Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

"Your sweet little mouth is getting more and more eloquent," Third Grandma laughed so hard she could barely close her mouth, wishing she could hug Brother Cheng and shower him with kisses.

Gu Jinli had already brought over a kitchen knife, and said to Qin San Lang, "Brother Qin, make a wish quickly, after making a wish we can cut and eat the cake."

As for the candles, well, the shop opens tomorrow, and although they had bought a few pairs of red candles for the house, the red candles now were as thick as two fingers. Using them as wish-making candles, she felt the scene would be unbearable to look at.

"Make a wish?" Qin San Lang thought it must be similar to offering incense at the temple to pray for blessings from the gods. He seemed to think of something, then earnestly put his palms together, closed his eyes, and truly made... two wishes.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and smiled, "Done."

Gu Jinli immediately cut the cake with the knife. The cake was very large, and she cut it into twenty pieces. She handed a slice to Qin San Lang, "Brother Qin, happy birthday, may all your wishes come true."

Qin San Lang smiled, took the cake, and took a bite. The sweetness, the flavor of milk, mixed with the aroma of caramelization, filled his mouth, making his smile lessen a bit.

Gu Jinli asked, "Is it good?"

Qin San Lang nodded, "It's good."

Although he didn't like overly sweet things, this cake was indeed delicious.

"Second Sister, Second Sister, I want some too," Brother Cheng said with wide, round eyes, almost drooling over the fragrant cake.

"Here you go." Gu Jinli passed a piece of cake to Brother Cheng, and then took some to Third Grandma, Mrs. Cui, and Gu Jinxiu.

After Gu Jin'an said some words to congratulate Qin San Lang on his birthday, he also picked up a piece of cake to eat. He liked sweets, and this cake was right up his alley: "Not bad, it's soft and tender, sweet and caramelized, very tasty."

Third Grandma also ate the cake and found it tasty, though it was a waste of eggs and sugar.

"Third Grandma, can we come in?" Gu Dewang, leading Gu Defa, the two brothers clinging to the courtyard gate, looked in, swallowing their saliva constantly, wanting to come in and eat the cake but afraid Third Grandma might scold them.

Third Grandma glanced at them and said, "Come on in."

"Hey." Gu Dewang, pulling along Gu Defa, ran into the courtyard, and very tactfully greeted everyone present. Lastly, he looked up at Gu Jinli, pleadingly said, "Sister Xiao Yu."

Gu Defa followed, crying out, "Sister Xiao Yu."

Seeing their greedy looks, Gu Jinli gave them each a slice of cake, "Eat up, eat slowly, okay? You only get one piece each, when it's gone, that's it."

"Hey, thanks, Sister Xiao Yu, we'll definitely eat it slowly." They said as such, but as soon as the Gu brothers received their cake, they wolfed it down, quickly finishing off their slices.

"Delicious, sweet and soft," said Gu Dewang, licking his lips and longing the remaining cake on the iron plate, but unfortunately, Gu Jinli wouldn't give him any more.

This was a birthday gift for Qin San Lang, and everyone only got to eat one piece; the rest was for Qin San Lang to take home.

The Gu brothers had been very obedient to Gu Jinli lately, taking her word as law without following their mother's behavior begging for food.

After Gu Jinli finished her own slice of cake, she took a cloth bag, picked eight pieces of cake, packed them into the bag, and handed it to Qin San Lang, "Brother Qin, take these back for Grandpa Qin and the others. If you can't finish them, take them to the Military Office. The cake is baked, so it can last for three to five days."

Again, she said, "Brother Qin, come and help us kill the fish later. Our family needs to make braising sauce to help Auntie's family. That braised fish is a hot seller; we need to make more."

The shop will open tomorrow, and tofu and braised items will be sold together in the shop. Many regular customers have said they will come to buy, so several families have been preparing these past two days.

Qin San Lang had already seen the two vats of fish placed under the kitchen's porch, and hearing Gu Jinli speak, he naturally agreed: "Okay."

He took the cloth bag and, holding the cake, went home.

Elder Qin was not at home, as he had gone to town early in the morning to get busy with the shop's opening the next day. Qin San Lang handed two pieces of cake to Qin Er Lang; unsurprisingly, Qin Er Lang disdainfully pushed his hand away.

Qin San Lang was happy to save two pieces of cake, setting them on the main hall table and covering them with a pottery bowl. He then went to Gu Jinli's house to help.

Qin San Lang was skilled with the knife; he excelled at killing fish. He and Gu Jin'an busied themselves for two hours, finishing off the two vats of fish and chopping them into large, three-finger-wide pieces.

Mrs. Cui heated oil and fried the fish pieces they'd chopped until they were crispy, then scooped them out to drain the oil.

Gu Jinli then made three new pots of braising sauce. After simmering the sauce, he soaked the fried fish pieces in it, making them ready to sell the next day.

"Third Grandma Gu, we've brought some dried tofu and fried tofu for you." Old Zhu's mother and daughter, along with Ms. Wang Ma and her sister-in-law, each carried a load of stuff into the yard.

Third Grandma pointed to the kitchen and said, "Bring it to the kitchen, Xiao Yu and the others are there."

She added, "You should go to Sister Daya's house later to see if they have any fish left to kill. If there are any, bring them here, San Lang is killing them; that child is quick and more deft at killing fish than Brother Ping."

Qi Kangping's leg was mostly healed by now. Xiao Yu and Doctor Wu had both said that he could walk around appropriately with the aid of crutches. Today was busy, so Daya let him sit and help out at home by killing fish, washing meats, and vegetables. But his work was slow, and he didn't handle the knife deftly, so Third Grandma was worried he wouldn't finish killing all the fish in Daya's house.

"Eh, we'll check Sister Daya's house on the way back," said Ms. Wang Ma. She carried the dried tofu to the kitchen porch and said to Gu Jinli, "Young Master, we've placed the dried tofu and fried tofu under the kitchen porch for you."

"Okay," Gu Jinli scooped a spoonful of braising sauce, tasted it, and finding the flavor rich enough, was satisfied and put down the spoon.

After setting down their burdens, Ms. Wang Ma and the others picked up their shoulder poles and left.

Shortly after, Ms. Wang Ma and Ms. Xu Wang brought four more buckets of fish, placing them beside Qin San Lang, and said to Gu Jin'an, "Young Master, these are the remaining fish from Sister Daya's house, they are all here now."

Gu Jin'an, while splitting fish bellies and removing innards, asked, "Can Auntie's household manage all the work? Is there anything not done yet?"

Ms. Wang Ma replied, "Sister Daya said that processing fish is the most troublesome. Now that Young Master has helped her family, it's almost done; they are already roasting ducks."

Gu Jin'an nodded, "Alright, you guys go back first; we don't need your help here."

Ms. Wang Ma and the others still needed to go back and keep busy at the workshop. Hearing this, after pouring the fish into the vats, they picked up the barrels and left.

Qin San Lang kept busy at Gu Jinli's house until nightfall, only then finishing killing and chopping the rest of the fish.

Gu Jinli remembered that today was Qin San Lang's birthday and, thinking that Elder Qin and his family probably would not celebrate, and considering he had helped out the whole day at her place, it would be rather unfair not to invite him for a meal, so she said, "Brother Qin, come over to our house for dinner tonight, I'll make some delicious food for you."

Third Grandma had already prepared everything for tomorrow's offerings and was washing rice to cook when she heard this and said, "Yes, San Lang, stay at home tonight for dinner. Everyone has been busy today, your family has surely not had the chance to make food, and since it's your birthday, you deserve a good meal."