Chapter 58
Pei Liuniang had never expected to meet Gu Ran again at this time. Her expression was first surprised, then delighted, and then her eyes darkened. Her expression was quite complicated. She paused for a long time before she walked over to Gu Ran gracefully and said, "It's you, Gu Erniang!"
"It's me. Are you here picking oranges too?" Gu Ran skipped the pleasantries of "Long time no see, how are you?" and went straight to asking about the current situation.
Judging from Pei Liuniang's expression and the way she was dressed, she didn't look like she was having a bad time. Why bother herself with something that was obvious at a glance?
But it was really unexpected that I would meet this accomplice while picking an orange.
But when I think about it, we at least lived in peace during exile, and after settling down in different villages, Pei Liuniang hasn't come to cause trouble for me for a long time. In other words, I'm afraid Pei Liuniang has long given up the idea of killing me to silence me, right?
Otherwise, with her skills, she would have sneaked into Xiaxi Village and killed me quietly to put an end to it.
With this thought in mind, Gu Ran felt relieved for the time being.
We have met again even if we didn't meet each other, and we have met each other even if we didn't meet each other. Naturally, the best option is to continue to maintain friendly relations with Pei Liu.
"Pei Liu, wait for me for a moment. I've got some food. Can you and I get together?"
Pei Liuniang hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded, "Okay."
The food that Liu Dongjia provided to the workers hired to pick oranges was two steamed buns, four multi-grain vegetarian buns, and hot tea.
Simple, but with a lot of volume.
Gu Ran wrapped the steamed buns she had taken in oil paper, and when she turned around, she saw Pei Liuniang standing there quietly waiting for her.
Because of her outstanding appearance, people around her couldn't help but glance at her from time to time. However, Pei Liuniang was very calm and ignored them. She must have been accustomed to being the focus of attention in the crowd.
Even Mrs. Lin, who had received the food, nudged her with her elbow and asked, "Do you know that pretty young lady?"
"I know him!" Gu Ran also admitted calmly.
"Really? What's her name? How old is she? Who else is in her family? Is she married?"
It seemed that her gossip radar was fully turned on. Mrs. Lin asked with great interest. When Gu Ran walked towards Pei Liuniang, she followed closely behind him.
Gu Ran was about to answer when she saw Pei Liuniang looking over at them. She stopped him and said, "We're ready. Let's find a place to eat together."
Pei Liuniang originally saw Gu Ranzhen coming to find her, and there was still light in her eyes. When she saw that there was a woman following her, her slightly widened eyes closed, and her drooping eyelashes blocked the little light. When she looked up at Gu Ran again, all the emotions in her eyes disappeared, and she nodded indifferently.
There were tables at the collection point for the waiters to rest, but there were not many. At this time, they were all full of people, so many waiters had to eat while standing in groups of three or four.
Gu Ran and the other two also found a tree where the oranges were not yet fully ripe and rested under it.
"Pei Liuniang, do you also come here from the village every day to pick oranges? Is it far?" Gu Ran asked while eating a bun.
She thought that she would have very little time to interact with the people she met on the road of exile after she separated from them. She had no relatives in the Great Sheng Dynasty, so after settling down in Xiaxi Village, she did not deliberately inquire about other people's villages.
"Not bad."
Sister Lin, who was standing nearby, knew Pei Liuniang's name from Gu Ran's address, and now she eagerly asked, "Pei Liuniang, which village are you from?"
Pei Liuniang looked at the familiar Lin Ersao, pursed her lips and did not answer.
Gu Ran answered for her, "She lives in Qinghuai Village." Then, not quite sure, he asked Pei Liuniang again, "Is it Qinghuai Village?"
Pei Liuniang took a big bite of the bun, paused, and then nodded.
"Qinghuai Village, that's quite far from Donglin Township, it takes two hours!"
Mrs. Lin saw that Gu Ran looked like she didn't know where Qinghuai Village was, so she told her that Qinghuai Village was an hour and a half's walk up the mountain from Xiaxi Village.
"You came here from such a long distance?" Gu Ran was a little surprised.
With a skill like Pei Liuniang, there's no need to pick oranges to make money, right?
While on the road of exile, Pei Liuniang could afford to wear wool felt boots and even made herself cotton shoes with fine fabrics without charging a penny. It seems that she was short of money!
Pei Liuniang still nodded.
"Then you must be tired from going back and forth every day." Mrs. Lin continued to show her presence, and then glanced at Gu Ran, "Our village is much closer."
Gu Ran nodded, and seeing Pei Liuniang eating the buns silently, he also focused on eating the steamed buns.
Mrs. Lin also joined in the eating in silence. After a while, she couldn't help asking, "Mrs. Pei Liu, how many days have you been picking oranges here?"
Mr. Liu started hiring helpers early on. Today was their first day, but some helpers had come a few days earlier to start doing this job.
Pei Liuniang hesitated for a moment, and seeing Gu Ran looking up at her, she answered honestly, "Three days."
"Then you have been working hard for three days?" Mrs. Lin was surprised and nudged Gu Ran with her elbow.
Gu Ran really didn't understand what Lin Ersao meant. He turned around to look at her, and felt Pei Liuniang's gaze sweeping over him. He turned back again and saw that there was only one steamed bun left in Pei Liuniang's hand. How could she eat so fast?
She didn't even notice.
Looking at the three vegetarian buns in his hand, he remembered that Pei Liuniang had a big appetite, so he casually stuffed two of them into her hands and said, "Eat!"
Pei Liuniang was startled, and slowly lowered her head, looking at the two plain bags in her hand. She stared at them for a long time, pursed her lips, and said nothing.
Mrs. Lin Er looked at the buns that Gu Ran handed to Pei Liuniang. She grew bolder and asked directly, "Gu Er, our Xiaxi Village is much closer to Donglin Township. You are so familiar with Pei Liuniang. She must be tired after finishing her work. How about you invite her to stay in our village for one night and return to Qinghuai Village tomorrow?"
Why is Mrs. Lin Er suddenly so talkative?
Gu Ran subconsciously blurted out, "We..." They were not familiar with each other, but she stopped immediately, afraid that someone would react badly if she said it. She turned around and glanced at Pei Liuniang, who saw that Pei Liuniang was also staring at her in a daze.
"Right, Pei Liuniang, you have to go back to Qinghuai Village after finishing your work, right?" Lin Ersao asked again.
"No, I'll come here to pick oranges tomorrow." Pei Liuniang shook her head slightly.
"Then you should live in our Xiaxi Village." Mrs. Lin clapped her hands, bumped into Gu Ran, and signaled with her eyes: You live alone in your little house. If your dear sister needs you, how can you live without letting her stay for one night?
Gu Ran finally understood what Mrs. Lin meant by constantly elbowing her. She glared at her helplessly, then turned around and asked with an apologetic smile, "Qinghuai Village is far, but Pei Liuniang has been here for three days to work. I guess she's used to it."
Pei Liuniang held the plain bag in her hand and said slowly, "Although I have been working for three days, going back and forth every day is indeed quite tiring."
Tsk!
"How about..."
Gu Ran was about to make an excuse when Pei Liuniang nodded and said, "Okay."
What?
"I can stay at your place."
When Gu Ran heard Pei Liuniang say that she wanted to stay overnight at his house, he stared at her in disbelief.
She hadn't finished her words yet. What she wanted to say was clearly that she should find a family to stay with in Donglin Township. Wouldn't that be more convenient than staying in Xiaxi Village? Unexpectedly...
Mrs. Lin Er was delighted. "That's great! After we finish picking oranges today, we'll meet you outside the villa gate. Pei Liuniang, we have a donkey cart to take us back to the village."
"Okay." Pei Liuniang nodded simply.
No, Pei Liuniang, why should you be so quick and efficient? It's not like you at all!
And Lin Ersao, what's wrong with you?
Why did you suddenly change your temper?
After they separated from Pei Liuniang and returned to their respective areas to continue picking oranges, Lin Ersao excitedly told Gu Ran about her plan, "Pei Liuniang is so beautiful. Gu Er, please help me invite her back to our village. I'll take this opportunity to ask my mother-in-law to come over and take a look."
"What do you want to do?"
Gu Ran was alert. Why did they suddenly ask Village Chief Wu to come and see Pei Liuniang? Was it necessary?
"I want to introduce Pei Liuniang to my uncle!" Lin Ersao was still immersed in the joy of success. "If my mother-in-law is satisfied and my brother-in-law likes her, then this beautiful young lady can become my sister-in-law. How wonderful."
He actually wants to arrange a match!
Gu Ran was speechless for a moment.
"Have you found out who Pei Liuniang is?"
You actually want to find Pei Liuniang to be your sister-in-law, Sister Lin, you are so bold!
"You're so familiar with her, and you're a good person. I guess Pei Liuniang can't be much worse, right? The most important thing is that she's pretty." Sister Lin was not discouraged at all and continued to be happy. "Having such a beautiful sister-in-law is so enjoyable to look at every day at home. I can eat an extra bowl of rice."
I can’t believe that Mrs. Lin Er is such a beauty lover!
Gu Ran teased unhappily: "Why don't you eat two more bowls?"
"One bowl is enough. Eating too much will make your stomach uncomfortable." Lin Ersao said, "My brother-in-law is a student studying in the county town. He has high standards and won't look down on ugly women. I don't believe he can't even look down on Pei Liuniang."
"hehe!"
Gu Ran was speechless. He did not agree with Lin Ersao's behavior, but he finally agreed to let Pei Liuniang stay overnight. So after picking oranges that day, Gu Ran and the others left the mountain. They saw Pei Liuniang waiting outside the villa as expected, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and invite her to ride in the Lin family's donkey cart and go back to Xiaxi Village together.
When we returned, the sun was setting in the west, and the afterglow of the sun cast a halo over the entire village.
After the donkey cart stopped at Village Chief Wu's house, Gu Ran brought Pei Liuniang down. Before Lin Ersao saw them off, she winked at Gu Ran. Gu Ran pretended not to see it and led Pei Liuniang to their own small house at the other end of the village.
Noticing Pei Liuniang looking around at the houses scattered far away with a puzzled expression, Gu Ran was particularly considerate and told her about the serious miasma in Xiaxi Village, emphasizing that his own residence was close to the miasma forest.
The purpose is to remind Pei Liuniang that the place where she lives is dangerous, so she should try to avoid coming to Xiaxi Village in the future, and she should never take the opportunity to marry into Lin Ersao's family's younger brother-in-law.
Pei Liuniang stopped in front of the cottage, waiting for Gu Ran to open the door. She looked towards the miasma forest, paused for a moment, and asked, "Then you, living here is not dangerous."
"Ah, what can I do? I was settled in this village, and I have nowhere else to go, so I can only make do!" Gu Ran sighed. Life is not easy, and he can only make do. He pushed open the door and glanced at Pei Liuniang again. "So, if Qinghuai Village is better than this village, Liuniang, you must cherish it."
Pei Liuniang said nothing and followed Gu Ran into the cottage.
"Big Orange, I'm back!"
The big orange cat, crouching at home, lazily nestled in its bamboo basket. Hearing Gu Ran's call, it poked its head out to take a look. Then, it slowly got up from its nest, opened its mouth and yawned. It stretched out its hind legs, then its front legs, and finally walked towards Gu Ran with a cat-like gait. Halfway through, it stopped, looked up at the stranger following behind Gu Ran, and then shouted at her in protest: "Who is this? Who are you looking for behind my back?"
"This is our guest today, Liu Niang. Daju, please treat her well."
Gu Ran squatted down, reached out and touched Daju's head, then turned back and smiled at Pei Liuniang: "It's the raccoon slave who occasionally sneaks in to my place, his name is Daju."
Pei Liuniang looked at Daju, froze, and became very alert.
Daju circled around Pei Liuniang and then went back to his own nest.
Pei Liuniang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Ran's happy expression and relaxed body, but she snorted coldly in her heart.
As a last resort.
Survive.
It sounds like that, but what is the reality?
Looking at her expression, you can tell that she is enjoying it and is very hypocritical.
It just so happened that the west wing of the small house was a guest room. Although Gu Ran originally wanted to use it as a warehouse, he later upgraded the space cabinet and had space grid number eight, so he no longer thought about it.
Later, she encountered an evacuation activity due to miasma after the rain. She knew that although it was rare for other families in the village to stay at her house, which was the most dangerous, what if the miasma happened to avoid her house and invade other villagers?
I'm afraid there will always be a time when I have to invite villagers to stay overnight at my home.
Just like didn’t I also take refuge at Village Chief Wu’s house?
Therefore, she bought some mats, quilts and other things for people to stay overnight, and even cleaned up the two front rooms to make them habitable.
At this time, Gu Ran let Pei Liuniang live... or live in the guest room in the west wing, so that she could do whatever she wanted under his nose.
After Pei Liuniang carried her bag into the west wing, Gu Ran washed up and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner before it got dark.
There are people here today, so I can't be lazy and just take the cooked food from space grid No. 8. Even if I do, I have to pretend that it is freshly cooked.
And it can't be too difficult or too complicated to cook.
Thinking that Pei Liuniang had taken good care of him during his exile, Gu Ran planned to make some delicious food for her. After all, they were sisters, and since she was here, it would be a shame not to treat her well.
After thinking about it, he took out the prepared mutton soup from the space compartment.
Many of the stews in the space No. 8 grid were made by Gu Ran and stored there. After all, making soup takes time, so he can only make it when it is convenient. This way, when he wants to drink it in the future, he can drink it anytime without having to wait for several hours by the stove.
The mutton was bought in the county town and then stewed with fennel and ginger bought from the herbal medicine store.
To make delicious mutton soup, first, you need to remove the fishy smell of mutton, second, the ingredients used for cooking should not be too many, and third, it should be cooked for a sufficient amount of time. Only in this way can you stew a nourishing and delicious mutton soup.
So this mutton soup only contains a few pieces of lamb front ribs. It looks simple and is used to entertain Pei Liuniang. She certainly doesn't know that this soup takes a long time to stew.
After putting the mutton soup into the earthen pot and simmering it slowly over low heat, I washed the rice and added water to cook it, and then thought about what dishes to eat.
If she eats alone, she can make some noodles or rice noodles with a pot of soup. If she makes side dishes, the meal will be richer. If she doesn't make side dishes, she can eat sparingly.
But there was a guest named Pei Liuniang, and she was a guest with a big appetite.
Gu Ran remembered that Pei Liuniang ate more than Aunt Mai during her exile.
Looking at such a delicate and frail lady, she actually ate so much. At first she thought it damaged her image as a beautiful lady, but then she changed her mind and realized that eating well is a blessing, as long as you are healthy.
Seeing how strong Pei Liuniang is, she must eat a lot, which is normal.
So we have to have one meat and one vegetable, right?
Gu Ran looked at the fresh vegetables he had just purchased and decided to make a simple dish of okra and razor clams. It would have both meat and vegetables and was very nutritious. That would be it.
Of course, before doing so, Gu Ran still went to ask Pei Liuniang if there were any foods that he should avoid.
When Pei Liuniang heard Gu Ran asking about her food preferences, her expression turned strange: "You're asking me what I like to eat? What I can't eat?"
"Yes!" Isn't this normal?
"Why?"
"I have to cook for you!"
"You? Cook for me?"
Gu Ran nodded. She was a guest, so wouldn’t it be natural for him to invite her and cook for her?
Why did Pei Liuniang look so weird?
Could it be that after all these years in the Pei Mansion, no one in the Pei family has ever cooked for her?
Maybe it’s because it was made by the chef of Pei Mansion?
Gu Ran saw Pei Liuniang still looking at him in disbelief, and then he thought, oh, right, she must have heard that the original owner was the wife of a marquis, and then the grandmother of Prime Minister Qin's family, so she was actually questioning the fact that he could cook?
So Gu Ran patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, I can cook, and I cook quite well. Is there really nothing you can't eat?"
As far as she knew, some people couldn't eat seafood because they were allergic to it. Wasn't Pei Liuniang one of them?
Seeing Pei Liuniang nod slowly, Gu Ran went to the kitchen to get busy.
The main thing is to make the okra and razor clams dish.
Razor clams are one of the common seafoods in Fujian. When Gu Ran bought them, he had already cleaned and blanched them, so they can be taken out and used directly.
The thing to deal with is okra.
Okra is fresh at this time. Gu Ran picked out a handful of green and young ones, washed them, removed the head and tail, cut them in half and then split them open.
Because there are seafood, ginger is naturally necessary to remove the fishy smell, so prepare a few pieces of ginger and cut them into shreds.
When everything is ready, you can start cooking. The mutton soup is also warm. Move the soup pot away, boil water first, blanch the okra, and then pick it up.
Heat oil in a pan again, add shredded ginger and razor clam meat and stir-fry together, add salt, pesto, fish sauce, and add okra before serving. Stir well.
It was really quick to prepare dinner for tonight.
When the dish was brought to the main hall, fearing that there would not be enough food, Gu Ran poured some hot and sour cabbage that he had just prepared a few days ago from the jar as a side dish.
Finally, he did not forget to take out the fish and shrimp, chop them up and make cat food, and feed them to Daju.
Pei Liuniang was obviously nervous when she sat down beside the desk.
Gu Ran handed her a bowl of hot new rice and said, "It's just a home-cooked meal. I don't think it's as good as the one made by the chef back home. Please be patient."
Then he gave a special reminder: "I asked the villagers to help me farm rice. I have plenty of rice at home, so don't be shy." You can eat as much as you want.
Pei Liuniang lowered her head, glanced at the crystal clear rice in front of her, pursed her lips, and then nodded obediently: "Okay!"
The big orange cat, who was eating at the table, was slurping his food. When he heard Pei Liuniang's response, he looked up and meowed at Gu Ran before continuing to eat.
Gu Ran smiled, filled his bowl with mutton soup and started drinking it.
Well, her habit is to have a bowl of soup before meals and a bowl of soup after meals. It is nutritious and healthy.
Pei Liuniang never said a word while eating. She quietly finished four bowls of rice and three bowls of mutton soup. In the end, she had finished the rice, soup, dishes, and even the spicy and sour cabbage as a side dish.
Gu Ran expressed his satisfaction.
The highest level of eating is to have no leftovers, and she doesn’t have to worry about what to do with them.
Hot water had been boiled while they were eating. When Gu Ran was clearing the dishes, he asked Pei Liuniang to carry a bucket of hot water into her room to take a bath.
After washing the dishes, he brewed some refreshing tea and placed it on the table. Seeing Pei Liuniang still in the west wing, he squatted under the eaves and waved to Daju: "Daju, Daju!"
I haven’t petted the cat for today yet!
After many times of subconscious reward teaching, Daju already knew that when Gu Ran made this sound, he was calling him. The cat, who had been lying in the nest after eating, immediately gave Gu Ran a loving pounce.
Gu Ran hugged the big orange and started to stroke it all over. The big orange felt comfortable with the stroking and started to snore like a bellows. He also lay on the ground, exposing his soft belly and said: Come on, come on, I want more!
When Gu Ran reached out to rub Daju's belly, Pei Liuniang pushed open the door of the west wing and came out carrying a bathtub. Seeing Gu Ran playing with Daju, she stopped for a moment.
Gu Ran looked up when he heard the noise and saw Pei Liuniang. He smiled and said, "Take the remaining water to the backyard and pour it into the field."
Pei Liuniang nodded, carrying the bathtub, and walked through the main hall to the back of the house.
Gu Ran was still petting the cat when someone knocked on the gate. At the same time, Mrs. Lin's voice came in: "Gu Er, are you home?"
Wow, are you really bringing the village chief here to see your future daughter-in-law?
Gu Ran stood up holding the orange cat, opened the door and saw that it was indeed Mrs. Lin and Village Chief Wu.
Mrs. Lin smiled at Gu Ran and lifted the basket in her hand for Gu Ran to look at. "Our papayas are ripe. Mother-in-law and I will bring them over for you... and Pei Liuniang to try!"
Gu Ran glanced at Mrs. Lin Er with understanding, then smiled at Village Chief Wu: "Village Chief Wu, please sit inside. I just made a pot of tea. Let's have some tea together!"
"Yeah!" Village Chief Wu nodded, knowing that Gu Ran knew his purpose. There was no embarrassment on his face. As he walked in, he pretended to ask, "I heard that you have guests today?"
"Yes!" Gu Ran also responded in a pretentious manner.
"Where are the people?"
"she……"
When Gu Ran looked towards the main hall while holding the big orange tree, he saw Pei Liuniang had returned early. She was standing under the lantern, next to the orange tree in the corner, staring at it intently, as if in a daze.
"Sixth Lady?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
