Stay Home Daddy: I Was Reborn After My Daughter Passed Away
Chapter 177 Head towards the city! _1

Chapter 177: 177 Head towards the city! _1

Tian Laosì took a close look, and saw the child’s face was all dirty with soil.

He couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

He squatted on the ground, stretched out his calloused hands, and gently wiped the mud off Tangtang’s face.

"I’ll take the kid to wash up; with all this dirt on hands and face, she’ll end up eating it all."

After saying that, he took Tangtang into the courtyard.

Gu Chen didn’t stop him, smiling as he watched Tian Laosì lead his daughter into his own house’s courtyard.

He knew that now Tian Laosì finally truly considered him a brother.

Tian Laosì was a man of principles – unless necessary, he never took the initiative to enter Gu Chen’s courtyard.

But just now, he took the initiative to wash his daughter’s face, even entering his own courtyard to do so.

This showed that his heart had drawn one step closer to Gu Chen.

Gu Chen really enjoyed this feeling.

In the past, they were always polite; even though he was good to Gu Chen, his interactions were always cautious.

But just now, taking Tangtang to wash her face, he was truly natural.

Only if he truly considered him one of his own would he behave like this.

Tian Laosì took Tangtang into the courtyard.

There was a tap in the yard; he turned it on and adjusted the flow before placing Tangtang’s little hands under it.

Seeing that she couldn’t clean them thoroughly, he even helped her scrub carefully.

He then washed some strawberries and handed them to Tangtang, who smiled so wide her eyes nearly disappeared as she held the strawberries Tian Laosì gave her.

"Thank you, Uncle Four!"

Having said that, she started gobbling them up, bite by bite.

"Eat slowly, Uncle Four has lots," Tian Laosì gently instructed.

Gu Chen approached with a smile, "By the way, Fourth Brother, I was thinking of inviting everyone over for a meal tomorrow."

Actually, he had already thought of this yesterday, when he had said he would buy the land.

But then Pian Ran was hospitalized.

With two days of no progress, people would definitely have their opinions about him.

Inviting everyone to share a meal would be like an apology.

In business, reputation is always the foremost priority.

Second, it was due to Gu Chen’s private wishes.

Living humbly in the village for so long, now that he had a little money at home,

it was time for everyone to know that Gu Chen was truly on the rise.

It wasn’t so much for his own face but more for Ji Pianran and Tangtang.

Because of his past worthlessness, they had been subjected to ridicule over the years.

He wanted them to lift their heads high and no longer be looked down upon by others.

By hosting this feast, he would let everyone know that Gu Chen had risen.

Hearing his words, Tian Laosì wasn’t surprised; after all, Gu Chen had mentioned this a few days ago when he asked.

He thought for a moment, "Okay, tomorrow I will come over with Cuilan to help out, and we can also call Aunt Zhang."

After speaking, he seemed a bit puzzled, "But Pian Ran hasn’t been discharged from the hospital yet, wouldn’t it be better to wait until she’s out? She’s been through enough in the hospital; it could be an opportunity to properly recuperate."

Hearing this, the smile on Gu Chen’s face deepened.

"Fourth Brother, don’t worry, tomorrow happens to be Pian Ran’s discharge day, and I’m going to pick her up early in the morning."

He was confident that after eating his life-reviving black chicken soup and matsutake rice porridge tomorrow, Ji Pianran would be absolutely fine.

Tian Laosì nodded, "Alright, we’ll settle on that. I’ll go call Aunt Zhang first thing tomorrow morning."

The two of them discussed, taking turns with each detail.

They were completely unaware that Aunt Zhang was sitting in her own courtyard, laundering clothes, and could hear every clear word of their conversation.

She laughed loudly and said, "No need to call me tomorrow morning, I already know!"

She was indeed very eager to help out at Gu Chen’s house.

Hearing her say that, the two people on the other side of the wall both laughed.

"Alright then, we’ll trouble you, Auntie!" Gu Chen called out to the other side of the wall.

"No trouble at all, just send Tangtang over in the morning, and you can pick up Pian Ran; that would be perfect for bringing some vegetables back from the city."

Aunt Zhang was quite thoughtful after all; since they still had to buy stuff, taking the child with them would definitely delay them.

Gu Chen nodded, "Got it!"

He couldn’t express how fulfilled he felt inside. In his previous life, he and these neighbors were just that—neighbors with no real interaction.

Having lived again, he suddenly discovered that relationships with neighbors could be this good.

It felt like they were family, and this sensation was truly wonderful and warm.

...

The next morning, Gu Chen served up a breakfast of black-bone chicken and matsutake mushroom porridge.

He fed plenty to Tangtang but couldn’t bring himself to eat much, just two eggs.

After all, the little guy needed to build up his body, and the landlord’s family didn’t have much surplus grain!

No sooner had breakfast finished than he heard a knocking outside the door. Opening it, he saw it was Aunt Zhang.

She clearly remembered their conversation from the night before, as she was here to pick up Tangtang.

"Auntie, you’re up early," Gu Chen said with a smile.

"Ah, I can’t sleep much at my age. Besides, there’s the hassle of today’s errands, so the earlier you can leave, the better."

After all, buying so much food was going to be time-consuming.

Without waiting for a response, Aunt Zhang headed into Gu Chen’s house and shouted inside, "Tangtang, come with Granny Zhang to pick grass for the rabbits."

The little one was thrilled at the prospect of picking grass and ran out of the house, hands tucked in, and threw himself at Aunt Zhang.

"That’s great, Tangtang loves picking grass!"

Country kids don’t have amusement parks, Barbie dolls, or a variety of toys like city kids do.

What they play with is just mud pies, playing house, hide and seek, and helping adults find food for the livestock at home.

Aunt Zhang held Tangtang in her arms with a look of affection on her face.

Then she said to Gu Chen, "Alright, I’ve taken the child. You just go on about your business, and when you’re back, just call out for me in the yard."

After saying that, Aunt Zhang left Gu Chen’s house, cradling Tangtang and smiling from ear to ear.

She was fully supportive of Gu Chen hosting the banquet.

After all, having lived through the years, she understood a lot of things.

Hosting this banquet, though meant as an apology, would surely change the way these people viewed Gu Chen.

After that, Gu Chen’s reputation would be completely restored, and both Ji Pianran and the child could hold their heads high.

This was the outcome she was hoping to see.

Gu Chen called out to Aunt Zhang’s retreating back, "Thank you, Auntie."

After saying that, he returned to the house, cleaned up the dishes, and set out towards the city in his van.

Gu Chen didn’t go to the hospital; instead, he went to the city’s south large market, the same place where he had first bought groceries.

That was the morning market, bustling with the most people in the early hours and offering a wide variety of vegetables, meat sellers, fruit sellers, all sorts of things.

Gu Chen wasn’t planning to buy fruits; he had ready-to-eat cherries and goji berries in his space, incomparably better than anything the market could offer.

He would not only have to buy meat, but also in large quantities.

He approached a beef vendor and asked, "Master, is this meat fresh?"

The master laughed heartily, "Of course it’s fresh. It was slaughtered just last night, very fresh indeed!"

Gu Chen nodded, "Alright, give me fifteen pounds."

With no less than thirty if not forty people coming to his house for a meal, he definitely needed to buy more.

"Right away." The master’s face bloomed into a smile when he heard the large order.