Chapter 143: All for Nothing

Anyway, the deal this time couldn’t be made, and Shuan Da’s wife no longer addressed Da Kui’s wife as sister. With one sentence, she exposed Da Kui’s wife’s true colors.

Mo Dali knew his whole family wanted to sell Chunyue for the family’s benefit, and he himself was waiting for the indenture silver from Chunyue to get a wife, but hearing what Shuan Da’s wife said still made him uncomfortable, he glared fiercely at Mo Dakui.

"Enough, our family will provide the silver," Elder Mo feared his sons would quarrel further, and had to compromise, but he didn’t plan to give that much silver: "No ten taels, at most five taels, take it or leave it."

Shuan Da’s wife didn’t continue to entangle with the Mo family and decided to cut her losses: "Fine, consider it Lu Family’s bad luck, five taels it is, hand it over."

Elder Mo, with a trembling hand, passed the silver he was clutching to Old Mrs. Mo: "Give it to her."

Old Mrs. Mo, holding the piece of silver that Shuan Da’s wife had thrown on the ground, felt a pain as if flesh was being gouged from her heart: "Old man, this is the money for Dali to get a wife, for building our house."

If given away, their family would continue to live in this dilapidated, mud-dropping house.

"Give it to her!" Elder Mo roared.

Old Mrs. Mo had no choice but to hand the five taels of silver to Shuan Da’s wife.

Shuan Da’s wife snatched the silver, weighed it in her hand, and said: "Don’t think your family is at a loss; these five taels of silver can keep your whole family safe. Otherwise, just for your audacity to go back on your word, the Lu family could ruin you."

After saying this, Shuan Da’s wife joyfully walked away with the silver.

The Mo family felt humiliated, lost a granddaughter, didn’t earn any money, and cursed heaven and earth. Old Mrs. Mo and her two daughters-in-law wept bitterly, and Elder Mo, blinded by rage, spurted out a mouthful of old blood and fainted.

"Dad, Dad, what’s wrong with you?"

"Old man, old man, please don’t let anything happen to you."

The Mo family was in complete disarray, pinching acupoints and running to get Mo Kui to spend money to call a doctor.

Mo Kui was initially reluctant, but thinking that Elder Mo was his kinsman uncle, he still gritted his teeth and went to the neighboring village to bring a barefoot doctor to treat Elder Mo, but this was the last time he showed soft-heartedness.

...

No matter how tragic the situation for the Mo family, the tofu business at Gu Jinli’s house was getting better and better. Today, another group of people came, all from neighboring villages. They wanted to buy tofu from them and sell it elsewhere, like in Lianghe Village.

Village Chief He had just finished dealing with He Sanlai’s matter, and upon hearing this, immediately brought the He Family People to help the Gu Family drive these people away.

There were still many families in the He family that had not gotten their tofu; they couldn’t let other village people come to the Gu’s to buy tofu.

Gu Dashan told those people, "It’s almost March, and we don’t have many family members available. We need to keep some people for spring plowing. Let’s talk about selling tofu after the spring plowing."

Gu Family’s tofu was not enough to sell, and those neighboring villagers saw it with their own eyes. Hearing Gu Dashan say this and seeing Village Chief He leading a group of He Family People to drive them away, the villagers who came to ask for tofu could only leave.

But before leaving, they told Gu Dashan: "Gu Family Brothers, we’ll come again after spring plowing, but then you can’t keep putting us off. If you do, it would cut off our means of survival."

The He Family People scoffed at these words, cursing: "Cut off your means of survival? We He Family People haven’t even gotten our tofu yet, who do you think you are? Let me tell you, if you want tofu, our villagers have to get enough first, only then will it turn to your turn. Get lost quickly!"

With the help of the He family, when outsiders came again to ask for tofu, the Gu Family People no longer needed to send them away themselves, the He Family would do it.

And because of the tofu business, the status of Qin Gu Luotian families in Da Feng Village soared a lot. The He family used to look down on them, but now they were the ones asking for favors.

The Lu Family was also envious of the Gu Family’s tofu business; they wanted to find trouble at the Gu Family’s and get a share of the tofu business. However, they were afraid of County Captain Jiang. Last time, after Lu Laosan went to steal the recipe from the Gu Family, many Lu Family People were caught and each family had to spend five taels of silver to rescue the head of the family from the county government prison. They daren’t easily cause trouble at the Gu Family now.

Regardless of what the Lu Family thought, anyway, the Qin, Gu, and Luotian families had been having a good time lately.

While Gu Jinli was busy, she was also waiting for news from the Jiang Family, but Gu Jin’an told her, "The scholar said that County Captain Jiang went with the Lord County Magistrate to Prefecture City to receive new disaster victims, and it will take a few days before he returns, so you should wait."

They were lucky to be among the first batch of displaced persons to be settled, but there were still many unsettled in Prefecture City. After the New Year, He’an Prefecture had been busy with this matter and is still busy now.

Gu Jinli said with a smile, "This matter is not urgent."

Third Grandma, upon hearing Gu Jin’an’s words, frowned and asked, "It’s almost March, how are there still disaster victims not settled?"

Scholar Shang, who isn’t an old-fashioned scholar, would talk to Gu Jin’an about the situation of the disaster victims, so Gu Jin’an knew more and replied, "It was originally settled, but in early February, more disaster victims were assigned to He’an Prefecture. Now, those being settled are disaster victims who arrived after February."

Third Grandpa asked Gu Jin’an, "Do you know where these new disaster victims are from? Are there any from Long’an Prefecture?"

Third Grandpa and Third Grandma had a daughter who was separated during the famine escape. Third Grandpa and Third Grandma have been searching for her family all along but with no news.

Gu Jin’an knew the thoughts of Third Grandpa and Third Grandma, but he also didn’t know where exactly these new disaster victims were from, so he could only say, "I will ask the scholar tomorrow and see if he knows."

Upon hearing this, Third Grandma, thinking of her own daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren, wiped her tears and said, "Then, Good Brother An, ask when you go to school tomorrow."

Worried about bothering Scholar Shang and causing him to dislike Good Brother An, she instructed, "If Scholar Shang doesn’t know, don’t pester him with questions, lest you annoy him."

Gu Jin’an replied with a smile, "Third Grandma, don’t worry. The scholar treats me very well. If the scholar knows about Aunt Fuya’s family situation, he will definitely help look for them. Since Scholar’s Yue Family is related to County Captain Jiang, if County Captain Jiang helps, maybe they can be found."

Third Grandpa and Grandma’s eyes brightened, and their previously distressed faces were covered with a glow: "Really?"

If they really could find their daughter and her family, they would be willing to die now.

Gu Jin’an dared not make any guarantees, but seeing the hopeful look on the old couple’s faces, he didn’t want to make them sad, so he said, "The scholar said there are many disaster victims moving south, perhaps Aunt Fuya’s family is among those victims."

Gu Jinli also comforted Third Grandpa and Grandma: "Third Grandpa and Grandma, don’t worry, we all managed to survive on the road fleeing the famine, Aunt Fuya’s family surely can too. We will make an effort to find Aunt Fuya’s family. Even if we can’t find them, Aunt Fuya and her family will come looking for us."