From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 794: Chapter 796: Surprise

Outside Li Cuicui’s courtyard, it was completely quiet.

Gu Wenheng stepped forward himself to push open the ajar door. The courtyard was empty.

Gu Lehuan poked his head in curiously. "They’re probably in the backyard right now. Should I go in first?"

Gu Wenheng pushed his nephew’s head back with one hand and waved Gu Ben Can over with the other. "You go in first and take a look. Who knows if the old lady will even recognize you."

Gu Ben Can rolled his eyes at the sky. "Dad, how many years ago did I last see Grandfather and Grandmother? It’s been so many years. How could she possibly recognize me? If my older brother had come back with us this time, he’d probably be recognized."

Gu Benluo was taking the special imperial examination this time and had long been stuffed into Shangjing Academy to consolidate his studies.

Jin Qianqian reached out and flicked the dust off his shoulder. "Just speak properly. Don’t play the fool.

"You and your father are cut from the same cloth. The old lady will recognize you the moment she sees you. If you don’t believe me, go in and try."

Whenever Jin Qianqian thought about her two sons’ appearances, she felt depressed.

After all her hard work raising them, she got no credit for her efforts. Both sons were exact carbon copies of Gu Wenheng, sharing not a single trace of resemblance with her.

Gu Ben Can still felt wronged. "Mother, as soon as I walk outside, people recognize whose son I am at a glance without even needing to ask.

"How great would it be if I looked like you?"

Seeing her son goofing off again, Jin Qianqian gave him a light shove, pushing him right into the courtyard. "Don’t be so ungrateful. What’s wrong with looking like your father? Is he not presentable enough for you?

"Stop dawdling. Go in first and see if your grandmother can guess who you are."

Hearing this suggestion, Gu Ben Can found it rather amusing. He straightened his robes and tiptoed inside.

Watching him do such a sneaky move while wearing the same face as Gu Wenheng, Jin Qianqian turned to look at Gu Wenheng with a smile. "He looks just like a thief. Next time, you should try out his exact movements and expression."

How could Gu Wenheng not hear the teasing in her words? "This boy needs to have his hide tanned. A perfectly fine young master from a prominent family acting like a petty thief.

"If anyone else saw him, who knows how much face we’d lose."

Jin Qianqian chuckled. "Heh, well, you’ll have to wait a few more days before you get your wish."

The elders would be fawning over the newly returned boy; there was no way they would let him suffer any grievances right now.

Meanwhile, the moment Gu Ben Can stepped into the backyard, he heard talking and laughing.

Standing at the backyard gate and looking in, he saw several women dressed as peasant wives squatting in the yard, tending to the vegetable patch.

Gu Ben Can carefully stepped into the plot of land, but he was spotted before he could even get close.

Seeing the boy suddenly appear in the backyard, Liu Liu narrowed her eyes at him. "Whose son are you?"

When villagers came to visit, if they didn’t see anyone in the front yard, they would usually check the backyard.

Since Gu Ben Can was standing somewhat against the light, Liu Liu and the others hadn’t gotten a clear look at his features yet.

They merely felt that this boy was a bit unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar at the same time.

"What vegetables are you planting?" Gu Ben Can didn’t answer them. Instead, he squatted next to the vegetable patch and asked curiously.

"We’re getting ready to plant some cabbage," Li Cuicui answered him with a smile. "Which family’s youngster are you? Did you come looking for me for something?"

Gu Ben Can replied, "Grandma, I’m a boy from the Gu family. Walking all the way here, I got a bit tired and thirsty, so I wanted to ask you for a cup of water to quench my thirst."

Li Cuicui found this a bit strange. "I know all the boys from the Gu family, but you look a bit unfamiliar.

"You ran to my house to ask for water. Did the previous few households refuse you?"

After all, she lived right in the center of the village. The other households should also be home at this time.

"Don’t you think I look familiar?" Gu Ben Can deliberately leaned his face closer to her so the old lady with her poor eyesight could get a clearer look.

Li Cuicui still couldn’t tell, but Liu Liu suddenly covered her mouth in excitement. "You’re Old Seventh’s boy! Looking at your age, you must be the second son, right?"

Gu Ben Can didn’t know who the woman in front of him was, but since she was here with Li Cuicui, she was definitely an elder. His attitude became a bit more respectful.

"That’s right. I am Gu Ben Can. I’ve specifically come today to pay my respects to Grandmother."

As soon as she heard the name Gu Ben Can, Li Cuicui ignored the mud on her hands and grabbed his arm excitedly. "Have your parents returned?"

The corners of Gu Ben Can’s mouth turned up. "To answer you, Grandmother, my father and mother are waiting right outside the door. They told me to come in first to give you a surprise."

"He’s already a father, yet he’s still so mischievous.

"They’ve reached the doorstep, but they won’t even come in?"

Although Li Cuicui’s mouth was complaining, her legs were already stepping toward the courtyard.

Afraid the old lady would get too excited, Liu Liu quickly jogged over to support her. "Don’t run too fast. Since Seventh Brother and the others are back, they certainly aren’t going to run away. There’s no need to rush."

Li Xiaohua also supported her on the other side. "Mother, look, you’ve completely forgotten about Cancan. Weren’t you just talking about him a while ago?"

Li Cuicui stopped and reached out to grab Gu Ben Can. "Let Grandma take a good look at you. Your parents have been gone for so many years. You were just a Little Douding back then. I never expected you to have grown so much.

"Why didn’t you send a letter home beforehand? That way, the family could have prepared some food.

"Right, what do you like to eat? Wait a moment, I’ll have someone prepare it.

"Where is your brother? Did he come back too?

"..."

Seeing that the old lady had endless questions, Liu Liu smiled. "Mother, you’re asking so many questions. Which one should Cancan answer first?

"Anyway, the people are back and they won’t run away. Look, you’ve completely dazed the child with all your asking."

Gu Ben Can truly didn’t know which question to answer first, so he could only stand to the side, smiling awkwardly.

Although the women in front of him were his elders, this was the first time he was meeting them in his memory.

His unscrupulous parents hadn’t bothered to introduce him. Instead, they had made him run in here to face all of this by himself.

"Grandma, my father and mother are waiting for you outside the door."

"They arrived at their own home but didn’t even come in." Li Cuicui came to her senses, catching the implication in her young grandson’s words. So Old Seventh had come home, but he was waiting for his own mother to personally welcome him?

Seeing that he had successfully conveyed his meaning, Gu Ben Can said with a smile, "My father just shoved me into the courtyard and told me to come find you first. He wanted to see if you would recognize me.

"I told him, I look so much like my father, and I share some resemblance with you, Grandmother. How could you possibly not recognize me?"

Having invisibly thrown his own father under the bus, Li Cuicui’s joy at the impending reunion with her seventh son faded slightly.

"He’s been an official for so many years, yet he still likes to play tricks." Grasping her young grandson’s hand, Li Cuicui was suddenly in no rush to go outside.

She had doted on her son for decades, but this was only the second time she was seeing this grandson, and he had already grown so big.

Looking at her young grandson’s features, which were strikingly similar to Old Seventh’s in the past, her affection for him grew. Holding his hand, she began to chat about family matters.

"All these years, you and your father have been out there. Now that you’ve come back this time, you must stay for a few more days."