Chapter 74 - 26: Showing Off

Chapter 74: Chapter 26: Showing Off

Lin Zhao planned to bring two pounds of pork, ten eggs, and the remaining four bottles of soda.

Just as she finished packing everything, she heard Er Zai shouting.

"Mom, Mom, I have big news to tell you!!" The little boy’s voice was high-pitched, filled with irrepressible excitement.

Incredibly curious, Lin Zhao quickly walked out of the room.

"What big news?"

Er Zai said, "Grandpa kicked my Little Aunt out of the house."

After saying this, he even burst out laughing. "HAHAHA..."

Lin Zhao was stunned.

’Does that mean what I think it means?’

"Wait, tell me the details."

Seeing his mother’s confused expression, Er Zai shot his older brother a look.

Da Zai received the signal, his expression suddenly turning serious.

And then...

The two little brothers began to act it out.

"Mom, I’m Little Aunt," Er Zai said first.

"Then I’ll be Grandpa, Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, and also Eldest Aunt and Second Aunt." Da Zai rattled off a list of characters.

Lin Zhao was silent. ’Wow, quite a few actors in that little play at the old residence.’

Er Zai began his performance. He put on a look of profound suffering on his childish little face, widened his eyes, stiffened his neck, and shouted angrily, "That connection belongs to my third brother! Why should she get all the benefits..."

He had changed the lines here. The little boy knew that "Lin Zhao" was his mother’s name and wouldn’t say it disrespectfully, so he used "her" as a substitute.

After Er Zai finished his line, Da Zai took the stage.

Da Zai mimicked his grandfather’s mannerisms, looking somberly at a certain spot as if two people were standing there. He frowned and said, "Send Gu Xing’er to your grandmother’s place."

He paused here for dramatic effect, as if the people over there hadn’t said anything.

Then he added in a cold voice, "What are you waiting for? Get to it."

Er Zai squirmed as if someone was dragging him. He stretched out his arms desperately, shouting, "Father, I’m your daughter! You can’t kick me out..."

After that...

There was more dialogue.

The two of them even imitated the tones of voice perfectly.

Lin Zhao didn’t even have to ask to know who they were imitating.

Finally...

Er Zai acted out being dragged away, stumbling all the way to the main gate.

Lin Zhao’s mouth twitched.

"..."

’What a pair of drama queens.’

Even though she hadn’t seen the live performance, she felt as if she had been there.

"Mom, that’s what happened. My Little Aunt was sent away!" Er Zai said excitedly after finishing his performance and running back to her.

He chuckled, thinking of something. "Tie Chui must be so happy."

Just as he said that, Little Tiechui ran over to the third family’s house, his eyes shining brightly.

"Da Zai, Er Zai!" he called out.

Seeing Lin Zhao, he greeted her obediently, "Third Aunt."

"Hey, you boys go on and play. I’m going to check on the backyard," Lin Zhao said, walking toward the back so the three kids wouldn’t feel awkward.

She hadn’t taken more than a few steps when she heard Little Tiechui say in a gleeful tone, "Da Zai, Er Zai, our Little Aunt got sent away!"

For Gu Xing’er to single-handedly make every member of the Gu Family’s younger generation avoid her like the plague, she was truly a piece of work.

Lin Zhao reached the backyard. The entire vegetable patch was enclosed by a bamboo fence, with neat, orderly rows. Wooden trellises were set up inside; once they were covered in green vines, it would surely be another vibrant sight.

She watered the vegetable garden, cleaned up the fallen leaves in the backyard, and then returned to the front yard.

Da Zai and the others were still there, tidying up the firewood stacked against the wall. The three five-year-old boys were working diligently and were very well-behaved.

Lin Zhao smiled slightly and took out a bottle of soda from the mesh bag she was planning to bring to the old residence.

She gave it to the three adorable little boys.

"You boys worked hard. You can share this bottle of soda."

Little Tiechui’s eyes lit up instantly. He secretly licked his lips, looking utterly tempted.

"Thank you, Third Aunt." He had an honest, simple-looking face and seemed like a good kid. His smile was just as sincere, which Lin Zhao found very endearing.

Da Zai and Er Zai were also delighted, thinking of the soda’s taste.

Lin Zhao figured they would be eating soon, so she didn’t give the three little ones anything else to eat, lest they spoil their appetites.

She went back into the house to write a letter to Gu Chenghuai.

The letter was mostly filled with praise. She wrote about her day trip to the county town with Da Zai and Er Zai, and also mentioned the thank-you gift she gave to Yang Junzhi...

By the time she finished, it had covered several pages.

Lin Zhao checked it over once. Seeing no sensitive words, she put the letter into an envelope, affixed a stamp, and planned to mail it the next day.

The three little men finished tidying the firewood.

Er Zai saw that the water vat in the kitchen was empty. He clung to the window, poked his little head inside, and said loudly, "Mom, the vat’s out of water! I’ll go ask Eldest Uncle to fetch some."

Ever since her ’awakening,’ Lin Zhao had become very particular about cleanliness, and the household’s water consumption had steadily increased.

Before, Gu Yuanshan and Gu Yucheng would take turns fetching water every other day, but now, a daily supply wasn’t even enough.

"Don’t worry about it for now. I’ll mention it myself when we go to the old residence later."

Er Zai didn’t overthink it. He just said, "Oh," and used the last bit of water to wash his hands and face.