Chapter 103: Regarding Reading
Gu Yu never mentioned the matter of the man in black to Mengyao Gu and her brother.
Bringing it up would only lead to more trouble for two more people.
Based on Gu Yu’s observations since transmigrating here, the Gu family’s current enemies were only those insignificant individuals who couldn’t even warrant carrying a sword.
The man in black must have also realized Mengyao Gu’s secret of innate divine strength, as her twisting of sugarcane in that dilapidated courtyard this afternoon could not be hidden.
Gu Yu had originally thought that his family, situated in such a remote place, would not be bothered by anyone bored enough to peek, but he didn’t expect… that someone had already been watching them.
He was now fortunate that the new house had a tall perimeter wall built, otherwise, Mengyao Gu’s martial arts practice would likely not remain a secret.
Regardless of the man in black’s intentions, the Gu family was no longer meat on a chopping block to be slaughtered at will, so there was no need to tremble in fear.
When the soldiers come, block them; when the water comes, cover it with earth.
He would first finish the tasks at hand. As for the man in black, since he had appeared once, they wouldn’t be afraid of him not appearing next time.
Thinking about these matters, after finishing dinner, Gu Yu accompanied Mengyao Gu for a walk as usual. Upon returning to sleep, they did not feel the usual cold of the night because they were covered by a new cotton quilt.
However, after Mengyao Gu fell asleep, due to habit, she rolled towards Gu Yu with her eyes closed.
Gu Yu, whose body had recovered to normal and had once again become a night owl, directly reached out and hugged his wife. He then found a comfortable position and fell into a deep sleep after a while.
As faint silver light shone through the window, illuminating everything in the room blurrily, the figures of the two embracing each other seemed sweet, as if continuously emitting red hearts all around.
The night was still long…
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
During this time, no further trouble occurred, except for Mengyao Gu occasionally asking Auntie Wang Er about her cooking doubts. Life was so peaceful that Gu Yu felt very comfortable!
It was precisely this kind of peaceful life that made one feel relaxed in body and mind, rather than the constant chaos that made it impossible to even quiet one’s ears.
Since Old Man Yang had brought out the Deed of Severance, the Old Yang family had not appeared before Gu Yu. Yan Min came once in the interim, shyly asking Gu Yu for pears again.
This was because after Yan Min’s wife ate the pears given by Gu Yu, she recovered very quickly, which made Yan Min overjoyed. He went to town and bought a basket of pears.
However, these pears had no effect, and instead, Chen Chunhua’s condition worsened again.
This made Yan Min anxious like an ant on a hot pan. He had finally seen hope for recovery, only to be disappointed again. Yan Min could not accept such an outcome!
Therefore, in his desperation, Yan Min remembered that the initial pears were given by the Gu family. Thinking that perhaps the Gu family was blessed by heaven, he came to their door to ask for pears.
However, Yan Min did not take them for free. He also brought silver and some chickens, ducks, and fish in exchange.
Gu Yu naturally would not refuse.
He would not do things that were thankless.
Once was a favor, but based on the situation, it was clear there would be many more times like this. Nobody’s silver was blown in by the wind, and they couldn’t just push things away for the sake of face.
Moreover, the pears he gave were soaked in Space Spring Water, making them unique.
They could even cure illnesses…
Although Yan Min had a good relationship with Mengyao Gu and her brother, Gu Yu still remembered… that Yan Min was the one who led the robbery against him.
However, the effect of the recovered fountain was quite good. Although it couldn’t immediately heal wounds, with continuous treatment, some illnesses could be suppressed or even cured directly.
Perhaps, it would be useful in the future.
After sending off Yan Min, who was holding a basket of pears, Gu Yu went to the place where the syrup and earthenware basins were kept. He wished time would pass faster so he could proceed to the next step of refining white sugar.
Now, after finally waiting for two days to pass, even Gu Qingheng no longer ran to the village to listen to gossip. Instead, he quietly stayed at home, preparing to see what Gu Yu would do next.
Mengyao Gu, on the other hand, was not curious about this. She stayed alone in the room, enduring the pain of her fingers being pricked by needles, secretly practicing needlework.
When Gu Yu took out the earthenware basin, he discovered that the straw at the outlet beneath the basin had already become a clump of crystallized sugar.
This was a good sign!
Gu Yu was pleased. He then carefully covered the syrup in the basin with yellow mud and placed the basin on a wooden shelf suspended in mid-air. A wooden basin was placed below to catch the muddy water dripping from the basin.
In essence, as the yellow mud water came into contact with the syrup, it absorbed various colored substances and slowly sank to the bottom of the basin.
At this point, after pulling out the straw stuffed into the mouth of the basin, the mud would gradually drip into the wooden basin along with the syrup.
Then, after waiting for some time, the decolorization would be completed!
While waiting for the long period of time, Gu Yu did not intend to waste it all. Although he had not yet taught the lightness skill secret manual to Mengyao Gu, he could have Mengyao Gu learn to write first.
Gu Yu did not expect his wife to become a top scholar in the imperial examinations. However, recognizing some characters was still very necessary!
The secret manuals produced by the space were composed of characters and pictures. If Mengyao Gu could not read, it would be too inconvenient.
Moreover, it was the right time to study and learn to write now.
Since discovering the presence of the man in black near his home, Gu Yu felt that he could no longer expose information. Having Mengyao Gu practice lightness skill in the courtyard now would definitely be discovered by the man in black.
Until the new house was completed, the existence of martial arts secret manuals could not be exposed. Furthermore, Gu Yu’s space could not be used casually just because there was no one around… because anyone might be peeping in secret.
The man in black had only recently appeared, so he had not discovered Gu Yu’s space. Otherwise, Gu Yu felt his home would not be as quiet as it was now.
After all, if the super cheat of the space was exposed, powerful figures from all sides would flock to him, and it was even possible for wars to erupt directly because of him.
Thinking this, Gu Yu felt that he was more sought-after than those imperial consorts who brought ruin to the country…
Cough, cough, let’s get back to thinking about Mengyao Gu’s studies! After thinking about having Mengyao Gu study and write, the teacher who would teach her had already been chosen.
It was none other than Gu Qingheng, his cheap younger brother-in-law.
“What! Brother-in-law, you want me to teach my sister to read? That’s absolutely impossible! My sister detests reading!”
“How do you know if you don’t try?”
“My sister’s first hatred is for needlework, and her second is for reading! When my mother was still alive, she made my sister practice needlework. Because her fingers were always pricked by needles, my sister got so angry that she crumpled all the needles into a ball. As for reading… I thought about having my sister recognize a few more characters, but she even burned several books. Even though I let my father beat her a few times, it didn’t help.”
“…”
Hearing about Mengyao Gu’s past, Gu Yu was quite surprised.
Especially the words that came out of Gu Qingheng’s mouth, which made it impossible for Gu Yu to connect them with the current Mengyao Gu… Ever since he transmigrated here, Mengyao Gu had always been obedient and well-behaved. He never expected her to be so mischievous before!
However, despite this, Gu Yu felt that he should still try.
What if it worked!
“How about this! After you go into the room later, don’t tell your sister directly. Just hint at it indirectly… say that your brother-in-law likes women who read, and thinks such women are very excellent, or something like that. Just make up a reason.”
“Even if Brother-in-law says that, I still think it’s unlikely.”
“Want to bet?”
“No way. I have a premonition that the outcome will be very bad!”
After a few words with Gu Qingheng, Gu Yu personally saw him scurry into the house, while he himself was guessing the final outcome.
Although Gu Yu appeared confident when speaking with Gu Qingheng, upon thinking that… Mengyao Gu hated needlework and reading the most, his heart began to falter.
Now, he could only pray that Mengyao Gu would not refuse, otherwise, he would have to find another way… No matter what, Mengyao Gu had to learn to recognize characters.
Gu Qingheng came out of the house without making Gu Yu wait too long.
However, the expression on his face was very subtle…
After quickly running to Gu Yu, Gu Qingheng did not speak directly. Instead, he put his hands behind his back and walked around Gu Yu a few times, clicking his tongue and shaking his head, looking incredibly annoying.
Gu Yu thought this and also reached out to grab his somewhat unusual younger brother-in-law. He tapped him on the head twice before asking Gu Qingheng to tell him what happened after entering the room.
“Brother-in-law! I’ve discovered a very serious matter. From now on, I need to treat you better! Someday, when my sister and I argue, if you step in to break it up, you’ll definitely be useful!”
“What happened?”
“As soon as I entered the room and mentioned it, my sister got furious. She even flipped over the basket of needles and thread hidden behind her… Then she dragged me to go read. After much persuasion, I managed to escape from the room.”
“…”
There was a lot of hidden information in Gu Qingheng’s words.
His wife actually liked him so much that not only did she readily agree to learning to read, but she was also secretly practicing needlework.
Gu Yu was stunned for a moment, and then a wave of joy surged through him. The proud smile on his face made Gu Qingheng beside him feel incredibly jealous!
They were bullying him!
They were practically inseparable, embracing each other all day long, where did that leave him, their young brother?
Truly, having found a husband, she forgot her brother…
“Haha, Qingheng, you’ve made a great contribution. Whatever you want, brother-in-law will buy it for you when we go to town later.”
“Really?”
“Of course, it’s true.”
“I want candied hawthorn, meat buns, a kite…”
Gu Qingheng’s jealousy had just surfaced, and before it could spread, he heard Gu Yu’s subsequent words.
The clouds instantly cleared away, making Gu Qingheng feel that… his brother-in-law was truly wonderful!
It was incredibly lucky for his sister to marry her brother-in-law!!!
