Marry, her aunt, had already washed her hands, walked over, and playfully patted Gu Xiaoqing on the head, teasing her, "You little mischief, when did you become so sweet-mouthed? Let me see if you've been eating honey."
Gu Xiaoqing laughed and hid behind her Uncle Li Weimin, acting coy, "Uncle, Uncle, I haven't had any honey water yet. Take me up the mountain to find wild honeycombs!"
Li Weimin chuckled, "Alright, this afternoon uncle will take you up the mountain. Let's see if Xiaoqing's luck holds. Finding wild honeycombs depends on luck—it's fate if you find them, useless yearning if you don't."
The whole family burst into laughter.
Grandma Wu Zhaodi brought out a large bowl of stir-fried cabbage, tofu, and vermicelli, smiling and calling, "Stop teasing the two kids, everyone, let's eat quickly. You must be famished after working all day."
Little Aunt Han Xue quickly lent a hand by taking the bowl inside.
Li Xuemei also came out with a big plate of scrambled eggs with green onions and a basket full of white steamed buns. She saw Gu Xiaoqing laughing and messing around with her brother and her own sister-in-law, who usually looked impatient and visibly annoyed, now had a smiling face. Though not necessarily sincere, at least there was a smile.
This relieved Li Xuemei, making her feel more at ease about future discussions of borrowing money.
At least her sister-in-law's smiling face was better than her usual scowling expression.
"Brother, Sister-in-law, Second brother, Second sister-in-law, Jianguo, Jianhui, Yufeng, Yuhong, come inside. You've all worked hard for half a day, you must be exhausted," she said.
Even her own daughter could put on a face to please and charm people; what did she have to worry about?
Liu Fen's smile faded a bit but she still responded with a smile, "Your daughter's got such a sweet tongue, it's Gu Ruhai who's taught her to be so slick. Now even the little girl is teasing her aunt."
At least it was a good start.
"Sister-in-law, it wasn't me teaching her. It's all you and my brother always teasing her. Otherwise, how could she learn this? People say nephews take after uncles, so you better blame my big brother. He's the one who led her astray," Li Xuemei quipped with an ease she hadn't shown before, at least managing a chat with her sister-in-law, not always being met with cold eyes.
"Sister-in-law, she's just a talker. Everyone come in, dinner's ready, don't let it get cold," Han Xue pulled the curtain aside, smiling and inviting everyone in.
Second Uncle Li Weiqiang took the big bowl of corn porridge from his mother Wu Zhaodi, bringing it inside.
Wu Zhaodi grabbed Li Xuemei, saying, "Alright, alright, enough chatter, let's eat. After dinner, you can play with the kids."
Seeing this, Gu Xiaoqing quickly grabbed Yufeng and Yuhong's hands, saying, "Sisters, let's go together."
Yufeng and Yuhong were pleasantly surprised, knowing this cousin who seldom spoke was known for being taciturn.
Now she was cheerfully smiling, so warmly, making them both wonder.
Could something be up with Gu Xiaoqing?
But they didn't worry much, as the whole family happily started eating amid laughter and chatter.
Li Xuemei wasn't tactless enough to bring up borrowing money during dinner. That would've spoiled the mood.
At least everyone should eat their fill first, she thought.
However, Gu Xiaoqing didn't give her that chance. As soon as dinner was over, she insisted on dragging both uncles up the mountain to find some wild honey, claiming her luck today was exceptionally good.
Li Weimin and Li Weiqiang were both overwhelmed by their niece's sweet-talking and coaxing, nodding a hundred times in agreement.
Though both knew that wild honey wasn't easy to find.
Every year, the mountain and hill area were scoured by villagers countless times. If there was honey, it would've been collected long ago.
Wild honey was bought at the acquisition station for two yuan per pound, and an average wild honeycomb weighed about fifteen or sixteen pounds. That kind of windfall was something any family would want.
But since their niece asked so sweetly, the uncles couldn't bear to ruin her fun. After all, this was the first time their niece had shown such enthusiasm towards them; how could they refuse?
It could just be a fun outing for the kids up the mountain. It was autumn, and they could pick some wild fruits or grapes, making the children happy.
This was one small joy for the kids from the mountains.
So after the meal, Li Weimin and Li Weiqiang took the six children up the mountain.
After all, who among the kids didn't like running up the mountain?
Even picking wildflowers and gathering mushrooms was a joy.
Watching the children run around happily, Li Weimin and Li Weiqiang laughed too.
But as they walked, both checked around and didn't see any wild bees, not even at the edges and corners.
It seemed like they would have to return empty-handed.
They were mentally prepared for this, so the two brothers weren't upset.
They just watched the kids play.
They did come across two or three pear trees. At this time of year, the pears were already golden, so Jianguo and Jianhui, nimble and deft, climbed up and filled several bags with their clothes, giving each child an armful.
They were so happy that they couldn't close their mouths from smiling.
After all, Jianguo and Jianhui, at sixteen or seventeen, were big boys, taking care of their younger sisters and brothers, enjoying themselves.
But Gu Xiaoqing wasn't there for the pears; she really wanted the wild honey.
When she agreed to return to Grandma's house with Li Xuemei, Gu Xiaoqing had already decided to find a way to earn her tuition.
Borrowing money from Grandma's house every time would cause friction, even among relatives.
It's best to stand on one's own.
Yet, at this time, finding a way to make money quickly wasn't within Gu Xiaoqing's ability. Her head was full of ideas, but none were applicable.
Today, when her dad, Gu Ruhai, mentioned going to Grandma's to borrow money again, Gu Xiaoqing remembered something from her twelfth year. Back then, she wasn't supposed to visit Grandma's because Gu Ruhai had already decided that Gu Xiaoqing would stop schooling.
Gu Xiaoqing didn't resist as she would in this life, so there was no need to borrow money then.
But on a visit to Grandma's the following month, Gu Xiaoqing learned from her uncles' conversations that someone in her uncle's village had accidentally stumbled and found a wild honeycomb on a steep slope on the mountainside.
The discoverer was quite fortunate back then.
Reportedly, there were over fifty pounds of wild honey and honeycomb, which sold for a good sum at the purchasing station.
Gu Xiaoqing still vividly remembered her uncles' envious chatter, noting how no one ventured to that slope due to the danger, not expecting such a fortune laying there.
So Gu Xiaoqing came this time with that in mind.