Chapter 191: “Little Grape”

During the New Year, every household was filled with festive cheer, and the Zheng family’s courtyard was adorned with lanterns and decorations, giving off an unmistakable sense of double joy.

As they walked into the courtyard, Zheng De introduced Gu Ning’an to the gathered aunts and relatives.

Some of Zheng De’s relatives were from Lexiang County, while most came from nearby villages or other counties. As a result, many of them had never heard of Gu Ning’an before.

Now, with such a refined gentleman arriving as Zheng De’s friend, the gossip-loving women immediately grew curious.

It didn’t take long before the local relatives started boasting about Gu Ning’an’s identity.

Gu Ning’an, however, didn’t mind. After all, idle elders enjoyed chatting, and if they found something new to talk about, they could go on for hours.

As long as it didn’t bother him, he had no reason to interfere.

Zheng De, on the other hand, was worried Gu Ning’an might be displeased and even took the time to apologize, saying, “Please bear with them.”

Suddenly—

“Waaah~ Waaah~ Waaah~”

A baby’s clear cries rang out from the side chamber.

Gu Ning’an remained outside, not stepping in, while Zheng De pushed the door open and brought out his crying daughter.

Wrapped snugly in swaddling clothes, only Little Grape’s fair little face was visible.

Her eyes were tightly shut as she cried, with tears welling up and rolling down her cheeks.

“Dear, is she hungry?” Zheng De, distressed, called toward the inner room.

“I fed her not long ago. She shouldn’t be hungry.”

“Check if she needs a diaper change…”

Tan Bing’s voice drifted out from inside. Despite being in postpartum confinement, she still sounded energetic.

“Alright…” Zheng De sighed helplessly, bringing his daughter’s tiny body closer for a sniff. “Nope, she hasn’t soiled herself… So what’s wrong, my little one?”

As a first-time father, Zheng De had no idea why his daughter wouldn’t stop crying. He could only carry her while gently rocking and humming, hoping to soothe her sadness.

“Stop bouncing her too much—if she gets used to it, she’ll cry even louder at night if you don’t rock her.”

Saying this, Gu Ning’an extended his hands and smiled.

“Let me hold her.”

“Alright… But be careful, Mr. Gu.”

Zheng De cautiously placed the baby in Gu Ning’an’s arms, keeping his hands nearby as if afraid he wouldn’t hold her properly.

Gu Ning’an understood. After all, back when he had held Little Sanhua for the first time, Little Sanhua’s father had been just as nervous.

Feeling herself being passed into new arms, Little Grape’s cries suddenly stopped.

She opened her teary eyes, blinking in confusion at Gu Ning’an.

For a moment, she seemed stunned.

Then, her tiny lips curled into a smile, and instead of crying, she started giggling.

Pop.

She blew a tiny spit bubble and let out a soft, bubbly “gurgle.”

“Well, well! This little one knows how to pick favorites!”

“You cry when your parents hold you, but the moment Uncle Gu holds you, you stop?”

Feeling a little “jealous,” Zheng De made a playful face at his daughter.

But Little Grape completely ignored him, her round eyes fixed solely on Gu Ning’an.

Seeing how much the baby took to him, Gu Ning’an casually flipped his hand over, revealing a red string in his palm.

He had bought this red string from a traveling merchant, originally planning to thread a peace charm onto it as a gift for a friend’s child.

But with Little Grape’s birth catching him by surprise, he hadn’t had time to buy the charm yet. So for now, he decided to gift the red string itself as a token of goodwill.

As the red string swayed before her eyes, a hint of joy flickered in Little Grape’s gaze.

She blinked excitedly, as if trying to tell Gu Ning’an—

“I really like this red string!”

Since the baby’s hands were wrapped inside the swaddle, Gu Ning’an simply placed the red string on Little Grape’s body and said, “This string can be made into a bracelet or threaded with a peace charm for her to wear.”

“Got it!”

“Many thanks, Mr. Gu!”

Zheng De didn’t mind in the slightest that the gift was just an ordinary red string.

Firstly, he didn’t care whether Gu Ning’an gave a gift or not—they were friends, and there was no need for such formalities.

Secondly, while the red string looked simple, anything from Mr. Gu was unlikely to be ordinary.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~

Not long after, the once-energetic Little Grape dozed off almost instantly.

Zheng De took her back from Gu Ning’an’s arms and carried her into the inner room, handing her over to Tan Bing.

When he came back out, he led Gu Ning’an to the front courtyard.

There, a square table covered with red fabric was set up. On the table were brush, ink, an inkstone, and a red-covered guest registry.

Tomorrow, when the guests arrived, they would stop at this table, present their gift money, and only then take their seats.

After briefly explaining the bookkeeping format to Gu Ning’an, Zheng De called the gathered aunts and relatives for lunch.

The dining table was filled with various dishes—after all, the formal banquet was happening the next day, so the household had already stocked up plenty of food.

Gu Ning’an sat at a table with Zheng De and Tan Bing’s family. At first, the atmosphere was a bit stiff due to unfamiliarity, but after a few casual exchanges, the mood quickly grew lively.

Among the most talkative was Zheng De’s second aunt. Her son, it seemed, was doing quite well for himself in Xiangzhou, and nearly every sentence she spoke was about boasting about him.

The other relatives merely nodded along and smiled politely.

Midway through the meal, Second Aunt’s son and daughter-in-law arrived.

The young couple looked to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, dressed in fine silk garments, exuding an air of wealth.

As soon as they entered the main hall, Second Aunt enthusiastically introduced them to everyone.

The young man was Yu Fu, said to be in the wine business in Xiangzhou.

The woman, his wife, was named Jiao Qingqing.

They were promptly seated at Gu Ning’an’s table.

After briefly scanning the attire of those at the table, Yu Fu’s gaze eventually settled on Gu Ning’an.

“And this gentleman is…?”

Before Zheng De could reply, Second Aunt quickly answered, “This is Mr. Gu, your cousin’s friend.”

“Mr. Gu~” Yu Fu, noticing Gu Ning’an’s refined demeanor in his white robes, cupped his hands and said, “A pleasure to meet you. May I ask where you are employed?”

Hearing this, Gu Ning’an smiled and replied, “I mostly wander from place to place. I don’t have any fixed profession.”

No fixed profession? So basically unemployed…

Yu Fu’s tone subtly changed as he said, “Mr. Gu, you’re too modest. If you don’t have a stable job, you should come to Xiangzhou—I can arrange something for you…”