Chapter 241

Chapter 241

Pomegranate seeds, crystal clear and translucent, resembled tiny red gemstones. She scooped a handful into her mouth, and as she closed her teeth, the sweet juice instantly filled her mouth.

Gu Lansi had good teeth and was too lazy to spit out the seeds, so she chewed them up and swallowed them along with the rest.

Pei Yan did the same. The two of them, taking advantage of the stars' slumber, sat at the table in leisure.

On the table, besides pomegranates, there were also several soft, red persimmons. The sunlight shone through, landing on the persimmons, making them appear even more translucent.

After peeling the persimmons, she sucked in the sweet, tender, and delicate juice, feeling immensely satisfied with each bite.

"Can you use an abacus?" Gu Lansi picked another purple grape to eat. Although persimmons were sweet, one couldn't eat too many.

Pei Yan peeled another pomegranate, pouring the seeds into a bowl, and while doing so, said, "No, I bought it first. I'll have Dog'er teach us later."

Gu Lansi removed the skin from the grape, revealing the green flesh inside, and suddenly realized, "Right, he can use it."

They paused for a moment because their mouths were full of fruit.

Gu Lansi ate quite a few grapes in one go, thoroughly enjoying them, and sighed, "Autumn is truly wonderful, with an abundance of fruits."

Pei Yan pushed the bowl of pomegranate seeds over. He still had half a pomegranate left, removing the thin white membrane covering the seeds before biting into them. Hearing this, he smiled, agreeing wholeheartedly, "The trees bore well this year; we've had a bountiful harvest."

"Yes, a bountiful harvest," Gu Lansi affirmed.

Pei Yan glanced outside and said, "Tomorrow, instead of delivering vegetables, we'll get up early to pick two baskets of persimmons and one basket of jujubes. We can also pick a basket of pomegranates and some grapes to sell in town."

With so much fruit, they couldn't finish it all at home, so selling some would help supplement their income.

"Alright," Gu Lansi agreed, adding, "We can keep eating the hard jujubes for a few more days. After that, they'll become soft and red. We should collect them all and dry them for later consumption. We should also dry some persimmons."

The autumn air was crisp and refreshing, and the wind was no longer scorching. However, their leisurely enjoyment of the fruits was soon interrupted by the waking stars. Gu Lansi stuffed pomegranate seeds into her mouth while urging Pei Yan to put away the persimmons, leaving only a small bunch of grapes and half a bowl of pomegranate seeds on the table.

Stars were still young, and persimmons were hard to digest. Pomegranate seeds were also quite hard, but he was smart enough to chew and suck the juice out, spitting out the indigestible parts.

Initially, Gu Lansi worried about Stars swallowing the pomegranate seeds, but seeing his intelligence, she felt reassured.

Stars pretended to cry, without shedding a single tear. When he saw the adults enter, he sat quietly behind the long pillow.

Seeing her son sit up on his own, Gu Lansi laughed and reached out to remove the long pillow, not reaching to carry him. She clapped her hands, "Come here."

Stars wiggled his bottom and crawled towards the edge of the bed using both hands and feet. As he approached, Gu Lansi patted his chubby little bottom and picked him up with a smile.

Stars had just woken up and grumbled in dissatisfaction, seemingly upset with someone, until he saw the grapes on the table.

Gu Lansi peeled a small grape and put it in his mouth. He saw a large grape and eagerly stretched out his little hand to grab it.

The small bunch of grapes was pulled over entirely. Pei Yan, coming from the kitchen, saw this and helped his son pick one off.

Gu Lansi tried to peel the skin, but Stars dodged her hand, unwilling to give it up. So, she left him alone.

Stars held the grape with his little hand, scratching and peeling it. Juice flowed out, and the grape quickly lost its shape. Frustrated, he shoved the remaining half into his mouth.

"Stubborn little thing." Gu Lansi couldn't help but take it out of his mouth, peel it properly, and put it back.

Stars didn’t realize he was being scolded. He chewed the grape with his cheeks puffed out and smiled at his father sitting across from him.

*

Pei Yan didn’t go to the city to sell the fruits. He brought a limited amount and circled around Ning Shui Town. The grapes sold out first, followed quickly by the pomegranates. Jujubes and persimmons were common fruits, and there were others selling them on the street.

Passing by a general store, he tied the donkey cart to a stone pillar and went inside to select items. He bought several things.

On the sixth day of the ninth month, Stars would turn one year old and have his zodiac selection ceremony.

He and Gu Lansi had already planned what to place: books, pens, an abacus, a small wooden sword, a clay ox (two toys), rice cakes, and copper coins—seven items in total, similar to other families.

He bought the abacus, wooden sword, and clay ox at the general store. Then, he went to a stationery shop and bought a copy of *Three-Character Classic* for enlightenment and a simple, inexpensive writing brush. Neither he nor Gu Lansi could write, but the book could be used for embroidery patterns.

Borrowing the book was also an option, as Dog'er had a few copies, but thinking about Stars attending a private school in the future, he decided to buy one now.

Placing the items on the new cart, Pei Yan led the donkey forward.

The scent of perfume wafted over, and he looked up to see a cosmetic shop. Remembering that the hand cream at home was running low, he stopped again. Seeing women and wives inside, he didn’t enter but called out, "Hey, bring me a box of hand cream, eighty coins."

"Sure thing," the attendant responded from inside.

The round box was no bigger than a palm. Pei Yan took it, opened it to check, and finding the cream untouched, paid for it.

*

The water rippled as the white foam from the soap washed off his hands and dissipated in the water.

Gu Lansi opened the hand cream box, dabbed some on her fingertips, and rubbed it onto her hand. The light, delicate fragrance spread.

Stars was curious about the contents of the box and leaned over to look. Gu Lansi closed the box and gently rubbed his chubby cheeks with both hands.

"Ahh."

Stars tried to bite her hand, and Gu Lansi quickly pulled away, causing Stars to laugh.

Realizing her son was playing, Gu Lansi cupped his little face again, and Stars opened his mouth and made an "ahh" sound.

After playing for a while, the sky darkened, and the room grew dim. Stars yawned, and Gu Lansi carried him to the bed, patting him to sleep.

Pei Yan finished washing in the courtyard and brought a basin of hot water inside to soak his feet. Seeing that Stars was sleepy, he remained silent, sitting on the edge of the bed.

After the child fell asleep, Gu Lansi also pulled back the quilt and lay down. She had already soaked her feet, and the quilt, having been aired yesterday, felt very comfortable.

As night deepened, they didn’t fall asleep immediately, chatting idly. They eventually turned the conversation to Stars’ zodiac selection ceremony and the full moon celebration for their niece, born on the fifth day of the eighth month, right before Stars.

Gu Lansi was curious about what Stars would choose. Would it be the rice cake? The little rascal might prioritize food over everything else.

"Even rice cakes are fine; he'll never go hungry." He said with a light laugh.

Pei Yan agreed, "Yeah, knowing to grab food means he's not stupid; he won't go hungry."

They say the choice at the first birthday predicts the future. The two of them didn’t have high hopes for Xingxing; they just wanted him to grow up steadily, regardless of what he chose.

Smelling a hint of fragrance, Pei Yan reached out beside him. Sure enough, Gu Lanshi had one hand on the pillow. He grabbed it and sniffed lightly. In winter, after finishing work, when his hands felt dry, he would rub some lotion from Gu Lanshi’s hands onto his own, but it didn’t seem as fragrant on him.

A slight movement was muffled under the quilt. Only when Gu Lanshi poked his head out to breathe did he realize what was happening.

*

Xiao Ya’s full moon banquet was well-organized, with many people from the Hua family attending. Hua Chengfang rushed back from the city, knowing that Xingxing’s first birthday was tomorrow and bringing a gift.

The sun was bright. Gu Lanyu carried the baby girl out to show the relatives, his mouth wide open in a smile that wouldn’t close.

With so many people around, Xiao Ya got sleepy and started crying. He quickly took her back inside and let Hua Xishuang soothe her to sleep.

The Hua family’s affection for their youngest daughter and granddaughter was evident.

After a lively full moon banquet, Gu Lanshi returned home, only a few steps away.

Xingxing behaved well today, without any fuss or crying. Placed on Hua Xishuang’s bed to watch Xiao Ya, he sat quietly, his big eyes filled with curiosity about his sister.

However, when he tried to poke Xiao Ya’s face with a little finger, Gu Lanshi swiftly picked him up, saying there was food outside and hurriedly left, fearing he might make Xiao Ya cry.

Pei Yan carried his son back, pondering for a moment, "Is he heavier?"

Xingxing ate well, with eggs every day. When free, Pei Yan would catch small white fish from the mountain stream to make soup for him. At first, it wasn’t noticeable, but comparing him to other babies in the village now, he was clearly bigger and stronger.

Gu Lanshi smiled, "He is heavier."

He knew Xingxing inherited traits from Pei Yan. Their sons Gu An and Gu Heng were also sturdy as children, but there was a noticeable difference between them and Xingxing. Pei Yan was tall and long-legged, and Xingxing naturally resembled him.

"Hmm?" Xingxing knew they were talking about him but didn’t fully understand. He tilted his head to look at Gu Lanshi, his baby voice still carrying a playful tone, like a little adult.

Gu Lanshi pinched his little hand with a smile. A year had passed so quickly; their Xingxing was already one year old.

*

The first birthday is important, but few villagers celebrate it grandly. Pei Yan and Gu Lanshi had few relatives and didn’t want to make a fuss, so only the Gu family came, which was enough.

Fang Honghua arrived early in the morning. As the weather cooled, she felt more energetic, helping Gu Lanshi prepare vegetables, arriving even earlier than Zhu Ge.

Once everyone gathered, they didn’t hide anything, all crowding around the table to watch Pei Yan place Xingxing on it.

A clean red cloth covered the table, with seven items placed in front. Xingxing sat at one end, his big eyes scanning everything. With so many people watching him, he seemed a bit bewildered.

"Look here, here." Gu Lanshi pointed at the items, guiding Xingxing’s attention.

Xingxing glanced around, seemingly noticing the rice cakes and toys, crawling towards them with both hands.

As he reached out, everyone watched with smiles.

Just as Gu Lanshi expected, Xingxing grabbed the rice cake and started eating, reaching out with both hands. One hand held an unfamiliar small wooden sword.

Before Miao Qiulian could praise her grandson for possibly becoming a great general, Xingxing dropped the sword and grabbed the abacus, still holding the rice cake in his mouth. Then he reached for the clay ox.

Everyone laughed. This kid was quite greedy.

Gu Lanshi couldn’t help but chuckle. He knew his son well; Xingxing didn’t understand the significance of the first birthday ritual, treating everything as toys to play with.

Soon, the beads on the abacus were spinning, and Xingxing tried to put a copper coin in his mouth, which Pei Yan quickly took away. Then he grabbed the "Three-Character Classic," wrinkling its pages.

He used the pen as a toy, giggling along with the adults who were laughing.