When Gu Yanchen saw that the rabbits had already been moved into their new enclosure, he immediately brought over the fresh grass he had gathered earlier.
The rabbits had gone hungry for an entire day and night.
The moment they smelled the fresh grass, they rushed toward it.
Neither rabbit cared how humans had treated them anymore.
Now that there was food, nothing else mattered.
“Big Sister, the rabbits are eating!”
“Of course they are. A-Chen, from now on, the rabbits are your responsibility.”
“Mhm! Big Sister, I’ll take good care of them!”
Gu Xiaoxiao rubbed his head and was just about to say something when a commotion sounded from the front gate.
“Where’s Xiaoxiao? Where’s my precious daughter?!”
Looking over, Gu Xiaoxiao saw a woman rushing into the courtyard.
Her hair was styled in a married woman’s bun.
She had beautiful willow-shaped eyebrows and a slender figure that hardly looked like someone who had given birth to three children.
Her skin was just as fair and luminous as Gu Xiaoxiao’s.
Mother and daughter were undoubtedly the most beautiful women in the village.
Xu Yan hurried over and grabbed Gu Xiaoxiao, checking her from head to toe.
“Xiaoxiao, how are you?”
“I heard you were injured! What happened?”
“But you don’t look injured at all!”
“Who’s been spreading rumors about my daughter? I’ll skin them alive!”
With that, she turned around furiously, looking ready to march off and pick a fight.
Gu Xiaoxiao quickly grabbed her mother.
Why was her mother’s temper so explosive?
She hadn’t even been given a chance to explain.
“Mom, don’t go!”
“Please calm down and listen to me first.”
Only then did Xu Yan stop.
“Alright. Talk.”
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Gu Xiaoxiao explained,
“I really was injured a few days ago.”
“But I’m completely fine now, so don’t worry.”
The moment she heard that her daughter had actually been hurt, Xu Yan’s face filled with concern.
“Let me see!”
“How did you get injured?”
“Why didn’t anyone send word to me?”
“Are you feeling better now?”
Question after question came flying out.
Gu Xiaoxiao didn’t even know which one to answer first.
So she simply explained the entire incident and then told her mother everything that had happened over the past few days.
Xu Yan was left completely stunned.
Her daughter could identify medicinal herbs?
And had sold one for two hundred taels of silver?
Meanwhile, Gu Yong heard his wife’s voice and came out to the front yard.
The moment he saw her, his face lit up.
He immediately pulled her into his arms.
“Wife, you’re back!”
“Was the trip tiring?”
“Are you hungry?”
“There are meat buns Xiaoxiao bought today in the kitchen. Do you want some?”
A barrage of questions poured out of him.
In front of Gu Yong, Xu Yan lost all the domineering aura she had shown moments earlier.
Instead, she seemed delicate and affectionate.
“Husband, my legs are so sore.”
“When I heard Xiaoxiao was injured, I rushed all the way home.”
“I’m exhausted.”
Gu Xiaoxiao stared with wide eyes.
Is this really my mother?
How did she switch personalities so quickly?
For some reason, her mother seemed a little… crafty.
Gu Yong felt heartbroken seeing her like this and wanted to massage her legs immediately.
But noticing the children still standing nearby, he restrained himself.
“Wait here for a moment.”
Then he dashed toward the kitchen.
A moment later, he returned carrying the two meat buns that had been kept warm for Xu Yan.
He even tested the temperature carefully before handing them over.
“Wife, hurry and eat.”
“I kept these warm especially for you.”
Xu Yan had left home at dawn and was genuinely hungry.
She immediately grabbed a bun and started eating.
Meanwhile, Gu Yong stood beside her, fussing over her nonstop.
Watching her parents openly flirt as though no one else existed, Gu Xiaoxiao silently led Gu Yanchen away.
Especially Gu Yanchen.
The boy stood there watching with complete fascination.
He had absolutely no sense of timing.
After finishing her meal, Xu Yan followed Gu Yong back to the fields.
At first, she insisted on staying home to cook for the family.
But when everyone informed her that Gu Xiaoxiao now handled all the cooking, she looked utterly confused.
She knew her daughter better than anyone.
Gu Xiaoxiao had barely ever stepped foot inside a kitchen.
How could she suddenly know how to cook?
Still, even Gu Xiaoxiao herself insisted that she would be cooking from now on.
So Xu Yan reluctantly accepted it and followed Gu Yong to the fields.
Today, Gu Xiaoxiao planned to make savory sauce flatbread.
The first step was kneading dough.
She poured the newly purchased white flour into a large basin.
Then she added salt and sugar.
After mixing in boiling water, she stirred everything together before gradually adding cool water until the dough came together.
After coating her hands with a little oil, she kneaded the dough into a smooth ball.
She placed it back into the basin, covered it with a cloth, and set it aside to rest.
Next came the sauce.
After all, the sauce was the soul of savory flatbread.
Without it, the dish would lose its entire character.
She remembered that the family had broad bean paste and soybean paste.
She asked Gu Yanchen to fetch them.
While he was doing that, she secretly retrieved ketchup from her warehouse space.
Tomatoes and ketchup weren’t common here yet.
In the future, she planned to make her own ketchup from scratch.
In a small bowl, she mixed oil, ketchup, soybean paste, and broad bean paste.
Then she added starch, sugar, and water, stirring until smooth.
With the sauce ready, she returned to the dough.
She divided it into four portions and rolled each one into a thin sheet.
After brushing it with oil, she cut it into six sections without cutting all the way through the center.
Then she folded the sections together, pinched them into a bun-like shape, and rolled them out flat once more.
That way, the finished bread would have distinct flaky layers.
Now it was ready for the pan.
She lightly greased the skillet and placed the dough inside.
Using a spatula, she pushed the dough into gentle folds and wrinkles.
When both sides became golden and crispy, it was ready.
The moment she brushed the sauce over the surface, a rich aroma exploded into the air.
Villagers returning from the fields passed by the Gu residence and instantly became hungry.
Many unconsciously licked their lips.
“What is the Gu family making?”
“Why does it smell so good?”
“Seriously. The second I smelled it, my stomach started growling.”
Just then, they spotted Old Master Gu and the others returning from the fields.
“Hey, Gu family!”
“What delicious thing are you making today? It smells incredible!”
Old Master Gu blinked in surprise.
Only when he reached his own gate and smelled the aroma himself did he realize what they meant.
Grinning proudly, he replied,
“I have no idea what my granddaughter made.”
“But everything my granddaughter cooks is delicious!”
The villagers immediately recognized that tone.
There he went again.
To Old Master Gu, everything about his granddaughter was the best.
The Gu family had spoiled a daughter into becoming arrogant and domineering, yet they still treated her like a treasure.
The villagers shook their heads and walked away.
Not one of them dared argue with him.