Chapter 152 Big Business
Gu Mingda had a gloomy face. He did not refuse on the spot, but raised his voice and said, "Do you know that your sister has a scar on the base of her right hand?"
Zhang Hui Niang was stunned when she heard this and said, "Brother-in-law, that was all old news from many years ago. Now my brother is in exile and my mother's whereabouts are unknown. I am the only relative left in my sister's family. Let the past be the past."
Gu Mingda shook his head and said, "Some things are hard to get over. This scar was caused by your sister's stepmother, your biological mother."
"Our two families have long since severed ties. I am not afraid of people saying that I am snobbish and mean to my relatives. I only know that if a man cannot even protect his wife, he is unworthy of being a man."
"Well...that was all done by my mother. What does it have to do with me?" Zhang Hui's mother felt very aggrieved.
Gu Mingda said, "Your mother scalded her because the man you liked back then also liked your sister. Your mother was going to hit your sister in the face, but she blocked it and the wound ended up on her hand."
"If you say it has nothing to do with you, how could your mother be so cruel if you hadn't fanned the flames back then?"
This was the first time Liu Xiaoru heard of this.
Ever since Zhang Hui Niang appeared, she noticed that Niu Niu had been hiding behind her in fear. She had already disliked Zhang Hui Niang, and now after hearing about this, her dislike turned into deep hatred.
She took a quick step, picked up the broom and hit Zhang Hui Niang hard.
"You have such a good sister, but you don't know how to cherish her!"
"Likewise, likewise, your mother is a black-hearted person, and you are no good either!"
"Your mother did such a thing, and you still have the nerve to come to her house and ask someone to pull you apart, bah!"
"I am my sister's family! I will be a good sister who will always protect her!"
Zhang Huiniang was beaten so badly that she ran away with her head in her hands. Seeing that she could not gain any advantage, she stopped pretending: "Mr. Jie Yuan beat me! Is there no law? I want to sue the officials!"
Liu Xiaoru also knew how to deal with her, and shouted: "In broad daylight, you come to someone else's house to make a scene. Let's go to the government office and see what the county magistrate has to say!"
Zhang Huiniang was just shouting, she didn't dare to report it to the authorities at all. After all, considering how familiar Gu Mingda was with the government, she would definitely be the one who would be in trouble if she really went to the yamen.
Mrs. Gu wanted to help, but Liu Xiaoru stopped her and whispered, "Aunt, if I do it alone, it won't involve the Gu family."
For the sake of her son's future, Old Mrs. Gu did not dare to go any further.
Liu Xiaoru immediately turned into the Broom God of War with the broom in her hand, chasing Zhang Huiniang and her family all over the yard. Not only did she drive them out of the door, she also chased them for another two miles with the broom in her hand.
When Zhang Yuniang saw the man go out, she immediately gave Gu Yun a look, and Gu Yun hurriedly followed.
No matter how powerful Liu Xiaoru was with the broom, she was still just a weak woman. If Zhang Huiniang and her husband resisted together, she might not be their match. But with Gu Yun around, she was not afraid anymore.
Zhang Yunniang looked at her husband with a guilty look on her face and asked, "My husband, my sister's nonsense outside has any impact on you?"
Old Mrs. Gu was also listening at the side. Gu Mingda had passed the imperial examination, and now the entire Gu family was counting on him.
Gu Mingda shook his head and said, "She is just my wife's sister. If your mother was still at home, she would be the elder and if she said something inappropriate, it might really affect me."
Zhang Yunniang couldn't help but feel fortunate after hearing this. Her husband had passed the imperial examination and the whereabouts of the annoying elders were unknown and they wouldn't jump out to hold her back. Everything was just right.
When Liu Xiaoru came back with the broom, there was another person beside her.
Shopkeeper Luo came to the door with a bunch of brocade boxes and said in a loud voice: "Mr. Gu, stay away from evil relatives and villains, and your life will be smooth sailing in the future."
He said this not only to the Gu family but also to those people watching the fun at the door of the Gu family. In short, the fault lies with Zhang Huiniang, not the Gu family.
Shopkeeper Luo was welcomed in by the Gu family.
"I heard from Shopkeeper Liu that the Gu family will be coming to Beijing soon. I am here today to discuss a business matter." Shopkeeper Luo said with a smile.
The Gu family’s braised food shop can no longer be opened in Guang’an County. The reason is because of the recipe.
Braised food is only sold for one day, and if it is opened in other places, there is a risk of the recipe being leaked.
If you only open a business locally, the money you can make is limited.
The Gu family is now going to Beijing, and Liu Xiaoru will leave with them, so the braised food shop will no longer be open.
In order to prevent the recipe from leaking, Shopkeeper Luo proposed that the Gu family set up a marinade workshop, grind the seasonings in the marinade packets into powder, and sell the prepared marinade powder packets to the outside.
By doing this, the risk of exposing the recipe is greatly reduced, and braised food shops can be opened across the country.
However, the current Gu family naturally does not have the ability to expand the business to such a large scale.
But the Luo family is different.
Both Shopkeeper Luo and Mr. Luo have the surname Luo, and originally they have no relationship, but Shopkeeper Luo's family is a wealthy merchant family for generations.
The great-grandfather of Shopkeeper Luo saw that Mr. Luo, who had just passed the imperial examination, was extraordinary, so he sponsored Mr. Luo all the way to Beijing to take the imperial examination. After he passed the examination, the two families became connected.
The Luo family has always had the habit of sponsoring scholars. Now that Gu Mingda has no shortage of sponsorship, Shopkeeper Luo wants to do him a favor.
The Gu family’s marinade workshop provides the marinade packages, and the Luo family is responsible for opening marinade shops all over the country. The Gu family gets 20% of the profits.
This number seems low, but in fact all the costs of opening the shop are borne by the Luo family, which is considered very conscientious.
Of course, if the Gu family doesn't believe it, they can also tell them a price. The Luo family is willing to pay no less than ten thousand taels of silver to buy out the formula.
Businessmen pursue profits. From the Luo family's perspective, it is naturally more cost-effective to buy out the formula. The Luo family also thinks this way.
But Manager Luo hopes to be connected with the Gu family by holding shares.
He was optimistic about Gu Mingda's future, and he thought that maybe he would be able to rise to a high position like Mr. Luo after entering Beijing.
"Mr. Gu, there is no rush for this matter. Please take your time to think about it." Shopkeeper Luo did not keep urging him. Instead, after putting down the gift, he stood up and said goodbye in a very measured manner.
As soon as the people left, Old Lady Gu hurriedly closed the door, then grabbed Gu Mingda and asked, "Second Brother, are you selling the house? This is at least 10,000 taels of silver!"
Gu Mingda shook his head and said, "Mom, this shop is mine on paper, but it actually belongs to Niuniu, Yunniang, and Miss Liu. If we really need to decide what to do, it should be decided by them."
The reason why the shop was registered under Gu Mingda's name was to make it easier to run business in various places in the county. Gu Mingda only helped out with ideas occasionally and had no intention of coveting the business.
Old Mrs. Gu was stunned for a moment, and then she suddenly realized that even though her son had passed the imperial examination and his status was different, he was still the same person. Others abandoned their wives and children when they became successful, but Gu Mingda still put his family first.
Old Lady Gu had always known that her son had big ideas. Since he had said so, she swallowed the words like "husband and wife are one" and turned to ask Zhang Yunniang: "Yunniang, ten thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. What do you think?"
Zhang Yuniang looked at Liu Xiaoru and Niuniu.
Liu Xiaoru said directly: "Shopkeeper Luo wants to buy the recipe, not the shop. What does it have to do with me? Sister and Niuniu can discuss it."
If the ten thousand taels of silver were really distributed according to the shares of the braised food shop, Liu Xiaoru could get three thousand taels. No one present expected that she would just refuse such a large amount of silver.
Second update
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