Free Web NovelChapter 287: Chapter 287: Foolishness
"Enough," Gu Baijiang couldn’t let him continue talking; if someone overheard, the situation he had painstakingly stabilized would be ruined.
"No matter what, they are your elders. Show some respect when you meet them on the road in the future."
Initially, he thought he would let the brothers visit them more often when free, but thinking about the second brother’s sharp tongue and the eldest brother’s wooden demeanor, he decided against it.
If only Gu Kaiyuan were still willing to share the family’s burdens, they wouldn’t be in such a passive position now.
Thinking back, Gu Kaiyuan indeed had many merits. How could I have overlooked them?
"So, Dad, how much did you give this time?" Gu Kaichen’s eyes darted around, trying to gather more information.
At the mention of silver, Gu Kaiping’s ears perked up.
"Another two hundred taels of silver. I have no more silver on me now, so use what you have sparingly," Gu Baijiang said helplessly.
"Why?" Gu Kaichen shouted immediately, "This is endless. Whenever they run out of silver, they come to us, treating us like fools."
"Shut up," Gu Baijiang rebuked, "Do you want to get our branch expelled from the clan?"
"So be it, they’re no help at all, merely a burden to us..."
Gu Baijiang slapped him, and Gu Kaichen looked at him in disbelief, "Dad, you hit me..."
"All your learning gone to waste, not recognizing your ancestors and relatives. Do you want your descendants to amount to nothing in the future?"
This son was not promising, but he still had to think about his descendants.
"Second brother, Dad is right. We can’t completely fall out with our clansmen. None of our family’s children are in the clan genealogy. If outsiders knew about this, our descendants would have no hope in officialdom for three generations."
Though feeling pained about the lost two hundred silver notes, Gu Kaiping was more rational. If things were as the second brother said, it would become a guillotine hanging over the Gu Family’s head.
Deep down, there was some resentment. It was truly irresponsible of Dad and Mom. To prevent the clansmen from taking advantage, they severed ties and even omitted the kids from the genealogy, leading to today’s troubles.
He conveniently forgot that when he passed the imperial examination, he chose not to return home to honor his ancestors.
If the court learned about these issues, especially top censors like Zhou Gang, their family would be skinned alive, and his father might lose his official position earlier.
Thinking of this, a cold sweat broke out on his back. He felt a bit relieved that the clansmen hadn’t broadcasted their behavior widely, which would have given others leverage over them.
In hindsight, given that they were implicated, it was only right for them to demand compensation.
For the sake of his future official career, he couldn’t let Gu Kaichen, the inapt teammate, hold him back. His voice carried a stern note, "If you want your son and nephew to stay here forever, go ahead and shout."
Gu Kaichen’s voice dropped, "... I just thought that continuously giving them silver isn’t a solution."
Gu Baijiang, "Alright, now your most important job is to keep that mouth of yours shut. If you dare bring trouble to the family, don’t blame me for kicking you out of the house."
After saying this, he didn’t bother with his two sons and turned to walk toward the village entrance.
"Dad, where are you going?"
Gu Kaiping grabbed his foolish second brother, "Stop worrying about Dad’s affairs and think carefully about what to do next?"
"What can I do? This cursed place, it’s hard even to eat an egg. Big brother, do we still have any meat today?"
Gu Kaiping didn’t want to listen to him, "If you want meat, find a way yourself. But the village chief did say yesterday to clear out the wasteland soon. In a few days, government officials will come to inspect."
"Cultivate wasteland?" Gu Kaichen shook his head in fear, "I can’t do that work. How about we hire someone, like how the third did?"
"Then you pay for it," Gu Kaiping thought it wasn’t a bad idea, "But can you find someone now?"
The strong laborers in the village are busy working with Gu Kaiyuan, apparently earning ten copper coins a day with meals provided, and I heard the food is quite decent, with a meat dish every day.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but smack his lips. Although he bought some meat in the county town earlier, with so many people at home, it was gone in two days.
"Let’s go to the city to find someone," Gu Kaichen couldn’t believe that things couldn’t be done with money.
"Finding people also means providing them with food and shelter. Where will we accommodate them?" Even hiding at home now was uncomfortable, with the drizzle and freezing wind outside, let alone going to the fields.
Bringing people over means providing shelter from the wind and rain, and their cramped little rundown houses can’t accommodate another person.
"That Gu Kaiyuan is really something else, calling all the village workers over there."
"Big brother, should we go talk to him? Maybe he can spare a few to help us."
Gu Kaiping wasn’t naive; he couldn’t compel Gu Kaiyuan, "If you want to go, you go; I won’t bother."
Another pressing matter was that Mrs. Xu kept pressing Dad for a title. I think Dad’s been swaying lately. Do you really want a stepmother like her?
"Of course not," that woman is quite formidable. In the short time she’s been here, our father, who was a bit self-conscious due to his scars, seems to have forgotten about them and no longer hides in the corner.
If she sways him over time or they have another son, the only sufferers would be us two brothers.
"Then find a way to stop it, and know what’s most important. Also, your concubine isn’t exactly well-behaved, I’ve caught her giving your sister-in-law and nephew malicious looks several times."
"That can’t be..."
"Anyway, I’ve warned you. Whether you pay attention or not is your own thing. Whatever happens to Xu Yulan is one thing, but An Wei is your legitimate son..."
The foolish second brother is still tangled up with those two women at home, better to keep them from disrupting either his or Dad’s plans.
Nearing home, Gu Kaiping saw his son leading a cow back and quickly went to take over.
"Big brother, you still haven’t told me what Dad is up to?"
Gu Kaiping turned a deaf ear. What a fool this one is. How did Mom ever think he could study?
Where’s Dad heading now? Isn’t it obvious?
With an empty pocket, he must find silver, or how else can this big family plan to survive just on northwest wind?
☆
Gu Kaiyuan, on this trip to the city to fetch more winter supplies, unexpectedly ran into Gu Baijiang and Ming Peifeng.
It was just a few days since he last saw them, and Ming Peifeng seemed to have lost considerable weight, possibly suffering from the unwelcoming local climate.
The eventful day sprang to his mind, reminding him of the matter. It seemed the County Magistrate did a proper job, allowing Ming Peifeng to experience a few days’ tour in prison.
