novelraw Chapter 306 Sleeping Together
Chapter 306 Sleeping Together
Chapter 306 Sleeping Together
Gu Tang was furious and told him in a harsh tone to go back to his room and sleep!
Ah Gou still had a sliver of clarity and knew he had angered someone again, so he obediently went back to his house.
After scolding the person and sending them back inside, Gu Tang breathed a sigh of relief and continued moving the bench.
These benches should all be placed under the eaves, and then returned to each household tomorrow.
As for the table, just leave it as it is, just wipe it clean, and have her father return it to the owner tomorrow.
Of course, whether you're giving away a table or a bench, you can't return it empty-handed. You also have to give them a bowl of food, usually leftovers from the meal.
Yes, that's true. My third uncle divided the food into individual bowls beforehand and then put them in a vat outside to freeze.
When I deliver it tomorrow, the soup will have solidified and won't spill and make a mess.
After finishing all that, Third Uncle asked Gu Tang if she wanted to eat something else.
"There's some food your uncle specially reserved in the kitchen, and no one's touched it. I noticed you haven't eaten much today, you've only been busy serving them wine. How about I go heat it up for you so you can have some more?"
Gu Tang shook her head: "I'm not hungry, but I'm exhausted. I'd like to ask Ping An to boil some water so I can soak my feet."
"Alright, I'll have Ping An boil some water. You go back to your room and rest for a while. I'll have Ping An call you when the water is ready."
Gu Tang responded, put down the rag in her hand, and turned to go back into the house.
The stove in her room was always burning, and she lay down on the couch, intending to take a nap.
As a result, he dozed off and fell into a deep sleep.
She didn't know how long she had slept. Gu Pingan woke her up, and she forced herself to open her eyes. She washed up with the hot water Gu Pingan brought her, soaked her feet, and then went back to the inner room and fell asleep immediately.
The door was not closed, and the water for washing and soaking feet was not poured out.
Gu Pingan helped her pour out the water and noticed a circle of wide-mouthed jars around the stove in the outer room. Curious, he lifted the damp burlap covering the jars and discovered that they contained beans.
Strangely enough, all of these beans sprouted!
How could beans sprout in the dead of winter?!
Gu Ping'an looked surprised.
He quietly closed the door and ran to the main room to tell his third uncle about it.
Third Uncle knew a bit about this kind of thing and told him not to be too surprised, estimating it was similar to the greenhouses of wealthy families.
Finally, she specifically instructed him: "Don't touch your second sister's things. If you're really curious, wait until your second sister wakes up tomorrow and then ask her carefully."
"Ugh!"
"Go back to your room and get some sleep. You've had a lot of trouble today."
His third uncle waved him off, telling him to go back to his room and sleep.
Gu Pingan was indeed tired. After washing up, he crawled into bed and fell asleep in no time.
The family reunion banquet ended, and there was nothing important to do the next day. In addition, some were exhausted and others were drunk. Apart from Gu Tang, whose schedule had returned to normal, everyone else got up almost an hour late.
The first thing I did after getting up was to return the tables and benches, and also deliver a bowl of frozen, rock-hard rice to each household.
The Gu family didn't care much for these dishes, but for a family that hadn't had meat for months, this dish was like celebrating the New Year early.
The dish contained a lot of meat, which was reserved and added on purpose.
Of the five tables of food served yesterday, some vegetarian dishes were left over, but none of the meat dishes were left.
Logically, sending a bowl of vegetarian dishes to each family would suffice. Since both dishes are cooked with real oil, they are at least considered dishes with some oiliness, and that's what we eat during the Lunar New Year.
However, the third uncle felt that his family rarely hosted banquets or entertained guests over the years, so the dishes sent should not be too meager.
Since no one likes to eat the cooked fatty meat at home, I might as well cut it into small pieces and give some to each bowl. This way, I can get rid of the fatty meat and also gain a good reputation for my family in the village.
This is a win-win situation.
Indeed, Uncle San's actions earned him praise from the villagers, especially those families who received the vegetables, who were overjoyed.
Uncle San gave gifts to the families who had lent him tables and benches, and he didn't forget Ah Gou either.
He arranged all the incense he had previously asked Gu Tang for in a box, took it out and handed it to A Gou, asking him to light it and try it out to see if he liked it.
“These were all made by your cousin herself. I dare not say anything else, but when it comes to making incense, your cousin is the best! Your uncle, Ping An, and I were just following along and messing around.”
Upon hearing that it was Gu Tang's cooking, Ah Gou quickly stepped forward to accept it.
He neither liked nor disliked incense appreciation, but since Gu Tang liked it, he would like it too in the future!
At the end of the 9-11 AM, Gu Tang finally got up.
It didn't snow today. She was stretching and looking at the snow in the yard from the porch when she suddenly heard a noise coming from the backyard. Curious, she went to the backyard.
In the shed in the backyard, her father was scrubbing an old sled with snow.
This sled was bigger than the previous new sled. Gu Lianshan buried his head in washing it until he heard footsteps before looking up.
"Hey! You've finally gotten up!" Gu Lianshan said with a smile, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Dad, why are you cleaning this sled?" Gu Tang was puzzled. What was the point of cleaning this thing in this cold weather?
As soon as she spoke, a sudden thought flashed through her mind, and she remembered Gu Mei.
Are you... going out?
Gu Lianshan paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"Father has some business to attend to; he might have to go out tomorrow..."
"Should I go too?" Gu Tang couldn't help but ask expectantly.
"No way." Gu Lianshan replied without even thinking.
Gu Tang persisted: "Why not? It's the dead of winter, and we have nothing to do at home anyway. I'd like to go for a walk with you. It's such a good thing, why can't we?"
"Dad isn't going out to play, Dad has... Dad has some things to take care of, and your cousin will be going with you."
It would have been better not to say it at all, because saying it made Gu Tang even more unhappy.
"Your nephew can go, but your daughter can't?"
"This is different."
"What's the difference?"
"Sanlang is tall and strong, and he can fight when it matters! Besides, his outfit is extremely charming, so Father sent him along to keep order!"
Gu Tang couldn't refute this point; when it came to fighting, Ah Gou was indeed number one!
Gu Lianshan added, "Besides, the things Father did were not easy to talk about or hear about; they were very dirty. You are a young lady who has not yet left home; you cannot bear to hear about such things."
Having said that, Gu Tang realized that her father was determined not to let her go, and was also determined not to tell her the truth for the time being.
Fortunately, she had Ah Gou.
"Alright, if you don't want to go, then you don't have to. What time are you leaving tomorrow?"
"At the hour of Mao."
Gu Tang nodded, said nothing more, and turned back to the front yard.
As he approached the corridor, he saw Ah Gou coming out of the kitchen, and their eyes met. Upon seeing him, Ah Gou came over with a happy expression: "Today is Laba Festival. I cooked Laba porridge this morning, and I specially saved two bowls for you. They're still warm. Go sit down in the clan hall first, and I'll go get them for you."
Gu Tang stopped him, pointed to the backyard, and quietly asked him, "Are you going to the Zhu family with my father tomorrow?"
She didn't utter the two words "Zhu Jia" aloud, only mouthed them, but she knew Ah Gou would understand.
Sure enough, Ah Gou nodded and whispered back to her, "Yes, I'll go tomorrow."
Ah Gou knew what she was thinking and tactfully said, "Don't worry, I will definitely write it all down this time, and when I get back, I will tell you everything without missing a single word."
Gu Tang laughed and nodded her little head repeatedly.
That's more like it.
"Go get the porridge, I'll go back to my room and wait."
……
After eating Laba porridge, we continued making incense in the afternoon.
Her father said that the incense that had been sent out earlier was mentioned during yesterday's banquet.
They said the fragrance was excellent and asked when the family would start selling it.
He didn't know the exact date, so he said that he would make sure they could buy incense before the 20th of the twelfth lunar month.
"...There are still several families who haven't ordered yet. After hearing the praise yesterday, they will definitely order it later."
After everyone has tried it, I'm afraid many people will ask when it will be available for sale! Have you chosen a date yet? When can you sell it?
Gu Tang had actually thought of this before. She said, "If the incense at home is dried, then we can sell it, no matter which day it is."
"That won't do!" Gu Lianshan said sternly. "Even though we're selling incense at home, it's still a legitimate business! We should at least find a good day to set off a couple of strings of firecrackers and make a noise."
Third Uncle also agreed: "Your father is right, this is a big deal. We should choose a day to set off a couple of strings of firecrackers as a gesture, to wish for a prosperous business and good fortune."
Logically speaking, that is indeed the case.
But Gu Tang found it troublesome and didn't want to take on the task, so he simply pushed it away: "Then I'll leave this to you, Father. You go and choose a date from the clan chief, and set off a couple more strings of firecrackers then."
Gu Lianshan was very happy to take on this task. He stopped making incense, washed his hands, and went to the village head to find the clan chief to choose a date.
Before long, the person returned with a happy expression, humming a little tune.
Seeing his expression, Gu Tang knew that things had succeeded.
Sure enough, her father stood before everyone with his hands on his hips, and said triumphantly, "The clan leader has chosen three auspicious days: the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, and the twenty-second day of the twelfth lunar month. These three days are all auspicious for opening a business!"
Gu Tang counted on her fingers and immediately rejected the idea of the 22nd of the twelfth lunar month.
“If we open for business on the 22nd, there will only be a few days left until the New Year. The schedule is too tight. Besides, by then, all the items needed for the New Year in each village will probably have been prepared by then. If we open for business to sell incense then, it will definitely be too late.”
Third Uncle nodded: "That makes sense. In my opinion, let's choose the nearest date, the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month. What do you all think?"
"The day after tomorrow?" Gu Lianshan hesitated. "I have things to do tomorrow. Will we have enough time the day after tomorrow?"
"There's enough time. There's no need for any complicated rules or rituals. Our family doesn't care about these things. We'll just set off a couple of strings of firecrackers to make a noise!"
If that's the case, then it certainly saves trouble.
"Alright, let's set it for the day after tomorrow. My dad bought a lot of firecrackers when we were in Beian City, so we can set off a few more strings!"
Once the date was set, everyone sped up their work.
Ah Gou, in particular, made the most.
Similarly, he ate the most.
At dinner, Ah Gou ate a whole bowl of rice by himself.
Gu Lianshan exclaimed in amazement!
Fortunately, he came from a wealthy family; if he had come from a poor family, he probably would have starved to death long ago.
After dinner, Gu Lianshan urged Agou to go to bed early, saying that they would set off at dawn the next day, seemingly not wanting the villagers to know what he was going to do.
Gu Tang originally planned to get up at 5 a.m. to see them off, but when she woke up, it was already 7 a.m.
She didn't hear a thing when her father and Ah Gou set off.
Judging by the time, if it were any other season, it would be possible to make a round trip to the Zhu family's residence by now.
But walking was difficult in winter, so the two of them probably just arrived at the Zhu family's place.
Gu Tang's guess was pretty accurate; Gu Lianshan and Agou had indeed only been at the Zhu family's residence for a short time.
When they arrived, none of the Zhu family members were up.
Gu Lianshan knew that Zhu Youshou was in poor health and couldn't stand noise, so he lived alone in a room at the Zhu family's house.
Thanks to his eldest son Gu Lai'an's frequent mentions of him at home in his earlier years, he knew which room Zhu Youshou lived in.
After finding the house, he and Ah Gou worked together to kick down Zhu Youshou's house!
With a loud bang, the entire Zhu family was awakened.
Zhu Youshou was also startled awake, and he screamed out like a chicken whose neck had been choked!
Before Gu Lianshan could even enter, a familiar, extremely jarring voice came from Zhu Youshou's room.
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Gu Lianshan felt dizzy and disoriented, and even staggered a couple of steps.
If Ah Gou hadn't caught him in time, he probably would have fallen headfirst onto the snow.
"Uncle, you mustn't upset yourself. My cousin and the others are waiting for you to come back safely."
These words awakened Gu Lianshan. Taking advantage of the howling wind to muffle his voice, he stood at the door and roared into the house.
"You shameless bastard! Get your clothes on and get out here right now!"
The roar startled Gu Mei and Zhu Youshou, who were sleeping together on the bed inside the room. Both of them turned pale and started trembling all over.
The rest of the Zhu family members also came out of the house at this time. When they saw Gu Lianshan, whose face was ashen and who was furious, they were all shocked and took two steps back, their legs going weak.
God!
What happened to this tough-as-nails meat?!
He even stumbled upon Gu Mei sleeping in Zhu Youshou's room!
Old Mrs. Zhu and her third son's wife, Yan, were experiencing dizziness and blurred vision.
Just as she finished speaking, Gu Lianshan discovered what was going on.
One of them rushed straight into Zhu Youshou's house to check on the situation, in case his son was beaten.
The eldest and second sons of the Zhu family quietly moved aside, keeping their distance from Zhu Laosan, whose face was deathly pale.
Yan, who rushed into the house, was also deathly pale, but when she saw her son's panicked appearance, she forced herself to calm down and hurriedly found some clothes to help him put them on.
As for Gu Mei standing to the side, Madam Yan wished she could strangle her right now!
It was all because of that little slut!
Her son was chronically ill and had little interest in sex, but this shameless girl kept tempting him every day, eventually leading him astray!
She suppressed her anger and told Gu Mei to get dressed quickly in a harsh tone.
"This isn't a big deal. Your father has already agreed to your marriage with Youshou and made it clear that he won't interfere in your life anymore."
If he dares to take his anger out on you now that he's here, he's in the wrong. Don't be afraid, go out and talk to him properly.
These words reminded Gu Mei.
Ever since the day she arrived at the Zhu family with her dowry money, her father said he would no longer acknowledge her and would treat her as if she were no longer his daughter.
If they don't recognize her anymore, what's the point of coming here today?
And that phrase "shameless," who is that being insulted about?