From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 725: Chapter 727: A Gift of Gratitude

Gu Wenheng hadn’t expected his nephew to remain so genuine and straightforward after spending so many years in the outside world. Indirectly, this gave him a much better impression of those mountain bandits.

The fact that Letian had maintained his original innocence meant that those people were also able to keep their moral compass intact.

"Since they’ve shown us kindness, we must repay them.

"As for whether or not you continue to associate with them in the future, and how you choose to do so, that will be entirely up to you.

"You’ve just returned, so you aren’t very familiar with many of the new rules in our family. Spend the next few days with your younger cousins to learn more. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can also ask Jiang Milie and the others."

Gu Letian had long sensed the gap between himself and his cousins. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he said, "I’m afraid I’m too slow-witted. I might not be able to learn many of these things well."

"If you don’t understand something, just ask a few more times. You’ve been busy all day today, so go back and get some rest early," Gu Wenheng said, starting to feel a bit worn out himself.

Recognizing the obvious dismissal, Gu Letian immediately understood. He stood up and bowed respectfully. "Then please rest early as well, Seventh Uncle."

This was part of the crash course his cousins had just given him. With so many officials coming and going, he really shouldn’t make a fool of himself.

Watching his oldest nephew bow so properly, Gu Wenheng nodded in approval. "Go on, get some good rest. Everything will be fine now that you’re home."

「Early the next morning.」

Gu Letian saw Ming Xiang waiting by the door.

"Young Master Le Tian, His Excellency ordered me to accompany you today to run your errands. Here is the silver note he asked me to pass on to you."

Gu Letian glanced at the amount on it and couldn’t help but swallow hard. "This... this is far too much."

"I’m only following orders, sir."

Hearing the commotion from next door, Gu Lexi opened his door. "Letian, why are you up so early today?"

"I want to make a trip to the village today, so I woke up a bit earlier," Gu Letian replied.

"You’re going back?" Though Gu Lexi was puzzled, he didn’t pry too much. "It just so happens we have nothing going on today. How about I tag along with you?

"Did you leave something behind? I can call the other brothers together to help you bring it over."

Gu Letian shook his head and recounted what he had discussed with Gu Wenheng the previous day.

"So you’re going to repay their kindness. That’s exactly what we should do.

"Wait here. I’ll go wake the others up. Since they were kind to you, they were kind to all of us."

Before Gu Letian could even open his mouth to refuse, Gu Lexi was already pounding on the doors of the adjacent rooms. In no time, the Gu Family Brothers were gathered together.

Even Gu Benluo was among them, which moved Gu Letian somewhat. "I merely want to thank them for taking me in all these years. There’s no need to trouble all of you."

"Letian, what kind of talk is that? We brothers stick together. There’s no need to draw lines between us now," Gu Le Ping said, walking over and draping an arm over his shoulder. "Let’s head to the front hall for breakfast first. Seventh Uncle and the others might be there soon, and we can let them know our plans."

Normally, they would shadow Gu Wenheng and act as his legmen, but it looked like they would be absent from that duty today.

Having never suffered a day of hardship since birth, Gu Benluo was particularly fascinated by Gu Letian’s experiences over the years. However, all of yesterday had been spent explaining to Letian how the Gu family had risen in status.

Today, no matter what, he was determined to coax some stories out of his oldest cousin about his life in the outside world.

"Let’s go, Letian!" Spotting the hesitation in his eyes, the precocious Gu Benluo eagerly pushed him toward the door. "My stomach is completely flat from hunger! I wonder what’s for breakfast today."

"I’ve noticed you get hungry a lot faster lately," Gu Lexi remarked, patting his own round, chubby belly. "Even Brother Le Xi doesn’t eat as much as you."

Gu Benluo stopped, poked Le Xi’s belly, and said with a grin, "Brother Le Xi, my mother says I’m growing. I need to eat more so I can grow taller than all of you.

"But seriously, Brother Le Xi, you need to control yourself. If you keep growing like this, we’ll probably have to get the doors in the Gu family’s home custom-made. Otherwise, you’ll have to turn sideways just to squeeze into a room!

"Actually, they’d need to be widened. Going in sideways might be even harder for you."

After finishing his teasing, Gu Benluo playfully gestured with his hands. Just as Gu Lexi reached out to pinch his ear, the boy laughed and darted away.

"This is wonderful," Gu Letian said, his face brimming with a bright smile as he watched his cousins bicker playfully. "I’ve laughed more today than I have in an entire year."

Hearing this, the Gu Family Brothers felt a pang of sorrow. Ever since their family’s fortunes had turned around, none of them had suffered through hard times.

It was fortunate that they had accompanied Seventh Uncle on this trip; otherwise, they might really have missed finding their oldest cousin.

The thought that he could have spent his entire life suffering in that mountain village left a bitter taste in all their mouths.

Realizing that his words had evoked his cousins’ sympathy, Gu Letian let out a hearty laugh. "Let’s go eat breakfast first. I want to handle these matters quickly so we can head back sooner. I miss our family."

"Alright, we’ll go with you." The brothers walked out with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders. They couldn’t change what had happened in the past, but they could certainly help him plenty in the future.

「Later that day.」

Gu Letian and Ming Xiang exchanged all fifty taels of Silver for coarse and mixed grains, piling them high onto three ox carts.

The shopkeeper had managed to find these ox carts at the last minute, but they could only transport the goods as far as the small intersection leading into the village. From there, everything would have to be carried in by hand.

This was a massive undertaking. With just the few of them, it would be impossible to finish the job today.

Gu Benluo thought of the burly men he had seen working in the fields yesterday. "How about we take a portion of it in first, and then ask the villagers to come out and help carry the rest? It’s all for them anyway, so putting in a little physical effort shouldn’t be a problem."

These words reminded Gu Letian of something. "Then I’ll go check the tavern up ahead. They usually bring their hunted game into town, though I’m not sure if they’ve come today."

Judging by the time of day, they probably hadn’t arrived yet. He could leave word for them when they did.

As it turned out, their luck was quite good. Before they even reached the tavern to ask, they spotted Yu Laoda leading a group into town with their fresh catches.

Accompanying him were Boss Xie, Wu Xiaoliu, and a few others. Judging by their cheerful expressions, it seemed they had a bountiful harvest today.

Tukeng County only had this one main street, and the spot where Gu Letian and his cousins stood was right along the unavoidable path.

"Mr. Yu!" Gu Letian jogged over to call out to him.

Yu Laoda and his men almost didn’t recognize him. Gu Letian, who had been wearing heavily patched clothes just yesterday, was now dressed in a fine brocade robe, making him look so different that Yu Laoda hardly dared to identify him.

Mu Xi, who had followed Yu Laoda into town today, stared with wide eyes. "Le... Letian, I really didn’t recognize you."

"What a coincidence running into you here," Yu Laoda said. "Are you taking a stroll around the county town?"

Yu Laoda offered a dry chuckle. Although he had brought Gu Letian into town a few times in the past, he had never actually shown him around.

"No, I was actually just looking for you," Gu Letian replied.

They stared at him in silent confusion.

Yesterday, Gu Benluo’s entire focus had been on his oldest cousin, but today, he took the time to carefully observe these legendary mountain bandits standing before him.

They didn’t look much different from ordinary commoners at all.