That day, the officers from the Public Security Bureau did not delay and went straight to execute the orders against the two families.
Meanwhile, Bai Jiu spent the entire day running around, thanking everyone who had helped her. For those who weren’t home, she visited their workplaces directly. Finally, she even delivered a silk pennant to the Public Security Bureau to express her gratitude for their service to the people. This caused quite a stir, shocking half the town. Everyone in the neighborhood now had a completely new understanding of the Bai Family.
By this time, Xiang Gaoli had already delivered her message to the Bai Family. Although she didn’t run into any of the adults, she had Xiuxiu pass along a message to Bai Jiu. Since no one else was home, it wasn’t appropriate for her to stay long, so she left right after. Who could have known that by the afternoon, she would hear such massive news?
The Xiang couple also returned early from work. After all, Father Bai worked in the security department of the meat processing plant. Now that the Bai Family’s name had been cleared and their wrongs righted, who wouldn’t be shocked?
"Gaoli, what in the world is going on?" Xie Mei grabbed her daughter’s hand the moment she walked in.
Xiang Gaoli was just as dumbfounded. "Mom, would you believe me if I said I didn’t know?" She truly had no idea. She knew about what happened yesterday, but she never expected the results to come out so quickly, and...
Xie Mei sighed. "Sigh, look at how this turned out. Now it looks like our family is desperately trying to curry favor with them." She felt somewhat uncomfortable about the situation. Previously, the Bai Family had been a step below theirs. Although she hadn’t cared about that, the Bai Family’s deeds were now known to everyone: they were a respected worker’s family, they had contributed to the country in the past, and their daughter was a military spouse. If the two families were to unite in marriage now, who knew what people would gossip about behind their backs.
"What’s this nonsense about currying favor? When we agreed to this, we had no idea the Bai Family had all this going on. My daughter is excellent. If she weren’t so stubborn, she could have found someone much better than Bai Xingguo." Hearing his wife’s words, Xiang Yuanliang was displeased. While he’d had a good impression of Xingguo before, that was entirely based on his daughter’s affection for him. If that boy dared to look down on his daughter now, Yuanliang would be the first to object—he would break his legs.
"You went to the Bai Family today, what did they say?"
Xiang Gaoli didn’t hide anything and told her parents that she hadn’t run into anyone.
"Let’s just forget it for now and not rush things. We’ll wait and see what the Bai Family says," Xiang Yuanliang concluded. If they went knocking on their door again right now, it would be truly humiliating for their daughter.
Deep down, Xiang Gaoli was actually quite happy. Brother Bai had suffered so much over the years, and now his hard times were finally over. She was thrilled for him. She believed that Brother Bai had feelings for her too, and after this incident, he would definitely come calling in person.
Just as Xiang Gaoli anticipated, that very night, everyone in the Bai Family gathered at home to discuss the matter.
"Xingguo, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about now, right?" Bai Jiu teased her older brother. Mother Bai and the others also looked at him with smiles.
"Xingguo, if you ask me, you should just give in," Xingbang chimed in, joining the teasing. "Xiang Gaoli is a really nice person. I’ve bumped into you two talking a few times, and she always ends up crying because of how fiercely you scold her."
"Exactly! Sister Li is such a wonderful person. Xingguo, if you don’t marry her and bring her home, you’ll definitely regret it," Xinghua added, not wanting to be left out. Father Bai and Mother Bai’s faces also revealed rare smiles.
"Sigh, if you ask me, Xingguo still isn’t good enough for her. Look at how wonderful she is, and what about him? He’s as dense as a block of wood. He doesn’t deserve her." Mother Bai surprisingly couldn’t resist poking fun at her own son. Father Bai simply nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, the house was filled with joyous laughter.
Xiuxiu and Zhengyang were very sensible. They knew that Uncle Xingguo was going to marry the nice lady who had given them candy today. Yesterday, she had even served them food and promised to bring them meat next time. She was so wonderful and had even praised them for being well-behaved.
"Uncle Xingguo, are you going to marry that auntie?" Xiuxiu asked with innocent eyes.
When his younger siblings teased him, Bai Xingguo hadn’t felt the slightest bit embarrassed. But being asked by a child suddenly left him at a loss for words.
"Uncle Xingguo, she is very nice. If you marry her, does that mean you can have a little baby?" Zhengyang suddenly chimed in.
Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter again.
"Zhengyang, what made you think about a baby?" Bai Jiu asked, a bit confused. At home, her son rarely brought up the idea of younger siblings. Other than Xiuxiu, he wasn’t particularly affectionate toward anyone. Of course, Gouwa didn’t count, as the two of them were truly good playmates.
"Because then my sister would get to be an older sister. She always wants me to call her ’big sister’," Zhengyang said with a sigh of resignation. "If Uncle Xingguo has a baby, then Xiuxiu won’t make me call her ’big sister’ anymore."
Every child harbored a dream of being an older sibling. It was only when they grew up that they realized being the older one was never as relaxed and carefree as being the youngest.
"I had no idea this was happening," Bai Jiu said, genuinely surprised. She looked at Xiuxiu. "Why do you want your brother to call you big sister?"
Xiuxiu swallowed her food and said with a proud face, "So I can take care of him! Normally, my brother is always the one taking care of me."
Well, to the adults’ ears, that meant something entirely different.
Bai Jiu was extremely thankful that she had transmigrated into this body, as it gave these two children a new lease on life. If things had proceeded according to the original host’s life, she feared neither of these children would have met a good end. When Old Mrs. Song wanted to sell Xiuxiu, Bai Jiu believed the original host wouldn’t have necessarily been able to stop it. Her meek personality simply wouldn’t have allowed her to stand up for her children. People often said that a mother’s love made a woman strong, but in reality, it depended on the person. Someone who had been cowardly their entire life could never suddenly toughen up. If she had possessed any kind of inner strength, the two children wouldn’t have lived in such misery to begin with.
"Haha! Our Xiuxiu will definitely be a great older sister in the future, doting on her younger siblings." Bai Jiu couldn’t get enough of her pair of children. No one had expected Xiuxiu’s reason for wanting to be a big sister to be so endearing.
"When Uncle Xingguo’s baby is born, Xiuxiu will have plenty of taking care to do," Mother Bai chimed in.
"Mhm, Xiuxiu will be the best big sister in the world!" Xiuxiu puffed out her small chest and patted it, making a solemn promise.
Zhengyang let out a sigh of relief beside her. Seeing his reaction, Xingbang directly scooped the boy up and set him on his lap. "Zhengyang is already a great older brother right now." He kissed the boy’s cheek after speaking.
Zhengyang became a bit shy. "I’ll do my best, Uncle Xingbang."
After sharing a good laugh, the family steered the conversation back to the marriage with the Xiang Family.
"Xingguo, you can make your own decision now." Father Bai had been taking medicine for two days and was feeling much better, though his cough hadn’t completely cleared up, and his chest still ached when he took deep breaths. He certainly couldn’t handle any strenuous movements, and given the weather, he dared not let himself catch a chill. Fortunately, the Bai Family was now receiving preferential treatment. He was even planning to transfer his job directly to his youngest son, saving Xingbang from having to go down to the countryside to labor. If his son was sent away to the countryside, who knew when they would see each other again? Father Bai couldn’t bear the thought of parting with him.
Xingguo thought for a moment before saying with a flushed face, "I want to marry Gaoli." He already had feelings for her to begin with. When a man was at his lowest and received care and affection from a beautiful and understanding woman, how could his heart not be moved? How could feelings of love not blossom?