mtl008 Chapter 24 Interactions between the Kids
Chapter 24 Interactions between the Kids
Gu Silang's eyes darted around, his mind went blank for a moment, and he couldn't think of any way to explain himself.
The basin originally contained a large quantity of small stream fish, but after cleaning and frying them, there weren't as many as he had expected.
With a large family and a rare opportunity to eat a good meal, he couldn't bring himself to ask for gifts for Zhou Li.
But he had already made that promise, and he couldn't go back on his word, so he thought of taking it back from his own mouth, but he didn't want his third sister-in-law to see it, fearing that she would be unhappy.
Gu Silang stammered for a long time without being able to give a coherent answer.
Lin Chang'er was unaware of his thoughts and instinctively assumed that he wanted to keep it as a snack.
He laughed and said, "Let's continue setting the fish trap tonight, and we can fry them again in a couple of days. Hiding them in your pockets will not only affect the taste, but also get your clothes dirty." In this era, there was no high-tech, rudimentary work, so washing oil stains off clothes was no easy task.
Gu Silang lowered his head, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible, and said, "Third Sister-in-law, I didn't mean to hide anything, I..."
As he spoke, he lowered his head even further.
At this moment, Gu Xiaolu blinked her big eyes innocently and said, "Fourth Uncle wanted to leave it for Uncle Li."
Gu Xiaoman also tilted her little head up to join in the fun, chiming in with her adorable voice, "Fourth Uncle made an appointment with Uncle Li this afternoon. Uncle Li didn't get to eat fish at his aunt's house!"
Lin Chang'er paused and looked at Gu Silang, but before she could speak, Gu Silang hurriedly said, "Third Sister-in-law, I, I'll just take a few from my own bowl for Brother Li, I won't take more."
Seeing that he was sweating profusely with anxiety, Lin Chang'er said with a wry smile, "What's wrong with saying this? Adults need to socialize, and children have their own social interactions. Third Sister-in-law set aside Li Ge's share a long time ago."
We're waiting for you to finish eating so we can deliver it to him!
Tonight I'm taking a few kids with me to "work." We ate dinner early, and by the time they finished, there was still smoke rising from the chimneys nearby.
Gu Silang was taken aback, his eyes instantly filled with joy, and he said repeatedly, "Thank you, Third Sister-in-law. I will definitely work hard tonight."
Lin Chang'er waved her hand, "We're taking your nieces with us tonight, so we need to leave early. You and Little Goldfish deliver the things to Brother Li later, and then come back early, okay?"
Gu Silang nodded hurriedly, shoveled the food in his bowl, and took the little goldfish to give Zhou Li an extra meal.
Since Gu Jia and Zhou Jia lived at opposite ends of the village, the uncle and nephew arrived at Zhou Jia's house, where Zhou Li had already been waiting for a long time.
Aunt Zhou had called him to eat several times, but he had always made excuses. Now, seeing the shiny, oily fried small fish that Gu Silang had brought over, he swallowed hard and couldn't resist grabbing one and stuffing it into his mouth.
Taking a bite, his mouth was instantly filled with umami flavor, leaving a fragrant aftertaste. Zhou Li, still chewing on the small fish, mumbled, "Who made this? It's so delicious."
"My mother cooked for dinner." Auntie lit the fire, but Little Goldfish didn't say anything about the rest.
"Third sister-in-law is really amazing. My mother could never fry such fragrant little fish."
Gu Silang was proud, "Of course!" But I won't tell you, this is the first time my third sister-in-law has ever cooked!
The fried small fish smelled so good that Zhou Li couldn't bear to eat them in big bites, taking small bites instead. He then asked Gu Silang, "Did you give all your candy to Third Sister-in-law?"
Gu Silang chuckled and said, "We gave it to her, but Third Sister-in-law told us that she accepted our good intentions, but she couldn't keep it all to herself."
So let's make sugar water, and our whole family will drink it together.
Zhou Li's eyes widened. He hadn't realized it could be done this way. How come he hadn't thought of that?
He was worried that if he gave the candy to his mother, his father would die, but if he made it into candy water, both he and his father could drink it.
Zhou Li smiled and said, "I'm so clever!"
When Aunt Zhou saw that her son hadn't come in, she couldn't wait any longer and came out to check. She happened to see three children, two adults and one child, huddled together talking.
Aunt Zhou muttered to herself that her son was insensible; he knew the two Gu children would be coming, but he didn't say so earlier.
Unfortunately, she wasn't prepared, but luckily the two little ones didn't eat much, so her and the head of the household's bowls were just enough.
Having made up her mind, she smiled and greeted them, "Si Lang and Jing Zhe are here! Why are you standing at the door? Come in and have a meal with us!"
Gu Silang quickly replied, "Thank you, Auntie. I ate with Little Goldfish."
The little goldfish also said sincerely, "Grandma Village Head, don't worry about us. Mom will wait at home. We'll leave in a little while."
Aunt Zhou was taken aback when she heard this. Why was she visiting now?
Something just doesn't feel right. I was about to say, "Don't feel embarrassed, just stay for dinner, and I'll talk to Sanlang's wife about it later."
Then she heard her son say, "Mother, Silang and Little Goldfish came to bring me fried fish."
Aunt Zhou then noticed the large bowl in her son's hand, filled with fried small fish. The portion was generous, and the color alone was enough to make one's mouth water.
Aunt Zhou secretly sighed to herself, thinking how truly generous Chang'er was.
Although she was happy, she still scolded her son, saying, "How dare you say that! Si Lang and Jing Zhe have come all this way, but you didn't even invite them in to sit down, or call out to your mother."
Zhou Li said nonchalantly, "Si Lang told me this a long time ago that he and Little Goldfish came to see me, not you!"
Aunt Zhou: "..." This child is asking for trouble again.
Ultimately, he suppressed the urge to give them a good beating and led Gu Silang and the goldfish into the house, asking Zhou Hai to replace the fried fish in his own large bowl.
He gave Gu Silang and Xiao Jinyu two more pieces of cloud cake, told them to be careful on the road, and then let them go back.
Thanks to the Gu family, Zhou Hai's family also had a good meal tonight.
The Zhou couple originally wanted to bring their son, but they couldn't resist the delicious aroma of the fried small fish. They finished a large bowl of fried small fish, and the three of them were still a little hungry.
Aunt Zhou didn't forget to teach her son, "Whenever Ren Silang gets something good, he thinks of you. You can't forget him later, you know?"
And then there's Third Sister-in-law Gu; if she doesn't agree, Dongsi Silang won't be able to produce it."
Zhou Li nodded hastily, "Mother, I'm not a child anymore. If someone is good to me, of course I'll be even better to them. Now, you and Father sit down and wait for me."
After saying that, he dashed into the kitchen.
Aunt Zhou and Zhou Hai looked at each other, wondering what kind of trouble the child was up to now, but neither of them went to disturb him.
They waited until Zhou Li brought over three bowls of water, then mysteriously said to them, "Father, Mother, drink some water."
Aunt Zhou looked at her son suspiciously, then at Zhou Hai. He hadn't said he was thirsty. What was this child up to?
Although that's what she thought, she still took a sip to show her support. Then her eyes lit up as she looked at her son, "Sweet?"
Zhou Hai quickly took a sip, confirmed it was sweet, and asked his son, "What's going on?"
Zhou Li didn't hide anything and immediately told them about how he had given candy to the Gu family children in the afternoon, and how Gu Silang had told him that evening that Gu Sansao had taught them to make candy water and the whole family had drunk the candy water together.
Both Zhou Hai and his wife sighed with emotion. Zhou Hai said, "I knew I hadn't misjudged her. This third daughter-in-law of the Gu family is a capable person."
Aunt Zhou ignored him, only looking at her son, and instructed him: "In the future, when you have free time, go and play with Silang and the others more often. Learn more about how to conduct yourself in society."
Zhou Hai didn't object. "Your mother is right." With Chang'er around, the Gu family's children won't be bad.
At the same time, Lin Houde, Yang Cuihua, and Lin Dashan's family were also talking about Lin Chang'er at the dinner table...