Chapter 144: Joyful Celebration of the Festival

Gu Chengyi had only eaten a single dumpling before his mother slapped his hand away. Swallowing that lone dumpling only served to stir up his cravings. He stared at the plate of dumplings, swallowing hard as his mouth watered. "I must say, Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law really something. Since they went to all the trouble of making dumplings, they should have invited all of us over to eat. Or at least sent over a larger portion. With just this tiny bit, who is it even supposed to feed?"

Madam Xu was equally tormented by the sight of the dumplings. Hearing her husband's complaint, she chimed in repeatedly. "Isn't that the truth? They won't let their own flesh and blood eat, yet they invite a whole crowd of outsiders. How can anyone be so neglectful of their own family? Father, Mother, you really ought to put a stop to this. Second Brother's family has completely turned their elbows outward lately. They don't care about us at all."

Gu Chengxin and Madam Xu's words made Madam Li's expression turn rather ugly, yet she could not vent her frustration. After all, Gu Chengyong's family had been cooking separately for quite some time now, and whenever they had anything good to eat, they always sent a share over, leaving absolutely no room for criticism.

"Shut your mouths! What are you blabbering on about? When has your second brother ever failed to send good food over here? Have we ever sent anything to them? The grain your second brother's family eats doesn't even come from our household, so what are you still whining about?" Old Master Gu snapped from his seat, displeased by their unseemly behavior, and rebuked his son and daughter-in-law.

Gu Chengxin and Madam Xu were clearly unconvinced, but lacking any retort, they could only sit there muttering disgruntled sounds under their breath while keeping their eyes glued to the remaining dumplings.

Madam Li glanced at the table, where three plates of dumplings still remained. She left one plate for the old master and pushed the remaining two forward—one toward Wenjing and Wen'an. "You two are young, eat more. These dumplings are delicious." As for the other plate, Madam Li hesitated briefly before sliding it in front of Wensheng and his two brothers. "There, the three of you eat as well." After all, they were grandsons of the Old Gu family; she could not show blatant favoritism too openly.

As for Wenfang and her three sisters over on the side, they could only watch with yearning eyes. "Little girls don't need fine food. As long as you don't starve, that's quite enough." Madam Li glared at the girls, then commanded, "Hurry up and eat."

Madam Zhao reached out and pulled Wenxi into her arms. "Four, be a good girl. We aren't greedy. Mother will make some for you to eat later." Seeing Wenxi constantly staring at Wenjing and Wen'an eating their dumplings, Madam Zhao felt a pang of heartache and could only comfort her this way. Madam Li had kept an iron grip on the family's provisions for more than a day or two, and kicking up a fuss over a few dumplings simply wasn't worth the trouble. Though deeply aggrieved inside, Madam Zhao had no choice but to coax Wenxi like this.

Wensheng and Wenjie each tasted only a single dumpling before placing the rest back before their parents. Gu Chengzhong and Madam Wu waved their hands, gesturing for their sons to eat up quickly. A single plate of dumplings meant very little to growing adolescent boys; once Wenjing and Wen'an finished their plate, there was a good chance they would come over to grab more. "Wensheng, you work hard and get tired, eat quickly. Your mother and I are adults; we aren't craving anything," Madam Wu said with a gentle smile.

Wensheng and Wenjie each ate one more, and then Wensheng quietly hid a dumpling inside his sleeve, slipping it into Wenfei's hand while everyone else was distracted. "Don't make a sound. Give it to Wenxi."

Startled, Wenfei accepted the dumpling and then quietly passed two dumplings each to Wenying and Wenxi. "Keep quiet and eat quickly."

Wenying and Wenxi clutched the dumplings in their hands, lowered their heads, and finished them in a few bites. Sitting right beside her daughters, how could Madam Zhao have missed it? A sharp ache pierced her heart, and right then, she silently swore that once the family split up, she would definitely let her children eat their fill of dumplings.

While the household over here ate in quiet gloom, things were entirely different in the West Courtyard. Gu Chengyong and his family were gathered together, happily enjoying their dumplings. Gu Chengyong's family didn't quite have enough plates, having already sent four of them over to the East Courtyard. After fishing out a single pot of dumplings, they ran out of vessels to hold them.

Madam Su came up with a solution on the spot, simply scooping the dumplings directly onto a woven wicker drying mat so everyone could just pick at them casually. The mat, woven from sorghum stalks, allowed water to drain through and worked surprisingly well for holding dumplings. Without standing on ceremony, everyone simply picked up dumplings straight from the mat to eat.

"I have to admit, these mustard green sprout dumplings are wonderfully fresh, even tastier than celery ones," Miao Suwen praised between bites. "When Jiaoniang first suggested it, I didn't believe her. I never expected them to be this good. Jiaoniang, who did you hear this from?"

"Sister Tao, back then their family grew plenty of mustard greens. I asked her why she grew so many, and she told me that mustard green sprouts can be pickled in brine, dried to make small tofu stuffing, or wrapped into fresh dumplings. Well, Master, are they delicious or not?" Jiaoniang asked with a triumphant air. In truth, it was simply because her family frequently ate them this way in her past life.

"Mmm, they are delicious. I'll make another batch someday, and everyone must come over to my place to eat," Miao Suwen nodded. The flavor of these dumplings was truly exquisite; after eating them once, she already looked forward to the next time.

The dumplings were flavorful and fresh, and with a large group of people gathered, the meal felt exceptionally lively and appetizing. Everyone ate a hearty portion, leaving only two or three plates' worth by the end.

Axi and the others were thoroughly stuffed, contentedly rubbing their bellies. "It's been quite a while since I've had dumplings this good. Back in the south, Auntie was always the one in charge of mixing the fillings," Alu suddenly recalled the past.

Hearing this, Gu Chengyong's smile faded slightly. "Let's not dwell on the past. As long as we all work hard, we'll be eating dumplings often in the future. Whenever we make good food at home, we'll call you over."

Both Axi and Alu nodded in agreement. "Right, Uncle is right. We'll work hard, and there will be plenty of chances to eat dumplings in the future. Who knows, maybe one day we won't even find them a novelty anymore."

"The two of you aren't young anymore; it's about time you settled down and started families. If there's someone suitable, just tell your aunt and let her help arrange things. Get yourselves settled down, and your aunt and I will be genuinely happy for you," Gu Chengyong said, suddenly struck by the thought.

Axi scratched his head and smiled. "Uncle, what's the rush? We need to save up some money first. As things are now, without a single room to our name or an inch of land to farm, which family's daughter would be willing to follow us?" As he spoke, Axi's gaze drifted toward Ruyun.

Ruyun, over on the other side, clearly felt Axi's gaze upon her. She lowered her head instantly, her cheeks flushing pink.

Both Madam Su and Miao Suwen caught the interaction. The two women exchanged a knowing smile; it seemed good news was not far off. Axi and Ruyun had grown up together in the Gu household and had always shared a fond bond. Now that they were growing older, developing romantic feelings was entirely natural.

The main obstacle at present was that neither young man had a place of his own, making marriage somewhat impractical for the moment. Fortunately, Ruyun was still quite young, so waiting a year or two was entirely feasible.

"What's there to fear? With the way you work and earn money, within two years you'll be able to build a house and buy land. When that time comes, Uncle will handle the arrangements and make sure you march your bride home in grand style," Gu Chengyong said with a chuckle, having also caught wind of the underlying current.

Though Axi felt a bit bashful, his heart swelled with joy, and his gaze kept wandering back toward Ruyun. Meanwhile, Alu's eyes were constantly drifting toward Ruyue; he had set his sights on her long ago but had never dared to speak up.

After finishing supper, the women cleared away the tables while the men sat together for a chat. Shortly after, Miao Suwen announced she needed to head back. After all, this was the Gu household, and the other side locked their gates very early every evening; she didn't want to disrupt anyone's normal routine.

Gu Chengyong and Madam Su didn't press them to stay, merely inviting them to come back for another meal whenever they had time, and escorted them out of the Gu family compound. Once Miao Suwen and her companions had walked far enough away, Gu Chengyong closed the main gate, secured it with the wooden bar, and led his wife and children back inside to rest.

Madam Su brought out the two remaining plates of dumplings from the kitchen. "Wensheng, take this plate over to your eldest uncle's house. Jiaoniang, take this plate to your third aunt's house. They surely didn't get to eat any of the dumplings sent over tonight, so let them have a taste of these." These were the two heaping plates, the very last of the dumplings left over.

Carrying their respective plates under the cover of night, Wensheng and Jiaoniang delivered them. Both Gu Chengzhong and Gu Chengyi's households felt rather awkward accepting the food, with Madam Zhao feeling particularly embarrassed. "Jiao'er, making dumplings isn't easy for your family. You already sent several plates over earlier, and now you're sending more—this is far too much trouble. You should keep them to eat yourselves; we already ate earlier."

Knowing full well that Madam Zhao was merely trying to be polite, Jiaoniang chose not to expose her. Instead, she smiled and said, "Third Aunt, how could that little bit of dumplings possibly be enough for the sisters? At best, each of them probably got one. Save these for Wenfang and the others to eat tomorrow morning; it's fine, we still have more at home."

Helpless, Madam Zhao accepted the dumplings and made Jiaoniang sit with her for a while longer. Realizing the hour was getting late and feeling a drowsiness creeping over her, Jiaoniang said her goodbyes and headed back to the rear courtyard. Wenfei walked her out and took the opportunity to tell Jiaoniang all about Gu Chengxin and his wife's remarks during dinner at the East Courtyard.

Upon hearing the story, Jiaoniang let out a cold huff. "With people like that, if it were up to me, I wouldn't give them a single bite. You give them good food, and they still find a way to be ungrateful. You'd be better off feeding it to stray dogs than giving it to them."

Wenfei burst out laughing. Jiaoniang's temper matched hers to a T, which was why despite their age difference, the two girls got along exceptionally well.

"Isn't that the truth? All day long they act like rabid dogs, snapping at people the moment they open their mouths—never saying a civilized word. They are driving me crazy. I'm just praying for the family to split up. Once we divide the household, we can set up our own separate entrance over here, and we'll rarely even have to lay eyes on them. Wouldn't that be wonderful? If our family prospers in the future, I'm going to make my parents build a brand new house as far away from those people as possible. Who cares about them anyway? Just looking at them turns my stomach."

Jiaoniang chuckled at Wenfei's colorful rant. "Right? That's exactly what I'm planning too, just to spare ourselves the endless earful of their street-brawling curses."