Chang Kang was choked up and turned a sickly green. He looked at Liang Zhuzi and said, "Cousin-in-law, please say sothing."
Gu Jinli smiled when he heard this, and looked at Liang Zhuzi.
Seeing the smile on Gu Jinli’s face, Liang Zhuzi felt uneasy, but after acting as the shopkeeper for several months, he had received much adulation from the people of Hukang County and had beco arrogant. He did not want to lose face in front of his relatives, so with a thick skin, he pleaded, "Little Xiao Yu, my cousin and little brother-in-law are here to procure goods with sincerity. Can you please help them out?"
"It’s not happening," replied Gu Jinli very straightforwardly. Then he asked Liang Zhuzi, "Do you think our workshop is short of buyers like you?"
Hearing this, Liang Zhuzi trembled, "Little... Little Xiao Yu, what do you an by this?"
Gu Jinli sneered, "What do I an? I an to terminate the contract with you."
Upon hearing this, Gu Dashan took out the contract they had prepared earlier and read a line from it: "Gu’s Workshop reserves the right to terminate the contract with Liang Zhuzi and the twelve households of Lianghe Village at any ti without any compensation."
Gu Jinli looked at Liang Zhuzi and asked, "Uncle Liang, did you hear that clearly?"
Liang Zhuzi’s face went deathly pale, and he nearly collapsed, were it not for Liang Dunzi’s support.
Liang Dunzi knew that his elder brother’s ways were not always comndable, but he was still his brother, so he tried to help: "Little Xiao Yu, don’t be angry. My big brother is just trying to repay a debt of gratitude. Aunt’s family in Hukang County had helped him a lot, which is why he wanted to bring them over to ask for goods."
And Xizi was the elder sister-in-law’s younger brother, who also lived a tough life, so naturally he had to be helped too.
Gu Jinli looked at Liang Dunzi and said, "Uncle Dunzi, you still rember the hard days of the past. It’s a pity your elder brother has forgotten, acting completely like a wealthy patriarch."
Her words struck Liang Zhuzi’s face like a slap.
Gu Jinli continued, "But he should consider that he’s just a farr with no influential backing, behaving so ostentatiously in another county, isn’t he afraid that soone will sche against him and take his life?"
She looked at Liang Zhuzi and concluded, "Uncle Liang, I’m only reminding you this once. If you cannot learn to be wise, then we need not continue our business dealings. You are well aware that with big buyers like Elder Lei Wu and Master Qi, our workshop hardly needs your patronage. We sold you the goods based on our past relationship."
But...
"Favor is sothing that can be quickly exhausted if you abuse it."
Liang Zhuzi was sweating coldly upon hearing this, rembering his recent arrogance and forgetting the difficult tis of the past and that Gu’s Workshop did not lack for buyers like him; he had been getting goods based on favor. The Gu family owed him nothing but had been kind to him. If he failed to recognize his place, should the Gu family get angry, he wouldn’t even be able to obtain the dregs.
The villagers of Lianghe Village who ca to get tofu mocked Liang Zhuzi with dissatisfaction: "The young master is right. So people get a few praises and a couple of pats on the back and they forget their own nas. Just a few months ago they were farrs who could barely feed themselves, yet they pretend to be so landed gentry."
Another villager from Lianghe Village said, "Even if you want to pretend, you should at least have so real ability. But when goods are obtained through begging, what have you to boast about? Pah!"
Lately, the villagers of Lianghe Village were very disgruntled with Liang Zhuzi’s showiness. Seeing him bringing relatives to ask for goods again was too much for them to bear, and they began to mock and jeer.
With tears in his eyes after hearing the villagers’ words, Liang Zhuzi said to Gu Jinli, "Young master, I was wrong... Forget about the goods."
Chang Kang got anxious: "Cousin-in-law, what do you an by this? You promised my mother and cousin to help get the goods to sell so we could all make money together. What is the aning of this now?"
Chang Kang was initially very happy and satisfied to work at Liang Zhuzi’s shop. However, as he saw how much silver the shop earned every day, envy turned his eyes red, and he beca dissatisfied. He instigated his mother to persuade his cousin, who then threw a tantrum at Liang Zhuzi, forcing Liang Zhuzi to bring them along to purchase goods.
He thought that since the head of Gu’s Workshop was a young girl, it would be easy to get goods from her. Little did he expect that this little girl would be so ruthless, refusing to give him goods, and she did not even want to give Liang Zhuzi his share.
Liang Zhuzi regained his past firmness and stood up to Chang Kang: "You’re working at the shop, getting one tael of monthly salary, which is equivalent to two months’ wages of clerks in other shops. If you’re still not satisfied, then you don’t have to co to work at the shop anymore."
"As for your cousin, if she doesn’t want to be with , then let’s divorce!"
"Divorce!" Xizi panicked and quickly said, "Brother-in-law, you can’t say such things carelessly; my sister bore you a son and has worn mourning clothes for your father’s funeral. It’s a rule that a virtuous widow does not remarry."
Liang Zhuzi had no intention of divorcing his wife; his threat was rely to scare Xizi and Chang Kang.
Gu Jinli had no interest in their family dispute and directly said: "If there’s nothing else, you all can leave. We still have work to do in the workshop."
She also gave Liang Zhuzi a final reminder: "Uncle Liang, rember, although silver is good, wealth attracts trouble. It’s better for you to keep a low profile and conduct your business quietly. If you’re too ostentatious, trouble could co knocking at any mont. By then, our workshop will not save you; as stated clearly in the contract, once the goods are delivered, the workshop takes no responsibility."
Liang Zhuzi hurriedly replied: "Yes, Uncle Liang rembers... Little Xiao Yu, thank you."
He then apologized to Gu Dashan: "I have been ungrateful and caused trouble for Brother Gu. It will not happen again."
Gu Dashan nodded without saying much, but to himself, he thought: With my second daughter’s temperant, you won’t have another chance. Next ti she’ll just deny you the goods directly.
Chang Kang was furious and complained: "Brother-in-law, if you can’t handle it, just say so. Now that we’ve taken over the shop, what about the money for the shop? You should compensate us."
Liang Dunzi was shocked—this cousin of his sister-in-law really had no sha: "When your family took over the shop, you didn’t tell my brother, how can you make my brother pay?"
Chang Kang sneered: "What do you an ’didn’t tell him’? I did tell him, this silver..."
"Feng Jin, it’s too noisy, throw him out," Gu Jinli, not wanting to listen to Chang Kang’s nonsense, ordered Feng Jin to throw him out.
"Yes," Feng Jin stepped forward, lifted Chang Kang by the collar, ignoring his shouts, and with a thud, threw him out of the workshop gate, sending Chang Kang sprawled face-first into the dust.
The Liang brothers once again apologized to Gu Jinli before leaving.
The villagers of Lianghe Village also felt relieved, thanked Gu Jinli, took their bean products and spices, and left to sell them in their regular market.
Thus, the Liang family’s matter was settled.
Gu Jinli then went to the pharmaceutical workshop. Mu Tong had already gone through the registers of Feng Jin and others overnight, finally arranging for the Lu Family and Wu Family to be housed in a courtyard near the workshop mansion.
Mu Tong said: "This courtyard has three main rooms, four wing rooms, a kitchen, and a firewood shed. It was previously inhabited by Shuan Da; there are enough rooms to house both the Lu Family and Wu Family."
Tong Dayu’s family was accommodated in the workshop mansion along with the other servants. Those with families lived in one courtyard, and unmarried n and won were separated, filling the two courtyards as well.
Gu Jinli also promised them: "The open land outside the workshop mansion belongs to our family. When you guys get married, we will build houses for you outside the workshop mansion so that you can move out and live your own lives."
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