"Yashan has a strong wind and is indeed much colder. When I lived there as a child, it felt much colder than at the foot of the mountain. You are truly capable. I heard you've made Yashan warm and pleasant. When can I visit again?"
Sun Sanniang suddenly chimed in warmly from the side.
"You can go now if you want!" Gu Chaobei said heartily.
"Really?" Sun Sanniang asked, looking at Mr. Sun with hopeful eyes. "Big Brother, why don't we go up and see how Physician Gu has renovated the old house? We can learn from it too."
Mr. Sun's business had been slow lately, with no customers showing up. He figured it was better to visit friends and relatives to alleviate his own melancholy. Besides, Gu Chaobei had been saying how warm the mountain dwelling was, which also made him yearn for it. So he said,
"Let's go then."
Thus, Mr. Sun closed his shop, instructed his assistant to drive the carriage, and headed to Yashan with Gu Chaobei's family.
Upon reaching the foot of Yashan, Mr. Sun had his assistant drive the carriage back, telling him to pick them up in the afternoon.
They began to climb the hundred steps.
Gu Qingcheng felt the atmosphere was a bit strange. Why was Sun Sanniang always talking to her dad?
Hu Lanfang, an excellent community cadre skilled in ideological work, how could she be so clueless?
She had also sensed that something was amiss.
Gu Chaobei, oblivious, was simply treating Mr. Sun and Sun Sanniang as friends, unaware of the potential danger of letting a vixen into his home.
After the snow, the steps had become very firm due to constant foot traffic, making the entire staircase slippery. One wrong step could lead to a fall.
Gu Chaobei walked a bit, then noticed the increasing slipperiness underfoot. He stopped and extended his hand backward.
Hu Lanfang, understanding his intention, extended her hand for Gu Chaobei to hold, using his support to walk uphill.
Gu Qingcheng, walking beside her mother, didn't even lift her eyelids. In moments like these, her parents acted as if she weren't their daughter. If she fell, she would have to pick herself up, brush the snow off her backside, and continue climbing.
Having been force-fed affection so often, Gu Qingcheng was long accustomed to it.
In Mr. Sun's upbringing, men were not expected to consider women's feelings, so he hadn't expected Gu Chaobei to stop and hold his wife.
Sun Sanniang, even more so, hadn't expected Gu Chaobei to be so attentive, worrying about his wife slipping.
Sun Sanniang's gaze at Gu Chaobei's retreating back intensified.
If only a man would extend his hand to help her at a moment like this!
Gu Chaobei walked uphill shoulder-to-shoulder with his wife, leaving Sun Sanniang behind. For some reason, she felt a slight sense of grievance.
Upon reaching the top of the steps, Gu Qingcheng had already opened the door and was affectionately embracing Wangcai.
Wangcai, having not seen its owner for another night, couldn't help but nuzzle its head into her arms upon seeing its little master, looking aggrieved.
"Come on, let's go inside and I'll make you something delicious."
Gu Qingcheng petted Wangcai's head and went inside.
Mr. Sun stood before the house, hands behind his back, and smiled.
Having not returned all night, snow had accumulated on the roof, creating a scene of silver and white, a beautiful landscape if not for the cold.
Sun Sanniang looked at her familiar old house, transformed from ruin to vitality. She wished she could live here again.
Gu Chaobei led the guests inside.
Gu Qingcheng poured dog food for Wangcai and then went to the backyard to start the ground heating, with Mi Guo following to help.
Gu Qingcheng was quick with her hands. In just a few moves, she had the fire going, and the room began to warm up gradually.
"Not bad, the ground heating is truly comfortable. We won't be shivering indoors anymore," Mr. Sun praised. "Boss Zhang's ground heating is indeed done very well. It seems I should find him to order one." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Yes, installing ground heating is a good investment. If it gets any colder, even adults can't bear it, let alone the elderly and children."
Gu Chaobei said with a smile, persuading him.
He wanted to persuade as many people as possible. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.
"Alright, I'll take your advice. Ask Boss Zhang to give me a friendly price."
Mr. Sun's heart was moved, and he made up his mind.
Sun Sanniang and Hu Lanfang did not join them in the dining room. Gu Chaobei and Mr. Sun didn't mind; it was good for the two women to chat privately.
However, the two men were unaware that while the two women appeared calm on the surface, a battle of wills was escalating in secret.
Seeing Gu Qingcheng go to the backyard to start the ground heating and lock the door behind her, Sun Sanniang felt curious but had no right to demand the door be opened for her to look.
So, she walked into the courtyard and sighed, saying,
"Even in this cold snap, which is rare in decades, the well in this courtyard never freezes. When I was a child, I didn't feel the cold when drawing well water to wash vegetables in winter."
Hu Lanfang nodded and smiled, "Yes, the water from this well is clear, sweet, and refreshing. It was also the reason we were determined to buy this place."
Sun Sanniang marveled, "The house is still the same house, but it's completely different after your skilled hands have adorned it."
"The ground heating should be ready soon. Let's go to Qingcheng's room to sit."
The couple's bedroom was not suitable for outsiders, but Sun Sanniang, being a woman, didn't need to avoid their daughter's boudoir.
Sun Sanniang readily agreed.
Upon entering Qingcheng's bedroom, a fresh, pleasant scent filled the air. It was the sea salt-scented air freshener Gu Qingcheng had bought from the supermarket.
"What kind of incense is this? It smells so good," Sun Sanniang praised.
"It's a scented balm. If you like it, I'll have Qingcheng send you one too," Hu Lanfang said generously.
Scented balms were quite expensive here, but only cost a few dozen yuan at the Mountain Cat Supermarket.
"Thank you, Sister. Alas, your current life is truly enviable.
Sister Hu, I have an idea. How about I come and live here with you, and I'll be a concubine, serving you?"
Unexpectedly, and without warning, Sun Sanniang boldly proposed her idea.
Hu Lanfang's head buzzed for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure and said with a laugh,
"Sanniang, you are so beautiful, why would you so readily become a concubine? Besides, our marital love is deep, and we don't need anyone else to interfere."
Sun Sanniang dared to say this because she was currently living with her cousin, and her sister-in-law was already finding her displeasing. She felt her cousin's wife thought she spent too much and earned too little, often making sarcastic remarks and veiled insults, making her feel unwelcome in her cousin's home.
Furthermore, Gu Chaobei was of her preferred appearance, was an outsider, and a renowned physician. Marrying into his family would mean lifelong security, which led her to entertain such thoughts.
"Sister Hu, I merely admire Physician Gu's character and would not try to usurp your position in his heart. I beg your acceptance."
Since the truth was out, Sun Sanniang refused to back down.
Hu Lanfang, hearing this, thought the woman was truly shameless, a mistress directly challenging the wife.
Instantly, blood rushed to her head, and her ears buzzed.
However, she was a woman who had seen major events. Every year, countless couples in the community broke up or divorced, and many would come to the community to pour out their troubles.
How could Hu Lanfang lack experience in handling such matters?
It was only because the matter involved her personally that she momentarily lost her composure, but she quickly regained her calm.