novelraw Chapter 164 Who stole the cloth?
Chapter 164 Who stole the cloth?
Chapter 164 Who stole the cloth?
Gu Lianshan slurped his porridge, and the words he uttered made everyone stare at him.
How old is Gu Lai'an? He's just a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy. If we really send him away, the clan chief will definitely come and reprimand him.
Uncle San advised, "I know you're angry, but no matter how angry you are, you can't do something foolish. He's still young, and he's gone astray. He's a clueless brat. If you just send him away like this without any regard for his safety, he might cause a huge mess!"
The bowl of porridge was empty. Gu Lianshan put down his chopsticks and told the old man his plan: "This is not something I did in a fit of anger. I've been thinking about it for a long time. I'll send him away to find a skilled craftsman and let him learn a trade from him."
Third Uncle paused for a moment: "You want him to become an apprentice? That's one way out, but... anyone who learns a craft from a master never has an easy life."
Not only were they starving and freezing, but they were also beaten and verbally abused day and night. That's the mildest punishment. If you encounter a conscientious master, they'll work for you for free for three years before teaching you; if you encounter a heartless one, you could work for free for ten years and they still wouldn't teach you.
"This is exactly the kind of hard life I wanted." Gu Lianshan said in a heavy tone, "If we let him stay at home, he'll take advantage of the fact that I'm his father and he won't beat him to death no matter how angry he gets. He may look scared on the surface, but he's actually very confident inside!"
Only by sending him away, letting outsiders beat and scold him, letting outsiders temper his character, will he learn to be afraid and restrain himself.
Having said that, Uncle San understood his meaning and stopped trying to persuade him. He only reminded him, "If that's the case, you'll have to find a craftsman far away. If you find someone nearby who knows the way, and he can't endure the hardship, he might sneak back."
"I'm thinking of sending him north to find a carpenter so he can be properly tempered!"
Carpentry work is tiring and varied. After a day's work, people are so tired that they don't even have the energy to eat, and there's no hope of escaping.
carpenter……
Uncle San's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at Gu Lianshan, unsure whether Gu Lianshan knew or not.
Learning a craft from a carpenter is the hardest time.
"You should think it over carefully. There are too many people who ruin their health by learning a craft from a carpenter but don't learn any skills."
"Don't worry, if he really overworks himself, I'll bring him back and take care of him!"
Gu Lianshan hardened his heart. A son who steals chickens and dogs everywhere would only bring trouble to his second daughter and second son if he stayed in the village.
After all these years of discipline, he showed no remorse whatsoever. He wanted to beat the man to death, but couldn't bring himself to do it.
Since we can't discipline them ourselves, let's send them away and let someone else discipline them!
Those who weren't born of their own children don't know the pain, and they can be just as ruthless when it comes to hitting and scolding others.
Gu Lianshan closed his eyes. Only after suffering enough hardship outside would he understand how good home is.
As for whether it would wear his son out, he couldn't care less about that right now. He would rather raise a son who takes medicine all day than a son who causes trouble every day!
Gu Tang, who had been listening quietly, suddenly spoke up: "I'll give you some money later. Since we're sending my brother to learn a trade, we might as well spend money to find someone with a good skill. If my brother can endure the hardship, even if he only learns four or five points, it will be fine. His future won't be bad either."
As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately received two gratified looks, and both Third Uncle and Gu Lianshan felt very comforted.
This girl is sensible and doesn't hold grudges. The brother and sister had quarreled several times, and everyone thought they would drift apart in the future. Unexpectedly, this girl still lent a helping hand.
Gu Tang's eyes flickered slightly, and she added, "The best carpenters all live in the area around the prefectural city. I wonder if there are any well-known prefectural cities to the north?"
There are indeed some well-known prefectures...
Third Uncle pointed north, "If you go north from Beian City for about two hundred li, there is a desert city. I went there once a few years ago. It is about the same size as Beian City, but it is sparsely populated and not as prosperous as Beian City."
"Whether it's rich or not doesn't matter; it's still a prefectural city. Once Mei's marriage is settled, if it doesn't snow, I'll go and inquire around. If I can find a carpenter, I'll arrange for her to move there."
Why the rush?
If we send them over now, they definitely won't be able to come back for the Chinese New Year.
Gu Tang blinked, finished the porridge in her bowl in one go, and was in a very good mood.
It seems her father is truly heartbroken this time; I wonder what those siblings did.
Third Uncle also felt a bit anxious. Didn't he just say that he would wait until next spring?
Why did you change your mind now?
He glanced at Gu Lianshan, whose face was resolute.
If I try to persuade them further, I'm afraid I'll upset them.
Well, it's better to send her away sooner rather than later. Without this troublemaker at home, and after marrying Mei off, Tang and Ping An can have some peace and quiet.
Once Gu Lai'an's destination was decided, the heavy atmosphere in the room eased.
But the situation only eased for a short while.
Soon, the curtain hanging at the door was haphazardly lifted, and Gu Mei and Gu Lai'an, siblings, shivered and walked in with wet hair, their bodies cold and devoid of warmth.
This wouldn't have been a problem; it was clean, so it was only natural to come in and eat.
But for some reason, the siblings had both changed into new clothes late at night.
Gu Tang didn't take it seriously at first, only glancing at it casually, but then her gaze was fixed on it.
The fabric of the siblings' clothes looks familiar.
Gu Mei felt very uncomfortable under Gu Tang's undisguised gaze. She hunched her shoulders slightly, wanting to look away but not daring to, and secretly regretted her actions.
I was so cold I was delirious; I shouldn't have taken advantage of the warmth of these clothes and turned them inside out to wear.
Lai'an, seeing that she had changed into new clothes, followed suit and changed into new clothes as well.
Compared to Gu Mei's guilty conscience, Gu Lai'an showed no sign of distress. He sat down in his seat, picked up the spoon from his rice bowl, ladled some porridge into his mouth, and slurped it down while quickly picking up other dishes.
Each chopstick was filled to the brim, and then a mouthful was stuffed into the mouth.
With food and porridge still in his mouth, he was still chewing when he forced this chopstick into his mouth again.
When the chopsticks were pulled out of the mouth, they were covered with some chewed bits of vegetable leaves.
Gu Tang watched as the chopsticks, still covered in bits of vegetable scraps, reached straight into the plate in front of her and viciously grabbed a large mouthful, almost emptying the plate.
Seeing this, the atmosphere in the room turned cold again.
Gu Tang's face darkened, her gaze fixed intently on Gu Lai'an's head, her hands itching as if she wanted to smash the plate in front of her onto his head!
Eat! Eat!
I hope you choke to death!
The third uncle beside her probably saw through Gu Tang's thoughts, so he quickly pushed the plate in front of her away and gently comforted her, "This pickled vegetable has a strong flavor. It's not good for a young lady to eat too much of it. There are eggs in the kitchen. I'll steam an egg custard for you."
Gu Tang took a deep breath, suppressing her anger: "Don't worry about me, I'm full. It's just... I feel really nauseous!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Lai'an didn't even look up, but deliberately smacked his lips, behaving very uncouthly.
"If you smack your lips again, you're fired! You have no manners or upbringing! Even beggars outside are more human than you!" Gu Lianshan cursed harshly.
Gu Lai'an shuddered, and his smacking noises decreased significantly, but he continued smacking.
This time it wasn't intentional; it was a habit he'd developed since childhood. Gu Lianshan had scolded him many times for it, telling him to change, but Gu Lai'an just wouldn't listen, only caring about his own pleasure and never paying attention to such things.
Seeing that Gu Lai'an was being scolded again, Gu Mei became even more hesitant to approach her father and sat down to Gu Lai'an's right.
Gu Lai'an's right-hand side was Gu Tang, with one seat between them, and Gu Mei was sitting in the middle seat, right next to Gu Tang.
Gu Tang's gaze fell on Gu Mei again. The new dress was made of light green fine cloth, which would only look good on someone with fair skin. Gu Mei's skin was dark yellow, and after wearing it, her skin tone became even darker, making it look very mismatched.
I glanced at Gu Lai'an; the fabric he was wearing was the same as Gu Mei's, so they must have been made from the same bolt of cloth.
However, for some reason, the fabric of the dress looked increasingly familiar to her, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
Not only did Gu Tang find them familiar, but Gu Ping'an opposite them was also staring at the clothes on the siblings, his eyes blazing with anger and his face extremely ugly.
The fabric used for this dress was bought by my father for my second sister!
How did it end up in their hands?!
Gu Ping'an grew angrier the more he looked, assuming the siblings had stolen it. He couldn't hold back any longer, stood up, pointed at the siblings, and shouted, "Little thieves!"
The room fell silent instantly. Apart from Gu Mei, who was trembling with her head down, everyone else's eyes were on Gu Ping'an.
Gu Ping'an wasn't intimidated at all. Pointing at the clothes worn by Gu Mei and her brother, he complained to his father, "Dad! Didn't you notice? The fabric used for their new clothes was the same one you bought for my second sister! Now they've stolen it and made new clothes for her!"
Gu Lianshan looked completely bewildered: "What the heck?"
"This fabric!" Gu Ping'an rushed up to Gu Lai'an, grabbed his clothes, and showed them to his father.
"The year my second sister turned eleven, you looked at several cloth shops in Bei'an City and picked out a bolt of light blue fine cloth to buy as a birthday gift for her. Have you forgotten?!"
Gu Lianshan remembered that there was indeed such a thing.
After carefully examining the clothes on his eldest daughter and eldest son, his expression turned sour. He immediately asked Gu Tang, "Where is the piece of cloth I gave you back then?"
Gu Tang was also bewildered, quickly flipping through the original owner's memories in her mind, and finally found the memory of that piece of cloth.
“I was afraid my mother and grandmother would find out, so I kept it at the very bottom of the box…”
That's all the memory goes on. After the original owner put the fabric in the box, he never took it out to look at it again.
At that time, the original owner had endless work to do every day, both openly and secretly. He was exhausted and scolded at the same time. He was like a walking corpse, numb and unbearable, and soon forgot about the piece of cloth.
"Go inside and check if it's still there!"
Gu Tang nodded, got up and walked outside.
Actually, there's no need to look; she didn't have that piece of cloth in her room at all.
She had already searched through all of the original owner's belongings, and there wasn't a single piece of cloth, let alone a whole bolt.
Watching Gu Tang actually go back to the house to find cloth, Gu Mei's panic could no longer be concealed and was fully exposed, which Gu Lianshan witnessed.
Before Gu Mei could even think of a way to smooth things over, she saw Gu Lai'an shove Gu Ping'an aside, snatch the hem of her dress back from his hands, and proudly show off her clothes.
"Who stole it?! Don't make false accusations! This dress was given to me by my aunt!"
"Nonsense! Your aunt is notoriously stingy! You often come back hungry when you visit her! She would never give you clothes to wear; you must have stolen them!"
Gu Ping'an shouted that he didn't believe it and insisted that Gu Lai'an was the thief.
Gu Lai'an slammed his fist on the table and stood up, furious. It was rare for him to tell the truth, and this little bastard Gu Ping'an dared not believe him!
"What's all this commotion?!" Gu Lianshan glared at him, subdued him, and then turned his gaze to Gu Mei.
"Tell me! Where did these clothes come from? If your aunt is willing to make new clothes for you and your siblings, your father will go to her house and kowtow to thank her!"
This clearly shows that they don't believe what Gu Lai'an said.
Gu Mei panicked completely and couldn't say a word.
Gu Lianshan didn't rush her and patiently waited for Gu Tang to return.
A short while later, Gu Tang lifted the curtain and stepped in.
Her face was grim, her lips were tightly pressed together, and she spat out two words in a resentful tone: "Gone!"
Gu Lianshan sighed wearily. Since it was gone, then there was probably no doubt about it. The clothes the siblings were wearing must have been made from the second daughter's fabric.
He stared intently at Gu Mei. "Still not going to talk? If you do, I'll decide and we'll let it go. If you stubbornly refuse to talk, then you'll kneel in the courtyard all night, and your fate is in the hands of fate. How about that?"
Gu Mei trembled violently, and her eyes reddened.
Her father never made empty promises to scare people. When he said he would make her kneel in the yard all night, he meant it.
This time, her father really went all out!
Gu Mei was terrified of death. It was still raining outside, and if she had to kneel in the courtyard all night, she was sure she would die.
After hesitating for a moment, she finally told the truth: "...Last year, my aunt came over once, saying she wanted to see how my siblings and I were doing. You weren't home that day, and neither were Siya and Siya. My aunt said she was tired and wanted to rest for a while, but she complained that my room smelled bad, so she went to rest in Siya's room."
I thought my aunt was just taking a break, but who knew that while Siya was away, she went through Siya's closet, found the cloth, and wouldn't let it go, saying that she had taken a liking to it. In the end, she secretly took it away.
My aunt was afraid I would tell on her, so she used that cloth to make a set of clothes for both me and Lai'an, saying it would shut us up and prevent us from telling on her..."
This statement is full of loopholes; it's obvious that it's not the truth, or that it's a mixture of truth and falsehood.
Gu Lianshan didn't want to listen to her nonsense anymore, so he waved his hand at her and said, "Go back to your room. You don't need to eat dinner tonight."
Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks instantly, but Gu Mei didn't dare to show any emotion and left without saying a word.
Gu Lai'an stood there dumbfounded, unsure whether to follow everything.
His mind was a bit of a mess. Was the fabric used for this dress something his aunt had stolen from Siya?
This is truly unexpected!
However, this had nothing to do with him. He wasn't the one who stole the fabric, and he wasn't wrong about the clothes; they were indeed a gift from his aunt. Although her motives weren't pure, she genuinely gave them to him.
"You go back to your room too." After chasing Gu Mei away, Gu Lianshan then started chasing Gu Lai'an away.
Gu Lai'an glanced reluctantly at the food on the table; he wasn't full yet...
"Get lost!" Gu Lianshan glared at him impatiently, successfully driving him away.
With his eldest son and daughter no longer an eyesore, Gu Lianshan looked at Gu Tang and gave her an explanation: "Consider that cloth as your eldest sister's dowry. When she gets married, the family will no longer prepare a dowry for her."