After Mo Beihan agreed to remain. Gu Qingyao turned to look at the Zhang family, a brilliant smile on her face. “Grandfather, Grandmother, Uncles and Aunts, we will be having dinner soon. Since you are here, please stay for dinner!”
“Beihan happened to give me some game. I will cook it to improve Eldest Uncle’s health, so that he can recover more quickly.”
Her smile was so brilliant.
She stood there, slim and erect, a young maiden of fifteen!
Everyone in these parts knew that Gu Qingyao was a beauty. But because she was born in the Gu family, she had not drawn much attention. Also, she was especially docile and seldom left the house, and so kept a low profile.
But in the end, a beautiful woman was easy on the eyes.
Her brilliant smile had an icy air, but the Zhang family did not notice.
The greedy and lazy Zhang family was delighted to hear there was good food, and that it would be cooked and set before them. They immediately smiled!
Old Master Zhang was the first to nod approvingly at Gu Qingyao. “Mhm! Qingyao is so sensible. Hurry up and cook! Work faster, or it will be pitch black by the time we go home!”
He was truly shameless.
But Gu Qingyao did not care.
The two senior Zhangs doted on Zhang Jianguo the most. The moment he heard that, he laughed. “Yao Yao, you’re so reasonable, not like your rigid father. Hurry up and cook! I’ll be waiting.”
The smile on Gu Qingyao’s face widened. “Great. Grandfather, Grandmother, please come in and have a seat. Grandma, come and help me!”
Wen Ruyu did not mind. She did not want to face this family.
When Zhang Xiaohui saw that the matter had been resolved, and since she also had a good lunch, she rolled her eyes and looked at Gu Yunshen smugly. Then she and Gu Ruoqing prepared to return to their room to rest. At that moment…
“Mother, Elder Sister, come and help too. Grandfather, Grandmother and the others need to go home tonight to rest. The road is difficult to travel by night. Come over and help so we can finish cooking quickly. We mustn’t let Grandfather and Grandmother go hungry.”
Old Madam Zhang immediately added, “Hurry up and help with the cooking. Are you trying to starve your father and I! You heartless wretch. Why did I bother to raise you?”
With that, she turned and went into the main room.
Zhang Xiaohui: “…”
Old Madam Zhang favored her sons over her daughter. Although she had three sons before giving birth to her only daughter, Zhang Xiaohui, she still treated Zhang Xiaohui as a nobody.
In her eyes, Zhang Xiaohui was a burden, so she should work for her elder brothers, serve them, and take care of them. If she had anything nice, she should bring it back to her natal home as a show of filial piety.
Gu Qingyao laughed coldly in her heart, then said to Gu Yunshen, “Father, go and clean the rabbit.”
So Gu Yunshen went to clean the rabbit, Wen Ruyu gutted the fish, Zhang Xiaohui started the fire, while Gu Ruoqing was sent to wash the mushrooms and the wild herbs.
Gu Qingyao was in charge of the cooking.
In the end, there was no quarrel in the Gu family. Passersby who had stopped to watch the show now scattered, but could not help but shake their heads and said, “Ai… the Gu family is so unlucky to be mixed up with a family like the Zhangs. I bet all the good things their sons and grandsons sent back have ended up in the Zhang family’s stomachs.”