Chapter 529: Chapter 529: Offending the Eldest Granddaughter Brings No Benefit

Gu Youtian, upon learning that the Xu Family not only wanted Gu Ruinian to apologize but also to pay compensation, scolded Gu Ruinian harshly and indicated to Mr. Gu that Gu Ruinian could apologize, but paying money was out of the question.

Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu, knowing that the Xu Family was not to be trifled with, considered borrowing money from Mrs. Gu’s family and Mrs. Jia’s family as well as asking Gu Baishuang to pitch in.

Mr. and Mrs. Gu took advantage of Tong Huaqiong’s absence and sneaked to Jufu Supermarket. The old couple was in luck, as they met Gu Baishuang, who was taking stock, as soon as they entered.

"... Baishuang, after all, Ruinian is your family brother. You can’t just watch him be ruined by the Xu Family. Loan me two hundred taels of silver. I won’t borrow it for free; I’ll give you an IOU, and I’ll pay you back when I sell grain next year. The two pigs at home will be sold at the end of the year to repay you. With this calculation, it’ll be paid off in three to five years. Your kindness will be remembered not only by me but also by Ruinian. When he gets better, he won’t forget your help, and having more brothers from your maiden family to back you up is a good thing."

Mr. Gu’s words made Gu Baishuang want to laugh.

Before, when Mr. and Mrs. Gu lived in the village, Gu Baishuang was very filial, often sending money and food after marrying out, and she also took care of their clothing and shoes throughout the year.

Even if Mr. and Mrs. Gu had nothing to eat now, Gu Baishuang didn’t mind supporting them.

But helping Gu Ruinian was out of the question.

She had not eaten a single grain of Gu Youtian’s rice, nor did she have any emotional ties with Gu Ruinian.

With such ridiculous actions by Gu Ruinian, it would be against her conscience to help him.

Gu Baishuang said to Mr. Gu, "Grandpa, how can you say such a thing? I have three biological brothers from my natal family, which of them can’t support me? Do I need Ruinian for support? What he did has made me unable to hold my head up high in the Nie Family. I don’t dare to have such a family brother."

Mr. Gu was taken aback.

In his eyes, among the descendants of the main branch, Gu Baishuang was the most conscientious, and even when he and Mrs. Gu were in the south, Gu Baishuang would send things to them every year through merchants heading south.

When he came, he was full of confidence. Anyone could refuse his request for money, but not Gu Baishuang.

Mrs. Gu couldn’t help but say, "Baishuang, you are heartless! Without your mother, if it weren’t for your grandpa and me giving you a bite to eat, you would have starved to death. You can partner with that vicious stepmother to do business, but you won’t lend us money."

Gu Baishuang sneered.

Mrs. Gu still had the cheek to say they fed her.

Before the stepmother entered the door, she lived with Mr. and Mrs. Gu. Wasn’t the work in the fields done by her? Weren’t the clothes at home washed by her? Didn’t she even cook for the second uncle’s family?

Even if she worked as a maid in someone else’s house, she’d have food and money for doing so much work.

She earned that bite of food she had.

Gu Baishuang said, "Don’t you feel any pain in your conscience saying this? I earned what I ate with hard work. Over the years, I’ve given you and Grandpa money, made you clothes, gave gifts during festivals. I’ve paid it all back."

"Since you say I’m heartless, then let it be so. I can’t take the blame for nothing."

Mr. Gu stopped Mrs. Gu, who was about to scold, and scolded Mrs. Gu instead.

Now that the second branch was without money, living in the village was hard. The main branch only provided them a bite to eat, and if not for Gu Baishuang’s regular support, their days would be tougher.

It wouldn’t do any good for the old lady to offend the eldest granddaughter. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Baishuang, consider it Grandpa’s plea to you."

The eldest granddaughter is softhearted. Unlike Mrs. Gu’s approach, one must plead and act poor for a chance.

This time, Gu’s plea didn’t work; Gu Baishuang, with a cold face, refused to lend money.

When Mrs. Gu was about to start scolding, Gu Baishuang expelled them.

At this time, Nie Xiaofeng came in and seeing Mrs. Gu and Mr. Gu complaining about his mother’s hard-heartedness, he escorted them out.

Finally getting rid of Mr. and Mrs. Gu, Gu Baishuang went to Tong Huaqiong.

She didn’t tell Tong Huaqiong about this matter; after all, she wouldn’t lend money, and there was no need to let her stepmother know about this small issue, which would only add annoyance with no benefit.

Tong Huaqiong, seeing Gu Baishuang enter, said, "I was just about to tell you something. You and Dashi should stock up on charcoal during the summer, as much as possible."

Gu Baishuang was surprised, "Stock up on charcoal now?"

Tong Huaqiong nodded with certainty, "Yes, this winter will be extremely cold, and we’ll profit by then."

Tong Huaqiong often reviewed Tong Dajiao’s memories, mainly to see whom she had offended or what mishaps occurred to avoid retaliation or pitfalls for herself.

In doing so, she discovered something extraordinary: this winter would be a severe cold.

It’s said to be an extreme cold encountered every fifty years.

Extreme cold weather persisted without abating until the onset of spring the following year.

Given that the past years had always had mild winters, this lulled many charcoal merchants into complacency, and they hadn’t stockpiled enough charcoal.

Firstly, the weather was extraordinarily cold, and secondly, there wasn’t enough charcoal, causing charcoal prices to soar.

Many ordinary people couldn’t afford charcoal, leading to numerous deaths from freezing.

At that time, many people in Qinghe Bay also froze to death.

Because roads were snowbound, the deceased couldn’t be buried immediately, leading to an epidemic when the weather warmed, and this caused great disaster in Pingchuan County.

The only reason Tong Dajiao’s family didn’t freeze to death was that Jingzhe had a strong backing from the Yue Family; the Lu Family didn’t lack charcoal or money.

Tong Huaqiong decided to use this information gap to do the charcoal business.

Those chilling deaths in Tong Dajiao’s memories due to extreme cold weather were dreadful, with charcoal being bought up by wealthy families at high prices, leaving the common people to suffer.

Tong Huaqiong didn’t have a Holy Mother’s heart to distribute charcoal for free; she just wanted fewer people to die this winter and make a profit on the side.

All things in this world are interconnected. She wasn’t worried about freezing to death given her current economic strength, but concerned about the epidemic that could arise from freezing deaths come spring.

Forget about this era; even later with advanced medical technology, they were caught off guard during the SARS epidemic.

Epidemics spread indiscriminately between rich and poor; anyone could catch the virus.

Tong Huaqiong didn’t want to be enveloped by an epidemic, threatening her life and interrupting her business.

She couldn’t prevent the extreme cold weather, but she could use charcoal to minimize the death toll in Pingchuan.

"How much should we stock then?" Gu Baishuang glanced out the window at the scorching sun.

How did the stepmother predict that this winter would be very, very cold?

It had been mild winters for the past few years!

There was one aspect of Gu Baishuang that satisfied Tong Huaqiong: her trust. She never hastily said no to things she didn’t understand. Once Tong Huaqiong made a decision, she supported it.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Fifty thousand tons."

Gu Baishuang was stunned.

Fifty thousand tons?

The entire Ning City couldn’t use that much charcoal in a winter; what if it remains unsold?

Seeing the hesitation on Gu Baishuang’s face, Tong Huaqiong said, "Stock as I’ve specified. If the funds are insufficient, use the money from Taohua Dessert first."

Seeing Tong Huaqiong’s determination, Gu Baishuang calculated the money she had and nodded.