Chapter 29 - 27 Gu Wan

Chapter 29: Chapter 27 Gu Wan

Gu Chengyu immediately snapped back to reality, nearly forgetting he was still a little child! He then tried his best to feign innocence, pushing Mrs. Lv’s hand to her own mouth, "Mama eat! Mama likes it, Xiao Bao doesn’t like it."

Mrs. Lv took a careful look again, seeing that her young son was still so innocent and adorable, she thought she must have been seeing things. Who else could this little boy be if not her Xiao Bao? Listening to his words, she felt both moved and gratified.

"Mama doesn’t like this! This is for little kids, be good."

"If Mama doesn’t eat, I won’t eat either."

In the end, under Gu Chengyu’s "threat," Mrs. Gu had to take a piece, break it in half, and taste it.

"I’ll eat half a piece, save the rest for next time, our dinner is almost ready, extra snacking will make me lose my appetite, let’s save the other half for you to eat tomorrow when you’re hungry." After hurriedly finishing, she wrapped the remaining half again and placed it in the small bed-side cabinet.

At this moment, Gu Chengyu clenched his fist, making a firm resolution; he must become wealthy and prosperous, so that his mother can live a good life and eat as much as she wants in the future. Ah, what small ambitions he had! Cloud Cake? There are much tastier pastries than that! He wants his mother to savor countless delicacies and dress in the finest silks and satins.

He’s already five years old now, he needs to start thinking about making money soon. It’s better to limit using the things in the space, becoming wealthy overnight is not beneficial for the Gu Family’s long-term development, and it’s not safe. He must first come up with a small business idea and gradually grow it when he has the strength.

"Mama, has Third Brother returned yet? I’m starving." Gu Chengyu’s oath was interrupted by a voice.

A little girl came running in from outside the house, shouting as she rushed to the table on the kang bed, grabbing the sea bowl on the table, "gulp," "gulp," she drank all the cool water in the bowl.

"Hey! Slow down! You’re already nine years old, a big girl, why are you still so unruly? Look at you, do you still resemble a girl?" Mrs. Lv looked at Gu Wan who had run in from outside, frowned, and scolded her.

"Mama, since having a little brother, you don’t like me anymore, just always criticizing me." Gu Wan pouted, put down the sea bowl in her hand, and threw herself into Mrs. Lv’s embrace, acting coquettishly.

"You, ah! In a couple of years, you’ll be talking about marriage; you see, you’re told to stay home and learn embroidery with Mama, but you’re unwilling. Mama’s embroidery skills aren’t perfect, but are decent enough. If you learn, it counts as a skill; when you go to your in-laws’ family, it will be your livelihood. Your Second Sister-in-law is envious!" Mrs. Lv tapped Gu Wan’s forehead, helplessly speaking.

"Mama, I haven’t said I won’t learn, I’m just thinking to learn more slowly, why are you in such a hurry?" Gu Wan felt a headache at the thought of embroidering, who wanted to sit all day threading needles? She hadn’t even mastered the basics of patching, every day repeatedly practiced stitching on a piece of cloth, so boring.

"Second Sister wants to learn embroidery? Second Sister should embroider a puppy for Xiao Bao, Second Sister’s embroidery would certainly be the most beautiful." Gu Chengyu saw Mrs. Lv failing to persuade Gu Wan and chimed in. In this era, it was better for girls to have skills, depending on others was not as reliable as depending on oneself. Moreover, ancient girls settled marriage early, Gu Wan is already nine, it’s good to cultivate her temper, making things easier in marriage talks later; there’s no choice, this is not modern times.

"You little rascal, what do you know? That puppy is hard to embroider, you think you can just say ’embroider’ and it’ll be done?" Gu Wan’s gaze became somewhat evasive, feeling even her little brother started to mock her?

"Anyway, you’re not allowed to go out tomorrow, not allowed to find Chunhua to play. Her family has a lot of work, if you go, you would have to help her with work? Don’t let her get scolded by her mother." Mrs. Lv planned to rein in her daughter’s temperament, always running wild outside, if talk of marriage comes up, wouldn’t others gossip?

"Mama, I didn’t look for Chunhua today, I met Li Zheng’s daughter Liuliu on the road, went back to her place to play for a while." Gu Wan left Mrs. Lv’s embrace and sat on the edge of the kang bed, seemingly thinking of something, unconsciously pinching her clothing’s hem, looking at Mrs. Lv hesitantly.

"Li Zheng’s daughter Liuliu? That’s strange, that girl doesn’t have such a good character, her nose in the air, and she let you come to her home to play?" Mrs. Lv felt puzzled. Lin Li Zheng was wealthier than their family; Lin Li Zheng’s eldest son Lin Wen worked as an accountant in the town’s restaurant, earning eight hundred wen per month, the second son Lin Wu was a carpenter with skill, most of the furniture in nearby villages was crafted by him, and the young daughter Lin Duo married into the Fang Family, which owned a small grocery shop in the town.

"Mama, Liuliu’s room is very spacious! She has several sets of fine cotton clothes. And a vanity box, surely made by her second uncle, with several silk flowers inside, I even saw a silver bracelet!" Gu Wan felt a surge of envy as she spoke about the clothes and jewelry Lin Liuliu showed her.

"Mama, it’s been two years since I got new clothes, won’t you make me a set?" Gu Wan looked at Mrs. Lv expectantly.

"You silly girl, so thoughtless, who in the family is wearing new clothes? Whose clothes before weren’t patched over again? Your little brother is wearing hand-me-downs from Fourth Brother, last time Mama gritted her teeth and used the flowered cotton fabric from her dowry to make you new clothes, even Mama and Papa haven’t worn new clothes for years, you think not of the family’s hardship, only troubling Mama. I believe I shouldn’t let you run wild outside daily, starting tomorrow, stay indoors, don’t go anywhere." Mrs. Lv listened to Gu Wan’s words, suddenly furious at her daughter neglecting proper matters, just indulging in petty competition.

"If Mama disagrees, then never mind, why get so angry? Lin Liuliu showed me her bracelet, I only wanted to touch it, and she hit my hand, even said our family is too poor to wear decent clothes, calling us mud-legged, saying Fourth Brother is being used as a servant in her house, mocking me for never seeing a silver bracelet before. How could I not be frustrated?" Gu Wan rubbed her aching hand, grievance pouring from her eyes, tears almost falling.

Gu Chengyu followed her gaze, seeing her hand still marked with redness, evidence of how hard the blow was, her skin so tender that the marks weren’t fading easily.

Gu Chengyu’s expression darkened, feeling a tightness in his chest. "Second Sister, does your hand still hurt? Xiao Bao will blow on it for you."

Gu Wan quickly hid her hand behind her, still looking uneasy, "No problem, it’s already healed, Second Sister isn’t like Xiao Bao, crying over such things."

"Ay! You silly girl, why didn’t you say earlier? Let Mama take a look; is Lin Liuliu usually displaying bad temper but now physically hitting you? On what grounds? I must go find her; will she just get away with hitting you?" Mrs. Lv grabbed Gu Wan’s hand, seeing the reddish marks still there, feeling immense heartache.

Gu Chengyu saw Gu Wan, though previously feeling wronged, seeing her Mama’s anxious expression, her mood calmed down significantly.

Gu Wan’s temperament is lively and easy-going, somewhat spoiled as a little girl at home. Though raised by Mrs. Lv to be somewhat naive, she listens in essential matters, hardly ever unreasonable, generally obedient. After all, she’s just a young girl who can be envious, jealousy, and throw little tantrums, but overall not bad, efficiently caring for this little brother.

"Mama, please don’t, Fourth Brother is apprenticing with them, aren’t you concerned about his learning if you go?"

Mrs. Lv was about to get off the kang and put on shoes to go quarrel with the Lin Family, but hearing this, she hesitated. Oh yes, she nearly forgot, Fourth Brother is learning crafting from Lin the Second Lin Wu, and initially paid five hundred wen for the apprenticeship. If she went, how would Lin the Second continue teaching Fourth?

After considering this, Mrs. Lv gazed at Gu Wan helplessly once again. In that instant, Gu Chengyu understood the conflicting feelings of a mother, knowing that both palm and back of one’s hand are equally valued.