Gu Qingli wasn’t offended by Gu Dayou’s thoughts. It wasn’t as if these designs were solely hers; she was rely benefiting from the efforts of those who ca before. She was more than willing for these tools to benefit the villagers and other farming households. Originally, she had intended to give these items to Gu Dayou. She was imnsely wealthy and didn’t care about such minor profits. So, regardless of Gu Dayou’s motives—whether purely for profit or to help the villagers—as long as it benefited the farming families, that was enough; it achieved her desired purpose.
She placed three silver taels into Gu Dayou’s hand, saying, "Uncle, please take the silver as well. You can do whatever you like with the items; I have no objections."
"Really? Well, then I really can’t accept this silver." Gu Dayou’s heart filled with joy, and he quickly tried to return the silver to Gu Qingli.
It was Xiaoli’s design, after all. He had already benefited greatly from her and felt it would be wrong to accept the money too. By rights, he should even share a portion of future sales profits with her. But since nothing had been sold yet, it was too early to ntion it to Xiaoli.
Gu Qingli didn’t argue with him. She went to the kitchen and placed the silver into the hands of Gu Dayou’s wife, Ms. Xu.
"Xiaoli, this is...?" Ms. Xu looked at the silver in her hand, her eyes growing a little moist. She had heard their conversation outside.
Although her husband was a skilled craftsman who could earn so silver coins, they had a mother-in-law who required dicine year-round. Gu Dayou had two older brothers, Eldest and Second, who had married and split from the family ho much earlier. Her father-in-law had passed away young, so after the family division, only Gu Dayou and his mother remained. Later, after they married and had children, and with Eldest and Second not looking after their mother, their finances beca increasingly strained.
Ms. Xu didn’t know how to express her gratitude, as she wasn’t a woman of many words. She simply took Gu Qingli’s hand and said, "Xiaoli, thank you."
With these three silver taels, her mother-in-law’s dicine money was covered, and their family’s life could improve sowhat.
Gu Qingli patted her hand. "Auntie, this is what you all deserve. Besides, I’ll still need Uncle’s help in the future."
"Well, in that case, Auntie will accept it. Xiaoli, if you ever need anything in the future, don’t hesitate to ask your uncle." Ms. Xu turned away, secretly wiping a tear.
Gu Qingli nodded. She found it hard to see people upset and never knew how to comfort them. She bid Ms. Xu farewell and returned to the courtyard, which was now empty. Gu Qingli smiled to herself, and Wuqing followed her back ho.
Sure enough, the mont they arrived at their courtyard, Gu Dayou and his three sons had already placed the items there. The four n of the Xiao family—father and sons—along with the three dogs, were all gathered around the mixing barrel, examining it.
"Xiaoli, Uncle is heading back now," Gu Dayou said. Seeing she had returned, he greeted the Xiao family and then spoke to her.
"Alright. Uncle, you and the boys walk carefully; it’s dark out now."
"Don’t worry. Xiaoli, if you need anything made in the future, just co find your Uncle," Gu Dayou reminded her once more as he left.
"Okay, Uncle."
"Li’er, what’s the na of this thing?" Xiao Yunjing approached, taking her hand.
"A mixing barrel."
"So this is the contraption you’ve been tinkering with these past few days?" even Mr. Xiao asked curiously.
Gu Qingli was amused and exasperated. Were these things really so strange or difficult to make? They all looked as curious as children.
She nodded and then explained to them how to use this set of equipnt.
Mr. Xiao listened intently, stroking his beard and nodding frequently. "It’s definitely a good thing. The Village Chief even ca over this afternoon to see it."
"His Lordship certainly has a nose for things," Gu Qingli said. "Anyway, I wasn’t planning to keep these things a secret. I’ve already agreed to let Uncle Dayou make and sell them himself."
Xiao Yunjing also nodded, agreeing it was an excellent item.
In the future, if the rice planting thods and this set of tools were popularized, they would all benefit the country and its people. But he couldn’t let Chu Xiong benefit. He still needed to have a word with Magistrate Xu tomorrow. When the world eventually bears the na Xiao, then they would promote these inventions nationwide. The people are the foundation of a country, and for the people, food is paramount. Common folk can only survive if they have food to eat. Li’er’s farming thods could ensure that most people had enough to eat.
"Then we’ll start harvesting the rice tomorrow," Mr. Xiao said. With the right tools, harvesting rice would naturally not be a problem.
The next day, the four n of the Xiao family—father and sons—carrying mixing barrels and shouldering carrying poles with large baskets, strode toward the fields. Their imposing manner made them look less like they were going to harvest rice and more like they were marching off to war. Ms. Jiang and Gu Qingli’s group of three sisters-in-law had a good laugh at the sight.
Afterward, Ms. Jiang and Ms. Yang stayed ho to cook. Gu Qingli, Wuqing, and Ms. Wang went up the mountain to pick chili peppers. Once the rice in the fields was harvested, they would definitely catch the fish in the paddies. This fish was what Gu Qingli planned to send to the Auspicious House Restaurant in Qiyang County for sale; the chefs had already been trained. Everything was ready, just waiting for the opportune mont.
The newly cleared land behind the house amounted to a full ten acres, and there were another five acres on the slope below. Gu Qingli had planted all fifteen acres with chili peppers, and she hadn’t sold a single one.
She had no plans to bring the chili peppers to market for now; she needed to earn enough silver first. No one ever had too much silver, and Xiao Yunjing was like a money-devouring beast; he had already consud a considerable amount of her silver.
Today, they only picked the fully ripened red chili peppers. The ones picked earlier had been dried and were now stored in the warehouse. She planned to transport so to Qiyang County tomorrow.
They picked a full basket and placed it on the embanknt; soone would co to collect it shortly.
"Miss, look." Just as they had filled a basket and set it down, Wuqing received a carrier pigeon ssage from Wuxin.
Gu Qingli took it and read it, her expression changing.
It turned out that Wuxin, on her way back, had discovered soone was tailing her. She and an operative from the Secret Sect had fought four highly skilled martial artists. Though Wuxin and her ally won, they were both severely injured. With no other choice, they found a farming household to recuperate, only returning once their injuries had healed. Otherwise, they would have been back much sooner.
Gu Qingli frowned. Who was trailing her maidservant? The target was clearly not Wuxin; otherwise, they wouldn’t have just followed but would have attacked to kill. The target was likely herself. Who had taken an interest in her? She hadn’t offended anyone, had she? Her head ached trying to figure it out. She decided she would ask Xiao Yunjing tonight. Gu Qingli carefully put the note away and said to Wuqing, "Tell Wuxin not to go out for the ti being. We need to investigate this thoroughly and find out who is watching Wuxin."
That way, they would know who had set their sights on her.
Wuqing nodded.
At this mont, on Azure Dragon Mountain, several figures were gazing at the group in the fields below before quickly departing.
They didn’t dare approach, having only seen from a distance that soone had received a carrier pigeon. That was enough. With a few more inquiries, they could find out who owned that land; the person their master was looking for was, in all likelihood, here. They had nearly turned the Daqian Kingdom upside down searching for the person their master sought, never imagining they would be in such a remote, out-of-the-way place. What was even more unexpected was that the person their master sought was surrounded by experts, individuals far more skilled than they were. They had no idea where such experts could have co from. This news had to be delivered to their master as soon as possible so they could plan their next move. But they suspected their master might co personally.
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