Faced with all this, Zhou Jiao covered her forehead in distress, looking at her dad.
Zhou Xiaozheng saw this and couldn’t suppress his amusent any longer, patting her on the head, "Quickly put it away. A family with hundreds of years of history, this is already little. Abroad, I’ve seen the biggest secret rooms that are truly scary. If you can’t fit it all, just leave so out."
"Dad, don’t scare . You wouldn’t be a thief, would you? That’s too dangerous."
Zhou Xiaozheng laughed heartily—his daughter Jiao Jiao was indeed imaginative.
Zhou Jiao shook her head at him helplessly, such a low threshold for humor! She took out pen and paper, then said, "I can fit it all, it just feels too overwhelming. Dad, you open the boxes, I need to take notes to have a count in my mind."
"What’s there to note, it’s all yours anyway. When you have ti in the future, you can go through it again." Zhou Xiaozheng stopped laughing, shaking his head as he spoke. He only had Jiao Jiao as a child, so whatever is left is hers.
"Dad, that won’t do, I’ll have brothers and sisters in the future. Don’t ever think like that. You’ve given enough for ten lifetis, I won’t need all of these."
Seeing her shake her head vigorously, Zhou Xiaozheng was truly worried that her little head might fall off, "Alright, keep it for now. We’ll talk about the future when it cos."
Upon saying that, he saw her happily directing him to open the boxes, and he went along with her—if his daughter was happy, that was enough. Brothers and sisters? Haha, this kid really does think a lot.
He had never planned to have another child. Besides Jiao Jiao, who qualifies to inherit the wealth of the Zhou and Gu families? Who could inherit the strengths of his parents like Jiao Jiao? Who can guarantee the next child won’t turn out like the Lin Family? He already owed his daughter so much, yet would have children in old age, making her bear the responsibilities of the eldest? Impossible!
As for the family bloodline, Zhang Guoqing wasn’t the eldest son, and he had already privately agreed with his in-laws that Jiao Jiao’s children, whether male or female, should have two under his na. The in-laws agreed even if Xiao Wu only had one Ping’an, he would shoulder both Zhang and Zhou families. That was what he appreciated about the Zhang Family—so generous!
Zhou Jiao had no idea what her father thought. At the mont, she worried, "Dad, do you think Uncle just now walked away on purpose? Grandma is so straightforward. If that letter fell into soone else’s hands, wouldn’t our family’s things be moved away by them? With all this stuff in our house, might Uncle’s family have even more?"
"Don’t criticize your grandma! So what if Uncle did it on purpose? We can walk out empty-handed, and they follow us all the way. Even if they suspect us, they won’t find anything.
The Cheng Family has a foundation, but it’s surely limited. The Zhou, Gu, and Cheng families, their Cheng Family mainly started an academy, while our Zhou Family served as officials with clear sleeves for generations, not to ntion their Cheng Family previously donated a lot. If we’re talking about wealthiest, it’s definitely your grandma’s Gu Family. Back in the Qing Dynasty, they owned two ocean vessels."
After finishing, Zhou Xiaozheng consecutively opened several boxes filled with faded pearls. He defiantly moved to the corner, opened it, and saw silver dollars and gold, truly living up to—pearls like earth, gold like iron.
It seems the alliance among the three families was that the Gu Family generations had a careful plan in mind.
Thinking about the Cheng Family, Zhou Xiaozheng shook his head, unwilling to think maliciously of the Cheng Family mbers. Wealth indeed entices, but Old Mrs. Cheng truly treated him sincerely, and he could feel it.
Following him quickly opening boxes, Zhou Jiao beca more and more alard—no wonder the Gu Family was forced to ruin. She thought after lending out the ten thousand taels of gold, the secret room would only have family heirloom books, valuable porcelains, and so silk. Who would have thought so much would remain?
"Dad, do you think the other two places might have our Zhou Family’s wealth?"
Zhou Xiaozheng had also doubted it, but his mother didn’t leave any word. He could only wait for an opportunity to look in the future. Reputable families cannot truly be as the outside rumors say—Zhou Family demolished into ashes.
Your grandpa must know the family foundation. The Zhou Family may not have much gold and silver, but plenty of ancient books and paintings. We’ll know when we look at those two spots later. For now, don’t ss with those places. Rember that, won’t you? And when you go out later, watch your father’s expression, there might be many tracking our family this ti."
"I’ll be careful. I will discuss any decision with you beforehand. Without your consent, I won’t act rashly! Also, Dad, don’t hint anything to Aunt Grandma.
I’m not worried about her, just worried about those cousins. When it’s ti to repay, I will act. But the premise is on the basis of our family’s safety."
Zhou Xiaozheng happily patted her head, they were truly father and daughter, sharing the sa thoughts.
After packing, they cleaned up traces. Zhou Xiaozheng tested the chanism leading to the study, finding it truly couldn’t be opened.
Zhou Xiaozheng and Zhou Jiaoyuan retraced their steps to the rockery, destroyed the chanism, then they exchanged relieved smiles, finally letting out a breath. No need to worry about the Gu Family secret being discovered anymore.
On the way back, the father and daughter ran into Zhang Guoqing, then the three returned to the main courtyard.
Inside the study, after taking the wet handkerchief he handed over, Zhou Xiaozheng and his daughter imdiately burst into laughter. They had just cleaned up, yet Zhang Guoqing had already anticipated the outco, indeed a clever man.
Zhou Xiaozheng lingeringly looked around the study room. Besides the books retrieved later by Old Mrs. Cheng, and restored valuable furniture, it was not as good as it was back then.
This place was where his mother dealt with affairs with his maternal grandfather, and where she loved to stay most. Here, his mother Gu Mingzhu learned to write with a pen, learned to manage family business. Also here, his mother tied the knot with his father, Qin Jin.
"Let’s keep things here for visitors to see. Let’s go, Ping’an will start making trouble." Zhou Xiaozheng said, once again looking deeply around.
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