Chapter 37: Gu Qingmao

Gu Litang was stunned by the silver in his hands. When his fourth younger brother told him the family was about to leave, he remained dazed for a long time, completely forgetting to return the money.

By the time he recovered, Madam Feng had returned. Fearing that she would cause a scene on such a festive New Year’s day, Gu Litang hurriedly hid the silver, thinking he would return it to his fourth brother when she was not around.

Madam Feng was, of course, completely unaware of the fifty taels. Had she known, there was a thousand percent chance the money would never have been returned. At this moment, she stared gloomily at the eaves of the fourth household, her mind racing until she finally hit upon a clever idea.

Gu Qingmao emerged from his room and, seeing his mother staring at the neighbors, said with some dissatisfaction, "Mother, why are you staring at their house? I’m hungry."

Madam Feng snapped back to reality. In the blink of an eye, her face bloomed into a smile. "My son is hungry, is he? Go back to your books for a while; Mother will cook some meat for you today." With that, she hurried to the kitchen.

After she left, Gu Qingmao walked to the spot where she had been standing and looked toward the fourth household as well. When he saw the large amount of meat hanging under their eaves, his expression turned somber.

As he turned to leave, he heard laughter coming from the kitchen of the fourth household, and his expression darkened further.

At that moment, Gu Tingzhi was leading Yibai into the courtyard. Looking up, he locked eyes with a pair of malevolent eyes. He was startled; Gu Qingmao looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place him, so he ignored him and went back to playing with Yibai on the ground.

Gu Qingmao watched his reaction, then looked at the dim-witted turtle he was holding. A wave of schadenfreude washed over him, and he nearly burst out laughing.

He was genuinely happy. Gu Tingzhi, who had always overshadowed him since childhood and whom he loathed from the bottom of his heart, had become a fool. Let’s see how arrogant he could be now! He himself was still studying in town, while Gu Tingzhi could only play in the mud in the village! Once he passed the scholar’s exam, he would see who dared to say he was inferior to this fool!

He raised a middle finger at Gu Tingzhi and silently mouthed the word "fool."

Gu Tingzhi felt the man was inexplicably strange and, not wanting to engage, carried Yibai back to the kitchen and placed it on the floor.

Before long, Yibai burrowed into the cold wood ash nearby. Its shell, already coated in dust, became even dirtier, making its original color impossible to distinguish.

Gu Tingzhi didn't mind the filth. He squatted down to catch Yibai’s leg. Every time he reached out, Yibai would retract its leg into its shell, only to poke it back out once he withdrew his hand. Man and turtle played this game, taking turns with their legs, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Gu Tingzhi caught Yibai's leg a few times and triumphantly lifted the creature up to show Zhen Mi'er. "Manman, I caught it!"

"My husband is truly clever. But holding Yibai like that makes it uncomfortable. Shall we put it down?"

Gu Tingzhi tilted his head, thought for a moment, and obediently placed Yibai back on the floor.

The members of the Gu family watched their interaction. Although they were used to it, they couldn't help but heave a heavy sigh in their hearts.

Months had passed; they had seen many doctors and taken many medicines, yet Tingzhi showed no signs of improvement. In another month, the first round of the county examinations would take place. If he truly couldn't recover, it would have to be accepted as fate.

*Pah, pah, pah!* It was the New Year; one shouldn't dwell on such negative thoughts.

Zhen Mi'er had perfected a new dish yesterday and decided to make it for everyone that evening. The family began to look forward to it.

Zhen Mi'er was in charge of the cooking for this year's New Year’s Eve feast, with Su Hehua assisting her. The entire Gu courtyard was filled with the aroma of meat, which, carried by the breeze, wafted into the homes of the neighbors.

The neighbors peeked out, one after another, guessing what delicious meal the Gu family was preparing to smell so wonderful.

In the study of the eldest branch of the Gu family, Gu Qingmao naturally caught the scent of meat from next door. He felt incredibly irritable; how was he supposed to study with such hunger? He regretted coming back!

Yesterday, his mentor’s wife and her daughter, Xue Tingting, had invited him to celebrate the New Year at their home. Thinking he had no money left, he had planned to come back to get some from Madam Feng, so he had cruelly declined. He had rushed back from town after noon today, and he still hadn't eaten!

However, when he finally sat down to eat, he was disgusted by the single meat dish and two vegetable dishes on the table. He couldn't hold back his temper, threw his chopsticks on the table, and roared, "It has no flavor and looks unappetizing! How do you expect me to eat this?"

Seeing him refuse to eat, Madam Feng was anxious and coaxed him, "My dear son, please eat something to fill your stomach. Mother’s cooking isn't great, but when you return to town in a few days, you can buy yourself something good."

Hearing this, Gu Qingmao picked up his chopsticks again and muttered, "I’m going back to town tomorrow. Give me the money later."

Hearing that he planned to leave on the first day of the New Year, Madam Feng became even more anxious. "Son, aren't you staying for the rest of the holiday?"

Gu Qingmao shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, ate a few pieces of meat, and replied sluggishly, "The exam is in a month; I want to spend more time studying!"

Madam Feng found this reasonable and hurried to put down her bowl to fetch the money from her room. It was five taels in total—money she had only scraped together by selling the family's pig and several chickens and ducks.

Gu Qingmao took it, muttered "this is so little," and stuffed the silver into his pouch. Madam Feng hurriedly served him more meat.

Gu Litang, sitting at the head of the table, drank in silence the entire time. He didn't say a word, his eyes filled with sorrow and desolation.

Madam Feng had never traveled further than the town in her entire life, and even then, it was always a hurried trip. Having heard from others that studying was expensive, she genuinely believed it was a normal cost. Every time Gu Qingmao returned home from his studies, he would drain the family’s coffers, and she assumed all scholarly families were the same.

But Gu Litang had traveled far and wide as a peddler in his youth. He knew full well that tuition at the town academy was only five taels a year, plus a few pieces of dried meat. The money Gu Qingmao had taken from the family was countless times that amount.

He had secretly inquired at the academy and learned that Gu Qingmao’s grades were only average to slightly above average. The reason he had studied hard in previous years was because of his immense pride and vanity—he couldn't bear to hear others say he was inferior to Gu Tingzhi.

But that drive had only lasted for three years before he fell behind Gu Tingzhi. Gradually, he gave up, letting himself go and spending his days with a group of bad influences.

None of the Gu family members were unattractive, and relying on his own dashing looks, he had won the favor of his mentor’s daughter, which only made him more reckless. That Xue Tingting was a simpleton; she had been coaxed into a daze by his sweet talk and insisted on marrying him. Xue Youcai and his wife, Wang, had no choice but to wait for him to earn a degree before he could formally propose.