Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Cleaning Up and Paper-Cutting

Hearing the sound of people returning from afar, Gu Qinghuan opened the door and carried the fabric into the main room, letting Chen Ershu have a good look at it. She also asked Zhong Luoning to pour him a cup of hot water—this kid was only wearing a thin jacket, it surely wasn’t warm enough, and he must have frozen on the way here.

Chen Ershu gazed at the camel-colored wool fabric on the table with delight, as if he were looking at a lover. He wanted to reach out and touch it, but was afraid of damaging it, looking both eager and cautious.

Gu Qinghuan walked over and unfolded the fabric for him to inspect.

“Take a good look and check it carefully. The material is intact. Take it home and have her find a good tailor to make it.”

Chen Ershu nodded repeatedly.

“Oh, and here’s a set of fabric for a Zhongshan suit I picked out for you. With your build, there should be some left over after making it. Congratulations in advance on your wedding—may you have a long and happy marriage, and many children.” As she spoke, Gu Qinghuan rolled up the fabric.

“Th-thank you! I know my sheep probably isn’t worth all this nice fabric, but when spring comes and I have time to go up the mountain, I’ll bring you some wild game,” Chen Ershu stammered.

He didn’t know why—he wasn’t usually a stutterer—but in front of Gu Qinghuan, he always felt a bit at a loss, especially when she treated him so well and gave him so much good fabric.

He knew very well that his sheep wasn’t worth nearly this much fabric; he’d only come with a sliver of hope.

Gu Qinghuan waved her hand. “No need. Hunting in the mountains isn’t easy. Keep it for yourselves and sell it if you need the money.”

Chen Ershu pressed his lips together and didn’t insist.

She carefully wrapped the fabric in several layers and put it in his basket.

The goat had already been unloaded, and Xu Huai’an was in the yard butchering it, with the whole family gathered around to watch.

After seeing Chen Ershu off, Gu Qinghuan joined them.

Xu Huai’an divided the goat into several parts: head and tail, front legs, belly and back, hind legs, and some other sections.

The head and tail have little meat and lots of skin, good for braising, stewing, or making stock.

The front legs include the legs, neck, and shank—these are tougher, with tendons, and are good for braising, stewing, or making into cold dishes.

The belly and back include the spine, ribs, breast, and loin—these are tender, lean, and boneless, suitable for hotpot, roasting, stir-frying, or pan-frying.

The hind legs and shank are meaty and tender, with a bit of fat and some thin tendons—good for roasting, deep-frying, or stir-frying.

There were also the organs, like liver and tripe, which are considered delicacies.

Gu Qinghuan wrote labels for each part so they wouldn’t get mixed up when cooking.

By the time they finished, it was already noon—too late to cook the mutton for lunch, so they’d save it for dinner.

Gu Qinghuan and Zhong Luoning made a big pot of dumplings for lunch. They were so tasty that the kids each ate ten, while Gu Lanting and Xu Huai’an had twenty apiece. Zhong Luoning, Gu Qinghuan, and Ming Ruxue managed thirteen or fourteen each before they were stuffed.

Ji Linhai had already gone home and didn’t eat with them.

After lunch, Gu Qinghuan asked Xu Huai’an to take some tender rib meat to the Ji family, especially for the elders to stir-fry. She also sent Gu Lanting to the neighboring cowshed to give some mutton to Zhong Zijun’s family, and to invite them over for New Year’s Eve dinner.

Today was the 29th; tomorrow would be New Year’s Eve. They’d pretty much finished all the preparations.

That afternoon, Gu Qinghuan led the whole family in cleaning up the house and yard. It wasn’t much—just sweeping up, clearing away cobwebs, and tidying up.

There wasn’t much else to do at home.

The kids were especially enthusiastic, because Gu Qinghuan had promised to teach them how to cut paper window decorations when they finished.

In the countryside, adults were afraid of wasting red paper, so only they did this kind of work—kids were rarely allowed to try. But children are always curious, especially about crafts like this.

The three little ones took charge of cleaning the whole yard.

When they finished, Gu Qinghuan brought out the red paper and taught them how to cut window decorations, even borrowing extra scissors for them.

Zhong Luoning and Ming Ruxue watched curiously—they’d never done this before, being raised as pampered young ladies.

Gu Qinghuan, in her previous life, was a true Northeastern village girl. As a child, she’d watched her grandparents cut window decorations for New Year’s, which they’d sell at the market to buy meat. Cutting paper was a skill ingrained in her DNA—she could do it with her eyes closed.

There are many traditional patterns for New Year’s window decorations: flowers, birds, insects, fish, fruits, folk tales, historical figures, opera masks, and more. For the New Year, the designs are mostly festive and auspicious—like “Spring Blossoms,” “Peace Lock,” “Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate,” “Fortune” characters, “Galloping Horses,” “Family Reunion,” “Abundance Year After Year,” and “Bumper Harvest.”

Gu Qinghuan didn’t even need to sketch first—she just folded the paper, snipped a few times, and a beautiful “Fortune” window decoration appeared.

The others watched in amazement.

“Mama, how did you do that? Teach us!” Beibei tugged at her hand impatiently.

Ming Ruxue excitedly picked up the scissors, thinking it must be easy since Gu Qinghuan made it look so simple.

“Don’t rush. When you’re just starting out, you can’t make big, complicated ones. I’ll teach you some simple ones first—let’s start with flowers. Fold a small piece of red paper, draw half a flower shape on the back, then cut it out. See? Here’s a three-petal flower. You can draw whatever shape you like, even simpler ones.”

“Wow! That looks easy! Let’s try!”

The kids, along with Ming Ruxue and Zhong Luoning, all got into it, even Youran picked up a pen to draw on the paper.

Gu Qinghuan cut large window decorations while guiding them.

At first, their cutouts were all sorts of odd shapes—missing petals or limbs, or just looking off—but soon everyone got the hang of it and improved quickly.

By the end, Ming Ruxue and Zhong Luoning could cut lanterns, fish, and more complex flowers. They couldn’t manage the full-scene compositions Gu Qinghuan could do, but their work was good enough.

The three little ones could cut out stars and simple flowers, which was great too.

Once they’d had enough, Gu Qinghuan left the red paper for them to play with and went to cook dinner with Zhong Luoning.

Xu Huai’an spent the afternoon at the Ji family, chatting with Ji Linhai. No one knew what they talked about, but he came back in high spirits, smiling.

As for Gu Lanting, after delivering the mutton, he stayed at the cowshed to help Zhong Zijun with chores all afternoon.

Even though the New Year was coming, the animals still needed care—cleaning the cowshed, shoveling manure, feeding hay—there was plenty to do, and not a moment’s rest.

Zhong Zijun didn’t want him to work—after all, as his mother, she wanted her son to relax when he visited—but he insisted, so she let him.

Gu Lanting wanted to experience the daily life of his grandparents and mother. Seeing how much dirty, tiring work they did every day made his heart ache.

He’d always known that life in the countryside was hard, but experiencing it firsthand made him realize just how tough it was.

After all, the three of them had once been intellectuals, doing mental work like teaching. Suddenly being sent down here to do so much hard, dirty, exhausting labor every day—he couldn’t imagine how they endured it.

As he worked, Gu Lanting’s tears fell like rain, blurring his vision.

Only after he’d cleaned out all the manure, carried it to the designated spot, and fed the cows did he finally rest.

He told Zhong Zijun, “Mom, before I leave, let me do all the cowshed chores every day! You don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

Zhong Zijun looked at her son with heartache. Cleaning the cowshed was dirty and smelly, and his clothes were covered in manure—her good child now smelled like dung from head to toe.

“Lanting, your grandpa and I can handle this. It’s not a big deal. Don’t get your hands dirty. Look, your nice clothes are all filthy and need washing,” she tried to persuade him.

“Lanting, I appreciate your thoughtfulness, but your mom’s right. We’re used to this. You don’t need to do it,” Zhong Weiqian added.

Normally, Gu Lanting was obedient, but this time he stubbornly shook his head.

“No. I always listen to you, but this time you have to listen to me. Before I leave, let me do my part!”

The three of them looked at Gu Lanting’s reddened eyes and silently agreed.

Zhong Zijun felt both touched and deeply grateful.

Even though she’d missed so many years of her son’s life, he’d still grown into a kind, sensible, filial, and capable young man—not picking up any of his father’s bad habits.

She owed all this to Huanhuan. In the years she’d been absent, Gu Qinghuan had taken on the role of mother, caring for and educating her younger brother so well.

After Gu Yunchuan was brought to justice, Zhong Zijun’s resentment had faded, replaced by gratitude and a determination to make a better life.

—

That evening, Gu Qinghuan prepared a whole table of lamb dishes: cumin lamb, roast ribs, radish and offal soup, braised lamb trotters, spicy tripe, pickled pepper lamb liver, and several vegetable sides.

The family started feasting early for the New Year.

Of course, she couldn’t have made all those dishes alone—Zhong Luoning, Ming Ruxue, and the kids all helped, each doing what they could.

Just as Xu Huai’an and Gu Lanting returned and everyone was about to eat, Xu Mingshan and Xu Huaizhi suddenly arrived.

Since Gu Qinghuan’s return, she hadn’t seen the Xu family—not even to say hello. She didn’t see the need, since they never cared about her family’s well-being anyway.

Xu Mingshan had only heard from others in the village that his second son was back, and apparently cured of his illness. That’s why he brought his eldest son over, ready to “settle accounts.”"