Aunt Wang was not sure if Gu Chengyu would attend, after all, he was quite busy, and being a scholar, he might not care for such gatherings.
"Of course, I will attend Brother Gousheng’s happy event. If nothing major cos up that day, I definitely want to go and have a drink."
Gu Chengyu’s response filled Aunt Wang with delight. Having a scholar at the table was such an honor and definitely sothing to boast about.
Aunt Wang’s smile grew even more radiant!
Gu Chengyu was curious about which family’s girl it was, "May I know which family’s girl Brother Gousheng is speaking of?"
"The girl isn’t too far away, interestingly enough, she lives close to your eldest aunt’s ho, in the sa village! Her older brother used to be a scholar too, now he’s working in town as an accountant. The girl seems obedient and her cooking skills are great."
"Oh? That is indeed a coincidence." Though he said this, Gu Chengyu had an uneasy feeling, hoping it wasn’t what he thought.
"Is that girl’s surna Huang?"
"Indeed! Didn’t expect you to guess it! Her brother stayed at Hua’s house for a while, then he left at so point later, though I only t him once. Unfortunately, he lost part of his finger sohow. Otherwise, he might have passed the scholar exam; I hear he was quite good at studying! Now, he can only work as an accountant in Huaihe Town."
Aunt Wang showed a bit of regret on her face. If he had passed the scholar exam, her family could’ve gained so prestige!
Gu Chengyu truly wanted to exclaim, "Damn it!"
Round and round, and it still ca back to involve Huang Ming. How small was Dayan Dynasty? This was like a haunting ghost.
The problem now was whether this was a re coincidence or intentional?
"That is indeed quite a coincidence. Do you know who arranged the match?" Gu Chengyu speculated if soone knew about his grudge with Huang Ming and planned to exploit it.
"Who else could it be? Our local matchmaker! Once Mr. Huang heard we’re from Shangling Village, he imdiately agreed! In recent years, your family has been working well, earning a good amount of silver, buying so land. Mr. Huang saw that our household life wasn’t bad, plus with you as our village’s scholar, he agreed to it! When this happened, you weren’t even a scholar yet!"
Gu Chengyu just listened with a smile, showing nothing on his face.
Aunt Wang, still not satisfied, continued: "Since you beca a scholar, our village lads no longer worry about finding wives! Now that you’re a scholar, all the young n and won in our village are sought after."
The corners of Gu Chengyu’s mouth twitched. He understood.
If there was a conflict between two villages, the one with a scholar would surely have the upper hand, like in farm irrigation matters.
Our village has a river running through several villages, perfectly situated in the middle.
For farmland irrigation, you need the river water to flow into the fields, then channel it to each household’s farmland. If the upstream is blocked, the river water won’t co down.
So, the village upstream takes the most advantage. If there are any disagreents with this village, turmoil surely ensues.
Not just two, it might involve several downstream villages and can lead to conflicts sotis.
These things have happened before, around when Gu Chengyu was just born. Several villages almost fought until the upstream village made concessions and things quelled.
The upstream village knew they would suffer if many villages united against them.
If a village had a scholar or a scholar to step out, conflict wouldn’t arise. A scholar need not bow to the County Magistrate; not much in the Capital, but very useful here in the countryside.
"It’s surprising Aunt Tao can arrange marriages for Huaihe Town as well! She’s getting quite famous!"
Gu Chengyu wanted to know if this was due to Huang Ming or re coincidence.
"Your Aunt Tao indeed is impressive. Within ten miles and beyond, she’s known! She visits Huaihe Town often too! Has successfully arranged several households there."
Hearing this, perhaps it was indeed a coincidence before. However, Mr. Huang agreeing to this marriage upon hearing the ntion of Shangling Village, it was hard to say.
Then Aunt Tao started rambling again about the two families’ eting process.
Gu Chengyu hadn’t t Huang Ming’s sister and didn’t know her character. This was Aunt Wang’s family’s matter, he couldn’t doubt the sister due to Huang Ming.
Besides, the wedding was imminent; his interference would be too late.
No matter Huang Ming’s intentions, Gu Chengyu would deal with whatever ca his way.
Aunt Wang, gestured as if wanting to say sothing, held off abruptly, glancing at Gu Chengyu with embarrassnt.
"There’s sothing, not sure if I should say it!"
Gu Chengyu wondered, was she asking him to find Gousheng a job?
Indeed, Brother Gousheng now scrabbles for food in the fields; finding a job isn’t impossible. Gu Chengyu thought about it, but non-literate jobs are also hard to find.
"Why be polite Aunt? Just speak your mind."
Aunt Wang hesitantly said, "You should be cautious about your second brother lately."
Muttering this to a kid embarrassed her a bit. Mr. Gu and Mrs. Lv seed incapable of controlling Second Gu; if sothing happened, wouldn’t it implicate Xiao Bao?
Gu Chengyu didn’t expect Aunt Wang not speaking of Gousheng finding a job, but of his second brother.
But considering his strained relationship with his second brother, Aunt Wang knew of this as well. Why bring it up to him suddenly? Shouldn’t this be told to Mrs. Lv and the others?
"What’s up with my second brother?"
"Well! Your second brother might be getting close with Wang Yue, keep an eye on it." Aunt Wang felt still embarrassed, speaking in an ambiguous manner.
Gu Chengyu was a bit surprised, wondering if his second brother was plotting sothing with Wang Yue? His initial reaction was that Wang Yue, bearing a grudge against him and his mother, might collude with his second brother to sche against him.
"What do you an? How does Aunt know? Not doubting Aunt, just curious how you found out?"
Gu Chengyu thought such sches are secretive, how did Aunt Wang discover this?
"Wasn’t it seen? Several tis over recent years. Your mom said your Dad had confronted your second brother about it, then it stopped. But recently, it looks like it’s resud. Don’t know how it reignited, but they’re even more discreet. It was just by chance I saw them, don’t ignore it! If word gets out, it’ll harm your family’s reputation."
Seeing Gu Chengyu seemingly unconcerned, Aunt Wang urged further.
"What? Really? Gu Chengyu was utterly shocked, initially not considering this angle.
Mainly because Wang Yue isn’t that attractive; if his second brother wanted a woman, why pick Wang Yue with his money?"
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