Chapter 57 – The Temptation of Food

This was just a small interlude, but not without its effect.

Gu Yuzhu felt that her biological mother—and even her uncles—were all “scheming foxes.”

But she didn’t mean “scheming” in a bad way. At least from Gu Yuzhu’s perspective, it wasn’t. She firmly stood on her mother’s side!

If they disliked Gu Dapeng, they would find something for him to do for no reason at all.

Originally, when Gu Dapeng came to help, the other men from the village who were on good terms with the Yan family naturally didn’t associate with him.

Because everyone knew that the reason Gu Dapeng and Yan Fengru were living separately was that he failed to discipline his two elder children from his previous marriage.

But the Ying brothers, being straightforward and down-to-earth mountain folk, saw things differently! In their honest and cheerful eyes, all the men helping out at the Yan household were brothers—they were all friends.

But after last night’s events, the Ying brothers understood!

Gu Dapeng was that man—the one who had forced Yan Dajie to live separately with two children while she was still so young!

How could that still count as a good brother? Of course not!

The youngest of the Ying brothers, Ying Liu, was simple and innocent. When he saw Gu Dapeng, he couldn’t help but snort twice in disdain.

The other five Ying brothers weren’t as childish, but they understood the need to maintain distance.

So Gu Dapeng once again found himself ignored…

But thankfully, Gu Dapeng was a quiet and reserved man by nature. Even if no one talked to him, he didn’t mind. It was just that, when people did talk to him, he could at least get bits of news about his wife and children.

Once that line of communication was cut off, he had no more access…

Still, for various reasons, Gu Dapeng didn’t go home to eat anymore. He stayed for meals each time, though he only dared to eat until he was half full.

Facing all the delicious food cooked by Yan Fengru and still managing to only eat halfway full every time—Gu Yuzhu thought her cheap dad was quite the man!

At least, she couldn’t do it. As a foodie, the hardest thing to resist was the temptation of good food!

Gu Dapeng probably knew why things were like this. A few days later, he finally managed to convince a few of his relatives from the Gu family to come and help.

No one knew what he told them, but when they came, they were all polite and respectful—and they worked hard too.

But their words were full of hints probing for information about Gu Qingbai.

They probably knew asking Gu Dapeng would be useless, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask Yan Fengru either.

As relatives from the Gu family, they had dealt with Yan Fengru before and knew she wasn’t someone easy to fool.

These days, life was hard for everyone. Whenever cash was tight, it was common for relatives to help each other out.

Even Gu Dapeng had gone through difficult times before. Things only improved after Jiang-shi passed away and Yan Fengru entered the household.

Yan Fengru had sold herself into servitude to support her younger siblings. But did anyone really believe that every coin she earned was used just to buy her freedom?

Some relatives had once asked the couple for money. Yan Fengru hadn’t outright refused, but after dealing with her once, they realized she wasn’t like Jiang-shi.

Jiang-shi had been soft-tempered, but Yan-shi wasn’t someone to be easily taken advantage of.

People naturally tend to bully the weak and fear the strong. Since Yan Fengru wasn’t easy to manipulate, the relatives didn’t make requests lightly, so as not to strain their ties.

But once they heard that Gu Qingbai was studying and planned to take the imperial exams, their hearts were stirred once again.

And it wasn’t just the men who came—some women did too. Whenever someone in the village built a house, it was always a lively affair. A big crowd represented prosperity, which was a good omen.

And if the host was generous or in need of help, lending a hand would earn them a good meal. Why not?

So the Yan household was quite bustling during this time.

As Gu Yuzhu passed by, an idle auntie called her over. “Zhu Zhu’er, we heard your Brother Bai has gone off to study under a master. Is that true?”

“Of course! My brother is super smart!”

The auntie was amused by her enthusiasm. “Such a little girl, and you already know what it means to study and become an apprentice? Amazing!”

Gu Yuzhu: “…”

Sigh, what could she do? Right now, she was just a pure and innocent little girl.

“My mom told me. My brother has taken a master and is studying hard. In the future, he’ll earn glory for our family and serve the nation!”

The auntie listened with her blood boiling in excitement and couldn’t help but feel incredibly envious.

“Isn’t that right? Brother Bai really is something!”

“My brother is amazing, and I’m amazing too. In fact, he said I’m even more amazing than he is.”

Gu Yuzhu sighed. Honestly, pretending to be a child was exhausting. You were acting, others were watching, and you couldn’t act too badly—but you also couldn’t act too well. You had to strike a balance…

It was tough.

Gu Yuzhu thought that, so far, she was doing a pretty good job. A five-year-old girl shouldn’t be standing around chatting idly with aunties, so after her bragging was done, she quickly ran off toward the kitchen!

Running like the wind matched her role perfectly.

Sure enough, as soon as she left, the auntie stared at the small figure and smiled, though there was also a hint of envy in her eyes.

Though part of Gu Yuzhu’s behavior was an act, once she entered the kitchen, she was truly tempted by the food!

It was now June, and the weather was gradually getting hotter. Her eyes sparkled as she spotted a huge watermelon. In this era, it was called han gua (“cold melon”), and if chilled in well water—it was a sour-sweet, refreshing treat!

“Does Auntie’s manor still have cold melons? This must be the earliest batch, right?”

Yan Fengru looked at her daughter’s drooling expression and couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, your eldest uncle just delivered this one this morning. It was picked fresh.”

“Oh!” So it hadn’t been chilled yet?

Yan Fengru couldn’t bear to see her daughter looking like that. In fact, neither could Lin-shi or Ying-shi. They were both completely charmed by her cuteness.

Ying-shi casually washed a peach. Thanks to their little sister-in-law, their house had fresh fruit year-round. Ordinary farmers couldn’t afford to eat fruit, but the two sisters-in-law had more than they could finish.

It was said that eating more fruit during pregnancy would lead to a baby with fair skin and good health.

And thinking of the baby boys they were carrying, the two women exchanged smiles and let out a knowing sigh…

“Here, eat a peach first. This one’s for Brother Bai.” Ying-shi handed over the peach. The pinkish fruit made her crave it too, so she washed one each for herself, her sister-in-law, and their big sister-in-law.

The peaches were clean and, once the fuzz was rinsed off, could be bitten straight into—sweet and crunchy. Gu Yuzhu’s eyes sparkled. After finishing one, she secretly hid the pit in her sleeve, and holding another peach, she dashed back into the house.

Watching the little girl, Lin-shi felt more and more envious. “Just look at how well-behaved Dajie’s two kids are. Not to mention Zhu Zhu’er—even Brother Bai is different.”

“They’re both boys, but our Bai is fair and gentle when he speaks, while Tao Hua and his brother are like little mud monkeys!”

Ying-shi laughed at that. “Aren’t they, though? If Xiao Shitou weren’t still small, would he be any different from his two older brothers?”

Just then, they heard Yan Meihua’s voice calling. The two sisters-in-law exchanged smiles.

“Zhu Zhu’er! Brother Bai! Come out! Tie Tou and I found something good!”

Gu Yuzhu was just about to plant the peach pit in her space while her brother wasn’t looking when she suddenly heard her cousin’s voice and got such a fright that she panicked with guilt!