Chapter 267 Just Consider It a Gift
After tea, it was getting dark outside, so my third uncle went to the kitchen to prepare food.
Gu Tang didn't let him go, but asked him to sit in the house. He called Gu Ping'an, and the brother and sister went to the kitchen together.
There are four people in the Gu family, plus Agou and the six servants, so they have to cook for eleven people.
Gu Tang thought about it and decided to make some pancakes, stir-fry some dishes, and cook a pot of rice porridge. It would be enough to fill his stomach, there was no need to be too particular.
"Will this work? Isn't it a bit too casual?" Gu Ping'an hesitated. "Gu Sanlang is the son of a wealthy family. Can he get used to eating pancakes and vegetable rolls?"
"Why can't you get used to it? I make pancakes with white flour and stir-fry some meat dishes. This meal is not bad."
Gu Tang ignored him and took out the white flour from the jar.
Seeing this, Gu Ping'an didn't know what to say. He walked to the vat, rummaged through the contents, and found a large piece of meat.
"This is pork, and you don't eat pork."
"Don't worry about me for now. I'll make the pancakes, and you go cook. Let Dad and the others eat first, and I'll talk to you last."
Gu Tang wasn't very hungry yet. She had already eaten two big bowls of noodles made by her third uncle, so it wouldn't hurt to eat later.
"Okay, then make it for Dad and the others first."
Gu Ping'an put the meat on the chopping board and started cutting it with a knife.
It’s not as cold in the kitchen as outside. The meat has been kept in the kitchen. Although it feels hard to the touch, it’s still easy to cut and not too difficult to cut.
By the time Gu Ping'an finished cutting the meat, Gu Tang had already kneaded the dough.
She lit the stove, put a small iron pan on it, and used the small iron pan to make pancakes.
There are two pots on the stove. The big pot is used to cook rice porridge, and the small pot is used to stir-fry vegetables. Fire up all three pots at the same time, which can save a lot of time.
After putting the chopped meat into a bowl, Gu Ping'an washed some radish, cabbage and pickled vegetables. After washing them clean, he cut them all and put them into a bowl for later use.
After finishing all this, he lit the big stove, added water and rice, and cooked a full pot of porridge.
After the porridge was cooked, he glanced at Gu Tang and saw that she had already baked two tall stacks of pancakes. He then lit the stove and started cooking.
The main feature of tonight’s meal is that the portions are large, so it doesn’t need to be too fancy, as long as the taste is good.
Add the cabbage and sliced meat to a half-bowl of vegetables. Add the radish and sliced meat to a half-bowl of vegetables. Finally, add the pickled vegetables and fry them in lard to a small half-bowl of vegetables.
The pickled vegetables were too salty, so Gu Ping'an didn't dare to fry too much.
Pickled vegetables taste better when they are fried right away. Once they are put back into the pan, they will no longer taste good. Half a small basin of lard should be enough to fry the pickled vegetables.
Gu Tang's pancakes were almost finished. He used a large bowl full of dough and put the pancakes into baskets. There were two baskets in total, and each one was piled high!
"It's not enough, right? Gu Sanlang eats a whole basket of cakes by himself." Gu Ping'an didn't forget that Agou was a big eater.
"There's still a big pot of porridge, which should be enough."
Gu Tang estimated that it was about right. If it was not enough, she had some pastries in her room and could give Agou another meal later.
After bringing the dishes, pancakes and rice porridge to the main room, Gu Tang quickly returned to the kitchen to see what was left in the jar and just made some food.
Over in the main room, Ah Gou frowned when he saw the dishes on the table: "Cousin doesn't like pork, why don't you cook something else?"
He asked this question to Gu Ping'an, his eyes full of dissatisfaction.
Hearing this, Third Uncle paused. It's only been a few days? He actually memorized Tang's preferences. This man is really attentive.
"My second sister said that you guys can eat first and she will cook something else for herself."
"I'll go cook." Ah Gou stood up. "I have a few specialties that will definitely suit her taste."
Gu Ping'an looked at him strangely. Why was this man so attentive to his second sister?
Third Uncle also felt that something was wrong. This was too close...
He secretly kicked his adopted son under the table, signaling him to speak.
Gu Lianshan was really hungry and was stuffing a piece of bread into his mouth. He didn't think much about what Agou had just said.
"Don't go. If my daughter didn't want to do it herself, she would have called someone long ago. Now that she hasn't called anyone, it means she wants to make food for herself. Just sit down and eat. I'll go to the kitchen and take a look and you'll know."
After swallowing the last bite of pancake, Gu Lianshan waved to Agou, got up and went to the kitchen.
Agou was worried and wanted to go with them, but his third uncle grabbed his arm and made him sit down to eat.
"It's cold, and the food gets cold quickly. We can't delay, eat quickly!"
Putting the pancake wrapped with vegetables into the bowl in front of Agou, Uncle San smiled and told him to eat quickly.
Agou didn't dare to refuse, for fear of exposing his true identity, so he could only sit down and eat.
Third Uncle breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and greeted the servants, telling them not to be polite and just eat with big mouthfuls.
These servants are actually little beggars. They used to eat one meal and go hungry twice a day. But after moving into the charity house, they can finally eat their fill.
There are quite a lot of people receiving assistance from the charity, so for long-term considerations, they dare not spend too much on daily meals. The two meals a day are simple and coarse meals.
As for meat dishes, the charity hall only cooks meat once every five days.
Therefore, for these little beggars, today's meal was the most sumptuous they had ever seen!
White flour pancakes and two pots of meat and vegetables, this is something they would never dare to dream of!
There was no need for Third Uncle to call them at this moment. They were not at all nervous and ate with big mouthfuls, looking as if they were eating some delicacies from land and sea.
Seeing how happily they were eating, the smile on Third Uncle's face never faded.
They are all still children, and it is the time for them to grow. Being able to eat is a blessing.
Gu Lianshan had already arrived at the kitchen. He looked at the food stewing on the stove, sniffed the fragrance in the air, and his mouth was watering with greed.
"My dear daughter! What are you stewing? It smells so delicious!"
Gu Tang paused and said, "I bought this at the Winter Fair. They said it was homemade fried chicken. It smelled delicious at the time, but after I bought it, I actually forgot to eat it.
I was looking for something just now and happened to see the jar containing this dish. I took it to the kitchen and poured it into the pot to heat it up to see if it was still edible.
"Then dad will help you try it!" Gu Lianshan believed what he said and was attracted by the fragrance and wanted to try it.
Gu Tang handed him a spoon and asked him to scoop a spoonful to taste it.
"I can't eat so much by myself, so I'll give you half and bring it to the main hall so everyone can have a taste."
"Okay!" Gu Lianshan couldn't wait to scoop out a spoonful, blew on it a few times, and put it into his mouth without worrying about the heat.
The tender chicken is mixed with some unknown vegetables and rolls around in the mouth for a few times. It is so delicious that people can swallow its tongue.
Gu Lianshan gave a thumbs up: "It tastes good!"
Gu Tang brought a plate, scooped a full plate with a spoon, and asked her father to take it to the main room to eat.
"Did you leave any pancakes or porridge?" Gu Lianshan took the plate and looked around.
"I left it. It's warm in the pot. Don't worry, I can still starve myself."
Gu Tang stood up and lifted the lid of the pot on the stove, motioning her father to look. There was a bowl of porridge and two pancakes in the pot.
This is enough for her to eat.
Gu Lianshan nodded and said it was fine to keep it. Then he hurried back to the main room with the plate.
Inside the main hall, everyone looked at Gu Lianshan carrying in a plate of food, feeling somewhat puzzled.
What? Is it because the food doesn't suit his taste, so he cooked another dish and brought it to him?
"What are you..." Third Uncle looked at the plate in front of him. Is this a separate dish? The portion is too small.
Gu Lianshan immediately realized that the old man was misguided and quickly explained, "This is what the girl bought at the Winter Fair, but she left it in the jar and forgot to eat it. Come on, everyone, try it, it's delicious!"
He used a clean spoon to scoop two large spoonfuls for each of his uncle, Gu Ping'an, and Agou, and the plates were instantly half empty.
Third Uncle and Gu Ping'an were attracted by the fragrance. They quickly picked up some with chopsticks and put them into their mouths. Their eyes suddenly lit up!
"Smells good! It really tastes delicious!"
"Which grocery store did you buy this from? It's so delicious!"
Gu Lianshan shook his head: "I don't know about that either. Your second sister didn't tell me."
Seeing that Ah Gou hadn't eaten the dish yet, he urged him, "Try it, I guarantee you'll like it!"
Agou smiled and nodded, then picked up a full handful of food with chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
Of course he would like it, this dish was made by him.
"How is it? Is it delicious?" Gu Lianshan asked him with a smile, while pouring the remaining vegetables on the plate onto the pancake, then rolled it up and took a big bite.
"Delicious!" There were still some eggplants in the charity's vegetable cellar, so they would make some more for her when they had time.
…
After dinner, it was already dark outside. Agou ordered the servants to wash the dishes, and then asked his third uncle if he could vacate a room for the children to stay overnight and let them leave early the next morning.
The Gu family has many houses in the village, so it is still possible to free up one of them.
But, can six of them fit into one room?
"I live in the east room of the main hall, and your uncle lives in the west room. Tang Yatou and Ping An live in the west wing. There are two rooms left in the east wing. One is for you, and the other can be for the children. But with so many people, can one room accommodate them all?"
"How about this," Gu Lianshan interrupted, "Dad, I'll stay with you tonight. Let Sanlang stay in my room, and give the two rooms in the east wing to the kids."
"That's a good idea. Let's stay in the same room tonight." Third Uncle had no objection and asked Gu Lianshan to move the bedding.
"No!" Ah Gou stopped them, "They can fit in one room, so why would they take up another?"
"What's the big deal? It's just a matter of moving out of a room. It's settled!"
Gu Lianshan pushed Agou's hand away, went to the west room to pack his bedding, and moved it to the old man's east room.
Then he dug out the old bedding from home, moved it to the east wing, and let them make their own beds.
There are two rooms, just enough for three people to share.
Gu Tang ignored all this and went back to his room to sleep early.
She got up too early today, so she must make up for it by sleeping a little longer tomorrow.
The snow outside was getting heavier and heavier. After washing up, everyone went back to their rooms to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Gu Lianshan got up, dressed, and went out to use a special bamboo rake to scrape the snow off the roof.
Although the roof of his house was covered with tiles, he was still afraid that the snow would be too thick and heavy and would damage the roof.
Just like in previous years, clear the snow off the roof every few hours.
Hearing the noise, Agou got up and came out to help.
The uncle and nephew worked quickly and cleaned all the roofs in about half an hour.
After cleaning the roof, the two went back to their rooms to continue sleeping.
Although he got up once in the middle of the night, Agou still got up on time at the next morning and never stayed in bed.
After coming out of the house, he first took a look at the roof. Seeing that the snow was not too thick and did not need to be cleared for the time being, he went all the way to the east wing, woke up the little beggars, and said he would send them back.
Hearing the noise, Gu Lianshan and his third uncle also stood up and asked Agou why he asked them to leave so early.
"Let's eat first. The sun rises late in winter. It's still dark now. It's too early."
"It's already two quarters past midnight, and daybreak is almost here. I have some things to do back in town, so I can't delay any longer. I'll skip dinner."
The snow was still falling, but the snow was much lighter, but it was very cold.
Agou let the little beggars gather around the stove to warm themselves for a while, and then he arranged for them to sit on the ox cart and sent them back to the city.
Except for the Gu family's ox cart, the four ox carts and one horse carriage yesterday were all bought by Agou.
But when they left, Agou only allowed the beggars to take away one ox cart, and the other three ox carts were all left at Gu's house.
As for the carriage, Agou wanted to use it himself, saying that he would go back to the city with the servants, settle his family, and come back later.
Third Uncle and Gu Lianshan had no objection, but they refused to take the three cows tied in the yard.
"Take the cow with you! It cost dozens of taels of silver! We can't take it!"
"Why not? Since we're already relatives, as the younger generation, I should offer a gift. Consider those three cows as my gift. It will also make me look good when I entertain the elders of the clan, don't you think?"
"This..." Third Uncle hesitated and turned to look at Gu Lianshan, wanting to see what he meant.
"If you want to give me a gift, just buy me a few pounds of meat and a jar of wine! I can't accept these three cows! They are too valuable."
Gu Lianshan didn't want to accept it. Since the younger generations gave gifts, the elders should also give gifts in return.
These three cows are all females, and they are of excellent quality. They can’t be bought for at least fifty taels of silver.
If you accept this gift, what will your family give in return?
Ah Gou ignored him and said, "I've given you this cow, and there's no reason for me to take it back. Just keep it. I don't want any return gift from you. I just want to let me stay at home for a few more days. I'm all alone, and it's rare for me to find such a compatible relative. You can't drive me away."
"If you don't mind my country folk, I won't say a word of objection even if you continue to live here, let alone chase you away..."
"That's all right. While the snow is getting lighter, I'll leave first."
After saying this, Agou drove away in the carriage without looking back.
He didn't dare stay any longer, for he was afraid that Gu Lianshan would lead the three cows out and let him take them away.
When the little beggars at the back saw the carriage go away, they whipped the oxen's back hastily and quickly caught up with it.
"This kid! Why did he leave so quickly before I even finished speaking?" Looking at the carriage that had already gone far away, Gu Lianshan could only stare blankly.
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