Chapter 146: Chapter 73: The Cold-Faced, Warm-Hearted Fourth Brother
"Tomorrow, the eldest will go to town with me to buy some rice and flour. Our familyâs food supply is running low. The second son will stay home with everyone to move. Iâll have Sun Craftsman come the day after tomorrow, and we should almost finish moving by tomorrow."
"Okay! Dad!" Gu Chengli replied.
"For the meals of these dozen or so people, make sure to cook well. Just make cornbread and brown rice, but donât make wild vegetable porridge anymore; itâs not suitable for those working hard. I donât want people saying the Gu Family is stingy." Mr. Gu thought for a while and then, not feeling assured, instructed Mrs. Lv. He was afraid she might get frugal at the time and be unwilling to cook decent meals.
"Do you even need to say that?" Mrs. Lv glanced sideways at Mr. Gu. She could handle matters of such importance.
"Arenât I just giving a few reminders?" After getting a dagger-eyed look, Mr. Gu could only mumble.
"Dad! Shall we invite brother-in-law?" Gu Chengli suddenly remembered last time he went to the Wang Family, he forgot to tell his brother-in-law about building the house.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Gu pondered for a while. "Hmph! If he wants to come, let him. If not, so be it. Canât Xi Zi tell him?"
"Youâre still counting on your good son-in-law? He didnât even come last time to borrow silver. Now weâre building a house, and he dares to show up? We told Xi Zi long ago about building the house, yet they havenât come back to help these days. Eighteen taels of silver thrown into the water would at least make a sound! Saying theyâll return it, but with their familyâs situation, can they? Isnât it just trying to come back and take advantage?"
Mrs. Lv got angry every time Wang Quanshou was mentioned. The old man initially said this son-in-law was honest, but she didnât think so from the start. His shifty eyes didnât seem honest, though he was just timid.
"Isnât it that we havenât started building yet?" Whether satisfied with him or not, Mr. Gu had to defend his son-in-law for his daughterâs sake. It was his lack of foresight back then; the son-in-law wasnât like the eldest, who, though not particularly capable, was reliable.
But judging by the borrowing of silver, the son-in-law cares too much about face and hides behind the wife when things come up. Isnât that avoiding responsibility? They borrowed so much silver from the Wang Family, and the son-in-law never said a word. Does he think it was deserved?
"Exactly! Mother! Look at how even borrowing silver, the eldest brother-in-law had our eldest sister come back to borrow. And that silver, who knows when it can be repaid!" He joined Mrs. Lvâs side this time. The eldest sister had been married for years but kept coming back to borrow silver. If the in-laws knew the family had more silver, wouldnât they come back more often?
"Alright! Letâs not bring up the silver again. I know my own mind. This time itâs a matter of life and death. After all, Xi Zi is your sister; we canât just stand by and do nothing, can we? Letâs leave it at that. No need to go specifically to tell Xi Zi. Letâs see how they handle it." Mr. Gu didnât want to discuss these bothersome matters further. Building the house was significant and should be a happy affair.
When he took out the eighteen taels, he knew Xi Ziâs family couldnât repay it, but he didnât bring up repayment. He didnât want the son-in-law to take the Gu Family for fools.
Gu Chengyu knew his fatherâs intentions and that the silver from the eldest sister probably wouldnât be repaid. It was good that his father was aware. He only saw his eldest sister during festivals and felt she was a bit distant, so he didnât want to meddle in her matters. Of course, lending the silver was certain.
Mr. Gu saw that the people at the table were almost done eating, so he let Mrs. Lv and others clear the dishes and urged everyone to turn in early.
After everyone left, Mr. Gu watched Gu Chengyu writing under the oil lamp and said, "Xiao Bao! Did you put those mushrooms away?"
"Yes, Dad! I put them with the Immortal. Iâm afraid if someone finds them, theyâll take them all away. Tomorrow morning, letâs get up early to return the mushrooms to the mountain." Gu Chengyu wouldnât mention that placing the mushrooms in the space was to increase yield, and Mr. Gu thought he temporarily kept them with the Immortal.
"Thatâs good! Get up early tomorrow then." Mr. Gu finally felt at ease.
The next day, at dawn, Gu Chengyu and Mr. Gu went up the mountain to return the decaying wood to its place. Mr. Gu was astonished seeing so many mushrooms, roughly estimating over a hundred pounds. If dried and aired, it would be at least over ten pounds!
"Wow! Xiao Bao! So many? If we can harvest every few days, we wonât be worried about silver!" Mr. Gu grinned broadly.
"Dad! These mushrooms are just freshly found and can make some quick money. Once more people know, and some restaurants start to sell mushrooms, the earnings will decrease. But, mushrooms are seasonal, so if we find more of this kind of decaying wood on the mountain to bring back, it could still be a stable income, even if not as much as before."
Seeing Mr. Gu so excited, Gu Chengyu couldnât help but temper his enthusiasm. He figured after sending it this time and another time, other restaurants would know about mushrooms, and their price might not stay high.
However, he believed Manager Liang wouldnât be foolish to use whole mushrooms for soup or stir-fry. If sliced finely, others might not immediately recognize them, given folks in the Dayan Dynasty presumably hadnât eaten them before.
"Ah? Indeed, how could it always earn us so much? Even earning this much, Iâm very content." Mr. Gu was initially a bit disappointed but soon accepted it. One shouldnât be too greedy; the earnings were already beyond his initial dreams.
Gu Chengyu led Mr. Gu down the mountain while it was still dark, so no one was on the path yet.
"Dad! Fourth brother seems quite busy lately. Has he started learning with Doctor Li?" Gu Chengyu wondered. It seemed he hadnât kept up with his fourth brotherâs matters for days.
"Doctor Li has been teaching your fourth brother to read, but heâs finding it a bit difficult at his age." Mr. Gu thought of Fourth brother finding his way forward, then about Third still working on the family land. Once the house is built, Thirdâs mother will arrange a matchmaker for him.
Gu Chengyu was surprised, "Why hasnât Fourth brother practiced reading or studying at home? If he has any questions, he can ask me! Weâre both beginners and should be reading similar books."
"Isnât it not to disturb your studying? Your fourth brother learns at Doctor Liâs and comes back later." Although Fourth brother was usually quiet, he was thoughtful about his family. Mr. Gu had persuaded Fourth brother and Xiao Bao to study together so Xiao Bao could help, but Fourth brother refused, saying Xiao Bao needed to focus on the official exam and shouldnât be disturbed.
Gu Chengyu was touched; Fourth brother always considered others, appearing silent and reserved but with a warm heart.