Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 148 - 73: The Cold-Faced, Warm-Hearted Fourth Brother

"Tomorrow, the eldest will go to town with me to buy some rice and flour. Our family’s food supply is running low. The second son will stay home with everyone to move. I’ll have Sun Craftsman come the day after tomorrow, and we should almost finish moving by tomorrow."

"Okay! Dad!" Gu Chengli replied.

"For the meals of these dozen or so people, make sure to cook well. Just make cornbread and brown rice, but don’t make wild vegetable porridge anymore; it’s not suitable for those working hard. I don’t want people saying the Gu Family is stingy." Mr. Gu thought for a while and then, not feeling assured, instructed Mrs. Lv. He was afraid she might get frugal at the time and be unwilling to cook decent meals.

"Do you even need to say that?" Mrs. Lv glanced sideways at Mr. Gu. She could handle matters of such importance.

"Aren’t I just giving a few reminders?" After getting a dagger-eyed look, Mr. Gu could only mumble.

"Dad! Shall we invite brother-in-law?" Gu Chengli suddenly remembered last time he went to the Wang Family, he forgot to tell his brother-in-law about building the house.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Gu pondered for a while. "Hmph! If he wants to come, let him. If not, so be it. Can’t Xi Zi tell him?"

"You’re still counting on your good son-in-law? He didn’t even come last time to borrow silver. Now we’re building a house, and he dares to show up? We told Xi Zi long ago about building the house, yet they haven’t come back to help these days. Eighteen taels of silver thrown into the water would at least make a sound! Saying they’ll return it, but with their family’s situation, can they? Isn’t it just trying to come back and take advantage?"

Mrs. Lv got angry every time Wang Quanshou was mentioned. The old man initially said this son-in-law was honest, but she didn’t think so from the start. His shifty eyes didn’t seem honest, though he was just timid.

"Isn’t it that we haven’t started building yet?" Whether satisfied with him or not, Mr. Gu had to defend his son-in-law for his daughter’s sake. It was his lack of foresight back then; the son-in-law wasn’t like the eldest, who, though not particularly capable, was reliable.

But judging by the borrowing of silver, the son-in-law cares too much about face and hides behind the wife when things come up. Isn’t that avoiding responsibility? They borrowed so much silver from the Wang Family, and the son-in-law never said a word. Does he think it was deserved?

"Exactly! Mother! Look at how even borrowing silver, the eldest brother-in-law had our eldest sister come back to borrow. And that silver, who knows when it can be repaid!" He joined Mrs. Lv’s side this time. The eldest sister had been married for years but kept coming back to borrow silver. If the in-laws knew the family had more silver, wouldn’t they come back more often?

"Alright! Let’s not bring up the silver again. I know my own mind. This time it’s a matter of life and death. After all, Xi Zi is your sister; we can’t just stand by and do nothing, can we? Let’s leave it at that. No need to go specifically to tell Xi Zi. Let’s see how they handle it." Mr. Gu didn’t want to discuss these bothersome matters further. Building the house was significant and should be a happy affair.

When he took out the eighteen taels, he knew Xi Zi’s family couldn’t repay it, but he didn’t bring up repayment. He didn’t want the son-in-law to take the Gu Family for fools.

Gu Chengyu knew his father’s intentions and that the silver from the eldest sister probably wouldn’t be repaid. It was good that his father was aware. He only saw his eldest sister during festivals and felt she was a bit distant, so he didn’t want to meddle in her matters. Of course, lending the silver was certain.

Mr. Gu saw that the people at the table were almost done eating, so he let Mrs. Lv and others clear the dishes and urged everyone to turn in early.

After everyone left, Mr. Gu watched Gu Chengyu writing under the oil lamp and said, "Xiao Bao! Did you put those mushrooms away?"

"Yes, Dad! I put them with the Immortal. I’m afraid if someone finds them, they’ll take them all away. Tomorrow morning, let’s get up early to return the mushrooms to the mountain." Gu Chengyu wouldn’t mention that placing the mushrooms in the space was to increase yield, and Mr. Gu thought he temporarily kept them with the Immortal.

"That’s good! Get up early tomorrow then." Mr. Gu finally felt at ease.

The next day, at dawn, Gu Chengyu and Mr. Gu went up the mountain to return the decaying wood to its place. Mr. Gu was astonished seeing so many mushrooms, roughly estimating over a hundred pounds. If dried and aired, it would be at least over ten pounds!

"Wow! Xiao Bao! So many? If we can harvest every few days, we won’t be worried about silver!" Mr. Gu grinned broadly.

"Dad! These mushrooms are just freshly found and can make some quick money. Once more people know, and some restaurants start to sell mushrooms, the earnings will decrease. But, mushrooms are seasonal, so if we find more of this kind of decaying wood on the mountain to bring back, it could still be a stable income, even if not as much as before."

Seeing Mr. Gu so excited, Gu Chengyu couldn’t help but temper his enthusiasm. He figured after sending it this time and another time, other restaurants would know about mushrooms, and their price might not stay high.

However, he believed Manager Liang wouldn’t be foolish to use whole mushrooms for soup or stir-fry. If sliced finely, others might not immediately recognize them, given folks in the Dayan Dynasty presumably hadn’t eaten them before.

"Ah? Indeed, how could it always earn us so much? Even earning this much, I’m very content." Mr. Gu was initially a bit disappointed but soon accepted it. One shouldn’t be too greedy; the earnings were already beyond his initial dreams.

Gu Chengyu led Mr. Gu down the mountain while it was still dark, so no one was on the path yet.

"Dad! Fourth brother seems quite busy lately. Has he started learning with Doctor Li?" Gu Chengyu wondered. It seemed he hadn’t kept up with his fourth brother’s matters for days.

"Doctor Li has been teaching your fourth brother to read, but he’s finding it a bit difficult at his age." Mr. Gu thought of Fourth brother finding his way forward, then about Third still working on the family land. Once the house is built, Third’s mother will arrange a matchmaker for him.

Gu Chengyu was surprised, "Why hasn’t Fourth brother practiced reading or studying at home? If he has any questions, he can ask me! We’re both beginners and should be reading similar books."

"Isn’t it not to disturb your studying? Your fourth brother learns at Doctor Li’s and comes back later." Although Fourth brother was usually quiet, he was thoughtful about his family. Mr. Gu had persuaded Fourth brother and Xiao Bao to study together so Xiao Bao could help, but Fourth brother refused, saying Xiao Bao needed to focus on the official exam and shouldn’t be disturbed.

Gu Chengyu was touched; Fourth brother always considered others, appearing silent and reserved but with a warm heart.