"It’s unseemly to accept without contributing," Gu Li had mentioned previously that he would consider helping Gu Kaiyuan, but the task was not yet accomplished. If he took the benefits and the task failed later, where would he put his face?

"This is just a token of respect from your juniors," Gu Kaiyuan didn’t expect that at this point, his Great Uncle was still speaking of principles.

If he were to give this to the Gu family members, they might think it too little.

"Why don’t you take a look at the items first?" Gu Kaiyuan, noticing the slightly tempted look of the clan members, said with a smile.

"Grandfather, why not go have a look?" This suggestion quickly piqued the interest of the younger generation, and the teenage Kaiwen also wanted to know what his cousin had brought for their grandfather.

"Fine, let’s go see then. If it’s too valuable, we really can’t accept it." Debts of gratitude are hard to repay. Regardless of its value, for Gu Kaiyuan to voluntarily offer things in their hardest times already adds to their debt.

He’s just an old man and doesn’t mind, but he has to consider his children and grandchildren.

If it’s not valuable, then he would repay this kindness later.

Not to mention, as long as they haven’t severed ties with Gu Baijiang, he is still their elder and can temporarily shield Gu Kaiyuan.

The group headed to the backyard, and as the smell grew stronger, everyone was increasingly puzzled; if memory served, this was the area meant for livestock.

Gu Kaiyuan led them to a cow cart, stroking the cow’s head, he said, "With the weather getting colder, there’ll be more to transport. Relying solely on manpower would put us at a disadvantage. This cow cart and the carriage behind it are preparations I’ve made for you."

"That’s too valuable," Gu Li shook his head, "We have a lot of people, and we can take care of each other..."

"Great Uncle, the hardships of the road ahead are unimaginable. The escort won’t slow down for anyone, but with this cow cart, it can solve a lot of problems."

Gu Li understood this, of course. They had inquired about cow cart prices before; even the cheapest ones were beyond their reach.

Looking at the sturdy, robust cow and the solid carriage, how could he not be tempted?

But what Gu Kaiyuan said was exactly what he feared; with so many people, not everything would go smoothly on the road. Having this cow cart could give everyone a breather, a place to transition.

"I’ve already paid for this with silver and can’t refund it. Each household can only have one cart, we can’t just leave it here to waste." Gu Kaiyuan placed the receipt he got from the escort in Gu Li’s hand, "But it might require you, Great Uncle, to pay a care fee at each post station."

Seeing the eager looks of the clan members, Gu Li finally sighed, saying, "Great Uncle owes you a big favor."

"Consider it a token of respect from your junior," Gu Kaiyuan added, "This was also Ms. Bai’s idea."

He said this in hopes that the clan members would watch over Bai Suihe in the future, unexpectedly leading Gu Li to think Gu Kaiyuan had sweet-talked Ms. Bai into helping them.

Gu Baihe patted his shoulder, "If you need anything in the future, come find your uncle. I can’t promise much else, but I’ve got strength."

"Second Uncle can help too..."

"And me..."

This unprecedented enthusiasm left Gu Kaiyuan unsure of how to respond. Just then, an excited shout came from Kaiwen, "There’s a lot of stuff in this cart!"

It turned out, while no one was watching, he’d climbed into the carriage and discovered it was full of goods.

"This?"

"They’re things everyone can use, especially these boots and these raincoats, at least they’ll keep everyone from freezing on the road."

No one expected Gu Kaiyuan to have thought of everything so thoroughly.

They’d seen these items today, but their tight budgets only allowed them to buy the most necessary things.

"This is already very good," They had bought some rain gear today, but it wasn’t possible for everyone to have one; only the elderly, sick, and women could get them, while the stronger ones had to endure.

Gu Kaiyuan was soon drowned in expressions of gratitude, scaring him into mumbling a few words before hurriedly escaping.

"Remember this kindness," Gu Li knew this favor was too big to repay alone, so he gathered everyone to say, "We’ve all heard about this child’s affairs.

He’s helping us today? I’m afraid Gu Baijiang might trouble him, so keep an eye out over the next few days. If anything happens, we’ll step up to help."

The crowd eagerly agreed, their previously hung-up hearts now at ease.

With the support and resources provided by Gu Kaiyuan, they didn’t have to toil under burdens or fear the cold anymore; it was truly a blessing during their time of need.

Separated by just one room, there was no way to keep such news secret; as soon as Gu Li finished speaking, Gu Baijiang already knew.

"I should have guessed," Before Gu Baijiang could voice anything, Xu Yulan began clamoring, "Father, aren’t you going to intervene?"

"How to handle this, demand Ms. Bai hand over the silver." Even though Gu Baijiang was frustrated, as a father-in-law, it’s not seemly to make things difficult for a daughter-in-law.

Furthermore, he was confident he could return to Beijing and wanted to preserve his reputation.

Now he regretted that if Xu Huizhen were still alive, she could have stepped in to manage this.

Xu Yulan looked at Liu Yun, who remained silent, while beside her, Gu Antong kept her mouth shut.

Catching on quickly, Xu Yulan immediately said, "Isn’t this Bai Suihe too much as an aunt? When Antong asked to borrow clothes from her, she declined in every way, and we’re all family. The Gu family has only this one young lady, not knowing to support each other, that’s not what elders should be."

Gu Antong knew her second aunt had no good intentions, so she remained silent.

But Xu Yulan didn’t want to let Bai Suihe off, feeling that this was a time for family unity to demand an explanation, "Sister-in-law, since Mother is gone, it’s said that the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother. Now you should ask them, with so much silver, why didn’t they help us at the time?

For a distant relative they rushed so easily, yet our Father and Mother’s kindness was neglected?

Had she not kept it secret back then, Father and Mother wouldn’t have lived in such a simple room, perhaps our mother would still be with us..."

Gu Baijiang clenched his fists, not because Xu Yulan’s words made sense, but because the issue he didn’t want to face was brought up again.

He worried that Xu Yulan’s loose tongue might one day spread family affairs publicly.

"That’s enough, second sister-in-law, this is Bai Family’s silver, as a sister-in-law I have no right to manage relatives’ matters." Liu Yun wasn’t without resentment or envy, but since Gu Kaiping had confided in her about some family secrets, she didn’t want to bring Bai Suihe back into the fold now.