Chapter 703: Still Vigorous in Old Age? (Two chapters combined!)
Gu Jianguo never expected things to turn out this way. When the three of them and the other villagers were walking together, they were hoping to survive, but a large number of them collapsed on the way!
"Besides being extremely hungry, we also got sick on the way. We didn't dare to look back after every step, for fear of losing the courage to continue! Those with graves were lucky; many people had been there, but their families didn't have the strength to dig the soil, so they were just thrown off the cliff! Looking back now, we were lucky to have reached the old lady's relatives' house safely! Sigh! Let's not talk about the past! Second Uncle, how have you been these years?"
The second uncle glanced at the sun, then smiled at his grandson: "Xiao Hao! Go cook the rice! Then boil the water; we have guests coming today, so stew that old goose!"
Xiao Hao looked at Gu Jianguo curiously. When Gu Jianguo looked over, Xiao Hao scratched his head shyly and quickly said, "Hello, Uncle! I'll go prepare the food!" Then he ran home with a red face.
Gu Jianguo: "...Did you call this child the wrong name?"
The crowd, who had inexplicably felt their seniority had dropped: "..."
My second uncle waved his hand awkwardly and said, "You didn't call me by the wrong name! Come in and sit down for a while! I'll explain as we walk!"
Gu Jianguo nodded upon hearing this: "Then I'll have to bother you!"
Gu Yin immediately walked quickly to Gu Jianguo's side, and Gu Hua's eyes darted around before she also walked over!
Gu Jianguo glanced at them, pointed at them helplessly, but did not send them away, letting them listen.
"Your cousin Jiancheng's wife had just given birth when you left. But because there was no food, she didn't eat well, which led to a bad postpartum period. She didn't get enough nutrition and suffered from severe malnutrition. Even though there was relief food later, her body was still damaged. So she passed away when my eldest grandson was five years old. Jiancheng never remarried. After my eldest grandson got married and started his own family, he suddenly wanted a companion, so he got together with a widow in the village. Cough cough, she was quite young. Later, when my eldest grandson had a child, she also got pregnant. That child is now Xiaohao."
It's a little embarrassing to talk about! It became the laughing stock of the village! But there was no other way; we had to have the baby. Jiancheng still had the strength to raise it!
On one hand, Gu Jianguo was torn between the regret of his younger brother and sister-in-law passing away at such a young age, and on the other hand, the fact that his cousin was still quite vigorous despite his age. He was at a loss for words.
The rest of the Gu family were all surprised!
However, Zhou Wansheng and his wife, Gu Yin, and Gu Le did not react much.
Firstly, such incidents are not common in Hong Kong, but they are not infrequent either. Gu Yin and Gu Le had seen many similar incidents online in their previous lives, so all four of them thought it was quite normal.
Gu Shu, standing nearby, was stunned: "Then do we have to call that child 'uncle'?"
Gu Yin's mind raced with thoughts of romance novels like "After Breaking Up! I Became My Ex-Boyfriend's Aunt!", "Transmigrating into a Book and Marrying My Childhood Sweetheart's CEO Uncle!", and "Urgent! My Cannon Fodder Husband's Nephew is the Male Lead!" Gu Yin found herself hilarious!
She even laughed out loud!
Gu Jianguo: "...!!" Someone, come quick! Cover this unfilial granddaughter's mouth!
Gu Yin covered her mouth and quickly shook her head: "...!" I didn't! I didn't!!!
My second uncle also heard the laughter, but said nonchalantly, "Let them laugh, it's no big deal! We've all been laughing like this for years. We were embarrassed at first, but now we're all used to it!"
Gu Jianguo breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that it hadn't bothered him.
Gu Yin quickly moved to the back, no longer wanting to listen to the gossip.
The group walked to the stone house of their second uncle. The door opened, and Xiao Hao was making tea. When he saw them come in, he stood obediently to the side, smiling silently.
Everyone sat down and introduced themselves. After the introductions, Uncle Gu Er nodded with relief: "You have grandchildren now! It's a good thing you came back, otherwise I wouldn't even know you were alive when I was buried. Thank goodness! The knot in my heart has been untied a lot!"
After saying that, he looked at Li Mingfang and said, "It's good that you changed your name. There aren't many relatives left on your father's side. All the fields and houses in your family have been divided up. Now that you have your own home, don't play around with those things anymore, so as not to get entangled with them."
Li Mingfang smiled and nodded: "I don't consider that home anymore. We said we were fleeing from war, but weren't we also driven away? I've come to terms with it at this age! By the way, where are Xiaohao's mother, cousin, and nephew's family? Why are only you and your grandson here?"
"We haven't seen anyone else since we came in," Li Mingfang asked, puzzled.
My second uncle explained, "Jiancheng went to the county and hasn't come back yet. My eldest grandson's son, who is also my great-grandson, is taking the college entrance exam this year, just like Xiaohao. Xiaohao's mother was worried about him, so she went to accompany him to the exam. When my eldest grandson saw this, he called Jiancheng over to accompany his son. After the exam, Xiaohao and his mother came back together, but Jiancheng is still in the county. Xiaohao's mother is busy in the orchard on the back hill, and she should be back soon!"
Gu Jianguo asked curiously, "Does my eldest nephew own a house in the county?"
Second Uncle nodded: "The government used to turn our village into a tourist destination. In the first few years, a lot of people came, and my family made some money. Then, after Jiancheng got married, he gave him a sum of money, which he used to buy a house. He used the rest to open a shop, and the house was given to Xiaohao. Xiaohao's mother didn't have any objections."
It wasn't that she had no objections, but she knew that no matter how much she earned, she wouldn't get much, since Gu Jiancheng favored the older one. But it didn't matter, she had her own house. After her first husband passed away, although she had no children, she still took care of her former mother-in-law until she passed away before she remarried!
She married Gu Jiancheng because his family had a good reputation in the village, he was honest, his family was well-off, and his son was grown up, so she wouldn't have to worry about him. She was rich, but widows often attract gossip, so she only needed to maintain appearances after marrying him.
Who would have thought she'd get pregnant! She'd fought for the child, but it turned out Gu Jiancheng was biased! After seeing through him, she stopped expecting anything from him and decided to raise her son well. They could do whatever they wanted!
Zhang Dandan put the hoe down to cool, washed her hands at the door, straightened her clothes, picked up her basket, and walked in with a smile.
"Dad! Xiaohao told me we have guests! He asked me to come back and see! Wow! They all have such distinguished airs! They really are honored guests! Hello everyone! I'm Xiaohao's mom, Zhang Dandan! I picked some peaches from the mountain that we grew ourselves! I washed them on the mountain and rinsed them at the door! The peaches are so sweet! Everyone who's tried them says they're delicious!"
Gu Yin looked at the other person. Considering that Gu Jiancheng and Gu Jianguo were the same age, Zhang Dandan was indeed much younger! At least she still had a head of hair! Although she had wrinkles on her face, her skin was fair and she looked energetic, so she looked about the same age as Gu Qingming!
Seeing that they were neither reserved nor obsequious, but rather open and cheerful, Gu Yin quite liked them.
Reaching out to take the basket from her hand, Gu Yin smiled and looked at him, "Grandma, please sit down, I'll distribute the peaches!" As she spoke, she distributed the peaches to the others.
Grandma Gu took one, took a bite, and nodded: "It's really sweet! And very juicy! My cousin and his wife are really good at growing fruit trees!"
Zhang Dandan breathed a sigh of relief when she learned that everyone liked it.
Although she didn't know who these relatives were, Zhang Dandan felt that these people were not simple, judging from their clothes and the bodyguards standing next to them. She was actually very nervous just now, but for a moment she treated them like the other customers who came to her shop to buy fruit, which prevented her from giving up!
"Eat as much as you like!"
After that, her second uncle introduced her to Gu Jianguo and his group.
Zhang Dandan was very surprised after hearing this: "So my cousin Jianguo is still alive! When I married into Gujia Village, I often heard the older generation talk about the refugees in our village. They all said it was a matter of life and death! I never thought you and my sister-in-law would be alright! It's really a blessing from our ancestors! Today is a good day! Please sit down! Xiaohao and I will go cook! I'm a pretty good cook! You can try some later!"
Gu Qinghao quickly got up and followed his mother.
Li Mengxin and Li Xiang also got up and followed.
Gu Yin stood up and looked at Gu Shu: "Let's go help too."
Gu Shu nodded.
Zhang Dandan had just caught two hungry geese when she saw them. She smiled and said, "I can handle this all by myself! You don't need to help! After I kill the geese, I'll have Xiaohao take you around this little ancient town!"
Li Xiang rolled up her sleeves and laughed, "We usually do chores at home too! We're quick and efficient, so it won't stop you from showing off your cooking skills! Let Xiao Hao take the kids for a walk!" As she spoke, she went over and grabbed the goose, and with Li Mengxin's help, she killed it.
Seeing their straightforward manner, Zhang Dandan stopped refusing.
Finally, Gu Qinghao led Gu Shu and the other two to explore the village.
On the way out, they ran into the Gu brothers, Gu Qingming and Gu Qingming.
"Dad, Uncle, where are you going?"
Gu Qingming looked at Gu Qinghao and smiled, "Xiaohao, do you have a place to sell meat around here?"
Looking at his two cousins, who were about the same age as his eldest brother but looked younger and more handsome, Gu Qinghao smiled and said, "We have meat at home! Grandpa and Mom raise a lot of chickens, ducks and geese! You don't need to spend any money!"
Gu Qinglang laughed and said, "There are many of us, and the bodyguards eat even more. If they're full, they could eat all the poultry in the house! We're guests, and we have to save face! Let's go buy some other things. Do you know where we can find sheep?"
Since he had already said that, Gu Qinghao felt embarrassed to say anything more. He pointed ahead and said, "The house with the yellow flag is the butcher shop, and they also sell sheep! I'm too embarrassed to go over there; his wife and my mother don't get along." Gu Qinghao said apologetically.
Gu Qinglang nodded upon hearing this: "Is that the only one? Does anyone raise sheep? Let's go buy one!"
Gu Qinghao's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he nodded: "My Uncle Gu's family has some! Uncle Gu is my mother's ex-husband, who is also my godfather's cousin! He raises sheep! I'll take you there!"
After Zhang Dandan's mother-in-law passed away, none of her relatives tried to divide or seize the family's land; it all went to Zhang Dandan. This was mainly because Zhang Dandan had taken such good care of the old lady that she never suffered in her later years, a fact witnessed by everyone in the village. Zhang Dandan now uses one of the houses to sell fruit, and the land on the mountain is used to grow fruit trees. Even Gu Qinghao, who has recognized her ex-husband as his godfather, always joins him in offering incense during festivals. No one can really criticize someone like that!
From afar, they saw an old man waving in their direction: "Xiao Hao! Come over here! We made dumplings at home! Come and eat!"
Gu Qinghao waved his hand: "Uncle! My guest wants to buy sheep! Do you keep them on the mountain or at home?"
"They're in the back room! Are they your guests? They look unfamiliar, I've never seen them before..." Gu Erzhu asked, looking at the clean-looking people who seemed to be from the city.
In general, everyone in the village knows each other's relatives!
“It was when Uncle Jianguo’s family came back,” Gu Qinghao explained.
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