Chapter 10： mallard duck eggs

Chapter 10 Wild Duck Eggs

Studying costs money. In addition to annual repairs, which are a large expense, pens, ink, paper and inkstones are also expensive, which ordinary people cannot afford.

After all, the Gu family has only supported Gu Mingda, a scholar, in these years.

Although Gu Laoda and Gu Laosan were sent to study, they gave up immediately at the elementary school stage before it was time to spend money.

When the grandchildren come, it will be taught by Gu Mingda, a child, and there is no need to spend money on cultivation at all.

Even learning to write is done on a sand table, which is even more cost-effective.

Among the grandchildren, only Gu Yan actually practiced calligraphy on paper, and he spent Gu Mingda's money.

After all, the only cost of studying and literacy in the Gu family is such a sand table.

The Gu family's sand table has a wooden base, which is made into a low drawer. A thick layer of sand is spread inside. After holding a branch to write a word, the sand can be spread out casually.

Every time Gu Mingda assigned homework, no matter how many times he practiced calligraphy, there was no way to verify whether he was lazy or not. It all depended on his own consciousness.

At this time, Gu Zhao heard Niu Niu's question, tilted his head and asked: "Why are you asking this? Do you want to make one?"

Niu Niu nodded and looked to the side of the woodshed. At this time, she could still hear faint crying coming from inside.

Gu Zhao looked at his sand table and said, "I don't know either, but it looks quite simple. Just add some sand to a board. Where can we get the board?"

Gu Zhao didn't even ask Niuniu why she wanted to make a sand table, but he had already started racking his brains to help. His eyes fell on the woodshed door and said, "Let's dismantle this door."

Niu Niu was so frightened that she couldn't stop her in time. Gu Zhao had already started to take action. He rushed over like a cannonball and was about to unload the door.

Gu Daya, who was hiding inside and crying softly, thinking that she had been abandoned by the whole world and looking miserable, found a beam of light shining on her while she was crying.

Gu Daya squinted his eyes and looked over, only to realize that the woodshed was closed.

She was hiding here because she didn't want anyone to see her crying. Now that there was no door, people outside could clearly see her misfortune.

Gu Daya didn't know whether to continue crying or not.

Gu Zhao had already shouted to her: "Sister Da Ya, come and help, this door is too heavy, I won't be able to hold it!"

Gu Daya only hesitated for two seconds, then stepped forward with a twisted face and helped him hold the door, not forgetting to warn him: "I wasn't crying just now, don't think too much about it."

Gu Zhao was a naive person and was fooled easily. He said, "Oh, were you singing in there just now? It was a bit unpleasant."

Gu Daya's fist hardened in an instant. She didn't know if this smelly cousin was acting strangely, and she didn't even want to hold the door for him.

Niu Niu also came forward to help. Together, the three of them lifted the door aside and lowered it.

"Azhao, why are you tearing down the door? We're not afraid of beating you!" Gu Daya asked.

Gu Zhao said: "My sister said I would like to make a sand table."

Hearing this, Gu Daya paused, looked at Niu Niu aside, and asked softly: "Why are you making a sand table?"

Niu Niu whispered: "Sister Da Ya, if you and Sister Xiao Ya have a sand table, you can learn calligraphy with us."

Gu Daya's heart softened when she heard this. Originally, she had listened to Chen Chunhua's words, and she didn't like this sister who suddenly joined.

Niuniu was so kind to her and was the first person in the family to take the initiative to help her solve problems. Now Gu Daya felt ashamed.

Niu Niu said with some embarrassment: "Sister Da Ya, I was supposed to give you my sandbox, but this is the first gift my father gave me. I'm sorry, I don't want to part with it..."

As the oldest girl in the family, Gu Daya still behaves like an eldest sister when she is not against her mother. She immediately said: "If it were mine, I would keep it."

Niu Niu breathed a sigh of relief immediately after hearing this.

Gu Zhao, on the other hand, was obviously a little impatient while waiting for the two people to talk. He kicked the door he had torn down and asked, "Shall I find an ax to split this thing open?"

Gu Daya quickly stopped him and said, "No, if we really split it, grandma will definitely scold us!"

"But if you don't split it, you won't have a sand table." Gu Zhao said with an honest face, rubbing the back of his head. The movement here had long attracted the attention of Gu Mingda and Gu Yan.

Gu Mingda didn't intend to interfere with the affairs between the children. Seeing Gu Yan's concerned expression, he said, "Go and see what they are doing."

After saying this, Gu Mingda returned to the house.

In the room, Zhang Yuniang was sewing a small, dusty dress.

"For Niuniu?" Gu Mingda asked softly.

Zhang Yuniang said: "It's definitely too late to pull cloth and make clothes for her now. The elder sister-in-law and the third younger brother and sister will also gossip, so I will change the third child's clothes to be smaller for her to wear. It's pity that she has been in the Zhang family for so many years, let alone the new one. No clothes, not even a slightly clean old one.”

The clothes Niuniu is wearing now are also old clothes that others don't want, and they are full of patches.

Gu Mingda took out a purse, divided the money into two piles, and handed them all to his wife.

Zhang Yunniang also knew that part of this pile of money was to be transferred to Mrs. Gu by her, and the other part was kept for private use.

Gu Mingda was different from other men. He didn't have any bad habits of eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. Instead, he had many ways to make money. Every time he took the money, except for an emergency sum, he would give it all to her.

Zhang Yuniang used to worry about whether her husband, who was gentle, considerate and handsome, would face temptations outside. But since all the money at home was given to her, her heart has calmed down.

"Since Niuniu has come to our house, she must be pampered like our own daughter. We can't let her down. Tomorrow we will go to the county together to pull some cloth for Niuniu to make clothes. Don't worry about the gossip between the first and third bedrooms. ." Gu Mingda said.

Zhang Yuniang was stunned when she heard this. She had actually been very nervous. She brought Niuniu back to the Gu family without consulting her husband in advance. There was just a little girl who was not related by blood in the family. If it had been another man. I'm afraid I would have jumped up already.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Gu Mingda looked through the window to the yard, and said gently to Zhang Yunniang: "I have always been looking forward to having a well-behaved and lovely little daughter, but we gave birth to three brats one after another. Now I have achieved my wish.”

Zhang Yuniang felt sour in her heart. Her husband had always been so tolerant of her. No matter what she did, she would always get his support.

Gu Yan in the yard already knew what good things his brothers and sisters wanted to do, and said with a smile: "I don't think it's a big deal, isn't it just a sand table?"

The three little ones turned their heads instantly and stared at him with bright eyes.

Gu Yan said: "The sand table is used to hold sand. Wood can be used, but other things can also be used?"

After Gu Yan installed the door of the woodshed back, he took a group of younger brothers and sisters to the reed swamp. Now that the autumn air is crisp, the reeds are all withered and yellow.

Everyone immediately understood that they were going to make a frame out of reeds to hold the sand and use it as a sandbox for Da Ya and Xiao Ya.

"Brother, we can't make it up..." Niu Niu whispered.

As the person in the family who is most like Gu Mingda, Gu Yan showed his cleverness far beyond that of ordinary children and said: "Grandpa can make up. I saw that he has made up before. Just let him teach us."

Country kids are skinny and don't have much sense of safety, so a group of little carrots just started fighting in the reeds.

Thanks to the dry weather today, the reedy ground has long since dried up, and there is no swamp hidden that people can sink into.

Niuniu was small, so she rummaged through the reeds that were easier to pull off.

As if whatever she was thinking about came to her, she pulled the reeds that were usually deeply rooted in the soil accurately. She just pulled them deeper and deeper. Gradually, she couldn't even hear the fighting sounds of her brothers and sisters.

The surroundings were deathly quiet, not even the sound of wind, and Niuniu finally knew what she was afraid of.

The reeds on the left suddenly moved. Niu Niu was so frightened that she stepped back, her feet staggered, and she sat down on the ground.

She was just about to get up when she suddenly saw something round on her right hand side.

Turning around and looking over, I saw only seven or eight white round duck eggs covered with brown spots.

A naive head emerged from the reeds where there had been movement earlier: "Niuniu, why are you here? We are looking for you everywhere!"

Niuniu moved her body, revealing the seven or eight wild duck eggs behind her.

Gu Zhao looked at these wild duck eggs and drooled all over the floor: "Wild duck eggs! We have scrambled eggs tonight!"

(End of chapter)