Chapter 14 Grandma Guo
Helping with errands and food delivery, although it wasn't heavy work, I thought that Wenzai was going to that county town to make a living in a place he didn't know well.
Grandma Guo was worried about it and didn't sleep well all night. When she tossed and turned in the middle of the night, she woke up Guo Xiaohua, who shared a room with her.
"Grandma?" With some extra money at home, the little girl's face looked a bit fuller, although her hair was still yellow and rough like straw.
He was woken up by the noise and, with his head all messed up, he had to look up at her.
Grandma Guo sighed inwardly, reached out and patted the blanket covering the little girl, coaxing her to continue sleeping, "Grandma, get up and have some water, you go back to sleep."
"Oh." The little girl didn't suspect anything and fell asleep again before Grandma Guo could pat her a couple more times.
It was still dark outside. Grandma Guo got up, drank some water, and lay back down on the bed, but she couldn't fall asleep no matter what she did.
The bed underneath was made of bamboo. Although it was covered with a thick layer of straw and a thin mattress, it was quite old. Even if you turned over very carefully, it would still make a creaking sound.
Worried about waking Guo Xiaohua again, Grandma Guo decided not to go back to sleep. She got up quietly and went to the kitchen in the dark.
I splurged a little on the oil lamp, since the wick was very thin, so the oil would last longer. Although it wasn't very bright, I could at least see things in the room roughly.
She didn't pour too much, estimating that it would be dawn in another hour or two, and then she could see clearly with the daylight.
I washed my hands. I originally wanted to take out the dark flour to make pancakes, but after thinking about it, I changed it to the mixed flour that I had been reluctant to eat.
She gritted her teeth and grabbed several handfuls of mixed flour and put them into the kneading basin. She also took out the lard that she had been storing in the hanging basket under the kitchen beam, preparing to make a lard and mixed flour scallion pancake.
After making the pancakes, if there's any extra dough left, we can make them a mixed noodle soup with lard for breakfast the next morning.
Just a few days ago, our chickens started laying eggs, though not many. Sometimes they lay one or two a day, and sometimes none at all.
But I've accumulated four by now.
Once the noodles are made, you can even add a poached egg on top.
Only when you are full can you have the energy to work.
After quickly thinking it over in her mind and making sure she hadn't forgotten anything, Grandma Guo scooped up a ladle of water and prepared to start kneading the dough.
By the time smoke started billowing from the chimney above the kitchen, it was barely dawn.
After adding another piece of firewood to the stove, the water in the pot boiled.
Grandma Guo lifted the dough, stretched the ends, and then sprinkled it evenly into the pot.
After the noodles made from the mixed dough had been tossed in the water a few times, she added a piece of lard to the pot, along with two spoonfuls of chili sauce she had bought at the market, and two handfuls of greens. Once the water boiled, she sprinkled in some salt and chopped green onions, and a steaming pot of hot noodle soup was ready.
Guo Baiwen was woken up by his grandmother early in the morning, which was rare for him. He rubbed his eyes and quickly sat up in bed, secretly relieved that he had put away all the things he got from signing in yesterday.
The table in the room was a bit small. Since the weather was cold, the stove in the kitchen had just been lit, making the whole room warm. So, when it was cold, the Guo family usually ate breakfast and dinner in the kitchen.
We're all family, no need for so many formalities.
"Grandma, why are you up so early today?" He looked at the sky and guessed that it was not long before dawn. While washing up and making the bed, he glanced at the watch he had received from signing in yesterday.
It's only 5:30.
That's really early.
“You have to go to work in the county town today, and you’ll be delayed on the way. It’s not good to keep your employer waiting for you.” Grandma Guo still remembered what her eldest grandson had said. She looked energetic and showed no signs of having slept little last night. “If you get up now, wash up, have breakfast, and then go to the county town, it will be just the right time.”
Xiaohua was still sleeping. She usually slept in a little longer in the morning, especially now that it's cold, she gets up even later, usually not before seven o'clock.
Guo Baiwen tidied up his clothes for the day and entered the kitchen. Grandma Guo handed him a wrapped oil paper package. Guo Baiwen looked down and knew that the oil paper was the one he had brought back yesterday to wrap dumplings.
After eating the steamed buns yesterday, he casually threw them away.
He didn't know when Grandma had picked it up. Not only did she pick it up, but she also carefully dried it and put it away. He opened the oil paper package with amusement, originally wanting to tease Grandma about being thrifty.
As soon as I glanced down, I realized that the oil paper package was like a hot potato, burning my heart and making me tremble.
Inside were three steaming hot scallion pancakes made with mixed flour, glistening with oil, clearly fried in lard.
Seeing him open the oil paper package, Grandma Guo quickly stepped forward and carefully wrapped it up again, tying several knots tightly. She instructed him, "Don't open it yet. This is for you to take to the county town to eat. I think this oil paper is a good thing, much better than dried lotus leaves. You walked such a long way back yesterday, and the buns wrapped in it are still warm."
"Grandma thought, let's wrap them up in this, and you can take these cakes over for lunch. Maybe they'll still be warm when you want to eat them."
"Don't worry, Grandma has cleaned this oiled paper; it's clean."
"It's also because Grandma is incompetent. All the good things in the house were brought back by you with your own money," Grandma Guo patted his head, as if looking at him, or perhaps thinking about something herself. Her tone was quite sentimental. "Wen'er has grown up. It's a pity that your father and mother didn't get to see it. There's not much Grandma can do to help you. I just thought that things are expensive in the county town, and there might not be anyone like me who's willing to use mixed flour and lard to make things. If you take these with you to work, they'll definitely fill you up on the way."
For a moment, only the crackling sound of the embers still burning in the kitchen stove remained.
At the same time, Grandma Guo seemed embarrassed by the sudden silence. She patted his shoulder, picked up the large wooden spoon, turned around and opened the wooden pot lid on the stove, as if preparing to scoop out the still-hot contents of the pot.
Grandma really felt that he worked very hard, not because he brought back so many good things, nor because he could earn a lot of money for the family.
...simply because he is now Guo Bawen.
This feels completely different from his previous definition of kinship.
You don't have to be useful or successful to be qualified to feel some family affection.
Grandma and Xiaohua, in recent days, have never seemed to have made any specific demands on him.
However, it must be admitted that Grandma Guo's actions did indeed give him a lot of inexplicable and warm feelings of security.
This was something he hadn't experienced before his time travel.
After he came into this world, he kept trying to make money so that he could force himself to forget to think and forget what happened before he came here—no one needed him, he was a superfluous person.
Even when his remarried parents passed him around like a hot potato, his first thought was that he was already an adult and didn't need to pursue family ties anymore. It wasn't a necessity; he could live well on his own even if he were alone.
But that doesn't mean he didn't feel lonely at the time, and didn't want someone to treat him so kindly without any reason.
Even if Grandma Guo is like this now, it's because he's Guo Bawen that she treats him well.
But now he is Guo Bawen, her grandson, and Guo Xiaohua's brother.
Thinking of this, Guo Baiwen took the bowl of soup noodles that Grandma Guo had just brought over, put down the oil paper package he was holding, looked up at Grandma Guo, hesitated for a moment, and said:
Grandma...can I hug you?
Grandma Guo was very thin, even thinner than she usually looked, almost just a bunch of bony bones, probably only a little heavier than Xiao Hua.
But Guo Xiaohua is only nine years old.
This petite man not only endured the pain of losing his daughter-in-law and son in middle age, but also continued to work hard in the fields to raise his two grandchildren.
Guo Baiwen felt a strange sensation, unable to tell whether it was sympathy or something else.
Not long after, Guo Baiwen could feel Grandma Guo suddenly move—she was still letting him hold her, but she raised her hand and gently patted his back, just like she used to do with Xiaohua.
At that moment, his heart almost stopped, his blood froze, and the tears welling up in his eyes almost spilled out.
Fortunately, she only patted his back lightly a few times, as if comforting her grandson who was unusually childlike for a moment, without turning her head to look at him.
Guo Baiwen breathed a sigh of relief, as if his throat had been clenched and then released. He casually wiped his tears with his sleeve before putting his hand down.
...In any case, he was still very grateful for this time travel.
He has a new family, and Grandma Guo no longer has to endure the pain of losing her grandson in her later years.
"Thank you……"
Guo Baiwen didn't know what he was thanking for. After experiencing such a rollercoaster of emotions, he couldn't help but want to say thank you.
In return, she received another gentle pat on the head.
The mixed noodles with pork lard soup were delicious.
Although Grandma Guo's cooking skills weren't particularly outstanding, she used all the best ingredients she had at home in this bowl. The dough had risen perfectly, making the hand-pulled noodles very chewy. There was quite a bit of soup in the pot, and Grandma Guo even saved a bowl for Xiaohua, even though she hadn't originally planned to eat any herself.
However, Guo Baiwen took the initiative to share half a bowl with her, and after a while of persuasion, she also ate a small bowl.
Holding the bowl, she chewed her noodles and smiled shyly, "Grandma is also eating good food thanks to Wenzai."
This is nothing!
Guo Baiwen got up, tidied up the dishes, slung the packed basket over his shoulder, and silently made up his mind, "Grandma, I'm going out."
"Hey, Wenzai, be careful on the road, and remember to come back early tonight."
"I know."
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