Chapter 5: Mrs. Gu
"What did you say, old man?" Mrs. Gu asked loudly.
Father Gu, who had been confused for a long time, had always had a problem with slurred speech, but this time his words were particularly clear: "Nannan, my Nannan."
The expressions of the three Gu brothers also became strange.
Obviously, they were familiar with this name.
Nannan was the youngest daughter of the Gu family who died young. The old couple loved their daughter very much, but unfortunately, the child died of illness at the age of five.
Chen Chunhua came in early and knew something, so she said immediately: "Mom, Dad has recognized the wrong person! Dad has been confused for a long time, don't listen to him, this is not..."
Old Lady Gu waved her hand to interrupt her and said, "Old Master's wife, it's not your turn to be the head of this family yet."
Chen Chunhua had no choice but to shut up.
Old Lady Gu turned her head and looked at Niuniu who was hiding behind Zhang Yuniang, and said, "Let this child come over so I can take a good look at her."
Zhang Yunniang glanced at her husband in confusion. Gu Mingda nodded at her, then squatted down and said to Niuniu in a gentle voice, "Niuniu, be good. Let's go over and let grandma take a good look at you."
Niu Niu nodded obediently. Her uncle was her aunt's husband and had always been very good to her. Although Grandma Gu looked very fierce, for the sake of her aunt and uncle, she still mustered up the courage to walk over with her short legs.
Old Mrs. Gu has never liked the Zhang family and seldom looks closely at other people's children. But when Niu Niu walked in front of her, her pair of weathered old eyes stared at the little girl.
She stretched out her slightly trembling right hand and gently pushed the loose hair on both sides of the little girl's forehead to the side.
The five-year-old child did not have the baby fat of ordinary children due to years of malnutrition. Instead, his cheeks looked very dry due to lack of flesh, and his face was extremely pale and unhealthy.
To be honest, Mrs. Gu didn't really realize how much this child looked like her daughter.
She thought about it, then rolled up the sleeve of Niu Niu's left hand, looked around, and confirmed that it was empty. She was immediately filled with disappointment.
Niu Niu didn't know what Grandma Gu wanted to do. She thought her grandmother wanted to look at her arm, so she obediently rolled up the right sleeve of her clothes.
Old Mrs. Gu just took a casual glance and immediately grabbed the little girl's right arm, stroking the light red birthmark on it that was shaped like a small fish with trembling fingers.
"It's Nannan, it's my Nannan!" Old Mrs. Gu took the child into her arms and held her tightly.
Niu Niu was frightened by the sudden hug, but she still coaxed her sensibly: "Grandma, don't cry, Niu Niu, be good."
As the head of the Gu family, Mrs. Gu has always been decisive and capable. No one in the family can remember the last time they saw her cry.
Old Mrs. Gu seemed to realize that she had lost her composure. After wiping away her tears, she finally calmed down, but she still held Niuniu's hand tightly.
"This child will stay in the Gu family from now on." said Old Mrs. Gu.
Chen Chunhua wanted to say something, but was stopped by her husband.
Niuniu looked at Zhang Yuniang stupidly and asked, "Mom, have I really become your and uncle's daughter?"
Zhang Yuniang smiled and nodded.
Niu Niu immediately cheered.
The joy in the room did not last long, as the voices of Mrs. Cai yelling and cursing suddenly came from outside the room.
"I am so unlucky that I raised a daughter like you who betrayed my family. Zhang Yuniang, get out of here!"
Outside the gate of the old Gu family's courtyard, as Mrs. Cai made a fuss, many villagers who came to watch the fun had gathered.
The moment Niu Niu heard Mrs. Cai's voice, she was so frightened that she shuddered.
Before Zhang Yuniang opened her mouth, Old Lady Gu spoke up: "Don't be afraid, Niuniu. Mother... Grandma will protect you! Grandma will go out and chase the bad guys away!"
The kindness in Mrs. Gu's eyes almost overflowed. She stopped Zhang Yunniang who wanted to go out and said, "Niuniu is still young. You stay in the room with her. I'll go meet your stepmother."
Old Mrs. Gu called her three sons and two other daughters-in-law to go out.
Mrs. Cai brought her daughter-in-law, Xiao Cai, to challenge, while her own son Zhang Guangzong shrank into the crowd and peeked, as if he did not want to affect his image as a scholar.
As soon as the grand ceremony of Gu Laoshi's side was revealed, Cai Pozi couldn't help but cower a little, but she felt that she was in the right, and said with her neck stiff, "Give my granddaughter back. Niuniu belongs to my family. Why do you have the right to occupy her?"
Most country women have hot-tempered personalities, and older women are even more unscrupulous.
Old Mrs. Gu cursed back on the spot, saying, "Bah! Your granddaughter? Your granddaughter had a high fever and was about to die, and you didn't care. You still dare to say that she is your granddaughter. From now on, Niuniu is my child!"
When Mrs. Cai heard this, she sat down on the ground, slapped her thigh and yelled, "They've robbed me! Gu Tongsheng's family has robbed me. Such a morally corrupt family actually wants to take the exam to become a scholar!"
Gu Mingda and Zhang Guangzong are the only two young people in the village who are taking the imperial examinations, and they have been compared with each other by the villagers over the years.
Gu Mingda was not lucky in exams, but he was recognized as a good student.
As for Zhang Guangzong, everyone thought that he was lucky enough to pass the examination and become a student.
Zhang Guangzong and his mother Cai Pozi have actually been holding a grudge in their hearts for years, wanting to suppress Gu Mingda. They have long been eager to drag Gu Mingda down with them, hoping that he would never be able to take the imperial examination again.
Gu Mingda stopped the old lady Gu who was about to curse, and deliberately said to Mrs. Cai: "Niuniu had a high fever all night, which is difficult to treat. The doctor said that she will only live for two days. You want to take her back. Have you prepared the coffin?"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Gu turned around instantly and wanted to ask her son why he cursed Niuniu to death, but she forced herself to hold back. Although she was fierce, she did not have the habit of undermining her son in public.
When Mrs. Cai heard this, she said viciously, "I don't care whether she is dead or alive. Anyway, she was picked up by my son. Even if she is dead, her body belongs to me!"
Gu Mingda keenly abstracted the key point of Mrs. Cai’s words: the corpse.
He continued to test the waters, saying, "My family is willing to pay for the coffin, as long as the child is buried in my ancestral tomb in the future."
Mrs. Cai said without even thinking, "Who asked you to be so kind? Someone will pay for the child's coffin!"
Gu Mingda immediately asked, "Who's going to come out?"
Mrs. Cai said, "Master!"
"Why did the master pay for Niu Niu's coffin?" Gu Mingda asked again.
Zhang Guangzong was hiding in the crowd and heard something wrong. He wanted to pull Mrs. Cai back, but because they were too far away, he didn't have time to remind her.
Mrs. Cai has already said: "Of course it's because Niuniu and his son are married in a ghost marriage!"
The villagers immediately let out a long exclamation.
Gu Mingda added: "Since you agreed to the ghost marriage with the family, I guess they gave you a lot of money."
Mrs. Cai said, "Since you know this, why don't you be sensible and hand the person over immediately."
Gu Mingda said: "Niuniu's fever has subsided. Do you still want to send her to a ghost marriage?"
Mrs. Cai was still quick-witted: "Of course, our Zhang family doesn't want to raise a sickly child!"
(End of this chapter)
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