Chapter 200: Taking an Apprentice
Gu Jiaojiao almost burst out laughing when she heard her mother. She already knew her dad wasn’t a stuffy old traditionalist, but who would have thought her mom would one-up him?
It really was a case of "birds of a feather flock together." No wonder their bond was so strong.
"It’s so wonderful to have parents like you. You don’t dwell on the past or paint yourselves into a corner, so you can live freely.
If Sheng Yueyue turns out to be grateful, then you can just think of it as having raised another daughter. But if she’s ungrateful, you still shouldn’t blame yourselves.
After all, she’s an adult now. Besides, she managed to find her biological parents all on her own."
Gu Jiaojiao finished with a bright smile, casting a pointed glance at Eldest Brother Gu.
"Yes, Jiaojiao is absolutely right. Seeing how outstanding you are, I used to feel guilty inside.
I felt like I’d let Mr. Sheng down by not raising his daughter well. But since Sheng Yueyue was capable enough to find her birth parents all on her own, it just proves she’s a competent person. Her raising hell now is just like your mother said—she’s just rotten to the core."
Eldest Brother Gu wanted to say something. ’Other than refusing to acknowledge us, Yueyue hasn’t really done anything that terrible to our family.’
But that one look from Gu Jiaojiao sent a chill down his spine; it was as if his little sister’s gaze could pierce right through to his innermost thoughts.
So Eldest Brother Gu pretended to close his eyes and rest, saying no more. But he kept his ears pricked, listening intently to their conversation.
Time flew by, and soon enough, they arrived at the gate of the courtyard house.
Hearing the car pull up, Aunt Song had already opened the main gate and was waiting by the entrance.
Gu Jiaojiao drove straight into the courtyard. When Mrs. Gu stepped out of the car and saw the vast courtyard, she was stunned all over again.
’Her son-in-law really has great taste. She already loved the place without even needing to see the rooms.’
"Eldest Brother Gu, Sister-in-law Gu, Jiaojiao, Su Tuan, you’re here! My husband bought the courtyard right next to yours."
"That’s fantastic! Now we’ll be real neighbors. Second Brother Song is certainly a decisive man," Mr. Gu said, overjoyed.
’It’s a blessing to have a few close friends in life, but for one to move in next door on purpose... When they grew old, they could still drink tea and chat together.’
Gu Jiaojiao went into the patient’s room, as always, to administer acupuncture with her silver needles and set up an IV drip for Song Zijie.
Mr. Gu took Mrs. Gu and Gu Jinghua to see their own courtyard and their respective rooms.
Meanwhile, Su Shuochi took Gao Xiangming and the others to attend to other business. ’I’ve set a goal,’ he thought. ’As long as I work hard, I can achieve it.’
Seeing the fully renovated room, Mrs. Gu asked, "Cheng Zhou, should we go ahead and move in here?"
"I’m not sure if Shuo Ci and Jiaojiao are moving. I’d hate to be away from Jiaojiao... and besides, Shuochi’s mother’s cooking is delicious."
"But it’s not right for us to live at our daughter’s house indefinitely!" Mrs. Gu said, looking at her husband.
"We’re heading to the Imperial City in two months anyway. Yue Hua, if you feel uncomfortable here, then let’s just move."
Since Second Brother Gu and Su Qinchun were out running the jianbing guozi stall, Mr. Gu had some time on his hands.
You really needed two people to manage the stall: one to make the crepes and one to take the money.
Dong Qiming rode his bicycle up to Second Brother Gu’s stall. Before he could figure out what to say, he heard a loud sales pitch.
"Hey there, handsome! First time buying a jianbing guozi? You want it spicy or mild?"
Dong Qiming was speechless. ...
"Well, well, a dapper young man! Lookin’ sharp, you must come from a decent family. How many jianbing guozi can I get for you?"
Dong Qiming was... speechless.
As he spoke, Second Brother Gu unhurriedly stirred his batter. When Dong Qiming remained silent, he just figured the boy was shy.
A lot of the girls who came to his stall were just as bashful, so after running the stall for a while and seeing all sorts of people, Second Brother Gu was used to it.
With a deft movement, he ladled the mixed batter onto the griddle, which was already starting to steam.
He expertly swirled it around with a small, hoe-like spreader.
Under his practiced hand, the pale yellow batter obediently spread into a perfect circle, smoothly coating the griddle.
As the batter began to set, the oily surface of the crepe started to dance and jump with the SIZZLE of the hot oil.
With a flourish, Second Brother Gu squeezed the plastic bottles of sauces, making loud SQUISHING sounds.
The noise mingled with the sizzle from the griddle, accompanied by a light, tantalizing aroma.
He then pulled two eggs from a box under the cart. With a sharp CRACK, he broke them open onto the crepe.
Dong Qiming watched, completely stunned. ’That looks so hard! Will I ever be able to learn it?!’
"Spicy or mild?" Second Brother Gu asked again.
Sweat beaded on Dong Qiming’s forehead as he stammered, "S-Second Cousin, it’s me, Dong Qiming! I... I..."
Now it was Second Brother Gu’s turn to be speechless. ...
’Don’t tell me he forgot his money!’
After a moment, he continued working without missing a beat. "Ah, so it’s our cousin from the Dong Family! You forget your money? Is that it? What’s the big deal? No need to stammer. Your second cousin can spot you a jianbing guozi, it’s no problem."
Dong Qiming was speechless. ...
While Second Brother Gu was busy making the jianbing, Su Qinchun stood to the side, ready to bag the food and take the payment.
Hearing that there was no money to collect, she instinctively looked up to see who it was. That’s when she saw Dong Qiming, his face streaked with tears.
’He must be moved to tears!’ she thought. ’There really are still so many people in the world who can’t get enough to eat!’
She thought about her own family. They had never been wealthy, but growing up, they were considered one of the better-off families in their village.
At the very least, they had never gone hungry. The biggest hardship was only getting to eat meat on rare occasions.
"Oh, honestly! It’s just one jianbing guozi. We’ll just have it taken out of mine and Second Brother Gu’s pay. You can have two if you like."
"That’s not it, Second Brother Gu! I want to learn how to make jianbing guozi from you." Seeing that they had both misunderstood him, Dong Qiming’s stutter vanished.
"What?" Su Qinchun was not pleased.
"What kind of person are you?! I was kind enough to offer you two for free, and you’re trying to steal our livelihood?"
"Su Qinchun, calm down. I was actually thinking about taking on an apprentice. Your name’s Dong Qiming, right? Here, have one to eat first, and just stand here and watch me work."
Second Brother Gu sounded calm, but inside, a flood of excitement rushed to his head.
’He had genuinely been wanting to take on an apprentice, and just like that, the heavens had sent one right to his doorstep.’
If his hands weren’t full, he would have put them together in prayer and bowed to the heavens in gratitude.
As for Dong Qiming, he was as ecstatic as if he’d just won first place in a marathon.
He was so excited he started crying again. His flushed face was a mess of sweat and tears, his chest heaving with pure joy.
He was so happy he could barely think straight, and he couldn’t stop himself from dancing on the spot.
"Second Cousin, watching you work... you’re so fast and it looks so cool! I don’t think I’ll be able to learn it."
"This is just practice makes perfect. It looks deft to you now, but once you master the technique, you might even be better than I am!"
Second Brother Gu was telling the truth. Back then, he had admired Jiaojiao in the exact same way Dong Qiming admired him now. And look at him—his movements were even faster than Jiaojiao’s these days.