Chapter 21
After taking a hot bath, her body felt much more comfortable. When she went out, she found that the two little ones had come back from picking wild vegetables and were now squatting on the ground washing the vegetables in a basin.
"Older Baby, Second Baby." Seeing their surprisingly well-behaved appearance, Luo Ge couldn't help pinching their little cheeks.
Over this period of time under her feeding, the two little ones had also gained some weight. Their soft little cheeks felt really good to touch.
"Auntie." The two little ones' faces turned red from embarrassment from being pinched lightly twice.
"Mm, auntie's good cubs, shall we have potato soup today?" There was hardly any ingredients at home, so it's better to make something quick and good to eat.
"Okay!"
"Okay!"
The two little ones answered in unison. Children who are not picky eaters are easy to raise.
Potato soup was simple to make, so Luo Ge shooed Gu Jinchen who had bustled in enthusiastically to help out of the kitchen. She took some eggs out of her storage space and simply made a potato egg drop soup for lunch with the wild vegetables.
"There are still eggs at home? When I checked the cabinet earlier it seemed there were none left." While the two little ones ate with great relish, Gu Jinchen asked doubtfully instead.
He had wanted to make red sugar eggs for his wife to eat earlier, but found that there were no more eggs in the cabinet. He was thinking of going to the village later to ask someone to exchange for some.
While he couldn't do much else, he could still cook eggs with red sugar syrup boiled together.
Oh no!
Hearing his words, Luo Ge's heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained unchanged as she nodded.
"Mm, I brought back a few yesterday and put them under the cabinet."
Hearing Luo Ge say this, Gu Jinchen didn't think much of it and nodded before letting the matter rest.
Luo Ge secretly heaved a sigh of relief. The matter of her storage space was too mystical and unbelievable. People at this time tended to believe in monsters, ghosts and spirits, and she really didn't know how to tell him about it.
She would also be afraid. She didn't know if he could accept it, and she really didn't want to be tied up and burned as a monster or drowned in a pig cage.
"I want to go up the mountain this afternoon, do you want to come along?" Just as she was lost in thought, Gu Jinchen suddenly spoke up.
She had been here for quite some time now, but it seemed like he hadn't taken her around much. There was a scenic spot on the back of the mountain that had nice scenery that he wanted to take her to see.
Wild beasts hid deep in the mountains. The back of the mountain only had some rabbits, birds and the like, with no danger.
But there would sometimes be snakes too, which was why he didn't dare let the two little ones run up there alone.
With him accompanying and protecting his wife, he had truly noticed that she was bored these days, propping up her chin spacing out with nothing to do.
Being free these days, it seemed she was indeed a little bored cooped up at home all day. He was afraid that she would feel stifled, so bringing her out for some fresh air would be good too.
Hearing his words, Luo Ge's eyes lit up. "Really?"
Seeing how sternly he had admonished the two little ones, she didn't dare set her sights on the back of the mountain.
But having read so many novels, she was really curious about the 'treasure hidden behind the mountain' trope.
Seeing her delight, Gu Jinchen laughed and nodded. "Of course."
The two little ones didn't know when they had stopped eating. Their eyes were fixed longingly on the two adults.
"Uncle, we want to go too." Older Baby said in a small voice, full of anticipation.
Second Baby looked at Gu Jinchen with his watery big eyes in an attempt to sway him with his cuteness.
Gu Jinchen had to say he was successfully attacked this time. Faced with such longing looks identical to his wife's just now, his heart felt itchy. If not for the two little ones around, he really wanted to pull his wife into his arms and kiss her soundly.
After some hesitation, looking between the expectant little ones and his wife, he finally nodded.
"Then let's go together."
"Yay!" As soon as Older Baby heard, he cheered loudly.
"I want to catch rabbits like uncle caught so many." Second Baby said excitedly, clapping his hands.
To them, the person they admired the most was their uncle. In their eyes, their uncle was the most amazing person, so they also wanted to become as amazing as their uncle.
The smile on Luo Ge's face was unrestrained. Looking at Gu Jinchen, her eyes were bright with specks of light.
Seeing her like this made Gu Jinchen's heart feel itchy. If not for the two little ones present, he really wanted to pull his wife into his arms and kiss her thoroughly.
After the meal, everyone quickly took their little back baskets in great anticipation, wearing conical hats on their heads to block the sun. They lined up eagerly looking at Gu Jinchen.
Gu Jinchen smiled helplessly with a sigh: "Alright...let's go."
It was already September in this mid-autumn season. The leaves on the trees in the woods had started turning yellow.
The light breeze gently blew past, bringing the refreshing scent of trees and nature's freshest air that made one want to breathe in deeply a couple more times.
The land around Gu Family Village was relatively high. The back mountain gradually sloped upwards into tall peaks. By the time Gu Jinchen had brought them halfway up the hillside, they could already overlook the entire village below.
"Wow! So many houses!" Older Baby pointed at the scenery below, gasping in wonder with his mouth agape.
They had never tried looking at the village this way before. Their eyes were filled with novelty.
"Look! That's Brother Tie Dan." Second Baby suddenly yelled while pointing at a spot.
From here, they could clearly see each other's courtyard. Tie Dan happened to be in the courtyard chatting with Old Master Wang when they spotted him.
"That's Grandpa Han's house." Older Baby looked at the village, pointing at a house as he spoke.
Gu Jinchen and Luo Ge stood behind them as they watched this scene. At some unknown point, Gu Jinchen had already come to her side. Since the wind was quite strong now, afraid that she couldn't hear clearly, he leaned in slightly and brought his head near her ear.
"It's even more scenic at the mountaintop if we go further up."
His voice was gentle and his breath tickled her ear. His tone was as if sharing a little secret, and Luo Ge's ear reddened slightly as she unconsciously shrank her neck.
"Then...let's walk further up." A little shy with a red face, even her speech became clumsy, just like how he would get nervous.
Oblivious to how alluring he was being, Gu Jinchen didn't understand why his wife suddenly became shy. But seeing her like this, he truly liked it.
"Okay." Carrying one little one, a basket on his back carrying the other, and holding his wife's hand, he headed up towards the peak.
Soon, they reached their destination.
"Are you tired? Have some water first." Luo Ge had brought water along, intending to pass her water flask to him from her basket.
"No need, I'm not tired." Gu Jinchen shook his head, setting the two little ones down. After carrying the little ones on his back for so long, his forehead didn't even have a sheen of sweat.
Seeing this, Luo Ge had to admire his stamina. The two little ones' legs were short and couldn't walk fast. From the start of going up the mountain, he had simply carried them up like this the whole time. Even after walking for so long, he wasn't even out of breath or breathing heavily. His stamina was truly enviable.
Before she could finish marveling, Gu Jinchen already pulled her along to one side of the peak.
Following his line of sight, Luo Ge was instantly stunned by the sight.
In the distance, endless undulating green hills extended as far as the eye could see. Meandering rivers circled below.
Dimly, one could still see the smoke rising from households. Birds cried loudly as they flew past over the mountains, surrounding one's ears together with the crisp winds.
"So beautiful." Luo Ge said softly. Without any pollution, everything was the most pristine natural scenery with lush green hills, emerald waters and azure skies.
Seeing her happy expression, Gu Jinchen also smiled. "You can see the sunrise here when it just comes up. It looks even better then. I'll bring you here again next time."
"Okay."
The two little ones also came over, clinging onto Gu Jinchen's legs while looking up at him longingly. They were so short that bushes obstructed their view so they couldn't see anything.
Amused, Luo Ge picked up Second Baby.
"Do you like the sight?" Seeing the little one's bright expression, she laughed as she asked.
"So many mountains." Second Baby turned his head towards her upon hearing her words, pointing at the front.
"You can also see other villages," Older Baby was also picked up by Gu Jinchen, holding Gu Jinchen's neck and looking at the scenery below.
The little one didn't have many adjectives to describe if it looked good or bad, anyway his eyes were shining brightly.
Seeing this little couple smiling at each other, after enjoying the scenery, they started looking for things in the mountains.
Under Gu Jinchen's guidance, the two little ones made several traps to catch prey.
After they were done, they eyed the traps expectantly, seemingly eager for the prey to come running over.
Luo Ge watched them and walked around to see if there was any yield.
It could be said that she was quite lucky. Not far away, she discovered two nests of wild chicken eggs. When she came over, she also saw a big fat chicken that had just flown away.
However, there weren't many eggs. One nest had two eggs, and the other nest only had one.
"Older Baby and Second Baby, come quickly. Auntie found two nests of wild chicken eggs." Finding wild eggs in the wild brought as much happiness as opening a blind box and discovering treasures. Sharing this happiness was quite nice.
Sure enough, soon after she spoke, two little figures came trotting over, with Gu Jinchen following behind.
"Wow, there really are chicken eggs!"
"Is it hot?" Older Baby touched it with his hand, looking confused.
"The wild chicken had just run away when Auntie came over, so these eggs were probably just laid. A chicken's belly is hot, so the chicken eggs that just came out of the chicken's belly are also hot."
Seeing the little one's appearance, Luo Ge said with a smile.
"Oh, that's how it is." Only then did the little one nod his head. He carefully picked up both nests of eggs and handed them to Luo Ge.
"Auntie, take them. Let's go back and cook brown sugar chicken eggs to eat." He remembered that little uncle said he would cook them this morning.