Chapter 498: Manpower
Chapter 498: Chapter 498: Manpower
Bai Suihe smiled and shook her head. "We can talk about this later. Our energy is limited, and I’m afraid we can’t adopt any other children."
Gu Kaiyuan found it a little strange. Even if they adopted a child, they wouldn’t have to raise them personally; it would just be in name. However, seeing that both his wife and Gu Xingyang were somewhat resistant, he didn’t press the matter. It was just a suggestion anyway, and of course, having their own child was better. Otherwise, with Gu Xingyang as their only daughter, who would have her back when she married in the future? If he really were to adopt a child, he would certainly make sure they dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to his precious daughter.
Gu Xingyang also nodded along. "Any child not born to Mother won’t be my sibling. Father, you must remember this, or I won’t acknowledge anyone."
"You little rascal, threatening me now, are you?" Gu Kaiyuan tapped her nose. "All right, Father will listen to you. I won’t adopt any children."
He didn’t think much else of it. After all, he had already decided to only have his wife in this lifetime. Since they couldn’t have adopted sons or daughters, they would just have to train more loyal servants. He wondered how things were going on Yun Ni’s end. He would need to find time to make a trip there, carefully select a few people, and place them by his daughter’s side as soon as possible.
Putting thought into action, Gu Kaiyuan informed Bai Suihe the next day that he wanted to go take a look. After all, he was currently quite short-handed.
"It’s only been a short while. Surely they haven’t produced results so quickly?" Bai Suihe didn’t hold much hope. He had targeted orphans back then, which were the hardest to train since they had to be built up from scratch. Besides reading and writing, they also had to learn Martial Arts. It had only been a few months; how much could they have possibly learned?
"I’ll just go over and take a look. After all, they just sent over a stack of indenture contracts. I want to see if any catch my eye. They don’t necessarily have to be masters of both the pen and the sword. I just want to find a few clever ones to accompany our daughter first.
"As she grows up, she’ll need playmates. She can’t stick to us every single day."
Gu Xingyang said, "I don’t want playmates. I just want to stay with Father and Mother." She wasn’t actually a real toddler. The thought of hanging out with those little brats made her feel quite resistant.
"That won’t do. Your mother and I still have many things to keep us busy, and there will inevitably be times when we can’t look after you properly.
"Bringing them into the manor earlier will also allow Nanny Pang to help train them. That way, you’ll have capable hands to use in the future."
Gu Xingyang wanted to say something more, but Bai Suihe reached out and stroked her head, stopping her. "Your father is right. You’ll definitely need people to support you in the future. We have to start picking them out slowly."
Bai Suihe had adapted to the local customs and didn’t think there was anything wrong with being served by others. It was just like the corporate drones in the modern era—everyone was working diligently just to make a living. Besides, their family wasn’t the harsh and demanding sort. As long as the servants did their jobs well, they would never be treated poorly.
"All right, then," Gu Xingyang finally replied obediently. "But I have to pick the people myself."
Gu Kaiyuan and Bai Suihe exchanged a glance and immediately agreed without hesitation. "Of course."
Gu Kaiyuan acted swiftly. By evening, he had returned to the manor with about a dozen people. These were all children between the ages of five and ten. There were both boys and girls, and they had been cleaned up quite nicely. However, standing in the courtyard, they still appeared extremely tense and awkward.
Although Bai Suihe was mentally prepared, seeing such young children still left a sour taste in her mouth. But she hid these feelings deep down, secretly reminding herself that this was an ancient, class-based society.
"These children don’t have much talent for learning Martial Arts," Gu Kaiyuan told his wife and daughter. "However, they are relatively clever. A few of them have some interest in pharmacology, so I brought them back to see if you wanted to train them, my lady."
Although Gu Xingyang had been secretly learning from her, it was hard to tell how much she had actually absorbed. Having a few medically trained servants to attend to her in the future would definitely give them, as parents, some peace of mind.
"Are they all orphans?" A trace of pity flashed in Bai Suihe’s eyes, but she also felt a bit uneasy. This meant that these individuals lacked family ties to bind them, which could make them less trustworthy than children born into servitude.
"Yes," Gu Kaiyuan replied, his tone growing heavy. "They were originally children of coastal fishermen. Those damned dwarf pirates destroyed their homes and robbed them of their rations. They only managed to escape because their parents and elders protected them with all their might.
"I promised them that I would find a way to help them get revenge in the future."
"Are those dwarf pirates already so rampant at this time?" Bai Suihe asked.
"They’ve been quite rampant in recent years; otherwise, His Majesty wouldn’t be thinking about clearing out the Lingnan region.
"After all, if they are allowed to continue expanding, Lingnan will be in grave danger."
"So when you enlisted in your previous life, you were up against these people," Bai Suihe said.
"You could say that. It was also these dwarf pirates who made me who I am and gave me the opportunity to enter the capital," Gu Kaiyuan replied.
Bai Suihe knew that although he said it so lightly, the underlying hardships he had endured were unimaginable.
"Don’t worry, I have experience dealing with them. I know the locations of several of their lairs and have figured out some of their rules. This time, I’ll definitely launch a surprise attack and catch them completely off guard." Gu Kaiyuan clenched his fists as he spoke. "Even if we don’t avenge these children, we still need to wipe out these scumbags for the sake of our own peaceful life in the future."
A sudden thought struck Bai Suihe. "Then do you know where their main rear base is?"
"I only know a general direction, but due to various reasons, we were never able to push our attack that far.
"However, I heard that their territory is quite large. According to the confessions of the dwarf pirates themselves, they also have a king."
Bai Suihe wanted to confirm once more, "Why are they called dwarf pirates?"
"Isn’t it because those people are way too short? They look incredibly wretched. That’s just what the coastal regions call them, so we’re just following the crowd."
Bai Suihe couldn’t quite tell if this was the exact same situation from her history. After all, a certain island nation had been bestowed the title of "Wa" (dwarf) by the Great Magician Liu Xiu precisely because of their height. Yet in this dimension, the name was naturally coined by the coastal commoners. There was a discrepancy here.
Bai Suihe didn’t dwell on this for now. Instead, she focused on getting the children settled first. After saying a few brief words, she had the servants take them away to settle in. Later, she would have Nanny Pang see if any of them were suitable to be taught some medical principles. The rest of the children would be thoroughly trained, and arrangements would be made for them later if they developed any special skills.
Upon returning to her room, Bai Suihe impatiently took out paper and brush. SCRATCH, SCRATCH, SCRATCH. She swiftly drew a map from her memory.
"Come take a look. Do these islands look familiar?" Bai Suihe rejoiced that her geography skills were decent enough and that she had traveled to the surrounding island nations before. She just hoped there wouldn’t be too much of a difference in this dimension.
Gu Kaiyuan stared at the topographical map before him in shock. He tapped his finger on it. "I know these few small islands. Especially this one—I led men up there before."
Bai Suihe pointed to the location of a certain island nation. "What about here?"
Gu Kaiyuan shook his head and traced a line. "Our ships simply can’t withstand such massive winds and waves. Even the most veteran fishermen wouldn’t dare sail any further out than this."