After working for a while longer, Master Tang took out his watch from his pocket, glanced at it, and seeing it was three o'clock, he took off his apron and white hat, putting them into his bag one by one.
"Xiao Gu, Xiao Liu, it's time, I'll be leaving now."
After saying goodbye to the couple, Master Tang turned and walked out of the kitchen door.
Liu Yuemin's expression was not very good as she watched his retreating figure.
"So, I hired a grand master for eighty yuan a month, and he's always late and leaves early. We have to dote on him like he's a patron. Before he even arrives, we have to wash and prepare all the side dishes and seasonings, just waiting for him to come and stir-fry. We have to do all the prep work."
Gu Xingmin also felt uncomfortable, but he still tried to persuade her, "Forget it, we agreed on this before. Besides, didn't Yong Ge introduce him by saying that's his usual practice? As long as his cooking is good, it's fine. I think the customers in the shop are all satisfied."
It had been three to four months since the shop opened, and the couple had earned at least two thousand, if not three thousand. This was much more profitable than anything they had done before.
"Of course they're satisfied! You only see the front, you don't see how much oil he wastes. Good heavens, he really doesn't care about things that aren't his own. The oil he fries things in, it still looks pretty good to me, but he uses it a few times and then throws it away. Oil is so expensive!"
"Maybe he's used to being wasteful in large factories. I'll talk to him next time and ask him to be more mindful."
Gu Xingye stretched and said, "The front is almost done too. I'll go get the bicycle from the repair shop, and then we'll go to the farmers' market to stock up on some goods."
Liu Yuemin nodded. Seeing him leave, she first hung up the "Closed for Business" sign and then started cleaning the shop.
The train was a little late, and the family of three arrived at the station at a little past one in the afternoon. While waiting for the bus, Gu Xingdong suddenly saw a familiar figure approaching and immediately stood up, "Dad!"
Gu Shoufu was surprised to meet his third son's family here. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly walked over and sat down in the seat next to Gu Xingdong.
"Dad." "Grandpa." Chen Lishu and Rui Rui called out.
Gu Shoufu nodded, "Ah, when did you arrive?"
Gu Xingdong: "A little past one."
"Will you be able to stay for a longer period this time?"
"Yes, about a month."
The father and son started chatting, and soon the bus slowly began to move.
Gu Xingping was carrying firewood into the courtyard when she saw several figures walking towards her in the distance. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly dropped the firewood and ran to greet them, "Third sister-in-law!"
Gu Xingdong said with a hint of jealousy, "You only see your third sister-in-law, but not your third brother?"
Gu Xingping giggled and said, "Third brother, is that better?"
"Why aren't you wearing a scarf?" Chen Lishu said, seeing her with nothing on her head.
"Mom said she's only a few pieces of firewood short of starting to cook, so she sent me out to get some," Gu Xingping said, touching Rui Rui's little head. "Are you cold? Go back inside quickly."
Rui Rui replied, "Auntie, I'm not cold. My hands are all warm."
Chen Lishu said, "Why don't you come back with us? Your third brother can get the firewood."
"Alright, you two sisters-in-law are so close. I'll go get it." Gu Xingdong handed his bag to Chen Lishu and turned to pick up the firewood.
Soon, everyone entered the house. Li Xiulan had been eagerly awaiting the return of her third son's family, especially Gu Xingdong. He had gone to the border, and she hadn't seen her son for over two years.
"You must have been cold all the way. Take off your clothes quickly and go to the heated brick bed. It's warm there."
"Mom used three bundles of firewood for cooking this morning. I touched them, and they were hot. Third brother and third sister-in-law, you have to be careful."
"You child," Li Xiulan patted her and then said to Gu Xingdong and the others, "Don't listen to this girl talking nonsense. Are you hungry? Take a break first, I've already prepared the dishes. We'll eat when your fourth brother and his wife come back."
Gu Xingping asked, "Mom, aren't we waiting for my second brother and them to come back?"
"They'll be back late, and besides, your third brother and his family must be hungry after sitting on the bus all day. I'll serve them separately and keep them warm in the pot."
Not long after, Gu Xingye and Zhang Xiaoju returned with their child. The brothers greeted each other with much conversation, and soon the table was set, and the whole family gathered around to eat joyfully.
"Do you want some fish?"
Li Xiulan had made braised yellow croaker with vermicelli. Gu Xingdong picked up a chopstick and found the taste good. However, the distance was a bit far, and he was afraid Chen Lishu couldn't reach it, so he turned his head and asked softly.
Chen Lishu was concentrating on eating chicken and shook her head when asked about the fish, "No, you eat it."
Chen Lishu didn't dislike fish before, but for some reason, her sense of smell had become more sensitive today. The fish was quite far away, but she could still smell a strong odor.
Seeing her happily eating chicken, Gu Xingdong gave up.
Gu Xingmin and Liu Yuemin returned when it was already dark. The family was sitting together talking.
"Third brother, third sister-in-law, you're back," Gu Xingmin said with a smile as soon as he entered and saw Gu Xingdong and Chen Lishu.
Li Xiulan looked up, "Are you two hungry? The food is in the kitchen pot, being kept warm."
Gu Xingmin nodded, and the couple first went to their room to take off their hats and coats.
"See that? The whole family has already eaten. It's like we're not even part of this family," Liu Yuemin said unhappily.
"Your third brother and his family must have been hungry after traveling, you're always making a fuss about nothing," Gu Xingmin said after hanging up his clothes. He turned to leave, but seeing Liu Yuemin sitting on the edge of the brick bed without moving, he asked, "Aren't you eating?"
"I'm tired after a whole day, I don't have the energy to move. Bring it to me in the room."
"You're really demanding," Gu Xingmin muttered, turning and leaving the room.
After eating, Gu Xingmin also came out to chat with everyone for a while. Seeing that it was getting late and Gu Xingdong's family was tired from traveling all day, while Gu Xingmin and his wife still had to go to the shop, everyone soon got up and went back to their respective rooms.
"Your room's brick bed is small, and it will be crowded with the child. Why don't you let Rui Rui sleep in our room? We have a large brick bed there." Li Xiulan said as Gu Xingdong and his wife got up.
Chen Lishu looked at Rui Rui, "Can you sleep with Grandma and Grandpa?"
Rui Rui nodded obediently.
"Mom, I want to sleep with Third Aunt's son, Gu Rui," Gu Zhao said, looking up at Zhang Qin.
"I want to join too," Gu Lin also wanted to join in the fun.
The children had been playing together for a while and started to get clingy.
Soon, Chen Lishu returned to the room with a quilt, and the three little boys happily took off their clothes and snuggled into the quilt.
Because they had traveled all day, after washing up, Chen Lishu and Gu Xingdong went to bed early.
Meanwhile, Chen Mantun and Wu Chunmei were discussing how much money to give to Elder Mrs. Chen as a filial gift this year.
"We always give her grain as a filial gift. This year, the grain production has increased, and our finances are a bit better. I was thinking, why don't we add an extra twenty yuan to Mom? What do you think?"
Wu Chunmei nodded, "I think that's fine too. After all, Mom is getting old, and our lives are pretty good now. Why don't you send it over tomorrow?"
"I disagree!" As the couple was talking, the room door was suddenly pushed open, and their third daughter, Chen Lifu, walked in with a grim expression.