"Eh." Uncle Hong ca up to the counter with his basket, settled the Silver Coin, and walked out with his basket. As he stepped out of the shop’s gate, he looked up at the sign and clicked his tongue twice, saying: "The characters written by the Lord County Magistrate just look different, they’re pleasing to the eye."
Although he could not read, he still thought they looked nice.
Manager Feng heard every word Uncle Hong said, and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, realizing that the Gu Family was not like the other refugees; they had a big backer.
Thinking so, his gaze towards Gu Dashan now contained a bit of admiration, and when he spoke again, his tone was more humble than before: "Boss Gu truly has good fortune, to be regarded so highly by the Lord County Magistrate. Feng admires this sincerely."
Village Chief Shang, hearing this, nodded in satisfaction and strode off.
Scholar Shang knew this ant that Village Chief Shang saw Manager Feng as trustworthy and was willing to do business with him.
He returned the household registration to Manager Feng and said to Gu Dashan: "Brother Gu, there’s no issue with Manager Feng’s household registration." After speaking, he nodded towards Gu Dashan.
Gu Dashan wasn’t foolish; seeing this, he understood Scholar Shang’s intention. After calculating how much cured at Daya’s family could produce in a day, he said to them: "The county’s Futai Building has already signed a contract with us; now the stock we can sell to you is limited. We can provide at most twenty roasted ducks a day, thirty jin of at marinade, and thirty jin of vegetarian marinade."
Manager Feng felt it was a bit too little and pleaded: "Our Changfeng Building is in the county town with many custors; could you increase the number of roasted ducks to thirty?"
Gu Dashan shook his head: "It’s really not possible; we cannot produce that much."
Futai Building had already ordered a hundred roasted ducks per day from them. Now, providing twenty for each of these two additional shops would amount to a hundred and forty total, and Daya’s family, working to exhaustion, could at most prepare two hundred in a day. They would even need help slaughtering ducks; otherwise, they could not keep up.
Hearing this, Manager Feng had no choice but to give up with regret.
Manager Lin, however, was not greedy; he was content just to get the stock.
Gu Dashan then laid out the rules for taking delivery of the goods.
Liang Zhuzi smiled and said: "Don’t worry Brother Gu, I’ve already told Manager Feng and Manager Lin about these rules, and both of them have agreed."
Manager Feng and Manager Lin nodded: "Brother Liang is right, we are willing to follow the rules set by Brother Gu."
"Then it’s settled, let’s sign the contract." Gu Dashan instructed Gu Jin’an to write four contracts. After calling over Qi Panzi, both sides—four people plus guarantors Liang Zhuzi and Scholar Shang, totaling six—signed and stamped their prints on the contracts.
The n from the other families did not need to co to sign and stamp their prints, nor did the two managers buy tofu or seasoning spices. For these items, they would still purchase from Liang Zhuzi; otherwise, he would not have brought them along.
Since Manager Feng and Manager Lin had a long journey back, after signing the contract and agreeing on a pickup ti, they left their congratulatory gifts and bade farewell.
Not long after they left, Xue Mingyu ca with a young boy around five or six years old, followed by two servants carrying congratulatory gifts, to the front of Gu’s Restaurant.
Xue Mingyu, his face disfigured and limping, caught the attention of Wang Yongfu who stepped forth to block him, smiling and asking, "Old man, are you here to buy sothing or looking for soone?"
Knowing his appearance was quite frightening and that anybody would be stopped for inquiries, Xue Mingyu replied: "I am looking for soone. Is the owner of this shop surnad Gu? The old man is looking for Boss Gu."
The child accompanying Xue Mingyu was very well-mannered, with little hands clasped together, he bowed to Wang Yongfu: "Uncle, Grandpa Xue is a good person. Thanks to Boss Gu’s help, he has fulfilled his long-standing wish. Today, upon learning about the opening of the Gu Family’s Shop, he has specifically co to offer congratulations. Please trouble yourself to inform Boss Gu, and let him et us."
Wang Yongfu saw that the child was only five or six years old, looking pale and frail, yet when he spoke, he was surprisingly articulate. He couldn’t help but smile and say, "Alright, you wait here, I’ll go and announce your arrival."
No sooner had he finished speaking, Luo Wu had already seen Old Man Xue, handed over the braised food to a custor, asked the custor to pay, and then walked over, saying, "Old Man Xue, what brings you here?"
Luo Wu recognized Xue Mingyu. He had handled Sun Lizhang’s family case from beginning to end.
"Constable Luo." Xue Mingyu was very happy to see Luo Wu and quickly explained his purpose for coming.
Hearing this, Luo Wu chuckled and said, "Then you’ve co on the right day, Old Man. Not only is Xiao Yu here, Uncle Shang is also present."
Xue Mingyu, excitedly, said, "That’s really fortunate. Could you please take this old man to et Scholar Shang?"
If it weren’t for the ssage from the Shang Family, he wouldn’t have known about the county’s plan to dismiss half of the village chiefs. Without the help of the Shang Family and the Jiang Family, he wouldn’t have dared to take his case to the county.
"Sure, follow ." Luo Wu was tall and muscular, taking large strides. They quickly arrived at the side room on the right, where Luo Wu said to Scholar Shang, "Uncle Shang, Old Man Xue is here."
Old Man Xue?
Scholar Shang was talking to Elder Yuan Laorong. Upon hearing Luo Wu, he turned to the door, saw Xue Mingyu, and after a mont of frowning in confusion, he guessed his identity: "So, it’s Old Man Xue."
The one with a grudge against Sun Lizhang’s family from Beigou Village.
Seeing him, Old Man Xue imdiately knelt down, startling Scholar Shang, who quickly called out to Luo Wu, "Brother Wu, help Old Man Xue up quickly."
Luo Wu pulled up Old Man Xue and also the child who had knelt down with him, saying, "Don’t kneel anymore, Uncle Shang doesn’t like this sort of thing. If you have sothing to say, just speak up."
Old Man Xue was sowhat emotional, with tears in his eyes he said, "Scholar Shang, you indeed deserve this old man’s bow. Without the assistance of the Gu, Shang, and Jiang families, the Xue family would not have been able to avenge our great grievance."
The child beside him gave a bow to Scholar Shang, saying, "Thank you, benefactor, for your great favor in clearing my family’s na."
Scholar Shang looked at the child and smiled, saying to Old Man Xue, "You have raised this child well."
He invited Old Man Xue into the side room and had the two sit down to talk.
Old Man Xue looked at the child by his side and said, "This is just my duty."
Elder Yuan Laorong was surprised to hear him refer to himself as an old servant, and asked, "Old gentleman, who is this child?"
Old Man Xue smiled with a face full of loving kindness, "He is the young master of my family, surnad Fu. Unfortunately, there’s no one left in the Fu family. Before the old master passed away, he arranged for the young master to co with back to Hukou Town, and for to raise the young master."
The child was very intelligent; hearing everyone talking about him, he bowed to everyone with a greeting, saying, "I am Fu Yang, my nickna is Brother Shou. Greetings to all the uncles and elder relatives here, and to this grandfather. Congratulations to you all, wishing your shop an auspicious opening."
Grandpa Xue said, since he was born, he has always been frailer than other children, which is why his father nad him Brother Shou, hoping for him to live a long life.
"Ha ha, this child is really interesting, so well-spoken." Third Grandpa liked Brother Shou very much, waved his hand to call him over.
Brother Shou respected Old Man Xue very much, knowing that the Gu, Shang, and Jiang families had helped Old Man Xue avenge his family, so he was very grateful to these three families. He was not shy, and when Third Grandpa waved, he went over.
Luo Wu had already gone to the kitchen to call for Gu Jinli, and before long, Gu Jinli arrived.
User Comments
0 comments from readers