Yao Chunhua didn’t doubt Gu Jianing’s words in the slightest. Whatever Ningning said, she believed it wholeheartedly.
“Ningning, once I finish helping your sister-in-law with her postpartum month, I’ll take the train to the Northwest Military District right away.” After all, Yao Chunhua still worried about her daughter. Especially since she was carrying twins. Even though grandma Sang was there, she wouldn’t feel at ease unless she, as the mother, went to take care of her.
“Alright, I understand, Mom.”
Yao Chunhua went on to give many more detailed reminders before reluctantly hanging up the phone.
On her way back, Yao Chunhua wore a smile the entire time.
“Oh, Sister Chunhua, I heard your eldest daughter-in-law gave birth to a baby boy?”
“Yes, he was born this morning. Both mother and child are doing well.”
“That’s wonderful, congratulations!”
Along the way, nearly everyone Yao Chunhua ran into congratulated her.
But just as she was about to reach her doorstep, she spotted Wu Meili from next door.
Wu Meili took one look at Yao Chunhua’s triumphant, joyful expression, scowled, and slammed her door shut with a loud bang.
Yao Chunhua remembered how Wu Meili had once called Yang Manman a “barren hen” and felt a surge of anger. Over that incident, she had even gotten into a physical fight with Wu Meili.
Actually, at first, Yao Chunhua and Wu Meili had gotten along quite well.
It was probably because Wu Meili had wanted to marry her daughter, Gu Baozhu, to Yao Chunhua’s eldest son.
Yao Chunhua had never liked meddling too much in her children’s marriages, nor did she believe in forcing anything.
She knew that marriage was a lifelong matter.
Choosing the right person was crucial.
So, when her eldest son said he wanted to marry Yang Manman, and after meeting Yang Manman and finding her agreeable, Yao Chunhua had given her approval.
But from then on, Wu Meili treated her with nothing but disdain, as if Yao Chunhua owed her for several lifetimes.
At first, Yao Chunhua had thought that even if they couldn’t become in-laws, they could still maintain a good neighborly relationship.
But Wu Meili ended up resenting her for it.
After that, she kept targeting Yang Manman.
This was something Yao Chunhua couldn’t tolerate.
So, things eventually escalated to physical fights.
But now, Yao Chunhua no longer cared about Wu Meili’s attitude.
Neighbors or not, it didn’t matter.
As long as her family was doing well, that was enough.
No matter how much Wu Meili disliked her, there was nothing she could do about it.
And this time, with Manman giving birth to a son, Wu Meili was probably seething with rage.
Indeed, behind her closed door, Wu Meili was nearly going mad with anger.
In her mind, Yang Manman should have remained childless forever.
By then, whether it was Gu Yunting or the rest of the Gu family, they would surely regret marrying Yang Manman and rejecting her Baozhu.
But now, Yang Manman had actually given birth to a son!
And the Gu family’s fortunes kept improving—their daughter was a doctor famous enough to appear in newspapers, married into a military family in the capital.
Their three sons were all workers.
The gap between the Gu family and people like them was only growing wider.
…
Yao Chunhua returned home, cooked a meal, and first set aside a portion for Yang Manman, who was in her postpartum month. Then she cradled her grandson, fed him formula, and waited until he fell asleep before stepping out.
As soon as she came out, she heard the villagers returning from work.
Not long after, the old man returned home.
Soon after, the three sons who worked in the city also came back.
As soon as Gu Yunting arrived, he immediately went to the room to see his wife and son.
Once the whole family had finished dinner,
Yao Chunhua brought up the phone call she’d had with Gu Jianing earlier that day.
Then, she called the third son into the room privately to relay Gu Jianing’s message—that he should focus on reviewing his studies.
At first, Gu Yunzhou was stunned when he heard it.
Only after confirming again did he ask,
“Mom, are you saying that, in the near future, the college entrance exam might be reinstated, and I… I could go to university?”
“That’s not my words, it’s Ningning’s. Do you believe it?”
“Of course I believe it.”
How could he not believe his little sister’s words?
Only the Gu family knew just how extraordinary Gu Jianing was.
So they trusted her words without question.
Especially because, before Gu Jianing got married, when she was still entangled with Wen Zhuqing, she had indeed been a bit unreliable.
But after marrying Sheng Zexi and moving to the military base, everything she did had been incredibly dependable.
Gu Yunzhou felt that the likelihood of the college entrance exam being reinstated in the near future was very high, which was why Ningning had reminded him.
He knew that Ningning had always been aware of his longing to continue his studies.
As expected, his little sister understood him best.
“Mom, I understand. I’ll start reviewing,” Gu Yunzhou said, his eyes filled with determination.
“Good, good.”
…
Northwest Military District
On the third day after Gu Jianing’s sister-in-law gave birth, while she was working in the traditional Chinese medicine department, she saw Guoguo rushing toward her in a panic.
“Auntie Jianing…”
Gu Jianing quickly asked, “Guoguo, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Auntie, Mom… Mom’s giving birth!”
“Sister Shuwan is in labor?” Gu Jianing immediately stood up. “Where is she now?”
“At home. Mom’s in so much pain she can’t stand up.”
“Alright, I’ll take someone there right away. Guoguo, don’t panic. Your mom will be fine.” Seeing the tears welling up in Guoguo’s eyes, Gu Jianing quickly reassured her.
Soon, Gu Jianing notified the obstetrics department and arranged for someone to bring a stretcher as they hurried toward the family quarters.
Speaking of which, Gu Jianing knew that Zhang Shuwan was approaching her due date.
After all, it was a twin pregnancy—premature birth was inevitable.
Upon learning this, Lin Xing had been making an effort to return home as early as possible each day.
But just two days ago, Lin Xing had suddenly been assigned a mission—one he couldn’t refuse.
Left with no choice, he entrusted his wife to the care of Gu Jianing and Sheng Zexi before hastily departing for his assignment.
That day, shortly after finishing her meal, Zhang Shuwan had been struck by a sudden, sharp pain in her abdomen.
When she noticed her pants were wet, she realized her water had broken—she was going into labor.
But the pain was unbearable.
She was in so much agony that she couldn’t even muster the strength to walk.
Originally, she had planned to go to the military hospital as soon as she sensed labor starting—they had even discussed this beforehand.
And the distance wasn’t far.
But she hadn’t expected the contractions to be so intense that she couldn’t even stand, let alone walk.
Guoguo was terrified.
Fortunately, the little girl was quick-witted and immediately remembered what to do.
Her father had told her that if he wasn’t home and her mother went into labor or felt unwell, she should go straight to Auntie Jianing and Uncle Sheng next door.
Guoguo knew that, at this moment, Uncle Sheng was in training and not at home.
Auntie Jianing was also away—at the hospital.
So, without hesitation, Guoguo sprinted to the hospital.
Luckily, Zhang Shuwan had taken her to Gu Jianing’s office before, so she remembered the way.
Now, Gu Jianing and her team were rushing toward the family quarters.
Soon, they arrived at the Lin household and found Zhang Shuwan sitting on the kang, her face contorted in pain.
“Jianing, Jianing…” Zhang Shuwan’s pleading eyes locked onto Gu Jianing.
“Sister Shuwan, don’t be afraid. Everything will be fine. We’re taking you to the hospital now.”
……
With the stretcher, Zhang Shuwan was quickly transported to the obstetrics department.
The delivery process began.
Though Gu Jianing didn’t enter the delivery room, she closely monitored Zhang Shuwan’s condition through the system’s real-time data.
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