Chapter 304 - 305: Self-Assured

Chapter 304: Chapter 305: Self-Assured

When outsiders came looking for trouble, the Gu Family Brothers stepped forward as one. Even the grandchildren following behind were no exception; they all stared intently at the He Family.

Mrs. He Zhou swallowed hard and forced a smile. "We only said those things in the heat of the moment. We’re really here to congratulate the children’s uncle."

’It seems I can only take this slow. I’ll have to build a better relationship with them before bringing up any other requests.’

With that thought, Mrs. He Zhou turned and glared at her two sons. "You must be delirious with joy to be spouting such nonsense here. Hurry up and apologize to the children’s uncles."

Li Cuicui, full of confidence now, was not about to waste any more time with them. "I’ve decided. These two children are staying. You can all leave now."

"That won’t do. Our family’s children should naturally return to their own home. If you miss the children, you can come visit more often." Seeing the displeased looks on everyone’s faces, Mrs. He Zhou awkwardly changed her tune. "It’s mainly that they’re used to being with me. They can’t be without me, and I can’t bear to be without them."

Li Cuicui glanced back at Granny Song. Granny Song turned and went into the house, bringing the children out a moment later.

Seeing that they were each clutching a pastry in their hands, Li Cuicui crouched down to look at them. "Grandma wants you to stay here with me, okay?"

He Chuncao’s first instinct was to look at the He Family, but Li Xiaohua stepped in front of her, blocking her view. "From now on, you’ll live here with Grandma. You’ll even get to see your mother often."

"Then do I still have to go back?" He Chuncao remembered how good her grandmother was to her. The only times she ever got to eat her fill were here at her grandmother’s house.

"Well, do you want to go back?" Li Cuicui asked in a low voice.

He Chuncao shuddered, shaking her head timidly. "If I go back, I’ll go hungry, and there’s endless work to do. If I don’t do things right, they don’t just scold us—they hit us."

For once, Gu Lehua looked at He Chuncao with a flicker of sympathy. Although her own mother could be ill-tempered at times, she had never once laid a hand on her.

Even her grandparents, it seemed, had never spoken a harsh word to her.

"Then we’re not going back," Li Cuicui said through gritted teeth, rising to her feet with the support of her third daughter-in-law’s hand. "All of you brothers, take a look! See how your own niece has been abused by others?

Not having enough to eat is one thing, but there’s also endless work and endless beatings and scoldings! Today, I’m making the decision to keep them here. Do any of you have an objection?"

The Gu Family Brothers naturally had no objections. In the past, they might have worried about feeding two more mouths, but now that their mother had taken it into her head, they figured they’d just let her keep the girls for fun. It wasn’t like they were short a few taels of Silver, anyway.

Li Cuicui had no idea what her foolish sons were thinking, or she would have kicked each and every one of them. These were her own flesh-and-blood granddaughters, not some cats or dogs she was taking in.

"He Clan Leader, you’ve heard it yourself. The children are not being treated well in their home. Surely you don’t want us to come knocking on your door over this matter one day!" Since his mother couldn’t bear to see the children suffer, Gu Yuanjin, as the eldest brother, had no choice but to step forward.

If He Cao Gen had known it was about this mess, he wouldn’t have come over with Gu Kaishan in the first place. Now he was caught in the middle. "It’s acceptable for the children to live with their maternal relatives for a while. After all, their surname won’t change."

As the Clan Leader of the He Family, no matter how much he despised He Tiping’s family, he still had to maintain the clan’s interests.

"Of course," said Liu Liu. "But we need to be clear about the future of these two children. We can’t raise them well only to have them taken back and married off to just anyone." As a mother of a daughter herself, she naturally thought of such things.

"Yes, we absolutely must be clear about this," Li Cuicui chimed in, realizing the point. "The girls don’t have to change their surname, and they can return to the He Family to be married from there in the future. But this old woman has one condition: their marriages must be our decision."

"That’s out of the question! Then aren’t we just raising them for you? In the future, they’ll only be close to their maternal relatives. How would they ever care about our family?" Mrs. He Zhou tried to push through and grab the children, but the Gu family wasn’t about to let her succeed. The household servants from the several families quickly formed a protective circle around their masters.

"I know why you’ve come this time," Li Cuicui said, looking at them with a cold sneer. "Let’s put it this way: as long as you agree to let them stay here and not interfere in their lives from now on, I’ll give you ten taels of Silver."

Li Cuicui had the confidence to say such a thing now because none of her sons had been stingy with her. They would even slip her Silver from time to time. She was now an old lady with her own small fortune of several hundred taels.

"Only ten taels of Silver to get rid of us? These are my two granddaughters that I worked so hard to raise," Mrs. He Zhou scoffed. ’The children must remain in my grasp,’ she thought. ’Only then can I secure long-term benefits.’

Meanwhile, guests had begun to arrive. Gu Yuanjin just wanted to get rid of this infuriating family.

He shot a pleading look at Gu Yuanshui. "You, hurry up and solve this. I’ll take the others to greet the guests."

Gu Yuanshui watched his brothers take their leave with the others. "..."

Glancing at Gu Kaishan, who was enjoying the show, he grabbed him and pushed his way to the front. "What’s this? You think the money’s too little? Are you preparing to sell your granddaughters?

It seems life really is tough for the He Family, to have fallen so low as to sell their own granddaughters.

Say, He Clan Leader, if your clan is in such dire straits, why didn’t you mention it to us? Perhaps you shouldn’t send so many children over and waste your Silver Tael."

Gu Kaishan chimed in, "Are things really that difficult? But isn’t ten taels of Silver a bit too much? A child this small wouldn’t even sell for ten taels."

"We’re not trying to sell the children!" Mrs. He Zhou said, panicking. "You’re the ones saying that! We never said a word!"

,

"Twenty taels," Li Cuicui said, also noticing a carriage entering the village. "But you have to sign a severance agreement. From now on, you’ll have no connection to the two children."

Seeing that the He Family still wanted to argue, Li Cuicui added, "If you’re not willing, then take the children and leave right now. Otherwise, I’ll have my people throw you out."

"Is this how the top scholar’s family behaves? Are you trying to use your power to bully people?" He Tuliang said through gritted teeth.

Gu Yuanshui retorted, "Are we bullying you? Take the deal or leave. Our village doesn’t want you here, and we don’t want anything to do with you in the future.

As for these two children, take them if you want them. Do you really think we’re eager to raise them?

We have a whole bunch of our own grandsons and granddaughters. There’s no need for us to raise outsiders for you for free."

After speaking, Gu Yuanshui shot a look at his wife. Liu Liu immediately grabbed one child with each hand and pushed them toward the He Family. "Only Mother has such a soft heart. We can’t get involved in such a losing proposition.

Mother-in-law, if you want a little girl to keep you company, I can have Le Hua come over. You can dote on your own granddaughter as much as you want. Why go through the trouble of helping someone else raise their child?

Besides, if you really want granddaughters from a daughter’s side, just have our sister-in-law give birth to a few more for you. I guarantee your life will be bustling with joy."