Chapter 24: Doing Business

This made the other villagers harvesting sweet potatoes incredibly envious. Having worked for the better part of the day, they were already famished. Yet, with dinner still a while away, they had no choice but to tighten their belts and keep working. Little did they expect the Gu family to start eating flatbreads. The aroma was unbearable; the more they looked, the hungrier they became.

At that moment, Gu Tingzhi placed Yibai on the muddy ground, taking a bite himself before feeding a piece to Yibai. He never missed a turn, and Yibai was quite cooperative, finishing every bit of bread offered. The onlookers felt a pang of heartache—a mud-covered tortoise was living better than they were! Why should a tortoise be eating bread? Grass would have sufficed! Gu Sanlang was truly being reckless with his wealth.

"Tell me, do you think the Gu family has just hit the jackpot? They go up the mountain and bag a wild boar; they go down to the river and catch fish; and the sweet potatoes they dig up are bigger than everyone else's!"

"Indeed, indeed! These sweet potatoes are enormous! One of theirs is worth two of ours!"

"I’ve noticed that not only are the sweet potatoes large, but there are more growing on each vine compared to other households."

"Now that you mention it, it’s true. I wonder how they grow them? Perhaps they used some secret method?"

"That’s unlikely. Our fields are all adjacent. I’ve watched them from the time they planted the seedlings to when they fertilized and watered them; it was no different from ours."

"Could it really just be that their luck has finally turned?"

The crowd chattered away, discussing it among themselves.

The Gu family had many hands, and by working in unison, they cleared the field in no time, leaving only a small patch behind. With a shortage of hoes and shovels, Madam Zhou assigned tasks: "Ami, you and Sanlang gather the sweet potatoes. Make sure to clean off the mud so it doesn't get into anyone's eyes. Qinghe, you are responsible for loading them into the sacks."

"Dalang, Erlang, you two take the ones already packed back using the ox cart first."

"Understood, Mother."

Though the brothers, Qingsong and Qingbai, worked as fast as they could, they still couldn't keep pace with the speed at which Madam Zhou and the others were digging.

By the time the sun set, the harvest was complete, and the Gu family courtyard was packed to the brim.

From the same few acres of land, this year's harvest was a full two times larger than in previous years. In the past, there was never enough; this year, it seemed they would have more than they could finish.

Madam Zhou directed the men of the house to store the sweet potatoes intended for family consumption in the cellar. As for the surplus, they would take it to town to sell the next time they had business there.

Thinking of how the ox cart’s canopy had nearly been blown away by the wind the night before, Gu Qingbai spent the night working with his eldest brother to rebuild it, finally making it much sturdier. Now that they had an ox cart, they could go to town whenever they pleased.

After dinner, the family gathered in the main hall to chat.

Madam Zhou once again produced seven portions of silver, telling the seven children to each take one. She suggested that whenever they had free time, they should go to town to buy things they liked or needed, and perhaps purchase some gifts for their maternal families. This time, however, it wasn't just copper coins—each share was a full two taels of silver!

Only then did Zhen Mi'er and Gu Qinghe realize that the emperor crab had actually sold for one hundred and twenty taels! Both were surprised and delighted.

With surplus money in the house, they no longer declined the gesture and happily accepted the silver.

Madam Zhou and Gu Lizong had discussed it earlier that day: now that they had money, they could no longer rely solely on their few acres of land as they had before. They needed to draft a new plan to improve the family's quality of life. Now that the children were grown and married, the direction they would take in the future depended on their own wishes.

After much thought, Gu Qingsong shared his idea: "Father, Mother, I think we could buy more land. We have many people in the family and we are capable of farming. If we truly can't handle it, we can hire help or lease the land out. The extra harvest can be sold, and leasing would provide us with rental income."

Gu Lizong nodded and looked at Gu Qingbai, "What about you, Erlang? Do you have any ideas?"

Gu Qingbai glanced at his elder brother, rested his chin on his hand, and pondered for a while. "I think Eldest Brother's plan is good. Having only a few acres is indeed insufficient, and we can buy more as a safety net. However, if we continue to rely solely on farming, while our living conditions will improve, there won't be any significant changes. Therefore, I propose we divide the silver into four parts: one for buying land, one for maintaining the household, and the remaining two for doing business."

"Doing business?"

Everyone in the Gu family looked at him.

"Yes, business," Gu Qingbai said with a solemn nod. "Although the social hierarchy places scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants in that order—with merchants at the bottom—it is the merchants who are the most affluent. We could try moving in that direction."

"Erlang, what kind of business do you want to do?" Gu Lizong sat up straighter, signaling he wanted a detailed explanation.

"The people regard food as their heaven; everyone needs to eat every day. Doing business in this field can't be wrong."

"But you must realize, in our village, everyone struggles just to have enough to eat. Who would have extra money to go to an eatery outside?"

Gu Qingbai nodded in agreement. "That is why we must go to town. We can rent a small eatery in town and start small, making further plans only after we have earned some money. Moving to town would also make it easier for Third Brother to see his doctor."

The Gu family fell into deep thought. This was something they hadn't dared to imagine before, but they vaguely felt that Gu Qingbai’s proposal was feasible. If they didn't take a risk, how would they know if they could succeed?

"But we don't have enough silver right now." Even though Su Hehua was a simple housewife, she had been pampered by her family since childhood. Her brothers enjoyed taking her along when they went to town, so over time, she had become quite familiar with the prices there, including the general cost of renting houses and shops.

Gu Qingbai looked at his wife and nodded. "We truly don't have enough silver for that. In town, the cost of living for the whole family—food, clothing, housing, and transport—plus the rent for an eatery, means our current savings wouldn't last very long."

Gu Qinghe asked anxiously, "Then what should we do?"

"We gamble on the first year not resulting in a loss. As long as we can make a profit, the snowball will naturally get bigger. Even if the worst happens and we can no longer sustain the eatery, we can always come back. We still have our house and land; it would just be starting over."

Hearing this, the Gu family felt a mixture of joy and apprehension. The joy came from the prospect of living in town, something they had always longed for. Previously, they had pinned their hopes on Gu Tingzhi, but after his accident, they hadn't dared to think about it anymore.

Lin Huiniang gently stroked her belly and exchanged a look with Su Hehua, both of them having tears in their eyes.

Although Madam Zhou said nothing, the expression on her face made it clear that she supported Gu Qingbai's decision.