Chapter 252 Moving Out and Living Separately
Feng looked at these tattered clothes and for some reason became more and more anxious.
She grabbed her son's arm and told him with a stern face to go out and find out what happened.
"Go ask the villagers if they know where Tianbao has been staying these days, and find out what he has been doing these days."
"Why are you asking about him?" Gu Liansheng hadn't come to his senses yet and didn't want to go.
"Go quickly! Listen to mother and go find out!" Feng's eyes were serious and her tone was tough, which was unusual for her.
Gu Liansheng was becoming increasingly confused. "What's wrong with you? I just lost a few of Wei's clothes. Maybe Tianbao is unhappy about me remarrying and deliberately took Wei's clothes away to prevent Qian from wearing them after she gets married."
Seeing that her son was still unable to come to an end, Feng was furious and anxious, so she simply told the truth: "Tianbao is obsessed with his mother and has said more than once that he wants to go find her!
He hasn't been seen in the past few days, and the second brother's family is also away. He came back today with the second brother. What if Tianbao goes to ask the second brother for help, and the two of them go together to get Wei back..."
Feng didn't say anything else, but just these two sentences were enough to wake up Gu Liansheng.
"You're probably overthinking it!" Gu Liansheng's face turned cold, but he still didn't quite believe it. "Shanyao Village is not close to us! How dare these two run over to look for the Wei family? Even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to do that!
If they were caught by the villagers of Shanyao Village, not only would they not be able to find the Wei family, but they would also lose their lives!"
"If it's just the two of them, I absolutely wouldn't dare! Mother is afraid that the bastard Second Son will deliberately agree to this to go against you, and spend money to find some people to go find Wei!"
As she spoke, Feng's right eyelid twitched twice, as if foreshadowing something bad.
She looked at her son anxiously: "Si Ya can make money, and your Third Uncle is also a man with plenty of money to spend. In order to go against you, the Second Brother is definitely willing to pay the money to find Wei!
"Look at the bottom of that box with the hole in it. There must be a lot of silver hidden in there! Now that the silver has been taken away, not only will the second brother not lose money, but he will actually make a fortune!"
Feng's analysis shook Gu Liansheng's heart, and his originally cold face turned visibly panicked.
Old Master Gu was also panicking. He hurried to his son's side and persuaded him, "Listen to your mother. Go to the village and ask. If Wei is really back, we have to find another way!"
At this moment, Gu Liansheng completely believed what Feng said and nodded repeatedly in agreement: "I'll go right away! Right away!"
Before he could finish his words, he rushed out of the house in a panic.
The old couple Feng also followed him out of the house.
Looking at his son's back as he hurried away, he was extremely worried, wondering if he could find out anything.
Gu Zhier, who had gone to the backyard to kill a chicken, came back with a knife in one hand and a chicken in the other.
Seeing the two elders standing in the east wing corridor, he casually asked, "Why did you two go out? It's very cold outside! By the way, has Tianbao boiled some water?"
"Don't mention that little bastard!" Old Master Gu was very angry and shouted this in a bad tone.
After yelling, he walked into the house with a cane without looking back, his face dark.
Gu Zhier was shocked by the old man's reaction and didn't dare to say another word.
After the old man entered the house, she quickly walked over to her mother and asked in a low voice, "What happened? You were fine just now, why are you so angry now?"
"Don't mention it..." Feng had a gloomy look on her face. She lowered her voice and spoke to her daughter, telling her everything that had just happened.
Hearing that Wei might have returned, Gu Zhier frowned, "That Wei is truly shameless! Anybody with a sense of honor would have hanged themselves long ago, not waited for her family to rescue her."
"That's right!" Feng agreed with her daughter's point of view and added, "Mother asked your eldest brother to ask the villagers to see if anyone knows what that bastard Tianbao has been doing these days. If Wei is really found, we have to find a way to deal with this matter!"
"Think of a solution?" Gu Zhier pursed her lips, and suddenly her eyes lit up: "No matter how many methods I use, it will be useless. In my opinion, it is best to let Qian come in immediately!
As long as Qian is in, even if Wei really comes back, it will be useless. She will either be demoted to a concubine or get out!
If she demotes herself to a concubine, then it will be easy. A concubine is just a plaything, tradable... I can find a chance to sell her later!"
Gu Zhier's method was truly refreshing. Feng thought about it carefully and the more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed!
"Just do as you say! Go to the kitchen, boil some water, and clean up the chickens. Mom will go find your dad, and have him talk to the matchmaker about this!"
"Hey! Slow down!"
Gu Zhier watched her mother walking towards the main room with a cane, and hurriedly put down the chicken and knife, and helped her into the main room, fearing that she would fall.
…
When the ox cart arrived at Bei'an City, it suddenly started to drizzle.
Gu Lianshan was startled and hurriedly sent Gu Tianbao to the inn and helped him unload the things in the car.
"You have some money, so go ask your mother if you plan to stay here temporarily or permanently. If you want to stay permanently, it would be more cost-effective to rent two rooms. Staying in an inn all the time is too expensive!"
"Oh! I'll ask my mother later." Gu Tianbao hadn't thought about this. Now, after Gu Lianshan reminded him, an idea suddenly popped up in his mind.
If his mother goes back to the village, she will face rumors. But what if she doesn't go back to the village and stays in Bei'an City in the future?
No one here knows his mother, and no one knows his mother's experience. Living in Bei'an City, he doesn't have to worry about outsiders talking behind his back.
Gu Tianbao looked at Gu Lianshan with hope: "Second Uncle, what do you think? If I take my mother with me, can we settle down in Bei'an City in the future?"
"Settling down?" Gu Lianshan was very surprised. "Aren't you going home from now on?"
Gu Tianbao scratched his head. "The marriage that my father arranged will definitely not be cancelled. If my mother returns to live in the village, she will have to face the villagers' criticism and my father marrying someone else. I'm afraid my mother can't bear the blow."
That's the truth.
Rather than returning to the village and facing numerous embarrassments, it is better to settle down in Bei'an City, hide your identity, and live a peaceful life.
But... to do this, you need to have enough money.
"It's a good idea, but if you want to settle down in Bei'an City, you need money! Apart from anything else, you'll have to rent a house to settle down, right? The monthly rent alone will be quite high!"
"The rent is enough!" Gu Tianbao moved closer to Gu Lianshan and whispered, "I found thirty taels of silver at home, plus the silver my grandmother left for my mother in the bank, it's enough for my mother to live on for the rest of her life.
Even if you don't have enough money in the future, I'm still here! I plan to find some work in Bei'an City after the New Year. It doesn't matter how much I earn, it can at least help make ends meet."
This surprised Gu Lianshan: "What? You don't want to study anymore?"
Speaking of studying, Gu Tianbao was embarrassed: "Second uncle, to be honest, I really have no talent for studying! You have seen how I studied over the years. If it weren't for Dad for forcing me, I would have given up studying long ago!
When I was home earlier, you left the house and I was left alone in the house. My father scolded me. He said that I didn’t need to study anymore and should just stay at home and farm.
"That's rare!" Gu Liansheng was amazed after hearing this.
"You are your father's only child! Hasn't he always thought highly of you? And the old lady and the old man, they all love you too. Why would they suddenly stop letting you study?"
"I guess my father is going to remarry soon. I heard that Qian is only in her early twenties. My father and my grandmother are probably thinking of having Qian give birth to a boy to succeed my father."
"The old couple spent a lot of money on you. I thought they were reluctant to give up all their efforts and would continue to support your studies. I didn't expect that they would not let you go."
Gu Lianshan sighed. He had always thought that the old couple truly loved Gu Tianbao.
And that idiot eldest brother used to show that he loved his son very much, but now, the three of them just give up on him.
Gu Tianbao was very calm about this: "Maybe my family has run out of money. Not being allowed to study just happened to fulfill my wish. I'm so happy.
Of course, I don't have to study. If I were asked to stay at home and farm, I wouldn't even think about it! From now on, I'll live with my mother in Bei'an City, and it won't prevent Qian from giving birth to a son for my father. "
"That's good too. If your father really has another son, he won't come looking for you again, and you can live peacefully with your mother.
Go back and talk to your mother. I'll come back in a couple of days. If you really plan to stay in Bei'an City, I'll help you find a house."
"Oh! Thank you, second uncle!"
"Okay, let's go back. The rain is getting heavier. It's time for Second Uncle to go back to the inn."
Gu Lianshan waved at him, and after the others went in, he drove the ox cart home.
In the courtyard, facing the sudden rain, Third Uncle looked unhappy.
Standing under the porch with a cane, watching the winter rain falling like silk, he turned his head and asked Gu Tang beside him.
"I previously told your father to buy more food. Has he bought it yet?"
"I bought them. They're all in the west wing. I'll open the door. Would you like to take a look?"
"Okay! I'll go take a look." Third uncle really wanted to go and see.
Gu Tang went back to the house to get the key and opened the door of the west wing.
In this courtyard, every house is built spacious and comfortable, even the ear room is no exception. The ear room, which should have been small and short, is built to be comparable to the main room of my third uncle's house.
I pushed the door open and walked into the house, but after taking a few steps, there was no way to go. The entire ear room was filled with food and various meats and vegetables.
The food in this room is enough for their family to eat for most of half a year.
Reaching out and touching the bag of grain, Third Uncle breathed a sigh of relief: "Your father still has a plan in mind. With so much grain, we don't have to worry about this winter."
"Sir, is there really a snow disaster this year?" Gu Tang felt that the recent rumors about the snow disaster were too exaggerated. The prices of everything had gone up, and the key point was that the government did not step in to stop the comments.
If it is true, it is fine. But if it is false, it is probably spread deliberately by collusion between officials and businessmen, with the purpose of raising prices and plundering the money of the people.
"According to past experience, the later the snow falls here, the more frightening it gets! This year, it should be almost the same!"
Third uncle left the ear room with a sad look on his face.
Prices have skyrocketed this year and people cannot buy enough food. If there is a snowstorm, I am afraid that all the food stored in their homes will be eaten up.
Not all the grain stored in people's homes is eaten. Some of it is kept for sowing when the weather warms up after the New Year.
If we eat all of this, when we plant the seeds after the New Year, we will either have no seeds left and leave them there, or we will have to spend money to buy some!
But now, because of the skyrocketing prices, every household has spent all their savings. Where is the money left to buy grain seeds?
In the end, there are only two results.
One is to borrow money at high interest to buy seeds, and the other is to stop farming for a year and sell children to survive.
Gu Tang locked the ear room. When he heard the words "almost certain", his heart tightened. He hoped that Agou would move faster and set up the charity hall before the snow fell.
Third Uncle faced the yard, watching the rain outside, and continued to chatter with Gu Tang: "When we return to the village, we must take all this food back. There's no one guarding this place, and if some starving people climb over the wall and come in, all this food will be looted!"
"Okay, then let my dad make a few more trips, or we can hire a few ox carts to transport it home."
"We can't hire an oxcart!" Third Uncle waved his hands repeatedly, "We can't let anyone know that we have grain. Let your father make a few more trips and transport the grain back without anyone knowing.
If there really is a snowstorm and outsiders know that we have food, our family will be in trouble!"
"Okay, I'll listen to you and let my dad run a few more times."
The old man's worries are not without reason.
If everything is peaceful and there is no snowstorm, these things won’t be in danger of being exposed, but if there is a snowstorm, these things may become death warrants!
"Come in, it's very cold outside." Gu Tang supported the man and sent him back to the main room.
When they got into the house, Third Uncle felt a little sleepy and said he wanted to take a nap, so he asked Gu Tang to sit in front of the stove and warm himself by the fire.
After watching the person enter the east room, Gu Tang did not stay in the main room for long. He lifted the curtain and went to the east wing to find Gu Ping'an.
The two dogs she bought are still in Gu Ping'an's house. She said she wanted to build a doghouse for the dogs. It has been so long, and no one knows when the doghouse will be completed.
He knocked on the door and waited for a response from inside before Gu Tang pushed the door open and went in.
The two puppies were so scared when they heard the noise that they immediately hid under the bed.
Gu Tang squatted beside the bed and called a few times, but the two puppies just refused to come out.
"They're not familiar with you, so when they see you they subconsciously want to hide. Once they get to know you better, they'll be fine."
Gu Ping'an was still making a doghouse. He was busy with his work while talking to Gu Tang.
The floor of the house was covered with wooden strips of varying lengths, scraps of cloth, and various tools.
Gu Ping'an had already made an outline of the doghouse using wooden strips. Now all he had to do was sew the scraps of cloth together and put it on the doghouse.
Gu Tang looked at this extremely simple doghouse and felt cheated. "You're not doing this right! You promised me before that you would make a pure wooden doghouse. Look carefully at what you've made. You only used a few wooden strips to make the outline, and the rest was made up of scraps of cloth!"
"Second sister, just be content!" Gu Ping'an was so worried, "I originally planned to let Dad do it, but I don't know when he will be back, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it!"
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