"That good-for-nothing didn't come back with you?"
Li Xuemei knew Wu Zhaodi was asking about Gu Ruhai, so she replied, "There's still some work to do in the fields. Just half a day's effort, so I let the father and son pair handle it while I brought the two little ones back."
Li Xuemei didn't dare to say she was helping Gu Rushan with harvesting corn. Otherwise, the old woman would be absolutely furious, and when Gu Ruhai came home, he'd surely get a scolding from his mother.
That's why she couldn't tell the truth.
Wu Zhaodi glanced at her daughter's guilty expression and knew for sure her useless son-in-law had been roped in by Mr. Gu for free labor again.
She didn't lose her temper but sighed heavily, poked her daughter Li Xuemei's forehead with her finger, and said, "You, you, no wonder the old saying is true. A woman's heart turns outward. Once married, she's all for her husband's family.
Don't hide it from me. I know all about your family's business. It's just that Second Brother's family wanted to slack off, and the old man protects them, assigning the son-in-law to do the work. Your husband is just simple-minded, never thinks twice about anything. If his father tells him to die, he wouldn't even question it."
Li Xuemei awkwardly didn't dare to respond, having been seen through by her own mother—what was there left to say?
Gu Xiaoqing had already heard everything from outside because Grandpa Li Qinghai had finished preparing pig feed, washed his hands, and was about to come in. Gu Xiaoqing and Gu Xiaojie happened to be standing at the door, hearing the whole conversation.
Her heart couldn't help but applaud Grandma's cleverness. Her own dad's little schemes were probably seen through long ago by Grandma.
She's always spot-on.
Li Qinghai deliberately coughed, and the mother and daughter inside quickly stopped talking. Li Qinghai patted Gu Xiaojie's little head and lifted the curtain to walk inside.
"Kids' mom, get on with cooking. It's getting late, and the two little ones are probably hungry. The ones in the field should be back soon."
The conversation was interrupted. Wu Zhaodi responded, quickly heading to the kitchen. Looking at the time, sure enough, it was quite late—almost noon.
She also internally shouted, "Oops."
There were still eight mouths waiting for food.
Missing the meal time without food ready would be unacceptable in any household.
Li Xuemei also hurried down to help—it was her fault her mom had lost track of time. Two people working together would make the task go quicker.
Li Qinghai led Gu Xiaoqing and Gu Xiaojie into the room, sat on a bench, tore off a piece of straw paper, and began rolling a cigarette.
Gu Xiaoqing quickly stepped up to take over. She helped her dad Gu Ruhai with this task quite often, and indeed, she rolled them well and fast, her technique very seasoned.
Seeing the cigarette Gu Xiaoqing rolled, Li Qinghai smiled contentedly.
"Good kid, school starting soon?"
Li Qinghai lovingly took the cigarette rolled by his granddaughter, struck a match, lit it, took a puff, and asked Gu Xiaoqing.
"Grandpa, I know, I know. Second Sister is about to start school. Mom's borrowing money from Grandma and Grandpa—I heard in the morning."
Gu Xiaojie eagerly threw himself into Grandpa's arms, spilling the beans completely, seemingly seeking praise, grinning triumphantly at Gu Xiaoqing.
Gu Xiaoqing rolled her eyes. This heartless little guy—could he really say such things?
Even if it was about borrowing money, it should be the topic between Li Xuemei and Grandma and Grandpa, not something coming from the mouths of the two little ones.
Li Qinghai wasn't bothered, chuckling, holding Gu Xiaojie in his arms, carried him up, close to his grandson's tender face, and happily said, "Good, is my little Jie also going to school soon?"
Gu Xiaoqing breathed a sigh of relief. Grandpa's a broad-minded person, not one to overthink. He's concerned about their family's difficulties, not realizing borrowing money from Grandma is unreasonable.
"Grandpa, Dad said that when Second Sister and I go to school, our family has our tuition. It won't be given to Uncle's Gu Xiaocheng. Mom said our family's money is meant for our family's kids, or Dad would be in trouble."
Kids speak without inhibition.
Gu Xiaoqing didn't know whether to shut Xiao Jie's mouth or not. This one was quite the blabbermouth.
A boy shouldn't be such a gossip.
Gu Xiaoqing decided she had to properly educate her brother in the future—can't let her brother grow into a gossip queen.
Grandfather Li Qinghai laughed, "Good, good. Your mom's right. Your mom's growing capable."
Gu Xiaoqing knew it was Xiao Jie's words that pleased Li Qinghai. It's not that Li Qinghai is heartless; it's just that given her family's situation, without someone strong, it would soon fall apart.
Grandpa is delighted.
A capable daughter makes a father proud.
Li Qinghai shouted loudly towards the kitchen, "Kids' mom, make an extra dish, take out the eggs in the basket, and scramble some eggs for the kids. Fry a few more, don't be stingy with those couple of eggs."
Gu Xiaoqing knew Grandpa was pleased.
Voices came from the doorway, "Dad, what happy occasion is it? Adding a dish?"
It was the voice of the eldest uncle, accompanied by other loud sounds.
It seemed the uncles, aunts, and cousins had returned from the fields.
Gu Xiaoqing quickly ran out, lifted the curtain, and cheerfully greeted everyone, "Eldest Uncle, Eldest Aunt, Younger Uncle, Younger Aunt, Brother Jianguo, Brother Jianhui, Sister Yufeng, Sister Yuhong. You're back. Great, put things down and take a rest."
Sweet-talking is essential. Gu Xiaoqing spent her life determined to maintain good relations with her uncles' family, ensuring that the aunts couldn't find fault with her.
Grandma and Grandpa favored her family, but at least she should make them feel a bit more at ease.
Can't take advantage and then act ungrateful.
Sure enough, with these words, the two aunts who were initially frowning when they saw Gu Xiaoqing had to smile. Although the smile wasn't big and seemed rather perfunctory, Gu Xiaoqing knew it was a start.
Changing things meant trying more than just this.
Eldest Aunt Liu Fen still dryly tossed out a remark, "I was wondering why we're having an extra dish today—turns out Dad and Mom's treasure has come home."
Of course, the statement was quite sour, but Gu Xiaoqing pretended not to know, beamed, and innocently said, "Eldest Aunt, yes indeed, Grandpa is saying that the brothers and sisters are working hard in the field. They are the treasures of the Li Family, so he specifically asked Grandma to add a dish, right, Grandpa?"
This response was quick and instantly redirected the dish to the four uncle's children.
Although the aunt knew what that dish was about, hearing it that way made her feel contented—being appreciated made one comfortable.
Looking at Gu Xiaoqing didn't seem as irritating anymore.
Grandfather immediately shouted from inside, "Yes, seeing our family work so hard, today we'll add a dish for the kids. I'll ask your mom to scramble a few more eggs, so everyone gets a share."
This was nicely put—everyone gets a share—not just their daughter and kids, leaving the aunts with nothing to say.