Chapter 185: Chapter 186: A Letter from Home

In an unfamiliar place, Gu Dashishi was in no condition to drag his frail body to the Lan Family to find someone again.

The cart driver, having been paid his silver, just wanted to get him back home quickly. He paid no mind to Gu Dashishi’s wishes and, with the attendant’s help, quickly settled him onto the ox-cart and set off into the biting wind.

As if to add insult to injury, while the ox-cart was taking Gu Dashishi back to the village, it overturned on the road leading to the entrance. It might have been because the driver was unfamiliar with the route, or because the snowy road was slippery. Gu Dashishi was pinned directly underneath the cart. Now, not only were his limbs weak, but his leg had been broken as well.

Fearing he’d get into trouble, the driver struggled to right the ox-cart, abandoned Gu Dashishi right where he lay, and hastily drove off.

Lying abandoned in the snow, Gu Dashishi was cold and in agonizing pain, able to do nothing but call out for help repeatedly.

Fortunately, it wasn’t his time to die. Someone from the next village happened to pass by and find him, saving his life.

Seeing the old man return in such a sorry state, Li Cuicui was filled with anger and resentment. "Where have you been the past two days? We nearly turned the entire village upside down looking for you!"

Gu Dashishi himself didn’t know why he was being so stubborn. He knew perfectly well that Gu Yuanlei was nowhere near as filial as he’d imagined, yet he still wanted to find out for sure.

As Li Cuicui barraged him with questions, Gu Dashishi remained silent and sullen.

"Um, Aunt Gu, it looks like Uncle Gu has injured his leg. You should probably find a doctor to take a look," Wu Changping, the man who had brought Gu Dashishi home, reminded them. It had taken him a great deal of effort to help the old man back.

"Brother Wu, thank you for all your trouble," said the Gu Family Brothers, who had rushed over after hearing the news. They thanked him profusely for making such a trip on such a cold day.

"It’s only right. We’re all neighbors, after all. Now that we’ve brought him back to you, we’ll be heading home. We’ll leave you to it." Wu Changping glanced at the sky; if they didn’t leave soon, they’d be traveling in the dark.

Gu Yuanjin glanced at Li Cuicui, who suddenly remembered that she ought to give them something for their trouble.

She quickly fetched a small bag of grain from the kitchen and, under Gu Yuanfeng’s glare, shoved it into Gu Yuantu’s arms, telling him and his brothers to hurry up and see the men off.

"Mother, that’s the last of our grain," Gu Yuanfeng said through clenched teeth.

"They saved your father’s life," Li Cuicui retorted. "This bit of grain is the least we can do. When your father recovers, we’ll have to pay them a proper visit to express our gratitude."

Gu Yuanfeng clutched his stomach, his face anxious. "Then what are we going to eat?"

Li Cuicui couldn’t be bothered with him. She turned to look at Gu Dashishi lying on the kang. "So, what’s wrong with you? Should I send for a doctor?"

Gu Dashishi remained silent, even closing his eyes as if he couldn’t be bothered to deal with Li Cuicui.

Just as Li Cuicui was about to storm off, he finally spoke, his voice faint. "My leg is broken. The doctor in the Prefecture City said I might be paralyzed."

"What? You ran off to the Prefecture City? What were you doing there?" Li Cuicui fired off, before it dawned on her. "You went to find that unfilial son."

Seeing Gu Dashishi close his eyes in silent admission, Li Cuicui felt her breath catch in her throat. "If you ended up like this, then what about our youngest? Why didn’t he bring you home?"

"He left me at the clinic and disappeared."

Li Cuicui was silent for a long time before she indignantly spat out a single word: "Deserved!"

In the days that followed, the Gu Family Brothers truly learned the meaning of misery.

Li Cuicui was getting old and was simply unable to move a grown man like Gu Dashishi by herself, so she had her sons take turns caring for him.

But Gu Dashishi refused to cooperate. He could have easily told them when he needed to relieve himself, but instead, he would maliciously soil the kang. In the freezing weather, not only were his sons at their wits’ end, but even Li Cuicui, who helped clean up every day, eventually collapsed from exhaustion.

With no other choice, the cleaning duties were foisted upon the daughters-in-law, and soon every household was full of complaints.

With their wives constantly nagging, the brothers couldn’t take it anymore and started looking for ways to slack off. However, this only earned them Gu Dashishi’s endless tirades.

Gu Yuanhuo, unwilling to endure this abuse, thought of Gu Wenheng, who had a home and business in the county town. ’Even if he’s not here, doesn’t he still have people employed in town?’

’Besides, Seventh Sister-in-law has a pastry shop that brings in money every day. If they can’t be here to help in person, it’s only right that they give us some silver to help out.’

After discussing it, the brothers all agreed it was an excellent plan. They went to the county town, only to find that the person in charge of the shop was just a young boy.

The brothers tried to make Xiao Dongzi hand over the shop’s recent earnings. That way, not only would the medical expenses be covered, but they could also have an easier time themselves.

Naturally, Xiao Dongzi wouldn’t let them have their way. When they started making a scene and disrupting business, he ran straight to the government office to fetch Chief Li, which finally made them back down.

But back in the village, the more the brothers stewed over it, the angrier they got. That was when they sought out Gu Shulin to write this letter.

Of course, the letter’s wording was much more tactful. It simply said that an elder in the family was injured and sick and in urgent need of silver, asking him to temporarily let the family manage the income from the shop in town.

"They’re just trying to stir up trouble because we’re not home," Jin Qianqian said, thoroughly annoyed now. "It’s a good thing Xiao Dongzi is so reliable. If they had actually managed to get their hands on the shop, there probably wouldn’t be anything left for us by the time we get back!"

"Oh, right. The letter only complains about all this, but why doesn’t it mention anything about Gu Lejia’s situation? Weren’t they so anxious to find him before? Why the silence now?"

Gu Wenheng was speechless. ’Come to think of it, there wasn’t a single word about him.’

"They were probably in such a rush that they forgot to include it," Gu Wenheng said, feeling vexed. ’Although I’ve inherited this body, I’ve also inherited all of its endless troubles.’

It was a karmic debt he had no choice but to accept. "Let’s write a letter back later. We’ll ask Brother Li to make a trip for us and deliver some silver home."

Gu Wenheng didn’t want a child as young as Xiao Dongzi to have to face that large, troublesome family, so his only option was to entrust the matter to Chief Li.

Jin Qianqian, still feeling sorry for the old woman, said with a worried expression, "That’s a good idea, but Mother is sure to suffer for a while."

"She’ll probably be mistreated some, but even though my brothers at home all have their own selfish schemes, they still have a sense of duty toward Mother. We can rest easy on that point, at least," Gu Wenheng said, his expression turning complicated.

Jin Qianqian folded the letter and handed it to Gu Wenheng. "This came via Senior Brother Deng’s escort agency! It looks like they have another group heading back in a couple of days. If there’s anything else you want to send, I’ll get it ready."

Ever since winter began, more and more merchant caravans had been heading south. Deng Yuanhang’s family escort agency had grown busy, making it much more convenient to send and receive letters.

"Don’t prepare too much. I’ll just have Xiao Dongzi buy some grain and ask Brother Li to deliver it all at once."