CH 64

Goblin8-10 minutes 20.07.2022

Early the next morning, Gu Xia was woken up by a phone call.

Gu Xia stumbled to receive the call, “Hello!”

A rough and old voice came from the mobile phone and said, [Xia Xia! You’re still sleeping!]

“Oh, Second Grandpa! What’s wrong, do you need me for something?” Gu Xia rubbed his eyes and asked.

[It’s like this. I have pickled some dried radishes and cucumbers at home. If you are all right today, come to our house to get them. There’s some oil and rice, and I also filled two pots of our fifteen years old wine.]

“Okay, Second Grandpa, I’ll go there when I get up.” Gu Xia replied with a smile.

Gu Xia’s Grandpa and Second Grandpa used to call him or his dad every once in a while to ask them to go back and get things. Whether it was oil, rice, vegetables from the vegetable field, or  home brewed old wine, they kept some for Gu Xia’s family. The wine would be sealed for many years, until it became red and black, like soy sauce. There were medicinal materials in it. It was sweet and delicious in the mouth, and had a silky texture. However, the wine itself was quite strong. This kind of wine was quite famous, and many people asked people from the village to help make such a wine.

[Bring Qinqin as well. I haven’t seen that girl for a long time.]

“Alright! I’ll pull her out of bed later.” Gu Xia smiled.

[How are your grandparents?] The Second Grandpa asked.

“They’re okay, they just keep talking about going back, but as you also know that the house is not ready yet.” Gu Xia said helplessly.

[Haha~ Us old people like the countryside. Come quickly now!]

“Okay.”

It’s commonly said that the old people prefer sons to daughters and like grandsons, but Gu Xia’s Grandma, Second Grandpa, and Second Grandma before her death, liked Gu Qin very much. He remembered quite a lot of his childhood, so Gu Xia knew how jealous of Gu Qin he was when he was a child.

Gu Xia still remembered that when they went to the countryside every summer vacation, Gu Qin always got more snacks than him. She never got beaten if she made a mistake, but he would get beaten if he ever made a mistake. His Second Grandpa would smile and comfort him, then he would buy him candy.

Gu Xia got up and put on his clothes. He came before Gu Qin’s room and knocked on the door. Then he directly pushed open the door. He was stunned by what he saw. Gu Qin and Li Jingjing were sleeping together. Gu Xia blinked, ‘What is this? Why is Li Jingjing sleeping on Gu Qin’s bed?’

“Qinqin!” Gu Xia shouted.

“Hmm~” Gu Qin and Li Jingjing both opened their eyes in a daze, and Gu Qin responded.

“Brother, what are you doing~ Why are you disturbing my sleep!” Gu Qin muttered in dissatisfaction.

“Brother Xiaoxia!” Li Jingjing shouted in a low voice.

“Second Grandpa called and asked us to go to our hometown to get things. You have to go with me, he wants to meet you, get up quickly.” Gu Xia said helplessly, looking at Gu Qin who was still in a daze. This girl definitely slept very late last night.

“Oh!”

“Jingjing, why don’t you come with us! You just happened to be with me today.” Gu Qin poked Li Jingjing with her hand, and then winked at Li Jingjing, as if to say that I am creating opportunities for you. 

Li Jingjing looked at Gu Qin and then turned to look at Gu Xia. She was very moved, but she was afraid that Gu Xia would not agree.

Seeing the expression of her best friend, Gu Qin knew that she was worried about Gu Xia’s opinion.

“Brother, can Jingjing accompany us? If she doesn’t go, I won’t go either.” Gu Qin said tenderly.

Gu Xia touched his nose. He actually didn’t want Li Jingjing to go, but since his sister said so, there was nothing he could do, so he had to say, “Alright then! Get up and take a shower.”

“Yeah~ that’s great.” Gu Qin cheered.

Li Jingjing’s face was also full of smiles.

*****

Gu Xia had been waiting in the car for almost an hour. He bought things like cigaret*es and milk for his Second Grandpa from the store, but before the two of them got down, he had already smoked two or three cigarettes. If it wasn’t too early, Gu Xia would have gone out to urge them.

Just when Gu Xia was about to go to call them, he saw them coming down. Both of them were wearing new clothes and put on some light makeup. It was a mystery what the two of them whispered, and they laughed like twin flowers.

“Get in the car! You girls are really troublesome, it takes an hour to get ready.” Gu Xia said helplessly.

“You’re a man, so what do you know! You only know how to eat and drink.” Gu Qin rolled her eyes.

“Yeah! Us girls must dress up when we go out.” Li Jingjing also agreed.

Gu Xia pouted, but didn’t reply. The two of them joined together against him, so it was impossible for him to win. So he judged it better to change the subject.

“Fasten your seat belt, we’re off.”

Gu Xia put in a disc, played some music, and then drove to the country.

Gu Xia listened to the song and drove quickly. It was only eight o’clock in the morning. There were not many cars on the road, and there were even fewer cars on the road to the countryside.

There were wide asphalt roads along the way. Gu Xia remembered that it used to be a brick road. This asphalt road was built later. At that time, his father used to rent a car to go back. The journey back would be quite bumpy. Gu Xia and Gu Qin would stick their heads out of the window and vomit. Gu Xia had a particularly deep impression of this road, it was a memory of childhood nightmares!

After driving for half an hour, he got off the main road and entered the brick road. The road was full of potholes, so Gu Xia had to slow down, otherwise it would be hard on the chassis.

Gu Xia saw from the rearview mirror that the two girls had fallen asleep, their heads leaning on the seat crookedly.

Gu Xia shook his head, the two of them must have slept really late at night.

Gu Xia opened the window, lit a cigaret*e, and took a deep breath— haa~ The smell of the cigaret*e mixed with the smell of the soil on the side of the road, it felt extraordinarily fresh.

It’s a pity that this was not the time to transplant or harvest rice, otherwise the fields would be green or yellow, which looked beautiful.

Without a word, he drove for more than half an hour and arrived at the Second Grandpa’s house. While passing by their grandfather’s house, he saw athe the foundation was still being built. His grandparents won’t be able to live in it until next year.

At the door of the second grandfather’s house, Gu Xia woke up the two girls, and when he got out of the car, he saw their Second Grandpa lying on a reclining chair basking in the sun.

“Second Grandpa, we are here.” Gu Xia approached and called out.

“Second Grandpa~”

Gu Qin and Li Jingjing also shouted in a sweet tone.

“Well, you are here! When you are old, you tend to fall asleep after lying down a bit.” The Second Grandpa opened his eyes and said in a daze.

“Second Grandpa, you may think you are old, but in Qinqin’s heart, you are not old at all, you will always be young.” Gu Qin said tenderly, holding the Second Grandpa’s hand.

“Haha~ You silly girl~ You have been a sweet talker since you were little.” Second Grandpa laughed.

“Who is this? Xia Xia, your girlfriend?” Second Grandpa looked at Li Jingjing and asked.

When Li Jingjing heard the words, her face flushed with blush, but she felt very sweet in her heart.

Gu Xia touched his nose helplessly and said, “No, Second Grandpa. Her name is Li Jingjing. She is the neighbor across from my house and Qinqin’s classmate.”

“So that’s how it is! The little girl is so beautiful.” The Second Grandpa said with a smile.

“Thanks for the praise, Grandpa.” Li Jingjing smiled.