Chapter 15: “fairy Grandma”
“Is it better to change, or not to change?” Huang Xiulan asked her with a smile.
“Of course it’s better to change. These years, Da Zai and the others have had a mother who’s like no mother at all. I feel sorry for them. Having a biological mother’s care is always different. I hope Third Brother’s Wife has truly figured it out.” Zhao Liuniang sincerely hoped so.
The Gu Family had only Old Third as the capable one. She hoped he would do better and better in the troops, and later help support her own children. Accordingly, she also hoped the Third Branch would all be well. She knew that Old Third’s job couldn’t afford distractions.
Huang Xiulan agreed with Zhao Liuniang’s words. She said, “Third Brother’s Wife married in at such a young age and soon got pregnant and had kids. The first few years must have been unaccustomed. Once she adapts, it’ll be fine.”
The two sides were far apart, so even if Lin Zhao made a fuss, she couldn’t reach the two sisters-in-law. Over these years, Huang Xiulan and Zhao Liuniang’s impression of her had gradually improved.
This was the far fragrance, near stink.
Uh, though it wasn’t that far either.
Gu Mu put away that bar of laundry soap, and her mood was good all evening.
“That’s rare,” Gu Fu remarked sharply.
“What do you know? This is the first thing I’ve gotten from Old Third’s Wife. It’s precious.”
Gu Fu: “…”
–
Da Zai and Er Zai made a big splash returning to the old house, without running into the annoying little aunt. When they got home, the arc of their upturned mouths hadn’t gone down.
Lin Zhao was making underwear for Da Zai and Er Zai, two per child, and was working on the last pair.
“Mom!” Da Zai’s voice calling out was full of joy.
The delight in the little voice softened the heart.
“What’s up?”
Da Zai pulled up a small stool and sat next to Lin Zhao, tilting his head to look at her, thinking Mom was really pretty.
“Nothing, I’m happy.”
Lin Zhao smiled and said, “Really? I’m happy too.”
“What’s Mom happy about?” Er Zai sat on his mom’s other side, propping his chin, asking curiously.
“Because you’re good. When you’re good, I’m happy,” Lin Zhao said casually.
Da Zai said, “Then we’ll be good every day and make Mom happy every day.”
“Good. I’ll be a good mom from now on too, and make you happy every day,” Lin Zhao said, following her son’s words.
“Mom is already a good mom!” Da Zai smiled shyly, but his eyes were full of seriousness. “Grandma said Mom is a little girl who doesn’t know how to take care of little friends yet, but when she grows up, she’ll know how. Mom has grown up now, so she can take care of me and my little brother and sister. We’ll take care of Mom too.”
Lin Zhao felt an indescribable taste in her heart and asked, “Did Grandma tell you all that?”
“Mm-hmm.” Da Zai nodded.
Lin Zhao: “…” What kind of fairy mother-in-law is this!
Da Zai and Er Zai didn’t resent her and still treated her like Mom with closeness. Half the credit went to the mother-in-law!
One bar of laundry soap was too little!
“Wait, I’ll make sour cabbage fish, okay?” Lin Zhao finished the last pair of little pants for the two cubs and asked Da Zai and Er Zai’s opinion.
“What kind of fish is sour cabbage fish?” Er Zai’s big eyes were full of curiosity. He had never eaten sour cabbage fish.
“Okay.” Da Zai said, “Everything Mom makes is delicious!”
Hearing his brother say that, Er Zai didn’t ask anymore and quickly said, “Sour cabbage fish is fine. Everything Mom makes is delicious.”
“I’ll go cook. Rinse the little pants, dry them, and you can wear them tomorrow.” Lin Zhao handed the four newly made little pants to the two little friends.
Da Zai smiled brightly, “Got it.”
He took his brother to wash the clothes.
Lin Zhao went to the kitchen and started preparing the grass carp that her mom and Second Brother had sent. This fish was over two jin, with plenty of meat, perfect for sour cabbage fish.
The only problem was there were no pickled mustard greens at home.
No big deal. Once Da Zai and Er Zai finished washing the little pants, she’d go to the old house to get some.
Lin Zhao killed the fish. Her good son came to help after washing the clothes. Da Zai looked up with his little face, “Mom, I’ll tend the fire.”
“Not yet. You and Er Zai go to the old house to get some pickled mustard greens.”
Da Zai loved helping his mom and immediately pulled his brother to the old house.
They ran all the way, arousing curiosity among the villagers.
They arrived at the old house.
“Grandma!” Da Zai shouted.
Normally, such a loud voice would be Er Zai’s. When Da Zai shouted like that, Gu Mu thought something had happened and wiped her wet hands as she hurried out of the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?”
“Grandma, my mom is making sour cabbage fish and sent me to get pickled mustard greens,” Da Zai said.
Gu Mu breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Pickled mustard greens? We have plenty at home. Grandma will pack some for you.”
As she spoke, she turned and went into the kitchen, filling a full bowl.
Outside the house.
Tie Dan swallowed saliva and leaned close to Er Zai, “Er Zai, is your mom making fish for you?”
“Mm-hmm.” Er Zai loved sharing and said, “Second Uncle sent us a fish.”
He spread his arms to gesture, “This long. Mom said she’d make sour cabbage fish for us. I haven’t eaten sour cabbage fish before, but everything Mom makes is delicious, so the sour cabbage fish will definitely be super super delicious.”
“What’s super?” Tie Chui asked dumbly.
“Super means the most delicious,” Er Zai explained.
Tie Chui nodded in agreement, “Third Aunt’s cooking is super super delicious!”
Bang Bang said enviously, “Your uncles are really nice.”
His uncle never gave him treats and even stole his candy.
Er Zai said excitedly, “I have three uncles, and they’re all really nice. Tomorrow Mom is taking me and my brother back to her maternal family. My maternal grandma will definitely make us yummy food!”
“Sigh!” Bang Bang sighed with a bitter face. Thinking of his own maternal uncle soured his mood, “My uncle is not nice at all. I don’t like going back to my mom’s maternal family with her.”
Er Zai didn’t understand why Brother Bang Bang’s uncle was a bad uncle.
Gu Mu came out of the kitchen with a bowl of pickled mustard greens and handed it to Da Zai. The two cubs left the old house.
Tie Dan looked at Gu Mu eagerly, “Grandma, when can we eat fish at home? I want to eat meat.”
“Greedy kid! Who doesn’t want to eat meat!” Gu Mu deliberately put on a stern face, but she still felt sorry for her grandson and said, “Someday I’ll have your dad try his luck. If he catches a fish, I’ll make it for you.”
“Yay!” Tie Dan jumped up excitedly.
The other Gu Family children were also happy.
Da Zai and Er Zai took the pickled mustard greens home. Lin Zhao had already done the prep work and started cooking as soon as the pickled mustard greens arrived.
The two kids sat side by side tending the fire, glancing at their mom from time to time, their faces full of smiles.
“Mom, I’ll help tend the fire every time you cook from now on!” Da Zai said.
Er Zai hurried to show off, “I’ll wash the bowls!”
Lin Zhao glanced at her two sons during a free moment and smiled, “Good boys.”
Da Zai and Er Zai felt delighted inside.
In the small kitchen, the two little friends watched their mom cook without blinking. Mom cooked so fast, and she was pretty too. This scene left a deep impression in the brothers’ hearts.
Not long after.
A sour and spicy fragrance wafted out. Just the smell made one’s mouth water.
Er Zai couldn’t sit still and bounced up from the small stool. His perky little nose twitched as he said excitedly, “Mom, it smells so good!”
Lin Zhao picked two pieces of fish into a bowl, carefully picked out the small bones, and fed them to Er Zai, “Taste it. I’ve picked out the fishbones, but still eat slowly.”
“Mm-hmm.” Er Zai swallowed it in one big bite.
Instantly, his face became an expression of deliciousness. His bright big eyes narrowed, satisfaction spilling from the slits.
“Delicious!!”
Lin Zhao beckoned to her eldest son, “No need to watch the fire. Da Zai, come taste it too.”
With many kids at home, she didn’t favor any and tried to be fair.
Da Zai patted the ash off his hands and walked over.
“Da Zai, be careful of the bones too,” Lin Zhao reminded similarly.
“I know.” Da Zai said, then was fed a bite of fish by his mom.
Tasting it, Gu Family’s Da Zai felt at that moment that sour cabbage fish was the most delicious thing he had ever eaten!
“Mom, sour cabbage fish is really delicious!”
Lin Zhao cooked the whole two-plus jin fish, served out a portion into a bowl, put the bowl in a small bamboo basket, and said to the two cubs, “Da Zai and Er Zai, take this bowl of sour cabbage fish to the old house. The pickled mustard greens were from your grandma, and this afternoon by the river she stood up for us. We should show our appreciation.”
Er Zai’s mouth was faster than anything, and he looked puzzled, “Grandma has helped us before, but Mom said family doesn’t need to be polite and never showed appreciation.”
Lin Zhao’s expression stiffened.
Her second son’s mouth was really fast and sharp.
Da Zai keenly noticed that Er Zai had poked Mom’s sore spot and, afraid Mom would get angry from embarrassment, quickly changed the subject: “Er Zai, let’s hurry and deliver the sour cabbage fish. I’m hungry. We’ll eat after delivering.”
Er Zai was led astray, “I’m hungry too! Let’s go deliver it quick.”
He held his brother’s hand and went to the old house.
Lin Zhao: Da Zai was truly her good eldest son! A warm cotton-padded jacket!
Da Zai and Er Zai went out right at mealtime. Plenty were squatting at their doorsteps with rice bowls eating.
They had long smelled the meat fragrance from the Gu Family. Seeing the two cubs now, they thought Gu Family Third Wife wasn’t feeding them again and inwardly scorned Lin Zhao harshly.
What kind of mother is this!
“Da Zai and Er Zai, going to your grandma’s to eat?” The neighbor aunt on the left of the Gu Family asked.
Er Zai stopped, tilting his little head high, looking proud, “No, Mom sent me and my brother to deliver sour cabbage fish to my grandparents.”
“The fish from my maternal grandma and Second Uncle. Mom made it into sour cabbage fish herself. Super delicious!” Da Zai added, his face full of pride too.
They dropped the bomb and left, leaving the onlookers stunned.
“Cheng Huai’s wife sending fish to Old Man Gu and Gu Po Po? Sun rising from the west?!” An old man about Gu Fu’s age exclaimed in shock.
“Hey, did you notice? Cheng Huai’s wife has been acting weird these days! She’s actually started taking care of the kids. Who knows what medicine she’s selling in her gourd.” Another neighbor of Gu Family’s Third Branch, Zhao Po Po, said, “Da Zai and the others are all good kids, too bad they have such an unreliable mom.”
Her own daughter-in-law had given birth to three girls in a row, so she envied the Gu Family’s boys.
Because of that, even though Zhao Po Po had a rotten reputation in the village for being gossipy and mean, she was okay to Da Zai and the others and had even given them food.
Da Zai and Er Zai came to the old house again.
The Gu Family was eating.
Seeing the two cubs, everyone was stunned.
Gu Xing’er sneered coldly.
She knew Lin Zhao was a hypocrite. How long had she pretended? Not even two days, and she stopped. Heh.
The first thing Gu Mu said was: “Da Zai and Er Zai, have you eaten? If not, sit down quick. Grandma will make you something.”
Huang Xiulan and Zhao Liuniang exchanged a glance, full of helplessness and faintly flashing with dissatisfaction.
Had Third Brother’s Wife stopped caring for her own kids again?
Though dissatisfied, the sisters-in-law didn’t show it. Da Zai and Er Zai were little kids who understood nothing. If their biological mother didn’t care, there was no way around it.
Er Zai said loudly: “No need. Mom is cooking. She sent us to deliver sour cabbage fish. We’ll go back to eat after.”
As he spoke, Er Zai and his brother put the small bamboo basket on the table together and lifted the lid. Instantly, a rich fragrance spread out.
Even Da Zai and Er Zai, who had tasted it, swallowed saliva. The other Gu Family members couldn’t resist even more. The adults were okay, but the kids’ eyes burned hot at the bowl of fish meat, swallowing nonstop.
“Third Aunt is so nice!” Tie Chui sighed first, then said regretfully, “Why aren’t I Third Aunt’s child.”
His mom Huang Xiulan wanted to hit the kid.
Gu Yuanshan（Gu Eldest） burst out laughing and teased his youngest son, “No way around it. You were born to the wrong mom.”
Tie Chui sighed deeply like he had a huge grudge.
Er Zai was eager to go back and eat sour cabbage fish and urged his grandma, “Grandma, pour out the meat. I want to go home and eat!”
“Look at me, I forgot.” Gu Mu slapped her forehead and hurried to the kitchen to get a bowl.
It wasn’t her making a fuss. Old Third’s Wife had been married into the Gu Family for almost six years, and she and the old man hadn’t gotten even a wild vegetable steamed bun from Lin Zhao. Da Zai suddenly sending them fish surprised and shocked her.
Gu Mu poured out the fish meat. Da Zai put the bowl back in the small bamboo basket, covered it again, said goodbye to grandparents and the others, and took his brother away.
The two little friends held grudges and ignored Gu Xing’er the whole time.
Gu Xing’er grumbled inwardly but didn’t dare say it out loud.
She was afraid her mom wouldn’t give her meat.
The Gu Family old house hadn’t separated households, and rations at home were limited. Meals were divided by Gu Mu every day, which avoided a lot of conflict and prevented some people from eating endlessly.
This bowl of sour cabbage fish was also divided by Gu Mu.
She first divided for the head of the family Gu Fu and herself.
Then for her two sons, then the two daughters-in-law, and finally the grandsons and granddaughters.
No share for Gu Xing’er!
Gu Xing’er saw the meat in the bowls divided up, leaving only oily soup, and was very unhappy, feeling aggrieved inside.
She didn’t dare make a scene and just said, “Mom, you didn’t give me any.”
Gu Mu steeled her heart to discipline Gu Xing’er and didn’t even glance at her, saying, “No share for you.”
“Why not?” Gu Xing’er trembled with anger, her voice shrill.
The Gu Family juniors tacitly covered their ears. Little Aunt was so noisy.
“What do you mean why? The sour cabbage fish was sent by Da Zai and Er Zai’s mom. You’ve been giving Da Zai and Er Zai attitude with your nose not nose and eyes not eyes, and you still want to eat what their mom made? How is your skin so thick!” Gu Mu just felt her daughter had been spoiled by her mother-in-law into being shameless and utterly annoying.
She had to straighten out this annoying temperament!
Gu Xing’er was left speechless by the retort.
Gu Mu didn’t stop: “The fish meat was sent by Da Zai and Er Zai’s biological maternal uncle. It has even less to do with you.”
After that, she ignored her ignorant little daughter and lowered her head to savor Old Third’s Wife’s good craftsmanship.
“Sour cabbage with fish is really good, sour and spicy flavor, opens the appetite.” Gu Mu had cooked for half her life before knowing fish and pickled mustard greens could go together.
Gu Xing’er saw everyone had meat except her. In anger, she pushed her bowl, stood up abruptly, and the wooden stool made a piercing sound.
“I’m not eating!”
She angrily ran back to her room and slammed the door.
The Gu Family members, old and young, didn’t even bat an eyelid. No way around it—Gu Xing’er threw a tantrum every few days, and the whole family was desensitized.
pk passed, on shelves now~!
Seeking recommendation votes, monthly votes, five-star reviews.
Thanks for the babies’ support, muah!
