Chapter 175

"Mama..." Gu Hangbao nestled against Lin Zhao's side, resting his little head on her lap, his bright black eyes filled with tension. "Are you... are you angry with me and my brother?"

Lin Zhao's movements paused; she stopped wiping her hair and took the opportunity to pull both sons closer. "Why would I be angry with you two?"

She touched the eyelids of the little brothers, which hadn't fully lost their swelling yet, her voice soft. "You were scared to death today, weren't you? Your eyes are all swollen."

Lin Zhao gently hugged the twins. "Qian Bao being stolen was the evil deed of a wicked person; it has nothing to do with you two brothers. We can't shoulder the blame for a bad person's actions ourselves, you know?"

"In Mama's heart, Xiang Yubao and Gu Hangbao are both the very best brothers."

Xiang Yubao's small body in her arms stiffened slightly, as if he had set down a heavy burden; his whole person relaxed and softened, burying his face into his mother's neck and letting out a small, choked sniffle.

"Mama, I'm not a good brother."

"Hmm?" Lin Zhao waited patiently, her palm stroking his spine.

The little boy didn't rush to explain, remaining silent for nearly twenty seconds before continuing in a barely audible voice to express his inner fear. "... I actually, actually am... afraid that Mama hates me."

He felt he wasn't a good brother; when he missed his younger brother, he was even more afraid that Mama would hate him. He wasn't a good brother, *sob*...

Lin Zhao knew the eldest cub had a sensitive nature and had been trying to change it, but with the outbreak of the Qian Bao kidnapping incident, the brave little turtle had retracted back into its shell again.

She gently rubbed her cheek against her son's soft hair, her voice light and coaxing. "Was Xiang Yubao worried about your younger brother?"

"Mm." The little boy raised his head and nodded heavily. "I was afraid Qian Bao wouldn't come back."

At the time, he had prayed to the Immortal Grandpa to let him trade places to bring his brother back.

Lin Zhao touched his face, her gaze encouraging. "Look, you were worried about your brother, which shows that Xiang Yubao is a good brother who cares about his brother."

"As for what you said... that you were actually afraid Mama hates you, that's because you blamed yourself for your brother being stolen. Your brother's matter has nothing to do with you, so how could I hate you?"

She cupped Xiang Yubao's little face, looking into his red eyes, and said word by word: "Mama will never hate you, never ever. Xiang Yubao is Mama's most obedient and favorite eldest son."

"I've said it before, Qian Bao and Seeing Yaobao are the responsibility of your father and me, not yours and Gu Hangbao's. Never blame yourselves because of your younger siblings; your task is to grow up healthy and happy."

Tears welled up in Xiang Yubao's eyes, and he accidentally blew a snot bubble, which popped with a *bloop*.

He was stunned for a moment, then burst into a laugh, his eyes dark and bright, looking at his mother with adoration and attachment.

"Mama, I like you the most, most, most too." When he said this, his ears accidentally turned red.

Lin Zhao used a towel to wipe Xiang Yubao's face.

Gu Hangbao shook Lin Zhao's arm, acting spoiled. "What about me? What about me?" he asked twice in a row.

"You are Mama's most obedient and favorite second son." Lin Zhao fed her son sweet talk, keeping the scales perfectly balanced.

Gu Hangbao was coaxed into a pout.

He leaned over, aiming his little face at Lin Zhao's, mainly wanting a kiss. "Can you give your most obedient and favorite second son a kiss?"

Lin Zhao kissed him heavily, and after kissing Gu Hangbao, she kissed Xiang Yubao again.

"Are you satisfied? You two little ones. We should go to the old house."

Qian Bao had just suffered a great ordeal, and even though someone was with him, she wasn't at ease and wanted to go over early.

"Mama, hurry and dry your hair, dry it before we go." Xiang Yubao said thoughtfully.

"Alright."

After drying her hair, Lin Zhao led the twins to the old house.

The two little ones, who had been listless before, were now so happy they couldn't keep their mouths shut.

The old house courtyard.

Qian Bao was sitting face-to-face with Da Huang, the child's small hand holding Da Huang's front paw, saying something.

Seeing his mother, the little child scrambled up and ran over, *thump, thump, thump*.

"Mama."

Lin Zhao picked up her youngest son and touched his little belly; it was bulging—he was full.

"Are you full?"

Qian Bao patted his little belly. "Full, Grandma fed Cub egg custard."

His speaking speed was very slow, his voice milky and cute.

"Are the mosquito bites still itchy?" Lin Zhao saw that the bites on Qian Bao's body had all been coated with ointment.

Qian Bao shook his head, staying obediently in Lin Zhao's arms.

"Don't scratch with your hands, it will leave scars." As she said this, she remembered the scar-removal ointment she had drawn earlier and planned to find an opportunity to give it to Gu Lan; the health worker said her head injury was serious and feared it would leave a scar.

Lin Zhao had just brought the children to sit down when Gu Mu and her two daughters-in-law rushed into the courtyard, bringing waves of heat.

Seeing Lin Zhao there, the little old lady walked over quickly, taking three steps in two, and placed the compensation money she had demanded from the Li family on the table.

"Third daughter-in-law, this is the compensation money from the Li family, you keep it..."

Gu Mu looked at Lin Zhao's expression and didn't see anything, so she continued: "Zhang Manyue met her retribution; she died without a complete corpse and didn't even have a coffin to hide in. There's no way to settle accounts with her, so we could only go to the Li family. But we all know that Zhang Manyue doing this had nothing to do with the Li family; they didn't have the guts. Since we're all from the same village, it's not good to be too unforgiving. I thought it over and over: beating people up isn't as good as getting some compensation to buy some good things for Qian Bao and A-Lan to nourish their bodies. What do you think?"

Huang Xiulan glanced at the money on the table, hearing her mother-in-law's implication that it was all for the third branch, and pursed her lips, feeling a bit uncomfortable inside, but she didn't speak.

Her A-Lan had also suffered a great ordeal; A-Lan should have a share of the compensation.

Mother-in-law was biased.

Lin Zhao knew Gu Mu's words made sense and said: "I'll listen to Mother."

The compensation that should be paid had been paid; making more trouble would likely give people the impression of being unforgiving and make the Li family the victims, which wasn't necessary.

"Give half of the compensation to A-Lan, and with the remaining half, I'll buy some candy to give to the people who helped go into the mountains to find Qian Bao."

The dissatisfaction in Huang Xiulan's heart shattered *poof, poof*, and she lowered her head in shame.

She scolded herself in her heart; the third sister-in-law hadn't forgotten her A-Lan, her own heart was truly small!

Thinking again of the dress and hairpins the third branch had sent to A-Lan, she hung her head, feeling she had no face to see anyone.

Gu Mu said: "Alright. You are the victim, you decide how to arrange this compensation money, I won't interfere."

Lin Zhao kept twenty yuan and gave the rest, with all the change, to Huang Xiulan.

"Sister-in-law, you keep this, and nourish A-Lan well. She was injured severely, don't let her body suffer."

Huang Xiulan felt it was too much; she wanted fairness, not to take advantage, so she said: "No need for so much, Qian Bao suffered a great ordeal, the lion's share should go to him. Give A-Lan five yuan, and the rest... third sister-in-law, take it all to buy candy. With so many people helping, twenty yuan of candy definitely won't be enough."

After saying this, she took five yuan and turned back to the room where the first branch lived.

Missing out on ten-odd yuan, if you asked Huang Xiulan if her heart ached, it definitely ached; it was ten-odd yuan, they could be busy for months... and might not even be able to save that much.

But, regardless of the money, you have to take it in a way that lives up to your conscience, otherwise you won't be able to sleep well at night.

Gu Mu was full of relief, feeling more and more that her judgment was good; the daughters-in-law she married for her sons were all top-notch.

She smiled and said: "Third daughter-in-law, listen to your sister-in-law. A-Lan is also a great contributor to our family, the family won't treat her poorly. For the next half month, I guarantee she'll have chicken soup to drink every day."

Da Huang walked over. "Woof, woof, woof..."

This was saying it was also a contributor.

Qian Bao sat in his mother's arms, leaning out to touch Da Huang, and Da Huang cooperated by moving closer.

The little child's milky voice rang out: "Give Da Huang meat!"

Gu Mu felt her Qian Bao was truly smart, and his speech was fluent; she had never seen anyone so smart.

The old man always muttered that if the college entrance examination hadn't been canceled, the old Gu family might have produced a college student in the future, but it was a pity, a pity...

"Don't worry! Da Huang won't be left out!" Gu Mu looked at her little grandson with doting eyes.

She looked at Lin Zhao again. "Third daughter-in-law, how do you plan to handle the roe deer and rabbits you brought back?"

Before Lin Zhao could speak, Qian Bao raised his little hand first and said crisply: "Rabbit, Qian Bao's."

He tilted his little face, looking at his mother with eyes like black pearls, his movements slightly hurried, the little milky fat on his face trembling.

"Yes, the rabbit is Qian Bao's." Lin Zhao held her son's soft little arm, agreeing.

She asked: "Does Qian Bao want to raise the rabbit?"

Hearing this question, Xiang Yubao and Gu Hangbao both pricked up their ears, looking at their younger brother expectantly. How would Qian Bao answer?

Raising rabbits is great; big rabbits give birth to little rabbits, giving birth to a whole litter at a time, and then they would have endless spicy rabbit meat to eat.

Qian Bao didn't know that in his brothers' minds, his beloved rabbit had already been "done in" several times.

He puffed out his cheeks and nodded. "Yes, Treasure raises rabbit!"

Every household in the village had a quota for raising chickens, but raising rabbits... Lin Zhao wasn't clear.

She looked at Gu Mu and asked: "Mother, can we raise rabbits?"

Gu Mu said without thinking: "If you want to raise them, then raise them. You don't have chickens at home anyway, so what's wrong with raising a rabbit? No one said you can't."

The policy didn't say so anyway.

Lin Zhao rubbed Qian Bao's little face. "Did you hear that? You can raise it. When we go back, have your father weave you a small cage; if you want to raise it, then raise it."

Xiang Yubao slurped and patted his little chest. "I can cut rabbit grass, I'll find the tenderest."

Cut rabbit grass.

"Pfft..." Lin Zhao laughed out loud; the little child's way of speaking was truly fun.

"Alright, you help your younger brother cut rabbit grass."

Gu Fu was also charmed by his grandson and immediately said: "What's hard about weaving a cage? No need to find Chenghuai, I'll do it, I can weave it right now!"

After the old man finished speaking, he sat there and started weaving.

Xiang Yubao and Gu Hangbao were full of curiosity; they picked up their small bamboo stools and leaned over to watch.

Gu Fu was very skillful; he could weave bamboo curtains, cool mats, stools... he could even weave complex-shaped small animals; he was the "perfect" grandpa the children loved most.

Weaving a cage was a piece of cake for him.

Watching Grandpa weave the cage skillfully, Gu Hangbao said "Wow." "Grandpa is so amazing."

This wasn't anything amazing; every old man in the countryside could do it. Gu Fu was coaxed into a pout by his grandson's soft praise.

Cheers came from outside.

Gu Mu stood up. "This sound... it must be Chenghuai and the others back. Oh my, so noisy, they must have hunted a lot of meat, I'll go take a look."

There was no wailing, which meant everyone who went up the mountain had returned safe and sound, so she wasn't too worried.

The other members of the Gu family were extremely excited and followed Gu Mu outside.

Qian Bao poked Lin Zhao's shoulder with his short little finger, his gaze confused, as if asking why Mama wasn't going out?

"Wild boars are ugly and fierce, don't go join the fun, we'll go see the little rabbit in a while." Lin Zhao coaxed him lightly.

The twins had wanted to rush out, but hearing her say this, they slammed on the brakes and stopped, not going to join the fun either.

Yu Yu had a "salted fish" personality and didn't like to move; most of the time she sat in the corner playing with cloth dolls with Seeing Yaobao. Seeing the activity in the courtyard, she didn't even move her bottom; she was also a very worry-free little cub.

With her there, Seeing Yaobao always had someone to play with; the little sisters were happy and neither made a fuss, unless they were hungry or needed to go.

"Grandpa, is wild boar meat delicious?" Gu Hangbao licked his lips, sitting on his small stool and asking his grandpa.

Gu Fu nodded. "It's delicious, where is there meat that isn't delicious?"

It wasn't as delicious as what you bought, that was for sure.

For someone like Gu Fu who had suffered through hard times, having meat to eat was already good enough; who was he to be picky!

Gu Hangbao was greedy and immediately felt some expectation. "Grandpa, can we eat pork tonight?"

The prey hunted on the mountain, like wild boars which were relatively large, would be divided equally, otherwise it would be "digging the corner of socialism," so generally speaking, every household could eat wild boar meat tonight.

"Yes." Gu Fu answered affirmatively.

Gu Hangbao wiped the corner of his mouth, looking forward to it even more.

Gu Chenghuai and the others hunted back four wild boars, three big and one small. The pig butcher slaughtered the pigs, and every household received meat; the adults and children in the village were all incredibly happy.

Even Song Qian and Wen Huaiyuan, who helped, received pork. Because of this, the villagers changed their views on the male educated youths and slowly began to look at them properly.

Wen Huaiyuan was flattered. "Brother Song, are we... integrated?"

Song Qian was silent for a moment and said lightly: "You've received too many cold shoulders. People give you a smiling face, and you're grinning with satisfaction."

"No ambition."

The young man with an extraordinary bearing carried a square piece of pork and returned to the educated youth point unhurriedly.

Wen Huaiyuan stared and chased after him. "Brother Song, what do you mean? You say I have no ambition? Don't rush, explain clearly..."

The two high-spirited young men argued and bickered as they went home.

The wind that day was very gentle.

Educated youth point.

Seeing the meat in Song Qian and Wen Huaiyuan's hands, the educated youths swallowed their saliva, regretting it incessantly.

If they had known there was no danger on the mountain, they would have followed too; that was such a big piece of meat.

These country folk truly had too many tricks; they must have been afraid they would share the meat, so they tricked them by saying there were wild beasts on the mountain; they were too black-hearted...

The Gu family also received meat, which was brought back by Xingye and his brothers.

"Xiang Yubao, Gu Hangbao, why didn't you two go out to watch the fun? Third Uncle hunted several big wild boars, there's so much meat!" Tie Dan walked over excitedly, swinging the meat in his hand.

"Brother Xingye, are wild boars scary?" Gu Hangbao went up to meet him and poked the piece of meat.

"Scary, they're so big." Xingye gestured. "Grandma said wild boars are very dangerous and can gore people to death."

He pursed his lips. "They don't look good, they're all black."

Xingci, which was Lai Mei, said: "Who cares if it looks good or not, as long as the meat is delicious."

Li Bao's eyes were sparkling, his face full of little worship. "Third Uncle is truly amazing! He can even kill such a big wild boar!"

Xingci sighed. "If you're a man, you have to be a soldier."

The Gu family: "..."

Such old-fashioned rhetoric.

Just then, Gu Chan returned.

"Our family divided so much meat, I came back just in time. Mother, are you cooking it all tonight? Cook a bit more, I'll go send a bowl to my grandma." She didn't call anyone, didn't look at anyone, and said to Gu Mu.

Gu Chenghuai entered behind Gu Chan.

Seeing her ignore everyone in the family, he felt displeased.

Unwilling to waste words with his spoiled younger sister, he said lightly: "The old house will send meat over, go eat at Second Uncle's house."

Gu Chan was unhappy. "Third Brother..."

Gu Chenghuai didn't waste words, his deep, cold-pool-like black eyes landing on her, faintly revealing a warning.

His patience for her was exhausted.

Gu Chan was nailed to the spot for a moment, her whole body feeling cold; a young girl who hadn't reached adulthood, how could she withstand the aura of a soldier who had been through battle?

"... I'll go then!" She snatched the meat from Li Bao's hand and stamped her foot heavily. "Hmph, I didn't want to eat at the same table as you anyway!"

After the words fell.

She ran away like a gust of wind.

No one took this little interlude seriously.

Gu Chenghuai washed his hands and saw Qian Bao sitting in his wife's arms, swinging his feet, a sweet smile on his face, not much affected; a faint smile flashed in his eyes.

He found an opportunity to tell Lin Zhao about Zhang Manyue's fate.

Regarding this, Lin Zhao only evaluated it with one sentence: "The Li family is ruthless, and she is both stupid... and learned the ruthlessness of the Li family; neither are good things."

As the weak, she instead wielded a knife against the even weaker; no matter what fate she met, it was all self-inflicted.

Gu Chenghuai said warmly: "This matter is over, don't get angry and ruin your health."

"Mm."

At this time.

At the entrance of the neighboring village, which could be reached by crossing the mountain.

The woman with a black mole on her brow saw the sky getting later and later, and the cowardly woman who had agreed to trade children hadn't come yet; guessing something had happened, she pulled a long face, cursed something, and carried her pole away.

Seeing her cold face, the young child in the bamboo basket shrank his neck, his eyes filled with tears.