A Sweet and Strange Flavor

Gu Si looked up and asked, "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

Du Yuerao shook her head. "I'll handle the rest."

Gu Si nodded and went to take a bath.

First, Du Yuerao scored a cross on each chestnut, then soaked them in cold salt water to help remove the bitterness from the shells.

Finally, she poured them into a pan with a bowl of water and a bit of white sugar. After the sugar dissolved, she let the chestnuts soak for a while before stirring them constantly over low heat.

She continued stirring until the sweet aroma of the chestnuts began to waft through the air.

The sweet fragrance spread everywhere. As soon as Xiao Ming and Xiao Han smelled it, they came running.

"Wow, it smells so good! Even better than malted milk!"

Looking at the two little ones clinging to the doorframe and staring longingly at her, Du Yuerao felt her heart soften.

She reached out and patted their two round heads.

Just then, Gu Si finished his bath and walked out, drawn by the scent.

Du Yuerao turned around after patting the children's heads, only to see Gu Si with an expression identical to the two little ones.

Gu Yingming shouted loudly, "Dad wants his head patted too!"

Du Yuerao's face instantly flushed red. She hurriedly signaled Gu Si with her eyes and said awkwardly, "Your father is an adult, he doesn't need his head patted."

To her surprise, in the next second, Gu Si nonchalantly ignored her signal. He tilted his head, his deep eyes staring intently at her.

He looked like a large tiger waiting to be petted.

Under the expectant gazes of the two children, Du Yuerao reached out her hand and gently patted Gu Si's head.

Unlike the soft hair of the children, Gu Si's hair was both black and coarse. It still carried the warm moisture from his bath, and the way it brushed against her palm made her feel itchy.

Du Yuerao felt a numbing electric current surge through her body.

Startled, she jerked her hand back, accidentally grazing the man's high bridge of his nose.

She immediately turned her back to hide her embarrassment, thrusting the basket of roasted chestnuts into Gu Si's arms to change the subject. "The roasted chestnuts are done. Hurry and take them to the dining table. Be careful, they're hot."

Then she quickly returned to the stove to make the chestnut braised chicken, as if a sea monster were chasing her from behind.

Gu Si was in an excellent mood and let out a low chuckle.

Gu Yingming tiptoed to his brother's ear and whispered, "I haven't seen Dad laugh in a long time."

Gu Yinghan nodded in agreement. To be precise, they had never seen their father laugh since they were little.

In the past, he was always busy. In the summer, he worked in the fields all day and cooked as soon as he got home.

In the winter, they saw him even less. Most of the time, the two brothers stayed at their grandparents' or their aunt's house.

There was never a smile on his face.

At most, when he was hugged, his tense expression would soften slightly, which was why they often hugged him.

But he had never laughed as gently as he did today.

The two children glanced at each other, both understanding it was because of Mother.

Life now felt like a sweet dream.

Soon, the chestnut braised chicken was finished.

When Du Yuerao brought it out, the father and sons were sitting there eating chestnuts.

There was a small bowl on the table, half-filled with chestnuts that had already been peeled.

Seeing her sit down, Gu Yinghan pushed the bowl of chestnuts toward her.

"Brother, Dad, and I peeled these for you," Gu Yingming added from the side.

Du Yuerao's heart felt warmed. Although she loved eating chestnuts, she hated peeling them the most.

The chestnut braised chicken she cooked was drizzled with a rich, savory sauce, and the aroma was incredibly enticing.

The chicken was tender and fragrant, deeply infused with the scent of chestnuts. The chestnuts themselves were soft, smooth, and sweet—even richer and more flavorful than the sugar-roasted ones.

...

Du Yuerao was stunned by the appetite of the father and sons.

After lunch, fearing the two children would be uncomfortable from eating too much, she intentionally told them to walk around the yard to aid digestion before napping.

Thanks to Du Yuerao's care over the past few days, the two children had lost the dark, scrawny look they had when she first met them. Now they looked like two soft, white steamed buns, making Du Yuerao want to reach out and squeeze them.

She was leisurely sitting and eating the peeled chestnuts.

Suddenly, Xiao Han's voice called out from the backyard, "Dad, Dad, come to the backyard quickly!"

Gu Si had just finished washing the dishes and walked out. Hearing his son's worried voice, he looked at Du Yuerao, and the two of them went behind the house together.

The backyard.

The family of four froze in place simultaneously.

The garden plot that Gu Si had just finished clearing only two days ago had grown into a lush, dense green thicket. The weeds were as high as an adult's chest. Not only that, the roots were thick and strong, and the leaves were glossy.