NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 920 - 920: Guan Xin's Bamboo Leaves
Chapter 920: Guan Xin’s Bamboo Leaves
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Gu Zi thought this perfectly suited Guan Xin’s character. She was someone born to be a journalist; anything she hadn’t tried yet would soon find its way onto her agenda. Once prepared, she would boldly dive into her pursuits without hesitation.
Gu Zi recalled Guan Xin mentioning her desire to emulate foreign adventurers, exploring the secrets hidden deep in nature, experiencing it firsthand, and sharing those stories through the media. She wanted to let more people understand the raw beauty of the natural world.
So when Gu Zi heard that Guan Xin had initiated her wilderness adventure plan, Gu Zi was hardly surprised.
After explaining Guan Xin’s situation, her colleague pulled out a large bag from under the desk. Inside were wild bamboo leaves, preserved for freshness.
“These are the wild bamboo leaves Guan Xin picked from a cliff on a mountain. She heard from the locals that the leaves from that cliff have medicinal properties and are good for health when used to wrap zongzi. She took Xiao Luo along to gather a lot of them, preserved them, and divided them for her family and friends, including us colleagues. This bag is for you; it has the most leaves, and Guan Xin specifically instructed me to give it to you.”
Gu Zi was pleasantly surprised to receive a Dragon Boat Festival gift handpicked by Guan Xin, even if she only got the gift and not the chance to see her. It aligned perfectly with her vibrant personality.
Smiling, Gu Zi accepted the bag and said, “Xiao Luo is indeed her loyal fan. Let’s wish them both a smooth journey!”
Her colleague chuckled. “Absolutely! Among everyone in the office, Xiao Luo is her biggest supporter. Whatever she asks him to do, he never complains. He brought these back in his vehicle, but it seems they have plans for the Dragon Boat Festival, so Xiao Luo hurried back to their adventure spot right after delivering the zongzi leaves.”
In these remarks, Gu Zi sensed something intriguing, causing her to wonder if Xiao Luo’s admiration for Guan Xin was merely simple admiration after all.
Hmm, there seemed to be more to their relationship; she felt a spark of excitement about what was unfolding between them.
Before heading home, Gu Zi made a trip to the farmers’ market. Although she didn’t need to buy bamboo leaves anymore, the ingredients for making zongzi were still essential.
With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, the market was bustling with people. Gu Zi navigated through the crowd with her small cart, inching along.
By the time she returned home, Su Bing and the kids had already come back from school. Su Bing was busy cleaning, while Su Li played outside with Su Le and Big Yellow.
Earlier, Gu Zi had dropped Su Le off at the Gao family’s place, but now she was back at home, likely brought back by her brothers after school.
As Gu Zi wheeled her cart into the yard, Su Bing came over to help.
Su Li was curiously peering into the cart filled with bags and boxes. Gripping the side of the cart, he asked Gu Zi, “Mom, Teacher Yang said that the day after tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival and school will be closed for the holiday! Are we going to make a big dinner spread tonight?”
Gu Zi replied, “These are all the ingredients for making zongzi. For the Dragon Boat Festival, we’ll watch the dragon boat races and eat zongzi, so we need to prepare in advance. We’ll make three kinds: green bean and salted egg yolk with lean pork, peanut and red bean with fatty pork, and sweet red bean paste zongzi.”
Upon hearing this, Su Li instantly perked up, bouncing around as he walked.
Su Le followed suit, trying to mimic her brother’s hops but soon wrinkled her nose and wandered off to play with Big Yellow. Gu Zi could tell that Su Le probably thought her brother’s antics were a bit silly, but Su Li remained blissfully unaware of his sister’s judgment.
Then, Su Li chimed in again, “Oh, and Mom, I learned today that we have to eat zongzi for the Dragon Boat Festival. At school, some of my classmates almost got into a fight over which kind of zongzi is better. Some say sweet ones are delicious, while others swear by the salty ones. They even tried to recruit me to their sides, but I didn’t join either. Hmph! I’ve never eaten a zongzi before!”
He crossed his arms, wearing a pitiful expression that made Gu Zi chuckle. But as she thought more about it, her heart ached; she hadn’t realized that Su Li had never had zongzi before.
In past years, during the Dragon Boat Festival, he must have missed out on the treat. Given his circumstances, even if the kind-hearted neighbors offered him zongzi, it would likely have been taken home by the greedy Chu Xi to feed her own family.
Feeling a pang of empathy, Gu Zi assured Su Li, “From now on, for the Dragon Boat Festival, we’ll all make zongzi together. Tonight, we’ll soak the glutinous rice, and tomorrow morning we’ll start wrapping!”
Su Li beamed with joy. Although he had seen others in the village making zongzi, the precious rice was never something he could touch.
Even when they sometimes shared a few zongzi with him, they were usually just plain white rice zongzi meant to be dipped in sugar. He had heard tales of how delicious they could be, but by the time he took them home, they were often taken by the troublesome Chu Xi before he could even share with his siblings.