"I'm not going to town with you today."

Gu Chong arrived at Zhou Zhi's house. He skillfully pried open the door and went inside.

Zhou Zhi's house was much newer than his; the walls and yard were newly built, which cost Zhou Zhi a lot of his savings.

This is all due to natural disasters and his bad luck.

Last summer, a torrential rainstorm washed away the mud wall of Zhou Zhi's house, forcing him to spend money to rebuild it.

As soon as Gu Chong entered, he saw Zhou Zhi squatting by the door, casually taking inventory.

They haven't had time to go to other provinces and cities to purchase goods recently, but they don't want to waste their time being idle.

Time is money, a truth that Gu Chong and Zhou Zhi have come to deeply appreciate in recent months.

For the past few nights, they've been sneaking up to the back mountain to collect goods with others.

The mountain behind them is rarely visited by people, and few venture deep into it, making it the best trading place for the surrounding villages.

Getting caught for speculation is a big deal, but some people are truly desperate and have no choice but to take the risk.

As far as Gu Chong knew, there were several people in Qingtang Village who were involved in the black market business, but they rarely interacted with each other on a regular basis.

In this line of work, it's best to avoid getting involved with as few people as possible; the fewer people who know, the better.

"I'm not going to town with you today."

Originally, Gu Chong and Zhou Zhi had a free afternoon today and planned to transport the goods to the town. If they could sell them, they would; if not, they would sell them to the dealers in the town and make a profit from the difference.

Zhou Zhi looked at him and asked, "Why aren't you going?"

Zhou Zhi was willing to hang out and do business with Gu Chong because Gu Chong was a man of his word.

Of course, Gu Chong has also changed slightly in the past six months.

This person is becoming increasingly stingy with time, to the point of being extremely tight.

Gu Chong is becoming more and more concise and clear in his work, just to save a little time so he can go back and spend time with his girlfriend.

He worked himself to the bone like an old ox, plopping and groaning without taking a break.

Zhou Zhigang asked that question, but he already had the answer in his heart.

Who else could make Gu Chong stay here so longingly and not go anywhere else?

Zhou Zhi never expected that Gu Chong, a bachelor who had remained single for so many years despite being pressured to get married and find a partner, would suddenly find someone.

And the contrast between this person before and after falling in love is too great.

Sometimes Zhou Zhi couldn't bear to look at him; he felt like Zhou Zhi was a completely different person.

Gu Chong: "I want to cook at home."

Zhou Zhi: "..." Speechless.

"Go ahead and do it, who can beat you, Chef Gu?"

Zhou Zhi waved his hand, not wanting to look at him right now, and quickly shooed him away.

Don't let his yard reek of the stench of romance.

Seeing his resentful expression, Gu Chong sincerely thanked him without any extra emotion, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."

Zhou Zhi thought he was just putting on an act, so he raised his hand and waved it in the air: "Get lost."

Gu Chong came and went quickly, not staying for even a minute longer.

Xue Fu returned to the Gu family from the fishpond right on time.

When she returned, Gu Chong was at home shelling peanuts.

Xue Fu walked over to look at the large pile of peanut shells at his feet. There weren't many peanuts left to peel; he had peeled almost all of them.

She squatted down beside him, reached out and grabbed two peanuts to peel together: "Is there anything else I can help with?"

She was a little excited at the thought of making glutinous rice balls for the Lantern Festival.

Gu Chong: "Hmm..."

He was thinking about what he could get her to do.

"Then you can peel the rest of the peanuts, okay? I'll go inside and get the mortar and pestle, and then I'll crush the peanuts and mix them with the brown sugar."

Xue Fu accepted the organization's arrangement: "Okay!"

Gu Chong stood up and gave her his seat. Xue Fu sat on the small stool and began to peel the last of the peanuts.

The roasted peanut shells are not hard at all; they are crunchy and can be easily peeled off with a little force from your fingers.

Xue Fu finished peeling the rest in no time.

Xue Fu took a bowl of peeled peanuts into the kitchen and came out to sweep the floor.

Gu Chong had already lit a fire and started boiling water in the kitchen. He wanted to cook some fried peanuts first and then rinse them to remove the saltiness.

On the stove, he cut a whole block of brown sugar into small pieces and put it into a stone mortar. After the peanuts are cooked, they can be crushed together and used as filling.

Should the sweet potato starch be mixed with water now?

Xue Fu looked at him with bright eyes, but Gu Chong shook his head: "We'll add water after the filling is mashed. No rush."

"All right."

At this moment, Xue Fu was like a child who had received a beloved toy but could only look at it without being able to play with it, her eyes filled with eager longing.

After boiling water, add peanuts to the pot. Soon, the peanuts float to the surface of the water, forming a ring of small foam.

Gu Chong estimated the time, scooped all the peanuts out with a ladle, and then soaked them in cold water.

This will make it crisper, and the crushed pieces will have a stronger grainy texture.

Since Xue Fu said she preferred crushed peanuts, Gu Chong would definitely go along with her taste.

Xue Fu stood by and watched, offering no help whatsoever.

After crushing the peanuts, Gu Chong took out the sweet potato starch he had bought that morning from the cupboard, prepared a bowl, and began kneading the dough.

Sweet potato flour is stickier than wheat flour, so Xue Fu washed her hands and wanted to try making glutinous rice balls.

Gu Chong didn't stop her.

The sticky flour felt wonderful to Xue Fu, and she was immediately intrigued.

Gu Chong let her play as she pleased, while he quietly began wrapping the food.

Gu Chong was very experienced in making steamed buns. Without having to think too much about how to wrap them, he nimbly pinched and pressed with his long, slender fingers, then wrapped the filling of peanuts and brown sugar inside. With a quick squeeze and roll in his large palm, a round and plump glutinous rice ball was ready.

While Xue Fu was still playing with it like she was squeezing an eraser, Gu Chong skillfully squeezed one after another.

When Xue Fu finally realized what was happening, she excitedly exclaimed, "Hey! Gu Chong, how do you wrap this? Teach me, teach me!"

Xue Fu's fingers were slender, and when she pinched the dough, her skin looked even whiter than powder. Gu Chong looked away and began to teach seriously.

Xue Fu, who doesn't cook much, is quite clumsy; the glutinous rice balls she made were oval-shaped. She didn't knead the filling evenly at all; one part of the wrapper was thick, and another was thin.

You can see the red filling inside even at the thinnest part of the skin.

Xue Fu carefully placed the glutinous rice ball into the plate. She felt that the skin would break with the slightest pressure, and the filling would flow out.

"I'll eat this myself in a bit." She was embarrassed to let others eat the "ugly thing" she had made.

Gu Chong, a master of encouragement-based education, said: "Afu, you sculpted it very well."

Teacher Gu handed her another piece of dough: "Try it again."

Xue Fu: "Okay!"