Chapter 533 - 534: Encirclement
Chapter 533: Chapter 534: Encirclement
There was quite a variety of fruit trees planted on the mountain, all carefully selected for the local climate. Worried that her people wouldn’t know how to cultivate them, Bai Suihe had specially purchased a family of fruit farmers. Since these farmers had spent their entire lives working with such trees, they would undoubtedly do a much better job than if her own people fumbled around blindly.
After walking around, Bai Suihe glanced at the distant mountains, unable to resist paying them some attention. She wondered how the bear they had left behind was doing.
Gu Xingyang had absolutely no interest in the bear right now. She just thought the creature was incredibly ugly. Even though she remembered it, she turned her head away in disgust. It was much better to look at the patch of green resting on a fruit tree.
"Mother, look at that green tree viper..." Gu Xingyang pointed ahead, grinning widely. "What is it doing resting on the branch?"
As for the fact that the green tree viper was venomous, Gu Xingyang wasn’t the least bit afraid. With such a minuscule amount of venom, her mother could easily wipe it out.
In the past, Bai Suihe used to be terrified of venomous creatures, especially soft-bodied ones. But ever since she learned pharmacology, she had used them extensively in her practices. Gradually, she had overcome her fear.
Seeing the green tree viper Gu Xingyang was pointing at, her eyes brightened a fraction. "That’s good stuff, just a bit small." It was only as thick as a small chopstick, so it wouldn’t be of much use.
"But Mother, if there’s a small snake, doesn’t that mean there are big snakes around too?" Gu Xingyang really wanted to pet it. She wondered what this so-called cold-blooded animal would feel like to the touch.
"You make a good point. They come up here frequently to tend the mountain, so it’s best if these things aren’t around." Bai Suihe pointed at the green tree viper and asked Zhuang Datou, "When you were clearing the mountain, were there many of these reptiles?"
Zhuang Datou spotted the viper as well. Taking a few quick steps over, he pinched and flicked it, completely disposing of the threat in an instant.
"Mrs. Gu, we actually encounter a lot of these, especially since the weather started getting hot. We find them practically every day.
"However, everyone quite likes these things, so I just hand them over to the villagers to handle."
Although they were venomous, as long as one dared to catch them, they made for a delicious meat dish. Therefore, no one would turn their noses up at them.
"In the future, try to clear these things out completely when you encounter them," Bai Suihe said. "Our people are constantly coming and going, so we don’t want anyone accidentally getting bitten. Even if some aren’t fatal, there’s no need to suffer needlessly."
Zhuang Datou agreed, though he felt that Mrs. Gu was making a mountain out of a molehill. If it weren’t for the fear of scaring Mrs. Gu and the young miss, he would have simply ignored the little thing he had just handled. Such a tiny creature needed to grow a bit more to make a decent dish, after all.
At that moment, Nanny Pang took Gu Xingyang. Feeling around the little girl’s chest, she didn’t find the familiar pouch. She turned to ask Zisu, "What’s going on? Did you not put the sachet I prepared on the young miss?"
"That’s impossible. I double-checked before we came out." Zisu hurriedly stepped forward to inspect carefully. Finding that her clothes were indeed empty, her face paled.
That was a special mixture Nanny Pang had prepared, suitable for a child as young as their miss to wear. Its main purpose was to repel mosquitoes, but it also warded off snakes, insects, rats, and ants.
"It might have been bumped off accidentally along the way." Bai Suihe shot Gu Kaiyuan a glare. Relying on his strong physique, this guy had charged ahead while carrying their daughter, tossing her up into the air who knew how many times along the way. It had likely fallen off then. "We’ll look carefully on our way back; we might still be able to find it."
Although a medicine pouch wasn’t worth much, it represented the nanny’s heartfelt care.
Gu Kaiyuan offered an apologetic smile. "I’ll definitely be more careful next time."
After walking around a bit more, they didn’t linger on the mountain. After all, their presence made the workers feel uneasy.
The group returned to the foot of the mountain but still couldn’t find the sachet. Just as they were preparing to head back, they were unexpectedly surrounded by a crowd of people.
While Bai Suihe was wondering who these people were, Zhuang Datou stepped in front of them and shouted sternly, "What are you doing here? Go back immediately! Don’t offend the nobles."
Lu Cuihua stood at the very front. Seeing Zhuang Datou actually blocking their way, she reached out to shove him aside. "Zhuang Laoer, get out of my way!
"What kind of nobles are they? They’re just merchants.
"I may not have gone to school, but I know the social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. We are of higher status than they are!"
Zhuang Datou had a massive headache. Just who had instilled these ridiculous ideas into this woman’s head? Putting everything else aside, their family relied on these people to eat; they shouldn’t be so disrespectful. Not to mention the idea of looking down on merchants—as long as someone had Silver in their hands, even the highest-ranking officials would have to cater to them.
"Aunt Huang, don’t cause trouble for Huang Pingguo! Everything we have now was given to us by Mr. and Mrs. Gu. Even the very ground you’re standing on belongs to Mr. Gu."
Lu Cuihua pointed at his nose and cursed, "Screw you! You’re so used to being a slave that you can’t even stand up straight anymore. He’s your master! What does that have to do with us?
"And what does our family business have to do with them?
"Why is it that the moment they arrive, they stir up so much trouble for both our families?
"They must give us an explanation today. Just because Chunxiang used to be her maid, it doesn’t mean she can dictate our family’s affairs!
"You are all free now! You don’t have indentured servitude contracts anymore, so why do you still have to listen to their orders?
"A daughter-in-law serving her parents-in-law is a universally accepted principle. What makes Chunxiang so noble? She’s unfilial and disrespectful, and she even found people to turn our family upside down. Our family can’t afford a daughter-in-law like her!
"You, her so-called master, had better hand her over to us right now! She is our family’s daughter-in-law now, not your slave..."
Seeing this shrew up close, Bai Suihe really didn’t know where such a frail and small body got so much explosive energy. When she roared, her loud voice even echoed off the mountain walls.
"Zhuang Datou, they are your family members, so handle this yourselves. I don’t want anyone turning my place upside down. If you can’t deal with them properly, I’ll have no choice but to handle it my way."
Bai Suihe showed absolutely no mercy. These people had come here to cause a scene simply because they thought they could use their numbers to demand more. They hadn’t stopped to think that they never held the initiative.
They were losing out because of a lack of common sense. All those shops were registered under her name as part of her dowry, meaning that, strictly speaking, her family wasn’t classified as merchants. Furthermore, that ridiculous social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants was just fabricated by sour pedants to elevate their own status. But what was the reality? Only those who experienced it knew. She refused to believe they would still be preaching that theory with empty stomachs.
"If you don’t explain yourselves clearly today, none of you are leaving!" The Zhuang and Huang families had clearly colluded beforehand. The moment they arrived, they completely surrounded the group.