Chapter 42 Eating Dumplings
"Have you really thought it through?"
After hearing what Madam Du said, Gu Xiyue still couldn't believe it.
"Have you really decided to marry your brother-in-law?"
She confirmed it again.
Seeing Madam Du nodding with a red face and not wanting to pretend at all, he finally believed it.
She originally thought that Madam Du had asked her to come over for something important. Along the way, she was afraid that Madam Du would be upset, so she walked faster than usual.
The result is indeed this.
"How did you figure that out?"
Gu Xiyue asked with a smile, she knew that Fang Laoer meant the same thing.
Before, she asked Liu Niang to test Fang Laoer. There were several families in the village whose girls were of marriageable age. She wanted to see which one Fang Laoer liked and try to match them up. However, Fang Laoer rejected them all.
"I heard him say that you helped me vent my anger in the meeting today. I felt really happy after hearing that."
Madam Du's eyes were watery and her complexion was much better than a few days ago.
"Really, I've been thinking a lot these days. Plus, after what you did for me today, I've decided that once I'm better, I'll go out and work. The more I care about those gossips, the more uncomfortable I feel. If I don't care, I'm nothing. Besides..."
Her face grew redder and redder.
"He said he didn't dislike me and just wanted to help me take care of Yun'er."
Gu Xiyue lowered his head with a smile, took her hand, and nodded, "Okay, when you recover, you can pick a day and be together officially."
As for women's virtues and mourning, she would not let Nanhuang be so pedantic. She would take care of the living first.
Moreover, Fang Lao Er really loves Yun'er. This is better than Madam Du taking Yun'er to remarry someone else. If she meets the wrong person, Yun'er's situation will only be worse.
Besides, such things happened in ancient times.
There's nothing wrong with that.
In terms of age, Fang Laoer is one or two years older than Madam Du, so he is quite suitable.
His parents and brothers are no longer at home, so even if others try to control everything in the world, they cannot control his family.
After a thorough analysis, Gu Xiyue felt that the two of them were a perfect match.
After hearing this, Madam Du's eyes became brighter and brighter, and she became more energetic.
When Gu Xiyue came out of Madam Du's house, she found Fang Laoer squatting in the yard. He stood up immediately when he saw her. He was excited and flustered. He didn't know where to put his hands, and kept moving them on both sides of his body.
"Brother Fang, I'm going back."
Gu Xiyue finished speaking with a smile, and Fang Laoer finally couldn't help but bowed to her, his voice full of gratitude, "Thank you, Madam Gu!"
"You're welcome. Take good care of Sister Du and Yun'er!"
On the way back, Meixiang hesitated several times to speak. Seeing her holding back, Gu Xiyue poked her with a smile and said, "Ask whatever you want to ask."
Meixiang looked around secretly, speaking in a low voice.
"Miss, have you really decided to be with His Highness?"
Gu Xiyue said very confidently: "It's decided. From now on, call me Madam in private. I want to spend my whole life with him."
After saying that, he realized it belatedly and said, "Did you hear everything?"
Meixiang had already run out, laughing uncontrollably. As she ran, she said, "I didn't do it on purpose. It was Wei Lin who pulled me into hiding and made me listen."
After saying that, it was wrong and Wei Lin was sold out as well.
Meixiang suddenly felt that today was a bit difficult.
Gu Xiyue didn't say anything, but reminded her to be careful with her step. She thought to herself that Meixiang was not young anymore and would remarry in two years, but she was used to having her take care of her, so they should live together in the future and it would be good for them to take care of each other.
Gu Xiyue was drawing a blueprint for the future in his mind, thinking that after the families of Jun Ye and his men arrived and settled down, he would go to Ganzhou to meet the prefect.
After the meeting, the wind direction in the Southern Wilderness suddenly changed a bit, and it seemed that it was a bit too extreme. Faced with this, Madam Liu and others asked Gu Xiyue if there would be any problems.
Gu Xiyue smiled and shook her head.
Overcorrection is only temporary. After a few days, they will relax their vigilance and things will naturally return to normal.
Gu Xiyue knew them too well.
These rules that suddenly appeared would definitely make them feel uncomfortable for a while, but once they were set in motion, it would only be a matter of time before they gradually accepted them.
She won't be in a hurry.
In the past few days, there was another thing that everyone talked about, that is, several men went to Gu Xiyue's yard, carrying wood and mixing mud, and were busy in the east room and yard for two days.
People's curiosity was aroused again, because from the beginning they had noticed that Gu Xiyue and Xiao Heng slept in separate rooms, and no one thought much about it. Now that there was sudden movement, everyone felt that there was something wrong.
It turned out that Madam Gu and her husband didn't have a very good relationship, and that was why they were preparing to sleep in the same room.
Madam Gu is so majestic in front of everyone, but I didn't expect that she would have conflicts with her husband in private and sleep in separate rooms.
In the past, everyone was so poor that they couldn’t even afford to eat. Now that they have enough food and drink and have money in their pockets, they naturally start to care about physical matters.
No one dared to talk about it too seriously, for fear that it would be regarded as a rumor.
"Mrs. Gu is repairing the house!"
"Mrs. Gu and her husband are going to live in the same room."
They were all declarative sentences, and no one dared to ask why the two had slept in separate rooms before.
No one dared to ask why they were sleeping together now.
What exactly happened between them?
I was only curious in my heart, thinking about it secretly but not daring to say it out loud.
And these days, Aunt Fang and Aunt Song have also made everyone a little scared.
As long as they were in a crowd, they would definitely talk about the ten rules after just three sentences.
"Let me tell you, the rules Madam Gu mentioned are really good. All we women want in our lives is a man who understands and loves us. If he takes a concubine, it's fine if she's sensible, but if she's not, you'll have a headache. Although we can't afford to take a concubine now, we'll definitely have money if we follow Madam Gu. Then there's no guarantee that that black-hearted man will take a concubine. So this rule is very good!"
When some men heard these words, they glared at him, and some young girls felt unhappy.
When the two of them saw that it would easily attract people's attention, they started talking about another rule.
"I never dreamed that I would be able to live my own life apart from my mother-in-law. I never thought Madam Gu would be so amazing. She could even come up with such a rule. She's truly a living Bodhisattva for us women..."
As a result, some women who are mothers-in-law, or women who are about to become mothers-in-law, immediately give them a cold look when they hear their chatter, and turn around and ignore them as if they were air.
The two felt that their situation was very difficult, and they complained to each other, and then went on to make recommendations.
In the end, everyone really despised me.
But they were angry but dared not speak out. They could only give them the cold shoulder but did not dare to refute their recommendations.
After a few days, although the two were looked down upon everywhere, they had at least explained the rules to the point that everyone was annoyed and couldn't forget them.
In the end, as soon as people saw them open their mouths to recommend these rules, they would automatically say them in order to shut them up.
"Look, I've written it all down. Please stop talking. Please!"
After one round, the two finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In the past few days, I have been disciplining my children, telling them not to listen to my nonsense and bully other children.
And asked them to go to Madam Du to admit their mistakes and coax Yun'er.
Yun'er was young after all, and when she was coaxed and saw her brothers and sisters coming to play with her, she immediately threw aside the previous unhappiness and followed them out with a smile.
Madam Du did not blame the children. After seeing that her own children were coaxed into doing well, she smiled and let them go out to play.
When Aunt Song and Aunt Fang saw that it was almost done, they went to find Gu Xiyue with embarrassed looks on their faces.
When they went there, they were very nervous, afraid that Gu Xiyue would dislike them in the future.
As a result, when the two arrived at the door, Gu Xiyue saw them from inside the house and immediately asked Meixiang to pour them some water, while she herself came out to greet them.
"Thank you for your hard work, aunts. Come in and sit down."
Gu Xiyue greeted them warmly and asked Meixiang to add some sugar to their bowls.
Aunt Song and Aunt Fang were flattered. After entering the house, they sat there without knowing what to do. They had thought they would be treated coldly, but Mrs. Gu treated them so warmly that they were suddenly at a loss.
Gu Xiyue knew what they were thinking and said with a smile, "Aunts, I was rude before, but I was targeting the matter, not the person. Now that things have passed, you two know your own problems and have figured it out. Why am I still dwelling on the past? Let's move on."
"Everyone makes mistakes, including me."
After Gu Xiyue finished speaking, she asked the two aunts, whose expressions had eased, to drink some water.
Aunt Fang and Aunt Song were so excited that they felt like they were even worse than human beings before, and they admired Gu Xiyue even more.
I used to think that I had been too busy these past two days, but now I don’t feel that way at all. I even feel that I can do this for a few more days.
What does the cold eyes of others matter?
Compared to Madam Gu's approval, that's nothing.
After getting Mrs. Gu's approval, the two aunts had completely different expressions when they came out of Gu Xiyue's yard. Not only did they walk with their chins held high, they also went to work with smiles on their faces. They greeted everyone they saw, and were as enthusiastic as if they had met their own relatives.
While eating, he was not afraid of being isolated at all and blended into the crowd with a smile on his face.
The villagers were a little uncomfortable at first, but gradually they were influenced by the two of them and the atmosphere instantly became much more harmonious.
Some things cannot be rushed and need time to ferment slowly.
Gu Xiyue waited for three days but the girl Xiao Heng mentioned didn't show up.
The east room has been cleaned up, and the west room is prepared for Meixiang to sleep alone. A room is also separated in the west shed for Wei Lin to sleep.
The next day, Gu Xiyue and Meixiang packed up their things and moved into the east room, ready to sleep there at any time.
She also saw with her own eyes that Xiao Heng prepared the bedding and hid it in the cabinet. He could just spread the bedding on the ground at night, which was very convenient.
Gu Xiyue felt that everything was fine.
Now just waiting for that girl to come.
After three days, there was no sign of the person. Gu Xiyue thought that the person could not be found. After all, when he was outside, few people mentioned the Southern Wilderness.
The things are still in the east room, but people still sleep in the west room at night.
Her action stunned Xiao Heng, but she couldn't pull him back directly, so she could only leave it like this for the time being.
In private, he asked his men to use some tricks secretly to help Gu Xiyun find Nanhuang smoothly.
Gu Xiyun didn't come, but the relatives of the three generals did.
Early in the morning, Tian Hefei sent someone to report that the three generals and Hu Mazi's relatives had passed Xifeng Town and would reach Nanhuang in half an hour.
When Xiao Heng heard this, he hurried to find Gu Xiyue. The two of them packed up and went to the entrance to meet Dong.
The three soldiers hadn't been home for five or six years. This was the first time they saw their relatives, and they were very excited at the thought of being with their relatives for a long time in the future. Although they didn't jump and dance like young people, the smile in their eyes never stopped, and even the corners of their mouths were always upturned.
Among the three generals, General Li is the oldest, almost forty years old. He has been here the longest. He has been here since the Southern Wilderness started to accept exiled criminals. He is considered the person with the longest seniority here.
He was excited about the arrival of his relatives, but also felt a little unfamiliar.
Moreover, I heard that their parents did not come and were taken away to be taken care of by other brothers and sisters. Only their wives and children came.
It’s good that someone is taking care of their parents, and it makes them feel much better if their wives and children can come over.
When coming over, Gu Xiyue specifically instructed Madam Liu to ask them to prepare some sumptuous food today as a welcome treat for Jun Ye and Hu Mazi's relatives.
After discussing with Gu Xiyue, Madam Liu decided to make dumplings for lunch. She chopped up a pig's head and added cabbage to it. She kneaded the dough early and made dumplings with Madam Li and the others after breakfast.
Including the people who came, there were almost more than 300 people. It would take more than a few minutes to make dumplings for more than 300 people. For this reason, Gu Xiyue asked Meixiang to go to the women who were working and find a few who were good at making dumplings to help make dumplings in the canteen.
It was past the hour of Chen and almost the hour of Si, but they still hadn't shown up. Xiao Heng and Gu Xiyue looked at each other and felt something was not right. The three generals also began to get anxious.
Gu Xiyue immediately asked Wei Lin to go back and harness the carriage and come to the east entrance. She and Xiao Heng invited the three generals to get on the carriage, and they went out to take a look.
After walking for about a cup of tea, I met them.
The scene before me was a headache.
Five or six women were sitting on the rocks against the mountain, with large and small bags beside them. Several young men, girls and some children aged seven or eight were sitting and playing on the other side. Hu Mazi was sitting alone with a woman, and there were two children beside them.
Their family was obviously sitting separately from the others and ignored each other.
If you listen carefully, you can still hear people crying.
The younger woman at the foot of the mountain was sobbing.
"...Let them die. Why did they have to send us to this godforsaken place? Why did they insist on sending us here instead of enjoying their good life in the capital? I don't believe anything he said. If I hadn't wanted to come and see for myself if he was still alive, I really wouldn't have wanted to come here."
An older woman nearby wiped her tears and advised her, "Sister, no matter what, we've come this far. We're right ahead. Let's go. We've been sitting here for over an hour."
Gu Xiyue noticed that among the five or six women, three should be the wives of the three military lords, and the other three should be the old maids who served them. The seven or eight children of different ages playing on the other side were their children.
They seemed to be playing, but in fact they were trying to stop Hu Mazi and the others from coming over.
Because when those children looked at Hu Mazi's two children, their eyes were full of hostility.
The two children sitting next to Hu Mazi and his wife looked at the other children, both big and small, with eager eyes. They wanted to join them, but they didn't dare to go over.
Gu Xiyue and others got out of the car.
When they passed by, the people over there saw them, stopped talking and turned to look.
A young girl standing by the roadside immediately set her eyes on Xiao Heng.
Seeing them coming over, she subconsciously began to touch her hair, tug at the corners of her clothes, and adjust her makeup, and a shy smile instantly appeared on her face.
When Hu Mazi saw Xiao Heng coming, he patted the two children beside him, turned his head and smiled at the woman next to him, and whispered something. The woman turned her head to look at Gu Xiyue and the others, with a gentle smile on her face.
"Master! Madam!"
Hu Mazi was the first to shout out.
The shyly smiling woman's eyes darkened when she heard Hu Mazi calling the person next to Xiao Heng "Young Madam" and her face turned cold as she looked at Gu Xiyue.
His face suddenly turned pale, and the look he gave his father became less friendly.
When the women saw their men, they all had a look of aggrievedness on their faces, as if they were about to cry. They hadn't seen each other for several years, and when they met again, they saw that their men had become darker, thinner, and older, and they felt so heartbroken.
Except for the crying woman.
The three military masters began to introduce themselves to Gu Xiyue and Xiao Heng one by one.
The older woman is Aunt Li, the wife of Mr. Li Junye. She has three children, two sons and a daughter.
The crying woman was Xu Junye’s wife, Aunt Xu, who had three children, two daughters and one son.
The remaining one is Wang Junye’s wife, Aunt Wang, who has two children, a son and a daughter.
Hu Mazi's wife, Aunt Hu, is still young. She looks young, at most in her twenties. Her surname is Li, and everyone in the family calls her Li Sanniang.
They have two daughters.
Gu Xiyue greeted them one by one. When she met the eyes of Xu Junye's eldest daughter, she felt that her gaze was very unfriendly.
Gu Xiyue didn't think much about it, thinking that they were tired from walking all the way. Besides, anyone would feel uncomfortable suddenly coming to this place from the good life in Beijing.
"Let's go, everyone is tired, put the packages on the carriage quickly."
The newcomers found that their men all listened to Madam Gu's words, and they felt uncomfortable. Only Li Sanniang smiled, threw the bag on her shoulder, took the little daughter beside her, and said with a smile: "My bag is not heavy, sisters, please take it."
The three military masters helped their wives put the things onto the carriage, and Gu Xiyue talked to the ladies with a smile.
"Mom——" Xu Junye's eldest daughter Xu Rulan called out "Mom" in a long voice.
Everyone turned around to see her, only to see her face in pain as she said, "I just twisted my ankle, and it still hurts. I can't walk at all."
Junye Wang turned his head to look at her ankle, then looked away calmly.
Mr. Wang Junye's eldest son also glanced at Xu Rulan's ankle, sneered, and walked forward.
Xu Rulan looked at Xu Junye coquettishly. Seeing that his eldest daughter was already seventeen or eighteen years old, Xu Junye was still a little uncomfortable. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand, but because the child was older, it was difficult to reach out. Just as he was hesitating, Li Sanniang stepped forward and supported her, saying warmly, "I will help Miss Xu."
Xu Rulan was looking at Xiao Heng, who was closest to her, and was thinking of asking him for help, but when she saw Li Sanniang holding her, she was so angry that her heart ached, but she couldn't get angry either, so she could only bite the bullet and walk forward slowly.
"There's room for our luggage on the carriage. If you really can't walk, you can take a carriage."
Gu Xiyue said considerately.
Most of the children around her were younger than her. Besides, her sprained ankle was just an act. It would be so embarrassing if she rode in a carriage alone.
She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of so many people.
Seeing that she refused to get on the carriage, Gu Xiyue did not force her. He greeted everyone with a smile, and they finally entered the Southern Wilderness.
Half an hour later, everyone arrived at the dining hall. The carriage stopped at the door, and Madam Liu and her companions prepared dumplings for them.
After entering the Southern Wilderness, everyone looked around. When they saw that the house they lived in was actually a thatched adobe house, the faces of several women became very ugly. When they sat in the dining hall, they felt strange again.
Madam Liu and her companions were very quick and served each person a bowl of dumplings stuffed with cabbage and pork. They were all a little surprised. Aunt Xu and Xu Rulan looked left and right and saw that there were no side dishes.
Aunt Xu complained quietly, "Why don't you have any hot or cold dishes? Why are you leaving us to eat this?"
Mr. Xu Jun was accompanying him, and his face darkened when he heard this.
Xu Rulan said unreliably, "I don't want to eat dumplings. I eat them every day at home and I'm tired of them. Dad, the conditions here are so bad, how are we going to live in the future?"
Uncle Xu's lips trembled and his face turned completely dark. If he hadn't taken into consideration that they had just met and there were outsiders present, he would have really wanted to scold his daughter.
He glared at his wife and his face turned completely dark.
"Dumplings to welcome you. You've all worked hard on this journey. I've specially ordered dumplings to be made in the canteen today. After you finish eating, go back and have a good rest. After you've rested, you can walk around here and get familiar with the environment. From now on, you can eat three meals a day here."
The women and children were slightly surprised after hearing this.
You can eat three meals a day.
You don’t have to cook it yourself, just come and eat at the appointed time.
So good!
They only had two meals a day in the capital.
Even Aunt Xu, who had been complaining, was stunned for a moment, looked at her husband, lowered her head and continued eating.
Everyone started eating dumplings, and when they took the first bite, everyone was stunned.
The dumplings are filled with mostly meat.
It's all meat!
They can only eat meat during festivals.
But who would be willing to use so much meat to make dumplings?
That is, on New Year’s Eve, a little bit of meat is added to the dumpling filling.
Just like that, they all enjoyed it very much.
I have never eaten dumplings that were full of meat.
Is this really the Southern Wilderness that my father used to talk about?
Seeing that everyone looked surprised, Xu Rulan also tasted the dumplings carefully.
After just one bite, I was stunned.
Then he quickly lowered his head, stopped talking, and ate one bite after another.
He eats no slower than the kids.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
