In the bedroom of the neighbor across the hall from the Li family, a plate of dumplings and a bowl of corn porridge were placed on the light-colored wooden kang table.
A man and a woman sat on either side.
The man had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a tall stature.
The woman, however, looked sickly and was extremely thin.
"You eat, I have no appetite."
Even if you don't have an appetite, eat a few.
"I really can't eat anymore. Don't drink that porridge, have dumplings instead. Xiao Jie can't eat that."
"No need, I like corn porridge. Today it's cooked until very soft, it's especially delicious."
After Gu Jianguo finished speaking, he lowered his head and slurped the food into his mouth.
Li Guizhi put down her chopsticks, lowered her head in shame, and tears streamed down her face.
"It's all my fault. Otherwise, you wouldn't even be so reluctant to eat a single dumpling. I'm such a burden to you all, I'd rather be dead..."
Gu Jianguo immediately became anxious, "What are you saying? Without you, is our family still a family?"
He immediately put down his rice bowl and sat down beside her to comfort her.
"Even for my sake and Xiao Jie's sake, you have to live well and live a long life. The difficulties are only temporary. I have plenty of strength. In the future, I will not only pay back what I owe, but also earn a lot of money. Just don't complain that I fattened you up."
Li Guizhi stopped crying and started laughing.
Yet, an unyielding melancholy lingered between his brows.
Because she knew it was too difficult to achieve.
At that moment, Gu Hongjie's loud and urgent voice came from the courtyard.
"Dad, Mom, someone's here! Someone says they're looking for you!"
The couple quickly separated.
As they tidied themselves up, they all looked out the window at the same time.
When they saw their son enter with a strange young man, they were completely baffled.
In a short period of time, Gu Wei quickly composed himself and decided on the identity he should use to acknowledge the other person.
What he told Sun Xuewu and the others in the midst of the emergency at the forest farm wasn't entirely fabricated.
My grandfather, Gu Jianguo, had an uncle named Gu Chenghe, whose eldest son was named Gu Jianzhang.
When Gu Wei was a child, he had seen Gu Jianzhang bring his children and grandchildren to his home as guests.
However, after the old people passed away, they lost contact with each other.
When Gu Wei saw his young, still-living grandfather and his grandmother whom he had never met before, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fingers so tightly that his nails pricked his palms, barely managing to suppress the urge to rush forward and hug them tightly.
"Who are you?"
"I am Gu Jianzhang's grandson!"
Gu Jianguo was taken aback and carefully examined Gu Wei's appearance.
They really do look like members of the Gu family.
"Whose family are you from? What's your name?"
Gu Wei answered fluently: "I am the eldest son, my name is Gu Wei."
He stared greedily at Gu Jianguo and the others, never expecting his grandmother to be so beautiful; even when she was sick, you could tell she had a good constitution.
When he thought about how his grandfather told him when he was a child that his grandmother had died suddenly from angina, a lot of thoughts suddenly came to mind.
Gu Jianguo exclaimed, "My God, Hong He's son has grown so much? Your dad is a decade older than me. When we left the pass, he wasn't even married yet. He's really something else."
Gu Jianguo didn't doubt Gu Wei's identity, but he felt strange and curious, "Then how did you find him?"
"I came over to pick up some things and heard you guys were around here, so I thought I'd try to run into you. Turns out I met Li Bin from across the hall, and I came to his house today to see him, and I just happened to run into your son delivering dumplings..."
Gu Wei explained the situation, mixing truth with fiction.
They exclaimed how coincidental it was when they heard this.
Gu Jianguo then busied himself introducing them.
“This is my lover, you have to call her Grandma.”
Hello, Grandma.
Gu Wei's name came out naturally to me.
Li Guizhi felt embarrassed and quickly waved her hand, saying, "Don't call me Grandma, call me Little Grandma instead."
Gu Jianguo laughed: "Right, you look to be in your early twenties, right? Calling her 'Grandma' is a bit... you know. So call her 'Little Grandma,' and me 'Little Grandpa.' As for this kid of mine, you should call him 'Little Uncle,' but you two aren't that far apart in age, so just call each other whatever you want."
Gu Hongjie was surprised to find that this person was his junior and that he had to call him uncle. He had been waiting expectantly, but his father had dismissed him with a wave of his hand, leaving him pouting in frustration.
Gu Wei took in Gu Hongjie's series of reactions and said with a suppressed laugh, "The seniority cannot be messed up. Since I am the younger generation, just call me whatever you should call me. Hello, Uncle."
Gu Hongjie was overjoyed. He puffed out his chest, hummed in agreement, and his fondness for Gu Wei soared.
Gu Jianguo watched with a smile, glanced at the kang table, and hurriedly said, "Gu Wei, I didn't know you were coming home. I didn't prepare anything. Luckily, I still have some dumplings left. I've brought you a bowl and chopsticks to tide you over. I'll make you something nice later."
Gu Wei could tell at a glance that his grandfather and the others were in a bad situation, and he felt a pang of sadness and heartache.
Although he longed to taste his grandfather's cooking again, he wasn't in a hurry.
"Grandpa, don't be so polite with me. I came over after I finished eating, and the things I brought for you are still somewhere else. I'll have to go get them later."
Just as Gu Jianguo was about to speak, more people arrived at his home.
It turned out to be Li Bin, who had just returned from buying grain, rushing over with his mother.
Li Bin looked at Gu Wei, completely bewildered: "Big brother, this..."
Li's mother asked bluntly, "What exactly is your relationship? Did you know each other before?"
Even though Gu Hongjie was quite sensible, he was still just a teenager. He immediately rushed to explain, "Grandma Li, Uncle Li, this is my relative, the grandson of my dad's uncle's eldest brother. He has to call me little uncle."
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