95. Chapter 95: The Awkward Bear Acts Cute

The little bear on the ground was furry and clumsy in motion, so adorable that it was impossible not to laugh at it. Jiao Yan quite liked it and was tempted to keep it.

“Father, why not keep it? We can raise it at home. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“You think it’s fun now, but in less than a month it could slap you flat with one paw. Jiao’er, this is no joke. The wild creatures on the mountain are fierce.”

Seeing his daughter so taken with it, Gu Chengyong could only soften his voice and patiently talk her out of it.

Jiao Yan curled her lip. “All right, then. Let it stay here for a while first, and sell it later.”

At such a tender age, even if it were returned to the mountains, it would never survive. If they sold it, perhaps someone else might be able to keep it alive. Though Jiao Yan hated to part with it, the thought of it growing into a huge black bear in the future made her feel a little frightened. Fine, then. They would raise it for a while and decide later.

At that moment, Feng also came out from the house. Her concern was different from Jiao Yan’s; she first checked to see whether her sons and husband had been injured. Wenxiu and the others were all right, but Gu Chengyong, while fighting the big bear, had been scratched on the left arm by a bear claw.

“Husband, you’re bleeding! Hurry, come inside and let me bandage it.” Feng was a little anxious and tugged at Gu Chengyong, trying to pull him toward the house.

“Ziyu, it’s nothing. Just a bit of skin torn. I’ll finish dealing with today’s game first, and tonight you can put medicine on it.” Gu Chengyong laughed as he pulled away her hand. “Look, the men in our family brought back quite a haul today.”

In the courtyard lay a big black bear, along with a wild boar, a roe deer, three or five wild rabbits, and several pheasants. Gu Chengyong was skilled, and Wenxiu and the others were no slouches either, so they seldom came back empty-handed from the mountains. But to bring back so much in one day was still unusual.

“At this season, why did you bring back so much game? If we can’t finish it, it’ll spoil.” Seeing all the prey on the ground, Feng shook her head with a smile. “After you clean it up, send some to the east courtyard. Give some to your cousin’s place too, and split some with Seventh Grandfather and Second Uncle.”

“Nothing needs to be sent to my cousin’s place. Shaoyuan went into the mountains with us today, and I’ve already given them a roe deer and some pheasants and rabbits. I’ll clean everything up now, and later send some to Seventh Grandfather and Second Uncle’s homes.” As he spoke, Gu Chengyong drew the dagger from his waist and set to work on the game.

“It’s just right, since the festival is tomorrow. With all this meat, we can celebrate properly. And since Xiuli’s engagement is the day after tomorrow, we ought to serve decent wine and dishes.” Gu Chengyong muttered as he peeled off the bear hide.

Wenxiu and the others were not idle either; they helped gut and clean the smaller game. In no time, the courtyard was thick with the smell of blood, and Feng could not stand it anymore. She led Jiao Yan inside. “Jiao’er, let’s not stay out here watching. It’s all blood. Come on, inside.”

Jiao Yan picked up the little bear and followed her mother into the house.

It did not take Gu Chengyong and the others long to clean all the game. He handled the bear gall, paws, and the like with great care, and divided the rest of the meat into several portions. “Boss, take the fourth and fifth boys and deliver this meat to Seventh Grandfather’s house. You know what to say, don’t you?”

Gu Chengyong found a basket, filled it to the brim with meat, and handed it to Wenxiu.

“Yes, Father. Don’t worry.” Wenxiu smiled and left with the basket.

Wen Tao and Wen Qi, take the rest to your Second Grandfather’s place.

Once the children had gone, Gu Chengyong carried the meat their own family would keep into the kitchen and told Feng to store it properly. Then he came back out, carrying several more pieces of game, and headed for the east courtyard.

By then, the east courtyard was already preparing for supper. Mrs. Li was directing her daughters-in-law as they cleaned off the table. When she turned and saw Gu Chengyong bringing over so much meat, her face broke into a smile.

“Well, well, you did bring back quite a haul from the mountains today. Eldest daughter-in-law, hurry and fetch a bigger basin to put the meat in. After dinner, salt what needs salting. Tomorrow Xiuyun and Xiulan will be back, and the day after tomorrow we’ll be hosting guests at home. With all this meat, we’ll save a great deal.”

As she directed the women to work, Mrs. Li called out to Gu Chengyong. “Second son, your father is inside. Go on in and keep him company for a while.”

Recently, Mrs. Li seemed like a different person entirely, and her attitude toward Gu Chengyong had become much better than before.

Gu Chengyong nodded and went into the inner room. “Father, I went into the mountains today and brought back quite a lot. I sent some over so everyone can have a taste.”

He was as he had always been, treating the old man with the same attitude as before, as though that day’s quarrel had never happened.

“Good, good. With you at home, our family never lacks food.” The old man seemed to have forgotten that matter as well. Seeing his son, his smile did not fade for a moment.

Over there, Gu Chengyi, Gu Chengxin, and the others hurried to greet Gu Chengyong as well. Gu Chengren even stood up specially. “Second Brother has worked hard. Only Second Brother has such great skill. If you ask me, there isn’t a single hunter in our village who can compare with him.”

Gu Chengyong only smiled and shook his head, not following along with Gu Chengren’s praise. “It’s the holiday, and school is off, isn’t it? Come back and stay a few more days. Father misses you too.”

Inside the room, father, sons, and brothers talked and laughed, the atmosphere warm and harmonious. In the outer room, Mrs. Li had the daughters-in-law dish out all the food and carry it one by one onto the table in the inner room.

“Second son, stay and eat here with us. Everything’s already prepared.” Mrs. Li even made the rare effort to keep him for supper.

“No need. My wife has already prepared everything at home, and I’ve got a bit of a wound on me too. I should go back and let her put some medicine on it.” Gu Chengyong had no intention of staying to eat. Mrs. Li had been controlling the family’s food more and more tightly lately; if he stayed, the little girls from the third branch would probably go hungry.

As he spoke, Gu Chengyong bade his father farewell and got up to leave. Mrs. Li had only spoken casually; since he refused to stay, she was quite pleased and did not stop him.

“The Jiang family will be coming the day after tomorrow. Tell your wife to dress the children neatly and tidy herself up as well. Then come over and help me receive the guests.”

“And tomorrow morning, there’s no need to cook. Everyone come over here for zongzi. Eat here tomorrow. Xiuyun and Xiulan are coming back, and you’ve brought in so much food as well. We’ll have a proper celebration tonight.” Mrs. Li then remembered this and reminded him again. After all, it was a festival, and with a daughter who had married out returning home, it would not look good to let Gu Chengyong’s family eat separately. Today, remarkably generous, Mrs. Li took the initiative to mention it.

Gu Chengyong nodded. He had already guessed as much. “All right. I’ll tell my wife when I get back.”

Then he headed back to the west courtyard to eat supper with his wife and children.

After supper, the children went to study as usual. But tonight, everyone was a little distracted, because the little bear had actually run into the west room as well, and was rolling around on the floor.

How could the children concentrate with such a silly little bear rolling about and acting cute on the floor? One by one, they were all drawn to the amusing little creature.

“Jiao’er, look how funny it is! Hahaha, it can even roll over! Hahaha, this is killing me.” Wen Tao pointed at the little bear rolling back and forth on the floor, laughing until he nearly doubled over.

The children were laughing nonstop in the west room, and Gu Chengyong and his wife heard them. Finding it strange, they went over to take a look, only to see the little bear still sprawled on the floor, unwilling to get up.

Feng held back her laughter and said, “Husband, you’d better carry that little rascal out. With it here, how can these children study in peace? In a few days, once the house is no longer so busy, we can either sell it or send it back to the mountains. We can’t keep this thing at home.”

Gu Chengyong bent down and snatched up the little bear. “All of you study properly. Is learning something to be treated so casually? Keep away from this fellow, and be careful he doesn’t scratch one of you.” With that, he carried the little bear outside.

The children were left looking at one another, and only after a long while did they lower their heads and return to their books.

The night passed without incident. The next day, after the children finished their martial training, Gu Chengyong took them to the river to wash their faces before returning to the Gu household.

Mrs. Li was standing in the courtyard, tying five-colored cords on the children’s wrists. When she saw Gu Chengyong bringing the children back, she said, “Come over quickly. I’ll tie the five-colored cords on all of you.”

The five-colored cords were made by twisting together silk threads of five different colors, then leaving them overnight outside to gather dew. On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, they were tied around the children’s wrists, ankles, and necks. In the village, all children under ten were usually made to wear them. Mrs. Li had prepared the cords the night before and left them outside, and this morning she was tying them onto each child.

“Go on, all of you. Let Grandma tie the five-colored cords on you. That’s our family’s custom.” Gu Chengyong smiled and signaled for the children to step forward.

So Wen Tao and Wen Qi led their younger brothers and sisters up to Mrs. Li and allowed her to tie the cords on them.

“Remember this: when it rains, you must cut these off and throw them into the ditch.” As she tied the cords, Mrs. Li reminded them.

After the cords were tied, Mrs. Li then ordered the daughters-in-law to get breakfast ready. That morning’s food was zongzi and eggs. In a rare display of generosity, Mrs. Li gave everyone enough zongzi to fill them up: the adults got one egg each, and the children got two.

“It doesn’t taste as good as what our mother used to make,” Wen Ping and Wen Zhi murmured on either side of Jiao Yan.

Jiao Yan smiled. That was only natural. In the past, Feng had always been most generous with the ingredients when making zongzi. Besides, in the south there were many kinds of zongzi, with all sorts of fillings and flavors. How could those possibly compare with the Gu family’s current millet zongzi?