With his mother’s support now behind him, Gu Yu declared he wasn’t afraid—Mother would take his side.
“You sneaked into my room without permission and tried to steal my money. What else are you if not a thief?”
“I told you, I was just borrowing it! I’m sure this time I can win back all the money I lost and even make a big profit. You just don’t believe me!”
Seeing not an ounce of remorse in him, Gu Guosheng immediately kicked him to the ground, grabbed a stick, and began beating him wildly.
“Let me teach you to behave! Let me teach you to behave!”
His own son had become a money-stealing thief!
He couldn’t contain his fury. “Not only do you gamble, but you’ve also learned to steal! The Gu Family has no descendant like you!”
Gu Guosheng trembled with rage, continuing to beat him until the stick broke. Still unsatisfied, he went to the kitchen to find a more suitable switch.
“Dad…” Gu Yu lay painfully on the ground, feeling as if the flesh all over his body no longer belonged to him.
Gu Guosheng returned, pointing the switch at the figure on the floor. “Ah Yu, you were educated as a child. How could you do such a thing!
For generations, the Gu Family has lived honestly. Even in poverty, we never entertained crooked thoughts, always standing tall with integrity. How did it come to this with you—stealing, reckless gambling, doing every bad deed imaginable? Are you worthy of our ancestors?”
After saying this, he resumed the beating.
Finally exhausted, he leaned weakly against the doorframe, supporting himself with his hands on his knees.
His face instantly aged with weariness.
He regretted, he hated!
It was all his fault. If he hadn’t become lame, his wife wouldn’t have fallen more seriously ill from struggling to support the family.
He could have continued hunting to provide for them all.
In recent years, the family had no money for their son’s education and no time to discipline him. Who would have thought he’d become so corrupt!
“Dad, I… I just saw you collecting night soil every day, tired and filthy. I felt for you, but I have no other way to earn money. I had to give it a try…”
Gu Yanxi remained relatively calm and spoke earnestly, “Don’t make excuses for yourself. You have hands and feet—you should find a proper job instead of squandering all the money Dad worked so hard to earn. This isn’t caring for Dad; you’re draining him!”
“I……”
Gu Guosheng waved his hand. “Enough. Come with me to the main hall and kneel in repentance before our ancestors. You may only get up when you’ve truly realized your mistakes.”
Watching her father’s retreating figure, Gu Yanxi felt he had aged over a decade in an instant.
This hopeless younger brother!
“How did Ah Yu become like this? It’s all my fault…”
Zhao Shi sat by the bed, dabbing her tears with a handkerchief.
Gu Yanxi patted her back comfortingly. “Mother, if he realizes his mistakes now, it’s not too late. But, Mother… you mustn’t indulge him anymore. If he asks you for money again, you mustn’t give it to him.”
The next day.
Gu Yanxi woke up early.
Seeing her younger brother still kneeling in the main hall, dozing off unsteadily, she shook her head helplessly.
“Gu Yu, come peel the potatoes.”
Gu Yu pouted defiantly. “No.”
Without a word, Gu Yanxi went to the kitchen, found a stick as thick as an arm, and returned.
“Sis… Sis… What are you doing?” Gu Yu shrank back in fear.
Pointing the stick at him sternly, Gu Yanxi said, “Mom and Dad may spoil you, but I won’t. Whether you work or not—think carefully!”
Gu Yu recalled how his sister had dealt with Li Si with a kitchen knife yesterday.
He scrambled up from the ground in a flash, “I’ll do it, I’ll do it, I’ll do it right now!”
Gu Yanxi felt a gust of wind sweep by, and Gu Yu was already obediently seated in front of the stove, tending to the fire while peeling potatoes.
With her younger brother peeling potatoes, Gu Yanxi used a custom-made ripple knife to cut them into strips, while steaming the liangmian on the other side.
Liangmian was made with alkaline noodles, which gave them a firm, chewy texture.
After steaming the liangmian for a few minutes until the surface moisture dried, she boiled them in rolling water. Once the white core disappeared, she quickly removed them and tossed them with rapeseed oil. While fanning them, she used long chopsticks to separate and cool the noodles, ensuring each strand remained distinct and non-sticky.
She prepared four jin of liangmian, enough for thirty-two bowls (in this text, 1 jin = 16 liang).
Next, she soaked the potatoes in water. Soaking helped remove the starch, making the tieban tudou crispy.
Gu Yanxi used more than half of the household’s potatoes, about ten jin, enough for roughly fifty bowls.
The side dishes for the potatoes also needed to be prepared in advance. For now, she used lotus root, cucumber, onion, and eggplant.
It was their first day setting up the stall, so they’d see how sales went.
Just as day broke.
Gu Yanxi and Gu Yu pushed their stall cart to the spot she had scouted earlier—the back street of Yunchang Academy in Dong Shi.
Yunchang Academy was the third-largest academy in Jingdu, and the students studying there were all from wealthy families with plenty of money to spare.
After paying a ten-wen stall fee, they could use the spot for the day.
The area was filled with vendors selling steamed buns, mantou, wontons, and noodles. Their cart, loaded with a pot of potatoes to sell for breakfast, stood out as particularly unusual.
Soon, other vendors gathered around, curiously eyeing their setup.
A middle-aged bun seller asked, “Little girl, what are you selling that requires so many seasonings?”
Gu Yanxi smiled faintly, “Tieban Tudou and Liangmian.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, everyone has potatoes at home. People are tired of eating them—who’d want your stuff? You probably won’t sell any.”
“Looks like this girl is doing business behind her family’s back. She doesn’t even understand the tricks of the trade. Look at all those seasonings—even big restaurants don’t use them so generously. She’s bound to lose money.”
Gu Yu overheard the other vendors’ comments and felt his heart race with fear.
Staring at the cart full of ingredients, his mind raced—how much did all this cost? Would it all go to waste?
Just then.
A group of students emerged from Yunchang Academy. These were scholars from out of town, boarding at the academy.
Seeing the large crowd heading toward their stall, Gu Yu straightened his back, his heart leaping with excitement. They’re coming, they’re coming, business is here!
But as soon as he stood up, he watched helplessly as the group bypassed their stall and headed straight for the bun shop next door, as if it were second nature.
“Boss, I’ll have one meat bun and one mantou.”
“Two meat buns, three mantou.”
“Two mantou.”
“…”
Gu Yu: “?”
“It’s over, it’s over, it’s over. Looks like all our stuff is wasted.” Gu Yu slumped onto the stool, looking utterly defeated.
“Sis, stop fussing around. They didn’t even glance our way. We might as well go home early and catch some extra sleep.”
With a sizzle, the diced onions slid into the pan.
Gu Yanxi, holding a pair of iron spatulas, began stir-frying rapidly.
The unique aroma of onions instantly burst forth, stimulating everyone’s nasal passages and tingling their scalps.
“Oh my god, what is this? How can it smell so amazing?”
“I just ate three meat buns, but now I’m hungry again.”
“But eating this first thing in the morning… my stomach’s going to act up during class later.”
“…”
Students passing by pointed at the potatoes in the pot and chattered endlessly, yet not a single person stepped forward to try them.