Chapter 67 Return to the County
Zhang Yunniang's face was shocked at first, and then turned to sadness: "It turned out that he really did it!"
Zhang Yunniang had long known that her brother was a good-for-nothing, but she never expected that he would actually do something like kidnapping and selling his own nephew.
Gu Mingda had not suspected his brother-in-law before only because Zhang Guangzong had an alibi, but he had never believed in his brother-in-law's character.
"Husband, is it true that the waiter was sold to the capital?" Zhang Yunniang asked again.
Gu Mingda heard this, his face was heavy, and he nodded slightly: "It's almost right."
When he thought of this possibility yesterday, he immediately asked Manager Zheng to find someone to pry open Xiao Cai's mouth.
The money house had always had dealings with gangsters, so it was easy for Manager Zheng to arrange such matters. Gu Mingda didn't know how Scar and the others treated Xiao Cai, so he didn't ask.
Zhang Yunniang couldn't help but feel her heart tighten. Qingshui Village was a long way from the capital, and it would take at least several months to get there. It was a long journey, and Zhang Yunniang didn't know how her second son was doing on the road.
If a child falls ill during the journey, he may be abandoned by the kidnappers to fend for himself.
"Why was he sold so far away? Why to the capital?" Zhang Yuniang was puzzled.
Although Gu Mingda knew the answer to this question, he forced a smile and said, "Maybe the nobles in the capital are short of servants, and the waiter is good-looking, so those kidnappers wanted to send him to the capital and sell him for a high price."
Zhang Yunniang nodded without thinking too much and said, "If I can really be sold to a wealthy family as a slave, it won't be bad. At least I can have enough food to eat."
Gu Mingda also nodded and said, "Yunniang, I don't want to let Zhang Guangzong go."
Zhang Yunniang was stunned when she heard this. Zhang Guangzong was her half-brother. No matter how bad Zhang Guangzong was in the past, Gu Mingda was considerate of their relationship and only dealt with minor offenses. He never thought of taking any harsh measures against him.
"Xiao Er probably doesn't want to have such an uncle. My husband, just go ahead and do whatever you want to do." Zhang Yunniang said softly.
Gu Mingda sighed when he heard this. If he had a choice, he didn't want his wife to completely fall out with her family.
After dinner, Gu Mingda stopped playing with the children and went straight into his study to read and write. Except for checking the children's homework every few days, Gu Mingda rarely focused on other things.
Next year would be the year of the provincial examination. He had to work harder than before and strive to pass the examination so that he could go to Beijing to take part in the metropolitan examination.
He now only has the title of scholar. With such an identity, he cannot even enter the threshold of a noble family in the capital, let alone find his son, or bring his son home.
Thanks to the father's hard work, the sound of Zhang Yunniang and the children's footsteps became much quieter.
Because he was the top scorer in the college examination, many scholars who passed the examination at the same time sent him invitations, inviting him to go out for banquets and outings, but Gu Mingda only attended one banquet and declined all others.
The banquet that he could not refuse was the one hosted by the prefect, who was inviting all the scholars who had made the list. Others could be absent, but he, the top candidate, could not be absent.
Gu Mingda has always been good at socializing. Previously, his refusal to attend a banquet caused dissatisfaction among many scholars, and people outside spread rumors that he was aloof and looked down on others.
At this official banquet, he not only chatted and laughed with the prefect, but also easily resolved the rift that had arisen from his previous refusal of invitations through conversations with other scholars.
Gu Mingda was not only eloquent but also looked elegant. If he were not already over 30 years old and already had a wife and children at home, many officials present would have wanted to marry him.
After Gu Mingda attended the official banquet, the Gu family was about to prepare to return home. Liu Xiaoru firmly expressed her desire to go back with them.
As for how to accommodate them, the few of them had already discussed it.
The road was not peaceful. To be safe, the Gu family stayed in the provincial capital for a while and finally waited for a caravan passing through Guang'an County.
Gu Mingda now has the title of scholar, and he is the first in this competition. The people in the caravan are very polite to the Gu family.
After stopping and traveling along the way, the caravan arrived at Guang'an County, near the end of the year.
The Gu family did not rush back to Qingshui Village, but found an inn in the county to stay in.
Gu Mingda changed into decent clothes, carried the gifts he bought in the city, and told his wife: "Buy some food at the inn tonight, I won't be back to eat."
Zhang Yunniang nodded. She did not ask her husband what he was doing. After watching him leave, Liu Xiaoru knocked on the door and came in.
"Sister, are you really going to leave the entire braised food business to me?" Liu Xiaoru still found it hard to believe.
After the day when the results were announced in the capital, seeing that there were fewer and fewer tenants in the Qian family's house, Zhang Yunniang tried to make a pot of braised food.
On that day, Zhang Yunniang made the stew strictly according to the recipe, and the aroma spread for miles before it even came out of the pot.
When the little grandson of Mrs. Qian smelled the fragrance, he rolled on the ground in greed and insisted on eating it.
Neighbors also came to the door with money, wanting to buy some braised food to satisfy their cravings.
When the food was really taken out of the pot and served on the table, the three children all buried their heads in eating without even raising them. Even though their stomachs were full, they still kept staring at the bowls.
Gu Zhao even couldn't help wanting to steal some meat and hide it in his arms, waiting to eat it when his stomach was empty, but as soon as he stretched out his hand, he was hit back by Zhang Yuniang.
After tasting it that day, Liu Xiaoru felt that she had lived in vain in the past few years. She had never eaten food that was so delicious that she wanted to swallow her tongue.
Zhang Yunniang and her husband originally wanted to make some braised food and sell it in the city. Now that they have enough money, they simply rent a shop in the city to sell braised food.
Although this shop has not opened yet, Liu Xiaoru, who has tasted the braised food, knows very well that once it opens, it will surely make a fortune.
She just wanted to lend money to Zhang Yuniang for emergency, not to make money! How come she seemed to be making a fortune?
"Good sister, I guess I will spend more time in the village in the future. Who else can I give the braised food shop to if not you?" Zhang Yunniang said with a smile.
After thinking for a while, Liu Xiaoru said, "This shop will be opened in the future with the help of your recipe. I don't have the nerve to take 50% of the profits. I'd better give me 10%."
Zhang Yunniang shook her head and said, "You invested the money, and the shop is up to you to manage. I don't know how much effort you put in, but how can you only get 10% of the profit? We agreed on 50%, so it's 50%."
Liu Xiaoru refused to agree and just said, "Even if the profit from this profitable stew recipe is 10%, I'm taking advantage of it."
When doing business together, many things must be agreed upon before opening a shop, otherwise there will be countless conflicts in the future. Zhang Yunniang refused to take advantage of this, and said with a stern face, "If you really want to refuse like this, then I won't open this shop."
First update
(End of this chapter)
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