Chapter 1487: New Year’s Celebration (Part 4)
Chapter 1487: Chapter 1487: New Year’s Celebration (Part 4)
Now, before she goes to bed every night, she takes off her acne patch and puts it back on before setting off in the carriage the next day. It’s a bit troublesome, but she doesn’t want to look ugly to him.
Qin San Lang laughed and said to her through the carriage curtain, "Don’t worry, even if you’re lazy, I still like you. Besides, Xiao Yu is smart; you just need to use your brain, I’ll do the manual work."
Gu Jinli was flattered and joyfully applied the acne patch. By the time she was done, Qin San Lang had brought hot water, so she could brush her teeth and wash her face as soon as she lifted the curtain.
After more than half an hour of bustling around, they finally set off.
With soldiers and family members combined, the grand procession of several thousand people was cheerfully on the move, chatting about spending the New Year at the Gu Family’s manor as they traveled.
"Hey, do you guys think the Gu Family really has a manor in Old Gu Town? How far is Old Gu Town from He’an Prefecture? Over a thousand li. Even if the Gu Family is rich, they wouldn’t buy a manor in this remote and poor area. Maybe they’re just tricking us?"
Many women didn’t believe the Gu Family had a manor here and thought Gu Jinli must have gone crazy with ugliness and was lying to deceive them.
Han Sansong’s mother couldn’t sit still anymore. Using the fact that Mrs. Kuang had taken half a pig’s head from her as an excuse, she pushed Mrs. Kuang and said, "Madam, why don’t you ask Mrs. Qin if their family really has a manor in Old Gu Town? If not, let’s say it quickly, or we’ll fall out with her if we don’t see a manor today."
"Bah, Sansong’s mother, who are you to dare fall out with San Lang’s wife? San Lang’s wife may be ugly, but she’s still the Company Commanders’ Wife. Show some respect, or I’ll tear you apart!" Mrs. Kuang retorted unkindly.
Han Sansong’s mother hurriedly apologized, "I’m sorry, Madam, don’t be angry."
She continued, "I’m just worried that we’ll get excited for nothing. During this New Year, having a manor to stay at is better than eating cold wind in the wilderness."
"Hmph, you don’t need to worry about that. Keep your mouths shut and don’t cause trouble!" Mrs. Kuang scolded, but in her heart, she was also eager to know if the Gu Family indeed had a manor in Old Gu Town.
If not, they would’ve been happy for nothing and would also have to provide a large batch of New Year supplies for the soldiers and their families. But if the Gu Family had a manor, that would be a different story.
Just think, if they all arrived at the Gu Family’s manor during New Year, wouldn’t San Lang’s wife have to slaughter all the chickens, pigs, fish, and sheep for them to eat?
"Qiaozi, hurry and drive the carriage in front to Qin family’s carriage. I want to find Mrs. Qin!" Mrs. Kuang couldn’t sit still anymore and quickly had Qiaozi drive the carriage to catch up with Gu Jinli’s carriage, stopping it forcefully, and then jumped onto the Gu family’s carriage.
Ji Zhenniang was furious, pointing at Mrs. Kuang and scolding, "Are you crazy? Forcing a carriage to stop like that, what if both carriages collide and overturn?!"
With a snap, Mrs. Kuang slapped Ji Zhenniang’s hand pointing at her, "Wait a minute, your Aunt Niu has something to discuss with San Lang’s wife."
Using the phrase "your Aunt Niu" effectively invoked seniority, leaving Ji Zhenniang helpless to cause any more fuss without appearing disrespectful to an elder.
Ji Zhenniang was so angry her face turned green.
"Aunt Niu, what do you want with me?" Gu Jinli, having bought a lot of red paper in Hundred Wolves County, was currently using scissors to cut festive paper decorations.
Mrs. Kuang asked, "San Lang’s wife, do you really have a manor in Old Gu Town? You’re not tricking us, are you? We’re all counting on spending New Year at your family’s manor!"
They’ve even planned how to eat all the chickens, pigs, fish, and sheep at your manor, so don’t let our excitement be for nothing.
Gu Jinli glanced at her, grinning, "Don’t worry, Aunt, there is indeed a manor. Just prepare the meat, vegetables, wine, and grains for the New Year, and once we’re at the manor, we’ll start making the New Year’s Eve dinner and have a good year together."
Mrs. Kuang’s face stiffened, "Isn’t a big family’s manor always full of chickens and pigs? Your family has always been wealthy; how could the manor be short of meat and grains?"
Gu Jinli replied, "Short, of course short, we’re several thousand people. Even if my family’s manor stored vegetables, it wouldn’t be enough for so many to eat and drink."
So don’t expect free meals, everyone has to bring out their provisions!
Mrs. Kuang was frustrated. If she’d known earlier that she’d have to bring her own meat, vegetables, and grains just from asking, she wouldn’t have come.
But having a manor to rest at during the New Year was still a joy, so Mrs. Kuang, forced a laugh and said, "With so many people, it’s crowded in the carriage, so Aunt will get going."
After getting off the carriage, she added, "I’ll try my best to prepare the meat, vegetables, and grains, and if there’s not enough, you can’t be mad at me, okay?"
With that, she slipped away, afraid that Gu Jinli would chase after her for meat and vegetables.
Ji Zhenniang said angrily, "Hmph, they just want to take advantage. Gu Xiaoyu, be smart and don’t be so foolish to always get tricked by them!"
Gu Jinli: "..."
Who’s really the foolish one?!
During the New Year, Gu Jinli couldn’t be bothered to argue with her, so she didn’t reply. Instead, she happily continued cutting festive decorations.
Because they could spend the New Year at the Gu Family’s manor, everyone was excited. They skipped eating dry rations at noon and ran for another two hours on an empty stomach. By the time it was early afternoon, they finally arrived at the Gu Family’s manor in Old Gu Town.
The manor’s location was excellent. From the official road, they turned right, ran for another long hour, circled a mountain, passed through a forest, and arrived. The place was both convenient and hidden. Even if a large army passed along the official road, they wouldn’t camp near there but would go another half hour toward Old Gu Town.
The manor was vast, surrounded by a large field of sorghum. Sorghum is a coarse grain; if an army or robbers saw it planted, they’d think the manor was not wealthy and wouldn’t plunder it, choosing instead to go after manors that grew wheat.
Among the sorghum were some toxic herbs emitting a faint fragrance that caused dizziness and nausea when inhaled, serving as the first line of ’weapons’ against intruders.
Beyond the sorghum, there was a frozen river, three zhang wide, which, when thawed, was the manor’s second line of defense.
Crossing the river led to the manor’s central area, with plenty of arid land for planting soybeans and sweet potatoes. Beyond the fields of soybeans and sweet potatoes was a field of medicinal herbs, growing many types of herbs.
These herbs weren’t particularly valuable; the truly valuable ones were planted within the manor, beside the houses, and in front of and behind the buildings.
"Wow, is this the Gu Family’s manor? It’s huge! Company Commander Qin enjoys this freeload, the Old Qin family really hit the jackpot."
After entering the manor, the family members were dazzled, talking about the Gu family’s wealth and how Qin San Lang had struck it lucky.
Mrs. Kuang scolded them, "Watch your words, or you won’t get any meat tonight. Can you smell it? The whole manor reeks of meat, the people in the Gu Family’s manor must be preparing by slaughtering pigs and sheep to welcome us!"
To be fair, Mrs. Kuang’s nose was keen; the manor was indeed slaughtering pigs and sheep, cooking meat to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner for the army.
"Young Master!" Uncle Mu Tong, upon learning they had arrived, immediately brought the village chief to greet them, excitedly calling Gu Jinli Young Master.
"Uncle Mu Tong, Happy New Year!" Gu Jinli was overjoyed, lifting the carriage curtain to wave at Uncle Mu Tong, startling him into taking two steps back.
Even though he knew the Young Master had applied an acne patch on her face, at first glance, it was too ugly, almost ruining the appetite for the New Year’s Eve dinner!