1990s: Spring Water Family

Chapter 207 So young and already knows the difference between boys and girls, can't let girls kiss him?
"Forget it, I'll do it."

Gu Bin glanced at the snow on the treetops and sighed resignedly.

He was tall enough that he didn't need to climb the tree; he reached the treetop and jumped.

"Go, Uncle!"

Little Rui Rui perked up and clapped her little hands to cheer him on.

Gu Bin tried twice and finally managed to grab the branch with the pomegranate hanging from it.

"Don't let go, I'll pick it."

As the snow fell softly, Lin Xiyu happily ran over, picked a pomegranate, and then quickly dodged away.

Gu Bin gave her a speechless look and let go of her hand.

"crash"

The branches shook violently, and another wave of snow fell, soaking him completely.

"whee."

"Hahaha."

Lin Xiyu and Xiao Ruirui were amused. The two of them, one big and one small, moved in unison, covering their mouths and laughing heartily.

"You guys seem to be having a lot of fun?"

Gu Bin stood under the tree and smiled meaningfully.

"Uh."

Lin Xiyu stopped laughing and took a step back warily.

However, it was still too late.

Gu Bin tugged at the branches a few more times, and the snow on the tree was blown over by the wind, soaking her and Xiao Rui Rui from head to toe.

All three of them turned into snowmen.

That's fair now.

Gu Bin calmly brushed the snow off his body and carried his luggage into the house.

Lin Xiyu held the pomegranate, looking disheveled in the wind.

"Bah ah."

Little Rui Rui was also dumbfounded. She spat out the snow foam in her mouth, looked at her uncle, then at her aunt, and very righteously chose to stay in the yard.

-

The old house had no central heating and relied solely on honeycomb briquettes for warmth, making the house somewhat damp and cold.

Lin Xiyu was worried that Xiao Rui Rui would get cold, so she kept the stove burning brightly and put an extra down vest on him over his cotton-padded coat.

"Boys don't need to wear so many clothes."

Gu Bin has his own parenting philosophy: "Let him run around the yard a few more times, and he won't feel cold at all."

"He's only three or four years old."

Lin Xiyu laughed and scolded, "Do you think he's someone else? He's like an iron man, not even wearing long johns in this freezing weather."

I'm serious.

Gu Bin deliberately teased her: "Don't raise him based on your own upbringing. Raising a girl is different from raising a boy."

"Just say it."

Lin Xiyu laughed in exasperation: "How is it different?"

"Rui Rui, come on, let's go play soccer with Uncle."

Gu Bin found a soccer ball in the room and used his foot to demonstrate for Xiao Rui Rui.

"Let's play football!"

Little Rui Rui was indeed very happy, and followed him happily out of the house.

Two men, one big and one small, were playing football in the yard, having a great time. Lin Xiyu smiled helplessly and went into the kitchen alone.

The kitchen was stocked with vegetables, meat, eggs, and fruits; Zhao Yuncheng had been very thoughtful and had bought everything he needed.

For Gu Bin's health, she stewed a pot of nourishing soup as usual, and also steamed a bowl of egg custard for Xiao Rui Rui separately.

"Oh!"

"crash"

She was busy in the kitchen when a piercing noise suddenly came from the yard, sounding like glass shattering.

When I went out of the kitchen, I saw that a window in the living room was wide open and the glass was broken all over the floor.

"Who kicked that?!"

After a few seconds of silence, a loud, high-pitched roar erupted from the courtyard.

-

The glass was broken, and there wasn't enough time to buy new glass, so Lin Xiyu could only make do with paper to cover the window for now.

She has been learning paper cutting from Grandma Hu for several years. Although she can't match the skill of the old craftsmen, she can still cut simple patterns quite well.

The old house had ready-made red paper. Cut out a "double happiness" symbol and stick it on the window. The white background with red flowers looks very festive.

"Rui Rui, isn't it pretty? Auntie's hands are very skillful, aren't they?"

Gu Bin encouraged Xiao Rui Rui to clap for her: "Only your aunt could cut out such a beautiful red 'double happiness' character."

"Stop talking so much."

Lin Xiyu rolled her eyes at him: "If you hadn't been playing soccer with him, would the glass have broken?"

"Raising children."

Gu Bin said matter-of-factly, "It's normal to break a few pieces of glass. Otherwise, there would be red paper readily available in the old house. It's all leftover from when I kicked and broke glass as a child, which my grandma used to paste on the windows."

"You still have the nerve to say it?"

Lin Xiyu laughed in exasperation: "If your grandma heard you say that, she'd give you a good scolding again."

Gu Bin looked wistful: "Grandma would never hit me, she couldn't bear to."

Lin Xiyu stopped laughing and tentatively asked, "Aren't you going to call your grandma and tell her you're back?"

"I was originally planning to go to Guangzhou after I finished dealing with Grandpa's affairs."

Gu Bin rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on: "It seems like we'll have to postpone it again. We need to get past my mother-in-law first."

"There's no rush with my mom."

Lin Xiyu got angry just thinking about her mother: "If she doesn't agree, don't rush to get involved. Anyway, we've already made our marriage public and we've even got our marriage certificate. What can she do? At worst, we can just live our own lives. It'll be easier if we don't see each other."

"I'll listen to my wife."

Gu Bin smiled good-naturedly and soothed her: "You're in charge in this house. Rui Rui and I are under your control. We'll do whatever you tell us to do, and we won't dare to disobey you in the slightest."

"Okay, stop talking nonsense."

Lin Xiyu laughed and scolded, "Hurry up, go to the kitchen and bring the pot over. It's time to eat, or the soup will get cold."

"As ordered!"

Gu Bin made a gesture of acceptance and strode off to the kitchen.

“Rui Rui.”

Taking the opportunity, Lin Xiyu squatted down and coaxed the little one, "Tell Auntie, who kicked the glass and broke it?"

Little Rui Rui's eyes darted around, glancing towards the kitchen.

"I knew it was your uncle."

Lin Xiyu's lips curled up slightly, revealing a triumphant smile.

"Ah."

Gu Bin was in the kitchen when he suddenly felt a chill down his back and a bad feeling crept over him.

His premonition soon came true.

Before going to sleep that night, Lin Xiyu deliberately used the excuse that Rui Rui was young and had just arrived in an unfamiliar environment, and that he was not comfortable sleeping alone, to kick him out of the bedroom.

An uncle looked at his nephew with deep resentment.

Her face, etched with resentment, was that of an abandoned woman, making one unable to suppress a smile.

Lin Xiyu tried to hold back, but couldn't help it and burst into laughter as she closed the door.

-

The area around Qushuiting Street has been transformed into a tourist area, with the number of visitors gradually increasing.

Furong Street is a densely populated area, attracting a constant stream of tourists who come to enjoy its delicious food.

Every time Lin Xiyu goes home for the Chinese New Year, she visits Grandma Hu's house, and this year is no exception.

Grandma Hu's house is in Yongquan Hutong, not far from Furong Street.

The next morning, she took Xiao Rui Rui out for a stroll along Furong Street, bought some pastries that elderly people like, and delivered them to Grandma Hu. "This child is so pretty, even prettier than my granddaughter."

Grandma Hu was overjoyed to see little Rui Rui and stuffed a handful of milk candies into his pocket.

Little Rui Rui's pockets were stuffed full, like a little hamster.

"Rui Rui, thank you, Grandma."

Lin Xiyu found it amusing and affectionately patted his head.

"Thank you grandma."

Under the guidance of the couple, little Rui Rui is no longer as shy as before. When his aunt asked him to say thank you, he indeed said thank you in his little voice.

Grandma Hu was overjoyed to hear a sweet "Grandma!" She picked up a soft-packaged box of orange juice from the coffee table, inserted a straw, and put it in his mouth.

Little Rui Rui loves drinking orange juice. She holds the straw in her mouth and slurps it up with great relish.

Lin Xiyu let the little one play by himself, and while Grandma Hu was in a good mood, she steered the conversation to her most prized masterpiece, the Spring Water Culture Paper Cutting.

When the topic of paper cutting came up, Grandma Hu became very interested and showed her the paper-cut pattern of Pearl Spring that she had just cut.

The patterns on the paper-cuts are ingeniously designed and lifelike.

What's most amazing is that the scenery on the left and right sides is completely different. The three characters "Pearl Spring" in the upper left corner seem to be drawn with a paintbrush, resembling a clear spring, flowing gently.

"so beautiful."

Lin Xiyu exclaimed in genuine admiration, "How did you do that? The scenery on the left and right is completely different; you've created the illusion of a landscape painting from a single sheet of paper."

"This is a unique skill that Grandma created herself."

Grandma Hu smiled and offered the bait: "Want to learn? Grandma can teach you."

"think."

Lin Xiyu showed her great support.

"Bring me scissors."

Grandma Hu perked up and gave a live demonstration.

Lin Xiyu quickly presented the scissors and red paper.

Little Rui Rui was also very interested in paper cutting. She stared intently at Grandma Hu cutting paper with wide eyes, not blinking at all.

-

Grandma Hu truly lives up to her reputation as a veteran craftswoman; her skills are superb. She finished cutting a distinctive paper-cut of Pearl Spring in less than fifteen minutes.

Lin Xiyu was amazed by his skillful and effortless technique.

"Have you learned it?"

Grandma Hu smiled especially kindly and gently when she saw that she was watching very attentively.

"Uh."

Lin Xiyu was embarrassed and told the truth: "No."

"It's too complicated. It's making my head spin. I can't remember it after just one reading."

Seeing Xiao Rui Rui staring at her with her big, dark eyes, she blushed and offered a slightly embarrassed explanation.

"This pattern is a bit complicated, otherwise it would be a unique and original design."

Grandma Hu was understanding and kindly covered for her.

"Grandma Hu, I haven't congratulated you yet."

Lin Xiyu smiled gratefully: "The selection of the Spring Water Culture Paper-cutting as the most distinctive folk culture of Jinan is a great event and we must celebrate it. How about this, I'll treat everyone to a meal at Minghu Tower and invite all my fellow students to come and have a good time together."

"No need, why waste the money?"

Grandma Hu waved her hand and declined with a smile: "Grandma is already very happy that you have this intention. Grandma doesn't want anything else, she just wants this craft to be passed down. As long as you can remember to cut a few pieces from time to time and not let the skill go to waste, Grandma will be satisfied."

“I have it cut.”

Lin Xiyu quickly declared, "I even cut out a piece yesterday and pasted it on the window. It's a big red 'double happiness' character, it's so festive!"

"Uh-huh."

Little Rui Rui understood, nodding her little head as a witness.

"Rui Rui is such a good girl."

Lin Xiyu was amused, bent down, picked him up, and kissed his rosy cheeks.

The little guy's ears visibly turned red, and his eyes darted around, as if he was too shy to meet her gaze.

"what"

Lin Xiyu found it amusing and couldn't help teasing him, "Why are Rui Rui's ears red? Are you shy? You're so young, yet you already know the difference between boys and girls and that you can't let girls kiss you?"

Little Rui Rui's ears turned increasingly red, and no matter how much she teased her, she refused to speak.

"This child looks intelligent."

Grandma Hu was amused and jokingly said, "He'll definitely take after his uncle. If he studies hard in the future, he might become the top scholar in the province."

"Grandma Hu"

Lin Xiyu looked surprised: "You guessed it? Rui Rui is whose nephew?"

"Grandma's eyesight is still good despite her age."

Grandma Hu glared at her, feigning displeasure: "No need to guess, I can tell just by looking at your face."

"You're amazing."

Lin Xiyu laughed awkwardly: "It's more accurate than a fortune teller."

Does this even need to be considered?

Grandma Hu hit the nail on the head: "If he hadn't come back, would you be smiling so happily? You used to always have a long face when you came, and it made me feel bad for you."

"no."

Lin Xiyu deliberately joked, "I came here to learn a skill, how could I dare to look so sad? I'm afraid you'll prick me with scissors."

Grandma Hu laughed in exasperation: "Grandma loves you so much, how could I bear to prick you?"

"Grandma Hu"

Lin Xiyu hugged her affectionately, saying, "Thank you for always caring about me. You guessed right, I'm really happy, really, really, really happy."

"It's good that he's back."

Grandma Hu was very comforted and patted her shoulder affectionately: "Grandma is really gratified to see you smile happily again. It makes me even happier than winning the title of the most distinctive folk culture in our paper-cutting competition."

"Grandma Hu"

Lin Xiyu was so touched she almost cried: "Gu Bin had something to do today and isn't home. I'll bring him to see you another day."

"it is good."

Grandma Hu smiled with satisfaction: "You can come anytime. Grandma is always available and will be waiting for you at home."

"Ah."

Lin Xiyu was delighted and returned Grandma Hu's smile with a sweet smile.

-

Gu Bin went to the Dongmen Small Commodities Wholesale Market in the morning and bought a piece of glass of a suitable size.

He needed putty to install the glass, so he bought some more putty and nails, and carried the glass home with his arm.

"That person looks familiar. Is he Old Master Gu's grandson?"

"It does look somewhat like it. His front door has been locked for five years. Has someone come back again?"

"Time flies. It's been five years since Old Master Gu died."

"I wonder if his wife is back yet? She's quite a capable woman, a dancer, and with her striking looks, she married a good man and became an official's wife. Few in the neighborhood even look at her."

"I don't know. I'll go take a look another day. When my grandson comes back, she'll probably come back too."

"What are you looking at? What's so interesting? Aren't you afraid of getting implicated? Their family's reputation isn't good these days. It's best to avoid them."

-

On his way back from the old East Gate to Wangfuchizi West Street, he was constantly being secretly glanced at by people, and their gossip drifted into his ears, which was quite annoying.

"Whose reputation is bad?"

"What's it to you?"

"If you don't want to come, then don't come. Who cares if you come?!"

Wu Meng's loud, sharp voice rang out from behind, leaving the group of old women speechless.

"Ah."

Gu Bin turned around and saw her, and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Who do we have here? So feisty! It turns out it's our adorable dummy."

Wu Meng rolled her eyes at him, annoyed: "I'm so angry listening to this, and you're still in the mood for jokes? If those gossipy old women talk nonsense again, tell me, and I'll help you scold them back."