Gu Xiaoxiao was the first to jump down from the cart, with Gu Yong following behind.
As they unloaded the goods from the cart, the commotion alerted Old Madam Gu and Old Master Gu in the courtyard.
They hurried outside and were immediately greeted by the sight of piles of goods stacked at Gu Xiaoxiao’s feet.
After helping unload everything, the driver rode away.
“Oh my goodness! Why did you buy so much stuff? What’s going on here?”
Although Old Madam Gu’s words sounded like a scolding, the smile on her face was impossible to hide.
With both grandparents helping carry things inside, Gu Xiaoxiao no longer needed to lift anything herself.
She simply followed behind them.
The moment everything was moved inside and the gate was closed, the villagers who had witnessed the scene erupted into discussion.
“Did I just see white rice?”
“You sure did. There was white flour too—I saw it!”
“I saw it as well!”
“Did the Gu family suddenly strike it rich or something? How could they buy so much grain?”
“Who knows where they got the money?”
“What family earns that much money all at once?”
The implication behind their words was obvious:
The money must have come from somewhere shady.
The Gu family, however, had no idea what people outside were saying.
Everyone was gathered around the silver on the table, smiling from ear to ear.
“Xiaoxiao, is all this really the money from selling that He Shou Wu?”
“So much?”
Looking at how delighted her grandmother was, Gu Xiaoxiao found her surprisingly adorable.
Smiling, she replied,
“Of course. This is what’s left after selling the He Shou Wu.”
“I already spent some of it on supplies, otherwise there would be even more.”
“You’ll have to keep it safe for us.”
“Hahaha! Of course I will.”
Old Madam Gu immediately took the silver and hid it at the very bottom of a wardrobe.
She tucked it away so carefully that even she would have trouble retrieving it later.
After storing the money, she went back outside with Gu Xiaoxiao.
Looking at the sacks of rice and flour, she said,
“Why did you buy so much?”
“We won’t be able to finish it all.”
“We’ll finish it eventually if we eat slowly.”
Suddenly remembering something, Gu Xiaoxiao ran to find Gu Yong and retrieved the meat buns she had bought in town.
“Grandma, come eat!”
“These are meat buns I bought in town. They’re delicious!”
The moment she heard the words meat buns, Old Madam Gu waved her hands frantically.
“No, Grandma won’t eat.”
“You eat them. Eat more.”
There it was again.
Whenever there was something good, her grandmother always refused to eat it and insisted on saving it for her.
“Grandma, I bought a lot.”
“If you don’t eat them, they’ll go bad.”
The moment she heard the words go bad, Old Madam Gu’s heart ached.
Even so, she still wanted Gu Xiaoxiao to eat first.
“You eat.”
“If there are leftovers, then Grandma can have some.”
Old Madam Gu was unbelievably stubborn.
Since gentle persuasion wasn’t working, Gu Xiaoxiao switched tactics.
“Grandma, if you won’t eat one, then I’m going to get angry.”
“I bought enough for everyone.”
“If you don’t eat, then I won’t eat either.”
She deliberately set the buns down on the table and pretended to leave.
Immediately, Old Madam Gu panicked.
“Xiaoxiao, don’t go!”
“Grandma will eat, alright? Grandma will eat!”
“You eat too.”
The moment her grandmother gave in, Gu Xiaoxiao immediately turned back around.
Just as she expected.
This trick always worked.
She placed a bun into Old Madam Gu’s hands and watched her take a bite.
The bun was still warm.
The soft dough combined with the juicy meat filling made it unbelievably delicious.
Old Madam Gu’s eyes widened.
Pointing at the bun in her hand, she exclaimed,
“It’s delicious!”
“It’s really delicious!”
“Xiaoxiao, you should eat one too!”
“Okay!”
Gu Xiaoxiao picked up a bun from the oil-paper package and took a bite.
Immediately, she narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
“What smells so good?”
Gu Zhenzhong suddenly came running in, sniffing the air like a hunting dog.
“Is that the smell of meat buns?”
His nose was surprisingly accurate.
Seeing his behavior, Old Madam Gu laughed and scolded him.
“You’ve got a dog’s nose.”
Gu Xiaoxiao handed him a bun.
The moment he got it, he took a huge bite.
“Mmm…”
“This is amazing!”
“So this is what meat buns taste like!”
“Whenever I went to town before, I always thought they smelled good.”
“I never imagined they’d taste even better!”
Watching him eat so greedily, Gu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help laughing.
Then she spotted Gu Yanchen arriving a little later.
“A-Chen!”
“Come here!”
“Big Sister bought meat buns for you in town!”
The moment he heard meat buns, his eyes lit up.
“Big Sister, wait for me!”
“I’ll put this basket away first!”
“Alright, hurry.”
Gu Yanchen ran off with quick little steps, stored the basket, then came scampering back.
Standing beside Gu Xiaoxiao, he gazed up at her with sparkling eyes.
Like a little rabbit.
Looking at such an adorable child, Gu Xiaoxiao’s resistance completely crumbled.
She reached out and pinched his cheek.
Still too skinny.
The pinch wasn’t nearly satisfying enough.
She silently vowed to feed him well until he became soft and chubby.
Then his cheeks would be much more fun to squeeze.
Handing him a bun, she watched him carefully.
Instead of taking a big bite, he first smelled it.
Even though he clearly wanted it badly, he ate tiny bites, savoring each mouthful.
As though he feared that once it was gone, he would never get another one.
Watching him treasure the bun so much made Gu Xiaoxiao’s eyes sting.
At that moment, she made up her mind.
She would earn enough money so her family could eat meat every single day.
Two buns were enough to fill most of the family.
Old Master Gu and Gu Yong did heavy labor, so they each ate three.
There were still two buns left.
Those were reserved for the mother she hadn’t met yet.
She had heard that her mother would be returning today.
So she carefully set them aside in the kitchen.
Then she picked up the remaining four buns and headed outside.
Old Madam Gu noticed and called after her.
“Xiaoxiao, where are you going?”
“Grandma, I’m taking these buns to Da Hu’s family.”
“I promised him yesterday that I’d buy him buns today.”
Hearing that, Old Madam Gu nodded.
She had been there yesterday too.
A promise was a promise.
If Gu Xiaoxiao hadn’t mentioned it, she would have forgotten.
Still, she called after her,
“Come back early!”
“Got it, Grandma!”
By then, Gu Xiaoxiao had already gone some distance away, and her reply drifted back faintly.
When Gu Yanchen saw that his sister was going to Da Hu’s house, he hurried after her.
He was afraid something might happen to her again.
Da Hu’s home was located at the edge of the village, quite a distance from the Gu family residence.
When they arrived, the place seemed unusually quiet.
For a moment, Gu Xiaoxiao wondered whether anyone was even home.
Then Aunt Li came outside carrying a basin of water to throw out.
Spotting Gu Xiaoxiao, she stopped in surprise.
Although she was puzzled, she still stepped forward and opened the gate.
“Gu Xiaoxiao?”
“What are you here for?”
Even though Gu Xiaoxiao’s apology yesterday had seemed sincere, Aunt Li still found it difficult to believe that someone could change overnight.
As a result, her tone was inevitably a little harsh.