Chapter 497: Foster Father
Chapter 497: Chapter 497: Foster Father
The people Bai Jingwen sent over right now were a true godsend. With any luck, their ships would be ready to set sail by next year.
Bai Suihe had been compiling various checklists. Since they were going to sea, they needed to gather the necessary supplies. It would be best to set sail immediately upon launching, before anyone could even react.
Over the past half month, they had liquidated most of their assets, and the prying eyes of others had finally stopped tracking their every move. However, their arrival had made one thing clear to anyone with half a brain: holding onto physical assets was the real trump card right now. Because of this, the local factions were scrambling and scheming, though they didn’t dare pull any dirty tricks in this area. After all, Xu Zitian was not someone to be trifled with, not to mention that Chen Dafu hadn’t even returned to the capital to report on his duties yet.
As for Chen Qingmu and his group, Gu Kaiyuan hadn’t treated them poorly. He had handed over all the remaining farming estates and storefronts for them to manage. Truth be told, those young men were maturing remarkably fast. It hadn’t been long, but they already required no supervision, and some of the estates had even started turning a profit.
Bai Suihe flipped through the recently delivered account books. "I have to admit, Chen Qingmu and his boys are highly resourceful. If there were mountains on the estate, they organized hunting parties. If there was water, they fished. They’ve actually managed to cover the estate’s operating expenses on their own."
On top of that, they had even sent a portion of the profits over. If they kept up this kind of drive, Bai Suihe would truly be reluctant to let them go.
"Mr. Chen kept them under too tight a leash before," she continued. "In truth, as long as people are hardworking, their minds will naturally stay sharp. I just wonder if Mr. Chen will take them with him before he heads back. I’ll write a letter tomorrow to ask for their opinions first."
Having finally cultivated such capable hands, Gu Kaiyuan was naturally a bit reluctant to lose their talent. If they were willing to stay, he was happy to give them room to grow. Just as his wife had said, it was all about putting the right people in the right jobs.
Bai Suihe had no objections regarding these men. Instead, she tapped on a few specific shops listed in the ledger. "What do you think about opening a dried goods store here?"
"That could work," Gu Kaiyuan said, checking the locations of the shops. "My only concern is that the premium dried goods market might already be monopolized. We might not be able to source high-quality stock."
"That doesn’t matter. It’s business; we can take it slow. We’ll build our reputation first. Later, once our ships can launch, we can sell our own products."
Gu Kaiyuan thought it was a viable plan and was already turning over operational strategies in his mind.
Seeing the two of them start discussing business again and completely forgetting about her, Gu Xingyang babbled loudly a few times, unwilling to be left out. Gu Kaiyuan glanced back at her, assuming she was just practicing her vocal cords, and turned his attention back to Bai Suihe’s sketching and writing.
Bai Suihe was momentarily engrossed and didn’t notice either. Seeing that her previous tactic had failed, Gu Xingyang simply spoke directly into their minds. "Daddy, Mommy, why are you ignoring me?"
"Your mommy is busy figuring out how to earn silver to raise you," Gu Kaiyuan said, walking over to pick her up. Nanny Pang had mentioned before that while the baby was growing, they shouldn’t hold her all the time. Letting her lie down more would be better for her development. However, Gu Xingyang was not that obedient. When she was asleep, everything was fine, but the moment she woke up, she wanted her parents’ undivided attention. She didn’t cry or make a fuss, but she was quite clingy.
Despite what Gu Kaiyuan said, his hands swiftly scooped the baby into his arms. From the time she was born until now, and through their telepathic conversations, he could guess that this child lacked a sense of security. Whenever he thought about how she had followed Bai Suihe as a spirit for so many years, he realized that no matter how intelligent or extraordinary she was, she still needed emotional support. It was all his fault for not protecting the mother and daughter properly, causing them to suffer so much. How could he bear to be strict with her now?
"Are you thirsty? Daddy will get you some water." Holding the baby in one arm, Gu Kaiyuan skillfully grabbed her special little bowl with his free hand and poured her a cup of warm water. Since she had just been calling out, she had to be thirsty.
Basking in her father’s care, Gu Xingyang suckled on the spoon and drank a few mouthfuls of water before pushing it away with her little hands. Gu Kaiyuan immediately knew she had had enough. He wiped her mouth with a cloth and carried her over to sit beside Bai Suihe.
"Mommy, do we not have enough money? I can figure out a way to earn some," Gu Xingyang said. Seeing Bai Suihe scribbling and calculating on the scratch paper made her heart ache a little. Her mother’s salary from her job in her past life had been quite high. Moreover, in that modern, convenient era, she truly hadn’t needed to work this hard over a few numbers. Now that her mother was working so tirelessly for their future, Gu Xingyang desperately wanted to help.
"Our family has plenty of money," Bai Suihe said, pausing her pen. It wasn’t that she didn’t know how to use an abacus; she simply wasn’t used to it. "The household accounts just need to be sorted out. Otherwise, they’ll pile up, and I won’t even be able to make sense of them later," she added, looking at Gu Xingyang with a serious expression. "Right now, your only job is to grow up healthy and strong. Don’t worry about anything else, and stop trying to take every burden onto your own shoulders. If you end up stunting your growth from stressing too much, don’t come crying to me about it."
How could a baby this small earn money? It would be nothing more than treasure hunting like before. Bai Suihe was genuinely terrified that using such a heaven-defying ability might ultimately harm the child. Even though Gu Xingyang had repeatedly promised that there would be no side effects, she was still scared.
The silver they had now was more than enough. If they ever ran short, they had their own two hands to earn more. Everyone deserved to fully enjoy every stage of their life.
Gu Xingyang was speechless. "Mommy, no personal attacks! I’ll definitely grow up to be very tall."
Gu Kaiyuan chuckled, amused by her indignation. "What your mother means is that you shouldn’t try to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Your mother and I will handle everything. Raising you is our responsibility. Later, when we’re old, we’ll naturally rely on you."
Gu Xingyang was elated to hear this. "I’ll definitely take care of you both! But... Daddy, Mommy, shouldn’t you give me some younger brothers and sisters? I want to be the eldest sibling."
At those words, Bai Suihe looked a bit uncomfortable. Although her relationship with her husband was currently doing well, she truly hadn’t thought about having another child.
Gu Kaiyuan glanced at Bai Suihe, then gently tapped Gu Xingyang’s forehead. "You’re already our little boss. As for younger siblings, we’ll let nature take its course. If you really want some, I can go adopt eight or ten of them right now. How does that sound?"
Before Bai Suihe could say a word, Gu Xingyang shrieked, "I don’t want that! Daddy, do you really want to be an adoptive father that badly?"
Hearing this, Bai Suihe fought back a smile. At that moment, Gu Xingyang was probably thinking of Lu Bu, the infamous historical slayer of adoptive fathers.
Gu Kaiyuan looked at their expressions, completely oblivious to the inside joke. "Is that a bad thing? That way, you’ll have brothers and sisters to keep you company. Don’t worry, no matter what, they could never usurp your position as the eldest."
When faced with a dwindling lineage, many prominent families would adopt foster sons and daughters. This ensured their loyalty to the family and to the biological children of their benefactors. Although there were occasionally some unfilial or disloyal ones among them, the vast majority turned out well.
If he and Suihe were only going to have this one daughter, they needed to make plans in advance.