You think so? Zhou Erlang and Zhou Sanlang are dreaming. Even if they donât leave, itâs impossible for them to stay at the Gu Family; theyâd be thrown into the workshop residence.
Still hoping to meet Gu Family sisters, how naive.
Zhou Dalang glanced at his two cousins, remembering when Zhou Erlang said to him: This time, not only will we get Silver, Iâll also get a wife.
At that time, he was puzzled and said: Laoer, youâre talking nonsense again.
Zhou Erlang, however, said: Ha, nonsense? Just wait and see, when the time comes, youâll be without a wife being single, but Iâll have both wealth and a wife.
Now recalling those words, Zhou Dalang felt chills, immediately stood up, and said: "If thatâs the case, letâs go back and wait for First Place Guâs good news first."
"Lao Da, what are you doing?" Zhou Erlang was anxious, glaring at Zhou Dalang and said: "Go back? Grandpa hasnât spoken yet. If you want to go back, go back yourself."
"Zezi." Gu Jinâan was fed up with Zhou Erlang, saying: "Throw him out."
"Yes." Zezi stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Erlang by the collar, and with a bang threw him into the yard.
Zhou Erlang was hit hard, his face turned pale.
Upon seeing this, Zhou Laoer was furious, pointed at Gu Jinâan, and said: "Boy from Gu Family, how dare you hit our Erlang, compensate!"
"Compensate?" Gu Jinâan laughed: "Zhou Laoer, your Zhou Family really ought not to act shamelessly. Youâve committed a major offense by accepting gifts in the village under my name. If I report to Shangguan Residence, at worst, your family will be exiled!"
He then pointed at Elder Lin and said: "Talking to you so much was for Elder Linâs sake, otherwise you would have been kicked out of the village long ago, without even a chance to sit down and talk."
Zhou Laoer was shocked, staring at Gu Jinâan with a look of terror: "You, you know?!"
Impossible, Niugou Townâs Xiaolizi Village is so far from here, it takes a day to walk, even farther than going to the county. Gu Jinâan has never been to Niugou Town, how does he know our family is accepting gifts in Niugou Town under his name?
Gu Jinâan looked at him, the corner of his mouth curled up, revealing a somewhat cold smile, and said something that made Zhou Laoer regret endlessly: "Everything youâve done has been reported to the county government. Those village chiefs, clerks, and government officials are not just there for show; theyâve been watching you long ago."
Due to his excellent grades, passing the Small Three-Yuan Scholar, and offering two recipes to the government office, County Magistrate Zheng valued him greatly, fearing someone impersonating him to commit evil. Hence, he instructed the Si Li Square officials to keep an eye on anyone pretending to be the Small Three-Yuan Scholar for wrongdoing, and promptly report to the government office.
Zhou Laoer didnât commit evil, only took advantage to accept some gifts, otherwise he would have been arrested long ago.
Gu Jinâan reminded Elder Zhou: "Elder Zhou, Niugou Town is part of Tianfu County too. I am acquainted with Lord County Magistrate... Your family should leave behind some cheap food and return any valuable gifts; otherwise, if Lord County Magistrate gets angry, even I cannot protect you!"
Upon hearing this, Elder Zhou broke out in cold sweat, saw Zhou Erlang had already climbed up wanting to charge at Gu Jinâan, hurried out, kicked Zhou Erlang over: "Stupid boy, you have a death wish, daring to touch the scholar; do you want to eat prison meals in the government office?!"
Zhou Erlang was kicked almost spitting blood, with rainwater soaking him, looking very miserable.
Elder Zhou had no time to bother him, turned and looked at Gu Jinâan, begged: "Good Brother An, please donât be angry. Those gifts werenât something our family wanted to take. The villagers insisted on giving them knowing our familyâs relationship with yours..."
Hearing this, Gu Jinâan looked at Elder Zhou and sneered, making Elder Zhou shiver, hurriedly said: "Alright, alright, if you donât like it, us old folks will return the gifts today. Please donât tell County Magistrate about this!"
Gu Jinâan corrected him: "Itâs not me wanting the County Magistrate to punish you, but him always having Si Li Squareâs people watch you. If you want a quiet life, donât break criminal law or use someone elseâs name to commit evil, otherwise youâll bear the consequences!"
"Yes, yes, yes, we wonât dare anymore." Elder Zhou was terribly frightened, hurriedly said.
Elder Lin came out assuring: "Rest assured, Good Brother An, Iâll watch over Brother Zhou and wonât let him accept gifts under your name anymore."
He had advised Elder Zhou before, but Elder Zhou feared poverty too much, felt accepting some gifts wasnât a big deal and did not heed his advice. As a result, within a few days, the gifts piled up filling a room.
The Zhou Family even planned that, since these people could give gifts, if they couldnât borrow Silver, asking these gift-givers for some Silver would also work.
After hearing this, Elder Lin scolded Elder Zhou, only then did Elder Zhou change his mind, saying heâd come to the Gu Family to borrow money.
But now it seems borrowing money is secondary; hoping to take this opportunity to get acquainted with the Gu Family and see if they can forge a matrimonial alliance is the Zhou Familyâs focus.
Elder Lin regretted coming this trip, truly felt dragged here by the Zhou Family to do evil.
"Weâre leaving now." Elder Lin was too ashamed to stay, called upon Lin Family People, and got up to leave.
On the other side in the wing room, Mrs. Cui also sent Mrs. Lin He and several others out.
Mrs. Zhou Hu didnât want to leave, was dragged out of the house by Mrs. Chen.
Mrs. Chen had been eating well these years, having been strong since childhood, while Mrs. Zhou Hu, who hadnât had a meat meal in a month, was no match for her, got dragged out of the house.
Zhou Erlang saw the door open on this side, stretched his neck to look over here, wanting to see the Gu Familyâs daughters. Unfortunately, the wing room is divided between an inner and outer room, and Gu Jinli had long entered the inner room. Zhou Erlang couldnât see her even if he stretched his neck until it broke.
Zhou Family People left very disgracefully, driven out of the residence by the Gu Familyâs servants.
The Lin Family People gained some face, exchanged a few words with Third Grandpa.
Elder Lin said: "Old Brother, Iâm really sorry about todayâs incident; we handled it poorly and hope you wonât blame us."
After speaking, he led his son and grandson to bow to Third Grandpa and the others, solemnly apologized.
Third Grandpa sighed, said: "You canât be blamed for this, itâs hard for you to manage your own affairs, let alone control him."
During the famine, Elder Lin was relatively easygoing, whereas Elder Zhou was more cunning and forceful.
Upon hearing this, Elder Lin felt even more remorseful, still thinking itâs his familyâs fault: "If I could control him a bit, it wouldnât have turned out like this."
Third Grandpa waved his hand and said: "Alright, letâs not talk about this."
After hearing this, Elder Lin fell silent, saw Zhou Family People had been driven out, reminded Gu Jinâan: "Good Brother An, the Zhou Familyâs eldest granddaughter isnât married to Li Kuihu, but became his mistress... Three years ago, because of County Magistrate Zouâs incident, Li Kuihu and his group didnât dare commit overly atrocious acts. But with this heavy tax, Li Kuihu will definitely take risks for Silver, your family should be cautious, report Li Kuihuâs matter to the county government and County Magistrate Zheng early, lest your family gets targeted by his group."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jinâan raised his eyebrows, the previous discontentment with Elder Lin reduced a lot, nodded and said: "Rest assured, Elder Lin, Li Kuihuâs hooligans although not arrested, are on the government officeâs blacklist, watched by the government office all the time. Once they commit evil again, the government office will arrest them all."