Chapter 19 - 7: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

Chapter 19: Chapter 7: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

"Third Child, don’t be a bad influence on Fourth Child," Er Zai said sternly, loudly scolding his younger brother.

Fourth Child was a girl, and he was usually quite lenient with her. He rarely scolded his little sister unless there was a special reason.

Third Child paid him no mind, his small, soft hands happily digging in the soil of the vegetable garden.

Seeing that his brother wasn’t listening, Er Zai grew angry and raised his hand, his voice getting several notches louder. "Third Child, if you don’t listen, I’m going to hit you, you hear me?"

"Er Zai," Lin Zhao suddenly appeared in the backyard and called out to him. "Who are you planning to hit?"

Er Zai instantly snatched his hand back, looking a bit guilty. He tattled, "Mom, Third Child won’t stop making trouble. He’s driving me crazy!"

"Your little brother is still young. Teach him patiently. You can’t hit people, especially not your younger brother and sister. Have I ever hit you?" Lin Zhao said gently.

"No," Er Zai said. ’That’s only because Mom doesn’t really manage me and my big brother,’ he thought. He was afraid she wouldn’t let him eat any dumplings, so he didn’t dare say it aloud.

’Make no mistake, his mom was totally capable of doing something like that!’

"Pull a few scallions for me." Lin Zhao didn’t dwell on the issue. She preferred to let the children solve their own problems, so long as things were heading in the right general direction.

In the vegetable garden, Da Zai quickly and efficiently pulled up five scallions. Waving them in his hand, he stood up and asked her, "Mom, is this enough?"

"A few more," Lin Zhao said.

Da Zai lowered his head, pulled a few more, and ran back to give them to her.

Lin Zhao took them in her hands, shook the dirt from the roots, and praised him, "Thank you, Da Zai. You’re such a good helper."

Da Zai blushed, happy that he could help his mom.

There were quite a few types of vegetables in the garden, all tended by Mother Gu. The twins would sometimes water the plants and pull weeds—in any case, they were more attentive to it than their mother, Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao took the scallions and told Da Zai and Er Zai to watch their younger brother and sister. Then she returned to the kitchen and started preparing the dumpling filling.

Before long, the sound of CHOP-CHOP-CHOP echoed from inside.

As she was mincing the filling, a childish voice called out from outside.

It sounded familiar. It was Tie Chui, the youngest son of the Gu Family’s main branch. He was the same age as Da Zai and Er Zai, and since they had all grown up together, the three boys were especially close.

Lin Zhao stepped out of the kitchen.

Little Tiechui tensed up when he saw his Third Aunt, his small body so stiff he didn’t dare to look at Lin Zhao.

"Third Aunt," he called out softly.

A plotline from the original book concerning Tie Chui surfaced in Lin Zhao’s mind:

In the original book, when Da Zai and Er Zai suffered one misfortune after another, their good friend Tie Chui had stood by them through it all, never abandoning them.

Because of this, Sister In Law Gu had held a great deal of resentment toward Da Zai and Er Zai, though she never said anything nasty.

"So, Tie Chui is here. Da Zai and Er Zai are in the backyard with their little brother and sister. You can go find them yourself," Lin Zhao said with a gentle voice and a smile.

"Okay," the good-natured Tie Chui replied before running toward the backyard.

When he got to the backyard, he shouted, "Da Zai, Er Zai, what are you guys doing?"

Da Zai stood up, waving a head of cabbage in his hand. "We’re pulling up cabbages," he answered.

"Tie Chui, want to join us?" Er Zai called out enthusiastically.

"Sure!" Tie Chui said, rushing into the vegetable patch to pull up cabbages with Da Zai and Er Zai.

A moment later, Lin Zhao came out to the backyard carrying a ceramic bowl.

When they saw her, the fraternal twins wobbled over, wanting their mother to hold them. Seeing the two tykes covered in dirt gave her a headache. She quickly put down the bowl and stretched out her arms to hold them at bay.

"Whose little stinkers are these?" she asked, her voice full of mock disgust, but a faint smile played on her lips.

The fraternal twins, who looked remarkably alike, flashed matching sweet smiles and tried to burrow into their mother’s arms. But Da Zai caught them. Third Child and Fourth Child were very fond of their big brother, so as soon as he took their hands, the two little ones stood obediently and stopped fussing.

Lin Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. "I made you a bowl of brown sugar water," she said. "Drink it if you’re thirsty."

"Thanks, Mom," Da Zai said, then called out to the others, "Er Zai, Tie Chui, come drink some brown sugar water!"

Lin Zhao knew her presence would make Tie Chui uncomfortable, so after delivering the drink, she left the backyard.

In this day and age, a single sip of something sweet was a treat to be savored for days.

Hearing the words "brown sugar water," Er Zai pulled Tie Chui and ran over. The children gathered around, taking turns sipping from the bowl.

"Da Zai, Er Zai, this brown sugar water is so sweet!" Tie Chui said, his eyes lighting up.

"It really is," Er Zai chimed in.

The Gu Family’s children had mostly been raised by Mother Gu, and she had taught them well; there wasn’t a single selfish or domineering brat among them. With the brown sugar water as a reward, the children in the backyard worked with great enthusiasm.

「Time passed, and the fiery sun began to set.」

Da Zai led Er Zai and Tie Chui to move the cabbages to the cellar. When they were done, they returned to the front yard. The rich aroma of meat wafted from the kitchen, and the five children lined up at the doorframe, peeking in like a string of candied haws.

"Mom, are the dumplings ready? It smells so, so good!" said Er Zai, the most talkative of the bunch, his nose twitching as he asked with anticipation.