Chapter 212 Scarcity makes things valuable!
The lobby of Youfu Inn was converted into a place for drinking tea, and a storyteller was invited to entertain people in the lobby.
When Gu Lianshan and his daughter arrived, the storyteller was telling the story of the mortal who stole the fragrance that had caused such a sensation the day before.
The guests sitting here drinking tea include traveling merchants staying in the inn, common people living in the city, and some wealthy merchants.
It wasn't so lively here before, but today, all thanks to the mortal who stole the fragrance yesterday, all the people in Cheng are out walking around, and everyone wants to find the three brothers of the Ma family.
"…Yesterday, the three Ma brothers held only half of the peony incense in their hands, but I heard that it had been burning all night at the Changqing Gate. When the sun rose this morning, the incense was considered to have burned out."
The storyteller only said this one sentence, and the rest was interrupted by the guests, who talked endlessly in excited voices.
"Last night, countless people gathered in front of Changqing Gate, all staring at the incense. The fragrance of the incense could be smelled within a radius of more than ten feet!"
"I can testify to this. My family lives near Changshan Academy, and our whole family smelled that fragrance!"
"Coincidentally, I smelled it too. The fragrance is refreshing and has a faint scent of flowers. It is extremely fragrant and floats into the heart, making people feel comfortable and clear! When I woke up this morning, I felt three times lighter all over! Even my mother at home had a good appetite and ate two bowls of porridge early in the morning!"
"Brother Li! So you feel the same way?"
"Why? Did your brother smell that fragrance too?"
"More than just smelling it! Yesterday I stood guard outside the Changqing Gate all night, smelling the incense all night, but now I don't feel tired at all, my whole body is floating, as if I have entered a fairyland! The teachers and students in the academy felt the same way, and each of them stood guard all night until the incense burned out!"
"From what you said, that fragrant fruit is really a magical fragrance?"
"Before leaving, Han Shanzhang of Changshan Academy said, 'It's hard to find in this world!' But Han Shanzhang is from the Qingyang Han family! A truly aristocratic family! What kind of treasure has he not seen in this world? What else can it be but a divine incense to make Han Shanzhang say these four words, 'It's hard to find in this world?'"
"No wonder... Late last night, the Taoist priests from Taihe Temple came, and the monks from Jinguang Temple also came. A group of Taoist priests and monks were meditating outside Changqing Gate, saying that they were meditating on the mysteries of heaven."
"The old lady of the Cheng family also kept watch all night yesterday! After the incense burned out, she threatened that anyone who could find the three brothers of the Ma family would be rewarded with one thousand silver coins! Anyone who could get another incense from the Ma brothers would be rewarded with ten thousand silver coins!"
"Is this true?!"
"Yes! The Cheng family's notices have been posted! They are posted over at the Cheng Family Restaurant!"
…
When a few people heard about the reward, they immediately paid the bill and left, obviously going to Cheng's Restaurant to join in the fun.
They wanted to see if this was true. If it was true, they would do nothing but search the city for the three Ma brothers every day.
Gu Lianshan and his daughter had been standing in the corner listening. When they heard that the reward was one thousand and then ten thousand silver coins, they grinned and looked silly!
After hearing the last part, Gu Lianshan whispered in Gu Tang's ear: "It's the Cheng family!"
This was a meaningless sentence, but Gu Tang understood what it meant. She nodded and whispered:
"Double the price! Scarcity makes things valuable! Since the reward is 10,000 taels, then sell them to him for three, 10,000 taels each! 30,000 taels for three!"
"You made a lot of them, didn't you? Are you selling three?" Gu Lianshan paused. What about the rest? Are they keeping them for themselves?
"I made a wrong estimate earlier. Since it's a divine incense, it's impossible to sell dozens of them at once! No matter how good a thing is, once the quantity increases, it will lose its value! Just sell three, three is just right!"
Gu Lianshan thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case.
After the discussion, the father and daughter decided not to stand there anymore and turned around to walk inside to look for Gu Laian.
Send Gu Laian away quickly!
They are still waiting to sell incense!
Gu Laian was eating and drinking in the room.
He didn't know why his father suddenly brought him to Bei'an City, and he was feeling uneasy all the way.
After entering the city, his father threw him into the inn and said he was going out to buy something. If he was hungry, he could ask the innkeeper to prepare some food.
It was Gu Laian’s first time staying in an inn. Seeing that the waiters were very respectful to him, his vanity was extremely inflated.
In a fit of excitement, he asked the waiter to bring a table of delicious food and also ordered a pot of wine.
When Gu Lianshan and Gu Tang pushed the door open, they saw Gu Laian holding a chicken leg in each hand, his face covered in oil from gnawing on it.
Gu Laian, with his mouth full of meat, was so frightened when he saw his father coming back that his face turned pale and he stood up immediately, almost choking to death on the meat in his mouth!
"Why are you panicking? If you want to eat, just eat. It's just a meal of meat. I, your father, can still bear to give it to you." Gu Lianshan glanced at the food on the table.
He is quite good at eating. There were chicken, fish, meat, eggs, and six dishes, all of which were meat, with no vegetarian dishes.
There was a pot of wine on the table. Gu Lianshan took a look at the pot, walked to the table and sat down, then personally poured a cup of wine for Gu Laian.
"Eat quickly. After you're full, Dad has something to tell you."
Gu Laian looked at a loss. He was very scared by his father's behavior!
"Dad, you scared my brother." Gu Tang could tell what Gu Laian was thinking at a glance. He was not used to her father speaking to him in a kind voice and felt that there was a trap waiting for him.
Gu Laian’s guess was correct, but there was a trap waiting for him behind the scenes.
No, it can't be said to be a trap. This is a test and a chance given to him. If he can mend his ways and learn the craft well from the carpenter, this family may still accommodate him in the future.
"Look at what you have accomplished!" Gu Lianshan couldn't bear to see his son acting so cowardly, so he scolded him angrily and stood up to sit somewhere else, fearing that he would not be able to control his temper and scold him again.
His son is going to leave today, and he doesn't want the father and son to have another quarrel today.
When Gu Lianshan left the table, Gu Laian was obviously relieved. He wanted to continue eating the meat, but he glanced at Gu Tang who was still standing by the table.
"What are you doing here? Are you staying at this inn too?"
Gu Tang hadn't been home for the past two days, so Gu Lianshan said that she had some medicinal herbs to sell and had been waiting for news at the inn.
Gu Laian believed it to be true. He was jealous and hated him at the same time. This damn guy never spent the money he earned on him. A sister like him was of no use at all!
"Why do you care about me? I can go wherever I want. Dad didn't say anything, but you are very strict!"
Gu Tang rolled his eyes, pulled over a chair and sat in front of the table, deliberately trying to annoy him.
Gu Laian was indeed angry, but he didn't dare to lose his temper.
After glaring at Gu Tang, he sat back in his seat with a frustrated look on his face and continued to gnaw on the chicken leg in his hand.
But while he was gnawing on the chicken leg, he glared at Gu Tang from time to time, as if he was tearing the flesh off Gu Tang.
He didn't even dare to say a harsh word and could only glare at himself. Gu Tang was too lazy to pay attention to such a person.
After Gu Laian had cleared all the food on the table, he grabbed the wine jug and drank directly from it, finishing the entire jug in one breath.
Seeing him like this, Gu Tang knew that this guy was doomed. After drinking a pot of wine, he would definitely get drunk.
Sure enough, after drinking a pot of wine, Gu Laian's face turned red and he looked drunk in a short while.
Gu Tang called out to her father: "Dad! Big brother is drunk!"
Are you drunk?
Gu Lianshan stood up and walked over here, just in time to see Gu Laian holding an empty wine jug and pretending to pour wine into his mouth.
He snatched the wine jug and pointed at Gu Laian, angrily saying, "I told you to drink, not to get drunk! You brainless idiot, I told you I had something to tell you later, but you turned around and got drunk!"
A pot of wine was not much, and even if Gu Laian was drunk, he was not very drunk. Facing his father's anger, he still had some rationality and did not dare to say a word back.
Gu Lianshan was so angry that he stopped beating around the bush, put down the empty wine jug, and told Gu Laian directly that he had found a master for him.
Gu Laian’s head was buzzing, and he couldn’t understand for a moment why he should find a master for himself.
"What do you want to find a master for?" He asked with a puzzled look.
"What are you doing? Look at you, you've been stealing and cheating all day long, living a messy life. If you continue like this, you'll be ruined! Dad is looking for a master for you, hoping that you can learn a skill so that you can have a living in the future..."
Gu Laian didn't hear the rest of the words, as his mind was full of "learning a skill" at that moment.
These words scared him sober.
His face turned pale as he asked, "Dad, do you want to send me to be an apprentice?"
Gu Lianshan nodded: "Yes, to learn from a master, you must start as an apprentice. You will be an apprentice for three years, and after three years, the master will teach you..."
"I'm not going!" Gu Laian interrupted his father directly, speaking in a rare firm tone.
He said, "Our family is doing well now, and I'm the eldest son, so why do you want me to be an apprentice now?"
Gu Lianshan looked unhappy, but he tried hard not to lose his temper. "So what if you are the eldest son? You are a thief and have no means of livelihood. How will you support yourself in the future?"
"Our family is not divided! I live and eat at home, so why can't I support myself?"
"Divided!" Gu Lianshan looked at him steadily, "When I found a master for you a few days ago, I asked the clan leader to set up a new household for you and separated you.
Although I will still be your father and you will still be my son, we are no longer one family, but two families. "
Gu Laian was dumbfounded: "You separated me?"
"Yes, I separated you."
"What about Sanlang?" Gu Laian stood up suddenly, with a ferocious look on his face, "You separated me, but have you separated Sanlang?"
"Ping An is still young. I will live with him in the future. There is no need to separate him."
This made Gu Laian even angrier, "I'm the eldest son! Why don't you live with me, but live with that brat Sanlang? Do you want the villagers to stab me in the back?"
"Living with you? When I'm old and can't move, and you don't have a job, how are you going to support me?"
Gu Laian: "...give me all your property! When you are old, you will worry that I don't have enough money to support you!"
Gu Lianshan was so angry that he laughed: "When your father adopted me, I left with nothing. I had no house, no land, and no money. How could I give you any property?"
After these words came out, Gu Laian realized belatedly: "You separated me out, but didn't give me any of the family property?!"
"Dad said, there is no house, no land, no money. I would like to give you some of the family property, but there must be something, right? How can I give it to you if there is no family property?"
"You're lying!" Gu Laian was so angry that his whole body was shaking. He pointed at Gu Tang with a face full of resentment: "She has silver in her hand! Let her take fifty... No! Give me one hundred taels of silver! If I take the silver, I will admit the division of the family. Otherwise, I will not admit the division of the family!"
"The silver in your sister's hand belongs to her. Dad can't take it, Ping An can't take it, and you can't take it even more."
"She's not a boy! Girls are not considered individuals, and they can't hide their private property! Her money belongs to the family!"
Gu Laian's eyes were red, "You left me with nothing, just because you favor that brat Sanlang! You want to leave all the family property to him!"
When Gu Lianshan saw him like this, he knew that this matter didn't make sense.
He calmly gave Gu Lai'an an ultimatum: "Whatever you think or say has nothing to do with the family. As for the division of the family, the clan has already set up a separate household for you. This is not to seek your consent, but it is a foregone conclusion, and I am just informing you.
Likewise, I don't need to ask for your consent to send you as an apprentice. I have already made the arrangements. I am just telling you today. If you are obedient, it would be best if you go by yourself. If you make a scene and don't want to go, Dad will spend money to hire a few people to escort you there."
Gu Lianshan's tough attitude is telling Gu Laian that if he behaves well, there may be a chance of turning things around in the future. If he continues down this path, he can only wish for the best for himself!
His family no longer cares about him.
Gu Lai Anli could not understand his father's thoughts, nor could he see the future or the long term. He only saw the present.
He was now being forcibly divided up, without any property or a single penny.
Even so, his father didn't think his life was easy and was so cruel as to send him away to be an apprentice!
No! He won't go even if you kill him!
He wants to go back to the village!
Go back to the village and ask his grandfather and uncle to make the decision. This is not the way to divide the family property!
Look at his uncle, who is also the eldest son in the family, but he monopolizes all the family property.
And looking at himself, there is no other eldest son as miserable as he!
"I don't want to be an apprentice! I want to go back to the village!" Gu Laian walked around his father and ran towards the door.
Gu Tang simply stretched out his foot and tripped the man to the ground.
"ah!!!"
Gu Laian lay on the ground like a madman, shouting at the top of his lungs to vent his anger.
He struggled to get up and cursed at Gu Tang: "Just wait for me, you damn girl! You'd better kill me! Otherwise, if I ever turn things around in the future, I'll kill you first!"
Gu Tang raised his eyebrows. If you say so, then she will take the initiative!
"It has come to this, but you still refuse to change!" Gu Lianshan kicked him angrily.
Just as he was about to scold Gu Laian, the voice of a waiter suddenly came from outside the door: "Master Gu, there is a man named Wei outside looking for you..."
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