pdf-ebookys Chapter 17 Receiving Money
Chapter 17 Receiving Money
The women all boarded the carriage, while only Gu Changfeng and the old man drove. The rest of the men walked, and they soon arrived at a place in town where courtyard houses were for sale. There, they spent 500 taels of silver to buy a three-courtyard house. They then named the children: the old man was called Uncle Gu, his wife Aunt Gu, his son Gu Sanqi, and his two daughters Gu Baizhi and Gu Fuling. The other two boys were named Gu Tiannan and Gu Yuzhu, both names derived from Chinese medicinal herbs, making them easy to remember.
He left all four women in town for a few days, worried about his young wife suffering. The remaining men followed them back to the village to build a house. They stayed home for the next few days, focusing on construction. His property had a large plot of land; he could build a yard as big as he wanted. So, when Gu Changfeng said he would bring a group of construction workers, Ye Qingchen didn't think much of it. She knew Gu Changfeng wasn't too poor; the yard he bought was quite nice. She called over Aunt Gu, who took her pulse and was indeed surprised. Just as Gu Changfeng had diagnosed, it was long-term lung deficiency and weakness that had caused her frailty. The ginseng and mutton pills she had given her were just right. She also gave her some loquat dew made with space water, instructing her to drink some daily. After about a week, she recovered completely. Overjoyed, she knelt before Ye Qingchen with angelica and poria, declaring that she would follow her wife's lead from now on.
Ye Qingchen looked around, unable to find anything interesting to do, and a strong sense of curiosity welled up inside him. His gaze fell on the family in front of him, and he finally couldn't help but ask, "I'm really curious, how did your family of five end up in such a state, having to sell yourselves into servitude?"
Hearing this, Aunt Gu paused slightly, her thoughts instantly drawn back to those unbearable years of the past. Her eyes dimmed, and a trace of undisguised sorrow appeared on her face. However, considering her current situation and the master's inquiry, perhaps telling the truth about the past would be a relief. So, she took a deep breath and slowly said, "Madam, our original surname was Tang. My husband's family has run a security escort agency for generations. At first, the agency's business was decent, but as time went on, the agency gradually expanded, and the business became increasingly prosperous. Later, slowly, our family's agency became the largest security escort agency in the area."
At this point, Aunt Gu paused, then continued, "Because of this, the business we received was naturally different from before. High-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, and magnates all came to our door, asking us to escort important figures or valuable goods. However, we are well aware of the saying 'the taller the tree, the more the wind blows.' So, even as our business grew, we maintained a low profile and dared not be ostentatious in the slightest. Our children were also very sensible and well-behaved, and never did anything inappropriate."
However, even though we managed our business with utmost care and diligence, we couldn't escape the jealousy and scheming of our competitors. They set a trap, demanding that we escort an extremely precious gift intended as a congratulatory present to the prince. Unexpectedly, halfway through the journey, these treacherous individuals suddenly appeared and forcibly stole the gift without explanation. Since then, no matter how hard we searched, we have been unable to recover that crucial gift. Losing a gift intended for the prince is a capital offense!
Subsequently, despite our best efforts to negotiate and resolve the crisis, it was all in vain. Those despicable people cruelly confiscated all our family's property and reduced us all to slavery forever. As for the wealth we had accumulated, we no longer know where it ended up.
At this point, my husband and I were in dire straits. Even more heartbreaking was that our poor children were forced to wander with us, living a life of homelessness and hardship. From that time onward, my health deteriorated rapidly, plagued by illness that became increasingly severe and uncontrollable. Thankfully, my family remained steadfastly by my side, caring for me devotedly. It is because of this that we have been able to persevere until now. It's just a pity that before you, because we were considered old and weary, no family was willing to take us in and provide us with a place to live.
Ye Qingchen understood in a day that this family had been set up. That explained why they all knew martial arts; they were a pitiful family, but also probably quite upright. She helped Aunt Gu up and said, "There's an old saying, 'Since you're here, make the best of it.' Since the past can't be changed, let's see what the future holds. Fortunately, you're better now, so Uncle Gu can rest assured. Since your name has been changed, let bygones be bygones." Then she said to Bai Zhi and Fu Ling, "These past two days I've made some milk cakes, honeysuckle dew, and floral water. Let's sell them." This time, she didn't sell the milk cakes at the market, as it would be a waste of time. She sold them to pastry shops and restaurants in town, as well as the honeysuckle dew. The floral water, which was said to cost one tael of silver per small bottle, easily earned her over 300 taels of silver. Adding the pastries and honeysuckle dew, she made a total of 330 taels of silver. The snacks and herbal tea weren't expensive.
I visited Lexiangju today, and Boss Du, seeing her, thought, "The God of Wealth has arrived!" He quickly offered her the best food, drinks, and tea, hoping she would teach him a few more dishes. He also presented her with the profits from this short period, totaling 1030 taels of silver. It had only been a few days; the restaurant was indeed making money. Therefore, Ye Qingchen wasn't stingy and demonstrated five new dishes for them. Usually, a master chef with just one good dish would command a high price and be arrogant. But now, none of these chefs wanted to leave, because this young lady's cooking was so excellent. They felt they would be missing out if they didn't learn from her. Therefore, they hoped to learn more from her so that the restaurant could prosper and they could earn more. No one could poach her; there was no other place with such a clever, charming, and capable master. Then Ye Qingchen happily left with Baizhi and Fuling. Of course, Boss Du was also happy; with so many dishes, he could earn a lot more money. Then they returned home. This time they received silver notes. Actually, even if it wasn't silver notes, it wouldn't have been a problem for Ye Qingchen. She had a spatial ability, so what was there to be afraid of? It was just that silver notes were indeed more discreet.