Chapter 18 - 7: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

Chapter 18: Chapter 7: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

The third child was the family’s eldest daughter, Gu Chan, and she was already married.

The fourth was Gu Chenghuai, married to Lin Zhao, with three sons and one daughter.

The fifth and sixth were fraternal twins, Gu Qingzhou and Gu Xing’er, who were still in school.

During this time, Gu Qingzhou had been taken to his maternal uncle’s house and would only return before school started.

Tie Dan’s voice wasn’t quiet. Little Tiechui and the other children swarmed over, planting themselves in front of Father and Mother Gu’s door. They didn’t go in, just stared eagerly.

"Grandma, meat, meat..." outside the door, Yu Yu, from the second branch of the family and just over two, said in a high, childish voice.

Mother Gu’s face was stern. "A bunch of chimney-dwellers. You can smell things even through a closed door."

Father Gu didn’t speak. He was still savoring the taste of the meat bun. ’Meat smells so good, who wouldn’t be able to smell it?’

"Let’s share it with the children," the patriarch said, his heart aching for his grandchildren.

"Fine, we’ll share," Mother Gu said, pained by the loss. She picked up the remaining two buns and walked out, muttering, "Too many mouths in this family. Nothing good ever lasts until the next day."

The moment she went out, she was assaulted by the voices of her grandchildren, each clamoring over the other, making her ears ache.

"Grandma, what’s in your hand? Is it meat? It must be, I can smell it!" That was Tie Dan.

"Smells good!" Tie Chui exclaimed.

Eleven-year-old Bangbang didn’t say a word, but his eyes were involuntarily drawn to his grandma’s hands. He thought about the taste of the meat and couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.

Laimei was the hardiest of the Gu family children. He sidled up to Mother Gu and said, "Grandma, your grandson wants to eat."

Even two-year-old Yu Yu knew her grandma had something good in her hands. She clung to Mother Gu’s pants, nearly pulling them down.

Mother Gu strode to the kitchen, divided the two buns equally, and gave the pieces to the children.

The two buns were divided into several pieces, so each person only got a couple of bites. However, the Gu family children were all very satisfied. The more sensible ones offered their parents a taste, while the less sensible ones gobbled their share down in two or three bites.

Sister-In-Law Gu was a fortunate woman; both Tie Dan and Tie Chui, her sons, were thoughtful. Having tasted the bun, she smiled at Mother Gu and asked, "Mother, where did the buns come from?"

Second Sister-In-Law Gu also looked at Mother Gu, curious as well.

"Da Zai’s mother brought them," Mother Gu said.

Sister-In-Law Gu and Second Sister-In-Law Gu looked at each other in slow motion, speechless for a long moment.

Lin Zhao?

"Why would Lin Zhao bring buns over?" Like her mother-in-law, Sister-In-Law Gu’s first reaction was nervousness, panic, and a jolt of alarm.

A question mark also popped up in Second Sister-In-Law Gu’s mind, and she looked at Mother Gu.

Mother Gu said, "She said she wants to build a house and came to ask your father for help. She brought three meat buns and half a jin of brown sugar as a thank-you gift."

’Meat buns *and* brown sugar! Da Zai’s mother was really being generous this time!’

Huang Xiulan and Zhao Liuniang almost changed their opinion of Lin Zhao, but then they remembered Da Zai’s mother’s difficult personality. They quickly shook their heads. ’Snap out of it.’

"Build a house? Why does she suddenly want to build a house?" Sister-In-Law Gu asked curiously.

"She complained that the earthen house they live in now sheds dust."

Second Sister-In-Law Gu looked astonished. "She’s complaining about dust from the earthen house... don’t tell me she wants to build a brick-and-tile house?"

"You bet," Mother Gu said. "If she wasn’t building a brick-and-tile house, would the fourth son’s wife come looking for your father?"

She had seen it long ago. The fourth son’s wife never visited unless she needed something. Whenever she showed up, it was definitely for a reason.

Fortunately, today’s visit was for a good reason.

Mother Gu wasn’t a wicked mother-in-law who abused her daughters-in-law, but that didn’t stop Sister-In-Law Gu and Second Sister-In-Law Gu from feeling envious. To live separately, to be the mistress of your own home—who would want to be controlled by their mother-in-law?!

Unfortunately, envy was useless. Their younger brother-in-law wasn’t married, and their younger sister-in-law was still single. If they wanted to split the family... it would be at least another three to five years.

At this thought, Huang Xiulan and Zhao Liuniang’s hearts filled with melancholy, and they pushed the idea aside.

’Can’t think about it anymore. Thinking too much will make your mind wander.’

-

Meanwhile, Lin Zhao returned home with her children.

It was the hottest part of the day. She coaxed the children to sleep, then returned to her own room, planning to take a short nap herself.

Before falling asleep, Lin Zhao saw that the mission log to the right of the lottery wheel had been updated.

A new mission had appeared after she told the children they would have dumplings in the afternoon.

[A childhood without delicious dumplings is an incomplete childhood! Please make a meal of dumplings for the children. Upon completion, you will receive 4 points. Go for it!]

From this, Lin Zhao came to a conclusion—

The missions from the wheel were all related to raising her children, and were even connected to topics they had discussed.

The number of points varied, likely measured by the difficulty of the mission.

’This makes things much simpler. I can earn points while taking care of the children. It’s killing two birds with one stone.’

After waking from her nap, Lin Zhao washed her face with cool water and got busy in the kitchen.

Da Zai and Er Zai were in the backyard harvesting cabbages with their younger siblings.

Of course, the fraternal twins, who were just over a year old, were mostly just making a mess.

When their older brothers scolded them, the two little ones would gaze up at them with clear, innocent eyes, looking perfectly behaved. But as soon as their brothers got busy again, they would start fiddling with things once more.