Chapter 76: Gu Sang and Gu Da Search for Their Relatives
Throughout the entire Chinese New Year period, the Gu family was visited by many people every day.
Basically, as soon as the people who came to pay New Year's greetings to the previous family left, the next family came immediately.
The Gu family was busy entertaining the guests, and their house was filled with rice, flour, eggs and firewood brought by everyone.
As for the return gifts, they were all food that Gu Feixue had made herself, and some down gloves that Wang had made herself. Villagers who had to work in the fields in winter were prone to frostbite, so Gu Feixue gave everyone some frostbite-treating herbs she had picked while picking grapes in the mountains.
It was not until the fifth day of the New Year that Gu Feixue had time to make a cream cake and send it to Zuixianlou.
It was originally agreed that the Gu family would not provide these foods during festivals, but I didn't expect that the shopkeeper Bao would look so haggard after just a few days of not seeing him.
"Boss Bao, if you don't mind the trouble, why don't you consider purchasing dairy cows from other neighboring cities?"
Bao Hongcai shook his head, frowning:
"I've thought about this idea, but the journey is long, and if the cows don't adapt to the climate, the losses will be huge."
Gu Feixue thought so after hearing this. Now Zuixianlou has simply returned to its original appearance. It may not make more money, but it has not suffered any losses.
If you want to get milk, you have to go to other cities to buy dairy cows, and the cost is not a small amount.
If anything goes wrong, you will suffer a huge loss.
Gu Feixue could only helplessly say:
"Then I have no other choice. If we have a source of milk, then all problems will be solved."
How could Bao Hongcai not know this? It was just that Qian Youliang spent such a huge price to buy up all the dairy cows in Liangcheng just to deal with his Zuixianlou. He simply couldn't understand this.
"Excuse me, Shopkeeper Bao, have you ever offended Qian Youliang before?"
Shopkeeper Bao was stunned when he heard this, then thought for a moment and said, "No."
Gu Feixue said with a hint of meaning, "Then they are not coming for Shopkeeper Bao."
Bao Hongcai asked with a hint of surprise, "Are you saying that they deliberately bought up dairy cows in large quantities from the very beginning?"
Gu Feixue nodded, fearing that it was not just intentional, but was directed at her.
Thinking about how Qian Youliang was cheated out of so much grain by the prefect, he would inevitably feel resentful if he knew it was her idea.
"Boss Bao, are you aware that Qian Youliang's food reserves were swindled away by the prefect during the disaster?"
Bao Hongcai's face flashed with surprise, and then he looked around to see that there was no one around, so he whispered, "Does Miss Gu know about this, too?"
Gu Feixue thought, how could she not know, this idea was hers, but she didn't expect that it would implicate Bao Hongcai now.
"Qian Youliang used up all his family fortune to buy grain. Since the grain was already lost, where did he get so much money to buy cows?"
Bao Hongcai's eyes widened when he heard this. "That's right! Where did Qian Youliang get the money?"
Then Gu Feixue said in a serious tone, "I'm afraid someone is helping him to oppose Zuixianlou behind the scenes."
Having said this, Gu Feixue paused, then asked, "Does Shopkeeper Bao have any suspects behind this?"
Bao Hongcai thought for a long time, and finally seemed to have thought of something. He looked at Gu Feixue and said:
"I remembered that before the disaster, Qian Youliang and a group of wealthy merchants and gentry in Liangcheng joined a caravan. It seems that the caravan was founded by the Grandmaster."
Grandmaster? Zong Hao?
Gu Feixue frowned upon hearing this. "Is that Grandmaster's family very wealthy?"
Bao Hongcai shook his head in amazement:
"It's more than just being wealthy. No one knows how much money Grandmaster has. Most people associate with him to get more benefits. After all, Grandmaster always knows a lot of news from the top in advance."
Gu Feixue understood what was going on after hearing this. So that's how it was.
Zong Hao must have known something in advance, which is why he asked these wealthy businessmen to buy up the remaining grain from the farmers. Otherwise, ordinary people would not pay attention to them when they saw a few people suffering from famine.
But how did Zong Hao know that the disaster in Liangcheng would develop into such a serious situation later?
If the drought, famine and plague had not been as severe as they were later, there would not have been such a shortage of food in the city.
Then Gu Feixue thought of a terrible possibility: Could it be that the disaster in Liangcheng was originally related to Zong Hao?
Gu Feixue was surprised by her own guess, but she didn't know that she had hit the mark by accident.
"This disaster has affected all businesses in Liangcheng, big and small. Even our Zuixianlou has lost a lot of money. If there is really someone willing to spend this money to help Qian Youliang, then it is most likely the Grandmaster."
Speaking of this, Bao Hongcai also felt a headache. If it was really Zong Hao, then why would he go against Zuixianlou?
Thinking of the power of the Bao family in Jiangzhou, Bao Hongcai did not dare to say that the people behind Zong Hao must not be as powerful as the Bao family.
After all, no matter how he looked at it, the other party seemed to have some connection with people in the capital.
Although the Bao family’s influence in Jiangzhou cannot be underestimated, they do not have many connections in the capital.
Seeing Bao Hongcai's melancholy expression, Gu Feixue said, "It's okay. I'll go ask the prefect tomorrow. Maybe he can give me some information."
Bao Hongcai was not more confident after hearing this: "Okay, Miss Gu, if you don't have any information about the dairy farmer, you can ask the prefect to ask if there is a suitable escort agency."
After asking the escort agency, Gu Feixue learned that Bao Hongcai also had his eyes on the cows in the neighboring city. It was naturally safer for the escort agency to escort the goods than for ordinary people.
Liangcheng and the surrounding towns are separated by several large mountains, and these mountains are bound to be home to some bandits doing robbery business.
With an escort agency, you are almost certain to succeed, but most of the escort agencies in Liangcheng are escorted by the government.
If Liang Jianwei could introduce him, Bao Hongcai would naturally not have to worry about the risks on the road.
"Okay, I'll definitely ask for Shopkeeper Bao then."
After returning to the Gu family, Gu Feixue told Gu Lang and Wang that it might be Zong Hao who funded Qian Youliang behind the scenes.
He also told the two of them about the doubts about the disaster in Liangcheng. After hearing it, Gu Lang and the others agreed with Gu Feixue and felt that Zong Hao must be involved in the disaster in Liangcheng.
However, the two did not want Gu Feixue to worry about adults' affairs at such a young age, so they asked Gu Feixue not to think too much.
After Gu Feixue left, Wang asked:
"Gu Lang, do you think the person who impeached you in the court has any connection with the person behind Zong Hao?"
Gu Lang's face was solemn, and after a long while he said:
"Maybe, maybe not. Well, the Gu family is finally stable now, so Madam, there's no need to worry about that."
How could Gu Lang not have a suspect in his mind? However, he had no evidence. Otherwise, even if he beat the drum in front of Xuanwu Gate to protest his innocence, he would definitely clear his name.
What Gu Feixue didn't expect was that the next morning, when she had originally planned to find the prefect, she was visited by the prefect's men.
The news brought by the other party also made the entire Gu family excited.
"Are you serious? Did you really see a group of people who looked like Gu Sang and Gu Da appear in the city? Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
