Chapter 561: Chapter 561: Chaos
Village Chief He learned that Gu Jinli and their group had returned, bringing along a convoy of mule carts, at least ten in number, which excited him immensely. He immediately called his two grandsons and rushed over in haste.
He Tongsheng, intelligent as he was, had long seen through his grandfather’s intentions. Seeing how excited his grandfather was, to the point his beard seemed to bristle, he hurriedly said, "Grandpa, slow down a bit. The Gu Family isn’t going anywhere; going early or late makes no difference."
With a smack, Village Chief He slapped He Tongsheng on the head: "You foolish boy, going early shows our family’s closeness with the Gu Family. If we go late, they might think we are aloof."
He continued to scold: "Didn’t I tell you to go and play with Brother Cheng every day? Why don’t you go? If this continues, how long will it take before you can be as close as real brothers with Brother Cheng? You are several years older than him; if you don’t take the chance to foster a good relationship now while you’re young, it will only get harder as you grow older, and you’ll grow even less close."
Village Chief He felt he had truly exhausted himself worrying over this third grandson, yet the boy just didn’t understand. He had paved the way for him, yet he refused to follow.
Behind Village Chief He’s back, He Tongsheng rolled his eyes and responded, "I know, Grandpa. I will visit Brother Cheng more often."
But Brother Cheng of the Gu Family was incredibly dull. Every time he went to play with him, Cheng made him write. Was he someone who loved writing? He couldn’t even last half an hour before running away.
He Tongsheng, thinking about how Brother Cheng would keep him writing for hours, shuddered and cautiously suggested to Village Chief He, "Grandpa, maybe I should go play with Big Brother Gu instead?"
He felt that hanging out with Big Brother Gu, who had been to Jinling Prefecture and was worldly, would be much more interesting than being with Gu Jincheng. Playing with him definitely wouldn’t be boring.
Village Chief He glared at him: "How old are you? How old is Brother An of the Gu Family? What’s your level of education, and what’s Brother An’s? Do you think someone like you can mix with Brother An? Stop dreaming about useless things. Go and spend more time with Brother Cheng, work on strengthening that relationship, and don’t you dare sneak off to play without him, or I’ll chop you alive!"
Seeing that the Gu Family’s days were better than those of the Lu Family’s past, and knowing the Gu Family were kind-hearted and had not committed any wrongdoing, and that they had always respected him as the village chief, he thought, what was he waiting for to foster a good relationship with such a family? This boy, Tongsheng, just wasn’t thoughtful.
The three family members moved quickly, and within less than fifteen minutes, they had reached the end of the village. Along the way, they encountered other villagers rushing to see what was happening, including members from He Daqian’s Family.
Upon seeing him, Village Chief He immediately became furious: "He Daqian, you bastard, who allowed you to come here? This end of the village land has been bought by families of Qin, Gu, and Luo, and other villagers are not permitted to come here freely. Get the hell out! Have you forgotten the lesson from He Cui’er’s family? If your family wants to be expelled from the village like hers, then keep causing trouble!"
He Daqian’s kin, He Dacai had previously helped the Lu Family try to steal recipes from the Gu Family and was sentenced to labor in the mines; was he dead from exhaustion yet? The Gu Family disliked He Daqian’s Family immensely, yet he still dared to come closer; was he seeking death?
He Daqian wore an apologetic smile and said, "Village Chief, you misunderstand. I was just following the He Family folks to see what’s going on, not looking for trouble. It was Dacai who was senseless before; I have cut ties with him. I won’t be blind and bother the Gu Family like he did."
"Get out!" Village Chief He commanded. "If you want to live peacefully in the village, stop causing trouble for the He Family. Behave yourself. In a few years, when the He Family’s days improve, I’ll find a separate task for you."
As for work related to the Gu Family, both He Daqian and Fourth Son He’s families could forget about it; the Gu Family would never employ them, not even as slaves.
He Daqian wanted to say more, but Village Chief He had already lifted his walking stick to strike, and He Daqian, frightened, quickly ran off with Fourth Son He.
Village Chief He then addressed the other He Family members who had come to spectate: "All of you, go back home. The sun is setting; what crowd are you trying to join? The Gu Family really dislikes people crowding around their home to spectate."
Again, he said: "Do you still want to rely on the Gu Family to make money? If you want to make money and live a good life, you must follow the rules of the Gu Family."
The Gu Family is different from the Lu Family; at Old Master Lu’s house, any good news is broadcasted so that the entire Tianfu County knows about it. However, the Gu Family prefers to live quietly, and their biggest annoyance is when villagers swarm to their house whenever there’s a minor incident.
The villagers knew that the families of Qin, Gu, and Luotian were not to be trifled with. Although they wanted to watch the excitement, they were eventually driven back by Village Chief He.
Village Chief He, absolutely delighted, took his two grandsons to Gu Jinli’s house, and Wang Yongfu didn’t stop him but let them in.
"Wow, Little Xiao Yu, who are all these people?" Village Chief He immediately noticed the dozens of servants as soon as he arrived and promptly asked.
Gu Jinli: "These are the servants bought by my family, to work in the workshop."
"What? Your family bought these servants!" Village Chief He was so shocked that his eyes bulged out; the Gu Family had indeed bought dozens of servants. Wow, they truly have struck it rich.
Village Chief He was extremely excited, even more so than if he had bought servants for his own household, and he kept circling around Qiu Lang and the others, the more he looked, the better he felt.
Third Grandpa, shaking his head, had Third Grandma bring out a bowl of marinated meat that Qi Kangle had sent over, giving it to Village Chief He: "Village Chief, Xiao Yu and the others have traveled for two days, and we are still busy at home. Please, take Jin Sheng and the brothers back home now, and come again tomorrow."
"Ah, ah, ah, Brother Gu is right. Since Little Xiao Yu and the others have safely returned, I’ll head home first and come back tomorrow." Village Chief He, a frequent visitor to the Gu Family, was already familiar with them and took the bowl of marinated meat without being polite, returning home with his two grandsons.
After Qin San Lang unloaded the fabrics and other items bought by Gu Jinli, he looked at the other items left in the mule cart and said: "These are tools for processing broken medicinal materials, along with some medicines and seeds, it’s not good to keep them at home, let’s send them to the workshop as well."
"Alright." Gu Jinli nodded, called Qiu Lang and the others, had them greet a few families, and then took them to the workshop.
Gu Dashan and Third Grandpa, feeling uneasy, followed them.
The group went grandly to the workshop, and Mu Tong had already been waiting with Ye Jingzi and others. As soon as he saw Gu Jinli bringing people back, he immediately came forward to greet them.
Gu Jinli handed over two booklets to Uncle Mu Tong: "Uncle Mu Tong, these booklets record their physical characteristics. According to the booklets, assign them their quarters."
Mu Tong, experienced in handling affairs, previously worked with Doctor Wu and even managed over a hundred people during the peak period. Organizing these dozen servants was naturally no trouble for him.
However, since it was getting dark already, he could only use the simplest method to arrange for them: "All male servants follow cardamom, all female maids follow Jingzi; they will take you to your quarters. It’s getting late today, so just settle in like this. Tomorrow, we will make arrangements for your families."
Then glaring at them, he said in a cold voice: "Remember your status, you are now slaves of the Gu Family, you must absolutely obey the Gu Family. If you dare to have the slightest ulterior motive, the severe punishment will be execution by beating, and the lighter punishment is selling the whole family to work in the mines!"