Chapter 25: Asking about the Past
This gossipy guy really likes to keep people in suspense.
"Zhang Guangzong stayed in the town for half a year last year. Do you know why?"
"Why? Tell me now!"
After everyone asked several times, the long-tongued man finally told what he knew in a leisurely manner: "Do you know the tofu beauty at the east end of the town whose husband is always out doing business?"
"That woman has a pair of charming eyes. Could it be that she has some connection with Zhang Guangzong?"
The long-tongued man nodded and said, "If it weren't for such a beauty, why would Zhang Guangzong stay in the town every day? If her man hadn't come back, Zhang Guangzong would probably still be enjoying the beauty of the town."
Someone immediately questioned, "You follow Zhang Guangzong every day, otherwise how do you know all this?"
The gossipy man said, "Of course I don't follow him every day. I occasionally go to the town to deliver goods. Every time I pass by the east end, I can see Zhang Guangzong sneaking out of there!"
"Oh..." Everyone let out a long sigh. Since the gossiper had said this, they no longer had any doubts about what he said.
Gu Mingda did not participate in their discussion, but kept this matter in mind.
Mrs. Chen, who was nearby with her children and grandchildren buying wild boar meat, also heard it. Her eyes were rolling around, and no one knew what she was thinking.
The hunter cut the wild boar into pieces quickly. The villagers got the wild boar meat and did not stay long at Lao Gu's house. They left happily with the meat. Before leaving, they even kindly helped Lao Gu's family clean up the dirty ground.
When Gu Lao Da and Gu Lao San came back, they could only rely on the smell of blood in the air to confirm that they had really killed a wild boar.
The reactions of Gu Lao Da, Chen Chunhua and Liu Erni were not much different. At this time, they beat their chests and stamped their feet in anger: "Second Brother, you can help people if you ask for help, but how can you give up so much? Give one catty of meat to each family... No, half a catty of meat is enough, how can you give so much! You are confused!"
Old Mrs. Gu had a gloomy face. She was only trying to protect Gu Mingda's face. She was not really willing to give up so much meat. However, when she encountered the two stupid people in the first wife's house who repeatedly reminded her of their family's losses, she would also feel pain.
"Okay, the meat has been divided up, and now you two are getting excited! What does this meat have to do with you?" Old Mrs. Gu scolded.
Although Liu Erni had just been scolded by Old Lady Gu, she immediately became excited when she saw her husband coming back. She pulled Old Third Gu and started to instigate him, "It was obviously our father who killed the wild boar. If we really want to talk about it, we three families should split it equally. But Second Brother pretended to be generous outside and used our public money to save his own face!"
Gu Lao San has always been soft-hearted, so he could not stand the instigation of his wife. He immediately said, "Mom, since it is not our turn to be the head of the Gu family, then it should not be the turn of the second brother to be the head either."
Chen Chunhua was shocked when she heard such a powerful rebuttal: "Yes, yes, yes! Mother always scolds our first and third wives, but I have never heard you scold the second wife. And you still say that you are not partial? This time, my second brother distributed the wild boar meat, not for our Gu family. From the beginning, my second brother asked people to go up the mountain to find the children of the second wife!"
Old Mrs. Gu frowned, she had never thought that one day she would be outmaneuvered by the first and third wives, but it was just as they said, this time, it was indeed Gu Mingda who made the decision privately and made the whole family pay for it.
Old Mrs. Gu never thought of herself as a biased old lady, and at this moment she was racking her brains to think of words to defend herself.
At the critical moment, Father Gu stood up and said, "The wild boar... the wild boar was killed by Niuniu..."
Everyone burst into laughter when they heard this outrageous statement.
Chen Chunhua said directly: "Dad, you don't believe me when I say you are confused. How old is Niu Niu? She is so small, not even as tall as a wild boar. How could she kill a wild boar? Even if you are partial to Niu Niu, you should be reasonable. Why do you say anything without thinking?"
The others nodded.
Even Gu Mingda began to doubt the truthfulness of his father's words at this time.
Chen Chunhua still felt that it was not enough, and added: "Dad, please look carefully, Niuniu looks like Nannan at most, she is not the real Nannan..."
But this sentence ruined everything.
Father Gu, who had been sitting quietly, jumped up from his chair when he heard this and said anxiously, "Niuniu is Nannan! Nannan is Fu Nannan, and Niuniu is also Fu Niuniu! She is my child!"
As he shouted, he pulled his hair hard, turned around in circles on the ground in anxiety, and kept repeating the same few words over and over again.
When Mrs. Gu saw her husband was so angry that he went crazy, she immediately glared at her eldest daughter-in-law and scolded her, "If you can't talk, just shut up! If you make the old man suffer from your anger, I will never forgive you!"
Making the father-in-law sick is considered a great act of unfilial piety. Even if Chen Chunhua is favored in her mother's family, once she has such a reputation, the Chen family will be stabbed in the back in the future, and it will be difficult for her nieces from her mother's family to find a good husband.
Chen Chunhua realized belatedly that she was frightened and couldn't help but hide behind Boss Gu.
Boss Gu wanted to step forward to help, but was pushed away by my mother, who wouldn't let him touch Old Man Gu at all.
Gu Lao Niang reached out and held down Gu Lao Di's hand that was grabbing his hair, and softly comforted him, "Old man, Niu Niu is just a girl, and no one can change this, don't worry."
When Father Gu heard this, his turbid tears fell down in large drops, and he said vaguely: "How could I not recognize my own child... Nannan is just like this, she is so blessed, that's why God wants to take her back..."
Mrs. Gu nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, our daughter is the most blessed girl in the world."
Father Gu continued, "The rabbit was hit to death, and the wild boar was also hit to death. They all died for Niuniu..."
Gu Mingda keenly observed that after hearing what his father said, his mother's hand paused and her expression was dazed for a moment.
Gu's mother looked at the children present, hesitated for a moment, pulled Gu's father into the house, and said softly, "Old man, tell me, how did you encounter the wild boar in the mountains..."
Gu Lao Da and Gu Lao San wanted to follow in, but were stopped by Gu Mingda: "Let mother ask father. If you don't trust mother, then bring the three children here."
Regarding the killing of wild boars in Daqing Mountain, the first and third wives questioned the three children for a long time. In the end, the conclusion they came to was not as outrageous as what Old Man Gu said, but it was indeed a huge bargain that fell from the sky.
"I asked people to go into the mountains not only to look for my three children, but also to look for my father. My father is so old and confused. What if something happens to him in the mountains? Although the benefits I promised are a bit many, it is also to encourage the villagers to work harder to find my father."
Once Gu Mingda put on the hat of being a "filial son", the first and third wives could no longer accuse him of pretending to be generous with the public property. After all, no one wanted to be known as someone who didn't care about their own father's life or death.
Gu Mingda continued, "When I promised to share the pork, I didn't know it was a wild boar that died. I thought it was just a piglet. I was too concerned and confused. You are right to blame me."
After being blocked, Gu Mingda said a few words of reflection.
He was the only one who said all the positive and negative words, so no matter how dissatisfied the first and third wives were, they had to keep it to themselves.
When the entire Gu family quieted down, Gu Mingda privately found his mother and asked, "I used to study in a private school for many years and rarely spent time with my younger sister. Mother, you all said that my younger sister died of illness that year. Is there any hidden story behind it?"
(End of this chapter)
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