Chapter 268: Elder Qin Lies

"Xiao Yu, you guys have worked hard, come inside quickly." Mrs. Chen said kindly, trying to ingratiate herself with Gu Jinli, and as soon as she finished speaking, she couldn’t help asking: "Xiao Yu, did you manage to buy the land?"

"You sure talk a lot." Third Grandma glared at Mrs. Chen and said to Gu Jinli: "Come inside first, we can talk after dinner."

But Third Grandpa waved his hand and said: "First bring some boiled eggs and soymilk for them to snack on, let’s discuss matters first and then have a proper meal."

With so many people watching, Xiao Yu and the others wouldn’t be able to eat in peace, so it’s better to talk things over first, then everyone can go back and they can enjoy their meal.

Gu Dashan smiled and said: "Third Aunt, let’s do what Third Uncle says. We ate bean dregs cake on the road to fill our stomachs, so we’re not very hungry right now."

As he spoke, he ushered Elder Qin into the main room.

Third Grandpa and the others followed suit.

Mrs. Cui and Gu Jinxiu went to the kitchen to get a pottery bowl of boiled eggs and a basin of hot soymilk, dished out servings for the five members of Gu Dashan’s group: "Have a bite to fill your stomachs first."

After eating a boiled egg and downing half a bowl of hot soymilk, Gu Jinli was just about to speak when Elder Qin raised his hand to stop him, saying: "We bought the land outside the Gate Tower; the land deed is in Xiao Yu’s hands."

Hearing this, Mrs. Chen felt a twist in her heart, wondering why the land deed was with Xiao Yu, a mere child. What if she lost it?

Mrs. Chen almost blurted out her concerns, but recalling yesterday’s events, she did not dare to speak and forcefully suppressed her words.

Elder Qin continued: "Originally, the temple master was not willing to sell. However, he took a liking to Xiao Yu, praising her for being clever, capable of making soy oil and tofu. Especially the soy oil, as it would allow the temple’s monks to eat meals with a touch of oil. So he sold twenty acres of land outside the Gate Tower to Xiao Yu."

"Twenty acres!" The families exclaimed in surprise: "That’s a lot, it must have cost quite a sum of Silver Coins."

Mrs. Chen’s eyes shone with greed upon hearing about the twenty acres.

Elder Qin looked at them and said: "Yes, there are twenty acres, but the temple master sold the land to Xiao Yu, not to us. The temple master also told Xiao Yu that this land, left by the Old Temple Master, could be used by her but shouldn’t be sold off lightly, so as not to spoil this serendipitous relationship."

"Ah?" The families were taken aback: "What should we do now? Are we still going to build the shop?"

"Of course we will build it," Elder Qin pointed to Xiao Yu and said: "Xiao Yu is sensible and has already told the temple master that she plans to use five acres of the land to build two shops, one for our families to do business and the other for Daya’s niece’s family. The temple master was reluctant at first and wanted to take back the land, but after Xiao Yu said that she would deliver soy oil to Hu Yun Temple every few months, the temple master agreed."

Elder Qin looked at them and said: "You all should be grateful to Xiao Yu. Without her, our families would not have had land to build shops on. Two and a half acres of land, that’s about twice the size of a shop in town."

"Indeed, the shops in town, the small ones are less than half an acre; most are just a bit over one acre. Now that we can have two and a half acres to build a shop, that’s more than enough."

Old Mrs. Yan has been setting up a stall in town recently and has seen quite a few shops there. Many of those shops are quite narrow, with only Fugui Building being more spacious. Even Xuanhu Fang is just two acres, and theirs is half an acre more, which is certainly enough.

"It’s more than enough, we could even build another shop if we wanted to." Gu Damu said with a hearty laugh, full of enthusiasm. They first got a workshop, and now they’re going to have a shop; life is getting more and more prosperous. Who could have imagined that just a few months ago, they were fleeing from famine.

"May God bless us, Xiao Yu truly is a blessing." Old Mrs. Yan clasped her hands together and bowed towards the outside of the house.

Third Grandma also followed suit in paying her respects, and both old folks believed earnestly in what Elder Qin had said. Great Chu people believe in these things; when it comes to Elder Qin’s talk of fate, there wasn’t a hint of doubt.

Gu Jinli was stunned as she listened, thinking to herself, Grandpa Qin, when you spin a tale, you really can dupe a whole lot of people.

However, Elder Qin was helping her, and she was grateful, offering Elder Qin a sweet smile.

Elder Qin just glanced at her and did not engage her further.

Elder Qin helped Gu Jinli because he felt somewhat guilty... Xiao Yu had helped him and his ’three generations’ quite a bit, and he should repay the favor occasionally.

"Then let’s go check out the plot tomorrow when we set up our stalls," Uncle Tian said with genuine simplicity, his excitement palpable.

"We have to check it out. If we don’t, how do we measure the land and plan where to set up the shops?"

"Right, we also need to go to the town to find Doctor Wu, so the townspeople will stop throwing trash onto that plot. It belongs to Xiao Yu now; we can’t let them ruin it," Mrs. Chen finally made a useful comment.

"That’s not something Doctor Wu can handle," Gu Jin’an said. "We need to go to Si Li Square and find Uncle Kong. He’s a Government Official in the town. His word is law, and then the townspeople won’t dare to disobey."

"Yes, yes, yes, find Old Kong."

Gu Jinli added, "Let’s also make another trip to see Grandpa Mi. He’s in charge of burning trash. If he doesn’t burn the townspeople’s garbage there, they’ll be afraid to throw any more."

"That’s right, we should also look for that old man who sells night-blooming flowers."

The families buzzed with suggestions, their excitement lasting a full 30 minutes before they finally calmed down.

Gu Dafu’s family finally found the opportunity to apologize. He grabbed Gu Yumei’s sleeve and barked, "Kneel!"

Gu Yumei, having been severely beaten and running a high fever the night before, had only awakened in the afternoon. Now she could hardly stand, and at Gu Dafu’s roar, she immediately fell to her knees with a thud, trembling continuously, her face paler than ever.

Her mind was in disarray, filled with fear and injustice, wondering why Xiao Yu was so lucky. A trip to Daxing Town and she actually managed to purchase the land.

Gu Dafu was already pulling Gu Dexing to kneel down, and Gu Dagui also pulled his wife and two sons to kneel on the side.

Gu Dafu said, "Third Grandpa, Elder Qin, Brother Luo, Brother Dashan, Brother Damu, Dalin, Old Tian, Sister Mei - the kids caused trouble and inconvenienced everyone. Regarding yesterday’s matter, our family wronged you all... I won’t say much else, as more words are pointless. We just ask for your forgiveness, and that you accept our family’s three respectful bows."

Having said that, he immediately led his family in bowing their heads loudly on the floor several times in front of the different households.

Gu Yumei, still in a daze, was also forced by Mrs. Chen to bow her head thrice.

The families had signed that promise because of Gu Yumei’s situation and they did blame Gu Dafu’s family for making them write such a commitment.

But there is gold under a man’s knees, and traditionally one only kneels to heaven, earth, and their parents. Apologizing by bowing their heads like this, more than any words or generous gifts, weighed much heavier. The families, remembering their shared experiences fleeing from famine, did not make things difficult for Gu Dafu’s family.

Third Grandpa spoke up: "Rise, remember what you said yesterday. Now the livelihoods of our families depend on yours, you must teach your children well. Should they offend again, it won’t just be your family’s downfall, but ours as well!"