Chapter 420: Farewell
Chapter 420: Chapter 420: Farewell
Bai Suihe held Gu Xingyang in her arms. With so many people coming and going today, the baby hadn’t slept well. They were now heading back to their small courtyard nearby, a property they had recently purchased and renovated.
After all, housing such a large extended family in a three-courtyard compound was still a bit cramped. It was noisy all day long, so they had decided to live separately from the crowd.
"My father-in-law spoke to me today," Gu Kaiyuan said. "He wants to get involved in our shipping business and asked me to get your opinion."
"You two can just discuss it. Why would he ask for my opinion?" Bai Suihe replied. "I’m afraid that’s not exactly what my father said, is it?" She knew her own family best. Given Bai Jingwen’s personality, those were likely not his exact words.
Gu Kaiyuan hadn’t expected to be seen through so easily and could only offer an awkward smile. "Your father has shipping routes, and we have the shipbuilding technology. More importantly, he’s very optimistic about it and believes our ships have great potential.
"So, he’s willing to provide more than half of the silver, along with the route maps, to partner with us.
"The resulting profits would be split fifty-fifty. I told him I couldn’t make the final decision on this and had to come back and ask for your opinion."
He recalled his father-in-law’s expression at the time—it had been rather strange, a mix of mild disdain and distinct gratification. The disdain was likely because Gu Kaiyuan was taking orders from a woman in the inner household, while the gratification stemmed from the fact that this woman was his own biological daughter.
"And what do you think?" Bai Suihe asked in return. She wanted to understand how Gu Kaiyuan made his decisions.
"I feel this arrangement isn’t quite right," he admitted. "Our two families alone can’t swallow this entire business; we’ll still have to give up a portion of the shares to outsiders.
"If your father is genuinely interested, we can give him a share, and we can discuss the rest later."
Bai Suihe thought, "He understands perfectly well." She said aloud, "So, you didn’t refuse him outright because you wanted me to play the bad guy."
"Madam," Gu Kaiyuan smiled at her ingratiatingly. "You are so brilliant to have seen right through it.
"After all, he is my father-in-law. It’s truly difficult for me to refuse him outright, so I had to use you as an excuse.
"You know we aren’t short on silver right now. If he weren’t my father-in-law, I would have turned him down on the spot."
"So, you’re suggesting we turn him down?"
Hearing his wife digging another trap for him, Gu Kaiyuan felt a chill in his heart. This was far more troublesome than negotiating business with outsiders.
"No, not at all," Gu Kaiyuan hurriedly clarified. "It’s just that taking half is too much. We’ll still need to find a powerful backer later on. I don’t want us to end up with nothing in our own hands when all is said and done.
"We could always do other businesses, but aren’t we still looking for an escape route? If we don’t have a say in this, things will become very troublesome later on."
"Alright, I know what you mean, and I don’t blame you," Bai Suihe said. "If I were in your shoes, I’d find it hard to choose as well." Since they had agreed to come back and discuss it, they needed to have a proper talk.
"We still can’t partner with the Bai Family on this," Bai Suihe declared. As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw the shocked look in Gu Kaiyuan’s eyes.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Madam, that’s your maiden family." He didn’t know his father-in-law’s true feelings, but his mother-in-law’s deep maternal love for Bai Suihe was something that moved him and even made him envious whenever he saw it.
"I know it’s my maiden family. But did you see how many siblings entered the backyard today?"
Gu Kaiyuan thought back. He truly didn’t have a rough estimate. His mother-in-law seemed to have introduced them to him at the time, but there were seven or eight concubines alone, not to mention all the children they had raised.
"We can cooperate with the Bai Family, but only with the Bai Family that Jiannan represents." Her second younger brother was the next Family Head of the Bai Family. Since it was impossible for him to separate from them, this choice required careful, long-term consideration.
Gu Kaiyuan sat down and thought about it carefully. If he were his father-in-law, facing so many children, he genuinely wouldn’t be able to remain completely impartial.
"Does your father have a favorite child?"
"What do you think?" Bai Suihe asked coldly. "Although my father appears to treat everyone equally on the surface, only he knows the truth. Among my half-brothers and half-sisters, there are those he favors. I don’t want to do all the hard work only to end up laboring for someone else’s gain."
Although this possibility was slim, they still had to be on guard. Her mother only had three children, but her father had so many sons and daughters. It was perfectly understandable for her to make this choice.
"I’m just worried it will be hard to explain to your father." As a son-in-law, Gu Kaiyuan didn’t want to offend either side.
"What’s so hard to explain?" Bai Suihe scoffed. "I’ll go talk to my second brother." Her second brother would be the one calling the shots in the future. It would ultimately remain the Bai Family’s property. Even if Bai Jingwen felt a little uncomfortable about it, he likely wouldn’t say anything.
Sure enough, the next day, Bai Suihe brought the matter up personally in front of the Bai Family. Bai Jingwen pondered for a moment and then immediately agreed.
Speaking of which, the Bai Family was already taking advantage of the situation. Putting himself in her shoes, if he had stumbled upon such a lucrative opportunity back in the day, he wouldn’t have been willing to share it with his half-siblings either.
However, through this incident, Bai Jingwen also recognized the hidden dangers lurking within his own household. Despite their strict family rules, his legitimate children didn’t trust him much and were already taking precautions against him. He admitted that he was a bit biased, but his mind was still clear. He knew what was best for the Bai Family.
None of his sons by concubines were as outstanding as his two legitimate sons. In the future, the entire Bai Family would have to rely on his two legitimate sons to hold it up. And now, it seemed that his legitimate daughter was also beginning to transform. She might even become a powerful pillar of support for her two brothers in the future. How should he choose? He didn’t even need to think about it.
Once they settled down in Quangang, it would be best to divide the family assets early on, just to prevent certain people from harboring inappropriate ambitions.
Seeing no displeasure on Bai Jingwen’s face, Bai Suihe and her two brothers finally breathed a sigh of relief. At the very least, he hadn’t yet reached an age where he was easily manipulated; his mind was still sharp.
Mrs. Bai shook her head in amusement. Her three children were slowly growing up. Even if they hadn’t thought this far ahead, as their mother, she would have cleared the obstacles for them anyway.
For some unknown reason, Bai Jingwen suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He glanced at the weather outside and thought, "This must just be my imagination."
After a brief period of rest and reorganization, they hosted a banquet for the local officials and merchants to inform them of their next destination. The very next day, they departed in a grand, imposing procession.
Mrs. Bai was truly reluctant to see them go. She had only spent a few days with her daughter, and now they were about to be separated again.
"Mother, it’s not that far from here. We’ll have chances to visit you in the future," Bai Suihe said, holding her baby. Seeing Mrs. Bai’s red eyes, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow.
In an era with poorly developed transportation and communication, everything was inconvenient. Even a moderate distance between two places required a very long journey.
"You have to take good care of yourself here. If you need anything, just tell Nanny Pang. She’s very capable. You must respect her as an elder from now on and never neglect her." Mrs. Bai held Nanny Pang’s hand in one hand and her biological daughter’s hand in the other.
Although she and Nanny Pang were master and servant, they shared a bond like sisters. If Nanny Pang hadn’t refused to marry, she might have already been surrounded by children and grandchildren by now. She had originally arranged for Nanny Pang to stay at the manor, hoping to let her study her beloved medicine in peace. She hadn’t expected to burden her once again for the sake of her daughter.