Big Auntie ◎ Little Black Fatty

  The countryside where Gu Xiang's grandmother's house is located is really not far away, and it takes about 30-40 minutes back and forth.

  Gu Xiang asked the driver to stop beside a three-story building on the ground, and she carried her bag along the small road in her memory, passing through several fields to reach her grandmother's house.

  The outer wall of the bungalow had just been painted white and looked a bit out of place.

  "Yaya, are you here? Are you hungry?" Grandma was picking bean sprouts in the main room, smiling and getting up to take her backpack.

  "Grandma." Gu Xiang called out, picking up a ceramic jug from the table and taking two sips of cool boiled water: "Where's Grandpa?"

  Grandma used well water to rinse a towel and handed it to her to wipe her face: "Your grandfather is in the field. You quickly go inside to cool off."

  The hall in the countryside has no electric fan, but the front and back doors are open, and there is a small lake not far from the back door. The wind blowing through the hall is not very hot either.

  Gu Xiang entered the house, and her grandmother came in to help her turn on the electric fan and TV.

  The furnishings in the house are very simple, just a bed, a tea table with a rattan chair. The most modern thing is probably that TV on the square table.

  "Are you starving? Your grandfather bought you some steamed buns today."

  Gu Xiang said: "I'm not hungry, I've eaten breakfast before coming."

  But grandma still brought her the steamed buns. They were still warm, having been steamed in a bamboo container since they were bought that morning.

  A small steamer of instant noodles is already 700 calories, and now there's still the baozi... I don't even dare to calculate the calories.

  "What's wrong? Don't you like eating?" Grandma looked at Gu Xiang with a hesitant expression.

  Looking at her grandmother's eager appearance, Gu Xiang could also force herself to eat.

  Springy thin skin, a satisfying filling of meat, sweet and savory meat juice...

  Is it possible that after she was reborn, her sense of taste was also remade?!

  Everything tastes great since yesterday, what's going on!

  Can't play happily anymore!

  "Grandma looked at Gu Xiang with an expression that was sometimes dazed and sometimes frowned, but she didn't know what she really wanted: 'Today we have sugar vinegar ribs, snow vegetables stir-fried with pheasant, and chili stir-fried with native chicken. Does Ya Ya want anything else to eat?'"

  Gu Xiang swallowed hard and shook her head.

  Not long after, Grandpa also came back from the fields. He was wearing a straw hat on his head, his pant legs were rolled up to his ankles, and he had a pair of green rubber shoes on his feet that were covered in mud.

  "Yaya's here?" Grandpa took off his straw hat and came in to see her.

  Gu Xiang had a small bun stuffed in her mouth and smiled at him with a satisfied expression.

  Her grandfather didn't say much and left after sitting next to her for a while.

  After eating the steamed buns, Gu Xiang felt bored staying in her room alone. As soon as she stepped out of the door, her grandfather, who was sitting by the stove burning fire, said: "What are you doing coming out? It's so hot outside."

  Gu Xiang said: "I came out to help."

  Grandma is scalding chicken feathers with hot water in the main room, Gu Xiang looks like she can't help with anything, they use a stove in the countryside, she doesn't know how to use it.

  Gu Xiang helped wash the vegetables, the small green vegetables were tender and had a fresh flavor, with mud still on the roots.

  She moved a small stool beside her grandmother and washed vegetables while chatting casually about family affairs.

  Grandma told her which family in the village had just married a daughter-in-law, whose land was requisitioned, and how much money they were compensated...

  Then grandma suddenly mentioned: "Your eldest aunt is coming this afternoon."

  Gu Xiang felt suffocated.

  If Little Aunt is just a facade in front and another behind, then Big Aunt is still more consistent inside and out.

  Because she is disliked by everyone before and after her.

  Later, my aunt went in and stir-fried all the dishes, and then my eldest maternal aunt mysteriously appeared.

  She had a special knack for showing up at mealtimes during holidays.

  Then when Aunt Gu and Little Aunt were preparing to clean up the bowls or sweep the floor, Big Aunt would always have various real reasons to walk away with a clear conscience.

  "Yaya's here too?" Eldest maternal aunt put down her bag and sat down beside the dinner table.

  Gu Xiang was helping to arrange bowls and chopsticks. Seeing her sitting there like an old man made her angry, so she shouted at her.

  Grandma and grandpa brought out dish after dish. Actually, there were many more dishes than grandma had mentioned earlier, including braised tofu with minced meat, spinach and egg soup, carrot stir-fry with meat, and cucumber salad.

  But none of these are what Gu Xiang likes to eat, they must be made for Big Aunt.

  The aunt saw a table of dishes and said with a sour tone: "So many dishes, I really benefited from being related to you."

  Gu Xiang ignored her and ate on his own.

  Auntie said: "Yaya, I heard from your mom that you did pretty well on the junior high school entrance exam?"

  "It's okay."

  "Ah, then you should work harder too. I heard the class assignment exam at Hua Lu Middle School is very difficult. Your sister was so good in elementary school, but she choked during the exam."

  The sister she was talking about is Chen Wen, the daughter of Gu Xiang's eldest uncle and aunt, who is two years older than Gu Xiang and also attends Hua Road Middle School, where she will be entering her third year of junior high school.

  Because they are both girls and about the same age, even if their family members don't say it out loud, in their hearts they will still compare the two girls.

  The elder sister-in-law especially loved to mention Chen Wen in all sorts of things and always tried to suppress Gu Xiang.

  Gu Xiang's attention was all drawn to the sugar and vinegar spare ribs!

  The braised pork ribs with fog grass are too delicious!

  The ribs selected are not all rib bones, there are many large bones. The night before last, first blanch them in water, then stew them slowly in a sand pot, and finally deep-fry them for a few minutes. When serving on the second day, just stir-fry a sweet and sour sauce and serve.

  Under the sweet and sour sauce, the crispy skin of the ribs is bitten into, the meat juice overflows, and it melts in the mouth.

  She thought her grandmother's cooking was especially delicious since she was a child, and later on, she realized it might be due to the bonus points from her childhood memories.

  Grandma's skills must have all been spent on cooking!

  When Gu Xiang was eating, her grandmother was beside her chatting with them from time to time, and then took a pair of chopsticks to pick dishes for Gu Xiang.

  My aunt eats very quickly, when Gu Xiang gnaws on a pork rib, she may have already eaten three or four pieces.

  But her grandmother quickly picked up a bowl and helped herself to several pork ribs.

  The aunt saw it and said with some dissatisfaction: "Yaya is already so big, but you still treat her like a child."

  Grandma said: "The dish is placed far away, Yaya's hands are too short to reach."

  As soon as the dishes were served, her elder sister-in-law quickly adjusted the order of the dishes. All the meat dishes were placed in front of her.

  "Gu Xiang couldn't bear it and said: 'Grandma, you should eat too.'"

  "Grandma shook her head: 'We'll eat after you've finished.'"

  Her grandfather ate quickly beside her and reminded her: "Yaya, eat more."

  Gu Xiang noticed that her grandfather was just using the cabbage and egg soup to soak his rice, and after eating a few mouthfuls of vegetables, he finished.

  But he didn't say anything, he remembered that when she was in junior high school, her grandfather had an acute myocardial infarction and almost died.

  However, the illness came very strangely. My grandfather didn't smoke or drink, went to bed early and got up early, and his diet was also very light. His living habits had always been very good.

  After dinner, Gu Xiang helped clean up the bowls and chopsticks.

  Her grandfather saw her about to wash the dishes and looked like he was going to be ill, snatching the bowls and chopsticks from her hands saying: "Leave it! Let your grandmother do it."

  Gu Xiang was a little cry-laugh-not-know-what-to-do, actually when she was on holiday at home, her mother often asked her to wash the dishes too.

  But her grandparents wouldn't let her do anything.

  Grandma went in to get milk for Gu Xiang to drink, and her sister-in-law followed her in.

  After waiting for a while, neither of them came out.

  Gu Xiang followed him in.

  The door in the countryside is an old-fashioned push door with poor sound insulation.

  Gu Xiang just heard Auntie say at the door: "When school starts, Wenwen will be in third grade, and many places need money."

  "Didn't I give you 1,000 yuan last time?"

  Auntie said: "The money last time was used for Wenwen's interest class, she took an electronic piano exam, this money can't be saved, mom."

  Gu Xiang didn't want to listen anymore. She had originally thought that her aunt was being unusually kind, coming all the way to the countryside to visit her grandparents. It turned out she was just here to gossip.

  Grandfather washed the dishes, and Gu Xiang played with the three calico cats in the house.

  Cats in rural areas are raised casually and fed only once a day at noon. At other times, they still rely on themselves to catch mice to fill their stomachs.

  Her grandfather came out and saw her stroking the cat's ear, and the cat tilted its head "meowing" and rubbed against her palm. As affectionate as can be.

  Grandpa said: "If Ya likes it, next time we'll have kittens and your mom will bring one back for you to hold."

  Gu Xiang was slightly moved, but still refused.

  Raising a pet is a lifelong responsibility, and she's still just a half-grown kid herself, with no ability to take care of small animals.

  Moreover, Gu's mother didn't like small animals at all. When Gu Xiang was in elementary school, she bought a little duck for one yuan at the school gate, and her mother secretly threw it away while she was in class.

  She cried for several days because of him.

  The big aunt didn't stay for long, but Gu Xiang could tell from her expression that she must have gotten the money.

  She felt very uncomfortable in her heart.

  My grandmother has always been a peasant and does not have a retirement pension.

  My grandfather is a worker, and our family relies on his pension for living expenses.

  My grandfather's retirement salary is not high, I heard from Auntie that it's just over 1,500 a month.

  In the countryside, there are still a few acres of land, and chickens and pigs are raised. There is also a small orchard in the backyard. However, the output value is not high, and they can't be sold for much money. At most, it's just self-sufficient.

  Looking at Big Aunt's expression, this isn't the first time either.

  And when walking away also took those few dishes that Gu Xiang didn't like, and only packed half of the others like ribs and frog legs.

  Gu Xiang didn't doubt it, if she wasn't there, her aunt would take all the dishes back home.

  She used to think that her aunt liked to compare him with Chen Wen everywhere and take advantage of the situation, so she didn't like her.

  But with her current perspective, she feels even more disgusted with her. Especially her attitude towards her grandparents.

  In the afternoon, Gu Xiang watched TV for a while and her eyelids couldn't open anymore. She is really sleepy now.

  As soon as I lay down on the bed, I really fell asleep.

  By the time she woke up, it was almost dark.

  The room was pitch black.

  The sky in the countryside really gets dark earlier.

  She had just pulled the light when her grandmother pushed the door and said: "Are you awake? Get up quickly for dinner."

  Gu Xiang quickly got up and washed her face, then had dinner with them.

  If I'm not mistaken, people in rural areas usually have dinner at around 4 o'clock. Now it's almost six o'clock, obviously they are waiting for her.

  Gu Xiang felt a bit embarrassed: "I get sleepy as soon as I sit in the car, why didn't you wake me up?"

  Grandma smiled and said: "Originally at five o'clock I was going to call you, but your grandfather wouldn't let me."

  Grandpa chimed in from beside her: "Yaya's growing up, sleeping more will make her body stronger."

  The mosquitoes in the countryside were numerous and venomous, so Grandma would stop her chopsticks from time to time to fan Gu Xiang.

  After they finished dinner, grandma washed dishes and grandpa went out for a walk.

  Gu Xiang looked around but couldn't find the family cat. When asked, her grandmother said: "It's probably that Chen Hao kid who caught it and is playing with it at home."

  Chen Hao was the little black fatty who always bullied Gu Xiang when they were young. With new hatred added to old, Gu Xiang got a bit worked up and took a flashlight before heading out.

  Xiao Hei Pong lives in the east of the village, and Gu Xiang can walk there in less than 10 minutes.

  In rural areas, no one is used to closing doors. Gu Xiang poked her head in and saw Xiao Hei's father, who called out for her to come in and play.

  Everyone in this village has the surname Chen and they are all relatives by blood or marriage.

  Gu Xiang shouted "Uncle".

  Xiao Hei's dad said: "Ya Ya, I heard you got the first place in the whole school this time? That's really great! Unlike our family's Chen Hao, his grades are always at the bottom."

  "It's not like that," Gu Xiang hastily said with a humble tone, "Our teachers all say that in elementary school, girls are the ones who excel, but when it comes to junior high and high school, it's always the boys whose grades stand out."

  When he heard this, Xiao Hei's father seemed very pleased: "This rabbit is actually quite clever, it just doesn't want to be good."

  He's about to open his mouth, so I said: "Uncle, I'm here looking for our family's three-flower cat."

  Little Hei's father pointed in the direction of the courtyard: "Just saw Hao Hao playing with it."

  Gu Xiang walked into the yard and saw Xiao Hei Bao holding a rubber band and playing with it in the yard.

  Gu Xiang saw that the force belt was so thin, and the cat's neck was strangled.

  She once saw online that primary school students used a rope to strangle the head of a sparrow. Extremely bloody and cruel.

  "Chen Hao! What are you doing?!" Gu Xiang shouted loudly.

  Xiao Hei Pang stopped when he heard her shout.

  Gu Xiang walked over and snatched the rope, then picked up the cat and left.

  Xiao Hei was intimidated by her majestic appearance and didn't dare to chase after her.

  Xiao Hei Pang's father saw Gu Xiang Hu coming out with a sulky face and asked her, "What's wrong? Did Little Rabbit bully you?"

  Gu Xiang didn't mean to report anything, so she said: "The cat has been found, I'm going home. Goodbye, Uncle."

  Gu Xiang's anger hadn't dissipated even after she got home. Her grandmother saw that her face looked particularly bad when she returned and asked if someone had bullied her.

  Gu Xiang said: "No, I just saw Chen Hao using a rope to strangle the neck of our family's cat, and I couldn't bear it."

  Grandma nodded her head and said: "It's just a small matter, why are you getting so worked up, little girl?"

  "It's not what you said. What if he strangles me to death?"

  "Hao Hao is just playing with him, he's even younger than you and doesn't understand things."

  Gu Xiangcai suddenly remembered that Xiao Heipu was as old as Chen Wu, and had just entered the sixth grade of elementary school. However, he was very dark and fat, and his figure was particularly large, looking like a junior high school student.

  Grandfather came in from outside and said: "The water is boiling, Yaya go take a bath first."

  Taking a bath in the countryside is particularly interesting, and the order of doing so is also quite particular.

  In most families, it's usually the grandfather who takes a bath first, followed by the grandmother.

  If they all come back during the Chinese New Year, then the youngest, Chen Wu, will take a bath first. Then it's Gu Xiang and Chen Wen's turn. After that, it's Grandpa and Grandma Gu and Mom Gu.

  Uncles and aunts have to wait until last.

  Gu Xiang picked up her clothes and went to take a bath.

  In rural areas, there are also some well-decorated ones, such as Xiao Hei's home which is relatively modernized.

  But there are also some old-fashioned ones like Gu Xiang's family: taking a bath is in a large pot, just like a stove, with a fire burning next to it. Next to the large pot is a latrine, with a few wooden boards on top and a rectangular opening left. The squatting area has an extra layer of thick wooden boards.

  Next to it is a pigpen, but now that Grandpa and Grandma are old and can't raise pigs anymore, it's idle and used for stacking dry grass and firewood.

  Gu Xiang remembered that there was a sister in the village who fell into a latrine during the New Year.

  The adults were so anxious they couldn't help but burst out laughing beside them.

  After washing the bath, Gu Xiang walked to the door and heard her grandparents discussing: "It seems that our Xiaoyu likes cats very much, why don't we get one for her?"

  Grandpa also said: "I saw her playing with the cat this afternoon. I think she wants it too, but probably Xiuxiu won't agree."

  Chen Xiuxiu is Gu's mother.

  Grandma said: "That's right, YaYa is about to enter junior high school, and Xiuxiu will definitely not let her be distracted."

  Grandpa also said, "Don't mention it again, after a while Yaya will finish washing up. You must never bring it up in front of her again, or she'll really refuse to let go of our cat and take it back with her mom."

  "Alright, I won't mention it and you shouldn't either. Tomorrow, I'll send the cat to our neighbor's place for a couple of days, and when she leaves, we can bring it back."

  Gu Xiang: What to do? Grandpa and grandma's little trick is really so cute it makes me cry! (ノへ￣、)

  The author wants to say: Actually, in our dialect, little rabbit → little B.

  The author of civilization reconciled it

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