Chapter 17 Chapter 17 The Su Family's Generous Gift
There was nothing at home and many things needed to be bought. Gu Wenqing was left to take care of the younger daughter, while Gu Wen and Mrs. Du took Da Anan to the town to take a look.
Gu Wenqing: "Mom, ask An An to stay. I'll go with you."
Mrs. Du refused, saying, "Our home is not far from Menghuling. I am worried about leaving your two sisters at home."
Gu Wenqing thought the same thing and said, "Then you should come back as soon as possible. It's not safe at this late hour."
Mrs. Du handed three uneaten dry biscuits from her bag to her son and said, "Eat them, brother and sister. Don't go hungry."
A Xuan turned her head away in disgust. She didn't want to eat this.
"Mom, buy some delicious food, oh!" A Xuan looked up expectantly.
Mrs. Du immediately laughed and said, "I've been eating dry biscuits all the way, and now I feel disgusted with them."
As Mrs. Du left the house, she told her son, "Close the gate tightly."
"Why."
After watching his parents and sister leave, Gu Wenqing closed the gate, bent down and carried Axuan into the house to sit. After sitting for a while, he let go of Axuan and lay down again.
With his hands clasped behind his head and a long sigh, Gu Wenqing felt that it had been a long, long time since he had had the chance to relax.
Ah Xuan rolled around on the bare kang, then lay on her brother's head and pulled his hair: "Brother, do you have lice?"
"Don't bother me, tell me to take a break."
Along the way, we slept on piles of grass and squeezed together with others. It would be strange if we didn't get lice.
Ah Xuan twisted her little butt and rolled to the side. She stared at the roof, unable to resist the urge to say anything. She said, "Brother, why don't we have a lantern in our house? I want a red one, it looks nice."
“Brother, brother…”
Gu Wenqing sighed: "Axuan, do you want to sleep?"
"I don't want to sleep. I'm hungry."
"If you're hungry, come and eat some pancakes."
"Tsk, I don't want to eat."
Ah Xuan stared at the roof persistently, pouting her cheeks and moving her little mouth, looking both hungry and greedy: "Sister, give me something delicious."
The brother and sister were both lying on the kang. One wanted to rest, the other wanted to eat something delicious. One didn't want to talk, and the other was so talkative that it was annoying. The two of them spoke in a sporadic manner.
Over there, Gu Youan and his parents had already walked out of the neighboring mountain village. Outside the village entrance was a forest, and the three of them walked in tacitly.
Our family is short of everything including food, clothing, shelter and transportation. We need to get some food and warm clothes tonight.
Gu Youan first went to the kitchen to get out pots, pans, and other things. After seeing them, Gu Wen and Du Shi felt that they were inappropriate. They were too good and did not seem like things that could be found in the Jin Dynasty.
This palm-sized pot is as shiny as a mirror. This knife is made of fine steel and can even cut bones. There are even knives made of ceramic.
Besides, this bowl is made entirely of exquisite porcelain. Some of the porcelain that the daughter took out were not affordable for their family when they were still in Luoyang.
"An'an, are there no ceramic bowls or basins?"
"Yes, but those are just clumsy tricks. In daily life, they are more aesthetically pleasing than practical."
Mrs. Du was holding a plastic basin in her hand and was reluctant to put it down. It was very light and not fragile, and it looked easy to use.
"Where's the iron knife?"
Gu Youan shook his head: "Where I used to live, iron products are rarely used. Iron products rust easily, so no one uses them."
Gu Wen sighed, a thousand years passed in the blink of an eye, it was hard to imagine that ordinary people in later generations lived such a good life.
"Let's see if there's anything else we can use."
"Um."
Gu Youan searched the kitchen in the space, and when he went to the first floor to get food, he saw the big iron pots that Youzi bought for opening a farm stay. They would definitely come in handy.
Mrs. Du walked around the large iron pot and touched it again. "This iron pot is so thin, how durable is it? I'm afraid it will leak after using it for three to five months."
“No, it’s thin, but the quality is good.”
I don’t know whether the quality of the iron pot is good or not, but just looking at its smooth appearance, it is clear that it is not a hand-made iron pot.
Mrs. Du said, "Well, take it home and use it for three or five days. The blackened pot won't be noticeable anymore."
Gu Wen also thought that the pot was normal and could be used. As for the bowls and chopsticks, An An was not good at using them, so he had to go to town to buy some.
As for food, the rice, flour, grain, and oil that Gu Youan brought out were all good stuff, especially the rice, which was not pounded so white. The same was true for flour.
"It's not the grain that's causing the problem. It's the machinery used to grind the husks and flour."
Nowadays, even in the countryside, every family has a rice mill and a flour grinder. They just grind the rice themselves after eating, and eat it fresh.
There is a rice and flour grinding machine in the utility room on the first floor of the Gu family. Because Gu Youan’s grandmother needs to process medicinal herbs, there is also a machine for grinding medicinal herbs at home.
Gu Youan searched again and again and found a few bags of one-pound vacuum-packed brown rice thrown in the corner. They were probably gifts given when buying something and were still unopened.
Mrs. Du exclaimed, "My God, a bag of rice can be packed so beautifully."
Gu Youan brought out sweet potatoes, taro and other vegetables. Gu Wen said, "Songjiang City doesn't produce taro, so it's not easy to bring it out."
Gu Youan put the taro back and took out a juicy cabbage. "There are some fresh vegetables like cabbage, garlic sprouts, and lettuce growing in the backyard. You can take those out. The dried fish and kelp I bought in Shanhaiguan can also be kept and eaten later."
Gu Wen nodded and said that these were fine.
"Alas, if it weren't for avoiding Wenqing and Xuanxuan, we wouldn't be able to eat any good food." Mrs. Du couldn't help but sigh.
That is true, but my daughter's safety is far more important than these appetites.
Apart from food, as for warm clothes and quilts, Gu Youan originally wanted to take out three sets, one for his parents, one for her and Axuan, and one for her brother. Mrs. Du said that was too ostentatious and just one quilt would be enough.
Mrs. Du said, "I'll sleep with you two sisters, and your father will sleep with your eldest brother. The kang is heated, so it won't be cold. There's an old quilt already, so you can just take another one out. Your brother is not stupid. He'll definitely get suspicious if you bring so many things back."
"Then listen to your mother."
The family of three discussed what to take out, and they would go to the town to buy the missing items. Not to mention the small items such as bowls, chopsticks, buckets, and basins, they bought 100 kilograms of grain and two jars of pickled vegetables, and gave an additional 20 cents. The shopkeeper sent the waiter to drive the donkey cart to deliver the purchased items to Gu's house.
On the way back, Gu Wen went to the village head's house to inquire about firewood.
"That's easy. There's a family named Luo to the north of the village. They're large and hardworking, and they used to chop firewood and sell it here in the winter. If you go find them, you'll definitely be able to buy some."
"Thank you, Li Zheng."
The village head smiled as he watched Gu Wen leave. After closing the door, the head's wife in the room spoke up, "Isn't this new family a fugitive? How come they have money to buy things right after they arrive?"
"You're so ignorant. Can exiles be treated the same as exiles?"
Although the Gu family were exiles, they were exempted from the task of reclaiming wasteland for five years. This morning, the government officials brought them here and were very polite. It was obvious that the Gu family had connections.
"Humph, we're all exiles, yet you still divide us into different classes. When our family was exiled here, more than a dozen of us fell ill or died, leaving only five or six to make it to Songjiang City. Even thinking about it now, my heart feels like it's been soaked in medicine."
The village head sighed, shook his head and refused to say anything more.
When the three members of the Gu family returned home, Gu Wenqing opened the door and was shocked to see how many things his parents had bought!
Gu Wen sent the waiter away and glared at his son, telling him to carry the things in quickly.
"Mom, mom, what delicious food do you want to buy?" Axuan came running over.
Mrs. Du held four buns in her arms and gave one to Axuan: "It's a pickled cabbage bun. I'm saving this for you two."
Gu Wenqing glanced at the buns and said, "Mom, you give it to Axuan first. I'll move the food into the house and then eat."
"Okay, then you can move slowly, I'll go to the Tian family."
Gu Wen was worried, so he followed them.
"An An, why are Dad and Mom going to the Tian family?"
"It's probably to buy firewood."
Their family is short of firewood, and the Tian family must be short of it too. If the two families go to the Luo family together, they may get a cheaper price if they buy more.
Gu Wenqing took out a hatchet from the sack and said, "Let's save some money. Tomorrow my father and I will go up the mountain to chop wood."
"We don't have much money left at home, and we can't buy much firewood. I guess Mom and Dad want to get through these few days first."
Gu Wenqing glanced at his sister and asked, "How much money do we have?"
Why does he feel like he can never spend all the money?
Gu Youan smiled and said, "I don't know, go ask your parents."
The brother and sister moved all their things in. Gu Wenqing ate some buns and went to the river to fetch water with the wooden bucket he had just bought.
Gu Youan sighed again. "Maybe it'll snow soon. If the snow gets thick, I can use it to boil water. Maybe it will be cleaner." "After we get through the winter, I'll think of a way to dig a well next year."
Gu Youan was tidying up in the house. After a while, Gu Wenqing came back with water, and Gu Wen, Mrs. Du and the two sons of the Luo family also came back carrying firewood.
At this time, a convoy came from the village entrance. There were five or six large carts pulling something unknown, and Li was leading the way.
This is a gift from the Su family.
The Su family was very quick. They had just settled down in Songjiang City in the morning, but they had already delivered so many things in the afternoon, which shows their thoughtfulness.
The Su family gave gifts sincerely, and all they gave were things that the Gu family needed now, including three quilts, five sets of cotton clothes, several pots and pans, three hundred kilograms of grain and vegetables, and a sack of other dried groceries such as chickens and ducks.
Mrs. Du was overjoyed. Although Mrs. Lu was annoying, he was still quite open and honest in his actions.
There were six large carts, five of which were for the Gu family, and one was for the Tian family.
After seeing off the village head and the others, Mrs. Du closed the door and laughed a few times: "When the weather gets warmer next year, I will go to the mountains to pick some mushrooms, dry them, and send them to Mrs. Lu as a token of my appreciation."
Gu Youan was also happy when he saw these things. That was great. With these gifts from the Su family, he wouldn't have to be short of money anymore.
The Su family and the Tian family had little ties, and if we really wanted to discuss it, it would be nothing more than the bitterness of their journey together. The Gu family accepted the gift as a matter of course, but the Tian family wasn't so open about it.
Tian Qingde and Bai came to Gu's house. As soon as they entered, Bai said, "I didn't even say a few words to the Su family on the way. I didn't expect they still thought of us. They gave each of us a set of clothes, two quilts, and a hundred kilograms of food. I was embarrassed to accept them."
"There's nothing wrong with accepting it. When your life gets better, you can return the gift to the Su family." Mrs. Du pulled Mrs. Bai to sit down.
Tian Qingde said to Gu Wen, "Prince Qi is not at home, but Zhou Changshi was able to give many things to the Su family. The Su family still has the money to help us. I think it will be easy for Su Guang to find a job in Songjiang City in the future."
Gu Wen and Tian Qingde looked at each other, and Gu Wen knew why Tian Qingde said that.
"Brother Tian, we have a good relationship with the Su family, and with Prince Qi..."
Tian Qingde smiled and said, "I was just talking. I didn't expect Su Guang to arrange a position for us."
Now that they have settled down, Tian Qingde thought about farming in the spring of next year, so he started to think about finding other ways to make a living.
He was born into a commoner family and had come a long way from hardship, so he knew firsthand the hard work of farming. If there were other ways to make a living, he would give up farming.
"My two sons were originally engaged, but the engagements were canceled when we were exiled. They are old now, and as a father, I have to think more about them."
Gu Wen patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, take a good rest this winter and we can think of a solution next year."
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