CHAPTER 601: CHAPTER 601: VISITORS FROM THE ZHENG FAMILY

Liang Zhuzi’s mother learned that her son had to compensate the Chang family with ten taels of silver, and she grabbed her daughter-in-law to scold and beat her: "You jinx, ungrateful wretch who turns against her own, all the hard-earned money my son has worked his fingers to the bone for, you’ve donated it all to your relatives’ house!"

"If it were only about sending the silver back to help your own family, so be it, but you even assisted your aunt, and her family was so ungrateful, leading their clan to smash up my son’s shop, I, I, I am so angry I could die!"

Liang Zhuzi’s mother almost divorced her daughter-in-law, but eventually decided to keep her for the sake of the children.

Liang Zhuzi’s wife has learned her lesson this time and dares not associate with her aunt’s family anymore.

"Uncle Liang said, rest assured, his family’s troubles have been settled, and there will be no further issues from now on," Qi Kangping relayed Liang Zhuzi’s words to Gu Jinli.

Gu Jinli nodded and said: "Okay, I understand."

As soon as his words fell, several imposing servants arrived at the door, asking in not-too-loud, not-too-soft voices: "Is this the Yanfu Building opened by the Gu Family of Da Feng Village? This old servant is the housekeeper for the Jinling Zheng Family, sent by our young master to deliver a congratulatory gift."

Another servant dressed in a green brocade cotton robe followed: "This old servant is the housekeeper for the Jinling Shangguan Family, also here on orders to deliver a congratulatory gift."

They continued: "Originally, our young master intended to come personally, but due to the Dongzhi festival, as the eldest grandson, he must stay at home for the ancestor worship. However, after Dongzhi, the young master will personally make a visit."

The reason the young masters of the Zheng and Shangguan families would come in person after Dongzhi is for soy sauce.

Zheng Ying and Shangguan Zhuo are smart people; upon receiving the soy sauce sent by the Gu Family, they immediately understood that the Gu Family intended to partner with them to produce soy sauce.

If there was no intention to partner up, Good Brother An would not have mentioned in his letter that the soy sauce is made from soybeans.

After receiving the letter, Zheng Ying and Shangguan Zhuo were shocked, and after preparing a whole table of dishes with the soy sauce, they found it no less tasty than Hai Xian Sauce, and they couldn’t wait to rush and send the letter to their grandfathers in the Capital.

Lord Zheng and Elder Shangguan, after receiving the letters, were also very excited. The cost of Hai Xian Sauce is too high; if there could be another kind of sauce as a substitute, it would indeed be a joyous event.

Furthermore, soybeans are cheap; if they could be used to make soy sauce, the price would certainly increase by a coin or two, which is good news for the farmers.

Lord Zheng and Elder Shangguan have aspirations in the court, and although they were happy about the soy sauce, they had no intention of monopolizing it. Moreover, the Gu Family cleverly revealed the news to both families simultaneously, making it so that if one family wanted to monopolize the soy sauce, the other would not rest.

The best solution is for both families to step back and go into the soy sauce business with the Gu Family. In this way, not only could they make silver, but they also have the Gu Family as a balance to repair the relationship between the two families; it is indeed excellent.

Lord Zheng and Elder Shangguan wrote back to Zheng Ying and Shangguan Zhuo, letting them know that the matter was feasible and asked them to quickly discuss it with the Gu Family, which resulted in the housekeepers’ aforementioned comments.

"Indeed, it is the Yanfu Building opened by the Gu and Qi Families." Gu Jinli invited them into the restaurant and sent someone to call for Gu Jin’an.

Soon, Gu Jin’an arrived, and the two housekeepers handed him two letters written by Zheng Ying and Shangguan Zhuo.

Gu Jin’an did not rush to read them but instead accompanied the two housekeepers for a meal.

Master Xia, upon learning that he was dining with the two servants, was quite angry. How could a descendant of a Country Pillar Minister share a table with servants?

He calculated the time, guessing that when the two housekeepers had finished discussing the official matters, he immediately sent a servant to call Gu Jin’an back.

The two housekeepers knew that the Yanfu Building had just opened and that Gu Jin’an must be very busy. As servants themselves, they thought it improper to keep him company. When they saw him out, they also mentioned, "The Zheng Family and Shangguan Family have separate yards in the county; Young Master Gu doesn’t need to prepare accommodations for the two young masters."

Noble sons follow ancient customs and would not recklessly stay at a friend’s house.

Gu Jin’an nodded, "I understand, please continue your meal."

After speaking, he turned and left, not returning to the private room where Master Xia was, but busy with other tasks instead.

Master Xia’s servant returned sullenly, reporting that Gu Jin’an had gone to the kitchen.

Master Xia, upon hearing this, became even angrier. Choosing Brother Cheng as his heir was indeed the right choice. Good Brother An was grown now and had been tainted by the rustic air, wild and difficult to tame, not easy to teach.

Yanfu Building had been busy from the early morning until the late afternoon and only then did the work end. After sending away the guests and closing up to clean and tidy the place, Gu Daya prepared festival goods for Lu Haozi and the others, distributing them: "Everyone has worked hard today, take these holiday gifts home and come back to work tomorrow morning."

Lu Haozi and his wife were stunned by the festival gifts given by Gu Daya. How could there be so much meat? There were two Sauce Chickens and a large piece of crispy pork belly, at least a couple of pounds, along with various other meat dishes – enough to fill several boxes: "Boss, this is too much, how can we finish all this?"

Gu Daya laughed, "Now that it’s cold, the meat and dishes can be kept for later. If you can’t finish it today, save some for tomorrow or take it to your wife’s family home as a gesture of filial piety to the elders."

This was exactly what Lu Haozi’s wife had in mind. Her own family was not well-off, and now that she earned money working, bringing a Sauce Chicken to her mother’s family would mean no scolding from her mother-in-law.

The son of Lu He Fu was happy to say, "Boss, you and Uncle Dashan treat us so well, rest assured, we will work hard."

He family’s boys hurriedly said, "Aunt Gu, we will work well too. Our Gu Family and He Family are so close, please don’t be so formal with us in the future."

Hmph, the Lu Family, still trying to compete with us? The village chief had instructed us, there’s no way we’re losing to you!

Gu Daya smiled and said, "Hurry home, it’s a four-hour walk. If you leave now, you’ll just make it in time for the ancestral veneration and dinner."

"Eh, we’ll leave now and will definitely come to work on time tomorrow," said the Lu Family’s helpers.

He family’s boys: "Aunt Gu, we will come before morning."

Before the Lu Family People!

After the Lu Family and He Family people left, Gu Daya began to prepare the feast for the few families.

Today was Dongzhi, and the families would eat in the restaurant, eating whatever they liked. There was a plenty of dishes available, and everyone could eat their fill.

Also staying to eat in the restaurant was Mo Qinzi’s family.

Mo Qinzi had already been engaged to Qi Kangping, so Gu Daya had also invited the Mo Family. They had been busy helping in the backyard all day and felt both joy and fear.

They were happy to see the Qi Family doing better, and glad that their daughter was betrothed to a good match. But they were also fearful of the Qi Family’s prosperity, worried that their daughter might not be good enough for Qi Kangping, and afraid that if the Qi Family became too wealthy, they might not treat their daughter well.

Mo Qinzi, however, harbored no such worries, reassuring Mo Kui and Ms. Zhang, "Dad, Mom, do you still not see what kind of people Aunt Gu and the others are? We’ve all had our share of hardships, they wouldn’t look down on us for being poor. Besides, when Aunt Gu came to propose on Qi Family’s behalf, their preserved meat shop was already making a good profit. If they really wanted to marry into a wealthy family, they wouldn’t have come knocking on our door."