Chapter 78: Chapter 78: Fried Dough Twist
Today is probably the busiest day, working all the way until five in the afternoon before packing up.
Over there, the families of Li Weimin and Li Weiqiang were also busy enough to feel overwhelmed.
Here, Gu Xiaoqing almost collapsed on the bench from exhaustion, constantly busy serving and collecting money.
Her face was so frozen that she couldn’t feel anything.
But she was happy inside.
The families of the three sat down to rest.
They hadn’t eaten yet.
In the end, it was Gu Xiaoqing and Gu Xiaoying who managed to make ten bowls of leftover sheep offal soup, one bowl each, nothing more, even the broth in the pot was gone.
Everyone held their bowls and ate warmly.
After eating, Li Weimin and Li Weiqiang wiped their mouths and started praising.
"Xiaoqing sure has great skills, and the taste—it’s really delicious."
Even Han Xue and Liu Fen were envious, this kid really has a good brain, coming up with an idea so casually.
The newly made dish is indeed tasty, mainly because the broth is savory, with a rich flavor that anyone can tell is authentic.
In this cold weather, just one bowl is enough to warm you up, even your body and bones start to feel warmer.
There was a warm sensation from head to toe, and even the cold wind blowing in didn’t feel so chilly anymore.
The three families packed up the stall and finally headed home. After all, it was the start of winter, so the sun was available a bit longer, but later on, this time would already be dark, and when Li Xuemei and the others got home, it might be as dark as pitch black.
Since they didn’t take the same road out of town, Gu Ruhai and Li Weimin parted ways with the others.
Gu Ruhai and Li Xuemei, along with their two daughters, headed back, with Gu Xiaojie staying at Grandma Zhang’s place, asking her to watch over him. It was indeed too cold, and since Gu Xiaojie was young, Gu Ruhai and Li Xuemei were worried about the child suffering, so they asked Grandma Zhang to watch over him these days.
Fortunately, Grandma Zhang also has a six-year-old grandson, Zhang Zijie, so Gu Xiaojie had a playmate and spent the day playing happily at the Zhang Family house.
Li Xuemei planned to take some time in these two days to visit Grandma Zhang’s house, buying some meat and taking over some grains. After all, over time, even though it was just one meal, no family is rich enough to feed someone else regularly.
Besides, they wanted to properly thank Grandma Zhang.
The villagers didn’t say much, but behind the scenes, who doesn’t gossip?
Both grandparents live in the same village, yet they aren’t helping look after their grandson, leaving it to outsiders. Everyone knew it was because Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu were unwilling.
Which family’s elders aren’t doting on their grandchildren?
But the elder Gu Family was different, treating the kids of the elder son like other people’s children.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Gu continued to go about her business, gossiping carelessly, seemingly unbothered.
If someone doesn’t care at all, what can you say?
When the four of them got home, Li Xuemei unpacked the cart while calling Gu Xiaoqing to bring Gu Xiaojie back.
They’d already troubled the neighbors enough, and if they stayed for dinner, it would be too shameless.
Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai weren’t the type of people to impose.
Gu Xiaoqing took ten pieces of fried dough sticks from under the tray cloth in the basket, a gift from the uncle at a nearby stall in town. Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai didn’t want to refuse, but the guy was so generous, giving them a dozen pieces, and Gu Ruhai and Li Xuemei felt they couldn’t accept it.
He was also doing business, and they shouldn’t take his things for free.
So they handed him two dollars.
The amount was more than adequate.
As fellow business people, they knew making a living wasn’t easy.
After much back-and-forth, he finally accepted it under Gu Ruhai’s insistence, but later on, he still sent another dozen fried dough sticks over.
Gu Ruhai didn’t refuse anymore.
Gu Xiaoqing wrapped them up with a piece of oiled paper and took off running.
Seeing this, Li Xuemei felt glad; their daughter, though young, was more adept in social situations than many adults.
Arriving at Grandma Zhang’s house, pushing the door open, Gu Xiaoqing found the whole family preparing to eat. Grandma Zhang has two sons and three daughters. Both sons are married, and the daughters are married off, having long since separated into their own households.
Grandma Zhang now lived with her eldest son, Zhang Hegui. In rural areas, it’s customary for the eldest to care for the elderly, and that made sense.
Zhang Hegui and his wife, Gu Xifeng, have two sons and two daughters, the youngest being Zhang Zijie. The family was already seated, about to eat, with a simple meal of corn porridge, corn meal buns, a plate of pickles, and a dish of shredded potatoes.
Everyone, whether big or small, was seated.
Gu Xiaojie and Zhang Zijie sat on the kang beside Grandma Zhang. When Gu Xiaoqing came in, Gu Xifeng warmly invited her to sit on the kang.
"Xiaoqing, you’re back. Come sit here, it’s warm. Is it cold?"
Gu Xifeng, a straightforward woman, had been neighbors with the Gu Family for many years, often helping them out, but personal affairs were none of her business.
Gu Xiaoqing put the oiled paper package of fried dough sticks on the table, rubbed her hands, and said to Gu Xifeng, "Auntie, don’t worry, I’m not cold, I came to take my brother home for dinner; my mom is already cooking. We’ve troubled you enough today."
Gu Xifeng laughed heartily and scolded, "You, little girl, thinking too much. Who asked you to bring things over? Our family isn’t missing Xiao Jie’s share of food, just a little guy, how much can he eat?"
Gu Xiaoqing called Xiao Jie down, and pulling him by the hand, said to Grandma Zhang and Gu Xifeng, "Grandma, Auntie, please accept this; if not, my mom will scold me when I get home. They’re not expensive, we have them at home, we just brought a few for the kids to try, nothing special. Xiao Jie, let’s go home now."
Gu Xifeng wanted to refuse, but Grandma Zhang smiled and intervened, "Accept it, this is a token from Xiaoqing’s family. Tell your parents I said this is the last time, no more next time, otherwise, Grandma will be unhappy."
Gu Xiaoqing readily agreed and led Xiao Jie home.
Initially, Gu Xifeng wanted her eldest son, Zhang Zhifeng, to accompany them, but Gu Xiaoqing had already taken him far away.
So, she sat down, opened the oiled paper package, saw the ten greasy dough sticks, and sighed, "Gu Ruhai and Li Xuemei really know how to handle things, just unlucky."
Grandma Zhang gave each child one, and they all stared eagerly, something not even certain to be eaten during the holidays, so very tempting for them.
She said to Gu Xifeng and her eldest son, Zhang Hegui, "Gu Ruhai’s family is looking up, be closer to them in the future. I see them having a bright future, don’t underestimate them."
These words were meant for her eldest and his wife.
Both Zhang Hegui and Gu Xifeng agreed readily.
They knew in their hearts that Gu Ruhai was different now, and were willing to help, as fellow villagers.