Chapter 25: Losing Out? Taking Advantage?

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Losing Out? Taking Advantage?

He Tuliang quickly covered the crate—it held most of his family’s assets. "Now, now, brother-in-law, everything we have here is just old stock. We’ve painstakingly hauled it all this way to make things more convenient for everyone."

"Hauled it?" Gu Yuanlei pointed at the old yellow ox chewing hay to the side. "Then I suppose this ox is just for decoration? In a caravan this large, only a handful of families have an ox-drawn cart. That tells me your family isn’t doing so poorly.

And yet you can’t even spare two coins for water? And you even sent my sister back to try and get money out of my parents. Who do you think you’re fooling? A three-year-old?"

Gu Wenheng fanned the flames against the scheming family. "Oh, so it’s all old stock! In that case, the prices should be about what they were before, right? Since we’re family, I should patronize your business a little. I’ll take some things off your hands, save you the trouble of hauling them the rest of the way."

The other brothers’ eyes lit up. ’Seventh is finally pulling his weight!’

"That’s right. We’re all family, so of course we have to help you out. Let us share your burden so your family doesn’t have it so tough." Gu Yuanhuo even started fumbling for his coin purse. ’Prices on the road now are several times what they used to be,’ he thought. ’I might not have brought enough money.’

The brothers were in instant agreement. Ignoring He Tuliang’s foul expression, they began prying open the two crates and picking through the goods themselves.

Salt. That was a necessity. The brothers divvied it all up, one pack for you, one for me, until none was left.

Needles and thread. Shoes and clothes wore out quickly on this journey. They took them.

Insoles and scraps of cloth. Put together, they could be made into several more pairs of shoes.

Sugar. A rare commodity. They had to stock up, to give the children and their wives a sweet treat.

...

By the time the brothers stopped, the two crates were nearly empty.

The other villagers from their group watched as the goods dwindled, their expressions growing fouler and fouler.

But no one said a word. He Tuliang’s asking price was certainly not low. They just wondered how he was going to settle the bill with his brothers-in-law.

Gu Yuanjin piled his haul of goods in front of the He Family. "I won’t ask for your old inventory prices. I’ll even give you a fifty percent markup. Let’s see... a catty of salt for fifteen coins, needles and thread for eight... what’s the total?"

"Eldest Brother, the total is ninety-eight coins," Gu Wenheng said, beaming at the He Family. "You’re too generous, Eldest Brother. Back in the day, this would have only cost fifty or sixty copper coins. Our brother-in-law is making a killing." He suddenly found their sour expressions exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

Waiting at the side, Gu Yuanmu cheerfully pushed his own pile forward. "Having an educated man like Seventh around really makes a difference. Help your Second Brother calculate his total, too. And just like with Eldest Brother, mark up the price a little. We can’t have our brother-in-law’s hard work go unrewarded, can we?"

Gu Wenheng, of course, turned no one away. He not only helped tally the prices but also counted out the copper coins one by one, right in front of the He Family and the other villagers.

The He Family couldn’t bear to watch their goods being sold off so cheaply. Mrs. He Zhou went wailing to their village head for help, only to be rebuffed with a single sentence: "Handle your own family matters."

As for the goods, the people of Geda Village already had a bone to pick with the He Family. ’If it’s all old stock, why are you hiking the price several times over for your own fellow villagers?’ they thought. ’Isn’t that just preying on your own people?’

Besides, the Gu Family was acting honorably. They weren’t taking the items for free. They were all relatives, after all; a discount was to be expected.

Eldest Sister-in-law He was kicking herself. If she had known the Gu Family would be this troublesome, she never would have pushed that useless wife of the second son to go back and ask for money. Now they had suffered a huge loss.

Her limbs trembled when she caught He Tuliang’s eye, and she knew Mr. He would blame her for this.

’But I didn’t start this on my own!’ she thought. ’They all agreed to it back then, didn’t they?’

Regardless of their regrets, the Gu Family then took half of the money they had just paid and, in front of everyone, placed it directly in Gu Yuanfeng’s hands.

Li Cuicui also made sure to pluck a few pieces of jewelry from the He family’s mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Before leaving, Li Cuicui didn’t forget to instruct her daughter, "This should roughly cover the value of what you gave them. You’re still taking a small loss, but we can’t be too picky.

Our family is at the back of the caravan. If you can’t hold onto this money, just have your brothers and nephews come and stand up for you."

Gu Yuanfeng’s expression was complicated, but her hands clutched the money pouch tightly. "But..."

"No ’buts,’" said Gu Yuanhuo, gesturing with the fist of his free hand. "Your brothers are no pushovers. Anyone who wants to bully you will have to get through us first! I imagine our in-laws aren’t foolish enough to try anything, are they?"

He Tuliang gulped, not daring to say a single word.

"Alright, that’s enough. We have plenty of our own business to attend to," Li Cuicui declared with a wave of her hand. "Let’s get these things back, then go buy a few bowls of water. If you don’t prioritize your own life at a time like this, what’s the point of having worldly possessions?" With that, she led her children and grandchildren in a great procession toward the back of the caravan.

’As for my foolish daughter,’ she thought, ’I hope this teaches her a lesson. Let her suffer a little.’

"Mother, will Sixth Sister be alright back there?" Gu Yuantu finally blurted out once they were clear of the Geda Village section.

"She chose this path herself," Li Cuicui replied. "Sometimes a person has to suffer to learn who their friends are and who are demons." Everyone was well aware of the He Family’s character.

While their actions might have intimidated the He Family for now, it had also thoroughly offended them. Ultimately, Gu Yuanfeng would be the one to suffer the consequences.

She had to learn to stand up for herself. Otherwise, even if her family guarded her day and night, her life would only become more difficult.

Gu Wenheng felt no pity for this sister of his. The moment she had raised her hand against Jin Qianqian, he had written her off as an enemy.

* * *

"Where did all this come from?" Jin Qianqian asked as Gu Wenheng lifted the front of his robe, revealing the assorted goods he had acquired.

"I bought them," Gu Wenheng said, too rushed to explain. "Sort through this. Put away what we need to keep safe, and the rest can go in the carrying basket." His brothers were already calling for him. If he didn’t go buy water now, they would lose their chance.

Jin Qianqian handed all the bamboo canteens to Gu Wenheng, remembering to ask, "Do you have enough money?"

Gu Wenheng squinted at Jin Qianqian, a teasing glint in his eye. "We’re really starting to sound like an old married couple. It’s the little details that make this life feel so real."

Jin Qianqian froze. ’I’ve already grown used to this life without even realizing it,’ she thought. ’And it doesn’t even feel strange.’

Gu Wenheng didn’t disturb her thoughts, simply leaving with the empty canteens, his mood bright.

’If the setting weren’t so grim, I’d burst into song,’ he thought.

"Seventh, what’s got you in such a good mood?" After that whole ordeal, the Gu Family Brothers felt much closer. Even Gu Yuantu, who rarely joked, couldn’t resist a little teasing.

Gu Wenheng broke into a wide grin. "Seeing people I don’t like run into misfortune just makes my day.

Don’t you feel the same way, Fifth Brother?"