The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man-Chapter 67: Up to No Good

Chen JianShe had the vigor and drive characteristic of this era.

Seeing Chen JianShe once again looking like a model of an eager, upstanding young man, Gu Jiaojiao smiled and reminded him of something.

"You can go home and get your earthenware jars now. Once it cools, you can seal it up. Whenever you want a drink, just scoop some out. It’s super convenient."

Hearing this, Chen JianShe immediately ran off.

Gu Jiaojiao had been tending the fire all day and felt quite exhausted.

’If this were modern times, I would absolutely never bother making sugar.’

’Never mind the hassle and the manual labor; I burned through dozens of pounds of firewood alone.’

’If this were the modern era, the cost of the gas alone would be enough to just buy the brown sugar.’

’It was only because firewood was free and labor was cheap in this era; otherwise, this would be a complete loss.’

While the sugar syrup cooled, Gu Jiaojiao also brought in two larger earthenware jars.

In addition to those, she also had some glass jars.

The canned goods had been a reward from Leng Yuan; being made of glass, they were quite rare.

After the contents were eaten, the jars were washed and saved for a rainy day.

There were six jars in total, and Gu Jiaojiao brought them all over.

Chen JianShe wasn’t gone for long. When he walked into the kitchen, he saw that the brown sugar syrup hadn’t been touched.

Seeing that he had returned with only two earthenware jars, Gu Jiaojiao couldn’t help but frown. "Why only two?"

Chen JianShe scratched his head.

"Sister-in-law, I didn’t really do much. Two is already plenty. If you’re so formal with me, it’s like you don’t consider me one of your own."

He and Leng Yuan were close, so he normally couldn’t accept anything for helping out, let alone something as valuable as brown sugar.

He was only willing to take it because he knew Gu Jiaojiao had made it herself, and with his parents being so tired lately, he had brazenly come to fill a bit to take back.

But Gu Jiaojiao wasn’t having it.

She had asked for help, and she was going to pay anyone who came. She couldn’t refuse to pay him just because he was close with Leng Yuan.

Chen JianShe dug in his heels. "No, I’ll only take two jars. Not a single one more."

Unable to settle the argument, the two of them turned to Leng Yuan in unison.

Leng Yuan was left speechless.

’Ever since he’d gotten a wife, there were more of these little disputes to settle.’

In the end, Leng Yuan ruled that two jars of brown sugar syrup would be given, and the matter was finally put to rest.

Gu Jiaojiao wasn’t stingy. Knowing that Chen JianShe had intentionally brought jars that held about a pound each, she filled them to the very brim, making sure it was more than a pound, not less.

Chen JianShe saw this and felt very embarrassed. "Sister-in-law, that’s enough. This is too much."

As he took the brown sugar, Leng Yuan added a word of caution.

"Don’t tell anyone about this."

It wasn’t that they were being stingy, but that everyone was just too poor in those days.

If people found out their family had this much brown sugar, they would all come to the door asking for some, which would be a huge hassle.

Chen JianShe immediately promised that he absolutely wouldn’t say a word.

He kept Gu Jiaojiao’s instructions in mind and slipped away quietly.

He managed not to attract anyone’s attention.

After all, brown sugar wasn’t meat; it didn’t have a strong smell.

Chen JianShe first took the brown sugar home and prepared a bowl for his younger sister. Only then did he carry the other jar to Uncle Chen’s house.

Uncle Chen’s family wasn’t back yet; only Chen Sandan was home.

Chen JianShe gave him the brown sugar and whispered an instruction, "Don’t tell anyone about this. Just drink it quietly among yourselves."

Chen Sandan was a smart kid—he always placed in the top five on tests in his class—so he naturally understood what his older cousin meant and immediately agreed.

"Brother Jianshe, rest assured. I absolutely won’t tell anyone."

When Uncle Chen and his wife returned that evening and learned that their son had received a jar of brown sugar, they were utterly shocked.

Uncle Chen glanced around and immediately had someone lock the courtyard gate.

Only then did he step inside the house. His face lit up with excitement as he looked at the earthenware jar, which was filled to the brim with brown sugar syrup.

The children, every last one of them, stared at the earthenware jar of brown sugar.

Uncle Chen wasn’t stingy, either. With a single command, a bowl was prepared for everyone to drink.

After downing the big bowls of sugar water, satisfied smiles spread across everyone’s faces.