The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

It wasn’t that the elder branch refused to care for the parents. Their own house was large, but the old family home was so dilapidated it would need a complete overhaul before anyone could move in.

So they decided that whichever branch wanted the house would also have to care for the parents, while the other branch would move out.

The elder branch was the one to propose splitting the family, and they let the younger branch choose first.

The younger branch immediately chose the house.

Building a new house these days cost several hundred yuan. Even though the Sun family home was old, it was still worth a hundred or two. And how much grain could two old people possibly eat?

Besides, the grain was all grown on their own land. Mrs. Sun couldn’t pass up a deal like that.

Father Sun saw his wife choose the house but said nothing.

Seeing their attitude, the elder branch didn’t argue. They had the village chief and the brigade leader draw up the official papers. Five copies were made, each was marked with a fingerprint, and all the terms were written out in black and white.

Each family got a copy, the brigade leader got one, the village chief got one, and one was kept for the village records.

And just like that, the Sun family split. But in the process, Sun Yeshu’s reputation was utterly ruined.

Gu Jiaojiao was at home under the grapevines, sipping cool tea, eating snacks, and watching Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang do their homework.

Life couldn’t be more pleasant.

Little did she know that by simply staying home and minding her own business, she had somehow caused the Sun family to split.

Gu Jiaojiao was easy on herself. If she didn’t feel like doing farm work, she just wouldn’t. She extended the same courtesy to the two children—if they didn’t want to go, they didn’t have to.

She believed that life wasn’t about enduring unnecessary hardship. If you could feed yourself, there was no absolute need to break your back in the fields. As long as the children understood the difficulty of growing food and learned not to be wasteful, that was enough.

Gu Jiaojiao’s attitude had rubbed off on Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang.

After gathering pig feed, they would come home and immediately start their homework.

Gu Jiaojiao let the two children be and popped a few grapes into her mouth. She had watered this vine herself, and they tasted exceptionally sweet.

After finishing the grapes, she leaned back in her rocking chair. Sunlight streamed through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

The dappled light fell across Gu Jiaojiao’s dress, looking like a printed floral pattern.

While doing her homework, Sweet Girl glanced up and saw Gu Jiaojiao sleeping in her rocking chair under the parasol tree, in front of the grape trellis. The dappled light fell upon her, making her look as beautiful as a rare treasure.

Before she knew it, Sweet Girl was staring, completely mesmerized.

’Sister Gu was truly the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen—an ethereal beauty that seemed untouched by the mortal world, yet was so vividly real.’

’Her ideas are always so different from everyone else’s. She can look at things from another angle and give people hope.’

When Leng Yuan pushed the door open and walked in, his gaze fell upon this scene, and his eyes deepened for a moment.

His gaze landed on Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang. He spoke slowly, ”Da Hu and Er Hu sent me to ask if you two want to go pick wild fruit in the mountains.”

Upon hearing this, Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang immediately grabbed their back-baskets and slipped out the door.

Gu Jiaojiao loved the wild fruit from the mountains, especially the sweet-and-tart wild strawberries and lantern fruit. They decided they would pick plenty to bring back for Sister Gu.

After the two children had left, Leng Yuan took a stool and sat down beside Gu Jiaojiao.

He watched his wife sleeping soundly. Her face was flushed, and a light sheen of sweat had formed on her nose. Leng Yuan used a handkerchief to gently wipe it away, then picked up a woven fan and began to fan her.

Gu Jiaojiao slept blissfully.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Leng Yuan beside her, fanning her. ’No wonder I slept so well,’ Gu Jiaojiao thought to herself. ’I had my own personal human-powered fan!’

’Speaking of which, the hydroelectric generator on the back mountain works until the river freezes over. The busy farming season will be over in just a few days. When it is, I’ll buy some electrical wire and run a line to our house.’

’That way, we’ll have electricity.’

’Then I can figure out how to get an electric fan to use.’

Gu Jiaojiao grew excited at the thought. She turned to Leng Yuan, her eyes sparkling. ”Can you find a way to buy some electrical wire and power strips?”