He used boiling water to scald the chicken and pluck its feathers.
This chicken is a wild pheasant; it doesn't have much meat, and the meat is a bit tough.
The first time Gu Chong killed a chicken in front of her, he wanted to find a place to hide, afraid that she would be scared.
But she wasn't afraid at all; on the contrary, she was very curious and watched the whole thing, praising him for being amazing.
Xue Fu never once asked where he got these things.
At first, Gu Chong was afraid she would ask this question because what he did was dishonorable.
He was afraid she wouldn't agree.
But after keeping it a secret for so long, Gu Chong found himself unable to hold it in any longer.
He wanted to explain himself.
He didn't want to lie to her.
“This chicken was caught in the back mountain.” So he spoke up that day.
"The same goes for the rabbits before."
"The fish were caught from the stream behind the mountain."
He spoke very seriously, a subtle tension flashing in his cold, dark eyes: "Xue Fu, there are many good things on the back mountain. All those things were obtained by trading them."
Upon hearing this, Xue Fu paused slightly, then looked surprised, and finally her eyes lit up as she smiled at him.
She said, "Aren't you afraid? Gu Chong, you're amazing!"
Gu Chong was taken aback, not expecting Xue Fu to react this way.
She continued happily, "The aunties all said the back mountain is dangerous, and you actually dared to go in alone. Gu Chong, you're really amazing!"
Gu Chong looked at her intently: "Xue Fu, aren't you afraid?"
Xue Fu's brows relaxed: "What are you afraid of?"
Gu Chong knew Xue Fu was clever; she could guess it. He didn't continue.
Gu Chong looked down at the pile of steaming chicken feathers he had plucked and muttered to himself, "Anyway... I can still afford to raise you..."
He seemed to mutter something else, but Xue Fu didn't hear it clearly.
When Xue Fu arrived, she saw Gu Fei already sitting on a small stool, peeling chestnuts.
She immediately smiled and went over: "Xiao Fei! Your brother really picked chestnuts! That's amazing!"
Gu Fei's eyes sparkled; he loved hearing her praise his brother. He nodded in agreement, "Brother is really amazing!"
Gu Fei admired his brother the most.
Xue Fu glanced into the kitchen, but didn't see Gu Chong anywhere.
She asked Gu Fei in a low voice, "Where is your brother?"
Gu Fei: "Brother is going to take a shower first."
The Gu family's bathroom was behind the kitchen, so it was difficult to hear anything from there while sitting in the courtyard.
But for some reason, Xue Fu suddenly felt uneasy because of Gu Fei's words.
Her throat suddenly felt dry, and she swallowed several times.
Gu Fei looked at her with some confusion: "Sister, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing!" Xue Fu casually picked up a chestnut. "I'll help you."
Unfortunately, she had never peeled chestnuts before, so she had some difficulty doing so.
When Gu Chong came out of the shower, he saw that the bowl in front of Xue Fu was empty.
There were only two chestnuts in that big soup bowl.
The chestnuts were peeled until they were pitted and uneven, making them very distinctive.
"I'll take over." He immediately walked over, wanting to take Xue Fu's place.
Xue Fu didn't move.
Gu Chong raised an eyebrow and said only one sentence: "At your speed, we won't even get a chance to get a basket tomorrow."
Xue Fu: ...
Okay, he's telling the truth.
So I obediently stepped aside and watched as the two brothers pinched and lifted the chestnut meat out.
She... is so useless.
After peeling a basket of chestnuts, Gu Chong rinsed them clean with water and carried them into the kitchen.
Xue Fu followed him inside. Gu Chong was preparing the dishes, so she sat down in front of the stove to help with the fire.
After this period of practice, she has made great progress and can now start a fire.
The prerequisite is that someone can light the fire for her first.
Xue Fu watched as Gu Chong took out a knife and cut the chestnuts in half one by one.
Gu Chong noticed his gaze, glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Xue Fu licked her lips, looking a little hungry. She said, "Your braised chestnuts must be delicious."
Gu Chong paused in his chestnut-cutting motion, a barely perceptible upward curve appearing at the corner of his lips, and he hummed in agreement.
Gu Chong finished preparing the vegetables, came over, and lit the fire for her with a few matches. Then he turned around and went back to the pot to cook.
In his line of sight, Xue Fu was sitting there with her head down, stuffing new firewood into the stove.
Her attention was focused on the fire in the stove, and she was very careful, afraid that she might extinguish the flame.
Seeing that her attention was elsewhere, Gu Chong's gaze gradually and openly focused on her.
Lately, his gaze has been increasingly fixed on her.
Gu Chong initially thought she was delicate, prone to crying, and troublesome.
Xue Fu is indeed delicate, but not as delicate as one might imagine.
She was pampered, but she quickly adapted to her new life on the farm.
She was indeed very kind and wanted to help with everything.
Even though the kitchen is surrounded by trees and it's cool inside, it's definitely hot when you sit in front of the stove and light a fire.
Gu Chong scraped the lard into the pot, and the hot oil sizzled as it melted. He noticed that she had unbuttoned two buttons at the neckline of her shirt because of the heat.
Occasionally, she would reach out and tug at the fabric at her chest to shake it and dissipate heat.
With her collar unbuttoned, Xue Fu's fair collarbones were clearly visible in the dusty kitchen.
The red firelight reflected on it, making it seem as if light was pulsating on the collarbone.
Gu Chong was also burning with desire, but when she looked up at him, he pretended to look away naturally.
Gu Chong felt contempt in his heart, but he didn't honestly make excuses for himself.
Xue Fu was the one who approached him first; she was the one who wanted to come to his house for a meal, not the other way around.
He thought this way, but deep down he knew it wasn't true at all.
It was him.
Gu Chong is twenty-two years old this year.
Men his age in the village already have wives, children, and warm beds.
Given Gu Chong's appearance and circumstances, it's not like no one in the village has tried to introduce him to potential partners.
He was good-looking and strong. Although his parents died early and he had a younger brother to take care of, he could earn enough work points to feed several people. There were few young men in the team who could compare to him.
Marrying Gu Chong, even if it doesn't bring great wealth, at least ensures a comfortable life. Many girls in the village would like to marry him.
In the past few years, many matchmakers came to the Gu family and went directly to Gu Chong to discuss this matter, but Gu Chong coldly rejected them all.
Gu Chong never wanted to find a wife in the past.
Finding a wife requires taking care of her, which is troublesome.
He didn't have those kinds of ulterior motives, nor did he feel that having a wife, children, and a warm bed was a great happiness.
It's just so-so, isn't it?
But this delicate young woman... Gu Chong couldn't help but look at her again.
She has a face as beautiful as a flower and as lovely as the moon, and she loves to laugh. She seems kind and innocent to everyone, and her laughter is so captivating that it makes her sway like a flower in the wind. She is extremely beautiful.
Although she sometimes cries, she looks beautiful when she cries; her red eyes make her even more pitiful.
Of course, he would occasionally have a little temper and cause minor disturbances, which Gu Chong found adorable.
And... actually... raising them is not troublesome at all.
Gu Chong was extremely happy to take care of him, so how could he possibly find it troublesome?
The biggest problem is that he's a country bumpkin, and he wants to marry a beautiful city girl, but how does he win her over...?
He has never been married.
Gu Chong closed his eyes, sighed softly, suppressed the chaotic and surging emotions in his heart, and put a bowl of chestnuts into the pot with a straight face.
Gu Chong is a good cook; this braised chestnut tastes even better. It's soft and chewy, almost like taro paste!
Xue Fu ate a whole bowl of rice and was so full that she didn't want to move at all. She lazily curled up on the stool to digest her food.
Gu Chong collected the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash them. Xue Fu didn't rush back; she and her younger brother read his comic books together.
Xue Fu had never seen the children's paintings from that era.
She had previously thought that picture book jokes from this era wouldn't be interesting to her, but sitting next to her younger brother and reading them together, Xue Fu laughed so hard that her eyelashes fluttered and her fox-like eyes narrowed into crescent shapes.
That's pretty funny.
Xue Fu laughed until the very end, then raised her hand to wipe the corner of her eye; tears welled up in her eyes from laughing.
Gu Chong was processing the mountain produce he had brought back from the back mountain the night before when he saw two little figures huddled together in the yard, discussing the plot. He suddenly smiled.
As the sun set and a cool evening breeze began to blow, rustling through the air, Xue Fu finally felt less sluggish and prepared to get up and say goodbye.
As always, Gu Chong followed her, preparing to take her back to the educated youth settlement.
Xue Fu had previously mentioned to Gu Chong that she didn't need him to take her on this road, as she was already very familiar with it.
But Gu Chong insisted, and Xue Fu couldn't stop him; she hadn't built the road.
Gu Chong walked beside her, saying little, but Xue Fu felt a sense of security watching their shadows occasionally overlap.
When the road became quiet, Xue Fu couldn't help but try to start a conversation.
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