Chapter 13 Pulling the fabric

After these six little chickens came to the Gu family, Father Gu did not let them occupy his chicken coop. Instead, he surrounded a separate area and raised them carefully.

No one else was asked to help feed them. The grandfather and grandson were all in charge. They dug wild vegetables and caught insects without asking anyone for help.

"Grandpa, this chicken can't compete with other chickens for food. It eats less every time." Niu Niu pointed to a little chicken and said.

Dad Gu looked at the six chicks in the basket. He actually didn't see any difference because the chicks kept moving. In a blink of an eye, he couldn't tell which one was the chick Niuniu was talking about.

"Which one?" Dad Gu asked.

But Niu Niu could accurately distinguish among a bunch of little yellow chickens, and she reached out and grabbed the little chicken.

The little chicken wanted to struggle, but as if he felt Niu Niu's breath, he gradually calmed down and stood obediently on Niu Niu's hand.

"Then arrange a small food trough for it." Father Gu said with a smile.

He grabbed a handful of dry reeds and after a few clicks, a palm-sized trough was ready.

Niu Niu stretched out her hand and touched the little chicken, and whispered: "You will be able to eat alone in the future, and you must grow up obediently, do you understand?"

Strangely enough, under normal circumstances, nine out of ten chickens would be unable to survive. It would be a miracle if one out of six survived.

But all six of the Gu family survived safely, and even looked more lively day by day.

But it was cold after winter, so Father Gu moved the chickens into the house at night. Their chirping inevitably disturbed the Gu family.

It's just that there is a precedent for Mr. Gu going crazy, and even Chen Chunhua has stopped, and the rest of the Gu family will not be the one who stands out.

I couldn't sleep well because of the noise from the chickens all night, and everyone was not in a very good state of mind the next day.

Chen Chunhua, on the other hand, was very jealous when she saw this situation. She ran to the village where chickens were hatched in the rain and bought a few sickly chicks.

"These little chickens are so cheap. You can buy five of them for the same price as one normal chicken!" Chen Chunhua said proudly.

Mrs. Gu reprimanded with a stern face: "I won't stop you from saving private money, but who is like you who doesn't know how to live? What if I can't support you!"

Chen Chunhua wanted to refute that Father Gu did this, but suddenly remembered that the chickens raised by her father-in-law were given by others and were free of charge.

But when she thought that even an old man with a stupid disease and a little girl could feed the sick chickens, there was no reason why she, Chen Chunhua, couldn't, so she said, "It's settled, the chickens raised by our father are not considered fair." The ones I raised don’t count!”

As soon as these words came out, Boss Gu quickly tugged on her sleeves.

When Mrs. Gu heard this, she sneered and said, "You haven't even raised this yet, and you're already dreaming! If you really want to support them all, I don't care what you do!"

With good expectations, Chen Chunhua also imitated her father Gu and stuffed the chicken into the house to keep warm.

But the chicks she raised didn't even last until the next day. After one night, they all fell stiffly into the straw basket.

"Impossible! I was obviously raised like this! Why are they all dead!"

Early in the morning, all the old Gu family heard Chen Chunhua's cry of collapse.

Although the second room of the Gu family heard the cry of the sister-in-law, they had no intention of comforting her because they were about to go out.

Originally, Gu Mingda was going to take his wife and daughter to the county to buy fabrics a few days ago, but because it had rained for several days, there was no good weather to go out.

Finally, I saw that the weather was nice early in the morning, so I hurriedly took my three children out.

Gu Zhao was very excited. He took Niu Niu's hand and ran forward: "I'm going to the county! I'm going to the county!"

Thirteen-year-old Gu Yan, who usually behaves like a little adult, had a smile on his face when this happened.

Gu Mingda and his wife smiled and watched the three children running and jumping, and reminded from behind: "Slow down, don't fall!"

The family first took an ox cart to the town, and then transferred to another ox cart to go to the county.

The county town is not very close, and it takes a full hour to ride on an ox cart, so every time we drive back and forth, the whole day just passes.

Niu Niu had never been to the city before. When she saw the city wall made of stones, her eyes widened.

After the family entered the city, they went straight to the cloth store. The dazzling array of fabrics made Niuniu, a little country bumpkin, stare straight at it.

"Ms. sir, this piece of fabric is good and resistant to stains. Just one foot of it can be used to make a dress for Niu Niu." Zhang Yunniang said, pointing to a piece of gray fabric.

Gu Mingda frowned slightly and said: "Little girls don't look good in such gray colors. Niu Niu doesn't have much clothes. Just one outfit is not enough. Not only does she have to make clothes, you also have to make them."

Zhang Yunniang looked troubled and said, "Mr. sir, if you really have to pull out so much fabric, then you won't have enough money to take the exam."

Gu Mingda was very open-minded and said, "It's not like I don't make money anymore. Maybe you haven't bought new clothes for a long time. Cut one and buy more cloth to make one for your parents."

Zhang Yuniang calculated that their family of five plus two pairs of clothes for the old couple would have to buy a lot of fabric.

"Why don't you do it to me, and hold on to yours first." Zhang Yunniang said.

Gu Mingda immediately replied: "If you don't do it, then I won't do it either!"

Zhang Yunniang was anxious: "How can this be done? You have to socialize with others when you go back to take the exam, and you need decent clothes."

"When socializing with people, it's the heart that counts, not the clothes. Don't worry. They all know what kind of person I am." Gu Mingda said with a smile.

Even so, Zhang Yunniang couldn't bear to see her husband being laughed at, but she was also afraid that her husband wouldn't have enough money to take the exam in the capital.

Gu Mingda seemed to have the ability to read minds, and he knew his wife's dilemma, so he said, "Do it all! Mr. Wang still has a debt that has not been collected, I will go to him to ask for it later!"

Zhang Yunniang was relieved, and turned to the cloth shop owner and became generous, and bought a lot of cloth in one breath.

"Buy a pink dress for Niu Niu!" Gu Mingda reminded.

The brighter the color of the cloth, the more expensive it is. Pink cloth is almost twice as expensive as gray.

Niu Niu, who had not interrupted, suddenly said, "Dad, I don't want pink. I still have to roll on the ground, pick up chicken shit, and sweep the chicken coop. It's not convenient to wear pink!"

Niu Niu's words instantly shattered Gu Mingda's fantasy about his pink daughter.

When the family came out of the cloth shop and were about to go to eat, they happened to see someone selling his own odds and ends on the roadside.

Many passers-by gathered around the stall and pointed and talked.

"Zheng Datou is selling things again. The Zheng family is so unlucky to have such a gambling loser who has pawned all their belongings!"

Someone said, "The Zheng family's ancestors were rich, maybe there are treasures in these things."

Someone immediately replied, "These odds and ends are not accepted by the pawnshop, so what treasures can there be?"

Niuniu, who was carried forward by Gu Mingda, glanced at the stall casually and suddenly reached out to pull her father's clothes.