Chapter 91: A person should repay kindness

Gu Chen looked curious, 'Isn't writing couplets your forte? Why are you still bothered?'

You should know that when Gu Chen was a child and visited his home, this old man was always writing, and his calligraphy was so beautiful and elegant.

The old man shook his head helplessly, 'That was a long time ago. Now I'm getting old, and I can't help but feel old. My hands are always shaking. Never mind, I'll go back now.'

If it weren't for this shaking hand problem, he wouldn't have had to quit. It's all so helpless.

When he said that, Gu Chen didn't feel comfortable stopping him.

He nodded, 'Okay, Uncle Wang, you go ahead. I'll bring you a bowl when it's ready!'

Although hotpot is something that has to be eaten while it's still cooking, rural people aren't so fussy about it. It's the same whether it's eaten when it's ready or after it's been cooked.

Especially for an old man like Lao Wang, as long as he can eat, that's all that matters!

Lao Wang didn't refuse either, and he cracked a smile.

'Good boy, I'll be waiting for your mouthful!'

He had no children in his life, and he truly treated Gu Chen like his own child, so there was no need for any formalities or embarrassment.

It was as if she was being filial!

Half an hour later, the hot, aromatic hotpot was ready. Shen Cuizhi even went to Lao Wang's to get an induction cooker especially for this meal.

Induction cookers were really precious items back then.

The family sat in a circle around the round table in the main room. Liu Lizhen and Fan Xiaoli's appetites had been aroused a long time ago, especially Fan Xiaoli's, who was so hungry that she was drooling.

They were waiting for Gu Chen's pot.

When they saw Gu Chen carrying a pot of red soup in, they hurriedly stood up to help.

Fan Xiaoli helped put the pot on the induction cooker, and the next second couldn't wait to rub her hands together, smiling with enthusiasm.

'Oh, this third brother really is good at cooking, it's really mouth-watering,'

Gu He also nodded in agreement, 'That's right, that stir-fried pork with green peppers at lunch was so delicious, it made me so hungry!'

Gu Hang, who had picked up his chopsticks at the sound of this, looked over at his second son with disgust, 'Come on, what do you eat that doesn't make you hungry?'

At this moment, Ji Pianran and Shen Cuizhi walked in carrying all kinds of dishes.

There were oyster mushrooms, tofu skins, meat rolls, bamboo shoots, and more.

As soon as the food was on the table, everyone scrambled to get to the pot.

If there was anyone to blame, it was Gu Chen, whose hotpot was just too delicious.

Just the smell made people salivate.

The family sat down, chatting and laughing, and everyone picked up their chopsticks and waited for it to be ready to eat.

Only Gu Chen didn't seem in a hurry. He still had to deliver some to the old man.

Gu Chen returned to the kitchen, found a small porcelain basin, and then returned to the main hall.

By now, the food was almost ready, and everyone was eager to start eating.

Gu Chen smiled and said, 'Don't worry, I'll take some to Uncle Wang. Without his induction cooker, we wouldn't be able to eat this hotpot.'

This is true. As the saying goes, 'One should not forget the one who helped one when one is in trouble.'

Gu Chen has never been an ungrateful person, especially not to someone who has loved him since childhood.

He is truly grateful.

After saying that, he basically finished scooping up all the food in the first pot.

After scooping it up, he didn't forget to take some of the soup with him.

This made Fan Xiaoli very jealous. Why? It was just about to be done cooking, and she hadn't even had a single bite with her chopsticks, but it was already being scooped away.

She pouted in frustration and sat down dejectedly.

Gu Hang, on the other hand, approved of what Gu Chen had done.

This kid, he knows how to repay kindness, he's a good guy!

Just for that, he can't do anything that offends his conscience in the future!

Gu Chen carried the basin and went to the neighbouring old man's house.

The door was unlocked, and as soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw several wreaths standing by the wall, next to which there were some cranes or something.

It looked like they were for the mother of the village chief.

Gu Chen took a closer look and noticed that there was not a single word on the wreaths.

He frowned. Just now, he said that he was bothered by writing, and Gu Chen didn't think it was a big deal, after all, this old man was very professional at writing couplets and engraving epitaphs.

But now, he suddenly felt that it seemed to be true.

Thinking about this, Gu Chen entered the room with a steaming hot pot.

Inside, Lao Wang was sitting at the table, holding a brush in his hand, his face full of a long-suffering expression.

There were also quite a few pieces of used Xuan paper scattered on the floor, which looked like they had been used for writing.

Seeing Gu Chen come in, he suddenly remembered how he used to come to his house as a child and beg for food.

He couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, 'How the times have changed.' He gestured with his hands, 'When you were little, you were only this tall, following me around all day. "Uncle Wang, I'm hungry," "Uncle Wang, I want to eat ice cream," and in the blink of an eye you've grown so tall.'

There was an undeniable sense of loss in his aged voice.

Afterwards, Lao Wang suddenly smiled again. It turned out that the little brat who had asked for food from him had now come to bring him food.

Gu Chen placed the hotpot on the square table at the back and said, 'It's ready, Uncle Wang, eat something first, it won't taste as good if it gets cold.'

The hotpot really did smell delicious.

But Wang Laoren wasn't in the mood right now. After all, he hadn't written any of the couplets himself. There were six pairs of wreaths in total, and there were two in each pair, which meant he had to write twelve pairs of couplets.

This was a disaster that had come at the last minute.

Especially since the other party was the village chief.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt depressed!

Seeing that he was not moving, Gu Chen went over to the writing table and took a look. His expression could not help but show some regret.

'Are you really unable to write?'

Lao Wangtou was already anxious, and when he heard Gu Chen ask, he snapped, 'What kind of nonsense is that! Brat, you want to make fun of me?'

Gu Chen looked at the wrinkles on the old man's face and couldn't help feeling sorry for him. 'That's not a thing to say. No one wants to see you made fun of. If you can't write it, I'll do it.'

Gu Chen had thought that intermediate calligraphy would only be limited to writing spring couplets, but he had never imagined that he could also write an elegy.

He felt like laughing.

When he heard him say that, the old man laughed out loud. 'You little brat, did you drink too much at lunch and not sober up?'

He didn't know about other people, but he knew all about Gu Chen. His handwriting was worse than a dog's. And he was writing a couplet.

'Okay, stop it. I'm taking a break to see if I can do it later.'

He finished speaking, stood up, and walked over to the table where the others were eating.

He immediately started eating with the chopsticks Gu Chen had used to pick up the vegetables.

After just one bite, his expression changed to one of surprise.

I didn't know Gu Chen had such cooking skills. This hotpot is really authentic.

If I didn't know any better, I'd swear Gu Chen was born and raised in Sichuan!

"Mmm, the taste is authentic! You're something, kid.'

After saying that, he noticed there were still some beef bones in the pot, so he eagerly started to nibble on them.

Gu Chen wasn't idle either. He picked up a brush and started writing a couplet on the book next to him.

With his back to Lao Wang, Lao Wang was about to say something when he turned around and saw Gu Chen actually writing with a brush. Although he didn't know what it said, from the back it looked like it was written well, with the right technique and power.

He was a little surprised, and without even putting down the cow bone, he walked over to Gu Chen.

He leaned his head forward to see what Gu Chen had written.

Lao Wang was completely shocked.

Gu Chen wrote this?

The strokes are vigorous and mature, and the characters flow like clouds and water. This is even better than what I wrote myself!

What the hell has that brat been doing for the past few years since his marriage?

The cow bone in his hand dropped to the ground with a 'pop'.

Hearing the sound, he reacted, bent down to pick it up, and exclaimed, 'What a sin, such a fragrant bone, I haven't even finished gnawing on it yet and it's already fallen!'