Chapter 476: Sweet-talking Mo Beihan, Ting Ting Is My Younger Cousin Too!
Gu Yunshuang was stunned to see all this!
“This… where have all these things come from?”
Mo Beihan laughed. “I asked my friends to help me gather these things. There are plenty of such things in the city, but they are rare in the countryside, so I brought some back to share with everyone. They just arrived today.”
Gu Yunshuang was rather embarrassed. These items were too expensive.
But before Gu Yunshuang could say anything, Gu Qingyao picked up her new jacket. “Look, Younger Aunt, isn’t this nice?”
Gu Yunshuang paused. Her eyes immediately lit up!
She could tell at a glance that the material was of good quality, and the colors were lovely.
“Very nice, the color suits young girls like you.”
Gu Qingyao smiled gleefully. “Brother Beihan asked someone to make this for me. It’s quite nice! And it fits well!
“There’s more new material in there! I’ll make one for Ting Ting as well so that she’ll have new clothes for the new year.”
Gu Yunshuang hurriedly waved her aside. “No need. Ting Ting has enough clothes. You’ve made so many clothes for her over the past year. The girl is growing now, not like you. You can wear an item for many years, but it’ll be wasted on her.”
Gu Yunshuang was very grateful to her niece.
She was the one who had brought her back from the Li family and had even taught her daughter to read and write. Over the past year, Gu Qingyao had made many clothes for Gu Fangting, including a quilted jacket, a woolen jacket, a coat and shoes. She had everything.
She knew that Gu Qingyao had plenty of money. Gu Jinlin told her that Mo Beihan doted on her and continued to give the girl money, even when he was in the provincial capital. Gu Qingyao had plenty of nice things and would often remember her and Gu Fangting. She was even wearing two articles of clothing that her niece had made for her!
Gu Qingyao bought the material and had it made in the city before sending it over.
The longer she stayed with her parents, the more she understood why the family doted on Gu Qingyao. It wasn’t just because she used to be the only girl in the family, but because the girl was genuinely likable.
Gu Qingyao smiled. “Why would it be wasted? All girls like having new clothes. When she outgrows them, we can alter them, or give them to someone else to wear.
“Anyway, Brother Beihan bought these things. We might as well use them.”
Gu Yunshuang glared at her. “Girl, how can you talk like that!”
But Mo Beihan only looked at his girl dotingly. “Younger Aunt, don’t worry. These things are all for Yao Yao. She can do whatever she likes with them.
“In any case, Ting Ting is my younger cousin too. So what if I give her some material to make clothes? When I have nice things in the future, I’ll send more back. As for the children, Little Six and Little Nine will have their share as well.”
His coaxing words filled Gu Yunshuang with warmth. She couldn’t stop smiling.
At that moment, Gu Fangting came home in a daze, looking like a wraith.
Gu Yunshuang jumped in fright when she saw her!
“Ting Ting? What… what happened to you?”
Gu Fangting looked at Gu Qingyao and her little face looked agonized as she thought of her three terrifying cousins.
“The older cousins are too terrifying, especially Second Cousin. My God, he wants to transform me into a child prodigy! We had an entire afternoon of lessons in which we kept learning continually. I’m dizzy now.”
Gu Yunshuang: “…”
Gu Qingyao: “…”
Gu Qingyao saw that Gu Fangting did indeed look exhausted, so she asked, “What are they doing? Why are they so concerned about your studies?”
Gu Fangting looked at Gu Qingyao piteously.
Chapter 477: Terrifying Second Cousin
“Wu wu wu, Cousin-in-law provoked them, and now they’re all frantically learning. They are determined to beat Cousin-in-law.”
“Little Six and Little Nine did not manage to get away either. They say that Mu Mu is the youngest. If Little Six and the others slacken a little, they will fall behind.”
“I’m the worst off. Older Cousin says I’m older, and it’s even more important that Mu Mu doesn’t beat me. So I must hurry up and learn more while he’s still young. In one afternoon, we had languages, mathematics, foreign languages, and physics, one after another. What’s worse is that we’re learning more than one foreign language. Wu wu wu. My head hurts.”
Gu Qingyao: “…”
Gu Yunshuang: “…”
Mo Beihan: “…”
Mo Beihan was rather amused when he looked at Gu Fangting’s accusatory little face.
“Did your Second Cousin say that? What about him? He’s asking you to learn so many things, how much is he learning?”
When Gu Fangting heard that, her expression immediately grew even more pathetic.
“Second Cousin is also abnormal. He seems to have gone crazy. He’s learning politics, law, economics, and foreign languages. The speed at which he learns is almost supernatural. Fourth Cousin is mainly learning economics and law, as well as foreign languages. The point is that Second Cousin is learning more than Fourth Cousin, but he’s just as fast as Fourth Cousin. Third Cousin and I are in a pitiful state. Especially me. I have never learnt so many things before, so right now I’m just building my foundation. I’m on a completely different level. I feel like I’m dying.”
Gu Qingyao: “…”
Gu Yunshuang: “…”
Mo Beihan: “…”
Mo Beihan said, “He doesn’t want me to surpass him, and wants to take good care of his younger cousin. That’s understandable. But why can’t he just study by himself? You’re a girl, why is he demanding so much from you?”
Gu Fangting said pathetically, “Second Cousin says that Mu Mu is a genius, and Little Rui and Little Xu are all very hardworking and intelligent, so we must work hard. The Gu team must not lose to the Mo team.”
Mo Beihan: “…”
That ridiculous Gu Jinhang!
When he saw Gu Fangting’s pathetic state, Mo Beihan suddenly felt a chill creep down his spine. Every member of the Gu family was formidable. With their excellent genes and scholarly traditions, these children were all doing pretty well.
But who had done the best in their previous life?
It was definitely Gu Jinhang.
This fellow was a fox. He was wicked and had a long memory for grudges. He had done spectacularly well in the past. Although he was always smiling, everyone was terrified of his smile.
In their previous life, everyone in the city was frightened of this fox!
In his previous life, Gu Jinhang had not studied so hard. Even then, he had done very well. Now that Yao Yao had provoked him a little in this life, he was working frantically. And with Yao Yao to drop hints, he would be unbeatable!
Once this fellow had risen, as his younger brother-in-law, he would certainly suffer!
Gu Fangting was still immersed in her suffering. She flew into Gu Qingyao’s embrace and lifted her head to look at Gu Qingyao piteously. “Older Sister, I really hope that the new year holiday will end soon. And that demon Second Cousin will leave soon. Wu… look at my eyes filled with sincerity!”
Gu Qingyao: “Hee…”
This girl!
Gu Qingyao patted Gu Fangting’s little head. “You’re still young and have time to learn. Don’t give up! Work hard and beat your second cousin.”
Gu Fangting: “…”
She was stunned for a long while before she suddenly burst out…
“I don’t want to…”
She thought her older sister would help her!
But who knew!
Wu wu wu wu…
Chapter 478: The Sun Family Begins To Fight
Gu Qingyao laughed. “What kind of expression is that? Let me tell you! Your second cousin has to work and he has less time than you. Look at how old he is? He has much less time to study than you do. So it’s an easy matter for you to surpass him.”
“Let me tell you! Right now, your second cousin is definitely no match for me. When you’re my age, you’ll definitely surpass your second cousin!”
Gu Fangting: “…”
She thought of that crazy second cousin and what she would be like in a few years, then glanced at her older cousin who was smiling sincerely at her. Gu Fangting immediately lost hope!
She did not understand the world of super scholars!
Gu Qingyao smiled when she saw that the girl was utterly despondent. “Study hard. I will give you some new clothes during the new year. Look at how much cloth your cousin-in-law gave me. I’ll make some new clothes for you to celebrate the new year.”
Gu Fangting’s eyes immediately brightened at the thought of new clothes.
“Really?”
“Of course. When have I ever lied to you?”
“Oh, oh, oh, Older Cousin, you’re so nice. I don’t want to see that second cousin anymore; he’s a demon. He says, if I don’t study hard, he won’t give me any food to eat over the new year. He’s too vicious!”
Gu Qingyao: “…”
They bickered for a while, then Mo Beihan remained at the Gu house for dinner and had a long conversation with the cousins. Gu Qingyao knew that Mo Beihan was giving them more information about the current era.
No matter how much they argued, they were actually on very good terms. Whether it was Mo Beihan or her older cousins, they all wished each other well.
Everything was going her way, and Gu Qingyao’s days passed happily. She busied herself with her studies in the day and entered her interspace at night to continue studying. She was also waiting for developments in the Sun family.
Sure enough, while Gu Qingyao was guiding the children in their reading the next day, she heard the sound of fighting from the Southern Lake Brigade. It seemed quite serious.
Her eyes lit up, and she immediately ran over to watch the show.
When she stood outside the Gu courtyard, she could see the Southern Lake Brigade from afar. There were many people crowded around the Sun house.
Gu Qingyao rubbed her nose. She really wanted to go and see what was happening. After last night, Qin Yufeng and the rest must have discovered that their private stash had disappeared from her parents’ house. So they must be regretting the split. Or perhaps, they wanted to renegotiate the terms of the split.
Of course the other two brothers would not agree, so they would certainly fight.
But on second thought, the Sun family knew that the treasure belonged to the Gu family. Now that it had suddenly disappeared, if they saw her watching the show, they might turn their anger on the Gu family. That would be bad!
So she stayed home like a good girl!
Gu Fangting was still processing what she had learnt the day before. She would only go to the cowshed in the afternoon to learn fresh material. When she saw Gu Qingyao run out, she followed suit.
She could tell at a glance that the commotion was coming from the Sun house.
Gu Fangting’s eyes brightened.
“Older Sister, it looks like it’s coming from the Sun house! What is their family up to? The Old Master and Old Madam are paralyzed from a stroke, and they’ve already split. They’ve just split up and their family is rich, so why are they quarreling?”
Gu Qingyao raised her brow at Gu Fangting’s tone. “Do you dislike the Sun family too?”
Unlike Gu Fangting, she knew that the Sun family had stolen the Gu family’s treasure. Also, Sun Mei liked to make trouble for her, so she had a bad impression of the Sun family.
But Gu Fangting had grown up in the Poplar Brigade and had not interacted much with the Sun family.
Gu Fangting pursed her lips. “I can’t help but dislike Sun Mei because of the way she behaves. She used to be so arrogant and went around bad-mouthing you. She almost died of envy when you went to the provincial capital!”
Chapter 479: Brother-in-law Will Certainly Be A Very Capable Man In The Future
Gu Qingyao smiled!
In these times, everyone’s deepest desire was to move to the city. The villagers seldom had any opportunity to visit the city. Even if someone married and moved to the city, their account would remain in the village. If they didn’t work in the village to earn labor points, they wouldn’t receive food rations.
So after moving to the city, they would have to live on their husbands’ salaries.
At that time, life was hard for everyone because resources were so scarce. So compared to later times, very few girls with village accounts managed to marry and move to the city.
Many dreamt of moving to the city.
Sun Mei was so arrogant that, of course, she also wanted to marry and move to the city. But in the end, no one from the Southern Lake Brigade or the Qing River Brigade had married and moved to the city. The only one was Zhang Xiaohui, who had created a stir and then came to a bad end almost immediately.
At this time, Gu Qingyao had gone to the city. Although she was visiting relatives instead of marrying, everyone wished they had her opportunity.
Furthermore, it had happened just after Gu Ruoqing’s misfortune, so it was no wonder that Sun Mei was infuriated.
Gu Fangting’s eyes shone brightly as she saw the commotion. “Older Sister, there’s so much activity going on there! Let’s go and take a look!”
Gu Qingyao cocked her head on one side. “I also want to go! I’m just afraid that the Sun family will vent their anger on us, and that will be bad for us. Your brother-in-law is over there. He will certainly come and give us the news after a while.”
“Hee…” Gu Fangting giggled. She stood next to Gu Qingyao and smiled slyly as she clasped Gu Qingyao’s arm.
“That’s right, that’s right, Brother-in-law is over there. He certainly knows you’re interested in what is going on, so he’ll come over and tell you what you want to know.”
Gu Qingyao raised her brows at Gu Fangting’s tone. “You don’t dislike Mo Beihan? In fact, you seem to be quite fond of him?”
Ever since the four children had arrived in the Mo family, and Mo Beihan had decided to support six children before they were married, the entire family had treated Mo Beihan more coolly, although they had not said anything out loud.
Gu Fangting’s attitude seemed to indicate she had a good impression of Mo Beihan!
Gu Fangting naturally understood what her older cousin was implying, so she said with a smile, “Although Brother-in-law has heavy burdens to bear at home, I feel that he can’t bear to allow you to suffer.
“I’m not very certain. It’s just a feeling that I have. It appears that Brother-in-law’s burden is too great, and you’ll have to work harder than other wives once you get married and have to take care of so many children…
“But what I see is, even though Brother-in-law has such heavy burdens, he has given you much more than all those people without any burdens even before you’re married. Life is hard now, and many families are finding it hard to survive. Look at those who are engaged or married. What has their groom given them?
“I heard the older cousins say that Brother-in-law has never stopped giving you pocket money. Every new year or on every special occasion, he’d happily buy you new clothes or presents. He sends so many parcels of grain, meat, vegetables and snacks to you. Look at the other girls. It’s considered pretty well if the groom gives their families a few kilograms of grain. They can’t compare to Brother-in-law at all.
“So although Brother-in-law is raising so many children, he can continue to give you a good life. That shows his talent. Brother-in-law will certainly be a very capable man in the future!”
Gu Qingyao was rather shocked. She had not expected Gu Fangting to say such things.
She was just a teenager, but she had so much insight!
“Wow! I didn’t realize that a young girl like you knew so much!”
Chapter 480: We Just Have To Wait For Brother-in-law To Report Back
Gu Fangting raised her brows smugly. “Of course. Don’t you know whose younger sister I am? With an intelligent and brave older sister like you, I certainly won’t be too far behind.”
Gu Qingyao laughed and said, “How do you know I’m brave?”
Gu Fangting paused and replied seriously, “Older Cousin, under our circumstances in the Poplar Brigade, you had incredible courage getting my mother to divorce my father and bring her back!
“Did you know my mother had long found it hard to continue living with that family, but she didn’t dare to take the risk? With the Gu family’s circumstances and the Li family’s shamelessness, she didn’t dare risk it. That’s why she remained with the Li family for so many years.”
“Do you know how happy I was when I first came back with you?”
Gu Qingyao’s heart ached as she looked at the child.
Actually, she didn’t really know this younger cousin of hers. In her previous life, the child had already died by the time her younger aunt had divorced.
Because of the turmoil between herself and Mo Beihan, she had not had the energy to pay attention to others. And she really had not interacted much with this younger cousin.
But in this life, everything had changed.
Gu Qingyao patted her little head. “It’s all in the past now. Don’t think about it anymore. In the future, you are part of the Gu family. Go on living bravely, and you’ll have a good life when you’ve grown up!”
Gu Fangting smiled. She had only started to find hope in life after she moved to the Gu house.
Gu Qingyao tugged at her. “Let’s go! It’s cold out here. We’ll wait at home. Your brother-in-law will certainly be here in a while.”
Of course, Mo Beihan arrived. He knew that his young wife was longing to know what laughable things the Sun family had done!
So he had paid close attention the moment they started to fight. When he figured out the situation, he immediately came back to the Gu house to report to his wife.
Gu Qingyao and Gu Fangting were reading in the study, with a brazier next to them. The room was warm and cozy.
Gu Fangting laughed the moment Mo Beihan entered. “I already said that Brother-in-law would certainly come, but I didn’t expect him to arrive so soon!”
Mo Beihan was amused. Compared to the older cousins who always looked at him with disdain, this girl’s attitude towards him was much more satisfactory. He was especially pleased when she called him “Brother-in-law”.
“What’s happening over at the Sun family? Is the oldest son having second thoughts about splitting?”
Gu Qingyao questioned him impatiently as she made space for Mo Beihan to sit by the brazier to warm himself.
Mo Beihan laughed. “He is indeed having second thoughts. It was the eldest son who suggested splitting up, and because he agreed to take on a heavier share of the burden, the split was swiftly completed. They’ve already divided up the food, the furniture and all the other utensils. But after Qin Yufeng went to visit her parents yesterday, early the next morning, she suddenly said that she doesn’t want to split anymore.
“As for the other two families, they’ve already gotten their share, so who would want to return it? Of course they disagreed, so… they started to fight!”
Gu Qingyao smiled. Her guesses were all correct.
Gu Fangting was shocked!
“Surely not! Weren’t they the ones who wanted to split? Why have they suddenly changed their minds just after one day?”
Mo Beihan smiled but remained silent.
Gu Fangting cocked her head on one side. “Perhaps when Sun Mei’s mother went back to her parents’ house, her family criticized her? That doesn’t seem likely! Sun Mei’s mother is smart. When it comes to something like splitting up a household, she certainly knows what she wants, no matter what her family says.”
Gu Qingyao smiled and said, “Of course, there must be a reason. The eldest son’s family previously insisted on a split, which clearly indicates that a split is advantageous to them. Now that they don’t want to split anymore, it must be because there’s nothing in it for them.”