Dai Ying smiled at her without any hesitation, "Like a cat."
After saying that, he went upstairs.
Zhao Jiujiu stood there, staring at her back for two seconds, muttered something under her breath, and then went to find Song Jue.
***
As for Shen Wuqiu, because the ground outside was wet, her six elders forbade her to go out, so she had to stay at home.
After breakfast, fearing that one of the female elders would call her for a talk, she took out a Go board game that she had found by rummaging through the house as soon as she left the table and asked Gu Lingyu to play with her.
Unexpectedly, after the cat she thought was not very smart became familiar with the rules of the game, she couldn't win a single round.
She even began to wonder if the old saying "pregnancy makes you stupid for three years" was true.
Seeing that he was about to lose the next seven games, Shen Wuqiu lost interest in playing and was about to concede defeat when he saw a certain cat place a white piece.
With the placement of her white piece, the game underwent a dramatic transformation.
The cat, seemingly oblivious, seemed to say, "Sister, it's your turn."
Shen Wuqiu looked at her, then placed her black stone on the fourth black stone in a horizontal line, completing the five stones in a row—she had won.
As soon as she placed the piece, a certain cat immediately said, "I didn't even notice, sister is so amazing."
"..." Listening to her affected praise, Shen Wuqiu was completely convinced that the other party had let her win this round. "Your acting skills are not at all inherited from Aunt Dai."
"..." Gu Lingyu blinked, "Sister isn't happy even though she won."
"Winning is unfair and pointless. I'm quitting."
"How is it an unfair victory?"
Shen Wuqiu looked at her.
Gu Lingyu immediately felt guilty. "Okay, I admit I gave way a little bit. But I gave way to my sister because I was deeply impressed by her personal charm. I wouldn't give way to anyone else. So in the end, it was still my sister who won because of her own ability."
Fallacy.
However, kind words can always soothe the soul.
Shen Wuqiu glanced around the hall, saw no one else, and lazily stretched. Then, as if thinking of something, she blurted out, "Are you deeply swayed by my personal charm, or are you succumbing to it?"
Gu Lingyu stared at her pointing to her stomach, paused for two seconds, and then looked puzzled: "Why would I submit to them? They definitely can't beat me."
They were talking past each other.
It has absolutely no charm.
Shen Wuqiu sighed, no longer wanting to talk to her. She got up and looked around. She only saw her father and Gu Junshan chatting in the corridor. Zhao Jiujiu and Dai Ying were nowhere to be seen. She was quite puzzled, since these two women had been enjoying competing for her these past two days.
Surprisingly, I didn't see a single person.
"Auntie, where are my aunt and uncle?"
"They were all just here." With so many more people in the family who love fish, Su Yunzhi was in the kitchen processing the extra fish from the reservoir. She specially lit a coal fire to dry the fish, and only after flipping the last piece of fish did she turn around. "What? Do you need to see them?"
"It's nothing, just asking casually." Shen Wuqiu's mouth watered at the smell of the grilled fish. "What did they put in it? It smells so good."
"I just added some common spices like fennel when pickling it." Su Yunzhi noticed that she was craving it, so she lifted the newspaper and took out a small piece. "Would you like to try some?"
"Is it ready to eat now?"
"It's ready, it just depends on whether you like it or not." As she spoke, Su Yunzhi leaned closer to her and whispered, "Lingyu loves to eat, just like Wangcai. Sometimes when I see her eating uncooked dried fish with such relish, I wonder if she's a cat."
It's not just a cat, it's a cat by nature.
Shen Wuqiu felt a little uncomfortable. "Maybe it's just that I like it."
“I didn’t marinate the dried fish I grilled before, so they had no flavor at all. I’ve never seen anyone eat them with such relish. And you too, I don’t know if you caught her taste, but you’re also growing to love fish more and more.”
What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. Shen Wuqiu glanced down at her stomach, holding the small piece of dried fish, and dared not eat it.
Su Yunzhi noticed that she took the dried fish away from her lips again, thinking that she didn't like it. "You're not used to eating this kind of dried fish, are you?"
"A little."
“I see you all like to eat it, especially Lingyu. She loves these dried fish so much. I was afraid they wouldn’t taste good if you just grilled them like this, so I specially marinated them with seasonings. But you don’t seem to like it.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Wuqiu picked up the dried fish and took a small bite. "However, the taste is still quite good."
Su Yunzhi turned around and fiddled with the dried fish, breaking off a piece and putting it in her mouth. "This time it's a bit too salty."
Seeing that she kept turning over and over, and thinking about the kittens in her belly, who would most likely be just like their mother in the future, Shen Wuqiu guessed that roasting dried fish would become a big project for their family. So she said, "Roasting fish like this is a bit troublesome. Let's buy an oven another day."
Su Yunzhi glanced at the cabinet and said, "Look, the last time I replaced the range hood in the kitchen, they gave me one as a gift, but it doesn't work well."
"I'll buy a bigger and better one."
Su Yunzhi thought that Su Yunzhi was worried about Su Yunzhi's hard work in grilling dried fish, which made her feel a little relieved. She didn't want Su Yunzhi's things and said the truth: "No need. Your father's money is now in your brother's hands. You are spending money everywhere now, and you are pregnant. You don't need to spend money on these things."
Shen Wuqiu didn't say anything, but just watched her bend down and carefully turn over the dried fish. After a while, she put all the small pieces of dried fish in her hand into her mouth.
Su Yunzhi flipped through it once, then handed her another piece. "Take this and let Lingyu try it. It used to be plain, but today's dried fish has some five-spice flavor. See if she likes it."
Shen Wuqiu nodded, didn't say anything more to her, and went out with the dried fish.
The cat is probably a bit too engrossed in playing Connect Four and is still playing by itself.
"Here, this is some dried fish that Auntie gave you."
Gu Lingyu held a set of chess pieces in each hand, rested her chin on her hand, and leaned closer, saying, "Sister, feed me."
Shen Wuqiu didn't want to feed her, but seeing her constantly touching the chess pieces, she reluctantly brought them to her lips.
Gu Lingyu took a bite and exclaimed in surprise, "This dried fish smells so good, it's delicious!"
Seeing how much she was enjoying her food with her cheeks puffed out, Shen Wuqiu couldn't resist taking a small bite herself.
Gu Lingyu happened to come over and saw that she was eating the same piece of dried fish as her. Her eyes crinkled with laughter: "Isn't it delicious?"
Shen Wuqiu, expressionless, stuffed all the dried fish into her mouth and then went upstairs.
Gu Lingyu stuffed a big mouthful of fish into her mouth, somewhat puzzled: Why does it feel like my sister is angry again?
She glanced down at her chessboard, deciding that appeasing her partner was more important, so she hastily stuffed the chess pieces into the chess box and went upstairs.
Unfortunately, I was turned away.
After hesitating for a moment, Gu Lingyu knocked on her mother's door again.
Having disturbed her mother's peaceful sleep, Gu Lingyu naturally got another beating. After the beating, Daiying remembered to ask her, "What did you want with your mother again?"
"I just want to ask Mother, why is my sister always angry with me..."
"Because you're annoying."
The little kitten's heart was broken.
Seeing her daughter looking so upset she was about to cry, Daiying comforted her, "Although you're annoying, Xiao Qiuqiu must care about you a little, which is why you always make her angry."
The little kitten looked innocent: "I didn't upset you, sister."
Daiying pinched her fluffy ears: "You silly goose, when will you finally get it?"
"It hurts... Mother, it hurts..."
Daiying let go of her. "You'd better not show your face in front of me again. I want to punch you every time I see you right now."
Upon hearing this, Gu Lingyu immediately prepared to slip away.
When it comes to beating her, her mother has never let her down.
Daiying pulled her from behind again, "You'd better go find Xiao Qiuqiu and tell her I beat you up again."
"..." That would be so embarrassing.
Are you going or not?
Forced by her mother's tyranny, Gu Lingyu could only nod bitterly, "I understand."
Daiying pinched her ear again.
"It hurts... Mother..."
"It's good that it hurts. If you feel pain here with your mother, then Xiao Qiuqiu will care about you. Alright, go find your Xiao Qiuqiu and complain."
"..." So, under her mother's watchful eye, Gu Lingyu had no choice but to cover her ears and continue knocking on Chen Wuqiu's door.
I knocked three times but no one answered the door.
Daiying couldn't stand it anymore and went over herself. "Wuqiu, it's me."
Hearing her voice, Shen Wuqiu opened the door from inside the room, "Aunt Dai."
Daiying pushed Gu Lingyu in front of her, "Just now, Ayu said that she seems to have made you angry again. I couldn't stand it, so I beat her up again."
"..." Shen Wuqiu glanced at the pitiful Gu Lingyu before looking at Dai Ying, "She didn't make me angry..."
“I know my daughter’s character well, and you’re being protected by her.” After speaking to her gently, Dai Ying turned to Gu Lingyu and said sternly, “You just stay here with Wu Qiu and wait for her to forgive you.”
"...Aunt Dai, you're too kind."
"Wuqiu, then I'll leave her in your care."
"..."
Before leaving, Daiying glared at the little kitten, saying, "You better behave yourself."
Shen Wuqiu: "..."
After watching Daiying leave, Shen Wuqiu turned to Gu Lingyu and asked, "Where did your mother beat you again? Did she shed any fur?"
Gu Lingyu shook her head and removed her hand. "She pulled my ear."
Looking at her bright red ears, and then thinking of the reason Dai Ying had just given for beating her, Shen Wuqiu felt both angry and heartbroken. "You know your mother has a bad temper, so why did you still go to her to get beaten?"
“You’re angry and ignoring me, so I want my mother to teach me how to please my partner. My father never gets angry with my mother.”
"..."
After a while...
Shen Wuqiu turned and went into the house: "I'm not angry."
Gu Lingyu followed up: "My sister lied to me."
"I'm really not angry."