Nianrou."

"Xi Xi is a lively person, playful and active, while Le Le is more well-behaved and sensible, but her health is a little weaker."

“Before, we lived far away and didn’t dare to tell you that Lele was born with congenital heart disease. The doctor said that she could not have surgery until she was 2 years old.”

“My husband and I are under a lot of psychological pressure. We’re constantly worried that Lele will catch a cold or get sick. If she has even the slightest headache or fever, we rush her to the hospital. I don’t know if I could bear it if something really happened to her. The thought that she might leave us one day makes me want to die.”

-

"Didi."

The previously smooth, almost straight brainwaves suddenly fluctuated violently a few times.

"Sixth Grandfather, is he waking up?"

Lin Xiyu stared blankly at the brainwaves for a moment.

"There's a brainwave response; Sixth Grandpa heard what you said."

Gu Bin snapped out of his grief and was overwhelmed with immense joy.

"Lele, call him Great-Grandpa and talk to him."

Lin Xiyu was so moved she almost cried: "Look how much your great-grandfather cares about you. He woke up as soon as he heard you were sick."

"Yeah."

Lele understood her mother's words and let out two weak meows, like a kitten.

Grandpa Liu's eyelids twitched visibly twice, showing signs of waking up.

"Xi Xi, Le Le, hurry up and call out a few more times."

Lin Xiyu was so excited that she squatted down so that her daughter's little hand could touch the old man's hand resting on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah."

Xixi stretched out her chubby little hand and grabbed the old man's right hand.

The old man's fingers trembled violently a few times the moment they touched.

"Sixth Grandfather, please wake up quickly."

Gu Bin, quick-witted, continued to provoke the old man: "Xixi and Lele can't live without you. If you're not here, people will try to bully them. They'll even try to take away the courtyard house you left for the babies."

Before he could finish speaking, the old man exhaled a few deep breaths and suddenly opened his eyes.

"Sixth Grandfather?!"

"you're awake!"

Gu Bin and his wife were overjoyed and gathered around at the same time.

-

Outside the monitoring room.

Grandma Gu had to regretfully give up when she saw that there was a limit to the number of people who could visit patients. She then squeezed through the crowd with her three nannies and two babies and found a bench not far from the door to sit down.

Da Bao slept the whole way on the plane, but was full of energy after landing. He didn't complain about being tired when he arrived at the hospital. He gestured with his fingers and asked the nanny to carry him around.

Some people, finding it disagreeable, started pointing fingers and gossiping.

"That couple is really good at putting on an act, just to see the old man carrying his two daughters inside."

"That's right, it's obvious they're not sincere. What kind of person visits an old man without bringing their grandchildren but instead brings two young girls?"

"They weren't really visiting the old man. Who knows what they were thinking? The longer the old man lives, the later he'll receive his inheritance. Among all these people, who is the one who most wants the old man to pass away quickly? It goes without saying, everyone knows the answer."

-

Grandma Gu, though old, was still quite hard of hearing, and she got really angry when she heard the gossip.

Of my wife's brothers, all but the youngest, the sixth brother, have passed away.

Grandma Gu was the youngest among all the brothers' wives, more than ten years younger than Grandpa Gu. She was also the only surviving elder in the Gu family's older generation, besides Sixth Grandfather.

The gossipers were all young people, but she, out of consideration for her reputation, couldn't presume to act superior because of her age, so she openly reprimanded them in front of everyone in the hall.

Unfortunately, those people became increasingly unrestrained in their speech, which was truly infuriating to listen to.

Feeling uncomfortable, she fanned herself vigorously with a fan, expressing her dissatisfaction by complaining about the sweltering heat in Sanya.

"Yeah."

Erbao An'an seemed to sense that she was in a bad mood, and stretched out her little arms to her from the nanny's arms.

"Does An'an want her great-grandmother to hold her?"

Grandma Gu stopped fanning and, quite pleasantly surprised, took An'an from the nanny's arms.

An'an is different from Pingping. He is quiet and well-behaved, doesn't like to be clingy, and rarely does things like today, actively wanting his great-grandmother to hold him.

Grandma Gu hugged her beloved great-grandson with delight, temporarily putting her displeasure behind her.

-

"Gu Bin's wife is very fertile; she gave birth to four in one pregnancy."

"Having too many babies is not good. Premature babies are weak and have all sorts of problems. Their brains may not be fully developed, and they may even have dementia."

"I think his little one is a bit slow, he's dull, he doesn't cry or make a fuss, he's probably mentally challenged."

"Who are you calling an idiot?!"

Grandma Gu could not tolerate outsiders slandering her beloved child, and finally, she could no longer bear it and exploded.

-

"Sixth Grandpa is awake!"

When Gu Bin walked out of the intensive care unit to announce the good news, he happened to see Grandma Gu throwing a tantrum at a group of younger relatives. Three caregivers took turns fanning her, but they couldn't quell her anger.

The old lady had a bad temper and a loud voice. Her powerful, high-pitched voice completely overwhelmed everything, silencing all the sophistry and arguments, including Gu Bin's choked sob of joy.

Everyone present was so engrossed in the old lady that no one even noticed that the door to the intensive care unit had opened and someone was walking out.

"Grandma."

Seeing this scene, Gu Bin's joy vanished: "What's wrong now? Who upset you so much?"

"Who else could it be?"

Seeing her grandson, Grandma Gu felt even more confident. Pointing at the gossiping younger generation, she cursed, "Isn't it all because of these unfilial descendants of your Gu family? Sixth Brother isn't even dead yet, and you're already spouting nonsense. Who does a bunch of brats have the right to ask who he wants to leave his house to?"

"Is it all because of that courtyard house again?"

Gu Bin's expression was cold and stern: "If any of you are dissatisfied, go ask Sixth Grandfather yourselves. There's no need to cause trouble in the hospital and make a fool of yourselves in front of outsiders."