Chapter 31
After breakfast, Gu Shi asked the driver to take Nanny Wang to a nearby market to buy a cake.
Seeing that the braised food sold at the braised food shop looked pretty good, Nanny Wang bought a lot of braised food, as well as fish and shrimp. The fish and shrimp hadn't been killed yet. They were kept in buckets. If they couldn’t have them at noon, they could eat them tonight or tomorrow.
At noon, Luo Yongsheng's younger brother, Luo Yongping, and his wife arrived. They brought half a bag of peanuts and half a bag of soybeans, saying that Luo Zhengzheng should take them back to make soy milk and fry peanuts.
Gu Shi immediately filled a large bowl and asked Mother-in-law to fry peanuts.
Yuan Mei was holding a bowl of peanuts. Actually, she had peanuts at home. Since they brought over by younger sister-in-law, she couldn't refuse their kindness.
When Nanny Wang returned from town, she went into the kitchen to help prepare the dishes. The goose was still simmering in the pot. Yuan Mei had to prepare other dishes as well. Luo Meng and her mom were also in the kitchen helping to wash and chop vegetables. The group was busy and bustling about.
Gu Shi had never started a fire before, so he had Luo Zhengzheng sit next to him and teach him. Luo Zhengzheng rolled her eyes, thinking to herself, "Why are you curious about everything?"
Gu Shi found starting a fire to be a very interesting thing and was studying it very seriously.
Yuan Mei let him be. She could see that although her son-in-law was almost thirty years old and usually seemed very steady and could manage a large company well, he still retained a childlike heart.
As for little Chengjia, he was carried around the village by his maternal uncle and played with the village children. He didn't remember his parents at all or the sadness of the goose being killed.
Yuan Mei roasted a rooster, stewed a goose, and braised beef. Seeing the fish that Nanny Wang had bought, she killed a fish and braised it. She also stir-fried some vegetables, fried Gu Shi's peanuts, and then plated the braised dishes that Nanny Wang had bought.
With one table, it was too crowded. With two, it was too sparse. Still, two tables were set up and each were filled with a generous amount of food.
Lunch was ready and Luo Can finally returned from outside, carrying his little nephew on his back.
Yuan Mei washed his grandson's hands, picked up a piece of goose leg meat, rinsed off the seasonings with warm water, removed the skin, and let him gnaw on it.
Luo Can teased him, "What are you eating?"
Little Chengjia, completely unaware, happily munched on the meat, saying, "Meat, meat."
Luo Can asked him again, "What meat meat?"
"Meat meat."
Luo Can wanted to tease him more, but Yuan Mei slapped him and glared at him: "Do you have to make him cry?"
Luo Zhengzheng came out of the kitchen: "If he make him cry, then he coax him."
Luo Can thought to himself that it was him who coaxed crying Luo Can in the morning.
Yuan Mei said, "Everyone, wash your hands and eat."
After washing their hands, the group sat down around the dining table.
Luo Yongping’s family of three were too embarrassed to sit next to Gu Shi. They were all very reserved and somewhat restrained in his presence, so they sat at a table with the driver and Nanny Wang. Luo Zhengzheng tried to pull them over, but couldn't. Seeing this, Luo Can grabbed some bowls and chopsticks and ran over to join them.
Sitting in a dining chair, Yuan Mei watched Son-in-law eat goose meat with his head down and asked him, "Is it good?"
Gu Shi looked up: "It's delicious."
Yuan Mei was delighted that her cooking skills were recognized and said, "If you like it, eat more. When you leave tomorrow, shall we kill a couple more to take home?"
Gu Shi naturally agreed.
Luo Zhengzheng patted his arm: "You really don't hold back, you take whatever you're offered."
Gu Shi looked at her and said, "Can't I accept it? It's from Mom."
His eyes even had a somewhat innocent look.
Yuan Mei glared at her daughter and looked at Gu Shi: "Ignore her. Have your dad kill the goose first thing tomorrow morning, without letting Jiajia know."
Gu Shi looked at Luo Zhengzheng: "Is it okay?"
Luo Zhengzheng: "Okay, okay, okay."
Gu Shi turned to Yuan Mei, "Mom, she said it's okay."
Luo Zhengzheng kicked him under the table. He did it on purpose.
Yuan Mei grinned, "That's fine."
Gu Shi continued eating without changing his expression.
Yuan Mei then asked him, "Would you like some wine?"
Gu Shi looked up: "It's Dad's birthday, so can drink a little."
Yuan Mei placed wine on both tables, and Luo Can had already started drinking with his uncle and driver.
Gu Shi brought the wine back. He poured a glass for his father-in-law and was about to pour one for his mother-in-law as well.
Luo Zhengzheng quickly said, "Mom, don't drink. Your health is not great, so please don't drink alcohol."
Yuan Mei had no craving for alcohol and never liked drinking. She could tolerate drinking beer occasionally, but baijiu (Chinese liquor) was too strong for her, so she said, "Don't pour me any. I won't drink."
Gu Shi looked at Luo Zhengzheng: "Do you want it?"
Luo Zhengzheng shook her head: "I don't like drinking baijiu. You drink with my dad."
Gu Shi raised his glass and clinked it with Father-in-law's: "Dad, happy birthday."
Luo Yongsheng blushed. He had lived to such an old age and no one had ever wished him a happy birthday. He sighed a few times and took a sip of wine.
The father-in-law and son-in-law didn't drink much. They only drank one symbolic glass of wine before putting down their glasses.
Chengjia was tired after playing all morning. He ate the children's meal that his grandmother had specially made for him and fell asleep soon after.
Luo Zhengzheng and Gu Shi also went upstairs for a nap.
After waking up, the two of them stayed in the room; one turning on the computer to watch TV series, and the other standing in front of Luo Zhengzheng's bookshelf looking for books to read.
Luo Zhengzheng's room was large, and the books she had bought when she was in school were all displayed on the bookshelves. even though the room had been unoccupied for a long time, the bookshelves remained clean and tidy as Yuan Mei would come up from time to time to sweep away the dust.
Gu Shi picked up a book, flipped through it casually, and put it back on the bookshelf. He flipped through several books but couldn't find anything that interested him. Seeing that the book " Dream of the Red Chamber” tilted, he picked it up to sort it. Just as the book entered his hand, a bundle of things dropped out.
He picked it up and was stunned. Inside were several photos of boys in military uniforms, looking youthful, sunny, and handsome. There were also two opened letters with the sender's name still clearly visible—Yan Mingsheng.
Luo Zhengzheng looked up and saw him holding something in his hand in the distance. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be some photos. She smiled and asked, "Photos of me when I was little?"
Gu Shi looked at her, his face seemingly calm: "It doesn't seem so."
Luo Zhengzheng didn't pay attention and asked him, "Whose photo is that? Luo Can's?"
Gu Shi stared at her quietly, "It doesn't seem like it."
It was a long time ago, and Luo Zhengzheng couldn't quite recall it. She asked, "Whose was it? Let me see it."
Gu Shi handed her the items together: "There are also two letters."
Luo Zhengzheng's eyelids twitched. She took the stack of things, looked at the name on the envelope, and the memory instantly flashed into her mind. Then she looked at the photo and felt embarrassed for a moment. Her husband had discovered the love letters someone else had written to her and the photos they had sent her. What should she do? Online waiting for help and it was quite urgent.
Gu Shi sat on the bed and looked at her: "You still kept it? It seems you cherish it."
Although his tone was very calm, Luo Zhengzheng detected his tone was very strange no matter how she listened to it. It sounded a little angry at the moment. She said, "Isn't it normal to receive a few letters when you're young? I don't believe you've never received a love letter or written one to someone else."
At this point, she immediately thought of Su Zhilan.
Gu Shi looked at her and his tone was extremely calm: "I've received love letters, but I've never written one."
Luo Zhengzheng blinked, thinking she had misheard: "For real?"
Gu Shi leaned against the headboard: "I really haven't written love letters to anyone."
Luo Zhengzheng looked incredulous. What was with that stack of letters from Su Zhilan?
Gu Shi looked at her: "You don't believe me?"
Did he not deserve her trust?
Luo Zhengzheng didn't believe it, after all, she had seen it with her own eyes.
Seeing that she genuinely didn't believe him, Gu Shi felt somewhat helpless: "For me, rather than spending time writing love letters and going back and forth, it's better to confess face-to-face."
Luo Zhengzheng stared at him blankly: "What do you mean?"
Gu Shi patted her head: "Isn't it obvious enough? Writing love letters isn't efficient enough, so it's hard to achieve your goal in time."
Luo Zhengzheng snapped out of her daze: "So, you really don't know how to write love letters to other people?"
Gu Shi was absolutely certain: "No."
Luo Zhengzheng then asked him, "When you were young and just beginning to experience love, didn't you write about it either?"
Gu Shi chuckled: "Back then, I had to study and intern at my family's company and practically wished there was 48 hours in a day. So I didn't have time to fall in love."
Gu Shi had no reason to lie to her. Given his personality, he disdained to lie.
Then it was possible that Su Zhilan lied.
Luo Zhengzheng had mixed feelings. She was nearly forty years old and still been deceived by Su Zhilan, she was still naive.
However, thinking about it, she couldn't blame herself. Many people on the internet believed that the love letter was real and the family was also influenced. After all, no one expected Su Zhilan to be so bold as to forge it. The insults directed at her on the internet were overwhelming and she panicked for a moment, which led her to believe the letters after reading them.
Gu Shi glanced at the photos and letters on her desk and asked casually, "Have you kept these all this time?"
Luo Zhengzheng snapped out of her thoughts and asked him, "Isn't it impolite to lose it like this?"
Gu Shi looked at her: "You can't bear to throw it away?"
Luo Zhengzheng coughed: "I just felt it was impolite, after all, it's someone else's photo."
In fact, she had long forgotten about this classmate. If she hadn't seen the photo, she would hardly have remembered him.
Gu Shi glanced at her: "It seems your life during high school and college was quite colorful."
Luo Zhengzheng looked at him: "Are you settling scores with me?"
Her heart had been tempered by trials and the little episodes in life were just seasoning. Just calmly face them. Cough, even now she felt there was nothing to worry about.
Before he could answer, Luo Zhengzheng quickly said, "Is that necessary? Even if my life was colorful before, I still ended up marrying you. You are the winner, there's no need to be sour."
Gu Shi: "......"
Luo Zhengzheng pointed to the photos and letters on the table and said matter-of-factly, "These were probably thrown in some corner of my mind. If you care about them, then you're not being magnanimous. A man who isn't magnanimous isn't lovable. You should be more magnanimous and lovable to be more endearing."
Gu Shi: "......"
Luo Zhengzheng quickly stuffed the letters and photos on the table into the drawer, trying to bury her head in the sand.
Seeing how determined she was in words but how timid she was in actions, Gu Shi said, "Fine, be magnanimous, otherwise it is not lovable."
Luo Zhengzheng patted him on the shoulder and praised, "Very good, keep up the good work."
Gu Shi looked at her and directly exposed her: "Where did you learn this skill of turning the tables?"
Luo Zhengzheng hugged his arm: "Magnanimous, be magnanimous."
Exasperated, Gu Shi laughed and roughly ruffled her hair, instantly turning her flowing straight hair into a mess.
Luo Zhengzheng: "......"
What magnanimity? Look at how petty he was.