Ancient Wen Heng hastily gulped down two mouthfuls of coarse grain porridge. He paid no mind to Li Cuicui’s pleas for him to stay, and, leading the donkey cart, hurried toward the county town while it was still light out.

"That Seventh is in such a rush. He left without saying a word." Gu Yuanfeng stomped his foot in frustration. He had only gone to the backyard for a moment, and the kid had already slipped away.

"Seventh has to go to the academy tomorrow for his studies. If he doesn’t hit the road now, it’ll be dark before he knows it." Li Cuicui had learned the truth about Gu Dashishi from her son and was bottling up her anger. The moment Gu Yuanfeng spoke, she unleashed it on him.

"You’re just as lazy and shifty as your own father! Now get your butt to the backyard and bring in the laundry! You expect me to do everything? If I weren’t around, who would you and your daughter have to depend on?"

"Mom, don’t be angry. At least there’s nothing seriously wrong with Dad’s health. It’s better than him being genuinely ill." Seeing his younger brothers just watching the drama unfold, Gu Yuanjin had no choice but to step in and play peacemaker.

"Exactly, Mom! The doctor said that as long as Dad stays active for a while, he could even farm ten mu of land without a problem," Gu Yuanshui said with a flourish. "You won’t have to work so hard in the future. With Dad being so capable, we sons will be sure to learn from his example."

Hiding in his room, too ashamed to face anyone, Gu Dashishi was speechless. "..."

"Da Shi’s wife, Brother Dash is back, isn’t he?" The village was only so big; whether people were genuinely concerned or just looking for a good show, they always showed up at the first opportunity.

Gu Dashishi pulled the blanket over his head. "..."

＆

"Seventh’s house is truly magnificent," Gu Yuantu said with a sigh of admiration, standing in the backyard and gazing at the enormous building.

"Of course it’s magnificent," Gu Yuanhuo said, picking up a wooden plank to fan himself. "We’ve been working nonstop for three months, and it’s almost autumn now. Back home, we could have built an entire village with this much work."

Thinking about it, the other man agreed. "You’re right. I don’t think it took us this long to build our own village."

Gu Yuanjin cut in, "How can you compare the two? That was the entire village working together. Here, besides the craftsmen Foreman Ding brought, it’s just us folks from our village helping out.

Besides, look at the kind of houses we were building then. Can they even compare to a grand estate with high walls like this one?"

Gu Yuanjin clicked his tongue in amazement just thinking about the high walls encircling the property. ’With that many materials, you could build a whole other courtyard.’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Ming Xia, with you four brothers all working here, are you managing to get everything done back home?" Liu Chunsheng asked after chugging a large mouthful of water. "Your family has it good with so many brothers. You must be earning a decent wage this time around, huh?"

Gu Mingxia gave a modest smile. "We have Wenheng to thank for that. He saved this opportunity for the people from our village, which is why we all have a little extra money now."

Liu Chunsheng sneered. "He’s a rich landlord now. Living in a huge estate like this, while his own parents are left behind in the village to suffer."

"Liu Chunsheng, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you calling us brothers unfilial?" Gu Yuanshui’s eyes snapped open. He sat bolt upright and glared at him.

"I wasn’t talking about you. But you brothers are really something else. Your family’s Seventh is so wealthy now, yet you’re still here scrambling with the rest of us for pennies."

"We don’t like the way that sounds. It’s the shared duty of all of us brothers to support our parents. What kind of talk is that, saying we should just dump the responsibility on Seventh?

Besides, this is a Gu family matter. What would an outsider like you know about it? Stop meddling and pointing fingers." Gu Yuanjin remembered what Ancient Wen Heng had said before—that the brothers were a single unit. ’What is this outsider trying to achieve by slandering my younger brother like this?’

’Seventh is about to take the provincial exam. If rumors like this spread, it will definitely affect him.’

"I’m just speaking up for you all. You’re brothers, born from the same mother. He’s living a life of luxury, ordering servants around, while you’re out here moving rocks for him under the scorching sun," Liu Chunsheng said, trying to sound conciliatory when he saw all the Gu brothers glaring at him.

"We’ve already split the family household. Besides, why do you think Seventh gave us this work in the first place? Don’t take the benefits he’s giving you and then try to sow discord," Gu Yuanhuo shot back. Although he felt a bit resentful himself, he knew this was the time to present a united front against an outsider.

"Chunsheng, don’t forget you only got special treatment because we’re from the same village. Otherwise, go and ask around. See what kind of odd jobs people from other villages have managed to find," Gu Daping said, as he and the other members of the Gu family fixed their gazes on him.

"Alright, alright, fine. Your brotherly bond is deep. I won’t be the bad guy here for no reason." Seeing that all the Gu Family members were united against him, Liu Chunsheng could only back down resentfully.

’I’m not an idiot,’ he thought. ’If I really make a scene, I’ll lose this job.’

’Even though this construction is almost done, I heard they’ll be hiring for the workshop later on. Better not run my mouth.’

When Jin Qianqian heard the servant’s report, she just smiled and shook her head. She turned to Ancient Wen Heng and said, "It looks like that meal we treated them to wasn’t a waste after all."

"It’s because the people here value clan honor above all else," Ancient Wen Heng replied. "Uncle Kai Shan was just talking about it a few days ago. The clan elders have repeatedly warned them that if anyone dares to cause trouble here, the clan itself will punish them."

Ancient Wen Heng handed the letter he was holding to Jin Qianqian. "Another letter from Ye San, pressing us for the goods."

"Shouldn’t he be busy with the glass workshop right now? Why would he even be concerned with our little operation?" Thinking of the silver notes he had sent before, Jin Qianqian couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. ’It really pays to have a powerful backer.’

Ancient Wen Heng gave her a look. "A ’little operation’? Are you sure about that?"

"Even if they’re anxious, there’s nothing to be done. I’ve stockpiled plenty of raw materials, but the site itself isn’t finished." The main issue was that the past few months had been the height of summer. Not only did they have to work around the most intense heat, but they were also hit by several major downpours.

Because of those downpours, she’d heard the drought back in their home village had eased up a bit. Some people had even gotten ideas about moving back, but unfortunately, the Old Clan Leader had put a stop to it.

"How many of the clansmen are you planning to bring into the workshop? Just give me a rough number first, so I have an idea of what to expect," Jin Qianqian said, mentally reviewing her recent plans. ’It seems like the matter with Gaoling Village is the next thing to handle.’

"I told the Clan Leader we’d need ten people to start, including my eldest brother and the others. You can assign them to some of the less critical jobs, just to keep anyone from getting too ambitious." Ancient Wen Heng recalled his recent, earnest discussion with the elders. "This was the consensus of the clan elders as well."

Jin Qianqian nodded. "In that case, I’ll have them start by clearing out the back workshop. They should be able to start working in a few days. But your provincial exam is coming up. Before you leave for the Prefecture City, do you want to make a trip back home?"

The thought of her ridiculously dramatic sister-in-law back home made Jin Qianqian rub her temples. A headache was already forming, and she felt a surge of irritation.

She and Ancient Wen Heng were still in the blissful newlywed stage, and they weren’t worried about not having children yet. But certain people constantly used it as a weapon against her. Even a saint has their limits.