Chapter 31: She Rejected Me

At this moment, Gu Nan watched as Su Niannian smiled and spoke to Li Ergou, feeling even more unsettled inside.

Su Niannian had completely ignored him all day, yet now, upon seeing Li Ergou, she greeted him with enthusiasm.

It felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on Gu Nan’s chest, making it hard to breathe.

Gu Nan’s mother invited everyone to take a seat, and Su Niannian placed the freshly steamed cornbread on the table.

The large, golden cornbread was made by steaming a mixture of cornmeal and wheat flour.

The cornbread looked well-risen and fluffy.

Li Ergou stared at the braised pork and stir-fried meat before him, nearly drooling.

Although the Li family had also received a share of meat yesterday, his mother had only sliced a few pieces into the stew for flavor. It was nothing like the Gu family’s feast—this meal seemed even better than what they had during the New Year.

Especially with Su Niannian’s cooking skills—it was simply incredible.

How could something like pork offal give off such an enticing aroma?

Seeing Li Ergou’s reaction, Gu Nan’s mother chuckled and urged everyone to start eating.

In Gu Nan’s eldest brother’s room, a bowl of braised pork offal and a portion of stir-fried meat had also been set aside.

It wasn’t that Gu Nan’s mother and the others didn’t want him to join them—it was simply that Gu Nan’s eldest brother refused to leave his room or see anyone.

Everyone picked up a piece of pork offal and placed it into their mouths.

The rich, savory flavor of the braised meat spread across their taste buds.

The pork liver, having absorbed the broth, was deeply flavorful with a slightly grainy texture.

The pork heart, pork stomach, and intestines were all delightfully chewy.

The pork lung was tender and silky, incredibly delicious.

Since the dish contained various parts of the pork offal, each piece had a unique texture.

But whether it was pork liver, pork heart, pork lung, pork stomach, or intestines, everything was exceptionally tasty.

It was unlike anything they had ever eaten before—unbelievably delicious.

Gu Nan couldn’t help but think that the young girl before him was truly remarkable.

Even something that cost barely a few cents per pound could be transformed into such a flavorful dish in her hands.

Moreover, her medical skills must be top-notch as well.

His mother’s condition was clearly much better today than it had been yesterday.

Especially after taking that prescription, she seemed like a completely different person.

The young girl had said that his mother could be cured in just a month, and Gu Nan was finding it harder and harder to doubt her words.

Once the month was up, Gu Nan planned to find a way to get a referral letter from the brigade and take his mother to the city for another checkup.

“Su educated youth!! You’re incredible! I’ve never eaten anything this delicious in my entire life. Is this really pork offal??”

It was Li Ergou’s first time tasting something made by Su Niannian, and he was absolutely stunned. In all his years, he had never eaten anything this good.

It was so delicious that he felt like doing cartwheels and howling in delight!

Seeing Li Ergou’s exaggerated reaction, Gu Ningning and Gu Nan’s mother, Gu Zhi, couldn’t help but cover their mouths and chuckle.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Li Ergou scratched his head sheepishly.

“It’s true! It’s really too delicious! You’re amazing!”

Although Li Ergou felt a bit embarrassed, there wasn’t a hint of exaggeration in his words—he genuinely thought the food was unbelievably good.

It was so tasty that he felt like he might accidentally bite his own tongue.

He took another bite of the yellow cornmeal steamed bun.

Soft and fluffy, it carried the natural fragrance of cornmeal. Yet, it was delicate and smooth, not at all rough on the throat. There was even a faint hint of sweetness.

For a moment, Li Ergou almost had the illusion that after eating this, his entire body felt more energized than before.

Because she was making the food for the Gu family, Su Niannian had added some spiritual spring water.

“It’s nothing special, really. I just used more seasoning to remove the gamey and earthy taste of the pork offal,” Su Niannian said with a smile.

As she spoke, she picked up a piece of pork lung and placed it into Aunt Gu Zhi’s bowl.

“Auntie, eat more. Like nourishes like.”

Then, she picked up a piece of stir-fried pork from the small stir-fried dish and placed it into Gu Ningning’s bowl.

At this moment, Li Ergou, for some unknown reason, suddenly stretched his bowl out toward her, shamelessly trying to get some food as well.

Gu Nan’s eyes darkened in an instant, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

Su Niannian quickly noticed what was happening. Although she was tempted to tease Gu Nan a little, she still knew where to draw the line.

If she were to serve Li Ergou, it could easily be misinterpreted, and that would cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

After all, Li Ergou was Gu Nan’s close brother. The two often secretly went hunting together and made money off of it.

Although Li Ergou was a distant relative of the village head, having already completed the three years of service, his relationship with the village head’s family was not very close. As a result, the village head didn’t offer much help to Li Ergou’s family.

Their living conditions were quite poor, and if it weren’t for Gu Nan helping him make money, Li Ergou’s family might have been struggling even more.

Li Ergou noticed that Su Niannian had no intention of serving him any food, so he could only awkwardly laugh a couple of times before helping himself.

After eating a few more bites, the delicious taste of the food made Li Ergou quickly forget about the awkward moment.

Once Su Niannian had eaten enough, she used an aluminum lunchbox to pack some braised pig offal for Song Zhaodi before preparing to head back to the Educated Youth commune.

“Niannian, aren’t you going to eat a little more? You’re too thin; you always eat so little,” Gu Zhi asked with some concern.

Su Niannian’s appetite was indeed very small.

“No need, I have to head back early. I’m worried Song Zhaodi might be concerned about me. Besides, we cook together, so I’m afraid she’ll go hungry,” Su Niannian replied with a smile, preparing to say her goodbyes.

“Niannian, what should we do with the leftover braised pig offal?” There was still quite a lot left, way more than enough!

“It’s fine, you can keep it and eat it later. After all, these are just cheap ingredients,” Su Niannian replied casually.

In fact, Su Niannian had bought so much pig offal to let Gu Nan try it out and see if he liked it. If he did, she thought she could make more and sell it on the black market.

But she wasn’t in a rush. She had plenty of ways to make money and didn’t need to rely on this immediately.

Moreover, given the current social climate, private trade wasn’t allowed, and dealing in the black market carried its risks.

Her main task now was still to win over Gu Nan.

She decided to give him a couple of days to see how he would respond. If he liked her, he would eventually show it.

Li Ergou, on the other hand, was so absorbed in enjoying his meal that he completely forgot he had come to find Gu Nan for something important.

“Gu Nan, you should walk her out,” Gu Zhi said to Gu Nan. It was already getting dark, and after all, she was a young girl. It wouldn’t be very safe for her to walk alone.

Upon hearing this, Gu Nan immediately put down his chopsticks and stood up.

However, just as he got up, he heard Su Niannian’s gentle and calm voice.

“Gu Nan, there’s no need to trouble yourself; I can walk by myself,” Su Niannian said with a smile, her tone gentle as if it didn’t matter much to her.

She watched Gu Nan stand up, and a small stir rose in her heart. She felt that there was something different in the way he cared for her.

Gu Nan froze for a moment, then lowered his head slightly and spoke in a softer tone. “Then I’ll walk with you for a while.”

He didn’t want her walking alone so late. Even though she said it was no trouble, he still felt concerned.

“No need, I can go by myself,” Su Niannian declined.

She rejected his offer to walk her home.

Gu Nan stood frozen for a moment, his figure stiffening.

Yesterday, when he had offered to walk her home, she had happily accepted without hesitation.

Why… today?

Today, she didn’t need him to walk her back?

“Aunt, you should rest more and take care of your health. I’ll come back the day after tomorrow to make medicine for you,” Su Niannian said, waving her hand, and then she slung her basket over her shoulder and left.

Gu Nan stood there, feeling even emptier inside.

Even when Li Ergou spoke to him, he didn’t respond.

The young girl was upset; she was really upset.

He had originally thought that this way, the young girl wouldn’t be dragged down by his reputation, but now it was all his fault.

But why did it feel so painful inside?