novelraw Chapter 280 A Brain Different from Ordinary People
Chapter 280 A Brain Different from Ordinary People
Chapter 280 A Brain Different from Ordinary People
These words left Li Shunzi speechless.
They were all aware of Gu Liansheng's actions, and they had previously looked down on them as well.
But when they were at the Gu family's house, Gu Liansheng did some calculations in front of them. The Gu family's elderly couple had suffered from stroke, which was a rich man's disease that cost a fortune!
If we were to send the Gu family elders to Beian City, hiring a doctor and paying for medicine, it would cost at least ten taels of silver.
For families like theirs who had toiled in the fields for generations, ten taels of silver was an astronomical sum! It was something they wouldn't even dare to dream of!
After learning about these things, they no longer disliked Gu Liansheng's decision to marry a woman to ward off bad luck; they were forced into it by circumstances.
Li Shunzi offered a few words of support for Gu Liansheng: "There's nothing we can do about it. Going to Bei'an City for treatment would cost at least ten taels of silver. Who can afford that?"
They said they'd try a "lucky wedding" first to see how things went; if that didn't work, they'd borrow money from all over, and then they could take the elderly couple to get medical treatment.
That's a lie!
Stroke is a disease that gets more troublesome the longer it is delayed. By the time Gu Liansheng brings his new wife into the family and has the homecoming ceremony, it will take at least four days!
Given the state of Madam Feng and Old Master Gu, could they possibly last four days?
If anything were to happen to him, he could kick his legs and die at any moment.
Gu Tang knew perfectly well what was going on, but she didn't say it aloud.
If the son isn't worried, then she, as an outsider, has even less to worry about.
She forced a smile and said, "There's nothing we can do, and there's nothing we can do either. My relatives are coming to visit today, and my father has to stay home to entertain them. He really can't leave. You'd better find someone else."
"Yes! Some relatives are coming to my house today, and I have to stay home to entertain them. I don't have time to help Gu Liansheng welcome his new bride! Since it's still early, you should quickly find someone else to go!"
Gu Lianshan didn't think too much about it and just continued speaking in accordance with Gu Tang's words.
Li Shunzi didn't believe him: "In this heavy snow, what relatives could possibly come to your house? I think you just don't want to take on this!"
"So you're not blind or stupid after all?" Gu Lianshan asked with a look of surprise. "Since you understand everything, why are you so fixated on me? All the men in the village are home; you could invite any of them. Why do you have to invite me? Don't you know I've fallen out with Gu Liansheng?"
The barrage of questions made Li Shunzi panic for a moment. He had other thoughts in his mind, and now it was as if his secret had been exposed. He felt extremely guilty and his eyes darted away to the side, not daring to meet Gu Lianshan's gaze.
Feeling humiliated in front of so many people, he was both guilty and furious, shouting defiantly but inwardly, "You're making things up, but to put it bluntly, you just don't want to go!"
"That's right! I just don't want to go!" This time, Gu Lianshan didn't make any excuses and directly retorted.
He said, "You came by the other day, and I told you not to come to me about this. I wasn't going! I thought you understood, but I didn't expect you to come again today!"
"Fine, I'll say it again in front of everyone today: I'm not going, do whatever you want!"
Li Shunzi stood up abruptly, his hands clenched into fists, veins bulging on his forehead, clearly also angry.
The men who had come with him quickly stood up and stopped him: "What's going on? Brother Lianshan has fallen out with them, so it's understandable that he doesn't want to go. We can just find someone else. Why are you getting angry all of a sudden?"
After persuading Li Shunzi, the group went to persuade Gu Lianshan: "Shunzi doesn't have any bad intentions. He just wants to take this opportunity to ease the tension between you two brothers."
This wasn't his idea either. The other day, your grandfather personally went to Shunzi, hoping Shunzi could mediate and persuade you to go back and visit more often..."
Gu Lianshan found these words disgusting and wanted to retort to each and every one of them, but someone secretly kicked him, signaling him to shut up.
He glanced sideways and saw that it was his own daughter who had kicked him.
After Gu Tang finished kicking the person, Third Uncle spoke up: "Since they want to ease tensions, I will talk to Lian Shan about this later."
As for asking him to pick up the new bride, let's forget about that. There really is something urgent at home today!
Gu Tang also explained, "Not long ago, I saved a young master in Bei'an City. That young master and my father took a liking to each other, so he recognized my father as his uncle."
It was arranged a few days ago that they would come over for dinner today, and we also need to inform the clan that we'll be hosting a family reunion dinner so everyone can get to know each other.
"Is this happening?"
Everyone exclaimed in surprise, then smiled and offered their congratulations: "Congratulations! This is wonderful news! When are you going to hold the banquet? We'll come and celebrate with you!"
"It'll be ready soon," Gu Tang replied with a smile.
"If anyone comes today, inform the clan this afternoon and ask the clan elders to help choose an auspicious day. They can then come to our house for a feast!"
Except for Li Shunzi, who still had a straight face, everyone else smiled and agreed, then pulled Li Shunzi away.
Third Uncle saw them off at the courtyard gate. Looking at the heavy snow outside, he couldn't help but feel worried.
"The snow is so heavy, and San'an Town is not close to us, so you must be careful on your journey."
"Uncle Jiu, don't worry, we understand. We'd rather go slower than rush on our way."
"That's right."
As they were talking, a horse-drawn carriage came up the village road.
"Oh my! Is that a horse-drawn carriage? That's really rare!"
"That's quite unusual. What brings you to our village? Are you perhaps a relative?"
"Nonsense! In a poor place like ours, if any relative had a horse-drawn carriage, the news would have spread throughout the surrounding villages by now!"
……
The crowd chattered amongst themselves, shivering in the wind and snow while wearing straw hats, but no one urged them to hurry up and get on the oxcart. Everyone was curiously looking eastward, staring intently at the carriage.
The heavy snow obscured the view, and Uncle San couldn't see clearly, so he couldn't quite recognize whether the carriage in the distance belonged to someone.
He asked Gu Tang in a low voice, "Did you see that carriage clearly? Is it Gu Sanlang's?"
Gu Tang glanced at it only once and nodded with certainty: "It's his."
She and Ah Gou have a contract; the closer they are, the stronger their mutual perception becomes.
At this moment, she could clearly sense that the person driving the carriage to the east was Ah Gou.
She muttered to her third uncle in a low voice, "What a coincidence! They were just saying he was coming today, and he actually showed up..."
Third Uncle was very happy: "Good! Let them see that we really have something to do today, and we're not just making up lies to fool them."
As the carriage slowly approached, everyone's expressions brightened. Even Li Shunzi, who usually had a sour face, perked up and followed the carriage's movement with his gaze.
Before long, the carriage stopped in front of the Gu family's house.
Everyone was in a daze, unable to react for a moment. They stared blankly as the driver took off his fur blanket, which was covered in snow, jumped off the carriage nimbly, and walked towards the Gu family with a smile on his face.
Today, Ah Gou was wearing a royal blue brocade deerskin robe with a matching belt around his waist and a jade pendant carved from mutton fat jade with two fish hanging at his side. Combined with his refined and handsome face, in Gu Tang's words, he was a complete refined scoundrel!
"Grandpa, cousin, I'm back."
That shout of "Master!" jolted everyone awake.
"Ninth, Ninth Uncle! And this is..." Ah Gou's attire was truly luxurious; in their eyes, he must be a noble young master from a wealthy and powerful family.
But this very young master actually called Ninth Uncle "Master"!
Does Uncle Jiu have such wealthy relatives?
No! Even wealthy relatives shouldn't be addressed as "Grandpa"!
The more they thought about it, the more confused they became; their minds were practically in a knot.
No matter how they thought about it, no one considered the possibility of recognizing relatives.
Even if they had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to dream that a rich young master would recognize a farmer who toils in the fields as his uncle!
Third Uncle, seemingly oblivious to the change in everyone's expressions, introduced with a smile: "This is the young master I mentioned earlier in the house. My maid saved him, and he has recognized Lianshan as his uncle."
"You all have other things to do today, so I won't go into details. We'll talk about it later when we have a feast at home."
After saying this, Third Uncle ignored everyone's reactions and beckoned Ah Gou into the courtyard.
As for the carriage, he told Gu Tang to go back and call her father out so he could lead the carriage.
Gu Tang had just agreed when Ah Gou waved his hand and said no, "Grandson is a junior, and Uncle is an elder. How can we let the elder lead the carriage? Grandson should do it himself."
As he spoke, he politely asked the crowd to make way for him and led the carriage into the courtyard.
"I have something to do at home. We can chat when we have some free time. You should get up too, the snow is getting heavier and heavier."
Third Uncle waved to them and went into the courtyard with a smile on his face.
Gu Tang lagged behind and slammed the courtyard gate shut.
The stunned crowd quickly came to their senses and immediately erupted into a flurry of discussion.
"Good heavens! Lian Shan's luck has turned around! He's actually recognized a noble young master as his nephew?! He's really daring!"
"Did you all see that young master's clothes? You couldn't afford to wear that kind of attire unless your family had at least ten thousand taels of silver!"
"Look closely! Tsk tsk! That dress is so beautiful! The colors are so bright! And that jade! It's so white! Hey, when people talk about white jade, isn't this what it is?"
"This must be it! Tsk! Lian Shan is really lucky!"
"He wasn't lucky, he just had a wonderful daughter! Uncle Jiu said it was Lian Shan's daughter who saved this young master's life! Lian Shan owes everything to his daughter!"
Mentioning Gu Tang, everyone's eyes lit up, and they all nodded in agreement. Indeed, Gu Lianshan's good fortune was entirely due to his daughter!
A few quick-witted people rolled their eyes and said, "Since the person was saved by the girl from Lianshan, she will probably receive a large dowry when she gets married!"
Even a tiny bit of food leaking between someone's fingers is enough to feed an entire family for a lifetime!
These words reminded everyone, and those with sons at home asked anxiously, "Does anyone know how old Lian Shan's daughter is this year?"
"Was she fourteen or fifteen by the traditional Chinese age reckoning? I can't remember his younger daughter, but I do remember his older daughter clearly. She'll be fifteen years old after the twelfth lunar month, so by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, she'll be sixteen!"
"His eldest daughter won't do..."
"Alright!" Li Shunzi suddenly interrupted everyone.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then fell silent instantly.
Li Shunzi glanced at them and scolded them impatiently: "Don't you know what kind of person Gu Lianshan is? If there's really something good, would he let you get a share?"
And his little daughter, she's a heartless, cold-blooded, and unfilial wretch! She instigated her father to divorce her mother! Is that something a human being could do?!
"Would you dare let your son marry a girl like that? She'll cause endless trouble for your whole family!"
Faced with Li Shunzi's rebuke, the crowd remained silent, staring at him with strange expressions, as if realizing for the first time that Li Shunzi's mind seemed to be somewhat abnormal.
If any family were to encounter such a good thing, who would let outsiders benefit from it? Everyone would keep it a secret and be wary!
There's also the matter of Gu Lianshan divorcing his wife.
That Zhang woman was not wronged at all!
She stole the silver that Lian Shan's daughter had saved up and used it all to support the daughter and son left behind by her previous husband. It is said that she stole about thirty taels.
In other words, Gu Lianshan was kind-hearted and only divorced the woman without pursuing the matter of the money.
If it were them, they would have tied up Zhang and the Lin siblings, secretly sold them to human traffickers, and told the outside world that the mother and son had been frightened by what happened and had run away with the money!
Without anyone noticing, he not only got rid of his treacherous wife and ungrateful relatives, but also managed to get some money back to replenish his depleted savings.
Finally, there's the girl from Lianshan.
This person is truly remarkable!
Who wouldn't give a thumbs up for mentioning this?
At such a young age, he had saved up dozens of taels of silver by collecting herbs! He outdid all the men in the village who were the heads of their households!
Gu Lianshan would not only love such a daughter, but if they had such a daughter, they would treat her like royalty and worship her every day!
If we could marry him off to our son, it would be a tremendous blessing for three generations!
Only an idiot would complain about this girl's fiery temper.
When choosing a wife, you should choose one with a strong personality. If anything happens in the family, she can stand by you and help you overcome it.
If the man in the family does something wrong, a wife like this can quickly take charge of the household and protect the whole family!
Everyone silently complained to themselves, starting to find Li Shunzi an eyesore.
What an idiot!
This is the last time we'll work together today; it's best to stay away from each other in the future.
Li Shunzi was unaware that everyone had redefined him, labeling him a fool and refusing to associate with him from then on.
With a gloomy face, he led the oxcart eastward on his own.
The people who were left behind looked at each other, but none of them were angry. They followed at a leisurely pace, not wanting to get angry over a fool.
In the Gu family courtyard, Gu Lianshan was helping Agou unload the carriage.
He removed the carriage cover and had Gu Ping'an lead Ah Gou to the cowshed in the backyard so that it could keep the family's cows company.
The carriage also had to be moved to the backyard, as there was no space to put it in the front yard.
But before you get to the backyard, you have to unload the stuff from the car.
The east wing where Ah Gou stayed before is still there; it looks exactly the same as when he left.
Gu Lianshan moved everything from the carriage to the east wing, and then let Agou tidy it up himself.
In the backyard, Ah Gou knew that the horse had a fiery temper, so he tied it to the other end of the cowshed, keeping it away from the docile cows.