Chapter 100: A Miscalculation
After purchasing all the raw materials and tools for sugar making in town, Gu Yu immediately set off for home.
As soon as he put the items in the backyard, Gu Qingheng came over to join the fun. Gu Yu grabbed him and together they spent half a day digging for yellow mud.
Once both of them were covered in mud, they successfully brought back a pile of yellow mud. Then, Gu Yu began to try the ‘yellow mud water decolorization method’ in ancient times, wondering if it would be successful.
To say this method was difficult would be an exaggeration, but it wasn’t so easy to achieve success.
The difficulty lay mainly in the fact that Gu Yu’s understanding of this decolorization method was only conceptual; he had never operated it himself.
The simplicity of it was that this set of methods did not require modern high-tech tools as assistance. The process was just a bit more troublesome, but it could turn brown sugar into white sugar.
However, if Gu Yu hadn’t known about it in advance… even if he were beaten to death, he wouldn’t have believed that yellow mud water could have such efficacy.
After preparing all the tools and just as he was about to start, Gu Yu suddenly discovered a very serious problem.
How to extract the sugarcane juice?
In modern times, it would be directly processed by machines, which is convenient, fast, simple, and effortless.
Even in ancient times, if there were strong adults in the family, it would only be a bit more arduous… However, now there were only three small children in the Gu family.
Gu Mengyao’s secret of innate divine strength was not within consideration.
If he spent money to hire help, Gu Yu worried that the sugar-making method would be leaked… It made him vexed no matter how he thought about it!
“Brother-in-law, why aren’t you starting? Didn’t you say you wanted to make white sugar? I’m waiting to see!”
“I’ve encountered a problem.”
“A problem?”
“I didn’t consider it in advance… how to extract the sugarcane juice, and I didn’t buy a mortar and pestle to squeeze the sugarcane juice.”
As Gu Yu scratched his head, feeling that he had really miscalculated this time, Gu Qingheng, who was standing beside him, curiously asked.
Gu Qingheng didn’t know what his brother-in-law was up to at first, but when he heard that he was going to make white sugar, his curiosity surged.
At this point, he stopped inquiring about the village’s gossip and followed Gu Yu like a little follower, wanting to see what white sugar looked like with his own eyes.
Even when he was asked to help dig mud earlier, Gu Qingheng had dug with great enthusiasm!
However, hearing Gu Yu say this now, it was clear that the sugar-making operation had reached a stalemate.
But upon hearing that the reason was the inability to squeeze the juice from the sugarcane, Gu Qingheng’s eyes rolled, and he immediately had an idea. He didn’t say anything more, but turned directly and ran into the thatched cottage.
Gu Yu was left alone, continuing to ponder what to do next.
“Sister, brother-in-law has encountered a huge problem!”
“What is it? Tell me.”
After entering the house, Gu Qingheng went directly to where his sister and Gu Yu were living. His hurried appearance made his slightly red little face look particularly cute.
Upon seeing her younger brother suddenly appear, Gu Mengyao pretended to casually move the needlework basket containing her needle and thread behind her while speaking, trying to prevent her brother from discovering that she was secretly learning needlework.
It was fine for Gu Mengyao to compete with wild beasts in the mountains.
But when it came to needlework, even her younger brother Gu Qingheng was more skillful with needles and thread than she was.
Such a thing was a great humiliation for any woman!
Therefore, as she had nothing to do, Gu Mengyao planned to try a few more times in secret, and she would eventually master needlework.
Gu Mengyao knew her own limits when it came to using needles and thread to embroider, so she no longer held out hope. She just hoped that when she sewed clothes, the stitches wouldn’t be crooked and look like spider tracks.
Otherwise, Gu Yu’s clothes would be ridiculed by others in the future…
“Brother-in-law wants to make white sugar himself, but he’s currently worried because he can’t squeeze the sugarcane juice! I can’t bear to watch from the side. Brother-in-law is such a handsome person, and he looks so distressed squatting on the ground, it really makes one’s heart ache!”
“Hmph, even if you say that, do you think I’ll believe you? When have you not exaggerated things on purpose, only for it to turn out to be a small matter?”
“This time it’s true! I swear on my hand!”
“I don’t believe you.”
After hearing the reason from Gu Qingheng, Gu Mengyao didn’t show any other reaction. She just had a helpless expression on her face, wondering if her brother was exaggerating things again.
Gu Qingheng didn’t like to exaggerate everything, but when it came to things he cared about, he became a bit unreasonable, which sometimes made Gu Mengyao unsure of how to deal with him.
However, although Gu Mengyao said she didn’t believe him, after hiding the needlework basket behind her, she still followed Gu Qingheng and walked towards Gu Yu, preparing to see the situation.
As Gu Mengyao walked out of the house, she was prepared to have her secret exposed.
Although her father had told her… not to easily reveal the secret of her innate divine strength, Gu Yu was not an outsider. He was the man she would spend her life with.
Moreover, with Gu Yu’s intelligence, Gu Mengyao believed that he would discover her secret sooner or later.
Therefore, it would be better to admit it openly now, which could both solve Gu Yu’s current problem and reveal the matter of her divine strength to him.
Gu Mengyao had never considered telling Gu Yu this secret before, so she concealed it with a clear conscience. But now, as their relationship grew closer, she felt that continuing to hide it was too unbearable!
Gu Mengyao didn’t care about Gu Yu’s secrets.
She just didn’t want to hide hers anymore.
“A’yu, I heard Qingheng say… you’ve encountered some trouble?”
“It’s no big trouble, don’t listen to that kid’s nonsense.”
“Brother-in-law, why are you calling me a liar! Sister, if you don’t believe me, ask Xiaobai. Didn’t brother-in-law just pull at his hair in frustration? It’s not good to become bald at such a young age.”
“Squeak squeak”
After a period of getting along, the fox, whom Gu Qingheng had named Xiaobai, had clearly recognized the reality. Although it didn’t expect to always be by Gu Mengyao’s side to please her, it was a compromise to be with Gu Mengyao’s brother.
Anyone was fine except for that petty Gu Yu!
Therefore, seeing an opportunity for Gu Yu to be embarrassed, it naturally nodded its little head like a rattle drum, continuously.
Its clever appearance surprised all three people present, making them wonder if this fox had become a spirit, as it could understand human speech.
“It’s actually nothing major. It’s just that I can’t extract the juice from the sugarcane. When I asked passing merchants in town about sugar-making methods, they didn’t explain it in much detail. It was only when I tried to figure it out myself that I realized the difficulty. Fortunately, I didn’t buy too many things, or I would have lost a lot of money.”
Seeing that he couldn’t hide the matter of extracting sugarcane juice any longer, Gu Yu could only tell the truth at this moment.
Although he encountered some difficulties, it was not a big problem, and he could solve it.
It would just take more time.
However, when it came to the sugar-making method, Gu Yu, in a moment of inspiration, used the excuse of passing merchants. By explaining the origin of the sugar-making method now, it would save Gu Mengyao and her brother from suspicion in the future.
Gu Yu was not his original self now, so he had to be cautious and hidden. Although Gu Mengyao and her brother had a good relationship with him now, ancient people were still very afraid of ghosts and spirits.
This was a common problem in feudal ancient times, and even in modern times, many people believed in such things.
Therefore, if he could hide it, he would. He would try to find reasons in advance and not expose himself.
However, since the sugar-making method could use passing merchants as an excuse, then what about that lightness skill manual…
“It’s okay! A’yu, we know you want to earn more money for this family. Since that’s the case, we can’t just stand by and watch. Squeezing the juice from the sugarcane is such a small matter, I can help you.”
“I really didn’t…”
Before Gu Yu could finish speaking, he saw Gu Mengyao walk directly to where the sugarcane was placed. She then rolled up her sleeves, picked up a sugarcane, and squatted in front of the earthen jar prepared to hold the juice. With a bit of force from her hands, the sugarcane, as thick as her fist, was easily twisted into a spiral like straw.
Gu Yu:……
Although he had suspected Gu Mengyao’s divine strength, seeing this scene with his own eyes still made Gu Yu’s eyes widen in shock, unable to believe it.
Even though sugarcane was not a hard object, such a thick piece of sugarcane, with its skin still on, was directly twisted into a spiral by Gu Mengyao…
Gu Qingheng, standing beside them, immediately smiled proudly, his eyes curved like a sly little cat.
His sister had finally taken this step, it was not easy!
Brother-in-law is such a good person. If his sister remained hesitant, when brother-in-law runs away later, she would surely regret it and cry herself to sleep every night!
However, Gu Qingheng had a strong intuition that his brother-in-law would not be able to escape successfully.
Although his sister looked ordinary, she was also very domineering… Gu Qingheng immediately remembered that when he was curious about some gossip and fearlessly mingled with the local thugs, and was bullied, his sister arrived and kicked them away one by one, completely dealing with them.
At that time, standing against the setting sun, Gu Mengyao’s back in front of him was very tall. Especially her words, “You can’t bully my brother,” were as pleasing as the sound of nature, making Gu Qingheng almost cry with emotion at that moment.
Although, Gu Qingheng was beaten when he went home later.
Gu Mengyao grabbed his ears and told him not to associate with those ruffians and scoundrels anymore. If he turned out like them in the future, she wouldn’t show any mercy.
Thinking about it now, his ears still hurt!!!
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