Chapter 36: Five Thousand Taels in Banknotes

Gu Tingzhi smoothed out the crumpled object, feeling a sense of familiarity. He tilted his head to think—wasn't this the scrap paper he had thrown away? He balled it up again, gave it a flick, and tossed it aside.

Zhen Mi’er saw the object land near her feet, bent down, and picked it up. "Husband, what is this?"

"Waste paper. Yibai dug it out from under the bed."

Zhen Mi’er unfolded the wad, worried that he might have randomly discarded some of her earlier manuscripts. However, as she clearly saw what the 'waste paper' was, she was struck frozen in place, her mouth agape and unable to close for a long time.

"Manman, what’s the matter?" Gu Tingzhi waved a hand in front of her face to snap her out of it.

"Hu-hus-husband... is this what you threw away earlier?"

Gu Tingzhi nodded.

"When did you throw it away!"

Seeing that Manman was acting strangely, Gu Tingzhi straightened his expression and struggled to recall. "I threw it away when I woke up."

"Woke up? Do you remember which day that was?"

Gu Tingzhi shook his head—he didn't remember.

Zhen Mi’er decided not to press him further for now. She hurriedly pulled him out of the room, and the Gu family courtyard gate was locked from the inside once more.

The rest of the family looked at Zhen Mi’er, and seeing her look as if she were facing a formidable enemy, they couldn't help but feel worried.

"Third sister-in-law, what has happened? Please, just tell us," Lin Huiniang asked gently.

Zhen Mi’er glanced toward the entrance, and after confirming no one was there, she tremblingly fished several crumpled papers from her sleeve.

Had it been earlier, the family might not have recognized them as banknotes, but ever since they had sold the emperor crab and the black bear, they recognized them immediately.

"Third brother’s wife, where did these come from?" Gu Lizong took the banknotes and opened them casually. However, when he saw the denomination of each one, his reaction was identical to Zhen Mi’er’s.

His eyes widened. "This... where did this come from?!"

Seeing his reaction, the family looked at each other in bewilderment and crowded around to look. When they realized he was holding five banknotes, each worth one thousand taels, their minds went numb as if a thunderclap had exploded within them. Beyond disbelief, there was a growing sense of fear. This feeling of sudden, overnight wealth was terrifying.

On New Year's Day, the Gu family passed the time in trepidation. They surrounded Gu Tingzhi, questioning him repeatedly, trying to get him to remember where the banknotes had come from.

Seeing that everyone seemed unable to understand him, Gu Tingzhi’s eyes reddened with grievance, and he emphasized again: "When I woke up, they were already tucked inside my clothes!"

They wanted to clarify which day he had woken up to find the money.

Unfortunately, communicating with the brain-injured Gu Tingzhi was not easy. It was Gu Qingbai who had a thought; he retrieved the few long robes Gu Tingzhi owned, laid them on the bed, and asked again, "Third brother, which garment were you wearing when you woke up?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Gu Tingzhi pointed to the tattered grey hemp robe. "It was this one!"

Hearing this, another thunderclap seemed to roll through the minds of those present.

Ever since Gu Tingzhi had suffered his head injury, he hadn't worn that hemp robe again! The family was poor and had few clothes to begin with. Fearing he would ruin his two decent outfits while catching wild rabbits or pheasants in the mountains, Mother Zhou had prepared this hemp robe for him. The last time he had worn it was the day he met with the accident in the mountains!

So, what exactly happened on the mountain that day? How had he been injured so severely? And why did he have five thousand taels of silver on him? No one could fathom it.

The Gu family kept this matter a closely guarded secret. Setting other things aside for the moment, the main priority was to enjoy the New Year in peace.

How could New Year be complete without dumplings? On a day like this, the old saying that "a gentleman stays away from the kitchen" was long forgotten. Once the family finished their outdoor chores, they all crowded into the kitchen to prepare the dumplings.

With so many people in the Gu family, there were a lot of dumplings to be made.

The men had the strength, so Mother Zhou assigned them to mince the meat and knead the dough, while she and her daughters-in-law were responsible for rolling the wrappers and filling them.

Zhen Mi’er’s dumpling fillings were fragrant, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned, which the whole family loved, so naturally, she was in charge of the seasoning.

Following everyone’s preferences, she prepared several types: cabbage and pork, preserved mustard greens with pork, shrimp and three-delicacy, and chives with eggs. She made over a hundred of each, enough for the family to eat for several meals.

Gu Tingzhi had never made dumplings before. Watching the others, he mimicked their movements and actually managed to wrap quite a few. Although they looked a bit odd, none of them burst open.

Looking at his handiwork, he was very satisfied. He puffed out his chest and looked at Zhen Mi’er with a proud, coquettish expression, waiting for her praise.

Zhen Mi’er naturally didn't let him down; she gave him a thumbs-up and showered him with praise, which finally satisfied him enough to take Yibai off to play.

A few days before, the Gu family had slaughtered their New Year pig. They didn't sell a single pound, keeping it all for themselves. A small portion was set aside as gifts for visiting relatives in the coming days, while the rest was cut into chunks, salted, and hung under the eaves to air-dry.

Under the eaves hung plenty of sausages, and several bamboo baskets were neatly arranged with blood-tofu, waiting to be stored in the cellar once dried. These preserved goods would last them the whole year.

As villagers passed by their courtyard, they looked at the abundance under the eaves, filled with envy. The Gu family had clearly struck it rich. During this period, the scent of meat drifted from their courtyard every day, and now, even after slaughtering a pig for the New Year, they didn't trade any for money but kept it all to eat!

The Gu family, of course, would not let their true wealth be known to everyone. When asked, they gave a unified answer, claiming they had earned some silver selling fish. People didn't believe it, but they had no way of knowing the truth.

Next door, at the Gu family’s main branch, Madame Feng looked at the whole pig hanging under the fourth branch’s eaves with a mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment, followed by irritation.

The people of the fourth branch were all ingrates! The old ones were ingrates, and they had raised a brood of little ingrates! They kept an entire pig for themselves and didn't send a single piece over to her family!

It was a pity that her own damned husband had run off to Liangwei Mountain to save them a while back!

Madame Feng was, of course, unaware that on the day the fourth branch slaughtered their pig, she had gone back to her parents' home. After Gu Lizong portioned the meat, he had brought ten pounds over to Gu Litang, but Gu Litang had stubbornly refused to accept it. The moment Gu Lizong set it down, Gu Litang sent it right back.

Gu Lizong felt helpless. He knew his eldest brother felt guilty for Madame Feng’s actions over the years and was deliberately distancing himself to prevent her from causing more trouble.

But what the eldest brother didn't know was that after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the whole family would be moving away from Maoping Village. Once they parted ways, who knew when or if they would ever return? Thinking about it, a wave of sorrow over their impending departure welled up in his heart.

After sitting silently in the main hall for a long time, Gu Lizong asked Mother Zhou for fifty taels of silver, went to the house next door, and secretly slipped the money to Gu Litang, telling him to hide it well for a rainy day.