CHAPTER 208: CHAPTER 208 CAN YOU STOP CRYING?

Zou Yuzhen understood Gu Jinli’s words and finally realized why both the Zou and Lu families repeatedly fell into the traps set by the Qin, Gu, and Luotian families.

These families are indeed not simple.

Fortunately, he is not hasty in achieving success, but intends to slowly wear them down.

Suppressing the dissatisfaction in his heart, Zou Yuzhen spoke with guilt on his face, "Young girl, everything is due to the poor guidance of the Zou family which let the servants become too bold. Here, I, on behalf of the Zou family, sincerely apologize to you. Please forgive us this time."

He clasped his hands together and bowed to Gu Jinli while sneaking a glance at Zou Yuwan beside him.

Zou Yuwan’s eyes immediately reddened and she said to Gu Jinli, "Sister of the Gu Family, Yuwan and my brother apologize to you here, please forgive the Zou family this time."

But in her heart, she cursed Gu Jinli furiously, calling her a despicable country bumpkin who dared to act so arrogantly and force them to apologize.

Gu Jinli’s sneer grew stronger, "Are you forcing us to forgive you like this?"

Zou Yuzhen hurriedly said, "I have no such intent, it is just that I know it was Zeng Da’s fault in the past, so I brought him here to apologize specifically."

"Have no such intent?" Gu Jinli said, "You came to our door without even entering the yard and had Zeng Da kneel and apologize in front of so many people. Isn’t this forcing Third Grandpa to forgive you? If you want to apologize, do it sincerely and don’t employ such underhanded tactics!"

Zou Yuzhen’s calculations being exposed by Gu Jinli face-to-face made him flush with shame and anger. Thankfully, he was bowing his head, which saved him from letting others see his face and preserved some of his dignity.

But he did not anticipate that a rustic village girl, young as she is, could see through his schemes so boldly and speak so uninhibitedly.

Zou Yuwan, choking up, said, "Sister from the Gu Family, my third brother didn’t mean that, you misunderstood."

"Can you stop crying? It’s as if we are bullying you," Gu Jinli really couldn’t stand Miss Zou, who started crying the moment she arrived. With such a capacity for tears, why didn’t she go to the Northwest during the drought to cry and perhaps alleviate the disaster with her tears?

Zou Yuwan was choked up, almost unable to continue with her act.

Master Qi, watching from the side, thought highly of Gu Jinli and the families of Qin, Gu, and Luotian after hearing her words.

Although these families had fled famine, they were different from ordinary farmers. Even a young girl was so wise to counterattack successfully under Zou Yuzhen’s preemptive actions, which was quite impressive.

He noticed that while this young girl was speaking, the adults from the families were around but none interrupted... It seems this young girl holds a significant position within the families.

Gu Jinli noticed Master Qi’s gaze and turned her head towards him.

Seeing her looking, Master Qi smiled and said, "Young girl, since there are too many people here, why not let us go inside and talk in the house? What do you think?"

Gu Jinli replied, "Our workshop is very busy right now, we have no time to entertain you."

Master Qi: "No worries, we can wait."

Gu Jinli smiled and asked, "What should I call this uncle? Are you with the Zou family?"

Master Qi was caught off guard by the question.

He laughed and said, "I am Qi Yu, styled Qiming, from Prefecture City. I met Brother Zou in the Prefecture City some time ago, and we are friends."

Zou Yuzhen frowned, what was Master Qi implying? Was he planning to abandon his friend?

Gu Jinli, however, smiled and looked at Third Grandpa, saying, "Third Grandpa, let’s invite Master Qi inside."

Third Grandpa saw that there were too many people in front of the workshop, and said, "Please come inside, Master."

Master Qi smiled and nodded, then stepped into the workshop. Zou Yuzhen and Zou Yuwan also followed with their servants, thick-facedly following them inside.

As for Zeng Da, Zou Yuzhen gave him a signal, and he also stood up, bowed his head, hunched over, and entered Gu’s Workshop.

The workshop consisted of three main rooms and two side rooms. Currently, only one of the side rooms that stored soybeans was half empty. Third Grandpa led them into this side room and pointed to a long bench, saying, "It’s humble country settings, everyone please make do and have a seat."

"Thank you, Elder Gu." said Master Qi, sitting down with Zou Yuzhen. Zou Yuwan, disdaining the dirty bench, did not sit and stood quietly to the side.

After leading them into the side room, Third Grandpa did not linger but said, "We still need to busy ourselves with delivering goods, you all sit for now."

Master Qi said, "Elder Gu, go ahead with your tasks, Qiming will wait here."

Third Grandpa nodded and left the side room, and San Lai, the cunning one, stood outside the door of the side room keeping watch.

Upon receiving the news, Qin San Lang followed Elder Qin and hurried over. Seeing Gu Jinli in the courtyard, he quickly approached her and asked: "The Zou family has sent people? What’s going on? What are they here for?"

Gu Jinli glanced towards the side room and said, "They’ve come to put on a show. Let’s leave them hanging for now and talk after we’re done here."

Qin San Lang frowned and asked, "What do the Zou siblings intend to accomplish? Our dealings with the Zou and Lu families have always been handled by the Lu family. The Zou family has never been upfront. Now that the Zou siblings have come, are they trying to confront us directly?"

He was very worried. The day after tomorrow he would have to go to the county city. But with the Zou siblings visiting at this moment, he had no idea what they were plotting, and how could he be at peace going to the Military Office to enlist?

Gu Jinli said, "Whatever the siblings want to do, let them. If they come, we’ll block them. If they flood, we’ll dam them. Isn’t Ah Ji the son of a Lord from their family? If the Zou siblings are seeking their demise, having Ah Ji make a trip over should suffice. With his status, it would be a waste not to use him."

And moreover...

"That Master Qi doesn’t seem to actually be close friends with Zou Yuzhen; he could be of use." Gu Jinli whispered to Qin San Lang.

Seeing her already having a plan, Qin San Lang felt somewhat relieved, but was still worried and did not leave. Instead, he stayed in the workshop, helping He Dacang and the others with fetching tofu.

After everyone was busy for half an hour, they finally managed to get through the morning’s workload.

Before leaving, He Dacang and Liang Zhuzi specifically asked Gu Jinli and Third Grandpa, "Is there anything we can help with? Don’t hesitate to ask. Even if those two siblings are from an official family, we are not afraid of them."

One must have a conscience. Although they fear officials, they have earned quite a bit from tofu and spices. Now that Gu’s Workshop was in trouble, they couldn’t just not offer help.

Gu Jinli said, "Thank you, Uncles for your thoughtfulness. We can handle this, rest assured."

Village Chief He added from the side, "You all go conduct your business. I’ll stay here and keep watch. If anything happens, the He Family people will certainly not ignore it."

Hearing this, Gu Jinli reevaluated Village Chief He - the old man who used to fear death the most and would only hide when problems arose. She had thought that upon seeing the official family siblings visiting, he would run away, but to her surprise, he spoke up determinedly to stand by their side.

After hearing this, He Dacang and Liang Zhuzi finally carried their loads and left.

The door to the side room was not closed. While Gu Jinli and the others were fetching goods for He Dacang and his group, Master Qi kept watching... He even wanted to inspect the goods on the spot, confirming there were no problems, and even pressed his handprint to confirm.

Interesting.

This Gu’s Workshop is indeed not a simple place.