Chapter 32: Brothers as Backup

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Brothers as Backup

"How can you be sleeping at a time like this?" Gu Yuanhuo was short-tempered, and his words came out faster than usual.

Gu Wenheng replied, "Didn’t we agree to wait until Mother gets back to talk about it? I’ll follow her lead regardless."

After spending the past few days together, both Gu Wenheng and Jin Qianqian had come to approve of Li Cuicui. The old woman was overbearing, but she was shrewd and always had a plan.

"What if Mother also wants everyone to give them water?"

"Mother won’t agree," Gu Wenheng said, sitting up straight. "You have to trust our mother. A potential daughter-in-law isn’t more important than the lives of this entire family."

Gu Yuanhuo felt a little more at ease, but his brow remained furrowed. "But what about Father?"

’That old man always favors his youngest son. He probably won’t give in so easily.’

"Mother is in charge of family matters. As long as we remember that, this won’t be too difficult." Gu Wenheng looked up at the scorching sky. "Go get some sleep!"

"I can’t sleep," Gu Yuanhuo said. "Let’s us two brothers have a chat."

Gu Wenheng pointed to their other brothers gathered around Gu Yuanjin. "If you can’t sleep, go chat with Eldest Brother. You know I’m frail. If I don’t rest now, I won’t be able to travel today."

’Heh, just because he can’t sleep, I have to keep him company? He can go do whatever he wants.’

Gu Yuanhuo pushed himself to his feet. "Fine! You get some rest. You’re the one with the most cunning ideas in our family. You’ll have to look out for us brothers when the time comes."

Gu Wenheng was speechless.

"Are you trying to kill your father and me?" Before the family could even sit down to discuss it, trouble erupted over on Gu Dashishi’s side.

Hearing Li Cuicui’s crying shouts, Gu Wenheng shouldered his luggage and hurried over.

"Mother, what’s wrong?" Seeing Li Cuicui collapsed on the ground, the Gu Family Brothers gathered around her worriedly.

"You ask them! See what your ’good’ little brother has done!" As if she’d found her pillars of support, Li Cuicui leaned on her sons and pointed with a furious expression at the father and son duo cowering to the side.

Gu Wenheng already had a good guess what had happened and rolled his eyes at the sky, speechless.

Jin Qianqian, however, didn’t understand what was going on. She secretly tugged on the corner of Gu Wenheng’s clothes, questioning him silently.

Gu Wenheng gave her a slight shake of his head, signaling for her to look at the two bamboo tubes in the pile of luggage.

"Mother, whatever it is, let’s get up and talk it over slowly. Please don’t ruin your health over this," Xie Ruyi, who wasn’t carrying much, quickly squatted down to help Li Cuicui up.

"Why should I care about my health now? I’m just going to end up dying here anyway. I’m not going another step!"

"Mother, don’t say things you don’t mean. Don’t forget, you still have several sons," Gu Wenheng said, glancing back to see the group ahead already starting to move on. "Let’s talk about it while we walk. If we fall behind, our whole family really will have to stay here with you."

Li Cuicui quickly looked back and saw that even Gu Daping’s family, who had been bringing up the rear with them, was gradually moving out of sight.

The old woman could no longer be bothered with wailing. She scrambled to her feet. "Then you all hurry up and follow them. Leave me and your father here. Since he doesn’t want to live on anyway, so be it!"

But Gu Wenheng just smiled, put his arm around her shoulder, and coaxed her, "Mother, whatever it is, let’s talk as we walk. If we really left you here, would we even be human?

"People who don’t know what happened would just say we brothers are unfilial. Do you want us to carry that reputation for the rest of our lives?"

Feeling her son’s affection, Li Cuicui felt the tightness in her chest ease a little. ’My husband is unreliable, and my youngest son is unreliable, but I still have these other sons.’

At this thought, Li Cuicui stopped talking about whether to go or not. She stormed over to the pile of luggage, and with sharp eyes and quick hands, she hoisted the most important grain and her own clothes onto her back. "Let’s go! I’m done with that father and son. I can’t let them drag down the other brothers."

Gu Yuanjin and the others were completely baffled. ’What kind of act are Mother and Seventh putting on?’

’Didn’t she just say she wasn’t going? This change of heart is way too fast.’

’And what’s going on, anyway? We still haven’t figured it out.’

Gu Wenheng paid them no mind. He grabbed Jin Qianqian with one hand and supported Li Cuicui with the other. "Everyone, hurry and keep up. Don’t fall behind."

When Gu Yuanjin saw his mother pick up her things and leave, he quickly called for the rest of the family to follow. As for Gu Dashishi and his son, who had been standing there in a daze, they too had shouldered their own baggage the moment Li Cuicui turned and left.

They just didn’t notice that a family was following them from a short distance behind the group.

"Mother, what on earth happened?" Gu Yuanjin asked, hurrying to catch up. The whole affair was so confusing; no one understood what was going on.

"Who else but the youngest," Li Cuicui said through gritted teeth. "Didn’t your father tell you? He saved some young girl and now he’s taken a fancy to her.

"Taking a fancy to her is one thing, but he even dared to secretly promise her family a huge amount of water.

"Tell me, isn’t he a fool? Water is so precious right now—you can’t even buy it with money. But him? He just made empty promises and gave it all away.

"I didn’t agree, so they came to you guys to find a way.

"Luckily, you aren’t fools either and didn’t agree to it right away.

"I thought they would have given up since they couldn’t get any water. But I wake up from a nap, and the water we just received—bamboo tubes and all—is gone! When I pressed him, the youngest finally stammered that he’d taken the water to the Lan Family.

"Do you know how much he gave them? He gave them everything! He didn’t leave a single drop for us! Tell me, isn’t that as good as leaving us for dead?"

The Gu Family members were all stunned. How could finding a wife be more important than their lives? This was their parents’ life-saving water they were talking about.

Gu Wenheng scoffed. "The youngest isn’t a fool. He’s just too clever for his own good."

Jin Qianqian immediately understood and nodded in agreement. ’He really is. Far too clever.’

"Clever? A clever person would give our water away to others? Have you thought about what he’s going to drink from now on?" Gu Yuanhuo stomped his feet twice in frustration.

Liu Liu’s expression was grim. She blurted out, "What will he drink? Won’t he have you older brothers to back him up? He’s plotted against us all."

Those who hadn’t figured it out before all came to their senses after Liu Liu’s comment.

Seeing his family turn in unison to stare at him, Gu Yuanlei immediately hung his head low, but the pace of his steps didn’t slow in the slightest.

"What are you looking at? Watch the path in front of you. If you fall and get scraped up, we don’t even have medicine," Gu Dashishi snapped, jumping to Gu Yuanlei’s defense.

"Father, we just want to see how thick-skinned some people can be. Do you really need to curse your own children and grandchildren like that?" Wang Caiyue, not expecting her father-in-law to still be so blatantly biased at a time like this, couldn’t help but retort.