Chapter 805 - 807: Nameless 3
Chapter 805: Chapter 807: Nameless 3
"How could that be the same? Even if you manage to cook eggplant so it tastes like meat, it’s still just eggplant.
"As for the tofu you make, apart from the plain white ones, it’s still just plain white tofu. I heard you have many different varieties!
"What? Does tofu count as meat now?"
Gu Yuanjin’s eyes dodged the question. They really couldn’t be blamed for this. It was mainly because the old lady had said not to serve all the good stuff at once, or else he would just endlessly nitpick and find fault.
But it had been over ten years. Having a dish of plain white tofu every single day was indeed a bit excessive. However, that was their own mother after all, so how could they point fingers at her?
"You just keep taking your mother’s side! Don’t forget that I’m still your father!" Gu Dashi pointed at his sons and scolded, "Get out! All of you, get out!"
"Dad..." Gu Yuanjin paused. "Then we won’t stay here and make you angry. If you need anything, just give orders to the servants."
The brothers skillfully backed out of the room. Gu Dashi was so furious he wanted to smash something again, only to find that his surroundings had already been emptied out.
"Rebellious sons, they’re all unfilial..."
Gu Yuanshui stood in the courtyard and let out a sigh of relief. "None of us brothers can match Old Seventh in shrewdness. Look at him, he slipped out ages ago."
Gu Yuanjin patted him lightly on the back. "What nonsense are you spouting? Old Seventh hasn’t been home for so many years; how would he know Dad’s temper?
"As brothers, we can’t be so suspicious. If we do this too often, it’ll ruin our relationship."
"I was just saying," Gu Yuanshui muttered. But he would bet today’s drinks that even though Old Seventh hadn’t been living at home, he absolutely knew this place like the back of his hand.
Jin Qianqian saw Gu Lehua again, never expecting that the young woman would already have a few children trailing behind her.
Liu Liu spoke with a face full of pride, "Our Lehua is a great contributor to the Tang family. As soon as she married in, Tang Qingdong passed the provincial exams! She then gave birth to four big, plump boys in a row for the Tang family. Everyone says she’s blessed."
After handing out the greeting gifts, Jin Qianqian looked at the overweight Gu Lehua and couldn’t help but worry for the Gu family’s future generations.
It seemed their constitutions were prone to gaining weight. If they weren’t all tall, it would really be an eyesore. In the past, life had been tough, and everyone was starved to skin and bones. In recent years, with living conditions improving, all their old, hidden ailments had been treated, and they were all expanding horizontally.
The men were tall and burly, so they didn’t look too fat, but when the women gained weight, they went out of shape from head to toe.
Back then, Gu Lehua’s height of nearly 1.7 meters paired with some baby fat had actually looked quite fitting. But her current appearance was like a moving mountain of flesh. Even when she smiled, her face was covered in thick folds of fat.
Jin Qianqian was just about to tactfully advise Gu Lehua to watch her diet, but Liu Liu’s next words completely shocked her. She nearly spat out the tea in her mouth. Fortunately, her years of cultivated composure helped her hold it in.
"Look at how blessed our Lehua looks! She just gave birth to her youngest recently. When she first came back, I thought she had lost some weight. I didn’t expect that in just a month or so, she would grow it all back! This is really nice. Don’t be like Chuncao, all skinny and shriveled. She looks like she has no good fortune at all."
Hong Daya chimed in, "Lehua, remember to tell us later what you usually eat on a daily basis. Lebao hasn’t been gaining any weight either, and I’m getting quite anxious about it."
Jin Qianqian was speechless. She knew that it was actually better to be a bit thinner, as excessive body fat could easily lead to other diseases. However, she also knew that saying such things wouldn’t be well-received, so she could only suppress her thoughts and remain silent.
Jin Qianqian squeezed out a smile, trying her best to look natural. "She really does look blessed."
This compliment made both Liu Liu and her daughter beam with joy. "Aunt Seven thinks so too! Later, I’ll have to give Lehua’s mother-in-law a good talking-to. The Tang family only has their current life all thanks to my daughter’s good fortune!"
Gu Lehua picked up a pastry and stuffed it into her mouth, not forgetting to use her other hand to distribute one to each of her children. "We rushed over here so early in the morning, and my husband was hurrying us too. I’m already starving! Mom, is there anything else to eat in the house? The kids and I haven’t even had breakfast yet."
Liu Liu let out a gasp of surprise. "How can you go without breakfast? How can your body handle that?"
She greeted Jin Qianqian and her other sisters-in-law. "You guys chat first. I’m going to take the kids back to get something to eat."
With that, she briskly grabbed the hands of two of her grandsons and, leading her own daughter, vanished from everyone’s sight in an instant.
Jin Qianqian licked her lips and turned to look at Xie Ruyi. "Ruyi, do you also think Lehua looks fine like this?"
Xie Ruyi understood what she meant and burst into laughter. "Lehua loves to eat. She was only slightly chubby before, but ever since she started having children one after another, she’s grown increasingly obese.
"We tactfully advised her in the past, but Liu Liu feels that her daughter is just blessed. Besides, Lehua can’t keep her mouth shut when it comes to food. After mentioning it a few times, we just stopped bringing it up."
Jin Qianqian finally found the root of the problem. It turned out that Gu Lehua and her mother were the only ones who felt so good about themselves.
"It’s still better to have a doctor check on her. Sometimes, being too obese isn’t a good thing." Jin Qianqian still couldn’t resist speaking up, especially since she had seen Gu Lehua stuffing food into her children’s mouths while eating herself.
Was it not enough for her to be obese herself? Did she want to raise her children to look just like her?
Wang Caiyue looked at Hong Daya with a wicked smile. "Daya, I see you’re very envious of Lehua’s flesh. What, do you want your little darling to end up looking like that too?"
"Not exactly," Hong Daya replied. "It’s just that our Lebao is still too skinny. If she could just gain a little bit of weight, I’d be happy."
Her daughter was beautiful, but she didn’t have much meat on her face, making her look less wealthy and festive. She had already reached the age of marriage, and everyone preferred daughters-in-law who looked blessed and had wide hips. Lebao was still lacking that little bit of extra flesh.
As soon as the topic of their own children came up, everyone grew energized. However, they were all discussing the grandchild generation, leaving Jin Qianqian to awkwardly sit there and chime in with a few courtesy words.
When they asked when Luo Luo would start looking for a marriage match, Jin Qianqian hurriedly changed the subject. The marriages of Luo Luo and his brother would have to wait until after Luo Luo’s imperial examination this time. She just hadn’t expected them to be coincidentally summoned to Shangjing by the Emperor. The marriage arrangements would likely face some unexpected twists.
Unlike his parents, who were busy with endless social engagements, Gu Bencan took to the village like a fish to water, running all over the place under the guidance of his older and younger cousins. One moment he was down by the river catching fish, and the next he was up in the mountains hunting. He instantly let himself loose. As for the homework Gu Wenheng had assigned him on the way back, he had long forgotten all about it.
By the time Jin Qianqian finally had a free moment to catch him, he hung his head in dismay and ran straight to Li Cuicui to tattle. Li Cuicui was especially fond of this little grandson who knew exactly how to make her happy. He hadn’t been back in the village for long, yet he had caught fish and hunted game, bringing it straight to her and saying it was to help nourish her body. As for the fact that the other grandsons had also pitched in, Li Cuicui chose to conveniently forget it.