Chapter 35: Chapter 33 Another Incident
Lin Lizeâs face turned livid in an instant. What did Gu Changqing mean by this? Was he implying that the Lin Family was teaching Gu Familyâs Fourth to do womenâs work? And was he indicating that they didnât want to come anymore? Hmph! If they donât want to come, then so be it. There are plenty in the village who want to learn carpentry from his second son. If it hadnât been for the fact that the Gu Family paid the most, they wouldnât have been selected. After all, Gu Chengchi is still young. However, if they donât want to learn anymore, then they need to return the money. Should the money be returned or not? Itâs their own decision to stop learning.
Lin Lize glanced at Gu Chengchi; they hadnât yet finished discussing the medicine expenses. Seven taels of silver; that was all shiny silver! He considered skipping over the discussing of the apprenticeship fee.
"Changqing, you see, the medicine expenses are three taels of silver. My granddaughter mistakenly caused harm, so our Lin Family must pay for these medicine expenses."
"Lin Lize, since Brother Li says itâs three taels, then thatâs what it is. I wonât be polite with you. The childâs leg is more important. You give the silver to Brother Li, and future medicine expenses can be deducted from it. As for anything else, letâs forget it!" Mr. Gu noticed that Lizeâs face looked displeased and took a step back. At the gate, he heard about the Scar Removal Ointment, but it was too expensive. If they demanded money to buy it, they would completely offend the village chief, so he didnât mention it.
Sure enough, seeing that Gu Changqing was sensible, Lin Lizeâs expression softened a bit. Since that was the case, it wouldnât be right to hold onto those five hundred wen. "Second, give the money to your Uncle Gu; it just means you and Gu Familyâs Fourth donât have a master-disciple fate."
Lin Wu was furious. The five hundred wen went full circle and still ended up back with the Gu Family. Was all his trouble for nothing? Helplessly, since his father agreed, he had no choice but to call his mother to bring it out again. Lin Wu was regretful about the money, but Wang Yue was thrilled. She didnât care if Lin the Second repaid the money. After today, she would find a way to get him to accept her son as an apprentice.
Gu Chengyu saw that his father had decided and didnât say any more. In fact, from tomorrow onwards, their family wouldnât be short of those few taels of silver.
Lin Lize gave three taels of silver to Doctor Li, and Lin Wu also returned the five hundred wen. Mr. Gu asked Gu Chengyi to carry Gu Chengchi on his back and led Gu Chengyu back home. Lin Lize watched the figure of Gu Chengyu from behind, with a complex expression. This Gu Familyâs Fifth might really achieve something in the future. At just five years old, he stood out, fulfilling what the monk had said. However, too much wisdom can lead to harm, and they would see how far he could go in the future. Furthermore, his wings were not fully grown yet, and already he showed his edge; it might not be a good thing.
Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, the crowd dispersed. After leaving the Linâs courtyard, most of the onlookers left. Only then did Aunt Wang step forward, touched Gu Chengyuâs head, and sighed.
"Third Brother Gu, donât worry about this. Itâs fortunate that the leg isnât too severe, and it will heal with care. Sigh! The boy suffered, and if he canât be an apprentice, then so be it; no need for hitting or scolding. The child feels bad too. Your familyâs Fourth is really sincere."
"Auntie, we couldnât have done this without you. If it werenât for you, who knows how the two children would have been bullied! If the apprenticeship is gone, then itâs gone, no need to force it. Weâll just look for another later." Mr. Gu responded with a bitter smile. The matter here was over, but there were still things waiting to be dealt with at home.
"If you think that way, itâs good. I also have to go back. Have Xiao Bao come over and find Gousheng to play." Aunt Wang said as she prepared to leave. Although there were still three people nearby, the sky was getting dark, and it wasnât proper for a woman to talk too much with men from other families.
"Auntie, thank you so much for everything youâve done for me. You went through considerable trouble." Gu Chengchi, lying on his second brotherâs back, was feeling down, but upon seeing Aunt Wang, he picked himself up to express his gratitude.
"Whatâs there to thank for? It was just running some errands. The way you all say it makes me feel embarrassed." Aunt Wang kindly waved her hand, thinking these were small matters that didnât require such gratitude.
"Auntie Wang, thank you for todayâs matters. Xiao Bao will definitely repay you in the future." Gu Chengyu sincerely thanked her. Aunt Wang had no relation to their family but still took such good care of them; they would definitely help her family if they could in the future.
"Oh, my sweet-talking Xiao Bao. Come visit and play with Gousheng when you have time. Aunt just loves you. Iâm leaving now, itâs getting dark, and you should hurry back too!" After saying this, she pinched Gu Chengyuâs cheek and hurried back.
Gu Chengyu watched Aunt Wang leave, feeling a bit helpless. Could she change her habit of pinching his cheek every time she saw him?
"Dad, why didnât you ask for the four taels of silver?" Gu Chengyu curiously asked.
"After all, Lin Lize is still the village chief. Our village is big, and with a village chief, we didnât set up a village leader. In the future, if anything comes up, weâll still need to rely on him. We canât go all out in dealing with things; if we push the village chief too much, he might retaliate against our family. Leave a line for others, and itâs easier to meet later. When you canât compare to others, you shouldnât offend them to death; you must always leave a way out for yourself. Of course, this depends on the matter. If the relationship canât be reconciled, then wait until you have the ability to make others unable to rise again!" Mr. Gu was quite satisfied with Gu Chengyuâs performance today. The child might not fully understand social intricacies yet, but he wasnât timid when faced with matters, spoke clearly, and was reliable, so he was quite content.
Gu Chengyu felt a sweat; he still hadnât fully adapted from a modern standpoint. In ancient times, even someone like the village chief, who wasnât even considered a minor official, had the power to trouble families like theirs. He definitely had to be cautious in the future as this was an imperial society. Wisdom truly comes with age, and his father was teaching him the ways of the world!
"Understood, Dad! But what about Fourth Brotherâs leg? Doctor Li said it would leave a scar, and we need to spend silver on that Scar Removal Ointment."
"Weâll deal with it when the leg heals. That ointment is indeed quite expensive." Mr. Gu also worried about it. The ointment cost four taels of silver, and Third Brother also needed silver. The little savings at home were about to be emptied, not to mention Third Brother also wanted to find a match.
"Sigh, Dad, with Fourth Brotherâs matter settled, what about Third Brotherâs then? Itâs like problems are piling up." Gu Chengyi also sighed. Fourth Brother failed to become an apprentice and had to stay home to recuperate, and if they had to buy ointment with silver, they wouldnât know if thereâd be anything left. Added with Third Brotherâs matter coming out of nowhere, needing compensation, what could they do?
"Dad, but what happened with Third Brother?" Gu Chengyu was stunned when he heard Second Brotherâs words. His Third Brother was working as an apprentice with Yu Daitie in town. Yu Daitie had a blacksmith shop but was miserly. Third Brother had been there for half a year and only received ten wen, which was a tip customers specifically asked for when working with wealthy families. As for monthly wages, there were absolutely none. During holidays, they even had to bring gifts as tribute. Other shops, at least, gave monthly salaries to apprentices. Alas, in this era, apprentices were essentially free labor, and masters werenât keen to teach, so everything depended on personal learning ability. There were stingy masters that never showed their real skills to apprentices. Of course, there were good masters who taught hand-in-hand, but those wanted apprentices to inherit their craft.