GBP Chapter 119 Zhangxiang
Chapter 119 Zhangxiang
Stir-fried minced pork with pickled green beans, fried cucumber with perilla leaves, and a pot of yam and pork rib soup. These are all Hunan home-style dishes, and the aroma of spiciness wafts from the kitchen all the way to the living room.
After the family finished dinner, Su Peixue said she wanted to sleep at the small supermarket. Xu Wanru said she would sleep at home, as the supermarket had already hired staff and she didn't need to sleep there anymore.
Su Peixue still missed that small room a little, but Xu Wanru insisted that she sleep at home, so she obediently nodded. The house had three bedrooms, and Xu Wanru and Lin Yuefeng slept in the large bedroom.
"Lin Ran, go and tidy up the guest room," Xu Wanru said.
"Okay. I'll go get Su Peixue's blanket."
"Just take your own blanket. You can sleep in the guest room, and Xuexue can sleep in the second bedroom."
Lin Ran was speechless. Who is the real son, anyway?
After Lin Yuefeng and Xu Wanru entered the room, Su Peixue poked half her head out of the second bedroom and waved to Lin Ran, who was making up the guest room in the living room.
Lin Ran walked over, and she rubbed her face against his chest, making her hair static. "Want to sleep in the spare bedroom with me?" Lin Ran pressed her head back into the door frame. She suddenly felt like her status in the family had dropped a notch.
Xu Wanru suddenly peeked out of the bedroom and said to the living room, "Go to bed early tonight. We're going to visit relatives at Grandpa's house tomorrow. Young people should also be moderate." After saying that, she went back inside and closed the door tightly.
Su Peixue pursed her cherry lips and looked up at Lin Ran. "Zookeeper. Auntie seems to have misunderstood. She thinks you've already slept with me."
Lin Ran almost spat out her water. Su Peixue, without changing her expression, added, "And it's every day... um." Lin Ran quickly covered her mouth. What kind of lewd words were those? This girl had no sense of propriety; she was downright vulgar and obscene.
The next morning, Lin Yuefeng drove, Lin Ran sat in the passenger seat, and Xu Wanru and Su Peixue sat in the back. The car drove from the county town to the countryside. On both sides of the road were winter rice paddies, with rice stubble still in the fields, and occasionally one or two leafless chinaberry trees on the ridges.
Xu Wanru and Su Peixue were whispering in the back row. Lin Ran glanced at them several times through the rearview mirror and each time saw Su Peixue turn her head to smile slightly at Xu Wanru, her eyes crinkling with laughter. In that sweet and innocent smile, there was clearly a hint of slyness after getting her way.
Lin Ran became increasingly curious as he looked at the screen. While Xu Wanru was looking down at her phone, he secretly sent a WeChat message to Su Peixue.
"What are you and your mom talking about?"
Su Peixue glanced down at her phone, then looked up at Lin Ran's eyes in the rearview mirror, and typed a message on the screen. Lin Ran's phone vibrated—"Let's talk about dirty things."
Lin Ran stared at the screen for two seconds. He then sent another message: "What are you guys talking about?"
Su Peixue replied quickly: "Auntie said if Xuexue thinks you're not good enough, she can bring you garlic oysters, grilled lamb kidneys, and grilled chives from the barbecue restaurant near home." She followed it with a cat emoji covering its mouth and laughing.
Lin Ran angrily typed: "Who said I can't do it!"
Su Peixue replied, "Zookeeper, you can't judge a book by its cover; you'll only know once you've actually been with Xuexue."
Lin Ran flipped her phone screen down, staring at the road ahead, no longer glancing in the rearview mirror. The girl's words were becoming increasingly explicit.
We arrived at Grandpa's house around noon. It's a small county town in southern Hunan, with the village nestled in a mountain valley. Even in winter, the mountains are still green, though the green is a bit dull.
Grandpa Lin and Grandma Lin stood waiting at the gate of the courtyard. Both were in their fifties and looked very energetic. Grandpa Lin was wearing an old cotton-padded jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and he was holding a hoe. Grandma Lin's apron was covered in flour, and she went to greet the car as soon as it stopped.
"The college student is back!" Grandpa Lin patted Lin Ran on the shoulder, then his eyes lit up when he saw Su Peixue getting out of the back seat. "Such a beautiful girl, is she Xiao Ran's girlfriend?"
Before Lin Ran could reply, Xu Wanru elbowed him in the lower back. He smiled and nodded. Grandma Lin was already holding Su Peixue's hand tightly, looking her up and down with increasing satisfaction. "Grandson and granddaughter-in-law!" Su Peixue, being held by the hand, obediently called out "Grandpa and Grandma." Xu Wanru and Su Peixue exchanged a quick glance, confirming the relationship between the two.
Grandpa Lin was busy in the vegetable garden behind the house. In winter, the garden was planted with cabbage, radishes, garland chrysanthemum, and garlic sprouts. The cabbages had already curled their heads, and the radishes were sprouting half-white roots from the soil. Grandpa Lin was squatting in the field pulling up radishes. He pulled one out, shook off the dirt, and threw it into the bamboo basket beside him. Lin Ran took off her coat and squatted down to help him pull them up.
"Have your father come. You go and rest." Old Master Lin gestured towards the courtyard with his chin. "Go chat with your aunt for a while. She's heartbroken again."
Lin Ran remained silent. His aunt, Lin Yuehua, was only five years older than him, twenty-five this year. As for her heartbreak, why say "again"? — Because she was either heartbroken or on her way to heartbreak. Every time she seemed deeply hurt, crying her eyes out, she could start a new relationship in three days. He piled the radishes he had pulled out into the bamboo basket. "My dad went fishing at the pond in the mountains."
Lin Ran stood up and dusted off her hands. Grandma was cooking in the kitchen. Xu Wanru went in to help, but Grandma shooed her out with a spatula. "Daughter-in-law, don't mess around. Don't poison my grandson and granddaughter-in-law while you're cooking!" Previously, Xu Wanru had overcooked green beans, causing Lin Ran to vomit and have diarrhea—an incident permanently recorded in the Lin family archives. Xu Wanru claimed her cooking skills had improved significantly over the years and she wouldn't get food poisoning anymore. "Eldest daughter-in-law, go and rest!" Grandma Lin blocked the kitchen door tightly.
Xu Wanru turned around and pushed Su Peixue into the kitchen. "Your daughter-in-law can't cook, but my daughter-in-law can!" Su Peixue was pushed into the kitchen, rolled up her sleeves, and started helping out. Grandma Lin watched her chop radishes, the knife moving quickly and evenly, the blade making a clattering sound on the cutting board. She couldn't help but take a second look—this girl was so pretty and so skillful. Her impression of Su Peixue improved even more.
The food was almost ready, and Su Peixue wanted to use the restroom. She went to the bathroom door on the first floor and pushed it, but the door was locked. Lin Yuehua's voice came from inside: "Someone's here!" Lin Ran happened to come over to get the bowls and chopsticks. "Go upstairs, your aunt is probably in there playing on her phone while on the toilet." Su Peixue turned around and went upstairs.
Lin Ran set out the bowls and chopsticks on the first floor. The bathroom door opened, and Lin Yuehua came out, wearing a pink sweatshirt and her hair was messy and tied in a bun.
She walked up to Lin Ran with a pout and grabbed his arm. "My dear nephew, your aunt has broken up with her boyfriend again." Her tone was full of self-righteous grievance, as if the whole world should make way for her love life.