Chapter 573: Timing
Chapter 573 -574: Timing
No matter what, people always possessed strong adaptability. The Gu Family, who had been complaining incessantly, finally managed to settle down after two days.
Gu Baijiang still held some silver in his hands. Feeling uneasy, he wanted to quickly convert it into assets.
However, after running around for a few days, he found that the farms and shops here had listed prices but no actual market—and the prices fluctuated daily.
“Could we ask Mr. He to think of a way?” Gu Kaiping asked, stroking his chin.
“Don’t bring humiliation upon yourself,” Gu Baijiang said. “Rong Ruiyuan definitely gave orders. Don’t count on it anymore.”
“That’s just too despicable.” Gu Kaiping didn’t dare name names. “Father, you helped him so much, yet our family ended up in this state. Does he not have even a shred of guilt?”
“Talking about this with the royal family? You’d better just wash up and go to sleep.” It was only recently that Gu Baijiang had come to this realization. He now somewhat understood why those prominent aristocratic families always tried to suppress the royal family. Indeed, once someone sat on that throne, they would eventually become cold-hearted, caring only about consolidating their imperial power while completely disregarding the lives of others.
“Tomorrow, we’ll go a bit further to ask around. You should also keep an eye out at the government office. See if there’s any suitable land for sale. Even if the price is a bit high, we’ll accept it.”
What shouldn’t be saved couldn’t be saved. Over the past two days, both of his sons had been dropping hints, wanting the silver in his hands. This made him both angry and frustrated. Weren’t they clear on the current state of their family?
At the end of the day, they were just afraid of their own interests being damaged. Didn’t they consider whether they could even protect this wealth?
“Speaking of which, I actually checked the files. Gu Kaiyuan still has two estates and a few shops over here. Father, do you want to take them over?” Gu Kaiping had wanted to do this for a long time. After all, he was a clerk at the government office, and all these matters had to pass through him. When the time came, he just needed to pull some strings and give Mr. He some benefits, and Gu Kaiyuan’s properties would easily fall into their hands.
Since ancient times, commoners couldn’t fight against officials. He Guangtian’s main purpose for coming here this time was also to purchase land. As long as this matter succeeded, He Guangtian would benefit from associating with them.
“This is a bit difficult to manage.” Gu Baijiang was tempted but also hesitant. The Bai Family behind Bai Suihe was not to be trifled with, and they were now in Lingnan.
In the past, when they were in the capital, he still had to give them some face. But now that the Gu Family was at a dead end, they had absolutely no chance of winning against them.
“It’s not that your son didn’t want to just handle it directly for you,” Gu Kaiping misunderstood and quickly explained in an anxious tone. “That brat Gu Kaiyuan registered all of them with official red deeds. Originally, there were more than just these few places, but he sold them off one after another recently. The buyers all came to transfer the ownership using the red deeds. There’s simply no way to tamper with them.”
If they confiscated the land for themselves and Gu Kaiyuan turned around and transferred those red deeds to someone else, then their Gu Family would be finished.
“That unfilial son,” Gu Baijiang finally remembered to ask. “How is he doing now? Do you know?”
“Father, you’re asking the obvious. Of course, he’s doing very well.
“The Bai Family also moved to Lingnan, though they moved to the neighboring Min Prefecture. Even so, this left them with a vast amount of wealth.
“I heard people say that just for the daughter Bai Suihe recently gave birth to, the gifts piled up to fill an entire storeroom.
“When I arrived, I even went out of my way to look for him. That little bastard Gu Kaiyuan is completely stubborn and unyielding, terrified that we might latch onto him.”
“Forget it, don’t scheme against his side.” Gu Baijiang was now very regretful. If he had known Lingnan would have such development opportunities, he wouldn’t have moved the whole family back to the capital no matter what. “Everyone needs to find a way to pool our silver together. Right now, regardless of the size or condition of the houses, we must find a way to buy them.”
Gu Baijiang was now desperate to spend all the silver in his hands. Only properties could give him a sense of security.
“Father, you’ve been running around for two days too. Where is there any place left to buy? Unless we go further away. But we’re completely unfamiliar with the people and the land in those places. Given our family’s current condition, whether we can keep them is another story,” Gu Kaiping advised. In reality, he wanted to split up the family. If he took the silver, he could give Mr. He a generous gift, and perhaps he could exchange it for a more lucrative position.
“Yes, Big Brother is right.” Gu Kaichen actually wanted to go out and have some fun these past two days, but Gu Baijiang dragged him wherever he went. It was uncomfortable trying to do anything under his father’s watchful eyes.
“There is no room for discussion on this matter.” Gu Baijiang saw through their thoughts at a glance. “Further away is fine. I still know some people in the imperial court, and I have their recommendation letters with me.”
As soon as he said this, Gu Kaiping and the others couldn’t find any reason to refute him.
“Then let’s go a bit further. I remember those few coastal areas. People are afraid of the wind and waves, so interest isn’t very high,” Gu Kaiping finally said, seeing that there was no way to change Gu Baijiang’s mind.
Gu Baijiang gave him a deep look, signaling that they would all go out and take a look tomorrow.
However, that very evening, before they could even head out, Gu Kaiping ran into a passing merchant. The merchant claimed to have two courtyards on hand; because he was getting older and wanted to return to his hometown, he was selling them at a discount.
They had searched bitterly for two days to no avail. With such an opportunity delivered right to their doorstep, Gu Kaiping didn’t even think twice before bringing the man to Gu Baijiang.
Upon asking about the location, they found that they were adjoining courtyards. Once they knocked down the walls to connect them, it would be spacious enough for the whole family to live in.
This was truly like someone bringing a pillow just when they felt sleepy. Gu Baijiang immediately made the decision to go and take a look the next day. If it was suitable, they would transfer the deeds right away.
It was just that the place was a bit far from Shao County. A carriage ride would take two days, but this was actually more to his liking. Gu Baijiang just wanted to find a place to give the Gu Family time to recover and grow.
Before leaving, he specifically warned Gu Kaiping, “You absolutely must not leak the news of our arrival in Lingnan. Otherwise, when the rest of the clan comes looking for us, our meager belongings won’t be enough for them to divide up.”
The Gu Family all knew the severity of the matter. Instantly, they looked forward to those two distant small courtyards even more. That’s right, they needed to move far away—preferably to a place where no one could find them.
That same day, Bai Suihe happened to be in the county town for shopping. Seeing a few familiar figures from afar, her brows furrowed tightly. How could it be such a coincidence?
The ships were going to have their trial run tomorrow. Seeing these people really brought a bit of bad luck.
She knew that since these people had come to Lingnan, running into them was only a matter of time. But she hadn’t expected it to be so soon, nor such a coincidence.
Gu Kaiyuan naturally noticed as well. He sent his men to inquire, and the news quickly came back.
As soon as he heard that they were going to buy the small courtyard where they had previously found treasure, Gu Kaiyuan was left speechless, looking up at the sky. He had planned to let Gu Kaiping off before, but he didn’t expect the Gu Family to pop up again.
“Should we…” Bai Suihe started.
“There’s no need to remind them. This is fate. Besides, that courtyard is so dilapidated, they might not even take a fancy to it,” Gu Kaiyuan said, comforting Bai Suihe as well as himself.
However, he hadn’t expected the slap in the face to come so quickly. Before they even left the county town, news had already arrived that the two parties had closed the deal.
Bai Suihe silently looked at Gu Kaiyuan, her wordless expression conveying, “See? Now it’s going to be hard to clean up this mess.”