Chapter 9: The Little Boy Picking Mushrooms

Chapter 9: The Little Lad Picking Mushrooms

"Chaoning Ge!"

Early in the morning, Yin Hongxue, carrying the small backpack that Gu Daniu had woven overnight, was already plastered against the door of the eastern wing.

Trailing a step behind, Gu Muan also carried a small backpack. Seeing Yin Hongxue pressed against the door without going in, he leaned in, puzzled, to look at him, then pointed at the door.

Gu Muan: "Go in!"

He then looked at the door, as if suddenly realizing something, and threw his whole body against it, shoving it open with practiced ease. "In!"

Gu Chaoning, who had stayed up late doing his schoolwork and was the last to fall asleep in the Gu household, heard the commotion outside and, with a resigned sigh, pushed back the covers and sat up.

He should've kept his mouth shut last night instead of telling the two of them they'd all go looking for mushrooms today.

Last night during dinner, a light rain had fallen, and Chen Youyan had muttered a few words about going to find wild mushrooms tomorrow. Gu Chaoning, thinking about his day off, had chimed in, saying they should all go together. Who knew those two little lads would latch onto it like that?

And that's exactly how they wound up here.

His body was up, but his soul was still dead to the world in bed.

Gu Chaoning sat up, still itching to lie back down.

"Gege!" Gu Muan couldn't care less whether he was awake. He turned, grabbed the dazed Yin Hongxue, and dragged him inside.

Gu Chaoning shot a sidelong look at the bright-eyed little lad.

Gu Muan cracked up at the look and mimicked it right back.

"Chaoning Ge..." Yin Hongxue was fighting back a laugh too.

What was a guy supposed to do with these two little rascals?

Gu Muan's crisp laughter scattered every last bit of Gu Chaoning's drowsiness. He stretched, sighed, and hauled himself out of bed.

Gu Chaoning figured it was barely half past three in the morning.

It had rained yesterday, and the damp mist hit you the moment you stepped outside.

Chen Youyan poked his head out from the kitchen and, seeing all three brothers up, instructed, "Water's ready—go wash up and brush your teeth, quick."

"Gotcha." Gu Chaoning grabbed a hand in each of his and towed them toward the bathhouse beside the kitchen.

Both large stoves in the kitchen were lit—one heating water, the other simmering porridge and steaming buns.

Early in the morning, Chen Youyan couldn't be bothered to stir-fry anything. He picked four salted duck eggs from the jar and sliced them in half, arranging them on a plate.

The glossy, golden yolks gave off a rich, salty fragrance that made Chen Youyan's heart light up.

He carefully swiped a bit of the glossy crumb off the knife with his finger and popped it in his mouth—creamy and fine, rich and oily, just right—so fragrant you could down a whole bowl of plain congee.

This was the first time they'd cracked into this jar since it was cured, and Chen Youyan was especially pleased.

Salted eggs alone wouldn't cut it. Chen Youyan grabbed a handful of water celery from another jar and chopped it into segments on the cutting board.

They'd had pickled cowpeas for days on end, so today was a switch-up.

In the bathhouse, after Gu Chaoning had washed the two little boys, Gu Wen walked in, rubbing his face. Seeing him about to dump the water, he hurriedly said, "Leave it. I'll do it in a moment."

"Thanks, Dad." Gu Chaoning didn't bother being polite with his old man. He straightened up and led the children out.

Seeing the three kids all scrubbed clean, fair and chubby, Gu Wen grinned ear to ear, showing a mouthful of white teeth, and ruffled each head in turn, smug and satisfied.

"Alright, go on out."

Gu Wen was handy with woodwork, so the house had no shortage of basins. He didn't rush to pour the water but pulled out his own wooden basin, filled it, and washed up.

Just then, Gu Daniu walked in. Seeing the floor nearly covered with basins, he dumped them out and stacked them away.

By the time both men had washed up and gone out, the meal was already set on the table.

A thick congee of mixed brown and white rice, a whole steamer basket piled high with the same mixed-grain buns, four sliced salted duck eggs, a bowl of sour water celery, and a bowl of steamed egg custard with a drizzle of sesame oil for each person.

The moment he saw that bowl of sesame-oil egg custard, Gu Wen's eyes went wide with delight.

That was normally kid food around here.

Wang Xiuxiu, seeing him act like such a glutton, laughed despite herself. "Look at you—anyone'd think we starve you around here."

"It's just been a while since I've had it." Gu Wen didn't look the least bit ashamed, shoveling half the bowl into his mouth one spoonful after another.

Wang Xiuxiu thought back to earlier in the kitchen.

The three kids were still little and needed building up. Gu Daniu and Gu Wen had been working themselves ragged lately and needed the boost. She and Chen Youyan worked just as hard keeping the house running, so they deserved it too.

Before she knew it, she'd steamed seven bowls. At first she'd felt a twinge of guilt, but now...

Wang Xiuxiu sneaked a look around the table. Seeing everyone eating so happily, she made up her mind to steam extra from now on.

After breakfast, Wang Xiuxiu tidied up the house, Gu Daniu and Gu Wen headed off to work at Wuliu Estate, and Chen Youyan took the three little ones up the back mountain to hunt for wild mushrooms.

Xiaohe Village had two rivers—one that flowed in from Dukou Town, and another that ran down from the back mountain.

Because it was at the very back of the village, everyone simply called it the back mountain.

It had rained yesterday, which was exactly the time for mushrooms to sprout, so along the way, it wasn't just Chen Youyan and his group—many others were heading there too.

A few competitive sorts, seeing the crowd, hurried their steps, terrified of falling behind and missing out on mushrooms.

"Would you look at that guy." Chen Qing pointed at a man who had hurried off without even a greeting, smiling at Chen Youyan.

Chen Youyan chuckled but said nothing.

Chen Qing had come to Xiaohe Village as a bride from Chen Family Village, so she'd always been close to Chen Youyan, who had also married over from Chen Family Village.

Today was the same—the moment she spotted Chen Youyan's back, she grabbed her own boy and hurried over.

The lad was named Gu Li, a year older than Gu Chaoning. He wore a dirt-brown short jacket and tapered pants, carrying a large backpack. The second he got there, he quietly took Gu Muan's little hand.

Gu Muan loved pears, so he naturally adored this Pear Brother.

"Pear Bubba." Gu Muan looked up and giggled. Gu Chaoning said his hellos too, then introduced him to Yin Hongxue.

"Li Age." Yin Hongxue was still timid around strangers. After saying it, he gave a shy smile, looked away, and clammed up.

Gu Li, for his part, silently looked him up and down.

So this was the little bridegroom the Gu family had bought for Gu Chaoning.

You could tell the Gu family had taken good care of him. The little boy wore an old indigo-blue garment, and although it was worn, it had no patches.

His fine, slightly yellow hair was tied up into two buns with a soft green ribbon. Though his shoes were straw sandals, they were finely woven, with cloth sewn onto the soles and the spots that would rub, showing how much they cared for him and looked after him.

His small face was fair and clean, noticeably rounder than when he'd first come.

On the second day after he arrived, Gu Li's father had taken him to the Gu house to see the little boy the Gu family had bought.

The little boy had hidden behind Chen Youyan, timid and frail, his thin fingers scratched up from grass leaves, and at a glance, his clothes were covered in patch after patch, and the straw sandals on his feet looked like they were about to fall to pieces.

Gu Li fell silent again as he looked at the Yin Hongxue of now.

His big eyes were bright and full of life, darting around curiously. Gu Chaoning held his hand and said softly, "This is Zhaoshanbai—it's poisonous. And this is a chisel tree; the basins at home are made from this wood..."

He had a little backpack on his back, clearly just made, the twigs still green. It was tiny, no bigger than two cabbages, and instead of being for hauling stuff for work, it looked more like something an elder had woven just for the kid to wear for fun.

As Gu Li watched, a sudden wave of embarrassment welled up in him for no reason he could name. He blinked and quickly looked away.

Gu Chaoning noticed but didn't say anything, just tightened his grip on Gu Muan's hand.

"Father, there are wild mushrooms here," Gu Chaoning called out to Chen Youyan, then gave Gu Muan's hand a shake. "Go on, An Geer, go pick them."

Gu Muan's backpack was a couple sizes smaller than Yin Hongxue's. He answered happily, then pulled away from Gu Chaoning and Gu Li and ambled over by himself.

Chen Youyan shot Gu Chaoning a look but didn't say anything, and started searching the ground too.

They'd gotten there early, and since the mountain was so big, it didn't look like anyone had been here yet. A quick look around turned up a cluster right away. Chen Youyan and Chen Qing gradually stopped chatting and got focused on hunting for mushrooms.

Gu Chaoning, sharp-eyed, spotted another cluster near Gu Muan and gave Yin Hongxue's hand a shake, signaling for him to go pick them, while he made like he was still searching.

From the way he was acting, it was clear Gu Chaoning planned to pick around here. Wild mushrooms were only easy to find after rain, and since they tasted so good, they could sell for twelve to twenty wen a catty in town.

Since it was about making money, folks usually got pretty possessive. Gu Li felt awkward picking the ones Gu Chaoning had found, and not wanting to hang around, he quickly moved off somewhere else.

Gu Chaoning watched him quietly, and only once the distance was just right—not too close, not too far—did he lower his head to help Gu Muan and Yin Hongxue pick mushrooms.

"There!" Gu Muan stood up happily after finishing this spot and spotted a new cluster—a very beautiful one.

He patted Gu Chaoning, then hurriedly patted Yin Hongxue, pointing at the cluster of mushrooms with red caps and white stems, and shouted all jumbled up: "Good, pretty!"

Gu Chaoning and Yin Hongxue both looked over and, for once, went quiet at the same time.

Yin Hongxue figured he might be wrong, that it wasn't the mushroom he was thinking of. He looked to Gu Chaoning for confirmation: "Chaoning Ge, is this..."

Gu Chaoning nodded in agreement, then immediately grabbed Gu Muan, who was already spreading his legs to wobble on over.

"Let go!" Gu Muan instinctively tried to shake his hand off, but this time he couldn't get free.

He whined, sticking his lips out like a little fish. Worried someone else might grab the pretty mushroom, he stuck his butt out and threw all his weight into trying to yank free from Gu Chaoning's hold.

"There!"

Seeing the little boy was about to cry, Yin Hongxue stepped forward, worried. "An Geer, you can't eat that mushroom. It's poisonous."

Gu Muan didn't know what poisonous meant and shouted stubbornly: "An eat!"

The ruckus drew Chen Youyan and Chen Qing's attention. Chen Qing laughed and said, "Oh, you silly boy, that's a poisonous mushroom. Eat it and you'll die."

Gu Li chimed in with a few words too, but Gu Muan didn't get what poisonous or death meant, and stayed stubborn: "An eat!"

Seeing that, Gu Chaoning went quiet for a second and let go. Gu Muan, still pouting, immediately relaxed his face and headed for the pretty mushroom.

Seeing this, Chen Qing quickly said to Chen Youyan, "Oh, Yan Geer, aren't you gonna stop him?"

Chen Youyan said in a low voice, "It's fine, we'll just toss it later."

Yin Hongxue and the others didn't catch what Chen Youyan said. He was anxious to stop Gu Muan but Gu Chaoning held him back.

"Chaoning Ge?" he asked, confused.

"It's fine." Gu Chaoning gave him a reassuring look, clearly having something up his sleeve.