Chapter 104: Chapter 104: A Warm Family Interlude
Early morning on April 18th.
Li Xuemei and Gu Ruhai were already up and busy.
Gu Ruhai was dressed in new clothes, a light gray jacket and dark blue pants, with a smile on his face and cigarettes and matches in his pocket.
His usually slouched back was now standing incredibly straight.
He had an air of energy and vitality, looking several years younger.
Standing at the gate, he looked at the bright red couplets and the "Fu" character, smoothing them over and over, worried about any uneven edges or corners.
With a broom, he had already swept the entrance spotlessly clean.
The two strings of firecrackers, each with three thousand bangs, were already hung above the gate with a bamboo stick, just waiting to be set off.
Some firecrackers were placed conspicuously beside the roadside.
Under the canopy set up in the courtyard, a row of tables was arranged, with only four tables able to fit in the yard to host close family members like parents, siblings, or relative guests from both families.
The remaining dozen tables were set outside along the roadside.
On the tables were two plates of sunflower seeds and peanuts, and a bottle of homemade liquor.
This was the most commonly used way to entertain guests in the countryside, neither too extravagant nor too humble.
The large stove set up in the courtyard was already busy.
A dozen wives were helping to wash and cut vegetables; skilled hands from the village famous for their cooking were preparing dishes at the stove, while on the other side, the aroma from the steamer filled the air with the scent of pre-prepared steamed dishes.
The smell wafted around in waves.
By eight o’clock, people had already started arriving.
Gu Ruhai, Li Weimin, and Li Weiqiang were at the entrance greeting them.
Guests were seated one by one.
The wives here were bustling around, busy yet lively.
"Sister-in-law Gu, you’re really blessed. Who else in the village has your luck now?"
The one speaking was Li the Second Widow, who was washing vegetables, her tone laced with envy. It’s impossible not to envy, as all the wives in the village were envious of Li Xuemei.
In just half a year, they managed to build a house, something very few families in the village could do, and it’s a two-story building, a first for Gu Family Village.
Every woman envied it.
Marrying such a man, which woman isn’t constantly nagging at home?
"Yeah, Xuemei, you built this big tile-roofed house quietly, and it’s a little two-story building. Does this still let us live?"
This was spoken by the village’s big mouth, Gu Guihua. Any event in the village, she knew about it, and she would make sure everyone else knew too.
She was the village’s loudspeaker.
Li Xuemei smiled and finished marinating the fish in her hands, covered it and set it aside, saying, "Don’t say I’m lucky; you’ve all been blessed for years. I’m just starting to have it good now; how can that compare?"
Li Xuemei spoke confidently at this moment.
All these years, the village women had given her sympathy and ridicule, causing envy now was something Li Xuemei never imagined.
She wouldn’t dare think it.
Sister-in-law Zhang chimed in, "Don’t just envy her, think about how hard Xuemei’s family works. Every day, they’re out before the sun is up, pushing that wheelbarrow, and they only return after dark. Looking at them enjoying life, consider how they’ve gotten through each day."
Meanwhile, she placed the kneaded rice cakes onto a basket for frying later.
Gu Guihua sighed and said, "I know, Xuemei had a hard time in the early years, suffered a lot, but seeing her now living so well, who wouldn’t envy? Even though we just say it, everyone knows the difficulty behind it. Aren’t we hoping Xuemei will, once she’s thriving, remember to give us less fortunate sisters a hand?"
Gu Guihua’s words echoed many thoughts. Who in the village doesn’t dream of having extra money, but not everyone can start a business.
So the envy isn’t something everyone can easily experience.
"Ha, it’s just doing some business, Xuemei. I heard the business skills are inherited from your family, and your parents are generous enough to share them with your husband, not afraid he might turn out ungrateful."
The speaker was Liu Mei, wife of Gu Dadan, the most notorious idle couple in the village, known for their laziness and opportunism.
They were recognized as the kind who loved taking advantage and avoided work.
Today, they arrived early, hoping to get three meals out of this day.
Although Liu Mei hadn’t done any work since early morning, she already had two bowls of noodles and a big steamed bun, leaving Li Xuemei no choice but to avoid confronting her in front of everyone.
Now she was starting trouble again.
Gu Xiaoqing and Gu Xiaoying were helping here, the two girls setting tables, arranging things, really busy.
Gu Xiaoqing walked in to get a plate, hearing this, felt unhappy. Who talks like this, using words like "ungrateful"?
Is this a way to congratulate, or to add to the trouble?
Li Xuemei couldn’t say anything.
Others nearby also stayed silent.
Being from the same village, and Liu Mei being a venomous talker, arguing lightly would end up in her blocking you; arguing strongly, Liu Mei would immediately start crying, acting like she’s been bullied for years.
Generally, nobody wanted to provoke such a person without reason.
Li Xuemei initially didn’t want Liu Mei to help, but she showed up uninvited. Could they turn her away?
Liu Mei, seeing everyone silent, became more aggressive, lifting the cloth covering the cold dish she sliced, picked a piece of chicken leg, bit into it, and smugly said, "Xuemei, this roast chicken doesn’t taste good, it’s a bit tough and salty. If I hadn’t tasted it first, it would’ve embarrassed you in front of the village."
Gu Xiaoqing walked over, snatched the cloth from Liu Mei’s hand, startled her for a moment. Upon realizing it was Gu Xiaoqing, she turned resentful, "You should teach your daughter properly; see how fierce she is, consider how she’ll be a bride someday."
"If you want to be called ’aunt,’ then act like one, I’ve never seen someone at someone else’s place taking guest food for themselves. These items are limited, not forbidden, but guests haven’t arrived, and you want them to eat what’s left from you? We can’t afford that, please sit outside, we can’t use someone like you here." Gu Xiaoqing didn’t hold back, this kind of person, the more you yield, the more they cling.
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