An Ans actions made her feel heartbroken, but with so many people around and everyone focusing on eating, An An quietly placed her bowl under the table, stretched out her arm, and put the remaining half piece of fish into Gu Pingans bowl.

  Gu Pingan looked down, saw the sudden appearance of a piece of fish in his bowl, and his eyes lit up. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed Gu Anan stretching out her index finger and signaling "shh".

  Gu Pingan curved his eyes, turned around, poked Zhao Junyan, and pointed at Gu Anan. Although he didnt say anything, Zhao Junyan knew what was going on.

  She smiled gratefully at Gu Anan and patted her own forehead, "Eat."

  Zhou Aijus eyes were bright and clear, and Gu Anans small movements couldnt escape the old ladys sharp eyes. She looked at Anans expression and shook her head, "This child..."

  Its not that she wasnt good to Gu Pingan, but this child has been quiet since childhood and is afraid of her. When theres food, although it wont be taken away from Gu Pingan, after all, hes a ten-year-old kid whos growing up, the little bit he gets will be gone in three or two mouthfuls, how can that be enough?!

  After finishing dinner, Gu Anan would normally take the initiative to wash the dishes, but today after eating, she wiped her mouth and said, "Mom, Im going back to my room to prepare for the entrance exam."

  Zhou Aiju nodded and pointed to Gu Shu, "Go ask your brother to get the study materials, it can save a lot of trouble." Gu Shu had been in high school in the county town for a year already. Because of the new policy this year, he could take the college entrance exam, so he came back home and begged his grandfather to let him read for another year, and then he would have a good chance to get into a good university. The family was excited about the possibility of having a college graduate in their household.

  In addition, Gu Shu was the eldest grandson of the old Gu family, obedient, good at reading, and looked most like his grandfather when he was young. He pleased the old man, and Old Man Gu patted him on the back, "Go read." Who paid for the tuition? Of course, it was taken care of by the fourth and third elders.

  "Brother, Im going to your room to get some books. Lend me all the ones youre not using now."

  Gu Shu hesitated, but was interrupted by the old lady, so he could only take Gu Anan to the south kang. Because Gu Shu was going to take the college entrance exam, his family specially arranged a separate room for him, unlike the other grandsons who were crowded together. Although Gu Shus room was only over 10 square meters, the desk and wardrobe were neatly arranged, no need to look, all done by Gu Dan.

  Gu Shu pulled out a book from the bookcase with a sullen face, "An An, these are all old and valuable books, you must be careful." In Gu Shus eyes, having one college student at home was enough, there was no need for Gu An An to come and show off, especially since she was just a girl. However, it had to be said that Gu Shu had some reservations about Gu An An, unlike An Ans solid foundation, Gu Shu could only attend high school with the help of private tutors, barely scraping by in the countys high school entrance exams.

  An An looked at the math textbook in front of her, smiling with deep meaning. "Isnt this a book issued by the school?", she said. It was free, yet someone still complained that it was expensive. If it were the old An An, she would have really returned the "expensive" book and not dared to borrow it.

  But An now cant.

  "Isnt tuition money?" Gu Shus face turned red with anger and embarrassment.

  Gu Anan gave Gu Shu a strange look, whispered "My dad paid for your tuition too", then slammed the door shut and ran away in a flash.

  Qis anger left Gu Shu breathless for a long time.

  Gu Anan, who had just received the book, was about to go to the old ladys house to ask where her father had gone. As she passed by the kitchen, she heard Wang Da Ying muttering, "Anan that dead girl, usually its her washing dishes, today she ran away quickly. Sister-in-law, you say, a little girl like her reading books, its not as good as helping with household chores, getting married early, and having her husband help support the family and several younger brothers at home, instead of wasting money on sending her to school."

  Zhao Junyan was collecting firewood, and she also took out the pickled vegetables that they would eat for dinner to soak in water, to thaw the ice. When she heard Wang Da Yings words, she originally didnt plan on speaking up, but thinking about the half piece of fish on the table, she said softly, "An An used to do less work? Moreover, An An is going to school, thats Old Fourth spending his own money, whats the waste in that?" It seems like sending the nephew from next door to study isnt considered a waste, but sending their own daughter to study is a waste? What kind of logic is this?

  Zhao Junyan rarely speaks up, but when she does, her words are sharp and to the point. After all, shes from a big household, and their ideas and values are different. Moreover, they have a peaceful life, and can afford for their children to study in the village school, with workbooks and pens, these expenses arent all covered by Old Fourth alone. Just because of this, Zhao Junyan should thank her brother-in-law.

  Wang Da Ying wanted to retort but thought that if this got out, wouldnt it be troublesome when the time came for his younger brother-in-law to take care of his eldest sons tuition?

  In the end, he swallowed the rest of his words.

  Gu Anan listened for a moment, snorted in laughter and turned into Zhou Aijius room.

  I asked my old dad, and then took a pen and a notebook from the old ladys box. The expenses of this kind at home are all bought by Gu Weiqiang when he is out driving, and kept by the old lady. After all, there are many children in the family, and they are not given to them separately, for fear that the children will lose them.

  After all, brushes and pens are precious things.

  These days, families that can read books are not many.

  The old Gu family suddenly had two high school students, which is also a great honor for the village.

  Gu Anan muttered, "Not even milk knows where Dad went, he doesnt even come home for meals." She turned around and returned to the west wing.

  The Gu Wei Qiang who was being nagged by Gu An An, this would be in the deepest part of Gu Jia Village, in a household that could be described as a hut made of thatched grass. To say its a household is actually an exaggeration, its just a shack put together with straw. The pigpens outside are all built with cobblestones, if you compare the craftsmanship, the pigpens look more sturdy than the thatched house.

  Those who were allocated to live in thatched cottages were none other than the city dwellers who had committed errors and been criticized and struggled against, and then banished to Gujia Village.

  Because of the remote location, people in the village have been passing down that the people living here are black five categories, bad elements. Everyone regards this side with the thatched cottage as a plague god, and no one dares to interact with the people on this side for fear of getting into trouble.

  To say, this grass hut was inhabited by three people, a father and son duo, and an old man.

  The old mans name is Lang Yongling, 63 years old this year. He is a native of the Imperial City in Beijing. If the Lang family counts three generations up, they are considered to be nobles of the Manchu Qing dynasty, also known as Nian Gengyaos clan. If we talk about famous people, the Qing dynastys Heshen was from this surname, but after the founding of the country, it was changed to Lang surname.

  While Lang Yongling is actually a member of the He Shen family, even if their house was confiscated in those years, they were still considered wealthy and had many valuable antiques, porcelain, and famous paintings. These treasures would have been enviable in the past, but now they are poisonous. Lang Yongling will be labeled as a bad element and exiled to Gujia Village because of these antiques. In his early years, Lang Yongling was also known as "Lang One Eye", and it was said that any cultural relics he had appraised were guaranteed to be genuine.

  What a pity!

  The times were not right, and Lang Yongling, who should have been a shining example for the country and preserved historical culture, was labeled as a bad element. His home was also ransacked, and it wasnt until his adopted son from early years made great efforts that he was exiled to Gus Village.

  Although Gus village is remote, it has a reputation for being simple and honest. Coming here, Lang Yongling will at least not suffer the same humiliation as elsewhere.

  As for the other father and son, they were famous orthopedic doctors in the provincial capital, especially the old man, Feng Xian. In his early years, he studied abroad in Britain to learn foreign orthopedic medical techniques. After completing his studies, he returned home and became a professor at the provincial hospital, saving countless people. However, he was labeled as a bad element by the rightists, stripped of his position, and exiled to Gus Village. Even his right hand was injured during the criticism sessions, which is ironic given that Feng Xian was an orthopedic doctor who became famous for treating hands. Due to improper treatment of his own injury, he became disabled and could no longer hold a surgical knife.

  As for his son Feng Qingyan, he could have been exempted after his divorce from his wife. However, Feng Qingyan was a filial son and worried that his old father would not be able to survive in exile alone. He secretly kept a foreign medical book which was found on him during the house search. After several rounds of bribery at home, both father and son were exiled together to Gus Village.

  He Lang Yongling became a companion, and it can be said that there is someone accompanying him now.

  These three people are also open-minded, feeding pigs and sweeping pigpens every day. Lang Yongling loves studying antiques, but after coming to Guxiang Village, there is no such condition, so he retains his hobby of walking birds. The nobles on the roots of the imperial city, the leisurely and arrogant air in their bones, even if they are exiled to a mountain gorge, are still engraved in their bones and blood.

  He was still holding a bamboo birdcage in his hand, which was woven by his third brother Gu Weimin at the request of Gu Weiqiang. As for the spotted dove inside the cage, Lang Yongling himself had set up a trap in front of the mountain and caught it. Although this spotted dove was not as smart as the parrot he used to raise at home, it was still pretty good.

  Gu Weiqiang came over this time to thank Feng Xian. He was a teacher in the transportation team, and during the heavy snowfall recently, he had to rush out to deliver goods. When he slammed on the brakes, his hand hit the steering wheel and got injured. This teacher had brought Gu Weimin into the transportation team, so Gu Weiqiang owed him a great debt of gratitude.

  Gu Weiqiang thought for a while and shifted his attention to Feng Xian. Feng Xians identity was too special, so he took advantage of the dark night to bring Feng Qingyan to the county town, specifically to show him to Teacher Fu. As it turned out, after two months of care, Teacher Fus wrist had recovered to its usual state, and his position in the transportation team was secured again. For Gu Weimin, these two people were great benefactors, and he still owed them a favor.

  Gu Weiqiang still held in his hand half a catty of roasted knife fish, a plate of peanuts, and half a catty of pigs ears, all of which were good dishes to go with wine.

  He went to Gu Ermaos house, took the table and chairs, and then made a detour from the back mountain, bypassing the thatched cottage. He pushed the door open and asked, "Is Old Feng in?"

  The old wooden door creaked and opened with a groan.