Chapter 157: Favors Are Hard to Repay
Practical?
Gu Tang secretly shook his head when he heard these three words. With Gu Mei's personality, he could only find someone who could suppress her. If he really wanted to find someone reliable, he was afraid that he would not be able to control her and would let her harm others instead.
She secretly glanced at her father and saw disapproval in his eyes. It seemed that her father had the same idea as her.
Although Gu Lianshan did not agree to find a reliable man for his eldest daughter, he still heard one thing in his heart, which was to invite a matchmaker to the house and let the matchmaker talk to the eldest daughter.
"After dinner, I will go to Qinzhai Village and ask the matchmaker to come to my house to persuade them."
"I'll go with you." Gu Tang suddenly said.
"It's so cold outside that it can freeze people to death. Aren't you afraid of the cold?" Gu Lianshan glanced at her. His second daughter was very afraid of cold. She would not go out in the cold unless it was necessary.
"You have to go even if you are afraid of the cold. After we go to Qinzhai Village, we will go to Bei'an City and bring the chickens and ducks in the yard back to raise. Now I don't have to worry about someone stealing my chickens and ducks."
"What chickens and ducks?" Third Uncle was confused. Why did he bring up chickens and ducks again?
Gu Tang paused and glanced to the side. Gu Laian was eating there, so it was not convenient for him to tell the truth, so he told the old man the story with a mixture of truth and lies.
"I caught a sheep in the mountains before, sold it, and bought some chickens and ducks to raise. You know, my grandparents don't like me. When they saw me buy chickens and ducks, they killed them and ate them even though they were still laying eggs.
My father couldn't bear to see this, so he sent the chickens and ducks to a family in Bei'an City for foster care. That family was an old acquaintance of my father, so they agreed to this. Now the chickens and ducks are raised in their home. Now that we have all moved here, it's time to bring the chickens and ducks back. ”
Gu Laian, who was standing by, twitched his ears. No wonder the chickens and ducks suddenly disappeared. It turned out that they were being fostered in other people's homes!
snort! His father is really partial! With so many chickens and ducks, he didn't even bother bringing a few back to kill and eat. He would rather let others raise them than bring them back to eat!
Gu Lianshan didn't know his son was secretly scolding him for being biased. He just focused on talking to Gu Tang: "Yes, it's time to take them back. Twenty male chickens and twenty female ducks, just the chicken and duck eggs every day can be exchanged for a lot of copper coins."
Thinking of those chicken eggs and duck eggs, Gu Lianshan felt that selling eggs was also a good way to make a living. He could try selling them for a few days. If he could make a living, he could try to raise more eggs later.
"In that case, you and your daughter can go together." The Third Uncle looked at Gu Tang and said, "It's not a big deal to always foster them in someone else's home. Our backyard is very spacious. We can raise twice as many chickens and ducks as we want, let alone forty of them."
Gu Tang had already strolled around the backyard. It was indeed spacious. He could set aside a part of it to raise chickens and ducks, and the rest could be used to build a pigpen or a sheep pen.
The pigs sold outside are not castrated, and the "pig food" they eat is a mixture of some pickled excrement and various pig grasses, which makes the pork smell fishy.
After traveling through time for so long, Gu Tang has never eaten a single bite of pork. To be honest, he is indeed a little craving for pork.
When next spring comes, if there are piglets for sale, I can buy two and feed them myself with wheat bran.
By the way, let's try to castrate the pigs. If successful, the pork produced will probably no longer have a fishy smell.
In this way, I have found a new way to make a living.
After making up her mind, Gu Tang finished the porridge in the bowl and urged her father to leave quickly.
Go early and come back early. It’s very cold and she doesn’t want to delay coming back until night.
Gu Lianshan stuffed the last piece of cake into his mouth, wiped his mouth casually, and took Gu Tang out of the house.
Gu Liu's ox cart was still parked in the yard. He had originally planned to return the cart after dinner, but now he needed it again, so he could only return it when they came back in the afternoon.
Gu Tang went back to the house and took out the bedding that had been changed yesterday and put it on the ox cart. She also took her own rabbit skin blanket with her, which was for her father.
Her father sat at the front of the car, blocking most of the cold wind. Although he was wearing a fur coat, it would be better to put on one more piece to prevent the cold wind from entering his body.
The third uncle brought Gu Ping'an out. One of them reminded Gu Lianshan to be careful on the road, and the other one approached Gu Tang and whispered something to Gu Tang while pretending to help.
"I took a close look at the firewood in the backyard, and it's much less! I'm afraid it won't be enough to burn in this winter. After you and dad leave, I have to go into the mountains to chop firewood. We can't live without firewood in winter."
Gu Tang frowned. He didn't need to think about it. This must have been done by Mr. Gu!
"How much firewood is left? If we don't light the stove and just use it to cook, will it be enough for the whole winter?"
"That's enough, but if we don't light the stove, people will freeze to death!" Gu Ping'an shook his head. His second sister's idea was not acceptable.
Gu Tang rolled his eyes at him and said, "What nonsense are you thinking! You are not allowed to chop wood. I will go to Bei'an City and buy some charcoal. You and Dad's room, as well as Grandpa's room, will all use charcoal for burning from now on. The firewood in the backyard will be used for cooking."
Gu Ping'an smacked his lips. "If we burn charcoal, how much silver will we have to burn in this winter?! No, it's better to burn firewood. I'm used to chopping wood, so it won't matter. I can chop it for another ten days or so and it will be enough."
Gu Tang ignored his words, climbed onto the oxcart and sat under the quilt, staring at him in a bad tone: "Do as I say! If you dare not listen to me! Don't talk to me again in the future!"
As soon as Gu Tang lost his temper, Gu Ping'an suddenly became silent and dared not mention going into the mountains to chop firewood again.
"Also..." Gu Tang glanced at the east wing and whispered to him, "Keep an eye on big brother and big sister. Tell them what I said, there's not enough firewood. If they want to light the stove in the house, they'll have to go into the mountains and chop it themselves! If they dare to sneak into the backyard to get firewood, I'll be beating them up!"
Gu Ping'an quickly nodded in agreement, promising not to let them go to the backyard to get firewood.
"Have you two siblings finished your whispers? Are you setting off now?" Gu Lianshan got on the ox cart and glanced behind him. He had no idea what the siblings were whispering about.
The words had been explained clearly, and Gu Tang waved his hand to ask Gu Ping'an to take two steps back to avoid being hit by the ox cart later.
As for what her father said, Gu Tang ignored it and just said two words without turning back: "Let's go."
The whip landed on the ox's back neither lightly nor heavily, and the ox cart slowly started to move.
Gu Ping'an followed behind, and after the ox cart left the yard, he watched from the door for a while before closing the door.
When he helped his third uncle back to the main room, Gu Laian was still eating. The porridge bowls, fried eggs with pickles and other dishes on the table were all empty, not a single bite left.
Gu Ping'an's face turned green!
"Brother, I haven't finished eating yet, why did you eat all of my portion?"
The two big Buddhas in the house, Gu Tang and Gu Lianshan, were not there. Gu Laian started to tremble again. He pouted and said, "You just put down your bowls and chopsticks and went out. I thought you were full. Who knew you didn't eat well? If you don't eat well during the meal, don't blame me for eating it all."
"You!" Gu Ping'an was so angry that he glared at Gu Laian and wanted to beat him up!
Seeing that the two brothers were about to quarrel, the third uncle hurriedly tried to persuade them: "It's just some food, just eat it, it's not worth getting angry. Grandpa has always eaten until he is 70% to 80% full. Eating too much is not good for your health."
His son is about to leave, and if these two kids start making a fuss, he really won’t be able to stop them.
Besides, there is a big maid in the east wing, and the second boy is alone. Fighting one against two, he is definitely at a disadvantage.
Third Uncle winked at Gu Ping'an, signaling him not to be impulsive and to take a step back for the time being.
Gu Ping'an is a man who listens to advice. Their family is going to adopt him. His second sister has already made a fuss, and if he makes another fuss now, his grandfather will probably feel bad.
Just take a step back if you can.
Gu Ping'an calmed down his anger and started to clean up the dishes without saying a word.
Unfortunately, his concession did not make Gu Laian stop, but continued to tease: "Did you hear that? I said he's finished eating, but you're still talking nonsense!"
Gu Ping'an's mood calmed down a lot, and he twitched his lips sarcastically: "No wonder my second sister said you were stupid! Dad and my second sister just went out to do something, it's not like they won't be back. Who are you showing off to by being so arrogant and rude? When Dad and my second sister come back, if they know what you did, how many beatings will you get?"
Gu Laian froze, with panic in his eyes. Obviously, his thin brain had never thought about it in this way.
He stood up in a panic, not daring to say anything stubborn, and wanted to go back to the east wing.
"Stop!" Gu Ping'an stopped him in a stern voice, pointing at his and Gu Mei's dishes and chopsticks: "Second sister said before that you and eldest sister should wash your own dishes and chopsticks. If you don't wash them, you will have to use them when you eat tonight!"
Gu Laian felt so aggrieved and his face turned dark.
He wanted to walk away and ignore Gu Ping'an's words, but when he thought of the threat just now, he hesitated for a while and finally did not dare to do so.
With a droopy face, he haphazardly gathered his and Gu Mei's bowls and chopsticks together, ignoring the grease and residual rice porridge on them, and went straight to the kitchen to wash the dishes with them in his arms.
Having turned the game around, Gu Ping'an felt better. He quickly cleared the dishes and wiped the table clean.
"Master, please go back to the east room and sit down. There is a stove in the east room, and it is warmer inside than outside. I will come to you to learn how to read after I finish my work."
"Okay, I'll prepare the pen, ink, paper and inkstone and wait for you." Third Uncle said happily and walked eagerly towards the east room.
Gu Ping'an watched people enter the house, and then took the dishes to the kitchen to wash them.
When I got to the kitchen, I found that there was no one there. Gu Laian, who had just come in with the dishes to wash, was nowhere to be seen. There were only two sets of dishes on the stove. They looked like they had been washed, but not cleanly.
Gu Ping'an put the two sets of bowls and chopsticks aside, and when it was time for dinner in the evening, he used these two sets of bowls and chopsticks to serve rice with Gu Mei and Gu Laian.
There is hot water on the stove in the kitchen. Add cold water to make warm water. First, wash the dishes and chopsticks, and then wash the used pots.
Finally, turn off the stove and lock the kitchen.
There were rice, flour, oil, salt and a basket of eggs in the kitchen. Gu Mei had just eaten a few bites of food, so she would definitely go to the kitchen to find food in a while.
She has always looked down on her family and her second sister. So, it would be better for her to stay away from the food bought by her second sister.
Patting the key in the secret pocket on his chest, Gu Ping'an glanced towards the east wing and skipped to the main room.
…
Since the ox cart left the village, the cold wind suddenly became stronger. Gu Lianshan put on a rabbit skin blanket, and Gu Tang also got into the quilt and covered his head.
Qinzhai Village is in the north, and going north is just against the cold wind.
Due to the obstruction of wind and the cold weather, the cattle did not walk fast. It was very considerate of them to walk at a moderate pace.
Gu Lianshan didn't dare to whip the cattle to speed up. Due to the winter, the cattle were not as obedient and docile as usual, so he couldn't force them to go faster.
It took almost quarter of an hour to reach Qinzhai Village.
When they found the matchmaker's house, Gu Tang did not get out of the car. Only Gu Lianshan went into the yard to talk to the matchmaker for a few words and decided on the date to settle down with her.
After briefly explaining the matter, Gu Lianshan did not stop at all, got on the ox cart and hurried to Bei'an City.
By the time we entered the city, it was almost noon.
Gu Lianshan drove the ox cart and wanted to go straight to the yard that Gu Tang bought, but he was stopped by Gu Tang halfway and asked to drive the cart to the horse market.
"Why go to the horse market? We're not selling livestock." Gu Lianshan asked in a puzzled tone, but he still turned and headed for the horse market.
Gu Tang said something shocking: "We go to the horse market just to sell livestock? Can't we go to buy livestock?"
"What the hell!" Gu Lianshan stopped the ox cart, turned around and asked Gu Tang in surprise: "What did you just say?"
"I say, we don't necessarily go to the horse market to sell livestock, we may also go to buy livestock."
"You want to buy some livestock?"
"Yes, buy livestock." Gu Tang nodded, and his tone was as if he was talking about buying chickens and ducks.
Gu Lianshan took a deep breath and said, "We will just adopt the animal. If you buy an animal and take it back, the villagers will probably stab us in the back."
Gu Tang was helpless: "Do we have to say that we bought it? We can tell others that my grandfather paid for it. Everyone in the village knows that my grandfather has a rich family background and can still afford to buy an animal."
Gu Lianshan paused. Do you really want to buy livestock?
He asked Gu Tang: "What kind of animal do you want to buy?"
"Yellow ox, and a new ox cart." These were all planned when Gu Tang came.
"Scalper?" Gu Lianshan's eyes fell on the scalper in front of him.
"Yes, buy a yellow ox!" Gu Tang said firmly, "We have a yard in Bei'an City. You will come here to sell incense in the future. In this way, we will have to go to the city countless times every month. If this is the case, we can't keep borrowing other people's ox carts. We still have to equip ourselves with an ox cart."
This makes a lot of sense. They, father and daughter, will definitely go to the city more often in the future. Why would they have to borrow a ox cart every day? If someone's ox was treated like this, he would definitely feel distressed.
But the price of a yellow cattle is very expensive.
"You know, a good-looking yellow cattle costs at least fifteen taels of silver, and even the lowest-quality ones cost eight or nine taels. There are only two families raising cattle in our village, and they both spent all their savings to buy calves and raised them from childhood. If you want to buy an adult yellow cattle now, you can't buy it without nine taels of silver."
"We have to buy it even if it's expensive. If we don't, we can only continue to borrow the ox cart from others. We have the money, so why should we accompany Xiaoxin to borrow the ox cart?"
Borrowing a bullock cart means you owe someone a favor.
The debt of favor is the hardest to repay. Over time, even the best relationship will be completely ruined by borrowing a ox cart and gradually become cold.
Gu Tang didn't want to see her father and Uncle Gu Liu go to that point.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
