Published at 9th of February 2020 10:12:49 PM
Chapter 49
Resplendent Apothecary ch 49 – Grandpa (3)
When Gu Ye returned home with the firewood, their courtyard was crowded with people . The Gu’s clan leader was there along with a few elders in the clan . With the exception of one unfamiliar old man, the rest of the folks standing in the courtyard were villagers of Qingshan that she was familiar with .
It wasn’t exactly correct to call him old; he wasn’t exactly old and decrepit . He was perhaps around 40 or so . He was a tall man . He only had to stand there casually and he exuded the commanding air uniquely belonging to someone in the military . His hair was grey and his beard messy . He had on a set of old clothes and in his hand was his belongings wrapped in cloth . In his other hand was a cane that supported his weight .
Picture: cloth wrapper (who’d have thought a good picture of a good cloth wrapped was so hard to find!!)
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“Xiao Qi (“little seventh”), what do you mean? Are you denouncing me as your father?” The man’s voice was strong and full of live . His look solemn . His round eyes resembled those belonging to a tiger and stroke fear into those who saw them .
“That… Fifth Uncle . It wasn’t about denouncing or not denouncing . My parents only said it verbally back them, we never edited our genealogy, so it wasn’t really a true adoption,” said Gu Qiao as he secretly judged this distance relative of his . He scanned through his old and torn clothes and finally stopped on his cane .
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When he came in earlier, he was limping and his movements restricted . Nobody knew how he was able to travel 100 miles in the mountain to get to where they were . Their family was already having a difficult time, he couldn’t possibly take on another burden . As far as the adoption went, barely anyone knew about it; as long as he didn’t admit to it, there’s not much he could do about it .
“I see how it was, Xiao Qi!” Gu Xiao wasn’t surprised by this outcome at all . He snickered, “Back then when our country was being invaded and the government was drafting soldiers, each family with two boys must send one into the military . I was the last one left in my branch, normally I would not be drafted at all . Your branch had your dad and his older brought . The older son needs to prop up the family so your dad would be the one to be drafted . He was a coward and groveled for me to take his place . He said he had three young kids at home and his family needed him . And that I was single and had no ties . And that if I’d join the military in his place, he’d let you be my adopted son! Well, are you denying it all now?”
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“Fifth Uncle, I was barely five years old when you joined the military . How much could I recall? My dad had passed away many years ago, and I have never heard him brought this up before . How could I honor this?” Gu Qiao smiled bitterly and avoided eye contact with Gu Xiao .
“Liao Qi (“old seventh”), I knew about this! Back then Xiao di (“younger brother”) had to leave in a hurry so there wasn’t enough time to make it all official . But your father had indeed promised you to be his adopted son!” The clan leader chimed in to set the records straight .
Gu Xiao, if everything was to detailed out, would be considered a distant relative to the Gu’s clan . He was less than ten years old when his mother brought him back there . She passed away shortly after that leaving him behind to hunt for a living relying solely on his brute force . When he was 18, the government came drafting for soldiers and he went in the place of Gu Qiao’s father . He was gone for a total of 25 years . In these years, the Gu’s had never heard a word from him; they had all thought he had died in the field!
Mrs . Gu’s eyes rolled in their sockets and when she caught sight of Gu Ming, her eyes beamed . She smiled and said, “Fifth Uncle, aren’t you worried that your branch will end with you? You are right that it wasn’t a big deal that we be considered your children . But most people would prefer to adopt young kids . You know, you have more time to spend with them and form that bond, right? My husband is already 30, he’d be a laughing stock to be adopted at his age!”