Douluo: A Century-old Legend I Am the Second Uncle Chenxin

Chapter 1752 The Gu Family Father and Son
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Big Yellow was still angrily tugging at Zhu Wuneng's trouser leg and swinging it back and forth. Yuan Run pretended to persuade it, saying, "Stop it, stop it." Chen Xiaojun waved a crispy cucumber strip in front of Big Yellow's nose to coax it. An Mingyuan and Qiu Qingquan laughed so hard their stomachs hurt and they couldn't straighten their backs.

Just then, a voice rang out from the courtyard gate, accompanied by the enticing aroma of meat wafting in:
"Come on, young men, look what good stuff your uncle has brought you. It's freshly cooked by Lao Xin."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw an ordinary-looking man with a square face, dark skin, deep nasolabial folds, a low nose bridge but a round and thick nose tip, thick eyebrows, and a sturdy and robust build like an iron tower. He was wearing the dark blue uniform of a steward of the Chen family, and there were several deep wrinkles etched between his eyebrows, as if they were grooves formed by years of worries.

He greeted everyone with a smile on his face. Behind him was a boy of about twelve or thirteen years old, with a broad frame and a strong physique like a small tree stump. His short, square face still had a childish look, his eyebrows were thick and messy, his eyes were downcast, and his lips were slightly thick and tightly closed. He was also holding a large plate piled with things in his hands.

"Wow! Uncle Gu!" Except for Chen Xiaojun, the four of them stood up almost at the same time, with smiles on their faces.

The visitor was named Gu Yuanchao, a steward of the Chen family's inner quarters, and a Soul Emperor.

Gu Yuanchao and the boy behind him placed two large platters of fragrant beef and mutton on the stone table.

The rich aroma of meat instantly filled the air. Da Huang, who had been struggling with Zhu Wuneng's "pants," suddenly let go of his mouth. His dark, round eyes were instantly drawn to the two plates of meat. His long tongue lolled out, and his tail wagged involuntarily.

With its shoulder height of about 1.3 to 1.4 meters, it can see the tempting contents of the plate at eye level.

Zhu Wuneng leaned closer for a look, his eyes lighting up: "Wow! Spare ribs from Tongxin beef! Pork bone meat from Black Mountain beef! Uncle Gu, you're really generous! I've never seen you so generous before. So you've been keeping the good stuff to yourself!"

He rubbed his hands together, complaining half-jokingly and half-seriously.

Gu Yuanchao laughed and scolded, "Don't give me that! Haven't I fed you enough already? With your mouth, how many bites can Uncle Gu's meager savings afford you?"

He pointed to An Mingyuan and the other two, "It's rare for the three of them to come today. I haven't seen them in a long time, so I'm happy! That's why I brought out this little bit of food I had on hand for you to have a treat. Come on, don't be shy, eat it while it's hot!"

An Mingyuan, being the most straightforward, grinned and said, "Thank you, Uncle Gu! Then we won't stand on ceremony!"

As he spoke, he picked up a steaming hot Tongxin beef rib, took a bite without waiting, and his breath came out in pain from the heat.

Gu Yuanchao then picked out the best-looking, sizzling Tongxin steak from the plate and handed it to Chen Xiaojun: "Young Master, here, have a piece."

Chen Xiaojun accepted it with a smile.

Gu Yuanchao gently patted the shoulder of the boy standing blankly beside him, and said in a gentle tone, "Zijian, why don't you call them your brothers? These are all brothers you've known since you were little."

Despite his robust appearance, Gu Zijian spoke in a low, muffled voice: "Brother Mingyuan, Brother Yuanrun, Brother Qingquan..."

He called out to them one by one in a crisp voice, his head slightly lowered, appearing somewhat shy.

No, actually he knows all these people very well; they've even watched him grow up. But he's just very reserved and easily gets nervous.

An Mingyuan and the others smiled broadly and nodded in response, "Okay, okay, Jian."

Gu Yuanchao picked up a black mountain beef bone with a large, thick piece of muscle and offered it to Dahuang's mouth, "Here, Dahuang can't be left out! Here you go!"

Big Yellow had been drooling for a while, but it didn't pounce on the bone as usual. First, it carefully sniffed Gu Yuanchao's hand with its nose, as if expressing some kind of silent affection, and then gently and with a touch of tenderness, it took the piece of meat that was almost bigger than its mouth, made a satisfied "woof" sound in its throat, and lay down on the ground to the side with the meat in its mouth, tilting its head to begin to happily devour it.

Upon seeing this, Gu Yuanchao smiled warmly and genuinely.

He chatted casually with a few young people, asking about their studies, health, and cultivation. He even cracked some jokes. It was clear that Gu Yuanchao had a close relationship with them and was quite talkative.

After about ten minutes, Gu Yuanchao stood up, clapped his hands, and said, "Alright, alright, I won't disturb you guys from continuing your commotion. You can eat and chat slowly."

He smiled at Chen Xiaojun and the other young people.

"Take care, Uncle Gu!" "Thank you, Uncle Gu!" the group replied in unison.

Gu Yuanchao nodded and called out to Gu Zijian, who was still silently gnawing on a small piece of meat, "Zijian, let's go."

"Oh," Gu Zijian replied sullenly, put down the meat in his hand, and silently followed behind his father.

An old man and a young boy walked out of the courtyard.

Only after their figures disappeared into the courtyard did the relaxed atmosphere seem to settle down a bit.

Zhu Wuneng put down the large piece of beef rib he was half-eaten, and An Mingyuan and the other two also put down their food one after another.

The group fell silent, their gazes all turning in the direction where Gu Yuanchao and his son had left, watching their slightly sullen backs.

Zhu Wuneng sighed: "Alas, every time I eat the good things that Uncle Gu specially brought for us, I feel particularly bad, and I always feel guilty."

Qiu Qingquan also suppressed his cleverness, his face showing a sorrowful empathy: "Who can argue with that? But ever since... ever since Otani left..."

An Mingyuan, a big guy, chimed in with a deep voice, "Yes. Who would have thought? Uncle Gu placed all his hopes on Xiao Gu, but... he doesn't have a single bit of soul power..."

Yuan Run pursed his thick lips; "After that, Xiao Gu changed. He became less and less talkative, and Uncle Gu also..."

Chen Xiaojun knew about this, of course. In his opinion, Gu Zijian was not only introverted, but more like he had locked himself away, which was somewhat autistic.

Zhu Wuneng nodded: "Now that the family has opened a warrior academy, Xiao Gu is going there to learn to be a warrior. This path... is better than having no way out at all. However, given Xiao Gu's foundation, even if he trains as a warrior, I estimate that he can only reach the level of a Soul Venerable warrior at most."

An Mingyuan perked up a little: "That's still much better than Uncle Gu's plan to have Xiao Gu learn cooking from him in the kitchen! Being a soldier is at least a righteous path!"

Zhu Wuneng was displeased upon hearing this, his chubby face showing dissatisfaction: "How is being a chef not a proper path?! Is a chef's status lower than a warrior's? Are the chefs in our Chen family workshop paid worse than ordinary battle spirit masters? Isn't it good to learn a skill to make a living?"

Qiu Qingquan was getting a little annoyed: "Alright, alright, what are you two arguing about! It's not like the Warrior Academy doesn't have a specialization for warrior chefs. They can fight and cook at the same time. Ultimately, it depends on Xiao Gu's own decision."

…………

The internal affairs management positions of the Chen family, from lowest to highest: Recorder/Guardian or Subordinate (Soul Venerable), Assistant/Leader (Soul Master), Steward/Leader (Soul King), Steward/Guardian (Soul Emperor), Chief/Assistant (Junior/Middle-level Soul Saint), Steward/Commander (Middle/High-level Soul Saint), Grand Steward/Grand Commander (Soul Douluo).

(End of this chapter)