Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Trouble Comes Looking
Mrs. An anxiously sent her eldest son, Gu Baofu, and her fourth son, Gu Tiezhu, to look for the missing person. The oldest brother, Gu Baofu, didn’t take it seriously and said languidly, “Mom, how could anything happen to him? He’s a grown man. Besides, as a full-grown man, who would do anything to him?”
Gu Baofu really didn’t want to go look for Gu Ya. After a whole afternoon of grueling work outside, cutting rice until his waist and legs ached, he had finally come back home. All Gu Baofu wanted to do was eat, then go back to his room to sleep.
He certainly didn’t have the leisure to worry about Gu Ya’s affairs.
Furthermore, today’s dishes were precisely to Gu Baofu’s taste. The moment he returned, his eyes stuck to the pig’s blood and intestines on the table, unable to move away. Even when responding to his mother, Mrs. An, his gaze never left the table.
Gu Tiezhu also didn’t want to go look for Gu Ya, his tone carrying a hint of impatience, “Mom, you’re just fussing over nothing. Big Brother is right; what could possibly happen to our third brother, a grown man? We’ve all been working hard all afternoon. Let’s eat first! Third Brother knows how to get back by himself. We can just save some food for him.”
“Mom, I want to eat, I want to eat!” Gu Dabao clamored for dinner. Gu Dabao was the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Gu Baofu, who doted on this little one to no end, spoiling the tyrannical Gu Xiaobao until he ran the house like a little overlord.
Mrs. Zhang, concerned for her son, quickly said, “Mother, look how hungry your grandson Xiaobao is. Even if we adults can hold out, Xiaobao and the other little ones are growing. You couldn’t possibly want the children to go hungry, could you?”
Mrs. An indeed cherished the Gu Family’s grandchildren deeply. When it came to the children, she wavered, “Alright then, we’ll eat first!”
Turning around, Mrs. An then addressed Su Yunjin, “Third son’s wife, since the third son has not returned, go to the kitchen and get a bowl to save some food for him.”
“Mother, I understand,” Su Yunjin nodded in agreement.
Su Yunjin stood up and went to the kitchen, but her mind was filled with wonder about where Gu Ya could be. Why hadn’t he come back yet when it was already so late?
Su Yunjin hadn’t come to any conclusion when she arrived at the kitchen. She took a bowl and chopsticks and picked up some stewed pig intestines for Gu Ya. She also served up some stir-fried water celery for him and scooped two spoonfuls of pig’s blood.
As Su Yunjin served Gu Ya’s portion, the eyes of the eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Zhang, and the fourth brother’s wife, Mrs. Han, followed her hands intently.
As if fearing Su Yunjin might scoop too much.
Noticing their gaze, Su Yunjin deliberately scooped a few extra spoonfuls for Gu Ya, making sure to take plenty of the meat dishes, particularly the pig’s blood and intestines, much to the annoyance of Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Han.
The dishes of pig’s blood and intestines needed to be eaten hot. Once cold, they would emit a fishy odor and wouldn’t taste as good. Thinking it over, Su Yunjin carefully kept Gu Ya’s meal warm in the pot. This way, no matter how late Gu Ya returned, his meal would be hot, not cold.
When he arrived, all that was left was to serve it directly, allowing Gu Ya to eat.
After making sure Gu Ya’s meal stayed warm, Su Yunjin went out again, only to find the courtyard in an uproar, “The one surnamed Su, where is that woman? Go, call her out for me. Pah! She dares to hit my wife; I won’t let her off easily.”
While saying this, the man spat a thick wad of phlegm viciously onto the ground.