"This is to prevent theft. Gu Hua Zi scratched his head, "Right, your dad heard that you were bullied and he's going to find someone to settle the score now. It's good that we're separating, though! The days ahead will be better." After saying this, without waiting for An An to ask any questions, he hastily left the house."

  Gu Anan jumped out of bed, handed Dongdong a pastry, and wore slippers. "Dongdong, let's go, hurry back home, Dad is back."

  "Ban Xia, I've given you all the leftover pastries!"

  Bàn Xià was eating with a hum and a murmur, when she heard ān ān's words, she raised her head, "I'll leave two pieces for Dōng Dōng, you guys hurry back, remember to come over at noon to eat!" From her dad's tone, there will be delicious dishes at noon.

  Gu An'an's mind was preoccupied with something, and she dragged her little brother home in a hurry.

  By the time she arrives, the family will have dispersed.

  Inside the main house, the first person sitting on top was the elder of the Gu family. Gu Weiqiang shouted "Uncle".

  Next were Mr. Gu and Zhou Aijuan.

  Gu's four sons sat on both sides. Because of the importance of dividing the family property, Gu Wei-qiang specially called back Gu Wei-min from the county town.

  Although Lao San became the son-in-law of Lao Li's family, he is still considered a member of the Gu family and has his share in the family property.

  This was Gu Anan's first time seeing her third uncle. Unlike her own father, who was tall and majestic, her third uncle looked somewhat bookish instead.

  She was spotless and clean, if you said she was a schoolteacher rather than a carpenter, she would also believe it. To be precise, Gu Shu's appearance was the one that made San Shu look like they were carved out of the same mold.

  Gu Anan pulled her younger brother's hand and rushed back from outside in a fluster.

  As soon as she saw Gu Weiqiang, she rushed up to him like a little swallow, softly calling out "Dad." After crying out, tears fell down. Gu Weiqiang's previous fierce look was gone, his entire demeanor suddenly becoming gentle. "You're all grown up now, why are you still acting like a child and crying?"

  "Why didn't you have dinner at your uncle's house?"

  "Waiting for Dad, we'll have dinner together as a family."

  "Yes, Dongdong also misses Daddy."

  Gu Wei Qiang coaxed his two children, then turned around and looked at the first elder of the clan. "Seventh Uncle, let's do it as previously discussed. This house will be divided among us four brothers, one room per person." It was rightfully his, he didn't want to give up a single share. He had figured it out clearly - he treated others like brothers, but they treated him like an outsider.

  Seventh Uncle took a puff of his dry tobacco, tapped the tobacco pouch on the table several times, nodded and said, "Gen Sheng, do you have anything to say? Are you two going to follow which child?"

  Gu Gen Sheng is Gu Lao Ye Zi, he's now completely out of energy, he finally understood that when children grow up, they don't listen to their parents. Among the four sons in his family, only the second son has a heart that matches his. As soon as he opened his mouth, he said, "I'll live with Er Ge."

  Gu Weifu's complexion finally looked a bit better, and the old man followed him, which meant that the things his brothers had been filial to the old man were still his. Moreover, the old man was still young now and could work for several more years.

  Zhou Aiju seemed to have understood that now all the children had left and were following someone, but no one was comfortable in their heart.

  "She simply waved her hand, 'When dividing the house, leave me one room, I won't follow anyone, just live alone from now on! Each child will give us five yuan a month to show their filial piety, four sons, that's twenty yuan in total. My husband and I will each take ten yuan, we'll live our own lives separately. If you want to follow the second son, then go with him, it's up to you.' Her heart had turned cold by now."

  Old Guo's neck stiffened as soon as he heard this, "You old woman, what nonsense are you spouting? If you're not following Old Er, then what do you want to do?"

  "Depend on Erniang? With Erniang's stinginess, she only does things that benefit herself. Do you think she'll serve tea and pour water for you? Support you? You're dreaming." Zhou Aijuan thought to herself, "I can still move around now, I support myself, but if one day I'm unable to move, Si, I'll ask you, are you willing to support this useless old woman?"

  Gu Wei Qiang forced a smile, "Mom, you can follow me now, An An and Dong Dong don't have a mom, so it's up to grandma to take care of them more."

  Gu An'an and Gu Dongdong also hugged Zhou Aijuan's thigh, opening their mouths together, "Mom, we'll support you."

  "This, Zhou Aijuan heard in her heart is comfortable, but still shook her head,"If I were to follow you Lao Si, who knows if someone would think that I'm taking advantage of Lao Si's family and feel it's unfair. It's better for me to be alone, you all have time come visit me often."

  Who is this kind-hearted person referring to? It's naturally Wang Da Ying.

  Wang Da Ying stood by, also silent, letting everyone watch.

  Gu Weimin, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, "Since mom wants to live alone, I voluntarily give up my share of the house, let her live there." Behind him, Li Yueya pinched his waist, Gu Weimin turned back and glared at her, after all, he was the head of the family. Li Yueya didn't say a word, she just hugged their young son tightly.

  "Ancestor, 'no regrets'?"

  Gu Weimin shook his head, "I was already a live-in son-in-law, this is what my mother deserved."

  The old man stood up, "Alright, since everyone agrees, let's do it this way! The house will be divided into four parts. Guo Gen Sheng and his branch will give up their share automatically. Zhou Ai Ju, Guo Wei Min, Guo Wei Guo, and Guo Wei Qiang will each get one room. As for the elderly, Guo Gen Sheng will live with the second brother, while Zhou Ai Ju will live alone. From now on, Guo Wei Qiang will be responsible for taking care of Zhou Ai Ju's old age. Each child must give their parents five yuan every month."

  "After taking care of the family, the five mu of mountain land behind the house, how will you divide it?"

  Gu Weiqiang and Gu Weimin shook their heads at the same time, "We don't need it, give it to big brother... Big brother naturally refers to Gu Weiguo."

  The two younger brothers have expressed their opinions, so Gu Weifu naturally cannot compete with the eldest for this land. Even if he were to get it, considering their household, Wang Da Ying is lazy and gluttonous, and his three sons are not suitable for farming. As for himself, why would a good team leader like him bother with farming?

  "Let it go, big brother."

  Gu Weiguo thanked his brother with gratitude, if he had separated from the family and didn't even have land, what would he use to support his wife and children? Unlike his three brothers, Gu Weiguo was a farmer who had been digging in the ground since childhood.

  The old man nodded and continued, "There's still some savings at home, let's take it all out and divide it up."

  The family's savings were kept by Zhou Aiju, she hurriedly ran to the inner room, took out a cloth package, and poured out more than 200 pieces of money scattered on the table.

  "Old Master Gu spoke first, 'How can there be so little?'"

  Zhou Aiju sneered, pulled out a small notebook from her bundle and began to read: "Let's calculate the expenses starting from three years ago. The new house that was built at the beginning of last year cost 1,300 yuan. Gu Shu went to the city to study for three years, taking 400 yuan from me in total. Last year, he attended high school and spent 280 yuan. He repeated a grade for half a year, which added another 120 yuan, and his tutoring fees were 100 yuan. When Old Second's sister-in-law's brother got married, we gave him 20 yuan as a gift. When Old Second's mother-in-law fell ill, we spent a total of 63 yuan on her medical expenses. Old Second entertained his superiors eight times, each time spending around 10 yuan, totaling 80 yuan. During festivals and holidays, we gave gifts totaling nearly 300 yuan. Gu Dan went to the county town last year to learn carpentry, with living expenses of 5 yuan per month. This year, Gu Shuang fell ill and was hospitalized in the county town, spending a total of 130 yuan. Our family's daily expenses are around 0.5 to 1 yuan, which adds up to over 20 yuan per month. And this doesn't even include the grain we harvested from our land."

  Zhou Aiju was also intentional, only reporting the expenses of the second house, just to make Wang Daying, the second house's owner, take responsibility. If it weren't for her stirring things up, a good family would not have fallen apart. Every time she reported an item, Gu Weifu's face turned redder, he was not good at managing the household and didn't know that they were extravagant spenders, he actually didn't know that just the second house alone spent so much money.

  It's just as well that everyone in this family is one of us, except for the clan elder who is an outsider.

  Otherwise, if outsiders hear about this, they will be scared by the expenses of the Gu family. This is just the second house, not to mention the other three houses.

  "Alright, alright, stop reporting, it's humiliating."

  To be honest, Zhou Aiju and Gu Gen Sheng have been married for decades, and they can be considered as respectful to each other. Gu Gen Sheng is the village head, and Zhou Aiju is also a cultured person, so they can still respect each other. In the past, they could still consider saving face, but now they have torn their faces apart. Zhou Aiju threw the account book at Gu Gen Sheng's face, "And you, old man, every day's cigarette money, drinking money, and money to support Lao Erjia's family, just you alone, in a year it adds up to two hundred yuan."

  She went ahead and made everything clear, with her hands on her hips, and spat out a mouthful of words. "This family, you think it's easy to support? Just the food expenses alone, our family spends at least 15 yuan every month. Not to mention social interactions, and several small ones, which one doesn't need money for school?"

  "Wang Da Ying, I'm telling you, since you've messed up this family, I'll say it here and now: from now on, anything related to the second household has nothing to do with me, Zhou Ai Ju. You're so capable, so you can take care of the living expenses for Eldest in county town, tutoring fees, as well as Second's living expenses while he's an apprentice in county town, plus Third's tuition fees - all these are on you now. Don't come to me with your ideas and dump them on Third and Fourth, they don't owe you anything."

  Zhou Ai Ju felt a lump in her throat, it was hard for her to breathe. She had only gone out for one trip, and when she came back, such a big thing happened, a good family like theirs just fell apart.

  Everyone thought she loved Eldest Fourth the most, but actually!

  It's her who is still here, tying up the fourth elder to the entire Gu family, letting him help with the expenses of the second elder, just thinking that the second elder has many children at home, each one needs money.

  Now she's fine, pulling forward like an old cow, but can't stand being dragged back by the hind legs!

  Wang Da Ying was scolded so badly that she lost her voice, and only then did she realize that she was finished, completely finished. How could she come up with so much money to raise three children?

  Gu An'an exchanged a glance with Gu Dongdong, and saw admiration in each other's eyes. Only today did they realize that their grandmother was so powerful.

  Zhou Aiju scolded.

  The whole house was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

  "Mother! I won't divide the family property anymore, I won't. I'll make it up to Fourth Brother."

  "It's late."

  All the thumbprints on the divorce papers have been stamped, and no one is paying attention to Wang Da Ying's tantrums.

  "Alright." Gu Wei Qiang squatted down and lifted Gu Dong Dong onto his shoulders, riding a big horse.

  Dongdong was laughed at by Lele until he couldn't stop laughing.

  When they arrived at the Gu's house, eight-year-old Gu Dongdong also sensed that something was off and immediately stopped smiling. The people following behind didn't need to be told by Gu Wei to spontaneously enter the house.

  Listening to Gu Weiqiang's command, they moved away all the things that should be moved from the main house. Actually, after careful calculation, there was nothing in the main house that Gu Weiqiang would care about. They were basically just some tables and chairs, which he could have made at any time by asking his third brother in the county town to make them.

  Wang Da Ying was in the east room, got a good scolding. Originally sitting on the edge of the kang wiping away tears, hearing the commotion outside, immediately stood up, afraid that Gu Wei Qiang would move all the things away. She stood at the door of the main hall, like a door god, whenever she saw someone moving things, she would cover her eyes.

  They say that some people only remember the good times and not the bad, and Wang Da Ying is one of them. Just then, Zhou Ai Ju, who was helping out on the side, looked over and felt unhappy in her heart, "What are you looking at? Fourth Brother is moving his rightful share, can't even do that?"

  Wang Da Ying was indeed in the wrong, she muttered to herself and turned into her own room. She finally understood that with the old witch around, even if she had a hundred tricks up her sleeve, they wouldn't be enough to escape the old witch's notice.

  Everyone ignored Wang Da Ying and just moved things.

  As he was about to leave, Gu Wei shouted, "Mom, I've moved three chairs for now, and after a few days when Third Brother helps me fix the chairs, I'll return them."

  Zhou Aiju took down the two strings of red chili peppers hanging on the window and put them on that chair, with reddened eyes. "Take it away, this is what you deserve, don't mention anything about not returning it, if there's not enough chili peppers come back for more." Old Fourth loves to eat chili peppers, can't do without them in every meal, in a family of just so many people, when Eldest moved house he took away three chairs, now Old Fourth's household has only three people, she isn't an evil stepmother after all, couldn't bear to part with even the chairs.

  He turned around and saw Wang Da Ying standing at the door of the east house, looking out. "Get out, get out, get out! Standing at the door like a door god!"

  Taking advantage of everyone's help in moving things, Gu Weiqiang called his own mother to the private land.

  He patted his body and found over 70 yuan, which he handed to Zhou Aijuan. "Mom, this is all the money I have on me right now. When my salary is paid later, I'll add some more to make it a hundred for you. Don't be angry, honestly, after we split up, the burden on my shoulders has been greatly reduced and my whole body feels comfortable."

  Outside was originally all white snow, after the sun came out, it melted into a puddle of water, and the sun in the sky also shone dazzlingly.

  Zhou Aiju's eyes welled up with tears as she pushed the money back, "You've just split up and are in need of money now. If you wait until mom has no money one day, then ask you for it." Although that's what she said, given Zhou Aiju's temperament, if she was doing alright herself, she wouldn't ask her children for a single penny. Previously, when she asked her youngest son for money, they hadn't split up yet and everything the family spent was paid for by her. Moreover, all four sons were flesh of her flesh, and as their mother, she wanted to make life better for this family, so after putting up with so much hardship from her fourth son, how could she not feel heartache?!

  Gu Weiqiang saw that his mother really didn't want it, and he couldn't push it away anymore, so he put it in his pocket. "Mom, do you blame me? I broke up the family and can't even provide for Gu Shu to attend high school."

  Zhou Aiju raised her voice, "How could that be? The one who always messed up this family was Wang Da Ying, that good-for-nothing. It's the second son and his family who don't know what's good for them. In my eyes, Wei Qiang is the most capable, he can hold up half the sky by himself. As for Gu Shu, I've thought about it carefully, if he saves a bit, the second son can afford to send him to high school." The old lady was reasonable, and Wei Qiang's side felt better in their hearts.

  The two of them said some intimate words and then entered the house.

  At this time, the house had almost moved, and the temporarily set up fence yard was also more than half a person high. The west house was officially separated from the old Gu's house.

  This is the real little family of Gu Jia's four houses, eating without worrying, buying clothes for daughters without being criticized, wanting to buy good textbooks for younger sons will not be accused of being partial.

  To be honest, when Gu Weiqiang stood at the gate of the West House courtyard and looked inside, he felt extremely relieved.

  Everyone who could help in the house has left, leaving only a pair of children by themselves.

  When Gu An'an saw Gu Wei Qiang enter, her eyes lit up. She pointed to a pile of things in the corner of the wall, "Dad, this was left by Uncle Hua Zi and the uncle and aunt from next door when they came over. They said it's for us to have a hot meal tonight. I told them to take it away, but they ran off quickly."

  Gu Weiqiang also saw that in the corner of the wall, there was a pile of things about half a person high, including two pumpkins, half a block of winter melon, seven or eight white radishes, and three big bok choy that had just been dug out of the snow, still with ice crystals on them.

  Two or three catties of fine white rice, a pinch of salt, two handfuls of dried bean curd, and two pieces of cured meat, but mostly fatty meat. In these times, nobody wants to eat lean meat anymore, everyone likes to eat fatty meat, it can be used to make oil and also helps to ward off hunger.

  When Gu Weiguo saw these dishes, a big man's eyes turned red.

  He said, "An An, Dong Dong has come over. Remember clearly who sent what, this is kindness, we'll return it when the time comes." Sometimes, those outsiders are much better than one's own family.

  Gu An nodded, counting on her fingers, "The pumpkin was given by Aunt Gui Fang, the winter melon was given by Third Aunt, the radish and cabbage were dug up from the ground by Ban Xia, and the dried bean curd, bacon, and rice were secretly passed to me by Nai when no one was paying attention. Oh, and Nai also slipped me 50 yuan, which I didn't accept."

  At this point, Anan said seriously, "Dad, they are all good people," including her grandmother.

  "Alright! Wait for me to go out for a while." After finishing speaking, Gu Wei Qiang went out.

  An An and Dong Dong stared at each other, An An had never cooked before, but her original body knew how!

  Looking at these dishes, she itched! Very consciously picked up, started preparing dinner, this is their first meal after separation, must eat well, die that Wang Da Ying, huh! Also want to call the milk over.

  Let's eat together, otherwise grandma will have a hard time eating alone.

  But after just a few days of getting along, An An really integrated herself into this environment, Grandma and Dad, as well as Uncle Huazi, they are all the best people.

  An An took advantage of Dongdong's absence to secretly replace the cured meat and rice with materials from her own supermarket. The fine-grained rice that Grandma brought over was also a different type of rice, far inferior to the fragrant rice sold in the supermarket.

  There was also cured meat, two slabs of palm-sized cured meat. Although it looked good, it was too hard and more than half of it was fat. If she really had to eat it herself, An would have been a bit disgusted. She directly turned her left hand over and picked out a piece of cured meat with alternating layers of lean and fat.

  As for other foods, she didn't dare bring them out again, afraid of being exposed.

  An An's culinary skills were learned from Aunt Jiu Xiang and Grandmother, she started working in the kitchen at the age of 8 and did it with ease.

  She looked at the things on the chopping board, planning to make a pot of bacon fried rice. You know, this is a local stove, firewood is stuffed into the stove, and the pot of bacon fried rice is simmered over high heat, smelling very fragrant.

  When Gu Weiqiang came back, An'an had already stir-fried a winter melon slice and a sour and spicy big bok choy. As for the vinegar, of course, it was taken out from the space, while the chili peppers were hung on the windowsill of the western house, strung together in a large string. Picking three to five would be enough to make it spicy.

  The bacon pot rice in the pot is almost done, Dongdong sits in front of the stove, the big fire in the furnace makes his small face red, and he can't stop swallowing saliva. He sticks out his neck and urges, "Sister, when will this bacon rice be ready?"

  An An wiped the sweat, lifted the wooden lid of the pot, leaving only a slit. She took a look and said, "Still need to wait for a few minutes, Dongdong, the fire in the stove is slightly smaller, it's just right for cooking the rice crust!" As expected, An An opened a slit, and the fragrance inside the pot couldn't help but waft out. Gu Wei, holding a chicken in his hand, smelled this fragrance and even thought that this might be more fragrant than the cured meat made by his own daughter.

  He pushed open the small door and put the cleaned chicken on the chopping board, asking, "An An! What are you doing? It smells so good, I could smell it from outside the door."

  An'an turned her head and saw the chicken in her father's hand. Her eyes lit up, "All we need now is a mother hen soup!"

  "In the evening, we'll have braised pork belly with rice, and then a radish stewed old hen soup, accompanied by two vegetarian dishes, it's definitely delicious." Not even done yet! Gu Wei just listened to it, and he was already drooling along with Dongdong.

  He scooped a ladle of icy water from the water tank and poured it into the bucket, repeating this three times to wash everything clean. He then chopped up the chicken into pieces before handing them over to Anan.

  An'an was in charge of stewing the soup. After chasing Winter and her own dad out, she rummaged through the supermarket and found the seasoning area. She picked a bag of ingredients for clear-steamed chicken soup, which included longan, red dates, and dried tangerine peel. She also chose two large pieces of fresh ginger. This clear-steamed chicken soup was not easy to make without a hint of fishy smell.

  With this ginger, the taste can be removed.

  The big pot cooks quickly, the stove's fierce flames, and this chicken meat is soon stewed to pieces. When it's time to get up, An'an deliberately takes out the small packet of seasonings tied with a string and throws it away at the supermarket, destroying all evidence.

  At least from the pot, it's just radish stewed chicken soup, no other ingredients, but smelling the aroma, it's different from usual, so fragrant that it's almost intoxicating.

  The old hen stew was done, the fragrant rice in the pot had formed a golden crust on top. She lifted the lid and poured out some oil and sauce from cooking the crusty rice onto her meal. "Dinner's ready!" she shouted. Only then did she realize that the supermarket-bought ingredients were actually cheating - they made life so much easier!

  Gu Wei Qiang and Dong Dong, who were stuck on the kitchen door, suddenly pushed open the kitchen door, and the smell spread into the courtyard.

  It was passed on to the next door, and it wasn't until they separated that I realized the next door was different from Anan's side. In the afternoon, there were many people, and they randomly collected some things.

  On their side, the eldest and second families shared a kitchen, and since they had just split up, there wasn't much good food. In the evening, they made a sour noodle dish. The noodles were made from wheat grown by themselves, ground into coarse powder, and rolled out with a rolling pin to make brownish-colored noodles that felt slightly rough in the mouth.

  Wang Da Ying's cooking is almost as bad as pig food. He made a sour noodle dish and then stir-fried another sour vegetable dish. He was too stingy to add oil, so he used a piece of burlap to wipe the pot rim twice, just for show.

  Apart from Zhou Aiju, the five members of the second house, plus Old Man Gu sitting around the table, smelled the fragrance coming from next door. Wang Da Ying dared to say that in this life, he had never smelled anything so fragrant.

  The bacon is so fragrant it's penetrating to the bone.

  The whole family was eating the sour noodle soup, but Gu Shuang couldn't hold back, and she slammed her bowl onto the table, spilling the broth everywhere. "Mom, I want to eat fragrant meat, not this disgusting sour noodle soup!"

  Wang Da Ying, who usually spoiled Xiao Er, slapped a chopstick on Gu Shuang's head, "Eat, eat, eat, all you know is eating. Is that meat for you to eat????" She deliberately raised her voice, "That was specially brought back by your fourth uncle from outside, what are you? You're not even the son of the family, it's not your turn."

  Gu Dongdong listened most to Gu Anan's words, as soon as she said it, Xiaodouding immediately closed his eyes.

  Gu An'an suddenly had a piece of candy in her palm, she unwrapped the wrapper and stuffed it into Gu Dongdong's mouth, saying "Close your mouth, don't spit it out."

  Suddenly a sweetness burst in her mouth, and Xiao Douding immediately wanted to spit it out and planned to share half with her sister.

  Listening to his sister's fierce scolding, he shut up, his mouth conditioned reflexively.

  Gu An's big eyes smiled into a line, curved like a crescent moon. She was delighted, "Is it sweet?" She felt happier seeing the little kid eating sugar than she did when she ate sugar herself.

  Gu Dongdong couldn't bear to open his mouth, afraid that the sweetness inside would run away, and his words were unclear, "Mmm... really mmm..."

  This little look could make An laugh, and the siblings had a big fight.

  "Dinner is ready!", Wang Da Ying shouted outside in a loud voice.

  Gu Anan jumped out of bed as soon as she heard, and before leaving the door, she didn't forget to let Gu Dongdong open his mouth to see if the sugar had melted, instructing, "Don't tell anyone else, you ate sugar!"

  Gu Dongdong nodded his head like he was pounding garlic, licked his lips and said, "I haven't eaten, I haven't eaten anything."

  "Very clever."

  The brother and sister walked hand in hand to the main house, where the table was already filled with people.

  Apart from the four houses on this side, three people are missing. Tang Lan Zhi took Gu Wan Wan to the provincial city, and Gu Wei Qiang disappeared after leaving the west house, and his family is used to him not being at home.

  Others were there.

  Oh! That's right, Gu An'an's third uncle Gu Weimin and his family are not in Gujia Village, they now live in the county town, doing carpentry work. Gu Weimin had exceptional manual skills since he was young, after graduating from elementary school, he didn't have the heart to continue studying, so he went to the county town to learn carpentry with a master craftsman. He was clever and diligent, very much liked by his master, who treated him like half a son. The master had only one daughter, and later, when the master passed away, he made a request that Gu Weimin become the son-in-law of the Li family.

  The reason is that he has only one daughter at home, and he has saved money for a lifetime. If he lets his daughter marry someone else, he will not be at ease. Only this closed-door disciple of his own can make him feel most at ease.

  Gu Weimin cherished the kindness of his teacher Fu, and also secretly developed feelings for Fu's daughter Li Yue'e. It was only natural that they ended up together. At the time, it was said that becoming the son-in-law of the Li family caused a sensation in the entire Gujia Village.

  After all, in this day and age, any family with a slightly better condition would not let their own son become a live-in son-in-law.

  Especially since Old Gu's family is considered a respectable family in Gu Village, this has really lost face for Old Master Gu.

  But Gu Weimin was a romantic, and in order to marry Li Yu'e, he made a big fuss at home for a long time. Later, Zhou Aijuan took pity on him and finally agreed.

  However, after the marriage, Gu Weimin settled down in the county town. The old Li carpentry shop was famous for generations, and the family had a solid foundation. In the best location of the county town, there was a small courtyard that was bright and spacious to live in. Those who originally looked down on Gu Weimin as a son-in-law were envious when they saw his prosperity after marriage.

  So, the Gu family had dinner together, with only Old Master Gu and Zhou Aijuan, Eldest Brother Gu Weiguo, Zhao Junyan, and their youngest son Gu Ping'an, who was ten years old this year, two years older than Gu Dongdong.

  Logically, Gu Lao Da's son, Gu Wei Guo, should be the oldest among his fellow disciples. However, when he was young, he fell from a tree while stealing bird eggs and broke his leg. He didn't receive timely treatment, so he became lame. As a result, no one wanted to marry him when it came time for matchmaking.

  It wasn't until Gu Weiguo was over 30 years old that he met Zhao Junyan, who had escaped from disaster, and then married a wife and started a family.

  Gu Weiguo was dull and taciturn, Zhao Junyan also didn't like to talk usually. The 10-year-old Gu Ping'an was taught by the two of them to be somewhat introverted, not daring to see people, and even afraid to speak loudly. The three of them sat at the edge of the table, each holding a bowl, and the old man hadn't spoken yet, nor did they dare to start eating.

  Sitting next to Old Man Gu was the family of Second Brother, including Gu Weifu and Wang Da Ying, as well as their three sons: Eldest Son Gu Shu, Second Son Gu Dan, and Third Son Gu Shuang. The eldest, Gu Shu, is twenty years old this year and attends high school in the county town, but he has been held back a grade.

  Gu Dan and Gu An'an were the same age, both sixteen. However, Gu Dan was not cut out for studying, just like Gu Wei Min, he liked to work with his hands. The tables, chairs, and stools in their home were basically all made by Gu Dan after he went on a trip to the county town and came back to figure them out himself.

  Let's talk about Gu Shuang, the youngest son of Gu Weifu, who is the most favored one. He is like a little overlord in the Gu family, and everyone wants to give him the stars from the sky. Today, Gu Weiguo went to the riverbank and broke a hole in the ice, bringing back two big grass carp. It's rare for the family to have meat, and Gu Shuang's eyes are fixed on the fish in the big basin, swallowing every delicious part clean.

  When Gu An'an led out Gu Dongdong, there were still two empty seats on the old lady's right side, which was obviously reserved for Gu An'an and her siblings.

  She roughly scanned the positions on the dinner table and also counted them in her mind.

  Apart from her parents and Gu Wanwan, there were also Third Uncle's family, but this table of people was not small either, with twelve people scattered around. The variety of dishes on the table was not many, but they made up for it in quantity. A big bowl of winter radish, plus a large bowl of sour fish, and the sour vegetables were all pickled by Zhou Aijuan herself, with two large jars stored in the kitchen, enough to serve as side dishes for a year. As for the snow pears used to pickle the sour vegetables, they were all picked from the mountain by An'an alone. The sour taste of the pickled vegetables was particularly good, and it had a nice texture when chewed.

  No wonder, that big bowl of sour fish, made Anan drool, and her mouth was filled with a lot more saliva.

  As soon as the sister and brother appeared in the main room, Wang Da Ying's mouth opened, "Ah ah, it's not me saying this, but how can you say that everyone sitting here is a senior, and yet you two siblings make all these seniors wait for you? It's really impolite. Can't say, as soon as your mom left, you two don't even know the most basic way to show respect to seniors."

  In Gu Anan's impression, Wang Da Ying always thought that Tang Lan Zhi was a cultured person, suppressing her team leader's wife and favoring Zhou Ai Ju's family, including the children of the fourth house, making Wang Da Ying not get along with them.

  Gu Dongdong was small, but he knew that Er Bao's wife was not saying good things. He subconsciously hid behind Gu Anan.

  Gu An'an pinched the small hand of Xiao Douding, not even looking at Wang Da Ying, and turned to Zhou Aijuan with a flattering face. "Grandma, I'm late with Dongdong, it's our fault, this biggest fish is for you as an apology from your granddaughter." As she spoke, she picked up her chopsticks and directly took a piece of fish with the least bones and the most meat from the bowl and put it in Zhou Aijuan's bowl. Of course, Gu Lao Yezi didn't fall behind either. If she remembered correctly, the old man liked to eat fish belly, especially with some fatty tissue on top, which was extremely fragrant when bitten into.