Chapter 148: What Are You All Looking at Me For?
Aunt Liu walked over with a smile. "Now, Aunt Qian, Gu the Second has been more than filial. On the road, he fed you fine grains and made you a sheepskin jacket. And now that we’re here, he’s given you the best room to live in."
"What more could you want?"
"Let me give you a piece of advice. There’s an old saying: ’To be the head of a household, one must turn a deaf ear and a blind eye.’ They’re old enough to be grandparents themselves. When you curse Gu the Second’s family to their faces, who can stand it? You should really meddle less in the younger generation’s affairs from now on."
The old woman was not pleased. She glared and said, "Sixth Sister-in-law, are you lecturing me?"
Aunt Liu chuckled. "How would I dare? I’m just speaking a word of fairness, that’s all."
The eldest aunt quickly gave Aunt Liu a grateful smile. "Sixth Aunt is right."
She turned and shot Ms. Qian a fierce glare. "It’s all because of your big mouth, stirring up the old woman and causing trouble all day long. We’ll see what good comes of this for you in the end!"
’How can this be my fault?’ Ms. Qian felt terribly wronged. "What did I do?"
"Second Uncle got rich on his own. Is it right for him not to share his good fortune with his own mother?"
"No matter how you slice it, that’s just not right!"
The eldest aunt snorted. "Whether he’ll share with his mother is still up in the air, but you just keep making a scene. You’re making everyone hate you, even the dogs. Sooner or later, your family will end up completely isolated!"
’How am I making everyone hate me?’
Ms. Qian opened her mouth to retort, but the eldest aunt had already helped the old woman into her room.
Aunt Liu rolled her eyes at Ms. Qian, glanced over at Mrs. Chen’s room, and then turned and left.
When evening came and it was time for dinner, the men from each household returned one after another.
The only exception was Boss Zhang, whose injury hadn’t fully healed, so he hadn’t gone out at all.
His wife had taken Xiao Cui into the city to look for laundry work, only returning after it was pitch-black.
As soon as the men got home, they learned the startling news.
Gu the Second’s family had bought land, and a house, and they were going to move.
A feeling of being abandoned welled up in each of them, stronger for some, weaker for others.
They had all traveled this road together, eating and living as one. Their bond was even deeper than it had been back in the village.
Now that Gu the Second was about to move away, what were they going to do?
Could they keep living here?
It was obvious the owner had lent them the house out of respect for Gu the Second.
No, the house hadn’t been lent to them at all. They had just tagged along and imposed themselves!
Over the past few days of looking for work in the city, they had gotten a general idea of the prices. Renting a single room in the city cost anywhere from one hundred cents to several hundred cents a month.
Wouldn’t that cost several taels of silver a year?
Who could afford that!
When the village head got the news, he rushed to find Gu Zhang. "Zhang, are you really planning to move so soon?"
Gu Zhang nodded.
"You bought land?"
Gu Zhang nodded again.
As they were speaking, the eldest aunt’s husband and Gu Rong arrived together. Neither of them spoke; they just stood silently in the main hall, watching Gu Zhang.
Gu Zhang’s hair stood on end. "Why is everyone staring at me?"
A figure flashed in the doorway. Boss Zhang, clutching his chest, and Gu Zhong entered one after the other, both staring intently at Gu Zhang.
Shanzimama had been keeping an eye on the commotion. ’Since Gu the Second’s family suddenly came into so much money,’ she mused, ’everyone must be trying to find out how they did it.’
Seeing the male heads of each household heading over, she grew frantic and quickly turned to call for Shanzi. "Shanzi, you go over to Second Uncle Gu’s house too. See what everyone is talking about."
Shanzi replied sullenly, "I’m not going. If you want someone to go, you go."