The villagers of Taoyuan Village were up early, cooking their meals. They all set up simple stoves on the ground with three stones.
The pots absolutely would not be boiling thick congee, rice, or flour. Instead, they were cooking watery vegetable congee so sparse you could count the ingredients. Adding a small handful of rice was considered a luxury.
Throughout their journey fleeing famine, the villagers of Taoyuan Village had grown accustomed to people disappearing every few days or collapsing by the roadside.
Therefore, when the cowardly and timid Gu Laoliu's family reappeared, the villagers were met with a hint of surprise.
Gu Laoliu's family had been missing for a night. Everyone thought they had either starved to death or been eaten by wild beasts. They hadn't expected them to return, a complete family, without any missing limbs.
Indeed, they had some ability.
"Laoliu, where did your family disappear to? Were you slacking off in the wilderness? You haven't even boiled congee all morning. Are you trying to starve everyone to death?"
Just as Gu Qingcheng's family was looking around for members of the Gu family, suddenly Grandma Gu's rough shout, like a GPS, allowed them to pinpoint the Gu family's location.
"Coming, coming!"
Gu Zhaobei replied with a cold laugh.
The surrounding Taoyuan villagers felt that Gu Laoliu's family seemed to have changed somehow.
As for how they had changed, they couldn't quite articulate it for a while.
But compared to the past, there was definitely a difference.
Perhaps it was that the whole family stood up straighter now?
In the past, Gu Laoliu's family always cowered and acted timidly, looking easily bullied.
Now, they suddenly straightened their backs, looking less like they could be easily bullied!
"What season is it? You're all wearing cotton coats? Achoo, achoo!"
Gu Laoda saw his sixth brother's family dressed so warmly and muttered.
Gu Laoda shivered, pulling at his tattered, thin jacket. Seeing his sixth brother return safely, he didn't even blink. His expression was indifferent, as if he had met an enemy.
Gu Qingcheng understood immediately. Her uncle must have thought, "Why is this useless sixth brother's family back again? The morning congee will be even less now. What a nuisance!"
If they were going to come back, they should have done it after eating.
Gu Dou felt guilty and hid behind his parents. Yesterday, he had almost hit Gu Qingcheng to death. Last night, seeing that his sixth uncle's family hadn't returned, he had secretly rejoiced.
His sixth uncle's family must have died outside.
How wonderful!
This way, his bad deeds would remain unknown.
He never expected, never expected, that his sixth uncle's family would return safe and sound.
After all, he was still a child, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Laoliu, where did your family disappear to?"
Grandma Gu was a thin, tall old woman, only in her fifties, but her hair was gray, and her face was wrinkled, making her look older than seventy-year-old women in modern society.
If she stood next to Yang Liping, Liu Xiaoqing, or Liu Jialing, without knowing their ages, Gu Qingcheng would have definitely thought she was from a different generation than those actresses.
This reminded Gu Qingcheng of a joke she had seen online, where the 66-year-old star Lu Liangwei visited a nursing home to comfort "elderly people" aged 61. The elderly person said, "Thank you, young man!"
When Lu Liangwei revealed his real age, the "elderly person" looked embarrassed and dumbfounded.
Of course, the "elderly person" was undoubtedly disappointed.
Grandma Gu did not show much surprise when she saw their family return. Instead, she felt annoyed as soon as she saw Gu Qingcheng.
This little girl was skinny, half-dead, couldn't work, couldn't help with chores, was ugly (not yet developed, malnourished), and still required her to feed her for free. What a drain!
Why hadn't this little girl died outside last night?
Gu Zhaobei also maintained the original character's persona and said blankly:
"Father, Mother, we're back."
"Really, where were you all night? We thought you had died outside!
It's always like this, you never forget to come back for a meal, no matter where you disappear to!"
Grandma Gu's words were harsh. It was mainly because she was used to scolding Laoliu's family. If she didn't scold them for a while, she felt uncomfortable, especially since she hadn't scolded them all night.
In the past, Gu Laoliu's family would have been so scared their legs would have gone weak, they would have knelt on the ground and begged for their parents' forgiveness.
But Grandma Gu did not expect Gu Laoliu to gently place Gu Qingcheng on a nearby bluestone slab to sit down, and calmly say:
"Qingcheng fainted from hunger outside last night. We searched for her everywhere, which is why we got separated. We hurried to find you first thing this morning."
Because Gu Laoliu's attitude was far beyond Grandma Gu's expectations, she was momentarily stunned and didn't continue scolding.
Old Man Gu coughed. Seeing that his sixth son's family, missing for a night, had reappeared, he said to his second son's wife, Zhang Manzhi, who was tending the fire:
"Get three more bowls for Laoliu's family."
"Father, they didn't let us know they were coming back for a meal. I put less rice for them this morning. If we give it to them, there won't be enough congee."
Zhang Manzhi was displeased and cursed inwardly:
"Why is Laoliu back? So coincidental? What terrible timing!"
"So annoying, if you're going to come back, at least wait until everyone has eaten! We could have had one more spoonful of congee!"
In fact, when she cooked the congee this morning, she had still accounted for Laoliu's family's portion, intending to eat a little more herself.
Unexpectedly, with Laoliu's family's return, this beautiful dream was shattered.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Old Man Gu frowned. "Laoliu's family was out all night, they haven't eaten, and they've been scared. If everyone shares a bit, there will be enough."
Old Man Gu had to uphold justice, didn't he?
Other villagers were nearby. If they knew he wouldn't give Laoliu food, wouldn't his authority be undermined? How could he be a respected elder in the future?
Old Man Gu cared most about his reputation!
With his reputation at stake, what did it matter if three bowls of thin congee were sacrificed?
Although Old Man Gu also felt a pang of regret, his righteous words made the villagers look at him differently, their eyes shining, filled with admiration...
This made Old Man Gu feel a little pleased, slightly making up for the pain of losing three bowls of congee.
When Old Man Gu reprimanded her, Zhang Manzhi reluctantly took out three chipped cyan porcelain bowls and placed them on the ground. She poured the layer of vegetable congee remaining at the bottom of the pot into the bowls, then snorted coldly and said:
"Here, eat!"
Gu Qingcheng thought, "This hateful second aunt is the real-life protagonist of 'Don't accept charity'!
Looking at the black, dirty vegetable congee in the dirty, broken bowls on the ground, the three members of the Gu family had no appetite. They even felt a bit disgusted.
Although Gu Qingcheng wasn't the daughter of a chaebol or a wealthy family when she was young, she was a League member who grew up under the radiance of the great motherland. She had lived a life of plenty. The city she lived in had even been rated a national civilized city, indicative of the civilized qualities of its citizens. Influenced by her surroundings, it was no wonder she couldn't stomach this vegetable congee that seemed to have been fished out of a stinky ditch.
As for Gu Zhaobei, he was a doctor. Don't doctors have a bit of cleanliness obsession?
If not, then he might have other, more unknown "quirky" habits, hehe!