The evil mother-in-law does not whitewash, she only abuses her children

Chapter 409 Breach of Trust

"Grandpa, you are taking advantage of this little bit."

Gu Daqiang laughed angrily. He had already given Old Man Gu a lot of face today.

"Uncle Youtian, you have not spoken a word yet. What do you have to say about this? Great grandfather always says that you have lost money in business and now there is no money at home. Without money, how could Aunt Honglian and Ruinian still eat and drink so much in Fengle Building today?" Gu Daqiang looked up and saw the figures of Gu Ruinian and Gu Honglian, and raised his voice and said.

There are many people going to Qinghewan town every day. Someone has revealed the news that Gu Ruinian and Gu Honglian are eating and drinking lavishly at Fengle Building to Gu Daqiang.

Gu Daqiang didn't believe that Grandpa Gu and Gu Youtian had no money.

Gu Ruinian and Gu Honglian looked embarrassed, and the satin in Gu Honglian's hand made Gu Daqiang even more angry.

"Uncle Arita, what do you say about this?"

Gu Daqiang and Old Man Gu couldn't reach an agreement.

Gu Youtian didn't say anything, so Gu Daqiang kept asking questions.

Gu Youtian spoke under Gu Daqiang's gaze, "If you say so, we have something to say. Why did your great grandfather rent the land to you instead of other nephews and nieces in the clan, or rent it to a different family in the village for a higher rent? Your great grandfather rented the land to you because he considered that your family had many children and it was difficult to live. If it weren't for my five acres of good land, would your family have food to eat now? Would your son still be able to go to school?"

What Gu Youtian said was even more unreasonable than what Old Man Gu said.

Gu Daqiang was absolutely furious.

Gu Daqiang said, "Uncle Youtian, we should be reasonable. I paid money to rent these five acres of land, not for free. I have carefully taken care of it and it has yielded a harvest. How can you say that I am taking advantage of you?"

"You just want to take my wheat this season. Great grandfather, Uncle Youtian, I am the younger generation. You want to bully me just because you are older than me, right? What do you think about this matter, clan leader?"

Gu Daqiang asked the clan leader to seek justice.

The clan leader hesitated under the gaze of Grandpa Gu.

It was Grandpa Gu who made great efforts for him to become the clan leader, so it is not appropriate for him to speak for his nephews now.

"Da Qiang, you are the younger generation after all, you can't push others too much. Your great grandfather and Uncle Youtian have to eat. How about this... just do as your great grandfather said and let them buy the wheat in this field, and calculate the price based on the harvest. I will give you six years of rent and wheat money in the fall." said the clan leader.

Mr. Gu originally wanted to bargain and pay it back by the end of next year, but when he saw Gu Daqiang's face flushed with anger, he stopped bargaining.

"Okay. But I have a condition. I can't give you all the harvest from the five acres of wheat. I'll only give you three acres."

In the end, Gu Daqiang was forced to compromise and let Old Man Gu take back the three acres of wheat land at market price.

"Ruinian, please write a contract."

Old Man Gu was not confident about his verbal promise. He had rented the land to Gu Daqiang without a contract and was able to take the land back smoothly. How could he make the same mistake that Gu Daqiang made? He asked his grandson to draft a contract.

Gu Ruinian took a pen and paper and wrote the contract.

Gu Daqiang angrily pressed his handprint and said, "We are all from the same clan. If you betray us like this, who in the village will allow you to have any contact with us in the future?"

Gu Ruinian felt very uncomfortable.

"Brother Daqiang." Gu Ruinian suppressed his anger and said calmly, "You said the word treachery too harshly. We can take back the land you rented from us at any time. And we will not withhold the rent and wheat money for six years. Don't worry, when I pass the exam to become a scholar next month, I will have eight dou of rice from the government every month. With the status of a scholar, I can go to a wealthy family's home school to be a teacher, and earn at least one hundred taels of silver a year. I tell you all this to tell you that I will be able to pay you back soon."

Gu Daqiang gritted his teeth and said, "You'd better keep your word."

Gu Ruinian still had a calm expression and said, "My promises are never empty words."

"Just try to do it first. It's not easy to pass the exam to become a scholar." Gu Daqiang said sarcastically, then turned around and left with the contract.

Gu Daqiang's reaction was beyond Gu Ruinian's expectations.

Shouldn't Gu Daqiang be convinced at this time that he has the courage to take up the banner of debt?

Shouldn't Gu Daqiang at this time submit to his upcoming status as a scholar?

Gu Ruinian was dissatisfied with Gu Daqiang's sarcasm, but his face remained calm.

If you don’t believe I can pass the imperial examination, just wait and I’ll give you a swollen face.

"Ruinian is so ambitious at such a young age, and he has taken on all the debts. Brother, you have nothing to fear with a grandson like him, he will turn things around sooner or later."

"The most hopeful thing for a family is that its descendants will be successful. Ruinian is so successful, which is a blessing for our entire Gu family."

The clan leader and other people in the tribe praised Gu Ruinian in front of Grandpa Gu.

Mr. Gu's face relaxed.

Many people in the village privately said that he had returned from the south in disgrace, which made him feel upset. Fortunately, he had a promising grandson.

"I'm not saying this, Ruinian is not only the most promising of my grandsons, but also the most promising of his generation in our Gu family. He is a few months younger than Jingzhe, but he passed the examination for Tongsheng at the same time as Jingzhe. He is even more stable and filial than Jingzhe."

Old Master Gu praised Gu Ruinian with a smile, and at the same time, he criticized Gu Jingzhe, the grandson of the eldest wife.

Gu Ruinian stood beside Grandpa Gu with no emotion on his calm face, but he comforted Grandpa Gu with a firm voice, "Grandpa, I feel deeply guilty. If I hadn't been so naughty when I was a child and had woken up earlier and studied hard and passed the imperial examination a year earlier, you wouldn't be in such a dilemma today. But don't worry, I will definitely earn you a place as an imperial scholar next month. Don't worry about the money you owe to Brother Daqiang, your health is the most important thing, leave everything to your grandson."

As expected, Gu Ruinian's beautiful words of filial piety won unanimous praise from everyone.

While everyone continued talking, Gu Ruinian took out a notebook with a new cover of "The Analects of Confucius" from his bag and sat next to Grandpa Gu to read.

Mr. Gu's face was filled with relief.

Originally, Grandpa Gu wanted Gu Ruinian to go back to his room to study, but the envious looks from other brothers in the clan made him reluctant to let Gu Ruinian leave his side.

"Brother," the clan leader asked, "Has your eldest daughter-in-law's attitude changed in the past few days?"

Last time, the clan leader had convened Tong Huaqiong and the second branch of the family to discuss the issue of Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu's retirement. Tong Huaqiong's attitude remained the same as the second branch's promise to provide for the two elders as they had made when they opened the ancestral hall. She could bear part of the cost of their food and clothing and would not let them starve to death.

Any more would be impossible.

Grandpa Gu and the people from the second branch were unhappy about this, and so was the clan leader.

Mr. Gu said, "They sent me a bowl of food from time to time and two pieces of cloth for me and my wife to make clothes. This is not enough to make us look shabby."

The patriarch nodded, indicating that he agreed with Mr. Gu’s idea.

The clan leader said, "When you took back the land from Daqiang just now, I thought of your eldest branch's land. Brother, last time I asked your eldest branch to discuss your retirement, I forgot to mention the land. In fact, the fifty acres of good land at the foot of the mountain was bought by your eldest branch, and now it is managed by Dahan. Several families in our village rent your eldest branch's land for farming."

Mr. Gu frowned.

He still knew too little about the first wife.

For example, this place, he knew about it for the first time.