Chapter 427: Dividing the Boar
Chapter 427: Chapter 427: Dividing the Boar
The group carried the wild boars down the mountain, quickly drawing a crowd of onlookers from the village. The sight of the seven or eight massive wild boars made the villagers’ eyes turn green with envy. At the same time, a sense of worry crept in. With so many wild boars on the mountain, the villagers knew they wouldn’t be able to fend them off if the beasts ever charged down into the settlement.
"Steward Zhuang," Village Chief Zhu Ziqiang called out as he squeezed through the crowd. Spotting Zhuang Datou leading the group, he hurried over to catch up. "Were all these wild boars hunted on the back mountain?"
"Not the back mountain. It was a few mountains away from here," Zhuang Datou replied. He knew exactly what they were worried about. Fortunately, his master had anticipated this and kept the two black bears from being carried down with the rest of the game. Otherwise, the villagers would have been scared out of their wits.
He then addressed the crowd. "Our master said that ever since we settled here, we’ve relied on the patience and support of our neighbors. We’re leaving two wild boars behind for everyone to share as an extra meal, just a small token of our appreciation."
With that, he deliberately pointed out the two plumpest boars from the lot, gesturing for the men carrying them to set them down right there. "We’ll leave the butchering to you all."
The original residents of Tian Village hadn’t expected such a windfall. Whenever the Gu Family went hunting in the past, the villagers had certainly coveted their catch, but they knew it all came down to the family’s own skills. Now, being gifted two massive wild boars meant every household could take home a few pounds of meat. The excitement completely wiped away their previous fears about whether more wild boars were lurking on the mountain.
Instead of crowding around Zhuang Datou’s group, the villagers shifted their attention entirely to the two huge boars lying on the ground. Ignoring the pungent, musky stench filling the air, some even licked their lips in anticipation. It was wonderful—they were finally going to eat meat again. With two boars this large, careful rationing meant the meat could last them quite a while.
Zhu Ziqiang hadn’t expected Gu Kaiyuan to be so generous. He wanted to ask more questions, but Zhuang Datou was already leading his men away with the remaining boars. Zhuang Datou needed to hurry back to the estate and then lead a team down another path to rendezvous with his master’s group. He didn’t think the news of the two hunted black bears could be kept a secret for long. After all, the men who helped carry the wild boars down the mountain were original villagers, making it impossible to hide. However, as long as the rest of the villagers didn’t see the bears with their own eyes, they wouldn’t get too jealous. At most, they would just gossip behind their backs.
The entire Gu Family estate bustled with activity. With these wild boars, Zhuang Datou wouldn’t need to go into town for provisions for a long time. Once the pork was smoked and cured, adding a little to every meal would be more than enough to keep the workers energized for heavy labor.
The local villagers usually only had a taste of meat during the New Year and major festivals; they could never bear to splurge on so much meat on regular days. Today felt just like the New Year, and the village was filled with laughter and cheerful chatter.
Zhu Ziqiang was fairly tactful in his dealings. He included the Gu Family and distributed a share of the meat to them as well. Although some villagers had their complaints, they didn’t dare say much, knowing that those people shared the same Gu surname anyway. Only the Gu Family remained exceptionally quiet that day. After receiving their share of meat, they quietly cooked it at home, even keeping their children strictly indoors.
Whether they felt regret in their hearts or harbored other thoughts was of no concern to Gu Kaiyuan. He simply didn’t want to know.
After staying in the village for a few days, Bai Suihe thoroughly investigated the medicinal herbs on the nearby mountains before returning to Zhang County.
The business at the shop she opened had now stabilized. She had taught her subordinates a new bookkeeping method that made the accounts clear at a single glance. Checking the ledgers after such a long absence brought her no stress whatsoever. Seeing how effective her bookkeeping method was, Gu Kaiyuan had also adopted it, which significantly lightened his own workload.
Life passed by peacefully. Two months later, Gu Kaiyuan finally found the master craftsmen he had been looking for. After hiring them at high salaries and promising numerous benefits, the shipyard was finally ready to begin construction.
Meanwhile, news arrived from the capital. The departure of the Bai Family had ultimately triggered a wave of turmoil in the city.
At first, people genuinely believed that the Bai Family had made a massive business blunder and had no choice but to withdraw from the capital, the center of power. However, a few sharp-minded merchants soon caught a whiff of something ominous. They wanted to follow suit and escape, but it was already too late. Rumor had it that several wealthy households had already been targeted, leaving them hiding in their homes, cursing their bad luck every day.
When the Bai Family was liquidating their assets, these people had all thought they were scoring incredible bargains. Little did they know that they had unwittingly become stepping stones, helping the Bai Family escape that perilous quagmire.
The one cursing the loudest was Gu Baijiang. "That damn Bai Jingwen, how dare he?"
He thought bitterly that if that old man hadn’t fled, he wouldn’t have lost so much face in front of the Third Prince. The Third Prince had originally wanted him to win over the Bai Family, even promising to bestow the title of Imperial Merchant upon them in the future. When the time came, as long as he properly mediated the situation, that brat Gu Kaiyuan would have obediently returned. Bai Suihe would have had to bring another massive dowry just to be allowed back into the Gu Family.
Now, everything was ruined. The Bai Family had run away, and it was even more impossible for Gu Kaiyuan to return.
His household was already struggling to make ends meet. Without a new source of income, their lives were going to become incredibly difficult. Although the Third Prince wouldn’t let them starve, he had stopped sending silver notes. Now, every tael of silver they spent thinned their family savings by another fraction.
What angered him even more was the Xu family. Upon learning of their return to the capital, they had come knocking to cause another massive scene. Those who didn’t know the truth might have thought they had a deep sibling bond with Xu Huizhen. In reality, all their posturing was just an attempt to extort a sum of silver from him. He couldn’t even scrounge up a hundred taels of silver from his pockets right now. How could he possibly satisfy their exorbitant demands?
At the thought of this, he smashed another teacup against the floor. The steward waiting nearby turned even paler. There wasn’t a single complete tea set left in the storehouse; if the master kept smashing things, he certainly wouldn’t be able to find any replacements.
"These bastards," Gu Baijiang spat out. He felt that things shouldn’t have turned out this way. This was completely different from what he had envisioned. Nothing was going smoothly.
"Master, Gu Shufei has sent someone over again," the gatekeeper reported as he hurried in. Catching sight of the shattered porcelain on the floor, he didn’t dare step further into the room and stood at the doorway to deliver the message.
"Why did she send someone again?" Gu Baijiang asked impatiently. "Go tell the first young madam to manage her own daughter."
The gatekeeper knew better than to ask for trouble at a time like this. He immediately turned and ran toward the backyard. After all, these were the master’s orders, and perhaps Gu Shufei was just looking for her biological mother anyway. As for receiving a tip for passing on the message, every servant in the Gu Family knew better. This entire household was incredibly penny-pinching; not a single one of them was generous. Avoiding a scolding was already a blessing—expecting a reward was pure fantasy.
When Liu Yun heard that her daughter had sent someone to look for her again, she worried so much that she felt like she was going bald. She wondered why her daughter didn’t go look for her biological grandfather and father, who were both right here in the estate, instead of constantly latching onto her. She thought about how no one had ever heard of a married daughter returning to her maiden home every single day to beg for silver. She had already given all her private savings of silver to her daughter. Now, she couldn’t even scrounge up half a copper coin.
Before she could come up with a solution, her daughter’s maid arrived. "Your servant greets you, Madam."
"Cai Hua, what did your young lady say this time?" Liu Yun asked, still holding onto a tiny sliver of hope that perhaps the maid had come for some other reason.
"To answer you, Madam," Cai Hua replied, "the concubine asked me to come back and fetch some silver..."