Back to the 70s: My Childhood Sweetheart Spoils Me Rotten-Chapter 707 - 709: A Place for Retirement

Cao Na had often imagined what the place where Gong Ruini and her family grew up looked like, and she had certain expectations about how the house should be.

But when she saw the house, which was just like most in the Northeastern Rural area, she was shocked, "Ah, you actually live in a house like this."

The difference was unbelievable and left her in disbelief.

Was there a problem with such a house? Today, Gong Ruini was a bit unsure, wondering why Cao Na was so easily startled.

"Yes, we do live in this house." Could it be she thought this house was too humble, not as good as a Beijing courtyard?

"The house looks ordinary, but it has a really great bathing place," Gong Jiaming chimed in.

To Gong Jiaming, besides the kang and large yard, the home’s bath was a beloved feature of the Northeastern houses, though he had also bathed at Gong Zhuang’s worksite bath.

But in Gong Jiaming’s eyes, that bath couldn’t compare to the one at his second uncle’s place: it was large, clean, and crucially, had fewer people.

At the mention of a bathing place, Cao Na paused, then quickly let Gong Jiaming lead her running to the back.

As Gong Ruini noticed the sudden absence of the person beside her, she took a while to react, wondering why Gong Jiaming had just whisked someone away.

Could it be that after knowing Cao Na’s family background, Gong Jiaming was preparing to make a move?

Although Cao Na’s family wasn’t particularly prominent in Beijing, for the Gong family in the Southern Small City, she would be a desirable daughter-in-law. But did Gong Jiaming understand these things?

Even if Gong Zhuang had such intentions, he wouldn’t directly express them to Gong Jiaming. This young man, though polite, had been somewhat spoiled by Miao Cuihua and could be unruly at times.

Gong Ruwen, having put away his things, saw Gong Ruini standing there blankly and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Though the yard wasn’t as clean as when they lived here, to Gong Ruwen, it still felt warm and welcoming, "I once thought we would live here for a long time."

"Yeah, it’s nice here," Gong Ruini agreed, even though she had her complaints about it, this place gave her peace.

However, she never thought of stopping and staying in the Northeastern Rural area. After all, she was not yet at the stage of nostalgically looking back or considering retirement.

"Brother, when we’re old, how about we renovate this house?" Gong Ruini suddenly felt that no matter where she went in the future, this place was her root, and coming back to stay for some time each year would be great.

Maybe then, she could sit in a rocking chair, basking in the sun, telling her little grandchildren about the happy times they had here and how they struggled back then.

But on second thought, Gong Ruini couldn’t think of stories for the children that would interest them. Telling them about how seriously she studied, would they care to listen?

Gong Ruini, thinking about it, came to the conclusion that the kids wouldn’t want to hear that. It’d be better to tell stories about Zhao Guangran’s embarrassing moments; those would surely be a hit with them.

As for how Zhao Guangran would complain about this, Gong Ruini didn’t mind, as long as she didn’t exaggerate.

Zhao Xuran came out after putting things away and overheard Gong Ruini talking about her plans and smiled. He had thought she wouldn’t like this place.

Although she hid it well, there was an air about her that seemed not to belong here. He was surprised to discover she also liked this place.

Seeing her smile so contentedly, Zhao Xuran found it comforting, "What are you thinking about?"

"I’m thinking about when I’m old, basking in the sun while sitting in a rocking chair, telling stories about Brother Guangran," Gong Ruini blurted out.

Zhao Guangran’s face turned red, knowing that Gong Ruini enjoyed laughing at his expense and couldn’t believe she was already planning to tell his embarrassing stories when she grew old.

Hmph, being an old lady and still talking about these things, who is it meant for anyway? Isn’t it for her grandchildren?

Oh dear, Zhao Guangran was upset. Gong Ruini’s grandchildren would also be his younger relatives. How could he maintain his image of greatness in their eyes?

Perhaps when he would try to boast, those younger relatives would just be waiting to laugh at him. Imagining such a scene for a long time, Zhao Guangran said, "Ni Zi, don’t you think that’s not nice of you?"

"Hmph, I’ll also talk about your embarrassing childhood stories." He couldn’t just let it go; he had a mouth too, didn’t he?

Her embarrassing childhood stories? Gong Ruini was unfazed, "Go ahead, as long as you don’t distort the facts."

Gong Ruini couldn’t recall having any embarrassing stories, but she figured Zhao Guangran needed a glimmer of hope, or else how would he be disappointed?

Zhao Xuran sighed and patted his naive younger brother on the shoulder, "What do you think you can say?"

"Say Ni Zi was good in school, always outshining you?"

"Or that you were not as sensible as she was."

Was this about Gong Ruini’s embarrassing stories or singing her praises? If it were him, Zhao Guangran would never say it like that.

Gosh, this was too much. Zhao Guangran knew Gong Ruini wasn’t so generous. She was clearly setting a trap.

And speaking well of Gong Ruini wasn’t something Zhao Guangran would do, "Fine, that’s also good, proving I improved later. Everyone makes mistakes; it just makes me real, not like some fake people."

Yes, everyone makes mistakes. He had never seen Gong Ruini make a mistake, which in itself seemed odd.

Gong Ruwen perked up, it had always puzzled him, but he just thought his sister was smart. Now hearing this made him question it, no matter how smart someone is, they can’t be flawless.

Kid, if it weren’t for Zhao Xuran taking the heat, Gong Ruini would surely have made some small mistakes. Keeping a low profile was key, sigh, but why did Zhao Guangran need to bring this up with Gong Ruwen around, didn’t he see his cheap brother also getting suspicious?

But where Zhao Xuran was present, there was no need for that approach, "Brother Guangran, are you saying this about Brother Xuran?" asked Gong Ruini innocently.

What did this have to do with her brother? Wasn’t he talking about Gong Ruini? Wait, hang on, his brother also didn’t make mistakes.

Oh, how did he dig himself into a hole, or rather, get led into a pit by Gong Ruini’s misleading?

Furiously glaring at Gong Ruini, he couldn’t afford to hold a grudge and quickly shifted to flattering Zhao Xuran.

It was fine to offend Gong Ruini, but definitely not Big Brother, otherwise, there’d be trouble. Recalling the profit-sharing last year, where his mistake cost him significantly, Zhao Guangran felt the sting.

It wasn’t about the money, which Zhao Guangran could bear, but seeing Gong Ruini’s smug face pained him deeply.

"Brother, brother, listen to me," Zhao Guangran called out, seeing Zhao Xuran turn to leave, and chased after him.

Seeing Zhao Guangran eagerly chasing Zhao Xuran, Gong Ruwen let go of the issue Zhao Guangran had raised earlier, "Ni Zi, do you really plan to renovate this place later?"

Though they grew up here, the house belonged to Zhao Gang, and it was uncertain what his intentions were.

"Yes, I think Uncle Zhao would like it too." If Zhao Guangran disagreed, he would have opposed it right then.

Though the house appears simple, it holds immense significance for them. It wouldn’t be easily erased and should be preserved, potentially serving as a place for the family to reconnect and even learn anew.