NOVPUB75: Chapter 75: Forgot What the Flowers Looked Like
75 -75: Forgot What the Flowers Looked Like
Gu Feng said irritably, “No, how could it get better?
I’ll have to be careful for the rest of my life.”
Everyone: “…”
Hearing Gu Feng say this, they suddenly lost interest.
Though farming families also wanted to find a wife with good looks, having good health was key.
Good health meant the ability to work, and good health meant the ability to bear sons.
If one were sickly all their life, what if the son born was also sickly?
…
On a fine noon, Gu Youyou saw from afar a pink and white patch in a hollow behind the hill that looked just like a haze.
The mist drifting in the hollow formed a hazy veil that gently concealed the beauty.
As Wang Family’s aunt approached Gu Youyou’s house, she saw from afar Gu Youyou staring blankly at a spot in the hollow.
Getting closer, she said softly with a laugh, “Youyou, you fell ill at seven and were confined indoors to recuperate until recently.
Have you forgotten what flowers look like?”
Gu Youyou paused slightly, turned her head to look at Wang Family’s aunt, and her eyes became somewhat unfocused, like the mist in that hollow.
Only to hear Wang Family’s aunt continue with a laugh, “Youyou, that’s a Plum Blossom Valley.
It looks close, but it actually takes half a day’s walk to get there.
The mountain path is treacherous, and one must climb down the cliff to reach it.
I went there once when I had just married Shunzi’s father, and it was so beautiful.”
Wang Family’s aunt’s eyes, fixed on the hollow,sparkled with longing.
Her son was about to start a family, and in a farming household, she was not young, a middle-aged woman indeed.
But at that moment, in her eyes, Gu Youyou saw the gleam that only young women possess.
This longing and craving for beautiful things, tinged with faint memories and a sense of loss.
She sighed and said, “Youyou, don’t think about those plum blossoms; with your health, you can’t get there.
Better wait and see, this peach tree here is also budding, and its blossoms will be very pretty too.”
Gu Youyou followed where her finger pointed and only then did she notice that the dead tree branch by Jin Zijin’s yard was a peach tree.
She smiled at Wang Family’s aunt and said softly, “Thank you!!”
As if remembering something, Wang Family’s aunt hurriedly pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to Gu Youyou.
Gu Youyou, puzzled, asked, “Auntie Wang, what is this?”
Wang Family’s aunt replied, “This is a handkerchief I sewed at your home a while ago.
All the others sold, but this less perfect one didn’t, so I’m giving it to you.
Just don’t dislike it.”
Gu Youyou looked at the handkerchief in her hand, where was this faulty and unsellable?
It was clearly the best piece she had made, different from the other handkerchiefs, featuring a branch of delicate pink plum blossoms, vivid and lifelike!
She must have said it purposely, fearing I wouldn’t accept it.
The corners of Gu Youyou’s mouth split into a slight smile, and she asked, “Auntie Wang, what’s this flower?”
Since she was determined that she couldn’t remember what flowers looked like, she might as well ask.
Excitement flickered in Wang Family’s aunt’s eyes as she smiled and said, “This is the plum blossom I told you about, the way I remember it.
Doesn’t it look nice?”
Gu Youyou nodded vigorously and said, “It’s beautiful!”
…
As the moon set behind the western hills, Jin Zijin returned with his hunting gear.
In the early spring, the animals gradually woke from their hibernation.
Hungry after a winter, they were not plump, but fortunately easy to hunt.
They weren’t scarce for miles around, and he indeed returned with a full load today.
