Chapter 15: Whirlwind

Kang shi spoke as she reached out and pulled Gu Yuzhu into her arms. Gu Yuzhu was stunned at first, but after a while, her body relaxed and softened. She realized that this was the body’s instinctive response.

Kang shi smelled very nice and felt warm. Gu Yuzhu thought to herself—she really was blessed. She had a birth mother who treated her like a treasure, and now even her maternal aunt doted on her so dearly.

Children are the most sensitive to good and evil. If Kang shi didn’t truly care for her, this body wouldn’t show such a natural dependence.

Holding the soft little girl in her arms, Kang shi finally noticed the new clothes Gu Yuzhu was wearing. She planted a kiss on her fair little face and praised her new outfit, saying she looked just like a New Year’s painting doll. The twenty-something soul of Gu Yuzhu inside was so embarrassed her face turned red.

In her previous life, Gu Yuzhu had few family ties. Though the old Taoist treated her with great kindness, he was, after all, a man of the outer world. While he was good to her, he was never physically close. Moreover, as she grew older, there was the boundary between male and female; the old Taoist rarely showed physical affection.

But strangely, Gu Yuzhu didn’t resist Kang shi’s affectionate gestures at all. That just proved the original owner had grown used to them. Once again, Gu Yuzhu sighed—she really was a lucky girl!

Before Kang shi could carry Gu Yuzhu inside, a boy ran out of the house like a gust of wind. He looked around seven or eight years old, with rosy cheeks and bright eyes—a child full of energy and mischief.

“My cousin’s here? Is that my cousin?”

Gu Yuzhu was startled by the boy’s loud, clear voice, only to see this “cheap” cousin of hers get smacked by his mother.

“You little rascal, what nonsense are you spouting? You’ll scare your cousin!”

While Kang shi scolded him, she cuddled the soft little Gu Yuzhu and planted a kiss by her ear, murmuring lovingly.

Gu Yuzhu: “……”

A while later, Kang shi finally put Gu Yuzhu down and slipped a pair of cotton shoes onto her feet, then praised her enthusiastically again.

“Oh my, I told you these shoes would fit Zhu Zhu perfectly. The color matches the outfit so well—so bright and festive! Take a few steps and let your auntie take a look!”

Kang shi’s voice was full of spirit and energy—it was obvious she was very happy.

Gu Yuzhu looked down to find a pair of pomegranate-red embroidered shoes on her feet. The shoes had intricately embroidered flowers, which, in her admittedly untrained eyes, looked exquisite. Most striking of all, there were tiny pearls sewn into the flower centers—each no bigger than a grain of rice.

Gu Yuzhu’s eyes widened. Pearls weren’t cheap these days; they were something only wealthy families used. She wasn’t really an ignorant little kid, so she knew this gift was very valuable. Hurriedly, she crouched down to carefully remove the shoes. Kang shi was startled.

“Our Zhu Zhu doesn’t like them?”

Gu Yuzhu wriggled slightly and was just about to explain when suddenly a small boy crashed into her like a whirlwind. Kang shi was so frightened she nearly had a heart attack and quickly pulled Gu Yuzhu into her arms, just in time to prevent her from being knocked over.

The little boy was solidly built—chubby and round.

With his sturdy frame and Gu Yuzhu’s petite body, if the collision had really happened, she might’ve gotten seriously hurt.

After confirming Gu Yuzhu was fine, Kang shi finally let out a sigh of relief. It was one thing to feel heartache for the child, but she also knew that this girl had just suffered a lot. If her own son caused her harm now, it would be hard to explain to her sister-in-law.

With that thought, Kang shi’s expression darkened.

Moments later, wailing and the sound of spanking echoed from the west wing.

Gu Yuzhu: “……”

The little boy was tough—he’d forget his spanking as soon as it was over. Even though he got beaten because of his cousin, Yan Bowen was still very enthusiastic, taking out his hidden stash of preserved fruit and offering it to Gu Yuzhu.

Looking at the sticky fruit in his dirty little hands, Gu Yuzhu didn’t really feel like eating it. But Yan Bowen was too warm and generous, grinning wide with tears still in his eyes. “Eat, Cousin, don’t be shy! My grandpa gave it to me. There’s more at home. I hid some. Later, I’ll take you with my brother to knock down some jujubes to eat!”

Because Kang shi was the only daughter in her family, after she married Yan Xing, they had two sons. The elder son took her surname and was named Kang Bowen. The two families agreed that all later children would take their father’s surname. Thus, the younger cousin was surnamed Yan, and named Yan Bowen.

Yan’s parents had died young, and there were no other elders at home. His older sister, Yan Fengru, was half a “head of household,” so both brothers called Kang Laoye (Kang shi’s father) “Grandpa.” He adored his grandsons dearly.

But Kang Laoye also liked Gu Yuzhu, his niece from his in-law’s side. When he heard she was coming, he had his grandson bring out the preserved fruit so they could share it.

Unable to refuse such kindness, Gu Yuzhu took one piece, gave it a tentative lick—yes, it was sweet—and couldn’t bring herself to finish it in one bite. Luckily, the little boy got distracted quickly and forgot all about it.

Gu Yuzhu thought for a moment—eating something a bit dirty didn’t make you sick, but wasting food was shameful. So she gritted her teeth, shut her eyes, and popped the whole thing into her mouth. Mmm… it was actually pretty tasty.

…

The jujube tree her cousin had mentioned was right in the courtyard of the Kang family’s home. They had a small shop on the street, about ten square meters in size, which made it convenient for Kang Laoye to take on carpentry jobs. Nowadays, most of the work was handled by Yan Xing. Only when it involved rare woods or large orders would he consult his master and father-in-law, Kang Laoye.

Behind the shop was a small courtyard, and in the courtyard stood two jujube trees, one on each side. Truthfully, it was only May or June at the moment, so the jujubes were just starting to grow. They were small and green—not really edible yet.

But boys will be boys. The moment they saw fruit, they couldn’t help themselves. Every year, the two brothers ended up ruining plenty of unripe jujubes. Kang Laoye indulged them, and even though Kang shi got mad, there wasn’t much she could do.

Just then, Kang Bowen brought over a long bamboo pole, while Yan Bowen stood drooling under one of the trees, urging Gu Yuzhu to hurry over. Dressed in her pretty new clothes and shoes, she walked over and was pulled to the other side by Yan Bowen. He pointed excitedly at a branch, saying, “Look, look over there—there’s a big one. That one’s good!”

“Big Brother, come over here! There’s a big one over here!”

Hearing that, Kang Bowen immediately came over with the bamboo pole. Kang shi happened to walk out from the house just then. Annoyed, she walked up and snatched the bamboo pole from her eldest son’s hands, scolding, “What, are your backsides itching again?!”

“Mom, look! There really is a big jujube—it’s even turning red. It’s for Cousin!”

Kang shi didn’t believe them. Fruit trees ripened according to nature’s timing. At this time of year, most jujubes were small and green. She knew all too well how many they’d ruined in past years.

“It’s true!”

Annoyed by the two children’s pestering, Kang shi looked up—and suddenly her eyes widened. There really was a thumb-sized jujube on one of the branches. It looked round and plump, a soft pinkish-white color.