Boys I met before Chapter 165
Gu Shu asked in confusion, "Who are you talking about?"
Seeing everyone looking at him with suspicion, Qin Heng blinked, feeling a little embarrassed. He looked at Gu Yin, unsure of what to say. He didn't know what kind of upbringing the Gu family had, and he wondered if saying he knew Gu Yin rashly would have a negative impact on her.
Gu Yin never expected that someone Gu Shu had met briefly in front of the boys' dormitory when Gu Shu started school would have such a good relationship with him, and even invite him to her home.
When Qin Heng made a presumptuous attempt to strike up a conversation, he was politely refused and left without doing anything inappropriate. In addition, she trusted Gu Shu's judgment, so Gu Yin smiled and took two steps forward.
"I'm Gu Shu's sister. I didn't expect you to know my brother. Welcome to our home!" After saying that, she explained to everyone how they had met once before.
Everyone suddenly realized, "Oh, so that's how it is."
Qin Heng nodded vigorously: "We did meet back then, I never expected to see each other again this time, and I even became friends with Gu Shu! It means we're destined to meet!"
Seeing that sweat was starting to bead on his forehead, Li Xiang quickly said, "You must be hungry after coming all this way so early. The porridge and vegetables we brought are all clean. Go sit with A-Le, it's cool there! After you've rested, A-Shu can take you to play or see the sights!"
There's hardly any shade in the fields, so the adults would tie the threshed rice straw into bundles and make a simple, temporary thatched hut. They'd line the inside with straw and then put a layer of transparent plastic sheeting over it. Food and other necessities would be stored inside, and it could seat five or six people at a time. They would rest or eat inside.
Gu Le is eating inside right now.
After greeting everyone, Qin Heng, led by Gu Shu, sat down in the thatched hut.
Gu Le handed him the bowl and chopsticks, and Qin Heng didn't hesitate. He was indeed hungry, and after seeing so many side dishes, he became even more unceremonious and waved to Gu Shu.
"Please share the popsicles I brought with everyone, otherwise they'll melt and it won't be good. I'll stay here and eat with my brother. You go and do your thing. I'll come find you after I'm done. Oh, and I noticed you're all wearing those arm sleeves and hats. If you have any extras, give me some too! I want to help with the work later!"
Seeing that he was sitting down and starting to drink porridge, clearly adapting well, Gu Shu nodded and left.
After everyone left, Qin Heng ate while chatting with Gu Le.
"Little brother, are you Gu Shu's biological brother? What's your name? What grade are you in? How are your grades?"
Gu Le: "...Cousin, my name is Gu Le. I'll be in third grade next semester, and my grades are pretty good." Considering that the other person was his brother's friend, Gu Le answered honestly.
Qin Heng nodded, and seeing that the other person had finished a bowl and was about to get up to get more porridge, he quickly put down the bowl and took it from him: "You sit down, I'll do it! One bowl or half a bowl?"
"bowl."
After Qin Hengsheng finished cooking, he handed the food to him, glanced outside, and whispered, "Little brother, could you introduce your family to me? Otherwise, I'll get nervous later."
Gu Le understood. After introducing the adults, she pointed to Gu Hua and proudly said, "That's my cousin Gu Hua. She'll be attending the No. 1 Middle School in the city when school starts!"
Qin Heng raised his eyebrows: "Wow, your family is amazing! Two students from the No. 1 High School in the city!"
Gu Le pursed his lips and nodded: "What I told you before was my sister, Gu Yin. Cough, she will be attending Jiang High School after the start of the semester." He finished speaking with a humble and calm expression.
Qin Heng was genuinely surprised this time. Among his classmates, those with siblings were already quite remarkable to have two students from the No. 1 High School in the city. Yet, in this remote rural area, there was a school called Jianggao with two students from the No. 1 High School in the city!
It's not that he looks down on rural areas, but rather it's about resource allocation. Children in the city have the best teachers, schools, and after-school tutoring arranged by their parents. What do rural areas have? Only poor local educational conditions and teachers who don't even speak standard Mandarin.
So for families like the Gus, living in the countryside, getting their children into a top-tier high school in the city is incredibly difficult! Yet, three of their children have gone on to attend such prestigious high schools, which speaks volumes about their academic achievements and the immense effort they put in!
Qin Heng felt a surge of admiration.
He looked at Gu Yin, who was constantly cutting rice. Even though sweat was pouring down her face, she didn't seem to care about the material in her hands, and there was no complaint in her eyes! Qin Heng looked at Gu Le and gave her a thumbs up: "Your family has this! Your sister has this too!"
Gu Le smiled modestly.
After finishing their meal, Qin Heng and Gu Le took the bowls and chopsticks to the stream by the field to wash them, and then soaked them in a basin of water.
He came to Gu Shu's side, and Gu Shu handed him the old lady's bamboo hat and arm sleeves.
Everyone was probably busy until evening before going home. If there were no guests, they could go home together and cook dinner together. But now that Qin Heng had arrived and there were guests, the old lady went home early to prepare. Gu Qingming and the others had already hauled a cartload of grain back, which she would dry at home to prepare dinner later. So she left all her tools for Qin Heng to use.
After Qin Heng put on his hat and arm sleeves, he watched Gu Shu cut something, and then tried it following his steps. He found it to be very simple.
At that moment, he was thinking, "Is that all?"
After bending over and cutting for ten minutes, he squatted down to cut, then stood up again after a while, and then bent over to cut again. He kept scratching his neck, his arms, and his feet. He felt hot and itchy all over! His back was also sore!
After working for half an hour, Qin Heng sat down to rest on the edge of the field: "It wasn't easy! It really wasn't easy! Now I finally understand what it truly means to cherish every grain of rice!"
Gu Yin happened to be harvesting rice next to the paddy field ridge. Hearing this, she glanced at him and saw that he looked a little dejected. She smiled and said, "Why don't you wash your neck with water first? Don't scratch it. If you can't do it, just sit down. Once this acre is ready, I'll have my brother take you to play later."
Qin Heng turned around and asked while washing his neck, "Is it over after we finish cutting this piece of land?"
"There's still one acre of land left. We need to go to the back hill to harvest corn tomorrow. You've come at the wrong time; it's the busy farming season."
After washing up, Qin Heng dried himself off with his clothes and finally looked refreshed: "I specifically chose this time to come, just to find out where the food we usually eat comes from. Let's play together after I'm done with my work. I'll come back next spring when I'm farming!"
After finishing his preparations, he went to continue working on Gu Shu's side.
After finishing this field, his back was so sore he could barely straighten up. He rested for a bit and then followed them to the next field.
They worked until 7 p.m., and the two acres of land were all harvested. Everyone was exhausted, but the thought of going home made them feel relaxed again.
When they got home, the adults went to the threshing ground to bring back the grain that had been drying during the day. The old lady had already collected all the grain and was just waiting for them to come back in the evening to collect it.
Looking at the densely packed persimmons on the tree, Qin Heng asked Gu Shu, "When will these ripen?"
"Around September, I'll take you to school then! Do you want to take a shower first? I'll shower later too, and then we can eat. That way it'll be more comfortable."
Qin Heng nodded: "Come on, I'm itchy. Do you have any soap? I'll scrub myself! I brought my own towel."
“We’ve prepared new ones at home. By the way, do you want to wash at home or go to the mountain spring pool in the village? The water there is quite cold, and you can even swim. There should already be a lot of people there by now, mostly men, no girls.” Gu Shu turned around and asked, thinking of something.
The mountain spring water flowing down from the back mountain is clear and sweet. The village has built three pools to store water. The first pool is for drinking or washing vegetables, the second is for washing clothes, and the third is for the cows to bathe and drink.
All three pools were very large. In the evenings, instead of washing vegetables, the first two pools were used for bathing. The water was flowing and always crystal clear. The village children would go there to bathe in the summer. Gu Yin had also gone there, but stopped going after she entered junior high school.
Qin Heng was very curious and immediately chose the mountain spring pool, and Gu Le followed him.
When Gu Yin and the others finished washing up and came out, the three of them also returned carrying clean clothes.
After dinner, the old man suddenly remembered something. He went to get the bamboo hat he had worn during the day. Gu Yin happened to be sitting next to him and immediately noticed the dense swarm of struggling grasshoppers under the hat. Also called "he ge" (禾蛤), they resemble grasshoppers but are smaller and not as ugly. Their bellies are swollen and soft. After removing their wings, you can bury them in the fire. They'll be cooked in five minutes, needing no seasoning—they're incredibly fragrant! You can also deep-fry them! They're very high in protein! No child in the village dislikes them!
"Wow! Grandpa, when did you catch so many! They're so fat! I only saw one today, and it escaped when I came back tonight!" Gu Le rushed over, looking at the dozens of grasshoppers densely packed under the bamboo hat, and exclaimed in surprise!
The old man smiled and said, "Birds built nests in the middle of the field, and empty millet husks were scattered all over the ground. I wanted to go and see if there were any bird eggs, but all the nests were empty. When I came out of the nests, I saw grasshoppers. I didn't look for them specifically; I just picked them up when I saw them while harvesting the millet! There's still a fire in the kitchen stove. I'll fix it up, and Xiao Heng can try some later!"
This was the first time Qin Heng had ever seen this thing. He initially thought it was a grasshopper, but later learned that it wasn't. He was surprised to hear that it was edible. Hearing the old man's words, he nodded and said, "Then I'll eat a few more later!"
Gu Shu was surprised: "Aren't you afraid?"
Qin Heng shook his head: "My grandfather even bought silkworm pupae to drink with. I've eaten those things, and they're much more terrifying than this! But you get used to them after a while."
Gu Shu thought he was just putting on a brave face, but when the old man finished baking it and took it out, he was the one who ate it the most happily.
Wow! It's delicious! It smells so good!
Gu Shu: "..."
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