Chapter 13 Stop Losses in Time
Zhang Chuntao watched as Gu Jianguo slashed the chicken's neck with a kitchen knife, and then blood gushed out. She began to drool. It had been a long time since she had eaten meat. Her family's chickens had already been eaten, and even Wu Dani's chicken was only one left.
Thinking that Gu Jianguo and the others would stew the chicken later, they would definitely send it to Wu Dani. By then, half of the chicken would have gone into her stomach. Humph, this is the benefit of having a son.
Gu Siqing didn't know that Zhang Chuntao had so many inner thoughts. Seeing her staring at her father watching the chicken being slaughtered, she asked, "Second Aunt, is the chicken slaughtering fun?"
Zhang Chuntao withdrew her gaze and looked at Gu Siqing. This girl has been particularly annoying these days.
"Yimin, I just saw Zhiming's mother coming. What did she say? Why did she look unhappy when she left?" Zhang Chuntao asked Gu Yimin.
Gu Yimin was wrapping chicken feathers with thread. He would wrap the feathers together, polish a tile, and tie the wrapped feathers onto it, and the shuttlecock would be ready.
She heard Zhang Chuntao's words, but pretended not to hear them. Aren't you just here to laugh at others? Look, you can just watch. Do you think you can live a good life just by watching others laugh at you?
She knew that after she broke off the engagement, there would be many people waiting to see her make a fool of herself. The more times like this, the more she wanted to be calm and at ease, and the more she wanted to live happily.
Seeing that Gu Yimin was silent, Zhang Chuntao thought she was sad, and she became even happier. She smiled and said, "Yimin, you are so lucky. Zhiming is a formal employee of the grain station, and we have commercial grain. He is really a perfect match."
Gu Yimin finished wrapping the chicken feathers and looked up at Zhang Chuntao. "Second Aunt, I heard that your niece Zhang Shuangping and Deng Zhiming were classmates. I saw that they seemed to be getting along pretty well. Why didn't they get engaged back then? If they had, you wouldn't have to envy me here."
Zhang Chuntao's face, looking amused, instantly turned bitter after hearing this. "I heard it clearly just now. Deng Zhiming's mother said she wanted to cancel the engagement. Yimin, even if you're upset, you can't make up stories like this."
"Who are you trying to frame? I'm just telling the truth," Gu Yimin said as she stood up to look for tiles, "Aunt, are you really so furious?"
Zhang Chuntao was choked and speechless. She snorted and turned away, saying, "I wonder what kind of person you can find after breaking off the engagement."
Gu Yimin pretended not to hear her, found half a tile, used a brick to knock it into the size of a one-yuan coin, and then ground it on a stone.
Her face was calm, showing no emotion, but Gu Siqing knew that she must not be feeling very happy.
This era wasn't like decades later, when if a relationship didn't work out, the worst that could happen was a breakup, and no one would say anything. Back then, breaking off an engagement was a big deal, especially since it would affect the girl's reputation to some extent.
"Sister, this is called cutting losses in time." Gu Siqing said as she squatted beside Gu Yimin.
It was the first time Gu Yimin had heard the term stop-loss, so he asked, "What does it mean?"
"It's just..." Gu Siqing organized her words, "For example, if one of the sweet potatoes in our cellar is rotten, should we throw it away? If not, it might spoil all the sweet potatoes in the cellar. Deng Zhiming and his family are that rotten sweet potato. Throwing it away now is for a better life in the future."
Gu Yimin chuckled after hearing her words, "Where did you learn all this?"
Gu Siqing chuckled, "I read it in the newspaper. Am I smart?"
Gu Yimin felt much better. She looked at Gu Siqing and smiled, "My little fourth child is the smartest. He will definitely be able to get into university in the future."
Gu Siqing sighed inwardly. It was this sentence again. In her previous life, she often heard this sentence:
Xiaosi, you must study hard and get into college.
Xiao Si, our family is counting on you to raise a college student.
Xiaosi, the money for your college education is ready.
…
So her only goal after entering junior high school was to get into college.
In her previous life, she lived for two goals: to get into college and to work hard to be worthy of Dong Jianan. But these two goals...
It’s better not to say it!
After quickly making one shuttlecock, Gu Yimin started making the second one, thinking that Sanjing and Xiaosi would each have one.
Gu Siqing kicked the shuttlecock a few times and it flew high up. The elder sister's craftsmanship was as good as ever.
The chicken was quickly slaughtered, and Wang Yueju placed it in the kitchen, waiting to be stewed before dinner. Gu Siqing remembered a dish she often ate in her past life—chicken stewed with mushrooms—and dragged Gu Sanjing to the grove east of the village to pick mushrooms.
Some mushrooms in the woods are edible, while others are not. Those that look like umbrellas are poisonous and inedible. Those that look like chicken legs are edible and taste delicious.
Rural children don't usually have good food, so wild mushrooms are considered a way to improve their lives. So they generally know which ones are poisonous and which are not. Parents have told them this time and again.
The two sisters wandered around the grove for over an hour before finding eight Coprinus comatus. Unfortunately, there were more than just the two girls picking mushrooms.
However, eight chicken leg mushrooms can be used as a side dish.
Wang Yueju would not let Gu Siqing and Gu Sanjing make a big dish like stewed chicken. In the afternoon, when she came back from the fields, she asked Gu Sanjing and Gu Siqing to light the fire while she stewed the chicken.
The chicken started to smell delicious after a while, and Zhang Chuntao, who was in the opposite yard, could smell the aroma and her mouth was watering. She had been keeping an eye on Gu Siqing's yard, waiting for them to bring chicken to Wu Dani.
After the chicken was cooked, Gu Jianguo, Gu Yimin, and Gu Erhui also returned. Wang Yueju poured a bowl of chicken soup and asked Gu Siqing and Gu Sanjing to take it to Wu Dani.
There was a chicken drumstick and a few pieces of chicken in the bowl. The chicken wasn't very big to begin with, so one person wouldn't be able to eat much meat for a family.
"Xiao Si, let's each have one piece." After leaving the yard, Gu Sanjing whispered to Gu Siqing.
Gu Siqing looked at the pieces of meat in the bowl, picked up a piece and put it in Gu Sanjing's mouth, "Wipe your mouth clean after eating."
Gu Sanjing puffed out her cheeks and chewed quickly, like a hamster stealing food, silly and cute.
"Xiao Si, you don't want to eat?" Gu Sanjing asked in a low voice when he saw that Gu Siqing didn't eat.
"Second Aunt is watching." Gu Siqing changed the subject. There were only a few pieces of meat. If the two of them each ate one, there would be nothing left.
Gu Sanjing was only nine years old after all, so her attention was immediately drawn to Zhang Chuntao. She whispered, "Second Aunt will definitely go eat later."
"Then it's none of our business." Gu Siqing said with some sarcasm. No matter whether it was a good thing given by their family or given by her aunt, the first thing the old lady thought of was the two sons of her second aunt.
When they arrived at Wu Dani's yard, the two sisters gave her their bowls. Wu Dani took out her bowl, poured it over the bowl, and gave the bowls back to the sisters without saying a word or smiling. I don't know how they had offended her again.
Gu Siqing didn't bother to read her expression. She grabbed her bowl and dragged Gu Sanjing home. Shortly after arriving home, she heard a commotion coming from the opposite yard. It was Wu Dani complaining that Zhang Chuntao was enjoying the delicious food herself and not leaving any for her grandson.
The whole family pretended not to hear and ate the hot stewed chicken and mushrooms. Although each person could only eat a few bites of meat, the soup was still delicious.
After dinner, the family members washed dishes and cleaned the yard. Just as they were about to take a break after finishing their work, Deng Zhiming arrived.
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