Chapter 606 - 522: An Idea
Chapter 606: Chapter 522: An Idea
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Sun Meirong was certainly a determined woman. When she arrived at the Gu family’s residence, Gu Shaojun and Xiao Man’s relationship was already public knowledge. Despite knowing that pursuing Gu Shaojun would be difficult, she refused to give up. She had been making preparations in secret and had already begun to put her plans into action. Unfortunately for her, the man she was after was Gu Shaojun, dooming her persistent efforts to failure from the start.
Xiao Man also told Gu Shaojun that Jun Ran had returned to the country to recuperate and that the Bai family wanted to arrange a marriage with her family.
Gu Shaojun merely raised an eyebrow, treating it as mere gossip. He had initially looked after Jun Ran out of a sense of brotherly duty, for the sake of the bond he shared with her brother, Jun Yang. They had grown up together, served in the army together, and fought side-by-side. But he never expected his kindness to attract so much trouble, or for it to cause his fiancée such distress. Far from feeling any pity for Jun Ran, Gu Shaojun was now utterly disgusted with her.
’If Jun Ran marries Bai Junfan, that would actually be great,’ he thought. ’A scumbag for a shameless woman—a more perfect match couldn’t exist. It would also save them the trouble of harassing other people. For instance, even though Yang Liu’er is already married to Lu Jian Country, Bai Junfan was still pestering and cornering her today. Once he’s married to Jun Ran, he should calm down a bit. As for whether the marriage alliance between the Bai and Jun families will last, only heaven knows!’
Gu Shaojun stated that nothing could stop him or change his mind about collecting the debt from the Bai Family. In both his past life and this one, the Bai Family had owed and taken far too much from the Gu and Tang Families. It was time for a final reckoning!
Xiao Man brought up the matter of the Sun Group donating medicine to the military. Gu Shaojun knew the inside story. He had gone to inspect the pharmaceuticals and had tested a few of the Chinese patent medicines. They had the taste of Spirit Plants; they had indeed been mixed with herbs from Grandpa Mo’s herb plantation.
In his previous life, the Sun Group had initially focused on the Northeast, as there was a large herb cultivation base there. They also had a pharmaceutical factory in the South, but its scale couldn’t compare to the one in the North. In this life, however, they started with the South, probably because of Grandpa Mo’s herb plantation. As a result, when the Sun Family’s medicines were supplied to the military, the Southern Military Region was the first to benefit.
"Support the army, love the people, and build the motherland!" Sun Jingzu, a returned overseas Chinese, shouted this slogan loudly, and his actions were just as impressive. He solemnly promised that as long as the country needed it, the Sun Group would do its utmost to cooperate, supplying medicine to the military at cost. Before the official cooperation began, they would first provide a certain amount of medicine and medical equipment free of charge, as a trial.
The Sun Family’s ancestral medicinal formulas were remarkably effective. When combined with the herbs from Grandpa Mo’s garden in Gongdao Village, just adding one or two of them to a prescription could elevate the medicine’s efficacy by several levels. At the time, Grandpa Gu had even proposed, "Why don’t we have the state purchase Grandpa Mo’s herb plantation at a high price? It could belong to the military in the future."
Grandpa Tang felt that was too direct and not a good idea. He knew that Grandpa Mo’s herb plantation was a frightening creation his granddaughter had made out of inexperience and a lack of foresight. Tang Qingshan had already warned her that as long as she did nothing, the garden would gradually revert to producing ordinary herbs within three to five years. This matter could only be suppressed and kept as low-key as possible.
Using good herbs for the military was, of course, the right thing to do. Huaxia Country was vast, with mines and forests everywhere, and countless resources and fortunes waiting to be exploited and discovered. The people’s standard of living was improving daily, and the nation’s future was bright and glorious, requiring the protection of an iron-willed army. However, the Gu and Tang Families were already prominent enough and should maintain a suitably low profile. The Sun Family was an aristocratic family of pharmacists to begin with, and with Xiao Man holding the title of an Imperial Doctor’s Disciple, no one would question the claim that Grandpa Mo’s herb plantation was a product of Imperial Doctor Sun’s guidance. To avoid complicating matters, it was best to let the Sun Family take the lead in supplying medicine to the military in the future.
This way, the Sun Group would gain both fame and fortune, the nation’s army would receive excellent medicine, and the Gu and Tang Families wouldn’t have to worry about it, nor would they attract the envy of others. Wasn’t it a perfect solution?
No one offered much of an explanation about Grandpa Mo’s herb plantation, and not even the Sun family asked too many questions. In truth, Sun Jingzu had his suspicions. He believed that the cultivation techniques for those herbs had also been passed down to Xiao Man from Imperial Doctor Sun. However, he was a fair and kind man, open-minded and magnanimous. He felt that for Xiao Man, as an Imperial Doctor’s Disciple, to be willing to return so much of this treasure she had obtained to the descendants of the Sun Family was already incredibly commendable. His only regret was that he couldn’t fulfill his grandfather’s last wish and betroth Xiao Man to a Sun family grandson.
Xiao Man, naturally, didn’t say much about this. It was best to just remain quiet.
The rest of the Sun family acted normally. No one expected that Sun Meirong would quietly use the special privileges the Sun Group gained from supplying medicine to the military to make a move on Gu Shaojun.
’Xiao Man recalled what Sun Meirong looked like: willow-leaf eyebrows, large eyes, a tall figure, elegant and beautiful. Her smile was sweet and approachable, and she didn’t have the aloof, nonconformist air that many artists do. When she snuggled up to Granny Gu, acting cute and spoiled, she seemed soft and harmless. She probably set her sights on Gu Shaojun the very first time she saw him. Thinking it over, Xiao Man couldn’t recall a single instance of Sun Meirong targeting her. This love rival was hiding her intentions very deep. Not many people could achieve such a high level of subtlety.’
After the two of them dallied in the room for two hours, they were finally called out. Zhou Hui Lan came knocking on the door, holding Gu Shaoying’s hand. Gu Shaoying had heard from her aunt that her big brother was home and resting in his room. Thinking he was alone, she earnestly called out again and again, "Big Brother, are you hungry? Get up and come eat!"
When the door opened, Gu Shaojun and Xiao Man were standing there side-by-side, beaming at her. Gu Shaoying’s bright eyes, like black grapes, immediately went wide. She let go of Zhou Hui Lan’s hand, lunged forward to hug Xiao Man’s leg, and started forcefully pushing Gu Shaojun away, yelling, "Big Brother is a meanie! You’re stealing my Sister Manman again!"
Gu Shaojun: "..."
’Looking at his little cousin, who had instantly become his rival, he was truly at a loss. What other family had a sister who tried to steal her brother’s wife? He wanted to form an alliance with someone to discuss countermeasures.’
Xiao Man smiled and greeted Zhou Hui Lan, "Mrs. Gu," then picked up Gu Shaoying. Gu Shaojun tried to take her, but Gu Shaoying refused. Gu Shaojun insisted on teasing her, making Shaoying squeal. The three of them made their way to the main hall, bickering and jostling playfully. Zhou Hui Lan followed behind them, beaming from ear to ear.
The new daughter-in-law had arrived. Although it wasn’t a formal banquet, there were still quite a few guests tonight. As usual, the male guests were in the front hall, while the female guests were in the rear hall. Since Gu Shaojun had gone directly to the hospital to find Xiao Man and hadn’t come home first, he went to see Granny Gu before heading to the front hall.
Xiao Man didn’t go with him, because Shaoying insisted on dragging her to see the bellflowers that had just bloomed in front of the flower hall.
Tables and chairs were set up in the flower hall. Soups and dishes were being brought to the tables one after another, and the rich aroma of meat and vegetables wafted through the air. People bustled about in the courtyard, and more female guests were being led inside.
Jiang Yuyan came over holding a small bowl. After a few words with Xiao Man, she managed to coax Shaoying away to feed her. Xiao Man then turned and walked toward the main hall.
The Tang Family had arrived a while ago. Mrs. Ai was surrounded by several women who were all laughing and chatting, their interest piqued by her belly. Grandma Tang shot Xiao Man a playfully reproachful look. Xiao Man just smiled, ran to her grandmother’s side, and started cuddling up to her and acting cute. Grandma Tang immediately softened. How could she possibly bring herself to scold her? She sighed inwardly. ’A daughter can’t be kept at home once she’s grown. The moment this Gu Shaojun returns, he scoops up my granddaughter, and she’s nowhere to be found.’