Chapter 23 Chapter 23 The big windmill, creaking and turning
Goudan, who was praised, held his head high and said, "How difficult is this? Watch this!"
Goudan ate another candy, and with his free hands he took out five round stones from his cross-body bag.
He kept one stone in his hand, dropped the other four on the ground, and then picked them up one by one. "This is the first level. When you pick up the stones, you can't move the other stones on the ground, otherwise you lose."
Then he dropped four more stones on the ground. "This is the second level. You have to pick them up two by two. Again, the other stones cannot be moved."
"This is the third level. Catch one first, and then catch the remaining three together!"
…
"Wow, this game is hard. Can I try it?"
In fact, this game is not difficult at all. When Gu Jiayue was young, she was also a master at catching stones.
However, in order not to dampen the child's enthusiasm and sense of superiority, Gu Jiayue pretended not to know how to do it and forced Goudan to teach her several times before she could barely get to the second level.
"Gousheng, your sister is so stupid and doesn't look like a vicious person. Did we wrongly accuse her?" While Gu Jiayue was studying, Goudan came up to Gu Yuhe and whispered.
Gu Yuhe pondered for a moment, and he was a little unsure. "It's hard to say, let's wait and see."
…
Gu Jiayue could hardly keep up her expression while pretending to study seriously.
My two little friends, your whispers were really loud and everyone heard them!
Didn’t you see that Gu Bailu was almost suffering from internal injuries?
"Thanks for teaching me a new game. I have a toy for you too."
Gu Jiayue put away the stones and sent Hua Chao back to the house to fetch a piece of paper. She used charcoal to draw some animals and a cute-looking dog on the paper. She then cut the paper into squares, pierced the center with a small bamboo stick, and finally secured the squares between two sorghum stalks. She handed the squares to the dog. "Here, go run."
Goudan took the new toy and ran into the wind. The little windmill began to turn with a whirring sound, and the small bell hanging beside it jingled non-stop, which was extremely pleasant to the ear.
"It spins! Why?"
"Want to know?"
Goudan nodded quickly and looked at Gu Jiayue expectantly.
"It's a secret I only share with my friends."
Goudan quickly said, "We've been playing together all morning and have become friends for a long time. You even gave me a gift. Tomorrow I'll bring a new toy to teach you. I'm sure you've never played with it before."
"Okay, then I'll accept you as my friend." Gu Jiayue took the windmill from Goudan's hand and began to explain. After a few words, she saw Gu Yuhe, who was listening intently, and said, "Gousheng, can you please stay away? I only share this secret with my friends!"
Gu Yuhe, who was about to come over, looked at the two in disbelief. His good friend had actually been instigated by Gu Jiayue, and they were going to do it behind his back! Gu Yuhe pouted with grievance at the thought. "Humph! I don't want to hear that!"
After saying that, he walked to the side of the road with his arms folded, turned his back to the two of them, and tapped his right leg lightly on the ground.
I'm angry, but I won't say it. I'll just wait for you to guess.
Gu Jiayue stopped Goudan, who was about to try to persuade Gu Yuhe. "The windmill wouldn't turn on its own, but as you ran, it absorbed the energy from the wind and started turning."
Goudan was instantly drawn to what Gu Jiayue was saying, completely forgetting to comfort his good brother. "The wind has energy, too?"
"Of course, have you ever noticed that winds can be strong or weak? A gentle breeze can only ruffle our hair, but a strong wind can blow our roof off."
Goudan nodded. "I know. Last year, a strong wind blew away the roofs of many houses in the village, as well as many large trees on Nanshan Mountain."
"Yes, that's its energy. That's why we can use the wind to do many things for us, like turning windmills or drying our wet clothes."
"How is the wind formed?" Goudan continued to ask.
"The formation of wind? This requires mentioning air currents..."
Goudan was the kind of student teachers loved: focused, thoughtful, able to draw inferences from one instance, and willing to ask questions. Consequently, Gu Jiayue had been chatting with him frequently, often to the point where Gu Yuhe's legs ached, and no one came to console him.
He looked back at the two people getting along harmoniously, and tears welled up in his eyes again.
How could this happen! I'm obviously Goudan's best friend!
And this bad woman! She is obviously my sister, why is she so nice to outsiders?
I haven't even played with that windmill myself. So angry!
Goudan couldn't see anything except Gu Jiayue at this moment. "Sister, you know so much. Can I come and play with you tomorrow? I also want to know how windmills generate electricity."
Looking at those eyes full of curiosity, Gu Jiayue smiled with satisfaction. "Okay, you're always welcome."
Goudan, you are truly a student chosen by God.
After getting a positive answer, Goudan left happily, and did not forget to take his windmill with him before leaving.
When passing by Gu Yuhe, he wanted to call Gu Yuhe. However, Gu Yuhe snorted coldly, turned half a circle, turned his back to Goudan and refused to communicate.
In desperation, Goudan could only run away with the windmill.
The yard became quiet again, and still no one came to persuade Gu Yuhe.
Hua Chao and Gu Zhigeng, who had gone out to buy meat, came back and saw Gu Yuhe sitting at the door, drawing circles on the ground with a wooden stick.
Hua Chao looked at Gu Jiayue questioningly. Gu Jiayue shook her head and said nothing, only smiling as she talked about other things. "There are many people in my family, so I cut the ribs into smaller pieces and stewed them with three radishes."
"Okay!" Although Hua Chao is the head maid in the mansion, she doesn't need to do chores on weekdays. She only needs to take care of Gu Jiayue's affairs.
But as a top maid, she doesn't have to do odd jobs, but she has to know how to do it.
Therefore, Hua Chao can not only write and embroider, but also appreciate jewelry, draw eyebrows and braid hair, match clothes, and cook simple meals and snacks. She can be called the omnipotent snail girl.
The courtyard was crowded and lively. Especially with the four little girls chatting and laughing, Gu Yuhe looked even more lonely.
Gu Yuhe threw the wooden stick in his hand fiercely, came in from outside with a fierce look, stood in front of Gu Jiayue, said nothing, just stared at Gu Jiayue.
Gu Jiayue pretended not to see it and turned away.
He moved his feet and changed his position to stand in front of Gu Jiayue.
Finally, it was Gu Jiayue who spoke first: "Do you remember what I said yesterday?"
Gu Yuhe was still a little unconvinced, but thinking that he was a man, he had to accept defeat: "Remember, I lost. I'm sorry!"
"Do you know where you went wrong?"
Gu Yuhe shook his head. He'd only heard many people in the village say Gu Jiayue was a bad person and would definitely bully his sister. He'd thought he was doing a disservice by biting her with a spider, that he was a hero. But his grandfather had punished him, his parents had called him ignorant, and now Gu Jiayue was demanding an apology.
It’s hard to be a hero!
"You are just a child and have no right to judge others. So even if I am a bad person, you cannot deal with me on your own. You should ask adults for help."
"Besides, what makes you think I'm a bad person? Just based on a few words from others? Have you ever sought proof? Do you have any evidence that I've bullied others?"
Gu Yuhe shook his head. He had no evidence that Gu Jiayue had harmed anyone. On the contrary, she had brought gifts to everyone in the family and even helped her fourth and fifth sisters with chores.
"Since you have no evidence that I've hurt anyone, why do you think I'm a bad person and bully me? Now that you've bullied me, can I assume you're a bad kid too?"
Gu Yuhe shook his head. "I'm not a bad boy! I just... just..." He just missed Sister Wangshu and wanted to protect his family.
"So you hurt me on purpose, but you know it's wrong?"
Gu Yuhe was only seven years old, still a child. If you explained profound principles to him, he would find it difficult to understand and might even develop a rebellious mentality. For children of this age, you can only use the most understandable language and examples, allowing them to understand for themselves. Only then can they understand where they are wrong and correct themselves in the future.
"I know. I won't do it again next time. I'm sorry. I was wrong. Please hit me." He really realized his mistake.
Looking at the sticking out little butt, Gu Jiayue couldn't help but pat it gently.
After taking the photo, I couldn’t help but think that this is my own younger brother, so it shouldn’t be considered corporal punishment, right?
"Okay, let's go play." Gu Jiayue took out two windmills that she had already made. "One for my second brother."
Looking at the windmill, Gu Yuhe was overjoyed. He stretched out his hand to take it, but then he remembered something and retracted his hand: "Don't I still need to help you with something? Let me finish my work first."
"Go play first, and come find me when the sun sets in the afternoon."
"Great! I'm going to go find Goudan and have a showdown!"
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