Chapter 1404: Chapter 1404: A String of Happy Events

Elder Qin saw the smile at the corner of Gu Dewang’s mouth and laughed, saying, "What scheme are you up to again? Hurry over here and help carry things, Young Master Dou is leaving."

"Coming," Gu Dewang ran over quickly to help.

Village Chief He saw this and hurriedly pushed He Jinseng and the others to go help move things.

Young Master Dou had servants, and most of the things that needed moving were already done. He was speechless watching them struggle to lift a jar of fruit wine.

Yet, Elder Qin laughed heartily and said, "Country folks may lack manners, but they have a good heart and are protective. Making friends with them is a blessing."

This was to tell Young Master Dou not to look down on country people, showing that befriending them would bring no loss.

Young Master Dou understood, and as he thought about his days with the Gu Family Brothers, the kindness from the Gu Family People, and how Gu Jinli even knew of the Young Marquis family’s downfall yet was still willing to marry him to the Northwest, he let go of much prejudice in his heart.

"Young Master Dou, let us go to town with you, we need to attend classes." After moving stuff, Gu Dewang came over and asked.

Old Ouyang had said that they couldn’t keep skipping classes, or else the Shadow Guards of the Ouyang Family would beat him. Initially, he didn’t care, but after being beaten twice while doing business on the street, he could only tearfully embrace learning.

Young Master Dou did not refuse and nodded in agreement: "Sure, get on the cart."

Since even General He had good things to say about these families, he genuinely intended to interact with them. If they proved to be decent, he might help cultivate them, as having accomplishments in the future would also be an asset to the Young Marquis.

Young Master Dou went to bid farewell to the Gu Family People, and said to Gu Jin’an: "Remember to prepare the ham, before the New Year I still need five cartloads, and all kinds of fruit wine too."

Gu Jin’an nodded, "Don’t worry, it will all be ready for you."

Then he grabbed Brother Cheng over: "Take him to town too, he’s fallen behind on his studies after being away for so long, needs to catch up."

"Alright." Young Master Dou held Brother Cheng by the back of his collar and dragged him to the cart: "Get up there yourself."

Brother Cheng: "..."

Why do you all like grabbing the back of my collar? My collar isn’t meant for you to grab!

However, no one paid attention to his pitiful look.

"Dou Meng, let’s go!" Young Master Dou gave the command, and Dou Meng drove the cart out of Da Feng Village.

Village Chief He, together with He Jinseng and the others, chased along to send them off, while Mrs. Chen wouldn’t be outdone, waving and calling out to Young Master Dou’s cart: "Nephew Dou, come over for a meal at our place often in the future!"

Third Grandma felt deeply embarrassed and wanted to scold Mrs. Chen, but remembering Sister Xiu’s recent marriage and with her return the day before, she held back.

She thought, "After Sister Xiu’s return banquet, old woman, I’ll settle accounts with you!"

...

The next day, it was the return day for Gu Jinxiu, and the Gu Family People got up early to prepare for the return banquet.

Luo Wu was thoughtful, knowing that Mrs. Cui and the others were eager to see Sister Xiu, he brought Sister Xiu back home just at the start of the hour.

"Dad, Mom, Third Grandpa, Third Grandma." As soon as Gu Jinxiu entered the house, she paid respects to her elders with a greeting.

Seeing the smile on Gu Jinxiu’s face, hearing her crisp and cheerful voice, Gu Jin’an was finally at ease.

Big Sister’s mood was good, and she seemed fully alive; indeed, marrying into the Luo Family proved to be a fitting match.

Although Brother Luo Wu might not be greatly accomplished, he was the person Big Sister liked. Marrying him and living with the Luo Family made Big Sister happy.

Luo Wu knelt down and paid formal respects: "The son-in-law pays respects to father and mother-in-law."

"Get up quickly, we’re all family now, no need for such big formalities." Gu Dashan laughed so broadly he couldn’t close his mouth; Brother Wu had been his prospective son-in-law for over a decade, and he was the most satisfied with him.

Luo Wu nodded, rose with a smile, and spent a joyful day with Gu Jinxiu at the Gu Family. Only after dinner did they return home.

After the return banquet of Gu Jinxiu, Luo Wu stayed home for two more days before going to work at the county government.

During these two days, he visited the Gu Family twice and talked to Gu Jin’an about the fishing village matters.

Luo Wu said, "The day you escorted Manager Feng to the Prefecture, San Lang took me to meet Zaoseng; he seems nice and very loyal to San Lang, who holds his indenture."

Gu Jin’an was surprised, "Isn’t Zaoseng from a good register? How did he sell himself to San Lang?"

Luo Wu laughed and explained the reason: "Zaoseng suffered greatly, his sisters at home were thrown into the water by the village elders to sacrifice to the water god. San Lang avenged him, killing all those who harmed his family."

"Zaoseng was also smart; knowing San Lang only trusted those with an indenture, he sold himself voluntarily, along with a group of other young people from the fishing village."

"However, there are also some middle-aged folk in the village who, seeing the profit in water goods, wanted to go independent. San Lang has things arranged, so when the time comes, we need to help out to wrap things up." Luo Wu handed over a letter written by Qin San Lang before he left to Gu Jin’an: "The whole plan is here, take a look."

Gu Jin’an read it and was thrilled: "This is an excellent plan, if it succeeds, the fishing village will become San Lang’s property."

The people in the fishing village would also become his servants, and given its remoteness, they could produce things there that weren’t available elsewhere.

Even if Great Chu was in chaos, they could use the fishing village as a place to hide.

Luo Wu also sighed, "The plan truly is splendid. If it succeeds, we can build ships over there to transport goods along the river."

The north was too chaotic, his escort agency was short-handed, and going north was too dangerous. The best was to cross the river south to Jiangnan, delivering cargo by river, which was much better.

After hearing this, Gu Jin’an assessed Luo Wu and complimented him: "Brother Luo Wu, you have improved a lot since we last met, truly impressive."

Uncomfortable with the praise, Luo Wu said, "Brother An, stop teasing me... I’m married now and need to support a wife and children, can’t just be a squad leader at the government, I need to earn a family business and have more skills to protect my wife and children."

The day San Lang took him to meet Zaoseng, he talked a lot, his every word was heartfelt, making Luo Wu feel ashamed yet determined to become stronger to protect Sister Xiu!

Gu Jin’an finally felt reassured and, after hearing more from Luo Wu about the fishing village matters, they parted ways.

In the days that followed, Old Mrs. Yan Family was the busiest. Gu Qingliang’s engagement to Shang Xiudan was already decided, and December 15th was the day for the Gu Qingliang Family to send the engagement gifts.

Gu Qingliang was the eldest grandson, and the engagement was with the village chief Shang’s own granddaughter, so Old Mrs. Yan took it very seriously, spending a large sum to hire a matchmaker to be the intermediary between the two families.

The matchmaker was naturally willing to do this, and had not returned to the Prefecture but stayed with a maidservant and two maids at Old Mrs. Yan Family.

On December 15, everyone got up early, changed into new clothes, and gathered at Old Mrs. Yan Family. After worshiping the ancestors and informing the heavens and the earth, they boarded the mule carts and headed to Shang Family Village.

However, they arrived a bit early and didn’t enter the village straight away, but waited until nearly mid-morning before making a big entrance with music and fireworks into Shang Family Village.

Today, Shang Family Village was unusually lively; everyone knew that Village Chief Shang’s third granddaughter was getting engaged to Gu Qingliang from Da Feng Village. While congratulations were offered, there were also those who mocked.

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