From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 865: Chapter 868: News

Seeing that Gu Benluo understood, Jin Qianqian finally brought up another matter.

"Your father and I discussed this previously. The credit for this matter will be attributed to your second brother."

As a mother, she loved both her sons equally. Jin Qianqian wasn’t just trying to prop up her second son because her eldest was already successful.

"Have you thought through the compromises involved in this?"

Gu Benluo understood his parents’ good intentions and was very clear-headed about it. "Mother, didn’t we already agree on this? I have no objections."

He wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and carve out his own life, step by step.

If this achievement were credited to his name, he might save ten years of hard work, but he would also face many restrictions. He might even hit a dead end in his career right then and there. That was unacceptable to him.

His second brother’s talents were no less than his own. Choosing a different path was also a way of yielding to him.

At court, it was impossible for the Emperor to tolerate three courtiers from the same family. Even if he wanted to climb to a high position in the future, it would have to be when Gu Wenheng retired with honor.

He had spoken to his second brother about this. The one who truly should make a sacrifice was him, the elder brother.

However, Cancan had started to act shamelessly. He even hid his true abilities during the Scholar examination, barely passing at the bottom of the list.

If the credit for the corn was given to his second brother, no one would dare look down on him in the future, even if he pursued a career in commerce.

"The corn should have been delivered by now," Jin Qianqian said. "Go and prepare thoroughly with Cancan. Someone might be coming to take over very soon."

Gu Benluo and the others had actually been ready for a long time. Double-checking was just to be on the safe side.

Just as he was about to head out, he turned back and asked, "Should we inform them of this news?"

"Go ahead and tell them," Jin Qianqian replied. "This is a joyous occasion. There’s no need to hide it."

Even if they didn’t say anything, it probably wouldn’t be long before people came to offer their congratulations. It couldn’t be kept a secret anyway.

The Gu Family members were all shocked when they received the news. They had never even dared to dream of a Prince Mansion rewarded by the Emperor.

Li Cuicui clasped her hands together, constantly muttering about the ancestors’ blessings.

She had originally thought that Gu Dashi’s sudden passing would have a massive negative impact on Old Seventh, but to her surprise, such an opportunity had arisen.

Gu Sanbu muttered about opening the ancestral hall to burn incense and pray to the ancestors.

Jin Qianqian also received waves of congratulations. However, since they were currently observing the mourning period, it wasn’t appropriate to hold a grand celebration. In the end, Gu Benluo simply took Gu Ben Can to the ancestral hall to burn a stick of incense.

The people dispatched by the Emperor arrived faster than they had anticipated. In just a few days, the back mountain of Gaoling Village was completely surrounded.

As the primary person in charge, Gu Ben Can set up base in a wooden cabin on the mountain alongside the newly assigned Agricultural Officer.

According to their years of experience in cultivating crops, it wasn’t quite the optimal time to harvest the corn yet.

Moreover, they had estimated the yield this time and had excitedly reported it to their superiors long ago.

To ensure more crops in the future, their main task this time was to cultivate seeds.

Until the seeds were harvested, the back mountain of Gaoling Village was strictly cordoned off. Even the few boys from the Gu Family who had worked with them before were drafted to help.

County Magistrate Gao of Fu County paced restlessly in the county government office. Not a single shred of news had leaked out from Gaoling Village.

He previously knew that the Gu Family had cleared a plot of land on Hou Di Mountain, and the deed had been registered at the county government. He had reported this matter upwards long ago, but his superiors had completely ignored it.

Thinking it wasn’t a big deal, he hadn’t sent anyone to keep an eye on it.

Now that such a massive commotion had been stirred up, and he was completely in the dark, he had no idea if he would be implicated or held accountable.

"Steward, how is it? Did you manage to get any news?" County Magistrate Gao asked, quickly walking over the moment he saw the steward enter.

The steward shook his head. "The people we sent out couldn’t even enter Gaoling Village. There are guards at the village entrance, and the villagers haven’t stepped out for days.

"I also had someone ask around at Mrs. Gu’s shops, but those people claim to know absolutely nothing."

County Magistrate Gao grew anxious. "Didn’t they know to use some Silver to loosen their tongues?"

If he couldn’t gather any information to report soon, his tenure as the County Magistrate might very well come to an end.

The steward looked helpless. "They offered Silver, but the other party truly knew nothing.

"Ever since Mr. Gu’s family began observing their mourning period, their interactions with the county town have decreased. Aside from the Chief Steward who occasionally goes over to deliver account books, no one else has come into contact with the Gu Family."

"Then go find their Chief Steward! Tell him I have matters to ask him about."

The steward gave him a strange look. Unless it was for something crucial, ordinary people would find it incredibly difficult to meet that Chief Steward.

There was a saying that even a servant at the Prime Minister’s door was equivalent to a seventh-rank official. Although Mr. Gu wasn’t the Prime Minister, he was now the Minister of Revenue and highly favored by the Holy Emperor. How could the Store Manager under him be summoned so easily?

Even in the past, let alone today, that Store Manager had always been as slippery as an eel. Trying to pry any information out of his mouth was simply impossible.

"Sir, we’ve dealt with this Manager Hu a few times before. This person is very slick. I’m afraid we won’t be able to get anything out of him."

"...Who does he interact with the most on a regular basis?" County Magistrate Gao paused to ask.

It was said that officials and merchants always colluded. However, Manager Hu had Mr. Gu backing him, and previously had Mr. He from Dao City supporting him as well. In this territory, everyone treated him with the utmost courtesy.

But precisely because of this courtesy, it seemed no one could truly catch his eye.

"I’ve already sent people to ask around, but the chances are slim. I hope you can think of another way, sir." The steward wasn’t optimistic. Rather than wasting time here, it was better to find an alternative route.

Gao County Magistrate paced back and forth. "Prepare a carriage for me. I will go to Gaoling Village myself."

"Sir, shouldn’t we have someone send a visiting card first?" the steward reminded him.

In the past, if Mr. Gao visited Gaoling Village, it would be giving the village face.

But let’s not forget, Mrs. Gu was there now. With an Imperial Decree Lady residing in the village, showing up unannounced would definitely offend people.

Gao County Magistrate halted in his tracks; he had genuinely forgotten about that.

"Prepare the brush and ink." No matter how anxious he was, he didn’t want to incur another charge for no reason.

While writing rapidly, he didn’t forget to instruct the steward to quickly send more people out to gather information.

Right now, they only knew that the Holy Emperor had dispatched people over, accompanied by heavy guard escorts.

At first, they thought Mr. Gu had incurred the Holy Emperor’s wrath at court, and that these soldiers were here to arrest his family.

Unexpectedly, news of Mr. Gu being rewarded with a Prince Mansion arrived at the exact same time.

And these soldiers set up camp directly in Gaoling Village.

Everyone wanted to pry into what was happening inside, but to their surprise, not a single villager from Gaoling Village had left their homes recently.

What they didn’t know was that the villagers of Gaoling Village had fired up their stoves in every household to cater to these soldiers. Busy doing business with the troops, they hadn’t even thought about heading into the county town for the time being.

Looking at the growing pile of visiting cards, Jin Qianqian had the Chief Steward decline them all.

They were currently observing the mourning period; this reason alone was enough to fend off everything.

However, unable to hold back their curiosity, some people still wanted to dig for information. Soon, married daughters who had moved away started returning to the village.

Gu Lehua of the Gu Family also brought her entire family back.

When Liu Liu saw her daughter return, she immediately guessed her intentions. "Why are you joining in on the commotion too?"

Tang Qingdong looked thoroughly troubled. "Mother-in-law, we’ve truly had too many visitors at our home these past few days. I had no choice but to make this trip. Please forgive me."