Chapter 105: Chapter 32: These are your father and your grandfather, right?
"When can we make it? Why not now?" Gu Wan, who loves skincare products, immediately urged upon hearing that something even better than bathing beans could be made.
"The mold isnât ready yet! We need to wait two more days. Once you learn, you canât be lazy, okay? Youâll need to help make them for the family!" Gu Chengyu smiled at Gu Wan.
"Do you even need to say that?" Making scented soap is definitely better than embroidering, right? She really canât stand embroidering, even though her mother said sheâs improved in recent days.
After practicing for another half an hour, it got dark, and under Mrs. Lvâs urging, Gu Chengyu had to pack up his pen and ink. The Gu Family only had low-quality oil lamps at night, which didnât provide much visibility. Besides, even oil lamps were used sparingly.
Nothing happened over the night, and the next morning, Gu Chengyu took a bull cart driven by Mr. Gu to town. The bull cart stopped in front of the private school, and Gu Chengyu got off but didnât go in immediately.
"Dad! If that land can be bought today, before going to the government to handle the official contract, itâs better for Manager Pan to inspect it first. Itâll give us more confidence!" Gu Chengyu thought since he would be studying at the private school, he wouldnât be there when signing the contract. His elder brother came today, not his second brother who is more astute, and neither of them can read. Itâs safer to have Manager Pan check it first!
"I know, son! Weâll definitely have Manager Pan take a look before placing the fingerprint. Go on inside!" Mr. Gu said amusingly; his youngest son sure loved to worry.
"Xiao Bao! Hurry in!" Gu Chengli also urged from the side. They had a lot to accomplish today: after buying the land, they needed to order blue bricks and tiles and find craftsmen to build the house. The villagers could only build mud brick houses, not blue brick ones. Thinking about how their home would soon be built, Gu Chengli was full of energy.
"Chengyu! Youâre here!" A loud shout came from beside him, it was Wang Qikai.
Gu Chengyu turned to see Wang Qikai getting off a lavish carriage, waving at him.
"Dad! Iâm going inside now; my classmate is calling me." Gu Chengyu bid farewell to Mr. Gu and Gu Chengli and prepared to pull Wang Qikai into the private school.
"Chengyu! Why donât you introduce me to your dad and grandpa as your classmate?" Wang Qikai ran forward, dissatisfied.
"Is this your dad and grandpa?" Wang Qikai looked at the two men speaking with Gu Chengyu, one younger, one older, who looked very alike. But Gu Chengyu didnât resemble them; he guessed Gu Chengyu must take after his mother.
Upon hearing this, Gu Chengyu got worried and tried to stop him.
But before Gu Chengyu could react, Wang Qikai voiced his guess to the two men and sweetly greeted, "Hello Uncle Gu, Grandpa Gu!" He then gave a polite bow.
Gu Chengyu was a bit dumbfounded; this was quite awkward now!
Sure enough, Mr. Guâs previously smiling face seemed to crack slightly, and even Gu Chengli was so embarrassed he didnât know what to do.
"Ahem! Well, this is my elder brother, and this is my dad! Dad, Brother, this is my classmate, Wang Qikai!" Gu Chengyu had to reintroduce.
"Ah?" Wang Qikaiâs chubby face was full of shock, turning crimson afterward.
"Iâm so sorry! Let me greet you again! Brother Gu, Uncle Gu!"
"Ah! Itâs no big deal! Classmate Xiao Bao, donât worry about it! Alright, you all go inside! Weâre leaving now too!" Mr. Gu recovered from his surprise, quickly jumped onto the bull cart, and pulled Gu Chengli away without waiting for Gu Chengyuâs response.
Gu Chengyu watched, increasingly feeling like his dad was fleeing the scene!
"Chengyu! I really didnât mean to. Your dad wonât be mad, right?" Wang Qikai blamed himself for acting recklessly, for not clarifying before addressing people.
"Donât worry, my dad wonât be mad. But, you should be careful not to act recklessly from now on. How did you know they were related to me? Couldnât it have been someone else?" Gu Chengyu smiled slightly.
"Wasnât it yesterday after school, your dad was waiting for you with the bull cart at the private school gate? There arenât many people at the school, everyone knows who picks up whom or who goes back alone if theyâve been here for a while. When your dad appeared for the first time, I guessed it must be yours! Clever, right?" Wang Qikai said with a trace of smugness.
"Yes, yes, youâre clever, but who was it that mistook them?" Gu Chengyu and Wang Qikai joked while heading to Class C.
"Dad, do you think I look old?" On the other side, Mr. Gu felt depressed driving the cart; he wondered if he didnât seem like Xiao Baoâs dad.
"No way! Dad, you look young!" Gu Chengli, holding back a laugh, finally knew how to comfort his dad with flattering words! Actually, their dad had been a grandpa for a while; Xiao Bao was younger than Da Lang!
Mr. Gu was instantly cheered up hearing Gu Chengliâs words, believing his honest elder son wouldnât sweet-talk him! He really wasnât old, right? And matched well with the childrenâs mother!
"Chengyu! Your method was truly helpful this time! See? I wrote it twice yesterday, and today I can submit it to the teacher!" Wang Qikai and Gu Chengyu walked into Class C, placing their book bags on the desk. Wang Qikai took out his written assignment from his bag.
"Do this next time! But when you go back, donât tell anyone. Otherwise, the method wonât work anymore!" Gu Chengyu laughed and said to Wang Qikai.
He believed that even if You Siyuan knew at the private school, he wouldnât go home and spread the word.
"Yeah, I know. Still, my handwriting isnât as good as yours; I wonder if the teacher will be even more inclined to smack me when he sees my writing?" Wang Qikai looked at the paper with big characters in his hand, worried again.
"Whatâs up? Why would they hit you?" Gu Chengyu asked curiously.
Then Wang Qikai unfolded the paper in his hand. Gu Chengyu took a glance, twitching his mouth; well, it did need worrying.
The first sheet contained parts of the Three Character Classic: "water, fire, wood, metal, earth; these five elements stem from numbers; ten stems from A to K; twelve branches from Rat to Pig." The numbers were difficult to write, nearly clustered together, with inconsistent spacing and a messy appearance. Some characters were large, others small. Gu Chengyu now doubted he was wrong to blame Wang Qikaiâs stepmother; such writing indeed made people want to tear it apart.
From yesterdayâs conversation, Gu Chengyu learned that Wang Qikai had been at the private school for over three years, turning nine this August, yet his calligraphy appeared this way, showing a lack of diligence in practice!
Gu Chengyu patted Wang Qikaiâs shoulder. "Yesterday, the teacher only asked you to write and submit it, and you did hand it in, right? Havenât you submitted it like this before? The teacher must be used to it by now; donât worry!"
Gu Chengyu didnât know what else to say, silently mourning for Wang Qikai. He returned to his seat, leaving Wang Qikai more anxious after hearing his words.