Chapter 12

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation  Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Gu Shouxin and Cai Xiaolian only gave Gu Nian a suspicious look before starting to eat.

There were only three dishes on the table — wild vegetable egg soup, stir-fried cabbage, and braised pork with soybeans.

1

There was no staple food, only eggs, cooked by Cai Xiaolian.

Apart from Gu Xin, the other three found it difficult to swallow.

Gu Xin peeled two eggs for herself, three for Gu Nian, four for Gu Shouxin, and three for Cai Xiaolian. Then, she said, “Father, this meat was given to us by Fourth Uncle. You weren’t at home at that time. Dad, did you boil oil when you cooked the meat?”

She had never seen her father cook, so she didn’t know if her father knew to boil oil.

Gu Shouxin took an egg from his bowl and placed it in Gu Xin’s bowl. He said, “I boiled it and put it in the oil can. What are you doing? Dad only needs to eat three. From now on, we’ll eat everything at home together. Don’t say that you’re too young to eat. You’re still growing, so you have to eat!”

The peeled eggs were still very easy to pick up.

Gu Xin did not push them away. She liked this kind of father. “Thank you, Father!”

If Cai Xiaolian and Gu Nian had not been so hungry, she really would not have been able to eat such food.

Just as they finished eating, Gu En from the main room at the old residence came over again. “Second Uncle, Grandpa and Grandma want you to come over.”

“Oh, I see.” Gu Shouxin stood up calmly and instructed Gu Xin to put the bowl down. He would come back later to wash it and then leave.

Once Gu Shouxin left, only the three of them were left in the kitchen.

Cai Xiaolian did not speak because she was afraid that Gu Nian would notice something different. At the same time, she also felt that Gu Nian was a little different from the original owner’s memory. Of course, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that she had hit her head earlier.

Gu Nian felt the same way as Cai Xiaolian, so neither of them spoke much.

“Mom, Sister, you bumped your heads just now. You must be feeling unwell! Go and get some rest. I’ll go to Grandpa and Grandma’s to see if they’re going to hit Dad again. If they hit him too hard, I’ll speak up for Dad. Dad already said that he won’t go gambling again.” Gu Xin didn’t notice that Cai Xiaolian and Gu Nianzhi had a lot on their minds.

“Oh,” Cai Xiaolian and Gu Nianzhi replied in unison and went back to their rooms.

Gu Xin did not notice anything unusual. She took advantage of the warm water in the pot to wash the dishes. Then she carried the small basket on her back and left the house.

It was winter now. Her daily task was to carry firewood on the mountain. The firewood was like withered yellow leaves and some dried branches.

She planned to go to the old house first. If Grandma wanted to beat her father, she would ask for mercy. If she didn’t, she would go to the back of the mountain to carry the firewood back.

Their house was at the foot of the mountain and not far from the old house. However, they were still some distance away from the other houses in the village, so they didn’t meet many people along the way.

When they were about to reach the old house, Gu Xin met her cousin, Gu Hui, who was in the main house, and greeted her. “Second, what are you doing?”

Gu Xin asked, “Sister Huihui, did Grandma hit my father?”

Gu Hui said in surprise, “No, it’s really strange. Grandma had already found him, but after Second Uncle said a few words, Grandma stopped scolding him and even called Second Uncle to go into the house to talk.”

Gu Xin heaved a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Father must have promised Grandpa and Grandma not to gamble, so I don’t need to help. Sister Huihui, I’m going to carry some leaves and dry sticks. Do you want to go to the back mountain?”