Gu Ranzhou pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Oh, is that so?"
"Yes, Dad."
Gu Ranzhou took out a few White Rabbit candies from his pocket and said, "An An, just sit there and wait. Dad will go cook."
Gu Yu'an obediently found the seat his father had given him and sat there, holding the candy his father had given him: "Okay."
Gu Ranzhou turned and walked into the kitchen, and Lu Zhenchuan followed behind. After Lu Zhenchuan entered the kitchen, he took out the letter written by his father from his pocket.
Gu Ranzhou started to work.
Both of them were doing what they were supposed to do. After a while, Lu Zhenchuan finished reading the letter.
"Wife, where do you think we can detain the criminals who have committed crimes in our village?"
Gu Ranzhou was a little puzzled, wondering why Lu Zhenchuan would want to ask such a question: "Made a mistake?"
Lu Zhenchuan nodded. "Yes, my father wrote to me saying that the situation in the imperial capital was turbulent and that my former uncles had been implicated and targeted by political enemies."
Gu Ranzhou said, "Our village is not a big one. If we follow your requirements, there is only the cowshed not far from here."
"How's the environment?"
Gu Ranzhou was busy with his work and said, "Oh no, almost everything there is broken. It could collapse at any time."
Lu Zhenchuan nodded and said, "It's okay. The village chief should bring people to repair it when the time comes. I'll go and help then."
"Your dad wants to bring them over and ask you to help look after them?"
"Um."
"It's not easy to get them here?"
"It's better than being persecuted in an unfamiliar place."
Gu Ranzhou continued to give Lu Zhenchuan a shot of prevention: "The population in the village is not very large. It is the farthest from the town in the surrounding area. It lives in the mountains. Because of transportation, most of the villagers are very poor. They have problems getting food, accommodation and medical treatment when they come here. Let me tell you first."
"There's nothing I can do. I can only take it one step at a time. There's one more thing I need to do."
"Um?"
Lu Zhenchuan said nervously, "I have a nephew coming, and my second brother asked me to raise him."
"nephew?"
"Um?"
Lu Zhenchuan said, "The rest of my family is doing fine, but my second brother's family is having a minor issue. My second brother's wife is an English teacher at a university. This wouldn't be a problem under normal circumstances, but now is a special period. My second brother and his wife are worried that the enemy will use this as a breakthrough point and suddenly accuse my second brother's wife of being a spy. My second brother's eldest son is still able to protect himself, but the younger ones can't."
Gu Ranzhou understood the problem: "Just come if you want. He's your nephew after all. We have An An at home, so let him keep An An company. It's not like we can't raise a child."
Lu Zhenchuan was moved and said, "Wife, you are so good to me."
"Stay aside and add some firewood."
"good."
Gu Ranzhou was busy with his work and asked casually, "When will they come?"
Lu Zhenchuan said, "My second sister-in-law planned to let my nephew spend the Mid-Autumn Festival. Also, my father wrote that his political enemies are keeping a close eye on him. My eldest brother is busy, so he will probably arrive after the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"Um."
"After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the village had electricity, and after that it was time for the autumn harvest. Things really kept coming one after another."
Gu Ranzhou made a very simple meal of steamed cornbread, fried eggs, a small bowl of sauerkraut, and steamed egg custard for An An.
Two adults and one child were having dinner when suddenly the door banged. Gu Ranzhou frowned. Lu Zhenchuan put the dishes on the table and got up to open the door.
Lu Zhenchuan opened the door with a creak. The person he saw was the village chief's wife. "Why are you here, sister-in-law?"
Yu Jinhua smiled with the basket in her hand, thinking that she might have run into someone eating.
Lu Zhenchuan didn't want to leave them outside, so he quickly opened the door. Sure enough, Yu Jinhua saw an adult and a child sitting at the dining table.
Gu Ranzhou took a bite of his steamed bread and asked, "Why are you here, sister-in-law? Is there something wrong?"
Yu Jinhua said, "It's okay, it's okay. Just eat your food. I came here mainly to thank you. If it weren't for you, Xiaozhou, our girl's problem might not be over yet."
"Sister-in-law, please sit down." Lu Zhenchuan went over and brought a bench and placed it next to Yu Jinhua.
Gu Ranzhou said, "Sister-in-law, have you eaten yet? Do you want to eat together?"
"Thank you! No thanks."
Yu Jinhua didn't sit down. Instead, she walked to the table and placed the basket on it. Gu Ranzhou asked with some confusion, "Sister-in-law, what do you mean by this?"
"We don't have anything good at home, so I'm sending you some eggs to nourish An An." Yu Jinhua couldn't say it directly, so she could only use the child as a pretext.
Gu Ranzhou did not refuse and nodded to indicate that he would accept it. It was too embarrassing to refuse. The gift was small but the sentiment was great, so I had to refuse it. So I accepted it.
Yu Jinhua looked at the people in the yard and said, "I'll go back first. You guys take your time eating."
Gu Ranzhou: "Then sister-in-law, please walk slowly."
"Okay, eat yours." Yu Jinhua turned around and left, and did not forget to help them close the door when she walked out.
After the three of them finished their meal, Gu Ranzhou sat on a stool, holding the child and rubbing An An's belly with his hands. The child had poor digestion, so Lu Zhenchuan put away the dishes and washed them at the same time.
After Lu Zhenchuan finished his work, he heard Gu Ranzhou sigh.
"Life is getting more and more leisurely now, but it's only for this period of time. After August 15th, September will be almost harvested. By October, we will probably go back to the mountains."
Lu Zhenchuan was a little confused: "Into the mountains?"
Gu Ranzhou explained to him, "I forgot. It's normal that you didn't know since you've been here so long. We have to go into the mountains shortly after the autumn harvest. Oh, it's not just one person, but the village chief organizes some good hunters, that is, some young men. The land cultivated in the village can't withstand the consumption, and 50% of the autumn harvest must be handed over to the government. Although there are few people, there is not enough food to barely survive. If you want to eat more, you have to go into the mountains to hunt. It's too dangerous to go in alone, so usually a group goes."
"It can be said that we can live off the mountain!"
"Does the educated youth want to go?"
Gu Ranzhou smiled and said, "Go ahead. I think the village chief should apply to the higher authorities to reduce the grain that needs to be handed in by half. Otherwise, what will the educated youth eat? Don't forget that the educated youth have only been here for a few months. When you arrived, most of the work was done. The work points you have are not enough to exchange for food. The educated youth rely entirely on the government subsidies for going to the countryside."
Lu Zhenchuan didn't realize this. It seemed that there had never been a shortage of food in this family. When he was in the army, he ate public rations. At home, he handed over his salary (food coupons) to his mother. He ate anything when he was on a mission. He didn't expect that now that he had settled down, he would worry about food one day. However, as far as he saw, there had never been a shortage of food at home.
Gu Ranzhou glanced at Lu Zhenchuan, knew what he was thinking and said, "Don't worry, this situation will not happen at home. I can still support you two, big and small." Gu Ranzhou laughed in his heart. Are you kidding? My space is left for dust to gather. I have always wanted to use it but for various reasons, I can only watch but cannot use it. It's really a bummer. I won't be able to use it for long. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, no one can stop me.
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