Chapter 23: Home Forcibly Demolished
Grandma Guo helped Guo Baiwen home from the ancestral hall the next morning. Even though she had seen the state of the house before, she couldn't help but stop and look at the mess on the ground again from a distance.
Not to mention Guo Xiaohua, who was originally overjoyed at the thought of finally being able to leave the ancestral hall.
The smile on her face vanished. She raised and lowered her hands, which were holding the two rabbits, and after a long while, she finally found her voice, "How did our family become like this?"
On the ground in the yard, there were traces of the large spotted cat's escape, and two complete claw prints were also visible.
The wall with the window in the kitchen has collapsed halfway. The two rooms that were originally used for sleeping also have crooked walls on the front, as if they have been separated from the roof.
The best-preserved place in the entire courtyard was actually the old well behind the corner of the house.
Even though the elder brother said before he came that there would be other places for them to continue living, seeing the house they had lived in for so long now turned into this state is still a shock.
Guo Xiaohua couldn't help but let several large tears well up in her eyes and fall.
"Waaaaah, our home—our home, how did it become like this?"
Ignoring the burning pain in his back, Guo Baiwen comforted her, "It's alright, Xiaohua, we'll definitely fix this house back up later."
But until it's repaired, no one can live here.
Grandma Guo sighed, still feeling uncertain. "Wenzai, was what you said before true? Can we really go and stay in the county town first?"
I've heard that rents in the county town aren't cheap, and with the Lunar New Year just around the corner, I'm afraid the already low rents will rise even further.
She didn't know how long the few copper coins she had left would last her in the county town.
But if she were to stay in the village, she knew that after all these years in Guojia Village, ordinary families would hardly have any spare rooms to accommodate the three of them.
"Don't worry, Grandma," Guo Baiwen patted her hand, interrupting her worries, "If you're still worried, come with me to the cellar later, and you'll know everything."
The grandson has already said so, and worrying won't do any good.
What else could Grandma Guo do? She nodded, and the three of them continued walking into the courtyard.
After waiting until they reached the cellar, Guo Baiwen cleared away the sand and dirt at the entrance before pulling out his wicker basket.
Fortunately, the cellar was located in a relatively remote area to prevent moisture and facilitate preservation, and the entrance was also relatively small.
This wicker basket was bought at the ancient bridge market a while ago, and it's been sitting in my grandson's room ever since.
Grandma Guo naturally remembered this thing as well.
But because it was locked, and considering that her grandson was not young anymore, she never looked inside to see what was inside.
"Wenzai, when did you put the wicker baskets from the house here too?"
"When I went home last time to get the chickens and rabbits, I moved my things over with me just in case."
As he spoke, Guo Baiwen began to remove the lock on the wicker basket.
Grandma Guo stood quietly to the side, watching his movements.
She just didn't know what this wicker basket had to do with whether they could live in the county town later.
Knowing that the lock on the wicker basket had been opened and Guo Baiwen had taken the item out, Grandma Guo's eyes, which had been drooping slightly due to her age, lifted up. "This, this..."
She covered her mouth at the right moment, glanced quickly at Xiaohua who hadn't yet reacted, and shoved the thing back into the wicker basket.
Then he lowered his voice and asked, "Where did you find this?"
At her age, this was the first time Grandma Guo had ever seen the 'white fungus' that others had mentioned. It did look very similar to wood ear fungus, but because of its color, it had always been regarded as a top-quality delicacy.
When she was young, she had heard that someone in the next village had discovered this thing. The mountain people called it white fungus, but once she entered the city, it came up with all sorts of nice names, such as Wudingzhi, snow fungus, and silver fungus.
That person only picked a little bit from the dead wood in the deep mountains and forests, but with just that little bit, he made a lot of money.
This incident caused quite a stir, and many people in nearby villages followed suit and started looking for white fungus.
But ultimately, not everyone is so lucky.
When her beloved grandson mentioned finding wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms last time, she already felt incredibly lucky.
But unexpectedly, his luck was so good that he was able to pick even that white fungus he had only heard of.
Grandma Guo couldn't resist opening the lid of the wicker basket again for a look. It was pure white. Although she had never seen it with her own eyes before, she was certain that it was white fungus.
But she remembered that it wasn't the peak season for white fungus.
Grandma Guo suspected that she was having a dream because she was short of money, and she couldn't help but pinch the back of her hand hard.
She didn't have much flesh on her body, and this pinch only pulled out a little bit of skin, but it was enough to make her come to her senses.
After confirming that she wasn't dreaming, Grandma Guo finally felt relieved. She quickly put the lid on the wicker basket and smiled broadly, "Wen-zai, you're so capable! Grandma was worried about you."
That's great! Not only can they stay in the county town for a month or two until after the New Year, but they might even have enough extra money to renovate their old house.
Guo Xiaohua didn't understand, but seeing her grandmother's expression, she knew that her brother hadn't lied and that he really did have a solution.
There's no need to worry about where you'll have a place to stay afterward.
So he wiped the tears off his face, and with his face covered in grime like a cat's, he chuckled to himself.
It was at this moment that Chen Baoyue brought the pheasant to their door.
She heard that the three members of the Guo family had returned home from the ancestral hall, so she stood at the gate of the courtyard and called out twice, but no one answered.
So he hesitated for a moment, glanced at the fallen fence on the ground, and then strode over.
He shouted as he carried the pheasant into the yard.
Her voice was loud and clear enough that Guo Xiaohua was the first to hear it.
He grabbed the two rabbits and dashed out, shouting, "I'll go see who's here!"
Seeing her bouncing around like a madwoman, Guo Baiwen thought for a moment and said, "I'll go take a look at the front too." He then added to Grandma Guo, "Grandma, you should pack up the things you want to take first. For the heavy things, I'll help you with them."
"It's still early today. After we finish packing, we can still call an oxcart to go to the county town."
"Yes, Grandma knows."
After reminding Grandma to be careful with her back while carrying things, Guo Baiwen went to the front yard, looking back every few steps.
Guo Xiaohua and Chen Baoyue were talking in the front yard.
"Sister Chen, are you really going to give this to us?"
This pheasant looked to be about four or five pounds. Even though she had been eating meat and lard more frequently than before, she still couldn't help but swallow hard when she saw such a big pheasant.
Because of her young age, she couldn't hide her emotions as well.
Guo Xiaohua, unaware that her gluttonous behavior had been discovered, tried her best to imitate her brother's mannerisms, putting on a mature air, and said, "No, no—"
Just as the two were refusing each other, Guo Baiwen arrived at the front.
Guo Xiaohua immediately felt like she had seen a savior and called out, "Brother Chen, she's here to bring us a pheasant. She said it's because she chased the big spotted chicken and damaged our house, so she's here to apologize."
Guo Baiwen didn't expect that the Chen family would actually send something over for this.
To be honest, when you catch big spotted fish in the village, the surrounding area will always get damaged to some extent.
However, the Guo family was unlucky. Not only did the big spotted dog run into their house, but it also caused so much trouble that the yard is now in such a state.
The remaining ten percent consisted of the few hunters from the Chen family and the villagers who came to watch.
If we're really talking about compensation, it doesn't fall on the Chen family's shoulders.
What's more, she had almost been bitten by the giant spotted dog, and it was this girl wielding the whip who saved her.
“Miss Chen, you’re too kind. The state of this courtyard isn’t your fault. If I had to say, I should thank you for saving me from Big Spot’s jaws,” even though he himself had been whipped, “so how could I possibly accept the pheasants you send again?”
"It's nothing." Hearing him say that, Chen Baoyue remembered something and apologized somewhat embarrassedly, "I was in a bit of a hurry at the time, and my aim wasn't very good. Your back shouldn't be too badly injured, right?"
"It's nothing, just a minor cut. Uncle Chen said it should be fully healed in about ten days."
Hearing him say that, Guo Xiaohua suddenly spoke up, with a hint of doubt, "But when you came over just now, didn't you say that your back was hurting badly? And Grandma also told me that your back was bleeding!"
As soon as she said that, Chen Baoyue knew perfectly well that Guo Baiwen was deliberately downplaying the severity of his back injury.
Chen Baoyue felt even more embarrassed. Seeing that the two were reluctant to accept the pheasant, she could only wait for them to be distracted.
He simply put the pheasant on the ground and then quickly darted out of the yard.
She was so fast that Guo Baiwen couldn't stop her even when he reached out.
He could only hastily grab the end of her black braid, smooth and shiny, before it quickly slipped through his fingers. Only the lingering echo of her apology remained in the air, "I didn't mean to. You can keep that pheasant to nourish yourself—"
They came like a gust of wind, and they left like a gust of wind.
Guo Baiwen looked down at his palm and felt as if the sensation of the hair slipping through his fingers was still lingering there.
My palms are a little itchy.
Guo Xiaohua didn't notice his unusual behavior. She bent down and picked up the pheasant from the ground.
The people had all left, so the pheasant had no choice but to accept it.
Even before the pheasant's feathers were plucked, this greedy girl had already decided how to eat it. "How about we tell Grandma to make a spicy and sour pheasant later?"
"Brother, what do you think?"
Seeing her like this, Guo Baiwen knew that she had completely recovered from the fact that her house was broken.
So he put aside his strange feelings and deliberately teased his little sister, "I said?"
"If you ask me, then pheasant stew with mushrooms is definitely the best!"
He deliberately contradicted Guo Xiaohua.
Seeing that the two people hadn't returned after arriving at the front yard, Grandma Guo moved other things out of the cellar, such as the sacks of barley and other grains, quickly making the wicker basket inconspicuous.
After confirming that there was nothing forgotten in the cellar, he casually wiped his hands on the hem of his clothes and went to check ahead.
A note from the author:
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