Gu Qingyao’s lips twitched. Just as well that they were not back yet. She would make dinner for her grandparents.
Then she realized that there was no need to cook dinner, or the two of them might arrive while she was cooking. So she just took food from her interspace.
Her grandparents returned at that moment. Gu Qingyao shouted, “Grandfather, Grandma, hurry and wash your hands. It’s time to eat!”
The two of them were taken aback. Time to eat?
They did not know that Gu Qingyao had good food at hand. Right now, this girl decided what the family ate. The two of them did not ask any questions. If Gu Qingyao said it was time to eat, they would eat.
Gu Qingyao brought the rice and dishes straight to the old folks’ room. It was colder on the northern side so the two old folks slept on a heated brick bed. There was a small table on the bed, just right for having a meal.
On the tray was a dish of pork stir-fried with garlic, a dish of braised eggplants, and a bowl of chicken soup.
She had boiled the chicken soup earlier. For the sake of convenience, some of the chicken had been minced before boiling. Now she took out a portion. There were only three of them and they could not possibly finish it all.
The Old Master looked emotional when he saw the food.
Wen Ruyu smiled. “Hurry up and eat, then Yao Yao can clear up after we’ve eaten.”
“Yes, yes!” The Old Master responded and hurried to eat.
The two old folks were tense and afraid of being discovered. They ate as if they were fighting a war.
Gu Qingyao laughed. “Grandfather, Grandma, don’t worry. I’ve closed the main door. We will have advanced warning if someone comes.”
“But we still have to be careful!”
Older people were always cautious.
After they had eaten, Gu Qingyao cleared up. It was almost dark. In order to save kerosene, most farmers went to bed early.
The Gu family was no exception.
Gu Qingyao washed herself in her room. When it was dark, she entered her interspace to knit a sweater for Mo Beihan.
Zhang Xiaohui and Gu Ruoqing only hurried home when the sky was fully dark. When she saw that the Gu house was pitch dark and silent, she knew that no one had left her any dinner.
She did not care, but just grunted coldly and went to her room to sleep.
Wang Guozhu had brought them to eat while they were in town. Why would they mind missing out on the coarse countryside food?
Her father, Gu Yunshen, only returned in the evening of the second day. After another three days, she finally received a letter from Gu Qingyao’s third elder brother, who lived in the provincial capital.
Gu Jinlin said that his father had suffered a relapse and his mother was in poor health. A few of his friends had also fallen ill and were unable to recover despite seeing many doctors. He asked if Gu Yunshen would make a trip to see them.
He even described the condition of some of the patients.
Gu Yunshen read the letter, and indeed, their conditions could be more effectively treated with traditional Chinese medicine.
Things must be really serious for Third Uncle’s family to send a letter. As the two older folks lived with them, the family would not lightly request Gu Yunshen to leave the home. Instead, they came to visit the older folks or sent things to their house.
If they were asking Gu Yunshen to go, it must be critical.
So both Gu Yunshen and the two older folks decided that he should make a trip there.
“Just go! The autumn harvest is long over, and there is nothing important to do now,” Gu Chonghua said.
Gu Qingyao added, “Don’t worry, Father. I will take good care of Grandfather and Grandma. Anyway, Elder Brother Beihan is still home! Nothing will go wrong.”
Gu Yunshen nodded. He packed his doctor’s tools and made his preparations.
Gu Qingyao busied herself preparing food and luggage.
Gu Yunshen cooked the last meal they had before he left. Although he made a simple meal, he managed to get hold of some pork ribs to make pork rib soup. He divided it into two portions. He gave half to Gu Ruoqing and the other half to Zhang Xiaohui. There was none for Gu Qingyao and the two older folks.
Zhang Xiaohui was rather surprised.
Gu Yunshen said, “I’m about to leave, and it will be some time before I return. Stay at home and take care of the older folks. And you, Qingqing, behave yourself.”
Zhang Xiaohui laughed. So he was trying to soften her up.
But Gu Qingyao was staring at the bowl of soup. There was something in there!