Chapter 16: I Don't Know How to Sew

The room was dimly lit. Gu Ping'an hadn't initially looked toward Gu Tang's bed, but as he drew closer, he stopped in a daze. "Second Sister! Where did you get so many furs?"

"Traded them for rabbits." Gu Tang was still busy fiddling with a rabbit skin, and she casually tossed one into Gu Ping'an's arms.

"Touch it. Is it soft? To get these skins, I've nearly hunted every rabbit in the back mountains."

Gu Ping'an hurriedly caught it with both hands and couldn't help but stroke it a few times, his face filled with joy. "It's so soft and smooth! This is rabbit fur, right? Uncle has a fur coat made of rabbit skin. Grandma is very careful with it and rarely lets anyone touch it; even Auntie can only look at it with envy."

"I remember, wasn't that coat obtained by Father?" This memory existed in the original host's mind.

It had happened four or five years ago, during a pig plague. Wild boars were rampant throughout the mountain forests. In the dead of winter, with nothing to eat, the large boars led their young down the mountain, entering the village to scavenge for food from house to house.

At the time, the village head called a group of able-bodied men to hunt the wild boars, and her father went along with them, helping to kill several of them.

Besides the wild boars, others used fishing nets to catch many rabbits. When her father saw this, he used some of the wild boar meat to trade for the freshly skinned rabbit furs.

Her father's intention was to use the skins to make a fur coat—not intended for anyone in particular, but just to have it ready in the house so that whoever had to travel far could wear it. At the very least, they would have a proper garment to ward off the cold.

Just as the rabbit skins were being tanned by a hunter from a neighboring village, Old Man Gu in the main hall suddenly fell ill.

Madam Feng claimed it was a cold, but her words and implications all pointed toward her wanting those dozen or so rabbit skins.

Her father refused to give them.

Madam Feng both cried and cursed, even using Gu Laian—who was still studying at the time—as a way to guilt him, insisting that her father must hand the skins over.

In the end, to protect his eldest brother, her father gave in and reluctantly delivered the rabbit skins to the main hall.

Not long after the elders of the Gu family received the skins, her eldest uncle suddenly had a new fur coat.

It was self-evident where the skins had come from.

Because of that incident, her father went out for a drink, and upon returning, he used the alcohol as an excuse to make a scene, smashing his eldest uncle's inkstones and brushes.

The elders were in the wrong to begin with, and seeing how much of a ruckus her father was making, they didn't dare say much and let him vent his rage.

People often say that human hearts are biased from birth, but a bias as blatant as Madam Feng's was truly chilling.

Hearing Gu Tang mention this, Gu Ping'an waved his hands repeatedly. "Don't talk about that! Grandma won't let us mention it! She tells everyone outside that they were bought with silver, and won't let anyone say they were snatched from Father!"

Gu Tang raised an eyebrow. "So Grandma knows they were snatched? Has there been any movement in the main hall or the east wing today?"

"They're decocting medicine!" Gu Ping'an pointed outside the courtyard. "Yesterday, Physician Gu from our clan came. He said Grandpa has 'chest oppression' and Eldest Uncle has brain damage, and he prescribed medicine for both. Early this morning, Second Cousin hurried to Physician Gu's house and brought back over ten packets of medicine. They're decocting them in the east wing right now; the whole courtyard smells of medicine."

Speaking of decocting medicine, Gu Ping'an remembered something else. "Second Sister, Father wanted to come and ask you just now when the medicine you gathered yesterday will be ready."

Gu Tang paused. Medicine? She had indeed gathered a few packets, but they weren't for treating illness; they were for health-preserving tonic soups.

"They're on the bed. Don't go anywhere today; stay home and decoct the medicine for me."

Gu Ping'an looked hesitant. "We haven't chopped enough firewood for winter yet. It looks like it's going to rain today. If I don't go chop wood, how will we keep warm in the winter?"

"The wood you chopped previously is enough for our branch of the family. If the others have no wood, that's their own business. You just focus on decocting my medicine peacefully. If anyone asks, tell them exactly that—tell them I said so!"

"What about Father..." Gu Ping'an's expression was slightly timid; he was somewhat afraid of his father.

"What about Father? If Father dares to make you go chop wood, I'll tear his house down!" Gu Tang's eyes flashed fiercely.

"Alright! I'll listen to you, Second Sister." Gu Ping'an cheered up, grabbed the medicine packets, and prepared to leave.

Remembering that the water hadn't been boiled yet, Gu Tang hurriedly called him back. "I haven't washed up yet. Don't rush to decoct the medicine; boil some water first."

"Yes!" Gu Ping'an responded cheerfully and stepped out of the room.

Not having to brave the freezing wind to chop wood in the mountains made Gu Ping'an feel wonderful.

In such cold weather, without warm clothing, only a fool would want to go chop wood!

Before, he had no choice. No one had stood up for him, and he didn't dare show disrespect to his father, so he could only silently endure the hardship.

Now that his Second Sister was willing to stand up for him—setting aside everything else, just based on her aura yesterday—there truly was no one in the Gu family who dared to provoke her.

Strangely enough, ever since Second Sister returned from the mountains and fell ill last time, her temperament had changed quite a bit.

He wondered if Grandma had mistreated her so severely that it had driven her mad.

A couple of years ago, there was someone in a neighboring village who was constantly beaten and scolded by her in-laws. Later, it was said she had "lost her mind" and killed her entire family with a knife, before eventually going insane.

Could Second Sister be like that too?

The more Gu Ping'an thought, the more worried he became. He went to the kitchen, found his father who was cooking porridge, and told him his worries.

Gu Lianshan's face darkened immediately. "You're a boy, why are you acting like a woman, filling your head with nonsense all day? Your sister has simply gained clarity!"

Gained clarity? Not lost her mind?

Gu Ping'an looked bewildered.

"Your sister said she has realized something: living a life of grievance is still living, and living a life of satisfaction is also living. Since it's all just living, why must one live miserably?"

Gu Ping'an paused. His sister's words made sense.

"Your sister's medicine?" Glancing at the medicine packets in his son's hands, Gu Lianshan's stirring of the porridge quickened slightly.

"Yes, Second Sister's medicine."

After a moment of hesitation, Gu Ping'an asked tentatively, "Second Sister said she wants me to stay home today to decoct her medicine..."

Gu Lianshan was a shrewd man; he understood immediately upon hearing this. "Your sister isn't letting you chop wood anymore?"

"Yeah, she said not to go. She said the wood I've already chopped is enough for us, and if the others have no wood, they can chop it themselves!"

As he spoke, Gu Ping'an stole a few glances at his father, wondering if he would be angry.

Gu Lianshan didn't notice his son's gaze. His stirring paused for a moment, and it took a while before he spoke. "It's only right. In a large family like this, it's understandable if the elderly can't work, but the adults and the young—who among them doesn't have strength? Everyone just huddles in their rooms, one complaining about the cold, another saying they can't stand it. We are farmers; even a three-year-old in other families knows how to help gather wood. In our house, everyone just stays indoors dreaming of being masters, ladies, or young misses. That makes no sense..."

Receiving his father's approval, Gu Ping'an was very happy. He put down the medicine packets, lit the clay stove, and used a clay pot to boil water for Gu Tang.

Gu Lianshan glanced over but said nothing.

One look was enough to know it was definitely his daughter's command.

"By the way, Father." Gu Ping'an remembered something.

"Second Sister is in her room sewing a fur coat. It looks to me like she doesn't really know how; she sews it and then rips it apart. She's been at it for a long time, but hasn't finished a single piece."

(End of Chapter)