Chapter 261 - 257: The Coolest Kid
Leng Yuan heard the sound and immediately looked over.
The girl stood prettily in the doorway, her expression full of life.
On this chilly, sunless morning, the skin of her face was so fair it seemed to glow.
Although the red padded cotton jacket she wore was thick and heavy, Gu Jiaojiao was so well-proportioned that it didn’t look bulky on her. Instead, it only made her seem more charming and cute.
Leng Yuan’s expression softened unconsciously.
"Breakfast is in the kitchen. Go on and eat."
Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang were also helping in the courtyard. Hearing Leng Yuan speak, they hurriedly turned around and saw Gu Jiaojiao was awake.
Sweet Girl immediately broke into a brilliant smile.
"Sister, hurry and eat!"
Today, Sweet Girl had changed into the new clothes from Gu Jiaojiao. She had also washed up yesterday, revealing a delicate, pretty face.
Her hair was just hanging loose, tied back with a single strand of yarn.
Seeing this, Gu Jiaojiao went into her room and brought out a hair tie. She called Sweet Girl over to comb her hair.
Sweet Girl was well-behaved, not moving an inch.
Gu Jiaojiao was rather delicate herself. Normally, she’d get upset if her own hair was pulled even a little.
She had never combed anyone else’s hair, and her hands were clumsy from inexperience, yet Sweet Girl didn’t cry out in pain even once.
Gu Jiaojiao practiced for a moment and quickly got the hang of it. She braided Sweet Girl’s hair into a high, braided ponytail.
She even used a few clever little tricks to make Sweet Girl’s hair look exceptionally pretty.
It looked like a simple braid, yet it was prettier than the usual kind.
Sweet Girl touched her hair, feeling overjoyed.
She ran into the kitchen and set out breakfast for Gu Jiaojiao.
Gu Jiaojiao felt a little awkward.
’I’m a grown woman, yet here I am being taken care of by a child.’
There was still plenty of food left.
"Sweet Girl, why don’t you sit and eat with me?"
Sweet Girl shook her head.
"Sister, we’ve already eaten. Please, go ahead and eat!"
Even though Sweet Girl was living here now, she felt unsettled and couldn’t relax unless she was doing something. She had woken up right after Leng Yuan and helped him make breakfast.
Gu Jiaojiao said.
"You and Xiao Yang are still growing. You don’t have to get up so early in the mornings. You need to get more sleep."
Sweet Girl nodded, but inwardly, she resolved to keep working hard.
Gu Jiaojiao finished her breakfast.
The team’s loudspeaker crackled to life.
It announced that all households should bring containers and come to the team center to get their share of pork.
After finishing his sweeping of the courtyard, Leng Yuan told Gu Jiaojiao he was leaving and headed for the team center.
The entire Qingshan Team was buzzing with excitement over the distribution of the pork.
Their commune had a limited quota for raising pigs, and the Qingshan Team hadn’t been assigned one. This meant they had no pig for the New Year celebration. If Leng Yuan hadn’t killed that wild boar, they wouldn’t be eating any pork at all.
In those days, only the better-off families would go to the County Town to buy pork; most people went without.
For the New Year, they might just beat an extra egg or two to make a meal of egg-filled dumplings.
Egg-filled dumplings were considered a real treat. Some families couldn’t even afford to have dumplings at all!
The dumpling wrappers weren’t even made of pure white flour; they had to be mixed with cornmeal.
Very few people could bear to use pure white flour on its own.
In her past life, Gu Jiaojiao had seen every kind of delicacy imaginable, and even now, her current family wasn’t short on food.
They still had plenty of pheasant, wild rabbit, wild boar, and venison.
Some of it was frozen, while the rest was cured and air-drying.
She wasn’t short on meat in the slightest.
But everyone’s excitement was still contagious.
’Happiness was so simple back then. A single bite of meat was a great joy, and a full stomach was what many people could only dream of.’
After finishing her meal and cleaning the kitchen, Gu Jiaojiao took Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang to join in on the excitement.
Along the way, they saw many people heading toward the team center, carrying basins and buckets.
Today, Sweet Girl and Xiao Yang were wearing the new clothes Gu Jiaojiao had made for them.
If they had anything else to wear, they really wouldn’t have been able to bring themselves to wear them.
Both children treasured the outfits, taking extra care while doing chores for fear of getting them dirty.
And so, the moment the three of them stepped outside, they immediately became the most striking sight in the entire team.
Aunt Zhao looked at the children’s clothes and commented with a smile.
"They fit pretty well."
In truth, they were a little big, but that didn’t matter. If anything, the larger size made them warmer.