Chapter 141: Girls Can’t Have Private Property
Gu Tang shook his head: "I didn't see it. When I brought the porridge over, he was still in the house scolding you for being heartless and calling us ungrateful. I guess he went there when I wasn't paying attention."
Gu Lianshan looked towards the east wing, feeling somewhat puzzled: "Your grandfather and your uncle had always disagreed with the division of the family. I thought they would have a quarrel today, but I didn't expect that the father and son would actually start joking. Could it be that they have come up with a plan?"
"If the enemy comes, we will stop him. If the water comes, we will block it with earth. What do you care about? No matter how they plot, we will just fight to the death and separate the families."
Gu Tang knew what the father and son were planning without having to think. They were in a difficult situation and had to divide the family property. Most likely, they wanted to get more land and houses.
Gu Tang told her father her guess and asked her father to be mentally prepared.
Gu Lianshan had thought of this a long time ago: "The clan leader also mentioned this today. If the clan forces us to divide it, we will definitely be able to divide it. However, I'm afraid we won't get much in terms of land and houses..."
If he can’t get a share, then he can’t get a share. There is nothing Gu Tang can do about it, because the people here believe in the “primogeniture system”.
Although farmers are not very particular about this, if Gu Liansheng is determined to use his status as the "eldest son" as an excuse, their second branch will indeed not get much.
But the ultimate goal of their second branch is not to fight for things, their goal is to divide the family.
As long as they can divide the family property, the second branch doesn’t care whether anything is divided or not.
After dinner, Gu Lianshan made tea at home, while Gu Tang took Gu Ping'an, carrying a backpack and a basket, and went to the south of the village to invite the aunts who were going to come home to cook in the evening.
Gu Tang picked four people who had good reputations, were tight-lipped, never mixed in with the crowd and told lies, and all of them had the surname Gu, so they were of the same clan as the Gu family.
Each person promised to give twenty copper coins, half of which was paid as a deposit first, and the remaining half would be paid after the work was finished in the evening.
The four families were so happy that they didn't know what to do. This was the first time they had earned copper coins.
The families in this village are all related to each other, so when someone has problems, they often ask people to help with cooking.
But because they were all from the same village, they were all given food as a reward, and no one ever gave a penny.
This is really the first time today!
After receiving the copper coins, they also did their best. After finding out what time it was, they would wait at home peacefully. They were not allowed to do any work today so as not to hurt their hands.
After inviting the people, Gu Tang took Gu Ping'an to find those wealthy families and ask if they had pork, eggs, cabbage and other vegetables for sale.
There is also a chicken at home, which was bought from the patriarch’s house last time. She bought two at that time. One was given away by her father for a drinking party. She was afraid that someone would steal the remaining one, so she simply put it in the system backpack.
Her father said that there might be more than a dozen people staying for dinner tonight, so one chicken would definitely not be enough.
Gu Tang asked five or six families who were well off, and finally bought two chickens, two ducks, thirty eggs, and a lot of cabbage, kohlrabi, white melon (winter melon), radish (radish), etc.
With so many dishes, she and Gu Ping'an had to make two trips to move all of them back.
Among these five or six families, some have the surname Gu and some have the surname Li.
But no matter who it was, the first thing they would ask when they saw the siblings was about their division of the family property.
Regarding the matter of family division, instead of letting outsiders make random guesses and fabrications, it is better to "explain" it yourself.
Gu Tang accepted all the questions and told them the truth no matter what they asked.
After all the hard work, the reputation of the two elders and the first branch of the Gu family soon became bad.
Gu Tang squeezed out from among these gossipy women and continued strolling around the village in a very good mood.
The chickens and ducks were bought, and the eggs were available as well. Various vegetables were also brought home in sufficient quantities. The only things left were pork and fish.
There is a butcher in Shanghe Village, but he doesn't buy pigs and kill them to sell himself. Instead, he works as a butcher for a butcher shop.
Gu Tang went to his house to ask and bought a three-pound piece of hind leg meat.
As for fish, there are quite a few families in the village who have fishing nets, and they use them to fish in their spare time to supplement their family income.
Gu Tang asked one by one and bought four grass carps.
Two weighed more than two kilograms, one weighed more than one kilogram, and the other was estimated to be around three kilograms.
Although the fish are not of uniform size, they are not cooked whole. Instead, I ask them to chop them into pieces and make fish soup so that everyone can have some.
When I returned home with the fish, I heard bursts of talking coming from the main room.
Gu Tang asked Gu Ping'an to take the fish into the kitchen, then he went to take a look at the main room and saw a room full of people, young and old.
Sitting on the left and right of the main seat were Old Man Gu and the clan leader, and below the clan leader sat three little old men. They looked kind, but at this moment, they all had frowns on their brows.
Gu Tang recognized them as the three elders of the Gu clan.
Below Old Man Gu were her father and Gu Liansheng, the former squatting and the latter sitting.
Gu Tang pursed his lips, turned back to the house, moved a stool from his room and brought it to the main room.
The people in the room were all stunned when they suddenly saw Gu Tang bringing in a stool. After they saw Gu Tang hand the stool to Gu Lianshan, the clan leader and the elders relaxed.
He is a filial son.
Watching her father sitting on the stool, Gu Tang smiled and greeted the clan leader and elders.
After that I wanted to quit.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Gu, who was sitting in the main seat, suddenly spoke up: "Don't rush to leave, Si Ya. You were the one who instigated the division of the family. You still have the family's money in your hands, so stay and listen to how it is divided."
Gu Tang's heart skipped a beat, thinking that the old man had found out about the silver he had looted from the east ear room.
Before she could speak, her father Gu Lianshan shouted in dissatisfaction: "I was wondering just now why you suddenly agreed to split up the family. Could it be that you have some calculations? I didn't expect that you really have a calculation!
You are throwing dirty water on my daughter in front of the clan leader and elders, aren't you just coveting the money she saved from collecting herbs?
All her money had been stolen by Zhang and her elder sister-in-law! You are now trying to poke our second wife's heart with silver. Do you really think I don't dare to go to the government to sue my eldest brother? ! ”
Gu Liansheng's face changed drastically. "What nonsense are you talking about? That was a dirty thing done by your wife Zhang! She took advantage of your sister-in-law's absence and deliberately threw dirty water on her!"
Gu Lianshan glanced at him and said, "Brother, since you are so sure, why don't we go to the government office and let the adults investigate. If my sister-in-law is really wronged, my whole family will kowtow to her and apologize!"
Gu Liansheng froze for a moment, a look of panic flashing across his face.
Go to the yamen? He would have to be crazy to agree to go to the yamen!
Gu Lianshan was still pressing: "Why don't you say anything? Big brother, you can continue to argue. If that doesn't work, just agree with what I say and let's go to the government office together..."
Gu Liansheng's heart was pounding, and he subconsciously looked at the old man, hoping that the old man would suppress the second brother!
Old Master Gu had a gloomy face and sat stiffly in the main seat, feeling very embarrassed.
He actually forgot about the bad things his eldest daughter-in-law did!
I shouldn't have said that just now.
But he is unwilling to give up! The disappeared deer can be sold for at least one hundred taels of silver!
If he doesn't get the silver, he won't feel comfortable even if he sells the person!
After a moment of silence, Old Man Gu reprimanded Gu Lianshan: "It's normal for brothers to quarrel, but you are so petty and mean-spirited!"
This is really infuriating!
In the past, Gu Lianshan would have definitely gotten angry and quarreled with Old Man Gu.
But today is the day for the family to be divided, and he cannot let the clan leader and elders think that he, Gu Lianshan, is an unfilial son who dares to quarrel with his own father!
He turned his face away, suppressed his anger, and pretended not to have heard what the old man had just said.
Old Master Gu also knew that with the clan leader and elders present, his second son didn't dare to act presumptuously, so he simply became shameless.
"Your sister-in-law is missing right now. She is most likely dead outside. Let's not talk about her anymore. The silver I'm talking about is the deer..."
Having said this, he suddenly stopped.
Probably because he was afraid that the clan leaders and elders didn't know about the deer, Mr. Gu turned around and told them about the deer in detail.
Upon hearing that Gu Tang had caught a live deer in the mountains, the clan leaders and elders looked at Gu Tang in shock.
She can even catch a live deer. This girl is probably not only good at collecting herbs, she may have also secretly learned some hunting skills from others.
Seeing that the clan leaders and elders all changed their expressions, Old Man Gu was satisfied and said, "That deer can be sold for at least one hundred taels! Although it was caught by Si Ya, a girl who has not married cannot have private property. No matter how much she earns, it belongs to the family! The silver should be handed over!"
This may be uncomfortable to say, but it is certainly true.
The clan leader and the elders secretly exchanged glances and felt that there was trouble.
Mr. Gu didn't care what other people thought. He just stared at Gu Tang and said, "Si Ya, since we are dividing the family, you should hand over half of the one hundred taels of silver!"
When facing the villagers, Gu Tang could deny the existence of the deer, but when facing the clan leaders and elders, she could not deny that she had never caught a deer.
Everything has its traces, she can't hide this.
But she can mix truth and lies together.
"That is indeed what happened, and the deer was indeed sold."
Hearing Gu Tang admit it, Gu Lianshan did not panic and his expression remained calm.
His daughter is smarter than him. Since she dares to admit it, she probably has a plan in mind.
Compared to Gu Lianshan's calmness, Mr. Gu and Gu Liansheng and his son were very eye-catching, with no effort to conceal the joy on their faces.
Just admit it. Now that you admit it, you have to hand over half of the silver!
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Gu Tang changed the subject: "The money I got from selling the deer has already been spent. Master, if you want to share the money, I'm afraid it won't be possible."
The joy on the father and son's faces froze, looking a little funny.
Then, Mr. Gu slammed the table hard, stood up, and scolded with a ferocious face: "You are so cunning at such a young age! You can't even make up a decent lie! Listen to yourself, who would believe you!"
Gu Tang lowered her head, making it impossible to see the expression on her face. All one could hear was her trembling voice as she suddenly spoke about something that seemed unrelated to the separation of the family.
This matter, which was not related to the division of the family, was that Gu Ping'an listened to Gu Liansheng read an article three times, then memorized it and recited it to Feng, but was suppressed by Feng and was not allowed to go to school.
As soon as this happened, everyone in the room, except Gu Lianshan who already knew about it, changed their expressions.
Mr. Gu and Gu Liansheng and his son, one was in disbelief and the other was terrified.
The clan leaders and elders looked delighted!
If the third son of the Gu family is really that smart, he should be well supported and allowed to study.
I don't dare to think about how high my future will be, but at least I can pass the imperial examination and become a juren!
By then, the whole family will benefit!
After talking about Gu Ping'an, Gu Tang continued, "As soon as the money was in hand, my father used it to borrow connections and sent Sanlang to Changshan Academy in Bei'an City..."
Everyone gasped, with expressions of excitement on their faces.
Changshan Academy in Bei'an City... It is the most prestigious and famous academy in Bei'an City!
Anyone who has read books knows that the teachers in the book include retired officials, juren who no longer want to take the imperial examinations, and people who have passed the imperial examinations but are unwilling to become officials.
Anyone who can get in and study there can become a talent even if he is a rotten wood! ! !
"The teacher at the academy asked Sanlang to memorize a few articles, and said that he would let Sanlang audit the class for a period of time in the spring of next year, and then he would be tested. If he could get an A, he would be officially accepted..."
Wow!
As soon as these words were spoken, the breathing of everyone in the room became heavy.
The clan leaders and elders looked anxious and asked one after another: "Si Ya! Don't lie, are you serious?!"
Gu Tang immediately raised his hand and swore: "If I lie, I will die miserably!"
Gu Lianshan's face changed drastically!
Are you crazy! Knowing it was fake, yet still daring to raise your hand and swear!
Can you just make such a false oath? !
Gu Tang had been secretly watching her father. Seeing that he looked unhappy and was about to explode, she quickly reached out and pinched her father, giving him a glare.
She had finally come up with such a logically coherent lie, and now she had sworn an oath. If she ruined the matter by speaking out, she would be in big trouble!
Gu Lianshan understood what his daughter meant, weighed the pros and cons, and endured it with a frustrated look on his face.
Gu Tang cleared his throat and continued, "It's so hard to get into Changshan Academy. My father spent fifty or sixty taels of silver to get Sanlang in. He also spent another ten taels on gifts for the teacher, and finally paid a tuition of twenty or thirty taels. Even for auditing, one has to pay a tuition..."
"Of course! Of course! Such a good academy, spending dozens of taels of silver to get in is already a great thing! Now I have the status of an auditor, which is really hard to find, so of course I have to pay a tuition fee!"
The tribe leaders and elders accepted it well and fully approved of the uses of these flowers.
But Mr. Gu and his son Gu Liansheng couldn't accept it!
With this calculation, the one hundred taels of silver were indeed spent just as Gu Tang said.
Gu Liansheng's eyes were red with anger, and he couldn't help but smash the tea bowl beside him, shouting that this was not true.
"You are a little girl who has never seen the world! How could you know how noble Changshan Academy is! How can you open your mouth and make random comments!"
"What do you mean by listening in? You are just dreaming! Sanlang is as dumb as a pig. He has never even touched a book. Not to mention remembering the article after listening to me read it several times, I am afraid he won't be able to remember it even if I teach him every day!"
"You must have made up these things! Just to embezzle the one hundred taels of silver!"
Gu Liansheng's face was distorted and his eyes were red.
He didn't want to believe it, and didn't dare to believe that it was true!
He studied hard for decades, but he couldn't even enter the gate of Changshan Academy!
How could a kid who had never even touched a book get in?
Just because he spent dozens of taels of silver and asked someone to help him get in? !
The more Gu Liansheng thought about it, the angrier he became, and he even took his anger out on the two elders of the Gu family.
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