Chapter 60 Gu Weidong's Ideal
Xiao Dingkun couldn't stand it anymore, so he asked Fubao to sit down. He squatted beside her and spent a lot of time introducing the book "How the Steel Was Tempered" to little Fubao. He told her about the Soviet Republic, the use of metaphors, and Pavel Korchagin.
Little Fubao was fascinated by what she heard. She listened attentively to Xiao Dingkun telling the magical story.
At the end, Xiao Dingkun stopped talking, but she was still unsatisfied: "Brother Dingkun, is there anything else? What happened later? Did Pavel Korchagin recover? Was his eye healed?"
Xiao Dingkun shook his head: "No."
Little Fubao's face was filled with disappointment. He complained indignantly, "How can that be? He's a man with a will of steel. Why should he be paralyzed and blinded? It's so pitiful!"
That condemning look seemed to ask him to rewrite the ending.
Xiao Dingkun raised his eyebrows helplessly: "That's what it says in the book, there's nothing I can do about it."
Little Fubao didn't understand: "Why is it written like this in the book? Since it's a book, it was written by a person, so he should be made better. Why is the author so cruel?"
Xiao Dingkun: "..."
He suddenly had a headache and he had no experience in comforting children.
Su Wanru, who was standing next to him, saw this and tried so hard to hold back her laughter that her stomach hurt.
She had known Xiao Dingkun for a long time. He was a fearless man who was very good at fighting. But now, he was left speechless by a little girl's question. She had never seen such an embarrassed look in her life!
Huo Jinyun cast a sympathetic look at Xiao Dingkun, but there was still a smile on his face, a helpless smile.
After a moment of helplessness, Xiao Dingkun suddenly thought of something: "Fubao, is malted milk delicious? You should drink it all."
After saying that, he picked it up and let her continue drinking.
Fubao suddenly remembered that he was so engrossed in listening to the story that he had forgotten about the bowl of malted milk. His sadness turned into joy, and he picked up the bowl of malted milk and drank it happily.
Xiao Dingkun breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that coaxing a child was easy.
After Fubao finished drinking it, he savored the sweet milky aroma with satisfaction, sighed comfortably, and then suddenly said, "Compared to Pavel Korchagin, I am so happy."
That little tone, that little sigh, that last childish "ah" that contained the happiness and satisfaction...
Su Wanru couldn't stop laughing, and finally came over to touch Fubao's pigtails: "Children are so fun, so fun. Fubao, you must come and play with your brothers and sisters in the future, okay? Otherwise, your brothers and sisters will be so bored!"
When Gu Weidong hurried back from Chen Youfu's place, Fubao was talking about rice dumplings with Xiao Dingkun and the others. She described in detail how good the rice dumplings were, and she spoke with great relish. Finally, she said, "I think they must be delicious!"
Su Wanru felt something was wrong: "Haven't you eaten it before?"
Fubao smiled contentedly: "I have never eaten it before, but I can eat zongzi today!"
After hearing this, Xiao Dingkun frowned immediately.
Have you never eaten zongzi at the Nie family?
As he was speaking, Gu Weidong happened to come back.
It turned out that Chen Youfu had asked him to go over and ask about something he had learned at a meeting in the city, saying that Chen Youfu needed it for writing a report.
After Gu Weidong came back, he wanted to ask Huo Jinyun about the internal structure diagram again, but when he saw Fubao calling him, and thought about making rice dumplings at home, he didn't want to delay any longer, so he hurried back with Fubao.
Fubao was thinking in her heart that the rice dumplings were so delicious, it was a pity that she couldn't secretly bring out her own to let Xiao Dingkun and the others try them.
When they got back, Miao Xiuju's steaming hot rice dumplings were simmering in the pot, waiting for them. The children were eagerly waiting for the aroma, and when they saw Gu Weidong and Fubao coming back, they all jumped up and said, "It's time to eat rice dumplings! It's time to eat rice dumplings!"
Miao Xiuju smiled and said, "Don't worry, don't worry, tie the red rope now."
After she gave the order, several daughters-in-law took the red rope and tied it on each child in the family. Fubao's was tied on the wrist. His delicate, white and slender wrist looked so beautiful with the red rope tied on it.
After tying the red strings, Miao Xiujiu took the rice dumplings out of the hot pot. Each dumpling was made round by the glutinous rice inside, and its plump green body was tied with a red string.
Everyone gathered around and said, "Let's share the rice dumplings!"
Each person got a zongzi, which was hot. The children blew on it while turning their hands over it, and couldn't wait to tear off the red string tied on it and start eating it.
Fubao was not in a hurry. She blew on it slowly until it was not so hot anymore, and then she untied the red rope.
Untie the red string and peel off the outer leaves to reveal the soft, firm glutinous rice inside. Because of the large red dates, the glutinous rice is no longer as white as it was at the beginning, but is covered with a sweet and soft dark color.
The fragrance of glutinous rice has now perfectly blended with the fresh fragrance of reed leaves and the sweetness of red dates. Take a light bite, the fragrance spreads on the tip of your tongue, and your heart is filled with love.
Fubao remembered the glutinous rice stuck on the rice dumpling leaf that had been thrown under the well.
She would think about it from time to time and wonder what zongzi should taste like.
She finally got a taste of it now.
It turns out it’s so delicious.
After eating rice dumplings, Miao Xiujiu and several daughters-in-law boiled mugwort into a large pot of water, and asked the whole family to wash with this mugwort water in the evening.
"Wash your feet, and they won't hurt. Wash your hair, and it won't hurt."
According to Miao Xiuju, wherever you wash, it won’t hurt.
She washes her legs with mugwort every year, but her legs still hurt a lot in winter. However, she still believes in it firmly.
The mugwort leaves were cooked, and the family was bored and chatting. Gu Weidong coughed and began to discuss with Miao Xiujiu and Gu Dayong.
"Dad, Mom, I have a plan now and I want to talk to you about it. I don't know what you think."
It was difficult for Gu Weidong to bring this up.
He knew that he would inevitably face opposition after he said it, but there was nothing he could do. He was not young anymore, in his thirties, and he had to give his idea a try.
How do you know it won’t work if you don’t try?
So he thought about it and said something he had been thinking about recently: "After we collect the cotton wool from the countryside, we can make it into quilt batting and take it to the city. The city people like it very much and can ask for money or food coupons and cloth coupons. It's easy to sell, and this will definitely make money."
As soon as he said this, everyone in the Gu family fell silent.
There was complete silence.
The Gu brothers acted as if they didn't hear anything. Chen Hongying curled her lips, Liu Zhaodi looked at Miao Xiujiu's expression with a ulterior motive, Niu Sanni widened her eyes in surprise, and as for Gu Dayong, he still had a wooden face, maintaining his usual demeanor over the years.
Miao Xiuju stared at Gu Weidong with a stern face: "What are you talking about? We're living a good life, why are you doing this?"
Gu Weidong is most afraid of his mother in his life.
His mother had a hard life and suffered a lot, so as a son, he had to be filial to her.
His mother has a bad temper and is impatient, so as a son he has to give in to her.
So Gu Weidong never goes against his mother, whatever his mother says is what he does.
But now, for the first time in his life, Gu Weidong bravely met his mother's gaze and insisted, "Mom, I've been thinking about this for a long time. I think we can give it a try. I've also asked the educated youth, and they think so too."
He added, "It's summer now, so we have to get started. We need to raise some money and find a way to order cotton. We can harvest the cotton and make cotton covers. When winter comes, we can carry them to the city to sell them."
Miao Xiuju took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
No one knows a child better than his mother. Of course, she knew what her fourth son was thinking.
But it's impossible to do this, none of his brothers will agree!
How can farmers afford such a business?
Miao Xiuju said with a serious face: "Just eat your rice dumplings and celebrate your festival, don't think about anything else!"
The tone was set with one word, and everyone went their separate ways.
——
Gu Weidong was disappointed.
The sons and daughters-in-law returned to their rooms, each with their own plans.
Chen Hongying narrowed her eyes and muttered, "Doing business? That's too wild a dream! Why doesn't he think about the fact that his ancestors have been digging for food in the soil for generations. Is he cut out for that? What if he loses money? Aren't we going to cover it for him?"
Usually, Shen Hongying would nag about her brother-in-law and sisters-in-law, and Gu Weiguo would always persuade her to be more open-minded and live in harmony with them. But today, for the first time in his life, he just lay there woodenly, staring at the blackened roof above him, without saying a word.
He didn't understand what the fourth brother was thinking, but the thought of cotton wool business frightened him. What if he lost money? What if he lost money?
Shen Hongying glanced at her man and laughed sarcastically: "Brother, you will make us suffer sooner or later!"
She has been nagging for so many years, and the man finally understands that his brother is unreliable, right?
In the house next door, in the third brother's house, Liu Zhaodi also began to wonder: "What on earth is the fourth brother thinking? Could he be thinking about our mother's money?"
Gu Weijun frowned: "What are you thinking about? He is not that kind of person. He just wants to do something and doesn't want to dig in the dirt for a living." Liu Zhaodi disagreed.
She felt that among the daughters-in-law in the family, she was definitely not capable of giving birth to sons, but when it came to thinking things through, she was definitely the best at it.
She pondered for a moment and said slowly, "I think this matter must be more complicated than it seems. Why would the fourth son, an old farmer who knows nothing, want to go to the city to do business? He must not be interested in business, but in our mother's money."
"Our mother's money?" Gu Weijun didn't understand: "What do you mean?"
Liu Zhaodi curled her lips and snorted secretly, then she started to complain: "Our family has been lucky recently, we caught fish and dug wild ginseng, and our mother has saved up dozens of yuan, which is a lot of money. The fourth brother is thinking about it, and since he can't get it openly, he thinks of a crooked way. He wants to do business and dig it out of our mother's hands. Later he says he didn't make any money and said he lost money. Who can we go to for justice!"
Gu Weijun suddenly realized something, then said, "That's not the case. The fourth child has been honest since he was a child. He wouldn't do such a thing."
Liu Zhaodi looked at Gu Weijun with disdain. "You're such a blockhead, just like your father. Haven't you figured it out? Otherwise, why would the Fourth Brother start a business? Where does the Fourth Brother get his capital from?"
Gu Weijun lowered his head and remained silent, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, in the other room, Gu Weimin lay there, lost in thought. He thought and thought, then sighed. The fourth brother was a good brother, but even a good brother couldn't act recklessly. Business wasn't something a family like theirs could do; it was better for them to just farm the land.
He began to say, "Wife, what do you think the fourth brother is thinking? He has to do business when things are going well."
But Niu Sanni next to her didn't respond at all.
Gu Weimin was puzzled and nudged her with his elbow: "Wife? Wife?"
Niu Sanni was snoring...she was sleeping soundly.
Gu Weimin: “…”
Oh, forget it, he just turned over and went to sleep. It was not his turn to worry about such things anyway!
Compared with the other rooms, it seemed as if nothing had happened in the room of the fourth brother, Gu Weidong.
After Liu Guizhi washed and hung up the children's clothes, she tidied up the house. There were three boys alone, each one more naughty than the other, and the house was always a mess.
After cleaning up, the boys and Fubao all lay down on the bed, and she could finally take a break and lie down.
Gu Weimin lay there, not saying a word for a long time.
Liu Guizhi was puzzled. In the past, she could always hear him telling her his thoughts, various things, and what he had learned that day. He always looked very excited.
But today, he didn't speak.
Is it because his mother-in-law rejected him without hesitation that he feels bad?
"bie..." She opened her mouth and made a sound similar to "bie".
She wanted to tell him not to be sad, but she was tongue-tied for a long time and only made a "bie" sound.
The sound was unclear, but Gu Weidong heard it.
Liu Guizhi herself felt it too.
Ever since her pig had diarrhea, she made a few sounds in a hurry. In the last one or two months, she found that she could speak a few words one after another. The words she could say included common ones like "pig", "run", "eat", "treasure", etc. Now, she was anxious to comfort Gu Weidong, and she actually made a "bie" sound.
She was also surprised and subconsciously covered her mouth.
Gu Weidong naturally heard it, and when he heard the word "bie", he couldn't help laughing.
"I think it won't be long before you can speak."
She is now like a little child, slowly learning to speak, one word, two words, and she can say more and more words.
He had sensed her changes a long time ago, but fearing that it would frighten her and turn her into something else, he deliberately didn't mention it. As for his parents, he didn't say a single word to avoid making a fuss.
When Liu Guizhi heard this, she felt a little embarrassed.
Gu Weidong: "Say that word again, I want to hear it."
Liu Guizhi didn't say anything. She felt that she didn't speak well. It sounded like "bie", but it wasn't quite right. It was different from the accent of others.
Gu Weidong: "Tell me, let me hear it."
Liu Guizhi has always been a soft-tempered person. Since Gu Weidong is the boss and Gu Weidong said so, she had no choice but to move her mouth and try hard to recall the subtle movements when she made the sound of "bie" just now. Then she tentatively made a sound: "bie".
This time is better than last time.
Gu Weidong: "That's a good point. Come, let's talk about the rest."
Liu Guizhi thought about it and moved her mouth for a long time, but couldn't say anything else. She had to repeat a few words she knew, such as "bie, pig, treasure".
Gu Weidong sighed with satisfaction: "You said it very well."
At the beginning, his family was poor, so he could only marry a mute wife. After being mute for so many years, he had long been accustomed to the mute wife's kindness. He did not expect that the mute wife would now speak.
Liu Guizhi's feeling was naturally even more amazing. She had been mute since childhood and did not remember being able to speak. She did not expect that now that her child had grown up, she could actually learn to speak.
She liked it just thinking about it, and even thought that when she was not busy in a few days, she would go back to her parents' home and tell her sister-in-law and parents the few words she could say. They would definitely be surprised by her.
Gu Weidong, of course, guessed what Liu Guizhi was thinking: "Why don't you go back to your parents' home in a few days? We still have the three yuan our mother gave us, but we haven't spent it yet. Take it and see what to buy for your parents' home when the time comes."
Liu Guizhi immediately smiled and nodded vigorously.
For a moment, both of them fell silent and there was no movement for a long time.
After a long time, Gu Weidong suddenly spoke.
"Actually, what I'm going to say today has been on my mind for a long time. I've always wanted to tell my parents. I also know that once I say it, my parents will definitely not agree, but I still want to say it."
"I told them they knew I had this in mind, and they were mentally prepared. They also had a plan for what to do next."
To put it bluntly, what Gu Weidong said now was to throw a stone into the calm lake of the Gu family, to let them know that he was going to do something.
So that when he really does it, he won't be scared.
"I know my parents won't agree, my sisters-in-law won't agree, and my brothers won't agree, but there's no other way. I have to do it."
He has been a stubborn child since he was young. Once he makes up his mind, eight oxen cannot pull him away.
When he was as old as Fubao, Pingxi Production Brigade was still called Pingxi Village and Pingxi Village had not yet been liberated. At that time, people said that the Japanese devils were about to enter the village, and everyone in the family wanted to escape quickly. Only he was reluctant to leave because the jujube tree in the yard was about to bear jujubes, so he wanted to stay and eat the jujubes.
Even though his family members beat him, he just refused to leave.
Of course, the Japanese surrendered soon after, and liberation was achieved. No one escaped, but from then on, the reputation of the fourth child of the Gu family being a stubborn child spread.
So much so that whenever he made a mistake, Miao Xiuju would say, "Old Four is being stubborn again."
That's just his personality. Once he makes up his mind to something, he will do it. No one can stop him, and even his parents can't change his mind.
When he said that, Liu Guizhi was of course also surprised.
She has always been a docile person, usually listening to her husband and her mother-in-law. She never expected that her man would have such thoughts.
She thought he would feel lost and helpless, but who knew he had already thought through all these things.
She looked up at her man in confusion.
Gu Weidong closed his eyes and whispered, "Now I'm obsessed with doing business. Not only are my sisters-in-law uncomfortable, but even my brothers are probably worried. I'm thinking, let's split up in the future. When we split up, I'll be responsible for everything I do. If I lose, you and the child will suffer with me. If I make a profit, you and the child will eat the meat with me."
Gu Weidong wanted to risk it all.
He is just like that, restless and looking to stir up trouble.
Brothers naturally have brotherhood. The three older brothers are all honest and good people. They have been kind to him and given in to him since he was a child. However, even the best brothers will change their minds after they grow up, get married and have children.
You can't ignore your daughter-in-law, you can't ignore your children. Every family has its own difficulties.
Gu Weidong also planned to separate his brothers from himself.
Liu Guizhi babbled a few times. She wanted to say, "Now that the family has split up, where are we going to live? Building a house requires a lot of adobe bricks. Does our family have that many bricks now?"
Besides, if we split up the family... we'll have to live on our own, right?
Liu Guizhi had been living with her husband for a long time and usually had no opinions on anything. She always listened to her mother-in-law. Suddenly, when she heard that her husband was going to live alone, she felt helpless.
Gu Weidong: "When summer comes, before the busy farming season begins, we have to slowly save up adobe bricks. When I have nothing to do, I go to the homestead over there and make them myself. When I have enough, I can ask a few more members to help me build it. It will only take two or three days."
The materials for building a house are nothing more than mud, adobe, and thatch. The most valuable thing is the beam. Fortunately, the Gu family used to raise trees, and there are four big trees behind the house. They are all good and can be used as ready-made materials for beams. There are four brothers, and each of them can have a beam.
Liu Guizhi was completely silent.
She suddenly felt that it would not be long before the sky above her head would change.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
