Soon, they heard the squeals of wild boars.
After a while, the squealing stopped. When Xiao Yunjing reappeared, he carried a black wild boar weighing nearly two hundred and twenty pounds on his shoulder.
「That night,」
Gu Qingli waited until Master Gu and his wife in the main house, and the eldest branch of the family, were asleep. Only then did she wake Ms. Wu and Xiaoshuang.
"Li'er, what's going on?" After taking her medicine that evening, Ms. Wu felt much better. Her sleep was also more sound than before, and she was no longer constantly coughing.
"Shh, Mother, be quiet." Gu Qingli stuffed a meat bun into her hand.
Ms. Wu almost cried when she felt the warm, soft bun in her palm.
She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten a bun.
These days, having three meals a day was already a blessing, let alone eating buns.
"Eat quickly," Gu Qingli whispered.
Xiaoshuang woke up. Although he couldn't see what Second Sister had given their mother, he smelled the fragrance and knew there must be something for him, so he waited.
Sure enough, Gu Qingli immediately stuffed one into Xiaoshuang's hands.
"Second Sister, what about you?"
"Shh, eat quickly. Your sister has already eaten," she whispered in his ear and gave him a light kiss. It touched her heart that this little fellow still remembered to ask if she had eaten.
Xiaoshuang nodded; he was already very hungry. In winter, they only had two meals a day, and there was nothing to eat at night.
After they had each finished one bun and then another, Gu Qingli told Xiaoshuang to wake up Dashuang and Second Brother Gu.
There were two kangs in their room. Gu Qingli slept on the small one, which was separated by a divider. On the outer kang, Xiaoshuang and Ms. Wu slept on one end, while Second Brother Gu and Dashuang slept on the other.
When Second Brother Gu and Dashuang woke up, Gu Qingli had Xiaoshuang give them two buns each.
Dashuang gobbled them up in a few bites.
Second Brother Gu held the buns for a long time without eating.
Gu Qingli couldn't see clearly, but she could hear. She felt her way along the edge of the kang over to him and said, "If Father thinks I should give these to Grandpa, Grandma, and First Uncle's family, then don't say anything. Eat them or don't, it's up to you. But if you don't, there definitely won't be anything for you next time.
Think carefully: who is your wife, who are your children, who shares your warm kang?
And if other people's children become successful, what has that got to do with you?
Will they feed you, house you, or care for you in your old age?
Don't forget, you have two sons right in front of you who can work."
Her implication was clear: You have your own sons; why should we be responsible for looking after your parents and relatives?
Gu Qingli hoped that Second Brother Gu could change and not blindly listen to Ms. Hua's nonsense.
Their family was treated like beasts of burden, slaving away for First Brother Gu and Third Brother Gu their whole lives, yet they never earned any gratitude.
Once she got married, she wouldn't be able to watch over them all the time. The best solution was for Second Brother Gu to stand up and protect his own wife and children.
Second Brother Gu seemed deep in thought.
"Yeah, Dad, Second Sister is right. Look at what we eat and wear! Our cousins can go to school, so why can't we? Second Sister said that she'll let me and Xiaoshuang go to school next year." Dashuang shook Second Brother Gu's arm at the opportune moment.
Gu Qingli gave Dashuang a mental thumbs-up. What a clever kid.
After a while, Second Brother Gu said, "Dad understands."
Then he ate the two buns.
Gu Qingli and Dashuang's words left Ms. Wu and Xiaoshuang stunned.
"Li'er, is what you said true?" Ms. Wu even got out of bed and grabbed Gu Qingli's hands, her voice trembling slightly.
Li'er had changed so much; it felt unreal to her. But thinking of the Lady's temperament, this was exactly how her daughter should be. Perhaps it was this great upheaval that had revealed Li'er's true nature. In her life, she hadn't just wronged Li'er and the Lady, but also her previous family and her previous children. When she was chosen by the Lady to be Li'er's wet nurse, her own daughter was only a month older than Li'er. She had been so young; who knew if she was still alive now? If possible, she had to go back and see them, even if it was just to check on her eldest daughter's situation.
Thinking of this, Ms. Wu couldn't help but shed more tears.
Gu Qingli helped her back to bed, let her and Xiaoshuang lie down, and then said, "Mother, you must believe me."
"Yes, yes, Mother believes you." Ms. Wu couldn't hold back her tears and began to cry again.
Xiaoshuang, ever so sensible, gently patted Ms. Wu.
Nearby, Second Brother Gu lay with his eyes open, listening to the mother and daughter's conversation while pondering Gu Qingli's words.
In the past, he didn't really pay attention to this adopted daughter. In his mind, raising someone else's child was a thankless task. What good would come of it once she married out? According to his mother, she was a complete money-losing proposition. In the future, he would have to rely on his two nephews.
However, what this supposed money-losing proposition had just said overturned all his previous convictions. Leaving aside whether her words were reasonable, if his nephews became successful, would they really care for him? On what grounds would they care for him and his wife? Because their family worked hard to support their education? If they stopped working, would the nephews be unable to study? No, no, no, there was still Ms. Yun's maternal family.
He felt that he had been too full of himself before. Plowing the fields was something any farmer could do. With money, one could hire people to do the farming. In reality, his family had merely provided free labor all these years. The idea of 'all for one, one for all' was utter nonsense. Why hadn't Ma, the brilliant scholar from the next village, brought his brothers to share his good fortune?
He became deeply skeptical of Ms. Hua. Ever since they were young, among the three brothers, she had always been indifferent to him. When there was work, she called him; when there wasn't, she acted as if he didn't exist. When it was time for him to marry, she either said the family had no money or that they had to support Third Brother Gu's education. The money wasted on Third Brother Gu's schooling would have been enough for him to marry ten wives. Otherwise, why would he have ended up taking in Ms. Wu, whom he had found, as his wife?
For the first time in his life, Second Brother Gu suffered from insomnia.
「The next day,」
Gu Qingli gave Ms. Wu the medicine and then went up the mountain with Dashuang and Xiaoshuang.
When Ms. Hua saw the three siblings, she merely pursed her lips. Thinking of the ten taels of silver she had just received, she couldn't be bothered to care. After all, she wouldn't be at home much longer anyway. They could do whatever they wanted, as long as they didn't stay home and waste her food.
"Mei'er, why are you going out so early?" Ms. Hua asked Gu Qingmei with suspicion as she saw her leaving so early in the morning.
"Grandma, I'm just stepping out for a bit. I'll be back soon." Gu Qingmei clutched the items in her arms tightly and quickly ran out.
Chen Erlang took an ox cart to school very early every morning. Gu Qingmei ran to the village entrance to wait for him.
Sure enough, after a short while, Father Chen drove the ox cart over, with Chen Erlang sitting aboard it.
"Brother Erlang," Gu Qingmei called out shyly.
Father Chen quickly stopped the cart. Chen Erlang frowned and said, "Miss Gu, what is the matter? Are you going to town?"
He thought Gu Qingmei was here to hitch a ride. No, no, I'm here to give something to Brother Erlang. Give me something? Chen Erlang glanced at Gu Qingmei, then at Father Chen. What on earth is Gu Qingmei thinking, giving him something in front of an adult? This is like getting caught with yellow mud on your trousers—it might as well be dung for all the difference it makes! Even if there was nothing to it, accepting this would surely start something, wouldn't it?
He sneered inwardly. He could never be interested in such a woman.