Sure enough, when Bai Jiu went to work that afternoon, she noticed quite a few people sizing her up.
"Zhijun is back?" Seeing Bai Jiu arrive, Qian Xiaojie finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She had wanted to go look for Bai Jiu at noon, but her husband had stopped her. He had said that Zhijun wouldn’t do anything to Bai Jiu and that they should give the couple some space, but she still couldn’t stop worrying. Now that she saw her in person, she could finally relax.
"I’m sorry for making you worry, Jie. I’m fine." She really was fine. Though, admittedly, she was still a bit bewildered by everything. However, she could still feel the other woman’s genuine goodwill.
"Right, did he mention that matter?" Qian Xiaojie glanced around, leaned close to Bai Jiu, and whispered in her ear.
Knowing what she was asking about, and wanting someone else’s perspective, Bai Jiu shared Gao Zhijun’s attitude with her. "He doesn’t mind. I brought up divorce, but he didn’t agree to it."
"Well, that’s great then. Even though she’s his biological mother, to tell you the truth, Gao Zhijun was never favored by his family since he was little. By the time he was around ten, he had to figure out how to feed himself. The treatment he got compared to the other two in the family was worlds apart." She had heard all these things from Zhou Qingshan.
Bai Jiu paused in surprise. She didn’t know much about Gao Zhijun’s past. "Why? Isn’t it usually the youngest son and eldest grandson who get favored the most? Why doesn’t Song Caihua like him?"
She felt there had to be more to the story. She wouldn’t be able to get it out of Gao Zhijun, though. She remembered him saying that he wasn’t quite ready to tell her certain things yet.
Qian Xiaojie shook her head. "I don’t know." Even Zhou Qingshan didn’t understand it.
"Could it be that he isn’t a child of the Gao Family?" Bai Jiu asked, thinking of those chaotic years. If neither parent liked him, there was only one possibility: he wasn’t their biological child. Was he adopted? That was unlikely. Back then, people couldn’t even fill their own stomachs; it was impossible for them to raise someone else’s child. But for parents to be this biased against their own son was also rare, wasn’t it? Even if they played favorites, it made no sense to favor the second son.
"What are you thinking? He’s definitely a child of the Gao Family, otherwise why would they have kept him alive?" Qian Xiaojie rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Qingshan said the family is just heavily biased." At least, that was what Zhou Qingshan had told her.
Bai Jiu was speechless. Just how much did they despise him?
"Then why did they send him to join the army?" After all, enlisting these days required a certain level of connections; it wasn’t something just anyone could do.
"Oh, you don’t understand. Back when Gao Zhijun left for the army, he was only thirteen. Things weren’t like they are now, where you need a recommendation for everything. Back then, you could just run off and join. I heard he ran away to do it himself," Qian Xiaojie said, lowering her voice.
Bai Jiu didn’t know much about the system here and couldn’t figure out exactly what had happened back then. But since he didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t pry.
"Alright then," she replied, though she knew she still couldn’t let her guard down just yet.
Meanwhile, Fifth Uncle Gao Xingfu was drenched in a cold sweat the moment he returned home. Memories that had been buried for years churned in his mind once again, and her face haunted him like a recurring nightmare. What terrified him even more was wondering how Gao Zhijun could possibly know. When she died, Gao Zhijun had been nothing more than a five-year-old child. Gao Xingrong couldn’t have told him about this; if he had, there was no way Gao Zhijun would have come back to marry and have children after being away for so many years.
The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Gao Xingfu immediately bolted out the door, completely ignoring his children shouting after him. By the time he arrived at the door of another house, he tremblingly managed to compose himself.
"Is Second Brother home?" Seeing someone in the courtyard, he called out.
Soon, a man who bore some resemblance to Gao Xingfu emerged from the house. "Old Fifth, what brings you here?"
"Second Brother, Zhijun is back." Seeing that no one else was home besides his brother, Gao Xingfu walked straight inside. "He knows that person’s name." The fear on his face was impossible to hide.
For a moment, Gao Xingzong didn’t react. "What nonsense are you talking about? Isn’t it a good thing he’s back? That woman needs to be properly taught a lesson, otherwise she’s going to turn everything upside down." He still hadn’t grasped the severity of the situation.
Gao Xingfu immediately grabbed his arm and dragged him into the house. "Second Brother, he knows about Su Yurong," he said softly, uttering the very name that had given him countless nightmares over the years.
"Impossible." Gao Xingzong threw off Gao Xingfu’s hand. "How could he possibly know?" A clear look of fear flickered in his eyes.
"Could it have been Big Brother?" Gao Xingfu asked quietly.
"Even more impossible. If it weren’t for him back then, that person wouldn’t have died. He was the one who suggested it in the first place! How could he dare tell Gao Zhijun? Unless he has a death wish."
Gao Zhijun had no idea about any of this. He had only spoken that name because he didn’t want the Gao Family to use Bai Jiu as an excuse to cause trouble anymore. He had always remembered this grudge and never forgotten it. But his abilities were limited; he had no way to avenge her and had even been forced to rely on his enemies to survive. If it weren’t for...
While Bai Jiu was out working, Gao Zhijun stayed home to look after the kids. He wanted to go help her, but Bai Jiu wouldn’t have it. Left with no choice, he could only take the children up the mountain to play.
In the past, the two kids had always envied Gouwa, because his father was always going up the mountain to bring back delicious food for him. Now that their own father was back, they wanted to experience Brother Gouwa’s happiness for themselves. As a result, they kept clamoring for their father to take them to play on the mountain.
Naturally, Gao Zhijun wouldn’t refuse his children. He put on a woven bamboo basket, then carried them—one in each arm—into the vast mountain behind their house.
Few people came to this area, so the vegetation was lush and abundant. Not long after they entered the woods, they spotted a wild hare. Gao Zhijun had the two children hide. Then, he picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the hare. Right before their eyes, the rabbit was knocked unconscious.
"It’s down, it’s down!" Seeing the rabbit fall, Xiuxiu immediately ran toward it.
Looking at the deep, dark grass ahead, Gao Zhijun swiftly scooped Xiuxiu up into his arms. "Don’t wander off. Watch out for snakes." In these deep grassy patches, hidden snakes were the biggest danger.
Upon hearing there might be snakes, Xiuxiu tightly wrapped her arms around her father’s neck. "Scared of snakes." The little girl was indeed terrified of them.
Seeing his daughter look so adorable, Gao Zhijun felt a deep warmth in his heart. "Don’t be afraid. Daddy’s here."
After that first successful catch, the rest of the trip could only be described as a bumper harvest. Even the smile on Zhengyang’s face grew much wider.
When Bai Jiu returned home, she immediately smelled the aroma of meat. She was a bit confused, as there was obviously no meat left in the house. It was only when she went inside that she realized they were having rabbit meat today. The braised rabbit was unbelievably fragrant—so delicious that she ended up eating an extra bowl of rice.
At night, after the children had fallen asleep, Gao Zhijun slipped off the heated brick bed.
"What are you doing?" Bai Jiu had been on the verge of falling asleep, but his movements woke her.
"I’m getting something for you." He had originally planned to give it to her yesterday, but it had been too late, so he hadn’t brought it out.
Bai Jiu jolted in surprise and quickly became fully awake, sitting up on the bed as well. When he walked toward her holding a small pouch, her heart tightened.
"These are the life savings I’ve accumulated over the years. They’re for you." He had wanted to do this for a long time, but considering the family’s situation, he had never handed them over to her. Now, he finally had the chance to do so.
"What?" Bai Jiu was stunned.