Reborn in the 80s: She Rewrites Life with Radiance
Chapter 19 Dragon Boat Festival

Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Dragon Boat Festival

Ye Hao is working hard in the army, and Gu Yi is not idle at home either.

Time flies quickly, and the Dragon Boat Festival is almost here.

Calculating the time, it’s been a month since Gu Yi returned, and it’s time to make zongzi for the festival.

Even though they are in the south, they usually make sweet zongzi with red beans and dates, or plain ones. This year, Gu Yi wants to make some meat zongzi.

A couple of days before the Dragon Boat Festival, Gu Yi went to the county town.

He settled the payment for the bean sprouts with Li Gang and bought a few pounds of pork belly to bring back.

After returning home, he soaked the glutinous rice, and cut the pork belly into small pieces. He marinated the meat overnight with salt, sugar, five-spice powder, and since there was no light soy sauce, he used some dark soy sauce.

The bamboo leaves were freshly picked by Ye Fu this year, and Ye’s mother had already washed them in advance. In the evening, they boiled and dried the leaves, and drained the soaked glutinous rice.

On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, Ye Fu went out to cut some mugwort and placed it at the door. Since the Ye Family didn’t have any, Gu Yi didn’t ask Ye Fu to gather more.

Gu Yi took half of the drained glutinous rice, mixed it with the meat, and prepared to make meat zongzi. The remaining half would be used for plain zongzi.

Here, they make triangle-shaped long zongzi. To distinguish between the flavors, Gu Yi found two different colored strings, using red for the plain ones and white for the meat ones.

Ye’s mother and Ye Qian also helped with the wrapping. Among the three, Ye’s mother was the fastest and best at it.

The living conditions were generally modest, and there wasn’t much glutinous rice left, so the three of them finished after an hour. Ye Fu was in charge of boiling the zongzi.

Zongzi are particularly difficult to cook, and Ye Fu boiled them for 5 hours, starting at 9 a.m. and finishing at 1 p.m.

Gu Yi gave everyone a meat zongzi. Ye’s mother kept praising how delicious it was, and Ye Qian insisted on eating more. Ye Fu didn’t say much but ate two in succession.

Nothing makes the cook happier than having others enjoy what they’ve made.

Gu Yi was growing more fond of the atmosphere in the Ye Family. If it weren’t for Ye Hao having someone in his heart, she wouldn’t want to leave the Ye Family for life.

Ye’s mother packed a string of meat zongzi in a basket, picked up two bottles of wine she had bought in town recently, and also packed a bag of spicy peanuts.

"Yiyi, go visit your parents in your hometown for the festival and bring these along. Since you’re not spending the holiday with them this year, they must be missing you," said Ye’s mother.

Ye’s mother understood that Gu Yi wanted to visit, but out of consideration, it was best that she broached the topic, so that everyone could be happy about it.

"Thank you, mom. I’ll be back after dinner." Gu Yi was genuinely happy, grateful in her heart for Ye’s mother’s understanding.

She was about to head out with the packed items when Ye’s mother stopped her, "It’s so sunny outside. You can leave a bit later, it’s not a rush."

"It’s okay, mom. A bit of sun will make me sweat more, maybe even help me lose some weight." Gu Yi also wanted to hurry home and let her parents try the meat zongzi.

Gu Yi got herself ready and set off.

It was now past two o’clock, and the sun was still strong, but perhaps because of her good mood, Gu Yi saw beauty in everything, even the big sun didn’t bother her.

By the time she got to the Gu Family, her clothes were soaked with sweat, making Gu’s mother worry. Luckily, Gu Yi had some old clothes at home, so Gu’s mother asked her to quickly wash up and change. Once Gu Yi was ready, Gu’s mother began to complain.

"It’s such a hot day, and you’re not afraid of the heat. Why didn’t you just come tomorrow morning? Was there really such a rush?"

"Mom, try this. I made it today. See how it tastes," said Gu Yi to shift the focus, peeling a zongzi and handing it to Gu’s mother.

"It’s meat-filled! This is my first time trying this. It’s really tasty. How did you come up with this? You always focused on food instead of serious matters as a child. Didn’t your mother-in-law say anything? You spend your days experimenting with things."

Gu’s mother liked the zongzi but was worried that Gu Yi’s love for experimenting might cause trouble with her in-laws.

"Mom, why do you worry so much? Didn’t mother-in-law issues in the past arise from poverty? Life is much better now, and shouldn’t the family work together towards a better life? Besides, my parents-in-law are recognized as honest people in all the villages. They’ve been really nice to me. As for your daughter, don’t you know her well? I’m clever and keep them happy all day long. You can rest your mind, really."

Gu Yi understood Gu’s mother’s concerns, mainly her fear of mistreatment at the Ye Family, but she did not want Gu’s mother to worry endlessly about her.

Gu’s mother was amused by Gu Yi’s cheeky demeanor.

"Alright, I won’t say more, lest I annoy you. Didn’t you want some mugwort last time? Your dad cut some from the field this morning, and it’s drying outside. Once it’s dry, I’ll have your brother deliver it to you. But I notice you’ve lost some weight. This outfit used to fit just right, but now it looks loose."

Parents notice every little change in their children, and indeed Gu Yi had lost quite a bit of weight recently.

"Really, mom? Don’t you think I look more spirited now that I’ve slimmed down a bit?"

Gu Yi said, spinning around in front of Gu’s mother.

"Yes, you do look more spirited, and your eyes seem bigger. What’s happened?"

"Nothing much. Didn’t I mention last time a doctor suggested that I have a cold constitution and should use mugwort baths? I’ve been doing that every day, and I also go for a walk each morning. It’s just for health maintenance, but I ended up losing weight. Wouldn’t you say I’ve had some good luck?"

Gu Yi hadn’t mentioned to Gu’s mother her intentional weight loss, just as with Ye’s mother, as they both couldn’t understand it.

The excuse at Ye’s mother’s house about losing weight being good for pregnancy wouldn’t work here. In the eyes of parents, nothing is more important than their child’s well-being.

Not much later, Gu’s father woke from his nap, and Gu Yi handed him a zongzi to try. Gu’s father praised it repeatedly.

"I didn’t raise my daughter in vain; she always remembers us with good food. Very nice indeed."

Gu’s father was quite touched. Since his daughter’s marriage, she had become more conscientious and filial. Others might see it as good, but Gu’s father felt particularly concerned for her.

Today, both of Gu Yi’s brothers brought their wives and children back home. Brother Gu lived in the village, so they returned after dinner.

When they arrived home, Gu’s mother was still cooking dinner.

As soon as Gu Hui saw Gu Yi, she clung to her immediately.

"Auntie, did you bring me something tasty?"

"You little foodie, come, let Auntie get you something delicious."

Gu Yi took Gu Hui to the kitchen and peeled a freshly heated zongzi for her.

"Thank you, Auntie."

After finishing, Gu Hui wanted more, but since zongzi are made of glutinous rice, Gu Yi worried she might not digest it well, so she coaxed her, saying she would save some for her to eat the next day, and the little girl reluctantly agreed.

When Gu Yi and the others sat down to eat, Brother Gu and Sister-in-law joined in for a bit. Brother Gu even shared a couple of drinks with Gu’s father, who, for some reason, got drunk that night.

Worried that Gu’s mother wouldn’t manage alone, Gu Yi asked Brother Gu to ride to the Ye Family and inform them that she would stay over for the night.