ushernet Chapter 43 Xu Gun'er feels ashamed of himself, Gu Jia offers him heartwarming comfort.
Chapter 43 Xu Gun'er feels ashamed of himself, Gu Jia offers him heartwarming comfort.
Lin Chang'er had no idea that the boy was already overwhelmed with thoughts, feeling a great responsibility on his shoulders.
Seeing that the sun was about to set, I went to the kitchen with Gu's mother and sister-in-law to cook.
After the braised fish at noon, she discovered that Sister-in-law Gu was very talented in cooking.
Yesterday I only watched her make braised pork, and today I was able to apply that knowledge to make braised fish, and it tasted pretty good too.
Therefore, she plans to teach Sister-in-law Gu more about cooking skills, so that perhaps Sister-in-law Gu can develop in this direction in the future.
So that evening, she used the ingredients she had on hand to make sweet and sour crucian carp and sweet and sour shredded potatoes. She had originally intended to make hot and sour shredded potatoes.
She had already put the shredded potatoes into the pot when she realized she didn't have any chili peppers at home. She wasn't sure if this seasoning wasn't available in this era, or if people in coastal areas didn't eat spicy food, so they didn't have any.
As for vinegar, every household brews its own wine, so there's no shortage. Therefore, the ingredients were temporarily changed. It seems that the Gu family has a sweet tooth. When it was ready, the children tasted it and praised it highly, almost finishing it all.
The other dishes, such as braised pork, steamed crab, fried small fish, and vegetable soup, were left to Sister-in-law Gu to prepare.
Originally, they were going to stew chicken soup, but unexpectedly, the old hen laid an egg in the evening, and Gu's mother couldn't bear to part with it.
Lin Chang'er went along with her happiness.
But dinner consisted of five dishes and a soup, with fish and meat. For the Gu family, even during festivals in earlier years, they had never had such a sumptuous meal.
Gu Xiaoman was the most honest. As soon as she sat down, she looked at the table full of dishes and smacked her lips, "Wow, so much delicious food."
Gu Xiaolu was already used to it, so she stopped laughing at him and just said, "If you like it, eat more."
Gu Xiaoman responded in a childish voice, "Sister, eat more."
The two little bundles of milk looked at each other and giggled.
The family was enjoying their meal together when Lin Chang'er discovered that Xu Gun'er was missing.
She looked at the little goldfish, "Where's your Uncle Stick?"
Mother Gu has already spoken with the Gu family. Xu Gun'er is now the youngest son of her cousin who married far away, so he is of the same generation as Gu Silang. Little Goldfish used to call Gun'er "Brother," but now she has to call him "Uncle."
The little goldfish blinked its big eyes, leaned close to Lin Chang'er's ear and whispered something. Lin Chang'er frowned, "This child!"
At this moment, Xu Gun'er was sitting on a stone bench in the corner of the courtyard, holding a bowl of white rice with some leftover broth from the pot in his hand, and shoveling the rice into his mouth in big mouthfuls.
Ever since he ran away from home, he never imagined he would have a day when he could eat white rice again.
It smells so good. If only the old beggar were still here, he could have given me white rice to eat someday.
Thinking this, Xu Gun'er's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. The little boy raised the back of his hand to wipe them away and secretly glanced at the other end of the dining room.
Although the dinner was very lavish, he knew his place; Sister Chang'er didn't earn money easily, and he had to be considerate.
So he didn't sit at the table; he just brought out a bowl of white rice.
Suddenly, the little boy's small body was enveloped by shadow, and a clear female voice came from above, "You really know how to enjoy yourself, buddy. It's much cooler in the yard than in the dining room right now."
Xu Gun'er looked up and saw that Lin Chang'er had come out at some point, carrying a plate in her hand. The rest of the Gu family also came out shortly after.
The eight-immortal table was moved to the corner of the wall, and the dishes and chairs were also moved out.
Xu Gun'er still had food in his mouth and hadn't quite processed what was happening when he was pulled to sit down. The table was a bit crowded with 11 people.
But no one complained, and the adults in the family took special care of the children.
Xu Gun'er also received care from the Gu family, and the dishes in his bowl were almost piled up into a small mountain.
He was somewhat at a loss, but when he looked up, he saw the Gu family members smiling warmly.
Especially Gu's mother, "I heard from Chang'er that you are half a year older than Si Lang, but you are not as big as Si Lang. Eat more."
Sister-in-law Gu and the others didn't treat him like an outsider. Whenever they saw that the food in his bowl was gone, someone would always add more for him.
Xu Gun'er couldn't hold back this time. He thought that he was just Gu's mother's nominal nephew, and that he was different from the real children of the Gu family.
But then he realized that no, the Gu family truly treated him like their own child, and tears fell in large drops into his bowl.
Xu Gun'er didn't dare to look up, swallowing his tears along with his rice.
Lin Chang'er noticed, but didn't point it out. She just ladled him a bowl of soup and said, "Drink some soup, don't choke."
Xu Gun'er mumbled "uh-huh" twice, then picked up the soup bowl and covered his face.
As usual, Lin Chang'er prepared a plate of fried small fish for Zhou Li today. She also added a few pieces of meat to the bottom of the bowl because she had bought extra meat today.
After the meal, Little Goldfish took Xu Gun'er to deliver it.
Gu Silang was a little unhappy, but his third sister-in-law said that Xu Gun'er had a misunderstanding with Zhou Li today, and his identity also needed to be made public to Zhou Lizheng.
However, she entrusted Gu Silang with the task of delivering fried small fish to the old lady next door and borrowing fire tongs and a bucket, and Gu Silang was appeased.
At this time, Zhou Li had not made an appointment with Gu Silang today, simply because Zhou Hai went to the Lin family to demand an explanation.
Because they got back late, the Zhou family ate dinner later today than yesterday.
Zhou Li sat by the door, missing the fried small fish from last night. He licked his lips and thought to himself that he wished he could catch fish himself so he could eat fish every day.
Just thinking about it, he could vaguely smell the aroma of fried small fish.
Zhou Li: "..." I must be crazy. I'm so greedy that I'm hallucinating. I mustn't let those kids know, or they'll laugh at me, especially that kid Xu Gun'er.
However, the next second, he heard a childish voice say, "Uncle Li, have you eaten? My mom asked me to bring you some fried small fish."
Zhou Li was startled, recognizing the little goldfish's voice, and felt a surge of joy. But when he looked up and met Xu Gun'er's gaze, his feelings became somewhat complicated.
"Brother Li!" Xu Gun'er ignored him and greeted him politely, handing Zhou Li a large bowl of fried small fish.
Although Zhou Li was arrogant, he was also reasonable. If someone had already humbled themselves so much, and he still held a grudge, then he was just narrow-minded.
Finally, a smile appeared on his face. "Little goldfish, Stick, come inside and sit down!"
Then she called into the main room, "Mother, Little Goldfish has come with his cousin."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou wiped her hands on her apron and hurriedly came out. When she saw the large bowl of fried small fish in Zhou Li's hand...
His expression became somewhat complicated. "That child Chang'er is really something. Why does she send things to our house every day?"
Looking at the goldfish, she asked, "Has everyone in the family eaten yet?"
The little goldfish said in a childish voice, "I've already eaten. This is what Mom saved for Uncle Li. Mom also said that since you love her, she'll cook some fancy dishes at home another day and invite you and Grandpa Village Head to our house for dinner!"
Aunt Zhou exclaimed "Hey!" and waved her hand, "Your mother is just too polite."
After saying that, he looked at the unfamiliar child next to the goldfish and asked, "Is this your uncle?"
The little goldfish nodded, "That's right, Grandma. Uncle Gun'er is my grandma's distant nephew. His hometown suffered a disaster before the New Year, and his family was all wiped out."
Uncle Gun'er carried his great-aunt's keepsake and searched all the way here, and then he stayed at our house.
Hearing this, Aunt Zhou said with heartache, "Poor thing, come inside and have some water before you go back!"
Xu Gun'er just smiled sheepishly at Aunt Zhou.
The little goldfish shook its head and replied, "It's getting dark, and Mother is still waiting at home for us to set the fish trap! Grandma, don't bother."
Aunt Zhou didn't press the matter, saying, "Then be careful on your journey."
Little Goldfish responded with a "okay," and walked to the door with Xu Gun'er. Then, she turned to Zhou Li and said, "Uncle Li, Mother said you shouldn't be late tomorrow afternoon."
Zhou Li nodded hurriedly, "I remember."
The little goldfish then left with Xu Gun'er.
Aunt Zhou, however, had some doubts. After a moment of mental calculation, she asked seriously, "What time did you waste? What did you do at the Gu family's house today?"