The few men who had come to help repair the house arrived early in the morning. Mrs. Liu brewed some pine needle tea for them.
Soon, they began working, while Gu Nianzhi and her younger brother occasionally helped by passing things.
The roof was covered with a thick layer of thatch, and the walls of the other two rooms were patched with mud. The collapsed sections were rebuilt.
Gu Lihe noticed that the beams in the other two rooms had been damaged by insects and asked Mrs. Liu if they should replace them to ensure safety during winter.
Mrs. Liu agreed, and the men went up the mountain to find several sturdy trees to make new beams.
For lunch, they had coarse wheat buns and wild vegetables, along with a large pot of bone soup. The bones still had some meat on them, making it a meat dish as well.
Knowing her family was struggling, the men thought they would only get a thin vegetable soup at lunch. They didn’t expect a solid meal—and one with meat! It was clear that Mrs. Liu had put effort into it.
After the brothers finished eating, they continued repairing the house, and by the afternoon, it was done.
Mrs. Liu was delighted, paid them, and thanked them profusely.
After polite farewells, the men left. Gu Nianzhi felt more at ease looking at the renovated house. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about getting wet in the rain!
That night, they cooked a bowl of oil residue and wild vegetable soup with the leftover coarse wheat buns from lunch. After eating, they began distributing the rooms.
Gu Nian’an was still young and afraid to sleep alone, so Mrs. Liu slept in the middle room with him.
Gu Nianzhi slept in the right room, and they planned to use the left room as a kitchen. The next day, they would buy a small lock from the locksmith so they could safely store their food.
When Grandmother Gu heard that the mother and her children had repaired the house, she couldn’t sleep all night.
“Old man, that wretched woman caused us to lose so much silver. And now they even have money to repair the house. The more I think about it, the angrier I get.”
Grandfather Gu knew what his wife was thinking. He had heard that Gu Nianzhi had been lucky to find a wild chicken and a wild rabbit, exchanging them for some money. That must have been used to repair the house.
“Their wages were a hundred wen, and with the food, it’s all spent. The remaining silver can barely cover a winter of porridge. If they catch a cold, it’s uncertain whether they’ll survive…”
Grandfather Gu’s words instantly calmed Grandmother Gu’s restless heart.
Yes!
What good is repairing the house? The house was empty. Winter snow could last a month. They would surely freeze!
Thinking this, Grandmother Gu finally fell into a deep sleep.
At the old Gu family home, Gu Dachui tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.
They repaired the house!
He was their father, and though he hadn’t helped, he couldn’t just ignore them. Tomorrow, he thought, he would bring some vegetables from home to check on them.
With that thought, Gu Dachui finally fell asleep.
The next morning, Gu Nianzhi woke to the sound of roosters crowing.
Although the house was a bit far from the village, she could still hear the roosters.
After washing her face, Gu Nian’an came back from behind the house carrying some grass.
“Sis, I picked some grass to feed the rabbits. They’ve grown a lot these past few days!”
Gu Nianzhi went over to check the bamboo fence. Indeed, the rabbits had grown.
“Thanks so much, An’an.”
Hearing this, Gu Nian’an scratched his head bashfully.
At that moment, Gu Dachui entered the yard carrying some vegetables.
“This is too unsafe. What if a wild beast comes down the mountain at night?”
Gu Nianzhi rolled her eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m your father. Why wouldn’t I check on you?”
He wasn’t unwilling to care; he felt obligated.
“Get out, get out! You’re not welcome here!”
Gu Nianzhi grabbed a broom and swept at him, forcing Gu Dachui to retreat step by step.
“What are you doing? I’m your father! How can you treat me like this?”
In his mind, a daughter should be gentle and polite—not as rough as Gu Nianzhi now.
“We don’t have a father like you!”
shouted Gu Nian’an.
Hearing the commotion, Mrs. Liu rushed into the yard.
“Gu Dachui, what are you doing here?”
Seeing Mrs. Liu, Gu Dachui remembered how obedient she had always been, and he became a bit brazen.
“Gui Niang, look at Nianzhi now. She’s chasing me away with a broom. Is this how you raised her?”
Seeing him dare to act wildly in her home, Mrs. Liu grabbed the broom from Gu Nianzhi and hit Gu Dachui.
“You useless man! You can’t even protect your own wife and children, and now you dare act wild in my house! Do you think I’m weak?”
Her blows grew stronger.
Gu Dachui was unprepared for Mrs. Liu’s sudden anger, and the sharp pain made him stagger.
“Stop, stop! I’m just here to deliver vegetables!”
He waved the small cabbage in his hand. Mrs. Liu threw it to the ground.
“Who cares about your old Gu family cabbage!”
Exactly!
Gu Nianzhi looked at the wilted cabbage on the ground, speechless.
A grown man, acting boldly but unable to take responsibility! They were divorced, yet he brought vegetables to irritate others, expecting them to treat him like royalty. Preposterous!
Gu Dachui thought the mother and children would be grateful for his visit, but instead, they treated him this way.
He picked up the cabbage and left.
He didn’t go home but headed to the fields. Thinking of the disgusted looks the family had given him, he angrily hoed the weeds.
He felt wronged.
He hadn’t done anything wrong. Why did they look at him that way?
Lost in thought, he accidentally pressed on the wrong spot and broke several corn stalks.
At the foot of the northern mountain, Gu Nianzhi and Mrs. Liu each carried a bucket of water to water the vegetable garden.
The garden was large. The small cabbages had sprouted. Soon, the three of them would have vegetables to eat freely!
At noon, they quickly ate a little and returned to their work.
Sometimes, Gu Nianzhi suspected Mrs. Liu knew something.
Even though the family had enough grain and six taels of silver saved, Mrs. Liu never mentioned building a house or buying land. She avoided unnecessary purchases and continued collecting wild vegetables and drying meat, storing it for the New Year.
The more Gu Nianzhi thought about it, the more she suspected Mrs. Liu was a reborn strategist, carefully stockpiling food!
Today, Gu Nianzhi didn’t plan to go deep into the mountains. She wanted to see what was around the outskirts.
With a small basket, she picked whatever edible greens she could find, like dandelion and gray vegetables.
Since she was on the outskirts, the trees were sparse, and the sun made her body hot.
She found a relatively large tree to rest under. As the sun began to set, she pulled out two big grass carp from her space and slowly made her way down the mountain.