Chapter 106: Coconut Cake

Chapter 106: Coconut Cake

The next day was originally planned for a trip to town to look at houses, but that could wait, so everyone decided to first deal with what was left over from yesterday.

With four adults and three children in the family, after breakfast, each took a knife and got to work in the courtyard.

Chen Youyan and Wang Xiuxiu wielded large knives, while the rest made do with whatever knives were on hand—especially little Gu Muan, who had to make do with Gu Wen's wood-carving knife.

Meanwhile, Gu Daniu and Gu Wen, along with the three children, peeled the bamboo shoots and tossed them into wooden basins. Wang Xiuxiu and Chen Youyan then carried them away to slice into pieces or chunks, placing them into other basins.

Many hands make light work. Within an hour and a half, six large baskets of bamboo shoots were peeled, sliced, and even blanched in boiling water.

With two big woks going, blanching went even faster. The bamboo strainer was dunked up and down in the pot a couple of times, and then they filled the bamboo drying trays. The people carrying the trays then set them out on the outdoor drying racks.

This went even faster—it only took a quarter of an hour.

The remaining Jerusalem artichokes and ground silkworms were washed clean and placed in a shaded, ventilated spot, waiting to be pickled when they got back.

Hawthorns and goji berries were also washed and laid out to dry.

Many of the walnuts still had their green husks on; they'd been spread out in the sun to dry the day before. The chestnuts they planned to eat were set aside with the walnuts, and the rest were buried in sand in a corner of the cellar.

Chestnuts don't store well, but this method could help them last a bit longer.

The weather was still pretty nice out. Some of the yams and yam beans were left in the grain room, and the rest were taken down to the cellar.

Once all that was done, everyone washed up, changed clothes, and drove the mule cart out.

It was noon, and sitting in the cart with the sun on their backs was a bit warm, but the breeze felt nice. When they got to town, they found a small eatery for lunch.

They'd arrived early, so the place wasn't too crowded. Seeing how many they were, the waiter pushed two square tables together in the corner to make one big table.

Gu Wen treated everyone and ordered three meat dishes and three vegetable dishes. He ordered plum wine for Wang Xiuxiu and Chen Youyan, and pear drinks for the three kids.

He and Gu Daniu had to drive the cart, so they didn't drink alcohol—just snuck a sip or two from the others' drinks.

The stuffed lotus root and sweet-and-sour lotus root slices at this place were both delicious. The freshly harvested autumn lotus root was super crisp.

The stuffed lotus root was filled with meat and deep-fried, which hit the spot for Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan. After two pieces, it got a bit greasy, so the sweet-and-sour lotus root slices were just right to cut through the richness.

All in all, it was a lunch that made both the adults and kids happy.

Gu Muan, being small, ate quickly. Once he was mostly done, he actually felt like swinging his legs and looking around.

Although this was a small eatery, it must have had good food, because there were a good number of people—including some dressed quite well.

The main hall was packed with eight tables, and along the wall there was a row of narrow tables bolted to it, and they were all completely full.

It was lucky they'd arrived early; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to push two tables together.

Gu Muan and the others were in the corner, right next to the wall-mounted tables. He had never seen such a setup and was curious, so he stared.

The person nearest to them was eating, with a young attendant standing beside him, smiling apologetically. That young master's brow was furrowed, clearly impatient. Soon, a waiter passed by carrying a teapot, set it down, and offered an apologetic smile too.

Sensing Gu Muan's gaze, the young master shot a sharp look over. When he saw it was just a kid, his expression softened.

Gu Muan hadn't expected him to turn around. Startled, he quickly averted his gaze, picked up his chopsticks, and grabbed a sweet-and-sour lotus root slice, pretending to eat.

Gu Wen, Chen Youyan, Gu Chaoning, Yin Hongxue, and the others all noticed Gu Muan's behavior. They cast a discreet glance at the young master but didn't pay it much mind.

After eating a slice, Gu Muan couldn't help fidgeting, only to find the young master still staring at him.

Gu Muan was taken aback and tried to look away again, but the young master crooked his finger at him. Gu Muan first glanced at Chen Youyan, and only after Chen Youyan nodded did he slide off the long bench and head over.

He stopped in front of the young master, looked up, and asked, "What'd you call me over for?"

The young master quirked an eyebrow and asked, "Why aren't you afraid of me?"

Usually, the bratty kids at home would cower like little chicks when they saw him.

Gu Muan looked at him, confused: "Why should I be afraid of you?" He gave the young master a once-over, remembering how Wang Xiuxiu used to scare him with stories, and asked, "Are you a demon in disguise who eats children?"

When he was little and misbehaved, Wang Xiuxiu would scare him with that kind of talk, but he was a big kid now and didn't buy it.

The young master was momentarily speechless. Seeing the child's tense posture, he felt like teasing him.

He furrowed his brows, widened his eyes, and his lips trembled slightly, as if he was trying to speak but holding back.

Gu Muan instinctively stepped back, just as the man spoke in a raspy voice: "How did you know I'm a demon? You've seen through me—I'm going to eat you!"

Whoa! Gu Muan jumped back.

But then he realized something was off and turned to look. He saw the young master laughing, his hand on the table, and the pastry was about to fall off.

Gu Muan rushed over to catch it and glared at him: "You scare people and you're wasting food. Watch out—a demon will come for you at night."

"What demon?"

"There are some in the mountains."

"I don't have mountains at home."

"Then there are some at your place too."

"You say there are, so there are?"

"I say there are, so there are."

The young master laughed again and said, "Alright, alright, my mistake. How about I give you this pastry as an apology?"

Gu Muan's furrowed brow relaxed, and he nodded. He picked up the pastry and took a bite, then his brow furrowed again.

"Where did you buy this pastry?"

The young master rested his chin on his hand, watching Gu Muan frown, and asked, "Not good?"

Gu Muan shook his head—that wasn't it. It just tasted unique, unlike anything he'd ever eaten.

"It doesn't seem like something from around here."

The young master raised an eyebrow and replied, "You're quite sharp for a kid. You're right—it's not from around here."

"This is something we made ourselves. It's from a fruit that grows in the south. You know the sea? By the sea, there's a tree called a coconut palm. This pastry is made from its fruit."

Gu Muan listened with fascination and slowed down his chewing.

After he finished, Gu Muan chewed and said hesitantly, "You're not from Dukou Town?"

At this, the young master's expression fell. He nodded, looking totally deflated.

He was in no mood to tease the kid this time. Gu Muan walked back with a plate of pastries, still puzzled—why had the conversation suddenly gone south?

But he didn't stay puzzled for long. Gu Wen and the others had finished their midday meal and were calling for him to head out.

When Gu Wen saw Gu Muan come back with the pastries, he went over to say thanks, but the servant brushed him off.

Gu Wen didn't take it to heart. After saying his thanks, he took off. Gu Muan got some oil paper from the eatery to wrap up the pastries, then returned the plate.

They followed the address on the deed and, sure enough, found the place near Dongping Street.

The street right behind Dongping Street was Huaping Street.

It was set apart from Dongping Street by just one unnamed alley. Dongping Street was lined with shops, and behind them sat a row of homes. The homes backed right up against the Dongping Street shops, and out front was Huaping Street.

This was where the town's well-off families lived. Dongping Street had shops on both sides, and on the far side of Huaping Street was Shaping Street, where Squire Wang's place was.

The Gu family was pretty taken aback by the location.

When they got to the front gate, they were even more shocked.

There were eight households on Huaping Street, and theirs was the last one. Compared to the neighbors' places, the courtyard entrance looked a bit run-down. They pushed the door open and stepped inside to find a pomegranate tree in the yard.

It was peak fruit season, and bright red pomegranates dotted the deep green leaves, looking as pretty as jeweled lanterns.

Farming folks usually loved fruit trees. Seeing that tree, the family's initial shock and uncertainty quickly melted into a feeling of familiarity and comfort.

They wandered in to look around. A lot of the yard was broken down and needed fixing. Gu Daniu and Gu Wen knew their way around repairs, so as they walked, they made a mental list of everything that needed work.

After checking the whole place out, they realized it was actually a big two-courtyard compound.

Aside from the big pomegranate tree, there was also a grape trellis. But since it hadn't been tended to, the grapes were small and a lot of them had gone bad.

Under the trellis were stone tables and stools, all covered in rotten grapes, so there was no sitting on them.

Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan picked two clean bunches and brought them over for the elders to share.

They tasted pretty good—sweet and tangy.

The second courtyard also had two peach trees, a little decorative pond with running water, and a small pool stocked with fish and lotus flowers. Next to it was a little boat that fell apart if you so much as stepped on it.

The back courtyard had sheds and whatnot, plus a patch of land that was clearly meant to be a vegetable garden, but now it was nothing but weeds.

The rest was mostly flowers. Climbing vines grew over every doorway, many so overgrown they partially blocked the entrances.

After seeing it all, everyone had a good sense of things. Gu Daniu and Gu Wen said they'd find time to come fix the place up.

On top of all the repairs needed in the yard, the rooms inside were basically empty of furniture. Everything would have to be built from scratch.

This wasn't going to get done quickly—and beyond the time, buying everything would cost a pretty penny.

Gu Wen couldn't help but frown, but then he remembered that such a large house had been given to them for free, and his furrowed brow slowly relaxed.

Gu Muan wandered from the front courtyard to the back and then ran back to the front. Standing beneath the pomegranate tree, he stared up at the fruit, clearly fond of the place.

He looked around, picked up a pomegranate from the ground, turned and walked back, standing between Yin Hongxue and Gu Chaoning. He tugged at Yin Hongxue's hand and handed the pomegranate to Gu Chaoning.

Gu Chaoning understood and split it open before returning it.

Gu Muan took the pomegranate and looked at Gu Wen and Chen Youyan, asking, "Father, Dad, will we live here from now on?"

Gu Wen and Chen Youyan weren't sure either, so both looked to Gu Daniu.

Gu Wen and Chen Youyan had calculated that between them they had exactly eight hundred taels of silver. If they lived in town, they could manage.

Gu Daniu instinctively shook his head. If they lived in town, what about the land in the village?

Wang Xiuxiu felt the same way, sharing Gu Daniu's thoughts, especially having heard that everything in town cost money—they couldn't afford such expenses.

Gu Muan pouted but said nothing. After the family had looked the place over, they walked out together, preparing to head back first.

There were still matters waiting at home.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped out, they saw a carriage approaching from ahead. The group moved aside to let it pass, but instead, the carriage's curtain was lifted open.