Chapter 64
The group arrived at the hillside by the river in high spirits and placed their belongings under the shade of a large tree nearby.
The grass on this side of the hillside grows very lushly. When it withers and turns yellow, it feels fuzzy to the touch. It's not uncomfortable to sit on, so you can sit directly on the ground, or even roll around on it without any problem.
The autumn sky was clear and the air was crisp. The withered grass was fluffy, and as far as the eye could see, everything was golden yellow. It was indeed a fine day.
Gu Xi took a deep breath of the fresh air in the suburbs and felt her heart and mind expand.
After putting their things away, the group of children went to fly kites.
The wind was strong by the river, and the kites quickly soared into the sky. Every time a kite took flight, it would elicit a burst of enthusiastic cheers, instantly creating a lively and infectious atmosphere.
Gu Tuantuan was young and it was her first time flying a kite, so she didn't know how. Gu Xi helped her by holding the string and letting the little girl run forward with the kite in her hand.
After running for a while, Gu Tuantuan let go of the kite amidst shouts, and the kite wobbled and flew into the sky.
"Wow! The bunny is flying!" she laughed happily.
Gu Xi ran for a while, holding the kite string, until the kite flew steadily into the sky. Then she tied the kite string to the little girl's hand and let her fly the kite.
Gu Tuantuan nervously held onto the kite string, worried that her bunny kite would collide with someone else's kite. Seeing a tiger kite approaching, she cried out, "Little tiger, don't bump into my bunny! Brother Miaomiao, go away, don't let your little tiger come any closer!"
Miao Jianshe shouted, "My name is Miao Jianshe, not Miao Miao!"
Soon after, several kites floated in the sky, fluttering in the wind, their vibrant colors very attractive.
The children started a competition to see whose kite could fly the highest.
Gu Xi played for a while, then got tired of running around, so she sat down under a tree to drink water and watched the group of children fly kites with a smile.
Gu Tuantuan followed her older brothers and sisters, pulling on the string. Because she was the youngest, everyone took care of her. The group of children got along quite harmoniously. Even Miao Jianshe and Xu Yongzhi, who usually liked to quarrel with their older sisters, looked much more well-behaved at this time.
The children cheered continuously, and whenever a kite got tangled together, it would elicit a loud shout.
The excitement attracted some children playing nearby, who stood by and watched, their heads tilted back, gazing at the kites in the sky.
When Gu Tuantuan got tired of playing, she saw a little girl who was a bit older than her next to her, so she gave her the kite string and said in a childish voice, "Sister, you can play with my bunny."
The little girl looked at her timidly, but in the end she couldn't resist the temptation and took the kite string.
Gu Tuantuan wiped her sweat, turned her head and saw Gu Xi resting under the tree. She ran happily towards her and jumped into her arms like a little rabbit.
"Auntie~~"
Gu Xi took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat, and then opened the water bottle to feed her water.
She was very used to doing this. From childhood to adulthood, she had taken care of many children, including Xu's two younger sisters and Shen Mingrong. For her, taking care of children was as simple as eating and drinking.
"Tuantuan, is flying a kite fun?" Gu Xi asked with a smile.
Gu Tuantuan's little face was flushed, and a happy smile appeared on her face. "It was so much fun! Auntie, I want to come and play again next time, with everyone."
Gu Xi pinched her little cheek, "This isn't over yet, and you're already thinking about next time?"
Gu Tuantuan snuggled in her aunt's arms, laughing incessantly.
A little while later, Yu Xiaoyue also came over.
Although Yu Xiaoyue was flying a kite, she was actually keeping an eye on Gu Xi and Gu Tuantuan under the tree.
Knowing that Gu Tuantuan was a child of the Gu family, and given her young age, they automatically took on the responsibility of taking care of Gu Tuantuan.
"Tuantuan, aren't you done playing?" Yu Xiaoyue asked.
Gu Tuantuan leaned against her aunt's chest and said in a grown-up manner, "I'm tired, I want to rest with my aunt."
Wherever her aunt is, that's where she is.
Gu Xi called Yu Xiaoyue over, wiped her sweat with a handkerchief, and asked, "Xiaoyue, are you tired?"
Yu Xiaoyue shook her head, revealing a shy smile, "Aunt Gu, I'm not tired!" Then she added, "Usually my grandma, mom, and I come here to collect firewood, and we walk over there, sometimes quite a distance, but we don't feel tired at all..."
Compared to going with the elders to collect firewood, which takes up most of the day and then you have to carry the firewood home, today's outing is just running around and it's not tiring at all.
Gu Xi touched her head and saw that her hair was messy. She took out a comb from her pocket and combed her hair, dividing her dry yellow hair into two sections, braiding them, and coiling them on her head like two little buns, which was very cute.
"Sister Xiaoyue is so pretty!" Gu Tuantuan said in surprise. "Auntie, I want to braid my hair too, and put it up in a bun."
Gu Xi laughed and said, "Okay, braid our Tuan Tuan's hair too."
Gu Tuantuan recently got her hair cut into a neat bob.
Because Dr. Ji isn't very good at tying little girls' hair, whenever her daughter's hair gets long, she'll find a time to cut it short.
However, little girls love to look pretty, and when they see other children wearing braids, they want to do it too.
Gu Xi brought not only a comb but also some small hair ties with her when she went out today, which were for tying the little girl's hair.
Because Gu Tuantuan's hair couldn't be fully combed up, she styled the little girl's hair into a Nezha-style bun and tied it with two red ribbons.
The little girl was well-fed and had a fair complexion with chubby cheeks. She had a perfect three-headed figure, and with this hairstyle, she looked just like Nezha from the earliest Chinese animation. She was so cute!
Gu Xi had watched the Chinese animation "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" before and was deeply impressed by the little Nezha in it.
Seeing this, Xu Xiaoyin handed her kite to a child watching them fly it, then ran over and exclaimed, "Aunt Gu, Aunt Gu, I want to tie my hair up too! I want braids like Xiaoyue's!"
Gu Xi asked her to sit down and began to comb her hair.
Soon, the Miao Cuini sisters also came over. Seeing how nicely they had styled their hair, they also wanted Gu Xi to style their hair for them.
The elders in the family compound rarely put effort into tying their daughters' hair. They would either cut it into a bob or tie it with a hair tie, or at most divide it into two sections and tie them into two little buns. They would rarely braid their hair like Gu Xi did and create some cute hairstyles.
No girl could resist such a beautiful hairstyle, and they all crowded around.
Gu Xi's fingers were nimble, and tying the little girls' hair was a piece of cake for her. She went around to each of them, styling their hair according to its length, sometimes putting it into two buns, sometimes braiding it into a centipede braid, and sometimes putting it in a bun at the back of their heads.
The girls sat together, looked at each other's hair, touched their own hair, and then laughed happily.
Miao Jianshe and Xu Yongzhi were boys and had no interest in tying their hair up. Seeing that the girls had all run away, they didn't care and played with the children who came to watch them fly kites.
When they got tired of playing, they tied the kite string to a nearby tree branch and ran over to drink water.
Gu Xi brought over the baskets of food, placed several baskets together, and told them to take whatever they wanted to eat.
The children ate and chatted, chattering away about everything from funny stories at school to gossip in the residential compound.
Gu Xi listened with great interest and found that these children were quite well-informed, knowing a lot about what was happening in the family compound, which broadened her horizons.
Wherever there are people, there is gossip; it's truly fascinating.
For example, there's this family feuding, the women and children of the two families frequently fight, and they've even been warned by the women's director; this family's daughter-in-law is lazy and greedy, only caring about her own food and drink, neglecting her husband and children; this family's husband is remarried and has married a beautiful young woman; this family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have a terrible relationship, often fighting, neither willing to give in; this family's husband treats his wife badly because she has given birth to five daughters and has never been able to produce a son...
These kids are like gossip reporters lurking in the residential compound; when they get together, they seem to know everything.
Even the younger Miao Jianshe could tell a few gossips, and the shy Yu Xiaoyue could also talk a lot.
Only Gu Xi and Gu Tuantuan, the aunt and niece, were particularly out of place. They knew nothing about the group. Gu Xi was a homebody and not well-informed, while Gu Tuantuan was the youngest and knew nothing, so she couldn't join in the conversation.
Miao Cuini, the oldest among them, was quite thoughtful. Seeing that Gu Xi and Gu Tuantuan hadn't spoken yet, she was afraid that talking about these gossips would scare them, so she quickly said, "Don't say it, it's not good to scare Tuantuan, she's still so young."
Gu Tuantuan took a bite of the rice cake in her hand and said, "Sister Cui Ni, I'm not little anymore. I'm five years old. I'll be six next year and I can go to elementary school."
Gu Xi smiled and patted her head, asking in confusion, "Xiaoyue, how do you know so much?"
She thought Yu Xiaoyue was a shy and timid girl who always stayed at home doing chores and wouldn't know so much gossip.
Yu Xiaoyue honestly replied, "I heard it from my grandma. She usually likes to go to the pavilion to chat with people, and she tells my mom what she hears when she gets back."
Of course, Grandma Yu is just very sharing. She likes to tell her daughter-in-law whatever she hears outside. Anyway, no matter what she says at home, her daughter-in-law, who is like a silent gourd, will not gossip outside, which makes her feel at ease.
Yu Xiaoyue worked alongside her mother and naturally overheard a lot of things.
The other children chimed in, sharing where they had heard the gossip. Children have their own circles, and it's easy for them to find out what's going on.
This is something adults don't know.
With gossip as spice, Gu Xi enjoyed her meal quite a bit.
After eating their fill, the group didn't rush back. Instead, they decided to stroll through the nearby woods and pick some wild pears.
Xu Yongzhi said with great interest, "I remember there's a wild pear tree over there, and there should be wild pears too. Let's go take a look."
"How did you know?" his sister, Xu Xiaoyin, asked in confusion.
Xu Yongzhi said, "I've been here with other people."
Children these days are very interested in going up mountains and down rivers, but since there are mostly girls here, it's impossible for them to play in the river, so they play in the mountains instead.
They didn't go far, just wandered around in the woods near the river.
Xu Yongzhi confidently led the way, but they didn't see any fruit trees. In the end, Yu Xiaoyue led them to pick chestnuts nearby.
"Xiaoyue actually knew there were chestnut trees here, that's amazing!"
Everyone showered Xiaoyue with praise, making her blush and her eyes sparkle.
The children, like little monkeys, cheered and nimbly climbed up the tree to knock chestnuts down with bamboo poles.
This chestnut tree is very large and located in a rather remote area. Few people usually come here, and not many people come to harvest chestnuts. If Yu Xiaoyue hadn't led the way, they wouldn't have been able to find it.
There were plenty of chestnuts on the tree, and many had fallen to the ground. Soon, a lot of chestnuts were knocked down, and a group of people happily picked them up.
A little while later, the baskets they brought were full.
They didn't bring any bags when they came out to play, so they couldn't take the rest back, and all the children were very disappointed.
Gu Xi said, "It's okay, you can bring bags to take the rest back next time! Come on, let's go home, I'll make you chestnut cakes."
Hearing that there would be chestnut cakes to eat, the children cheered and were no longer disappointed, eager to go back.
Gu Xi led a group of children home, rested for a while, and then peeled chestnuts with them to make chestnut cakes.
With a group of diligent children helping her, she didn't need to lift a finger. In the end, she just had to use her mouth to direct them to work, and they all worked very enthusiastically.
Gu Xi found it somewhat amusing and understood the children's mindset. Perhaps working together in a large group was more lively and fun, making them more enthusiastic and less bored.
After the chestnut cake was made, Gu Xi cut out a plateful for the children to enjoy.
When eating chestnut cake, the children felt that the chestnut cake tasted especially sweet today, probably because they had participated in everything from picking chestnuts to making chestnut cake. It was the result of their own labor, so it was naturally different.
I made a lot of chestnut cakes, and we used up all the white sugar at home.
Gu Xi cut the remaining chestnut cake into pieces, put some in each basket, and told them to take them back to their families to try.
When it was almost time, she saw the group of children off.
In the end, only Gu Xi and Gu Tuantuan were left at home.
Gu Tuantuan followed behind her aunt, holding a piece of chestnut cake in her hand and happily said, "Auntie, today was so much fun! Let's go fly kites and pick chestnuts again next time!"
“Sure,” Gu Xi said. “We’ll invite them to come along next time.”
A little later, Gu Xi took Gu Tuantuan's hand and went to her brother and sister-in-law's house.
Gu Yuanyang has returned, but Ji Ya is still in the hospital.
Upon seeing her father, Gu Tuantuan rushed over and happily told him what she had played and done with her aunt that day. Her little face was full of a happy and bright smile, which made Gu Yuanyang's heart melt.
Because the couple is very busy, they don't have much time to spend with their daughter. Most of the time, Gu Tuantuan either goes to the hospital with her mother and stays in the hospital's rest room to read picture books and play with toys, or stays at school, or is sent to the neighbor's house to be taken care of by the elderly woman next door.
Activities like taking his daughter on picnics, flying kites, or picking chestnuts are almost nonexistent.
Gu Yuanyang stroked his daughter's head, feeling both guilty and touched, and said to his younger sister, "Xixi, thank you."
"Brother, it's nothing, Tuantuan is very well-behaved." She didn't feel any burden about taking Gu Tuantuan out to play. Gu Tuantuan was a very obedient child, never causing trouble, and had a sweet tongue, making her very likable.
Moreover, she also wanted to go out and have fun, to see the autumn scenery in the countryside, fly kites, and be with a group of energetic children, which would make her very happy.
Gu Yuanyang smiled and stopped talking about it, asking, "Xixi, Tuantuan, are you hungry? What do you want to eat? Your sister-in-law will be back late today, so I'll cook for you."
Gu Xi said, "I just ate chestnut cake, I'm not hungry." She handed over the basket she had brought, "Brother, try some of our chestnut cake."
Gu Tuantuan also said, "Dad, I'm not hungry either."
"Even if you're not hungry, you have to eat something, otherwise you'll be starving and won't be able to sleep at night," Gu Yuanyang said, his face full of disapproval.
He finally decided to make them braised noodles, which is his specialty.
In autumn, it gets dark early; by the time we finished dinner, it was already dark.
Gu Xi got up and went back before her sister-in-law returned. She said to her brother, who was about to take her home, "Brother, you don't need to see me off. This is a family compound; nothing will happen here."
Gu Yuanyang's strong protective instincts as an older brother are really not used to her. Does she give people the feeling that she needs to be protected?
Gu Yuanyang had no choice but to give up and said, "Then you should go back. It's windy on the road, so don't stay outside for too long or you'll catch a cold."
This is at the foot of the mountain, and sometimes the wind can be quite strong.
Gu Xi waved goodbye to the father and daughter and walked home.
When I got home, I found the lights were on. I was a little confused. Could it be that I accidentally turned on the lights when I left home today?
Just then, she saw a man come out of the house, and her eyes lit up immediately.
"Big brother, you're back!"
Gu Xi pounced on the man, just like Gu Tuantuan pounced on someone, and threw herself directly into his arms.
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