He pursed her lips and reluctantly followed. She really didn’t dare to go back, Mrs. Lv could tear her apart. Her back was sore, and she didn’t know when she could go back to rest. It’s exhausting working for so long and still unclear if they could actually sell it for silver coins, and the whole family was involved in this toil.
Mr. Gu had long noticed it. While He appeared to be working nonstop, she was actually lazing around, not having picked much. This second daughter-in-law’s behavior was really growing intolerable. Even as these thoughts passed through his mind, his pace didn’t slow down.
Gu Chengyu heard the footsteps of Mr. Gu and the others getting closer, knowing they had arrived. "Dad, over here, look, I can’t even hold this anymore."
Mr. Gu heard Gu Chengyu’s voice and, sensing nothing amiss, felt slightly relieved, "You little rascal, didn’t I tell you not to run off? Don’t you know there are many wild animals in the mountains? Do you want to frighten your father to death?"
He parted the grass and, seeing Gu Chengyu standing there unhard, let out a complete sigh of relief.
Gu Chengyu raised the rabbit in his hand, "Dad, look, what’s this?"
Mr. Gu focused his gaze and looked closely, "A rabbit?"
He, who was following behind, hurriedly rushed forward upon hearing this, "Where is it? Where’s the rabbit?" Her slightly plump body squeezed past Mrs. Fang, who was blocking the way.
"Oh my! It really is a rabbit! The Little Uncle can catch a rabbit? I told you! How could soone as clever as Little Uncle fail at anything? Look at this! Even caught a rabbit. Here, let take it. Little Uncle, you’ve worked hard!" He bead at the rabbit in Gu Chengyu’s hand, her smile etching wrinkles into the corners of her eyes. Don’t ask how Gu Chengyu could see this clearly—it was dark, but he had night vision, and his eyesight was excellent.
He rubbed her hands together, eager to lift it. Gu Chengyu didn’t refuse either, as she couldn’t possibly eat it raw on the way back, and this rabbit weighed five to six pounds, making it quite heavy to carry. "Dad, look, there’s also a nest of baby rabbits here! Let’s take them ho and raise them. I’ll feed them grass every day."
Mr. Gu was quite pleased with this unexpected gain, especially when he saw the seven baby rabbits in the nest, which made him overjoyed. Hunters liked catching rabbits; rabbit at could be sold to shops in town that collected wild ga, and the rabbit’s fur could be sold to general stores. The purer the color of the fur, the higher the price. So stores even bought them hide and all. Rabbits could breed often, and selling rabbits alone could beco a source of inco.
Mr. Gu patted Gu Chengyu’s head with a smile, then said worriedly, "This rabbit was found by Xiao Bao, so it’s your responsibility to feed it from now on! However, should there be a next ti, never run off aimlessly, the mountains have nurous wild beasts and snakes; encountering them is extrely dangerous."
"Dad, I only chased after the rabbit when I saw it; I won’t dare to do it again. Please, don’t tell mom. If she finds out, she won’t let co out anymore." Gu Chengyu pleaded, tugging on Mr. Gu’s hand.
"Now that you know, if you disobey again, I’ll have your mom lock you in the house, and you won’t be able to go anywhere."
"Oh~ mom, why is there blood?" He took the rabbit, delighting in it, without giving it much thought, unaware that she had touched a handful of blood.
"Xiao Bao, how did you catch this rabbit?" Mr. Gu, having been preocuppied with the urgency, forgot to ask earlier.
"I was sitting nearby playing, saw the rabbit bump into a stone, and when I went over to check, it had fainted. Afraid it’d wake up and run off, I used the stone to bash it dead." Gu Chengyu looked up with an innocent face, his almond-shaped eyes blinking at Mr. Gu.
Mr. Gu glanced at the rabbit, bleeding from the head in He’s hand, then looked at his son’s adorable face and innocent eyes, a corner of his mouth twitching.
Son, oh son! Does your mother know how ruthless you’ve beco?
He looked over at Gu Chengyu, noticing the child’s upturned, delicate face and charming smile, indeed adorable. Lowering her head to the bleeding rabbit in her hand, she couldn’t help but shiver a bit.
Mr. Gu pulled so tall grass, twisted them into ropes swiftly with his fingers, and wove a simple grass mat. Gu Chengyu watched attentively; weaving grass mats was a skill every rural family had, and they even made bamboo utensils. Consequently, people selling bamboo goods in the market got poor returns, mostly sold to townsfolk. When their household made dried vegetables, flat winnowing baskets were insufficient, so bamboo mats were used. Edging them was too cumberso.
"Alright, pack up the rabbits, let’s go pick flowers! The elders will be back soon, we need to get them ho before it gets dark." Mr. Gu carefully wrapped the rabbits in the grass mat, then instructed Mrs. Fang and the others to head back to pick flowers.
Returning to the honeysuckle field, they secured the rabbits with grass ropes to prevent them from escaping. The dead rabbit was wrapped layer by layer with leaves in case wild animals on the mountain were attracted by the scent of blood. Before long, Gu Chengli arrived with Da Ya and others; now it was ti for every household to have dinner, and those who finished were preparing for rest, with few people wandering in the village.
Mr. Gu was still a bit uneasy, "Eldest, did anyone see you on your way back?"
"Hopefully, no one saw us." Gu Chengli kept his head down as he walked along the path, fearing exposure, almost at a jog, paying little attention to his surroundings.
"Dad, rest assured, no one saw us. When we returned, the villagers were having dinner. Besides, we covered it with grass—unless soone cos up to check, they won’t know." Gu Chengyi stepped in to answer when it beca clear his eldest brother couldn’t be relied upon.
"Eh? Did Dad catch these rabbits?" Gu Chengyi, noticing the rabbits on the ground nearby, felt puzzled. Hunters often went up the mountains in Xialing Village and could catch rabbits, but since when did their dad have such skills?
"We’ll discuss this at ho. Quickly pick the flowers, don’t waste ti." Mr. Gu was still uneasy about the dead rabbit, urging them to finish picking quickly and return ho. With more people, they finished before 7 PM.
Gu Chengyu, like a thief, followed them back to the Gu Family ho, where Mrs. Lv was already waiting.
"Co in quickly, why so late? Have you picked them all? Wow, where did the rabbit co from?" Mrs. Lv exclaid in surprise, seeing the rabbit in Mr. Gu’s arms.
"The rabbit is thanks to Xiao Bao’s skills! The one He is holding is already dead, and quite fat too. We’ll cook it tomorrow; everyone’s exhausted from the busy farming season. The rabbit at won’t be sold, we’ll all have a good al. Quickly, bring a mat, spread out the flowers. We’ll sun them tomorrow if there’s sunshine; it should take a few days to dry." Mr. Gu worried the pile of flowers would get crushed in the baskets.
As soon as he finished speaking, Mrs. Lv snatched the rabbit He was holding.
"Eating it is wasteful. It could be sold for silver coins instead!" Mrs. Lv hesitated, looking at the rabbit’s white fur. It was indeed fat, at least five or six pounds. Selling rabbit with its fur brought fifteen coins a pound, and selling separately fetched a bit more.
"Alright, a single rabbit won’t sell for much; we have seven baby rabbits too. Weren’t there two chicken cages left? We can keep them in there," Mr. Gu knew Mrs. Lv was reluctant, but the household hadn’t seen any at for over a month; even he was craving. During busy farming tis, they had only a few extra eggs, no greasy als. Even an iron stomach couldn’t stand it.
Once everything was sorted, he sent everyone to bed.
Gu Wan hadn’t gone to the mountain to pick honeysuckles. At ho, she lived pampered, never engaging in fieldwork; Mrs. Lv couldn’t bear to let her face the wind and sun. Fearing that in the future if she married into a household, she’d be criticized for laziness, Mrs. Lv decided she’d sternly have Gu Wan learn embroidery.
Gu Chengyu and Mrs. Lv returned to the main house, where Gu Wan had already fallen asleep.
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