novelraw Chapter 243 Found the Wang Family
Chapter 243 Found the Wang Family
Chapter 243 Found Wang Er's House
This price is not cheap; most families absolutely cannot afford it. Even those families that can afford it wouldn't dare to eat like this unless they have several hundred thousand in savings.
Therefore, once the number was calculated, the butcher hesitated: "Do you think... I calculated this number correctly?"
Gu Tang understood what he meant; he was testing whether they still wanted to buy.
She smiled and said, "You're an expert at accounting; this amount is perfect." With that, she took a piece of silver from her sleeve and handed it to her.
Upon seeing the silver, the butcher breathed a sigh of relief, a smile returning to his face. As he took the silver, he said solicitously, "Let me weigh the silver for you first, and then I'll butcher the sheep for you later."
The butcher shop had a steelyard, and he asked his assistant to turn the steelyard over so he could weigh the meat for the silver. He then picked up a boning knife from the cutting board and went to the side to sharpen it.
The young shop assistant worked quickly and weighed the silver in front of Gu Tang—three and a half taels.
Gu Tang nodded: "That's the number."
Since the amounts matched, the waiter put the silver away.
He took out a thin hemp rope, counted out one hundred and forty copper coins from the money box, strung them together, and then tied the two ends of the rope together before handing it to Gu Tang with both hands.
"Three and a half taels of silver, which is three thousand five hundred copper coins. After deducting the cost of the mutton, which is three thousand three hundred and sixty copper coins, I will give you one hundred and forty copper coins in change."
Gu Tang took it, not bothering to count it carefully, and handed it to his third uncle, asking the old man to count it and see if the number was correct.
She was watching the butcher sharpen his knife intently, intending to instruct him to dismantle the sheep according to her plan.
Before long, the butcher got up with his knife, clearly having finished sharpening it.
Arriving at the cutting board, he patted the lamb leg twice with his greasy hands and asked Gu Tang how to disassemble it.
"Remove the four legs of lamb, keeping them whole. Separate the lamb ribs one by one and chop them in half. Also, chop the lamb spine into pieces."
"Okay! We'll do it your way."
These are all things that butchers do all the time. He holds the sheep down with one hand and holds the knife in the other, and in a few quick movements, he cuts off a leg of the sheep, very neatly and cleanly.
Gu Tang watched with great interest; the swordsmanship was impressive!
Third Uncle had already counted the copper coins, not a single one missing.
He glanced at Gu Tang, his eyelids twitching.
Other girls love clothes, jewelry, or cosmetics, but his girl is always either fighting or arguing with people.
Now he watches the butcher dismantle the mutton with great excitement, as if he's eager to try it himself.
Third Uncle couldn't help but secretly tug at Gu Tang's sleeve and whispered a word of advice: "Stay away, or blood might splatter on you."
Where is the blood?
Gu Tang glanced at the old man with a puzzled look. The blood on the sheep had long since been drained, and sheep blood could be sold for money. The butcher shop wouldn't let sheep blood be wasted in the mutton.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade her, the third uncle didn't say anything more. He just sighed and worried that it would be difficult to find a husband for this girl in the future.
The butcher worked quickly, and in no time, the whole sheep was dismembered.
As Gu Tang instructed, the four complete lamb legs were separated, the lamb ribs were chopped in half, and the lamb spine was chopped into pieces.
Besides these, there was still a sheep's head left untouched on the cutting board.
"Aren't you going to chop up the sheep's head?" Gu Tang didn't understand these things, but when she saw the butcher getting burlap sacks to pack the meat, she subconsciously asked.
This question completely baffled the butcher: "Chopping up a sheep's head? I've never seen anyone chop up a sheep's head."
Gu Tang was also dumbfounded: "How can we cook it if we don't chop it?"
Upon hearing this, the third uncle quickly stepped forward and took over the conversation, explaining to the butcher with a smile, "This girl has never seen a whole sheep's head before. Usually, the ones we eat at home are cooked and cut up before being served to her."
So that's how it is.
The butcher picked up the sheep's head and patiently explained to Gu Tang how to cook it: "You don't need to chop the sheep's head. Just take it home, clean it, and put it directly into a pot with water to boil."
Gu Tang, who almost made a fool of herself, now seriously noted down the butcher's words: "I'll cook the sheep's head the way you said this afternoon. If it's delicious, I'll come back to buy your dwarf sheep in a couple of days."
"It's guaranteed to be delicious! Once you've tasted this mutton, no other mutton will appeal to you!"
The butcher spoke with great conviction, and then called over his young apprentice, instructing him to carry the bag of mutton home for Gu Tang.
The young man was not very old, about fifteen or sixteen, and was probably an apprentice to the butcher.
He looks thin, but he carries about 40 pounds of meat on his back with ease.
Afraid of tiring people out, Gu Tang stopped chatting with the butcher, helped her third uncle, and led the group back to the courtyard via a shortcut.
Even though we took a shortcut, the journey was still quite long.
When they entered the courtyard, the young man was already panting heavily, and even in the dead of winter, a thin layer of sweat had appeared on the roots of his hair.
Gu Tang led the man to the kitchen and had him put the meat there. Then she went back into the house, grabbed a handful of copper coins, and handed them to him.
"It's kind of you to carry the meat all that way; consider this a small fee for your errand."
The young waiter had received errand fees before, and he skillfully reached out to take the coins, bowing repeatedly to Gu Tang in gratitude.
"Thank you for your kindness, Miss!"
"Don't be so polite, go back now." Gu Tang waved to him, urging him to go back quickly.
Being an apprentice was tough; if you came home late, you were sure to get scolded.
The young man responded and left the courtyard with a grateful expression.
Gu Ping'an followed behind him, and after seeing the person off, he closed the courtyard gate and couldn't wait to go find Gu Tang.
Gu Tang followed behind her third uncle, the two of them preparing mutton in the kitchen.
The lamb legs and heads were all tied with ropes, carried out and hung under the eaves, and they would freeze solid in half a day.
The remaining lamb neck, ribs, and spine were all rinsed with water and then put into a large iron pot to stew.
Gu Tang assigned this task to Gu Ping'an, instructing him to do it well and to let him eat first when it was time to eat meat and soup.
Upon hearing this, Gu Ping'an knew that his second sister was trying to fool him again.
He didn't expose him, and just did whatever he was told.
However, there was far too much mutton.
"Isn't it too much to stew this much at once? Should we take out half and freeze it, and stew it again next time?"
“Where is the extra weight? This sheep weighs only about forty pounds in total. After removing the legs and head, it only weighs about ten pounds.”
"The three of us really can't finish it, but you forgot, there's also Dad! Dad should be back this afternoon, and when he gets back, he can eat half of it!"
Gu Tang had already calculated that there wouldn't be any meat left in the end. "Look at my brain! I completely forgot about Dad!" Gu Ping'an slapped his forehead, realizing he had completely forgotten that his father was coming back today.
Mentioning Gu Lianshan, the third uncle calculated the time and felt it would be soon: "If all goes well, he should be back around Shenshi (3-5 PM)."
"It should be going smoothly, but I don't know if my aunt is really in the mountain village. It's been so long, if she is really there, she must have suffered a lot."
Gu Tang sighed, but in his heart he kept thinking about whether, after this ordeal, Madam Wei would change her ways and start anew, or continue her old ways and become even worse.
“I’m not afraid of suffering, what I’m afraid of is…” Third Uncle paused, then swallowed the rest of his words.
What follows is not suitable to say to children; it's better to swallow it back.
Gu Tang isn't a real child, so whatever her third uncle could think of, she naturally thought of as well.
In fact, she was incredibly curious at the moment, hoping her father would return soon so she could get some information about Wei Shi from him.
She was very curious about Wei's situation in Shanyao Village.
What are their circumstances?
If Madam Wei knew what Gu Tang was thinking, she would probably be furious!
Everyone could predict what kind of situation a woman in her thirties would face if she ended up in the home of a man who had no wife.
Just like Gu Lianshan and his group, they had heard a bit about Wei's plight before they arrived, and their hearts sank, and their expressions were not very good.
The Wei family is probably in trouble...
Although they had prepared themselves mentally before coming, when they sneaked to the vicinity of Shanyao Village and saw its dilapidated state, they all shuddered.
It is said that poor and remote areas breed unruly people, and the poorer the village, the more difficult the villagers are to deal with.
Desperate people will do anything to survive.
When they arrived at Shanyao Village, it was already dark. Taking advantage of the darkness, Gu Lianshan wandered around the village alone and found that there were not many people in the village, which did not match the shacks and thatched houses that had been built in the village.
After discussing it, the group concluded that quite a few people from the village must have gone to Beian City.
It's just that the journey is long, so he probably won't come back. He'll just find a place to stay outside the city for the night and come back after the market day ends.
It was too dark at night, and since they were unfamiliar with the roads in the village, Gu Lianshan led everyone to sleep in a haystack outside the village for the night.
The next morning, Gu Lianshan used candy to lure out a little girl and asked her to point out where Wang Er's house was.
The little girl was about seven or eight years old, with disheveled hair and tattered clothes. This was the first time she had ever eaten candy in her life.
She put the candy in her mouth and obediently led Gu Lianshan to Wang Er's house via a shortcut.
Gu Lianshan followed the little girl and slowly left the village.
"Wait a minute!" Gu Lianshan sensed something was wrong and quickly called out to the little girl, "Why are you leaving the village? Doesn't Wang Er's family live in the village?"
The little girl nodded: "Wang Er's family are part-time hunters. To make it easier to go hunting in the mountains, they live on a high slope outside the village."
As she spoke, the little girl pointed northeast, indicating that Gu Lianshan should look in the direction she was pointing.
"See that high slope? Wang Er's house is on that high slope."
Gao Po saw it, but didn't see any houses on it. Gu Lianshan pretended to admire him and said, "Wang Er's family is really bold, living in a detached house outside the village."
"They have no children or parents, just the three brothers living upstairs, so they are naturally bolder than others."
As the little girl spoke, she led the group further in that direction.
No children, no parents, only three brothers?
Gu Lianshan felt a sudden sense of relief. They were far from the village and there were only three of them. He didn't need to worry anymore, because there were more than a dozen people hiding behind him!
The odds are in his favor.
The others, who were hiding not far away, also heard the conversation between the two and their confidence increased. They followed them quietly and soon climbed the high slope one after the other.
Upon reaching the high slope, Gu Lianshan finally saw the houses, which were two low, dilapidated thatched huts.
When Gu Tianbao saw this scene, his eyes instantly turned red. His mother had never lived in such a dilapidated house in her entire life!
Gu Lianshan glanced behind him, signaling them to hide and not come out. Then he gave the little girl a piece of candy and told her to go back first, but not to tell anyone about it, otherwise someone would come and snatch her candy.
The little girl was taken aback by these words. She put the candy in her arms, covered her mouth, and promised not to tell anyone about Gu Lianshan.
After the little girl descended the slope, Gu Lianshan allowed the hidden people to come out and quietly approach the thatched hut. They hid on both sides of the door, ready to drag and subdue anyone who opened it!
Once everyone was ready, Gu Lianshan raised his hand and knocked on the door: "Is anyone home? Wang Er asked me to deliver something!"
Gu Lianshan didn't know if Wang Er was home. If he was, he would definitely open the door and question him for no reason after hearing this.
If he's not home, that's easy. Whether it's Wang Da or Wang San who comes out, they'll all have to kneel down before him!
As the knocking ended, a man's voice came from inside: "Who are you? What did my second brother ask you to bring back?"
Second brother?
So the person inside this room is Wang San?
Gu Lianshan continued his fabrication without showing any emotion: "I was working with your second brother. He got a piece of meat, but he couldn't leave right now, so he asked me to bring it back for him..."
meat!
Wang San, who was inside the room, immediately stood up.
Upon hearing the word "meat," his mouth began to water.
We haven't eaten meat at home for six months.
Wang San glanced at the woman tied to the foot of the bed. Fearing she might push the cloth out of her mouth, he tightened the rope around her mouth and called out to her.
"Wait a moment, I'll open the door right away!"
After tying the ropes, he stuffed the woman into a large chest and then closed the lid.
After making sure that no outsiders could see the woman, he went to open the door.
He was only thinking about the meat, and as he opened the door, he asked, "What kind of meat did my second brother get? How much?"
When the door opened, Wang San saw Gu Lianshan outside and instinctively looked at his hands: "Where's the meat?"
"Meat?" Gu Lianshan suddenly realized, then reached out and grabbed him: "The meat is outside, come out with me and you'll see!"
Wang San was caught completely off guard and was immediately grabbed and pulled out of the house.
Before Wang San could get angry, two groups of people suddenly rushed out from both sides, grabbed him without saying a word, and stuffed a dirty rag into his mouth to prevent him from shouting.
Gu Lianshan gave two special instructions: "Tie her up first, don't hit her yet. If you find my sister-in-law inside, then you can take action."
We need to confirm that Wei Wei is really here. If we attack the wrong person, things will get complicated.
"Sigh!" the crowd responded and dragged Wang San aside.
Gu Tianbao couldn't wait any longer and was about to go inside.