Chapter 49: Stone Brothers

Gu Chan was very nervous facing Lin Zhao and subconsciously grabbed her hem. "Zhaozhao is back."

After greeting her, she was about to leave: "Everything that needed to be tidied up at home has been tidied up. I'll first..."

Lin Zhao suddenly spoke: "Big Sister, eat before you go back."

Gu Chan was stunned.

Ever since Lin Zhao gave birth to the twins, she had come over every half month or month to help tidy up the house.

Four years had passed in a flash, and she had never been asked to stay for a meal; today was the first time.

Gu Big Sister was flattered and hurriedly waved her hands: "No need, I'll go back and eat."

"Stay. Big Sister has worked hard these past few years," Lin Zhao said softly.

Thinking about her behavior over these past few years, she was selfish beyond belief.

If she didn't know how to cherish such a good big sister, she would be struck by lightning.

Gu Chan felt like she had been fixed in place, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

Her eye sockets burned, and she hurriedly lowered her head to hide her embarrassment, but soon raised her head again and smiled: "Then I'll be thick-skinned and stay."

Lin Zhao shook her head.

To put it bluntly, hiring a nanny would cost ten or twenty yuan a month. Big Sister had taken care of her for more than four years, so what was a meal!

Gu Da Cai and Ercai learned that Big Sister was staying for a meal and ran over, jumping and hopping, surrounding Gu Chan.

"Big Sister, Mom's cooking is delicious," Gu Da Cai said proudly.

Ercai patted the flesh that had grown on his little belly and grinned with his little mouth. "I eat the food Mom makes, and my belly has grown meat. Big Sister, touch it."

Gu Chan touched it to give him face and laughed: "It really has meat. Eat well, and grow up to be a tall guy like your dad!"

"Yup, I eat a lot in one meal," Ercai said enthusiastically.

Gu Chan looked at the brand-new bicycle and lowered her voice to ask: "Did your mom buy a bicycle?"

"Yes, and a watch. Mom looks so good wearing the watch."

Gu Da Cai added: "Dad sent the tickets."

Gu Chan's eyes brightened. "Did Dad write a letter?"

"He did."

It seems the young couple is in contact again; that's a good thing.

Gu Chan was always worried that her third brother's personality was too dull and he would anger his wife away. Knowing the two were in contact by letter, she was in a pleasant mood and walked briskly to the kitchen to help.

"Zhaozhao, I'll help you."

Lin Zhao had been cooking every day for half a month and felt the kitchen was clean enough.

After Big Sister had tidied and organized it, the dust in the corners of the walls had been swept clean, the cabinets were wiped until they were comparable to new ones, and the bowls and chopsticks were neatly arranged inside. It really looked clean and comfortable.

"Big Sister is really good at tidying up," she praised sincerely.

So Ercai's obsessive-compulsive disorder followed his big sister.

Gu Chan was a bit embarrassed; every country child knew how to tidy up the house.

"What's this? Everyone can do it."

Lin Zhao didn't think so. "Everyone can, but Big Sister makes it pleasing to the eye."

Gu Chan beamed.

Seeing her sister-in-law take out a piece of meat, six eggs, a tomato, half a cabbage, and two sweet potatoes, washing some and processing others.

She was stunned: "... Are you going to cook all of these?"

"We can finish it," Lin Zhao replied.

A tender, white little face appeared at the open window; it was Ercai.

"I'm a growing boy; I can eat my father poor!" He seemed very proud, saying in a light tone.

"..." Lin Zhao was between laughing and crying.

"Gu Ercai, stop mimicking adults!"

The next second, Ercai covered his mouth, his bright eyes curved with laughter, and he rested his little head on his arms, looking at the kitchen. If he had a tail behind him, he would have been wagging it to please her long ago.

"Keep an eye on your younger brother and sister; don't leave everything to your brother," Lin Zhao said, nimbly cutting vegetables and glancing at him.

Ercai cried out that he was wronged, knitting his little eyebrows and looking at his mother accusingly. "Mom, I haven't done less work. You didn't see, at noon, Third Cub and Fourth Cub wanted to play with water, and it was me who grabbed them with all my might."

He turned his head and shouted to his brother: "Brother! Brother! Testify for me! Hurry up, hurry up!!"

Seeing the twins about to climb the table, Ercai immediately forgot what he was about to say. His short legs scrambled fast, and he quickly ran over, hugged Fourth Cub away from the dangerous place, and lectured her with a straight face.

Mimicking the tone Lin Zhao used to call him: "Gu Fourth Cub!"

Fourth Cub raised her head, her black-and-white eyes looking at Second Brother blankly, revealing a toothless smile. She was tender and fresh, like a flower bud on a branch in early spring, and reached out her hand to be held.

"Hold!" Her voice was soft and sweet.

Ercai almost surrendered, barely remembering the serious business, and lectured his sister with a stern face.

"You can't climb high. If you fall, it will hurt."

Fourth Cub grabbed Second Brother's hem with her soft hands and blinked her big eyes. "Hurt."

"Right, hurt."

In the kitchen, Lin Zhao saw this scene and was laughing to death in her heart.

A five-and-a-half-year-old big friend lecturing a little friend with a straight face was cute to death.

Gu Chan glanced at the smile on her sister-in-law's face, and a certain place in her heart seemed to be poked. After joy, she felt a sore nose and hurriedly turned her head away. When she raised her head again, a light smile appeared on her face.

She knew that as long as their family treated Zhaozhao well, she would live a peaceful life.

Look, Zhaozhao had a job and was clearly attentive to the four cubs; how good that was.

She would definitely treat her sister-in-law even better in the future!

The Big Sister of the Fengshou Brigade was going crazy.

"..." *How much better could it get? Feeding the food into her mouth? Please! *

The Wei family Gu Chan married into also earned work points in the fields and rarely ate meat for months. When the scent of meat spread, saliva couldn't help but overflow in her mouth. She swallowed several times, feeling very embarrassed, and her face burned slightly.

Lin Zhao acted as if she didn't see it and nimbly served the dishes onto plates.

Looking at the plates, she thought of something.

"Sister, I bought a stack of plates and bowls. I have to take them to the old house later. Don't forget to remind me."

Gu Chan was stunned. "Doesn't the family have them?"

"Returning them. That matter with the Lu family—those plates and bowls were borrowed from the villagers," Lin Zhao explained.

The things were smashed by Gu Mu's hand, so they had to pay back half.

Of course, Gu Mu's medical treatment and medicine were paid for by the Lu family.

Originally, Lu Mother wasn't happy to pay and wanted the Gu family to pay for all the smashed plates and bowls. Lu Yizhou wanted face, felt he had paid the medical expenses, and made the final decision that the loss of bowls and plates would be half for each family.

On the surface, it was reasonable.

Because of this matter, the villagers gave him a thumbs up again, saying he was righteous, helping reason instead of relatives, and so on.

Regarding this, Lin Zhao didn't comment.

Gu Chan learned the ins and outs and immediately reached into her pants pocket, touching nothing but air. Ordinary families would rather break a dime into two to spend; unless they went to the county, they wouldn't carry money with them, fearing it would be lost.

She smiled awkwardly. "Zhaozhao, I didn't bring money. I'll give you the money next time I come."

Lin Zhao laughed. "No need. Mom helps me take care of the four cubs, so it's only right for me to help. Besides, these plates and bowls are defective products from the supply and marketing cooperative; they aren't expensive, so no need to give money."

They really weren't expensive; a coarse porcelain bowl was only three cents.

A fine porcelain bowl was at least fifteen cents, several times the price of a coarse porcelain bowl.

What was smashed were coarse porcelain bowls, so what was returned was naturally coarse porcelain bowls.

Gu Chan thanked her sincerely and then asked: "How is work? Are you used to it?"

"Used to it. Just arranging goods, selling goods, and making records." For Lin Zhao, it was a very easy thing.

"As long as you're used to it. If there's anything, tell the family. If the family can't solve it, call Chenghuai." Her brother wasn't by her side, so Gu Chan's worry was inevitably a bit more.

"Okay." Lin Zhao knew Big Sister meant well and didn't deliberately go against her.

As they were talking, the meal was ready.

Gu Chan was a nimble girl in her maiden home, and even more nimble after marriage. She placed the food on the table and set the chopsticks.

Taking advantage of this time, Lin Zhao went to feed Da Huang and Xiao Xiao Hu Po.

The two dogs looked up at her, circled around her, and their tails wagged like propellers.

Lin Zhao poured dog food into the basin. Just as she poured a little, Xiao Xiao Hu Po buried her whole dog face into it, kicked her hind legs, and the basin tilted.

Da Huang couldn't stand it, stepped forward steadily, bit the back of her neck, and dragged the cub away before letting go. It jumped up and wanted to go forward again, but the dog mother, who had gained some flesh, sank her body, used her front paws to pull her, and pinned the cub in front of her.

Xiao Xiao Hu Po wasn't happy, used her round head to butt Da Huang, but it was useless. She used her short, weak paws to push, but didn't break free, and even ended up tilted on the ground, unable to escape her mother's "five" finger mountain.

The little dog was tired and stuck out her tongue, lying there and giving up, her dog face desperate.

Lin Zhao couldn't help but: "Pfft..."

Gu Chan also couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth.

"Da Huang, bring your cub over to eat," Lin Zhao's voice sounded.

Da Huang stood up, the little puppy jumped up directly, walked over with her little body shaking, and started showing off.

"So small, but so fierce when eating," Gu Chan said with a smile.

Gu Da Cai and Ercai were washing their hands with their younger brother and sister.

Hearing this.

Gu Da Cai said: "Mom said Xiao Xiao Hu Po was scared by hunger, so she's like this. She'll be fine when she gets bigger."

"I was like this the first time I ate the dumplings Mom made; I wished I could eat the bowl into my stomach." Ercai raised a smiling face, thinking of the taste of the dumplings, he licked his lips and looked at Lin Zhao: "Mom, when will we eat dumplings again? I want to eat them."

"I'll make them for you another day if you want to eat them."

Gu Chan finished her meal at her sister-in-law's house, went back to the old house to urge Gu Mu to take good care of her injury, and then went home carrying the small cloth bag Lin Zhao had stuffed into her hand.

This time she didn't walk back; Gu Yuanshan rode the bike to send her, riding Lin Zhao's bicycle, of course.

Lin Zhao took the initiative to lend the new bicycle, and the Gu family sighed in their hearts—it still had to be their own family; they were straightforward. Borrowing a car from the Captain's house meant listening to ten or twenty minutes of grumbling.

Gu Yuanshan washed his hands, touched the bicycle happily, his mouth almost crooked from smiling, attracting a burst of envy from other members of the family.

*The eldest is amazing. *

Gu Fu regretted pinching his thigh. If he had known there would be a day to buy a bicycle, he should have learned it too. The old father really wanted to squeeze his son away with his butt and go up himself.

Gu Yuanshan seemed to have reached the pinnacle of his life, pushing the bicycle and looking down on the crowd.

Before he could show off, his father slapped him on the head.

"Be careful. If you scrape off a bit of the car's skin, watch out for your own skin."

Gu Yuanshan looked at his father; he was his biological son, after all.

Responding to him was Gu Fu's firm gaze.

Yes, you heard that right!

"..."

Threatened like this, Gu Yuanshan became even more careful, riding slowly on the road.

Gu Chan rarely rode a bicycle, happy and restrained. At first, she didn't dare to move at all, her whole body almost stiffened, and then she carefully adjusted her sitting posture.

After relaxing, she discovered a problem.

"Big Brother, can you go faster?"

This speed couldn't even keep up with her walking.

Gu Yuanshan still rode slowly. "Dad said if I scrape off a piece of skin, he'll take my skin. How dare I go fast."

Gu Chan: "..."

"Big Brother, you just want to ride the bicycle for a while longer, right?" Gu Chan poked his little thought.

Gu Yuanshan gave a *hehe* smile and didn't deny it. "The opportunity is rare. Once I go back, with Second Brother and your eldest and second sisters-in-law watching, where would I have the chance to ride again."

"And there's Dad," Gu Chan laughed.

"Right! And Dad! Dad just now wished he could pull me off the bicycle." Gu Yuanshan carefully avoided the stones on the road, a man in his thirties, happy like a teenager.

The brother and sister talked and laughed as they reached their destination.

A bicycle, especially a brand-new bicycle, was an extremely conspicuous existence in any brigade.

As soon as the Gu brother and sister appeared, everyone's eyes gathered on them.

A little boy with good eyesight saw the person in the back seat of the bicycle from afar and shouted to his little friends.

"Big Stone, your mom is back!"

Big Stone heard this and said "oh" calmly, didn't get up, and continued looking for cicada monkeys.

*Back is back. * His mom went to Third Uncle's house every once in a while; he was used to it. What was there to be curious about?

The little boy stomped his feet anxiously. "Big Stone, your mom is back sitting on a bicycle!!"

He bit the word "bicycle" very hard.

Big Stone's eyes brightened *whoosh*, and he stood up abruptly. "... Bicycle?"

"Right, it's a bicycle."

Big Stone covered the jar containing the cicada monkeys in three or two strokes, pulled his younger brother, and ran to where there were many people. The hair growing to his eyebrows fell backward, revealing a smooth forehead.

He looked a bit like Gu Chan and was on the handsome side. If he were whiter, he could pass for a class heartthrob.

"Big Uncle!" Big Stone saw Gu Yuanshan and called out to his Big Uncle affectionately.

Little Stone wasn't as lively as his brother, clutching Big Stone's hem, hiding behind him and not showing his head.

"This is Big Uncle; greet him." Big Stone patted his brother's head.

"... Big Uncle," Little Stone called out.

Big Stone approached the bicycle, didn't dare to touch it, and smiled, revealing a mouthful of big white teeth. "Big Uncle, this isn't the bicycle you bought, is it?"

"Where would I get the money and tickets? It was bought by your Third Aunt," Gu Yuanshan explained with a smile, touched his pocket, and didn't even have a piece of dried sweet potato, so he gave a sheepish smile.

*Careless. *

The smile on Big Stone's face faded. He had some opinions about his Third Aunt; he felt his Third Aunt bullied his mother.

Gu Chan was willing to help her brother's family, but there were always people in the village gossiping, saying very ugly things. Even if the Wei family's parents-in-law were kind, they inevitably developed some resentment.

Big Stone protected his mother and had fought several times with children who gossiped about his family. Gradually, no children talked about it.

However.

He could control children with his fists, but he couldn't control adults who didn't think it was a big deal to watch the excitement.

Because of this, Big Stone had quite a few complaints about his Third Uncle and Third Aunt in his heart.

Gu Chan knew her son's thoughts, opened her cloth bag, took out two White Rabbit creamy candies, and divided them between her two sons.

"Your Third Aunt gave them to you. This is a White Rabbit creamy candy that costs several cents each. Gu Da Cai and Ercai said they were delicious, so give them to your brother and younger brother."

Little Stone couldn't care about being shy anymore, took the candy from his mother's hand, clutched it in his hand, and said directly: "Brother Gu Da Cai and Brother Ercai are really good!"

Big Stone glared fiercely at his younger brother.

*Little traitor! *

Watching Gu Yuanshan leave, Gu Chan took her two sons home.

Wei Mother had just finished feeding the chickens. Seeing her daughter-in-law return, she said: "I left food for you in the pot."

"I've eaten," Gu Chan said with a smile.

Wei Mother was stunned.

Her daughter-in-law's sister-in-law never kept her for a meal, and she wasn't willing to return to her maiden home to beg for food, so she always came back on an empty stomach.

Gu Chan's eyes brimmed with layers of smiles. "I ate at Zhaozhao's house."

She took out the things Lin Zhao had stuffed into her hand.

"These were stuffed into my hand by Zhaozhao." Gu Chan took them out one by one.

Canned meat, half a can of malted milk, a sausage, and then some fruit candies, White Rabbit creamy candies, and shrimp-flavored candies.

Wei Mother's eyes grew wider and wider.

*Is her Third Aunt-in-law okay? *

It wasn't easy to say this. She struggled for a moment, weighing her words. "What good thing did the two Stones' Third Aunt-in-law run into? Why is she suddenly so generous?"

Big Stone and Little Stone also looked at their mother.

"Zhaozhao has become a salesperson at the supply and marketing cooperative," Gu Chan said proudly.

With a *clang*, the gourd ladle in Wei Mother's hand fell to the ground, her face full of shock. "Salesperson?"

Gu Chan nodded.

Wei Mother slapped her thigh happily. "The two Stones' Third Aunt-in-law has become a city person! That's a good thing."

As she spoke, she felt it was a pity. "Sigh, it's a pity it's past afternoon meal time, otherwise I would have had to stir-fry two eggs to celebrate."

After all, they were acquaintances. In the future, if they sold mountain goods or something, they wouldn't have to suffer white eyes!

Big Stone took the conversation. "Grandma, we can stir-fry eggs to celebrate tomorrow."

Wei Mother was in a very good mood, smiling until her face was wrinkled. "Alright." ===== CHAPTER 50 =====