"Second family’s, it’s not that I don’t allow your eldest brother to co. It’s just that your brother can’t do heavy work at all, so why should I have him co?" Mr. Gu was a bit upset by He’s insistent questioning, thinking the second family’s was being sowhat unreasonable.
"Alright! You know what your elder brother is like, don’t you?" Gu Chengyi imdiately scolded when he saw He was about to retort.
It’s not worth making Dad angry over this brother-in-law. Besides, if that brother-in-law really ca, others might even lose their appetite. Rembering the scene from two years ago during New Year’s when the brother-in-law was eating at the table, he finally understood that He had inherited that trait from the He Family; both the siblings were of the sa character, with the brother-in-law being even more so.
Seeing her father-in-law a bit unhappy, and even her child’s father had spoken, although He was extrely dissatisfied, she had no choice but to drop the matter.
The next day, Mr. Gu sent Gu Chengyu to the private school and, on his return, started moving with Gu Chengli and the others. The big house at the foot of the mountain was already sorted out by Mr. Gu and their family; they just needed to move things in. However, the kang, which hadn’t been used for a long ti, couldn’t be lit. But since it was spring, there was no need to use the kang.
By the ti Gu Chengyu returned in the evening, he went into the house to have a look. The previously shabby, collapsed house now had proper form.
Although it was a mud-brick thatched house, the house was quite large, and the yard was pretty spacious too. The layout of the houses of Dayan Dynasty farrs was more or less the sa, so following the old rules, Mr. Gu and his wife, along with Gu Chengyu and Gu Wan, stayed in the main house, while others stayed in the east and west wings. Since the main house didn’t have a back room, Mr. Gu had the third and fourth mbers squeeze into the back room of the large house, as they would only be staying for just over a month.
"Dad! Once we’ve moved in, I’ve noticed that the honeysuckle and mushrooms on the mountain are about ready to be picked. Once we’ve moved everything tomorrow, we should move in too! It’s convenient being near the mountain." Gu Chengyu said while biting on a stead bun, recalling that there was still a chance to pick silver honeysuckle, probably the last flower period.
Since they hadn’t gone up the mountain, he had to put the rotten wood in the mountain and would talk to his father about it later.
"Hmm! I ran into Shopkeeper Liang in town today, and he said the mushrooms were almost sold out, so we should hurry up and deliver them. Luckily, I ran into him today; otherwise, he would’ve co to our ho." Mr. Gu recalled Shopkeeper Liang’s inquiry today, to which he didn’t give a definite answer. He had already gone up the mountain to check, not finding mushrooms in the usual place, suspecting Xiao Bao placed them with the Immortal. Not knowing if the mushrooms had grown, he dared not promise anything.
"This ti we should have more than last ti." When putting the rotten wood into the space, Gu Chengyu also collected a few more remaining on the mountain, so there should be more this ti.
"That’s great! We’ve been spending a lot of silver recently without inco; isn’t that living on savings? Now that there’s inco, we won’t worry about having no silver at ho." Mrs. Lv lanted watching silver being spent like water daily, feeling pained. Without more inco, it would keep decreasing day by day, making her anxious!
Watching his mother breathe a sigh of relief, Gu Chengyu found it amusing, "Mom! Didn’t I say I would earn money? What are you worried about?"
Even Mr. Gu laughed at Mrs. Lv’s petty nature, although he secretly felt pained too.
"Xiao Bao! You’re still a child! Are you supposed to support the whole family at your age? Right now, your main task is to study well. Mom is counting on you to beco the top scholar, so I can beco an old madam of an official!" Mrs. Lv caressed Gu Chengyu’s head, saying lovingly.
Hearing this, He pursed her lips, not expecting her mother-in-law to have such lofty aspirations. Thinking of becoming an official’s old madam, as if it’s that easy to pass the exams? This small child, isn’t it too early to think about this? Besides, they’re farr kids; how easy is it to succeed in exams? Top scholar? Hah! Such a big ego!
Gu Chengli lowered his head in humiliation, suddenly rembering that the house and fields were all earned by Xiao Bao, their entire family now surviving on the silver earned by Xiao Bao. Alas! He, as the eldest brother, was useless! What was a delicious stead bun now left no appetite.
"Mom! I will study hard!" Gu Chengyu put down his chopsticks, looking firmly at Mrs. Lv. He didn’t want to say he’d beco a big official; he could only promise to try his best. Life is always full of surprises, and he couldn’t guarantee the future.
"Hey! Mom knows, our Xiao Bao is a smart, filial child." Mrs. Lv’s face bead with a big smile and he topped up Gu Chengyu’s bowl with a large piece of fried egg.
The interaction between mother and son seed warm, yet everyone at the table had their thoughts.
"Dad! Have we decided on helpers?" Gu Chengyi, lacking the patience to watch the motherly love scene, asked Mr. Gu directly.
"Not yet! Sun Craftsman said he’d bring five people this ti, and we need to find five for odd jobs. Huai Shan of the eldest’s family can count as one, so we need four more."
A governnt officer ca to the village today; most people in the village had paid their silver, so it wasn’t difficult to call people this ti.
"Dad! How about calling from Aunt Wang’s family? Aunt Wang has helped us several tis, and we haven’t properly thanked them." Gu Chengyu rembered Aunt Wang always saying good words for their family when they needed help, and twice even ran around to help.
"Hmm! I’m in favor! Let’s call Wang Erniu! He’s diligent; without even considering Aunt Wang, I wanted to call Wang Erniu anyway. Eldest, Second, you suggest; we’re still three short, any suitable candidates?"
"Dad! You’re more familiar with the village people. You look and find them!" Gu Chengli, nad by his father, thought before replying.
"Dad! The hulk at the west end of the village will do; let’s call him! He’s got great strength!" Gu Chengyi suggested.
"No way! He’s strong, but he eats a lot too!" Mrs. Lv exclaid, appalled upon hearing, the hulk took after his father, eating excessively and being stout.
"He’s fine; even though he eats more, he’s strong! For our work, strength is needed; his eating isn’t a concern." Mr. Gu was satisfied with this choice.
"Dad! Can we call Chunhua’s father?" Gu Wan, listening nearby, suddenly thought if her father ca to work, Chunhua could co to visit frequently.
"Sure! Sun Datou can count as one; I’ll call him tomorrow. There’s still one more, and I’ll look around the village tomorrow—it shouldn’t be hard to find. If they work hard, we might even choose a couple to help us in our fields." Mr. Gu thought of their many fields, knowing their few family mbers couldn’t manage it all alone.
However, Gu Chengyu thought, once the family had a steady business, if more land was bought, they would eventually have to hire a couple of people. Employing villagers sotis ant things couldn’t be spoken outright, owning individuals seed safer. He had no qualms about buying people. He wasn’t going to entertain the saintly idea of human rights when here, imperial power is supre.
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