Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Generous Return Gift
Li Xuemei was not budging.
Jiang Xiulan realized she was being guarded against.
Even if she wanted to intervene, Gu Ruhai had to agree.
But now was not the time to discuss this.
Jiang Xiulan gave up the idea.
Chatted a bit with Li Xuemei.
Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai used the excuse that the kids at home were waiting for dinner and left.
Mrs. Gu didn’t even return the basket, let alone give any New Year’s gifts.
By rights, half of these gifts should be given to the son to take home.
But Mrs. Gu was reluctant; the New Year’s gifts from Gu Rushan were too meager, and Gu the Third wouldn’t come home until New Year’s Eve, so there was no point considering gifts then as there never were any, and no more would come this year.
So Mrs. Gu was counting on these things to get through the New Year.
After all, on New Year’s Day, all three sons were expected to come home for the celebration. Without anything to show, Mrs. Gu would lose face.
Reflecting on why she was so frugal, Mrs. Gu was seething with anger.
Every year around this time, families would slaughter pigs. In previous years, Mrs. Gu would sell her home-reared pigs, and the pork for the New Year feast would come from the pig slaughtered by the eldest, as Mrs. Gu would take Gu Rushan to claim half of it, ensuring a bountiful, oily New Year.
The pork would have been consumed long before, and Mrs. Gu would make meatballs often to improve their meals.
But this damn eldest son seemed to have gone mad this year, selling off the pigs they raised without keeping any to eat.
Causing Mrs. Gu to have nowhere to get free meat. The family’s pigs were sold already, and buying from Butcher Feng would be heart-wrenching, so Mrs. Gu had already planned to use Gu Ruhai’s New Year’s gift of pork.
Gu Ruhai knew his mother well and didn’t expect half the return gifts back, so he led Li Xuemei away.
Being able to leave amicably was the biggest gain of the day; Gu Ruhai didn’t have any illusions that his mother would prepare return gifts.
As the couple walked home, Li Xuemei complained along the way: "Look at what the second brother’s family brought, and your mother still nitpicks. If I had known, I’d have prepared just a three-pound piece of pork and two small fish. It’s all for nothing anyway; why bother with a warm face for their cold shoulder."
Mrs. Gu’s words earlier had really angered Li Xuemei.
She intended to be fair with the gifts; elders could show favoritism, but she, as the younger generation, couldn’t do the same.
She didn’t favor either side, fearing Gu Ruhai would feel uncomfortable.
But now it seemed bringing more was worse than bringing less.
Gu Ruhai tried to please her, gently comforting her, knowing today’s incident had upset his wife greatly, "I know, it’s all my fault. Elders are elders; how can we find fault in them? The second brother doesn’t understand, but I, as the eldest, can’t act like him; we’re supposed to mature, aren’t we? Let’s not dwell on it, you’re broad-minded."
After being in business for a while, Gu Ruhai had become more articulate, no longer the reserved man who rarely spoke.
Li Xuemei smiled indulgently, pushing away Gu Ruhai’s attentive support, "Who cares about their gifts? It’s just that feeling of discomfort. Today, I stood up for myself, gained some confidence, can’t even tolerate the constant treatment as in previous years. Seems like my patience is growing thin."
This was a reflection on all the happenings of the past year.
Back home, Gu Xiaoqing and Gu Xiaoying had already prepared dinner.
With the year’s harvest in, the family no longer ate black bread; now, at least the bread was a mixture of white and corn flour. After all, no family ate pure white flour bread every meal.
This was already a significant upgrade in their meals, making the kids incredibly satisfied.
As the weather turned cold, Gu Xiaoqing cooked a pot of cabbage, tofu, and vermicelli stew, paired with steaming buns and porridge, which was a delightful meal for a well-off village family.
The 23rd of the lunar month meant cleaning the house.
All the dust of the year was to be swept away on this day, symbolizing a prosperous new year.
Gu Xiaoying, Gu Xiaoqing, and Li Xuemei cleaned the house thoroughly.
Gu Ruhai was tasked with delivering New Year’s gifts to his father-in-law, Li Qinghai.
He returned at nightfall, and the two baskets he carried were not empty but brimming full.
This sight annoyed Li Xuemei.
This simpleton, not realizing it was his father-in-law’s house.
In previous years, they had nothing to offer, but this year is different with plenty at home, so there was no need to return with so much, risking ridicule from her sisters-in-law.
Gu Ruhai placed the baskets down, knowing he had probably acted wrongly—anyone could tell from Li Xuemei’s expression.
Rubbing his hands, he explained anxiously: "I really didn’t want to bring it back, but I couldn’t refuse your brothers, and in no time, your sisters-in-law had packed it. I didn’t want to take it, truly.
Then father scolded me that this was prepared for the kids, not us two. I thought he was right; it was for the kids from grandpa, so I brought it back."
Li Xuemei broke into laughter; indeed, compared to her robust brothers, Gu Ruhai was no match.
Amused, she thought, if Gu Ruhai dared bully her, her brothers would come and deal with him.
Gu Xiaojie bounced up; he had been playing wild these past few days, running around the village with a group of boys.
His previously chubby, tender face was now almost weathered like a potato skin.
Today, because of the house cleaning, he had another day of wild running.
He had just returned home.
Hearing that the gift was from grandpa for the three of them, he felt an itch as if little paws were scratching at his heart; he was good in every way, very sensible, just had no resistance to sweets.
On non-festival days, the candy gumballs would all be devoured by Gu Xiaojie alone.
Every morning, first thing upon waking, he would ask Gu Xiaoqing for a candy.
And Gu Xiaoqing adored him for it.
Li Xuemei lifted the cloth covering the basket, whoa!
She was startled.
The basket was filled with twenty pounds of pork, two pork knuckles, along with a bag of caramelized peanuts, a bag of roasted seeds, a bag of white sugar, and a bag of peach pastry, all packed to the brim, filling two entire baskets.
This was considered a generous New Year’s gift in the village by any family’s measure.
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Thanks to book lovers kinkikids520 and DouDoMouth for their rewards.
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