Chapter 54: Returning to Nancheng

Chapter 54: Back to Nancheng

Gu Yan took Lin Zhijin on a tour around the capital, eating lots of great food and buying quite a few things along the way.

"I can't do it anymore. I have to rest today—I'm exhausted." Seeing Gu Yan getting up, Lin Zhijin clutched the blanket and refused to get out of bed.

"Tired?" Gu Yan chuckled and bent down to kiss her forehead. "We've hit just about all the famous spots in the capital. Let's just rest at home today."

Lin Zhijin turned over and went back to sleep. When she woke up again, it was already noon. Seeing the sun blazing outside, she was glad she hadn't gone out—she'd have been roasted.

She got up slowly, washed up, and moseyed around for a bit. Not seeing Gu Yan, she figured he must have gone out on business. She made her way to the kitchen and, sure enough, found the food still warm in the pot.

After eating, Lin Zhijin went back to the bedroom and sprawled out on the arhat bed. It wasn't hot inside the room, and the kang table was loaded with all kinds of candy and snacks, with a few books placed nearby. She snacked and read, perfectly content on her own.

"When did you wake up? Have you eaten? I left you some food." Gu Yan returned carrying a briefcase.

"I slept till almost one. Yeah, I ate. Where'd you go?" Lin Zhijin put down her book, sat up straight, and asked curiously.

"Someone wants to buy the shop—Boss Zhang, the restaurant owner next door. He's looking to expand." Gu Yan took a cool shower and changed. "Two shops for five small gold bars. Fair price. We close tomorrow."

Five small gold bars—that's five taels of gold. At that time, one tael was about thirty-three grams, so about a hundred and sixty-five grams—roughly five hundred yuan in 1955 money.

Back then, a decent house in a good spot could go for one or two small gold bars, and storefront shops went for about the same. The Gu family's two shops were in a great location, which was why Boss Zhang could offer five small gold bars. The price was indeed fair.

"The capital's already rolling out public-private partnership, right? Why's Boss Zhang expanding now?" Lin Zhijin didn't buy that a guy running a successful business in the capital had no foresight.

"Yeah, they're testing it out. If all goes well, by the end of the year—or at the latest next year—it'll be fully rolled out. I mentioned it to Boss Zhang, but he didn't seem worried." Gu Yan sat down next to Lin Zhijin, pulled her into his arms, nuzzled her cheek, then kissed her face and lips. "Babe, let's have dinner at my mom's tomorrow night, and the day after, we head back to Nancheng."

"Wasn't it supposed to be the day after tomorrow? What changed?" Lin Zhijin looked at him, puzzled.

"I got us plane tickets. We take off at seven tomorrow morning and land in Nancheng around three in the afternoon. Eight hours total—a few hours faster than the train." Gu Yan took the tickets out of his briefcase and handed them to Lin Zhijin.

"Eight hours on a plane?" Lin Zhijin asked in surprise.

In her past life, it only took two hours. Now it took eight? That big of a difference?

"We stop twice to refuel—that's what eats up the time." Gu Yan glanced at the sky outside. "Come on, Su Zhan and the others found a spot for a picnic. Everything's ready."

When they got there, Su Yan was there too, hanging off some guy's arm, looking pretty cozy. Lin Zhijin quietly asked Gu Yan, "She's seeing someone?"

"Probably. Not sure." Gu Yan knew who Lin Zhijin was asking about. He glanced at Su Yan, looked away, and took Lin Zhijin's hand to head over to Su Zhan.

They had barely sat down when Jiang Mengwan hurried over to sit next to Lin Zhijin. She wanted to stick close to the gorgeous woman.

"Sister-in-law, where did Yan Ge take you? I wanted to come along, but Yan Ge wouldn't let me, and he wouldn't even let me come hang out with you. Hmph, what a tightwad." Jiang Mengwan let out a couple of huffs, her eyes sweeping over Su Yan before she jutted her chin in her direction. "Sister-in-law, you know her."

"I do. She was there when Yang Tao and Su Zhan went to Nancheng that time." Lin Zhijin replied quietly.

Jiang Mengwan's eyes went wide. How did she not know about this?

She turned and shot Yang Tao a glare. When he looked clueless, she snorted—she'd deal with him later.

"Did she say something shady to you? Don't bother with her, sister-in-law. Hmph, she's been like this since childhood—whenever any girl got close to Yan Ge, she'd come out acting like the official wife staking her claim. Yan Ge was sick of it. We even joked that half the reason Yan Ge went to Nancheng was to escape her." Jiang Mengwan glanced at Su Yan again before continuing, "But she won't bother you two anymore. She's engaged now. See that guy she's glued to? That's her fiancé. His family runs a pharmacy, both parents are military doctors, and he's in med school—hasn't graduated yet."

The fiancé's parents had solid careers, but the family ran a pharmacy. Hard to say how that'd play out down the road.

"What're you two whispering about?" Gu Yan came over after finishing his conversation with Su Zhan, curious to see Lin Zhijin and Jiang Mengwan huddled together.

"I'll tell you later." With the person right there, Lin Zhijin wasn't about to keep that topic going. Seeing that Yang Tao had already lit the charcoal, she asked, "What good stuff did you guys bring?"

"We've got beef, lamb, fish, pork belly, and plenty of vegetables. What do you want, sister-in-law? I'll grill it for you." Xie Xiaofeng called out.

"Get lost—A Yan's right here, no need for you." Su Zhan strolled over, smacked him on the head, and waved at Gu Yan. "Get over here and help."

Gu Yan stood up and asked Lin Zhijin, "What do you want? I'll grill it for you."

"I'm easy—whatever you make, I'll eat." Barbecue aside, this was her first cookout since landing in this world. She was a little excited just thinking about it.

They'd just started grilling when Su Yan walked over leisurely with her fiancé.

"Sister-in-law, long time no see. Let me introduce you—this is my fiancé, Zhao Guangming. He's studying medicine. Guangming, this is Yan Ge's wife, Lin Zhijin." Su Yan spoke with a bright smile, as if nothing had ever happened before.

Zhao Guangming quickly bent at the waist to greet her. "Hello, sister-in-law."

Lin Zhijin nodded at him. "Hello."

"Yan Yan, Guangming, come help out." Su Zhan, worried Su Yan might say something wrong, immediately called them away when he saw her heading over.

He hadn't planned to bring Su Yan at all, but she'd begged and pleaded, insisting she wanted to clear up the misunderstanding. That was the only reason he'd let her come.

"She's improved quite a bit. If she dares to cause trouble today, I'll make sure she loses face so badly she won't dare show up in our circle again." Jiang Mengwan watched Su Yan's retreating figure and snorted softly.

Lin Zhijin raised an eyebrow. "You two don't get along?"

"I don't like people who talk in circles." Jiang Mengwan left it at that and didn't continue the topic. She handed Lin Zhijin some washed fruit. "Sister-in-law, have some fruit—it's really sweet."

"Thanks." Lin Zhijin took two red dates and nibbled on them slowly.

As they chatted, Yang Tao and Gu Yan came over carrying a plate of grilled meat and vegetables.

"Try it, see how it tastes." Gu Yan picked up a skewer of lamb and fed it to her.

Taking a bite, Lin Zhijin's eyes lit up. "Delicious."

"Take your time—I'll grill more for you." Gu Yan glanced at Su Yan and Zhao Guangming not far away, then asked again, "What were you talking about just now?"

Lin Zhijin knew he was worried she'd been bullied, and couldn't help but laugh. "Do I look like someone who gets bullied?"

In her years at the Women's Federation, she'd had to be tough—especially during trips to the countryside. Never mind drawing a gun; she'd actually fired one before.

Gu Yan patted Lin Zhijin's head. "No matter what, no one gets to bully you."

"Sister-in-law, you and Yan Ge have such a wonderful relationship." Jiang Mengwan said with a hint of envy.

"Not as wonderful as you two." Lin Zhijin teased with a smile.

Jiang Mengwan pressed her lips together, eating her barbecue as she said casually, "We did grow up together, but... sometimes I can't tell if what I feel is family love or romantic love."

Lin Zhijin was taken aback and looked at her puzzled, only for Jiang Mengwan to burst out laughing. "I'm just kidding. So tell me—how did you two meet? I heard from Taozi that Yan Ge saved you like a hero in distress, and it was love at first sight. How romantic. By the way, when you go back this time, will you come back to the capital for New Year's? When are you planning to transfer back to work here?"

"We probably won't come back for New Year's—I'm busy and so is A Yan. As for the rest, we'll see later." Lin Zhijin didn't commit to anything.

When they'd eaten their fill, everyone packed up to head home. Su Yan followed behind Su Zhan and came over to apologize to Lin Zhijin.

"Sister-in-law, I was immature before and said some nonsense. I want to apologize to you—I hope you won't hold it against me." Su Yan looked sincere.

"It's fine. I don't even remember what you said." Lin Zhijin truly hadn't given it any thought—mainly because Gu Yan had always stood by her side, and Su Zhan and the others had handled things quickly.

The next day, Lin Zhijin and Gu Yan bought local specialties in the morning and went to the Zhang family in the afternoon. They had dinner there before returning home.

"What did your mom say to you?" Lin Zhijin asked curiously.

Gu Yan organized their things as he replied, "She said since I'm older, I should take good care of you. Also, she said there's no rush to have kids. You're still young, so we should enjoy a couple of carefree years first."

She knew Gu's mother was open-minded, but hadn't expected her to be this open-minded. Lin Zhijin looked at Gu Yan. "What do you think?"

"I'm even less in a hurry to have kids." Having finally gotten the girl of his dreams, he didn't want any kids intruding on their two-person world.

Lin Zhijin was twenty now, and in two or three years she'd only be twenty-two or twenty-three. There really was no rush to have children.

The next day, the two of them walked out loaded with bags and saw Su Zhan and Yang Tao both waiting at the door.

"Didn't I tell you not to see us off? Why are you here again?" Gu Yan patted Su Zhan on the shoulder. "Alright, enough with the pleasantries—hurry up and load the luggage."

Opening the car door, Lin Zhijin was startled to see Jiang Mengwan smiling at her, then she broke into a smile. "When you have time, have Yang Tao bring you down to Nancheng for a visit. The Jiangnan water towns are a completely different scene from the capital."

"I was just about to tell you—Taozi and I already agreed to come visit you in Nancheng next March or April." Jiang Mengwan said, sounding a bit excited.

"Great, we'll be waiting for you." Lin Zhijin immediately agreed.

They could still travel around for the next year or two, but after 1957, restrictions would tighten, and traveling far wouldn't be so easy anymore.

The two chatted all the way to the airport and only parted reluctantly when it was time to board.

The flight from the capital to Nancheng had two stops along the way. Even though it was faster than the train, all the takeoffs and landings made it more uncomfortable than taking the train. For the next twenty years, unless it was urgent, Lin Zhijin planned to avoid flying altogether.

"You feeling okay?" Gu Yan looked at Lin Zhijin with concern.

"I'm fine, let's just get home quickly." Having been away for half a month, she really missed her cozy little home.

"Alright, Xiao Li's already waiting outside for us. Let's go." Gu Yan nodded.

The two walked out of the airport loaded with bags. Lin Zhijin accidentally bumped into someone and was about to apologize when she looked up and saw that it was actually Sheng Huaimin.

"Sorry, did I bump into you?" Sheng Huaimin saw Lin Zhijin, and a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes. He hadn't expected to see her one last time before leaving.

"I wasn't watching where I was going just now. Are you alright?" Lin Zhijin noticed he was with several people, each carrying large bags, as if they were heading out on a trip.

"I'm fine. Where are you coming back from?" Sheng Huaimin's gaze swept over Gu Yan ahead, and his eyes dimmed slightly.

"My husband and I are back from the capital. Sorry, someone is waiting for us outside, so we need to go." Lin Zhijin felt a chill run down her spine and quickly ended the conversation.

"Alright, goodbye." Sheng Huaimin gave Lin Zhijin a deep look, then hurried away with his group.

Author's note:

None