Chapter 528: Chapter 528: Boots
Gu Dashan asked Qin San Lang to stop the mule cart: "Xiao Yu and I will go find Elder Mi, you take Uncle San and the others back."
Qin San Lang agreed, but then said to Gu Qingliang, "Brother Qingliang, why don’t you try driving?"
Ever since Gu Jinli’s house had bought the mule cart, several families started learning how to drive it. But with few carts and many people, Gu Qingliang hadn’t had much chance to practice. Hearing this, he was thrilled and ran over to Uncle Dashan, asking, "Uncle Dashan, can I give it a try?"
Gu Dashan, who had a good temper, naturally wouldn’t object: "Sure, give it a try, but be careful not to bump into anyone."
After hearing this, Gu Qingliang got a bit scared and called out to Gu Dalin in the distance: "Little Uncle, can you teach me?"
His little uncle was the quickest learner and could already drive the mule cart to the county.
Hearing this, Gu Dalin came over, sat on the front board, and started teaching Gu Qingliang.
Gu Dashan and Gu Jinli got off the mule cart, picked up a basket of marinated food from the shop, and took a detour to the bamboo forest behind the shop.
Qin San Lang silently followed them; it seemed that Gu Dashan and Gu Jinli were used to having him around and didn’t find anything wrong with it.
Gu Jinli even complained about how slow Qin San Lang was walking. She turned back to him and said, "Brother Qin, walk faster. After we finish, we still need to hurry back to the village."
With such long legs, why was he walking so slowly?
Hearing this, Qin San Lang laughed, took a few big steps to catch up, and took the basket from her hand, saying, "Let me carry it."
Gu Jinli didn’t stand on ceremony and let him carry the basket.
It was now past noon. Elder Mi had just woken up from a nap and saw Gu Jinli and the others arriving. He asked, "What brings you all here? Is there something you need?"
Old Lady Mi, dissatisfied, said: "Old man, can’t people visit without a reason? Do you think your house is made of gold? It’s just a dilapidated house, be happy that you have visitors. Hurry, go inside and get some stools for Dashan and the others to sit on."
Elder Mi knew that Old Lady Mi was feeling bored and welcomed visitors, so he didn’t want to dampen her spirits. Yawning, he went inside to fetch the stools.
Qin San Lang followed inside.
Elder Mi, whose hearing was still very good, heard Qin San Lang’s footsteps and stopped him: "You don’t need to come in, young man. It’s just a few stools; this old man can handle them."
Qin San Lang smiled, said nothing more, and turned to go outside.
Soon after, Elder Mi brought out some stools, placing them outside: "Have a seat."
"Thank you, Grandpa Mi." Gu Jinli said while taking the marinated food from Qin San Lang and handing it to Old Lady Mi, "Grandma Mi, this is some marinated food from the shop. I brought it for you to try."
Old Lady Mi took the marinated food without any pretense and sighed, "This meat marinade is too much. There’s almost a half basket of it. Next time just bring some vegetarian marinade, it’s easier for us old folks to chew."
Gu Jinli replied, "Grandma Mi, the meat marinade I chose is mostly fat with little lean, it’s easy to chew too."
Though Elder Mi and his wife were old, they were not yet at the stage where they couldn’t chew meat. It was more about knowing that meat was expensive and not wanting to take advantage of their generosity.
After hearing this, Old Lady Mi cheerily took the marinated food inside, and before long, she brought out a basket and a bag of dried bamboo shoots: "This was dug up during the best season for bamboo shoots, just recently dried and stored. Take them back to eat; they’re really tasty with a great texture."
Gu Jinli thanked Old Lady Mi and took them smilingly.
Elder Mi asked them, "Why have you come? There must be something you need?" It was impossible that they came just to see them as an elderly couple.
Gu Dashan explained their purpose.
Elder Mi listened in surprise: "You bought the Songzi Manor? And you want to invite us to inspect the manor?"
Songzi Manor is what the elderly in the town call the Zou Family Mansion, named after the two Pine Tree Mountains behind it.
Gu Dashan nodded: "Yes, it was Xiao Yu’s idea, we also ask Uncle Mi for a favor, please agree."
Elder Mi remained silent, making Old Lady Mi anxious: "Old man, speak up, why are you playing mute?"
Such a good opportunity, it would be a pity if not accepted.
Elder Mi glared at Old Lady Mi, then asked Gu Jinli: "Girl, why do you want us to inspect the manor? Inspecting a manor is a profitable job, it should be done by trustworthy people, or even better, buy a servant to watch over it."
It shouldn’t come to them as a couple.
"Grandpa Mi and Grandma Mi are people we trust," Gu Jinli said. "You two have been guarding this wasteland for Hu Yun Temple for many years and are known for being trustworthy. We also trust you both very much. As for buying a servant to watch the manor, that takes time, and it’s not possible to buy a suitable servant immediately after acquiring the manor."
"There are also crops growing in that manor. It’s already Jiuyue, and the crops are about to sprout. We need to urgently find someone to watch over and arrange for watering and fertilizing, so the rice can fill and grain, otherwise, this season’s harvest will be ruined."
Old Lady Mi urged Elder Mi: "You old man, why don’t you agree quickly? Songzi Manor has a lot of rice, and rice is so precious. Any delay could ruin so much food."
Gu Jinli knew what Elder Mi was worried about, so she simply said: "Grandpa Mi, if you’re unsure, you can send a message to Hu Yun Temple to ask. The temple master will surely agree."
Elder Mi squinted his eyes, looked at Gu Jinli, and said after a moment: "Well, I will help you watch it for a while. As for whether to continue helping you in the future, we can discuss that later."
This means he intended to ask Master Hu at Hu Yun Temple.
Gu Jinli nodded in agreement: "Alright, then you help us watch it for a while."
Then she said to Gu Dashan: "Dad, give the silver."
She was broke, with no money on her.
Gu Dashan took out twenty taels of silver and handed them to Elder Mi: "Take this silver for now, it includes your and grandma’s wages, as well as the wages for hiring people to tend the crops, thank you for your effort."
Elder Mi didn’t stand on ceremony and took the silver: "If there’s any leftover, I’ll return it to you."
He also said: "Songzi Manor is not far from here, just outside the town. Although I don’t have other skills, having lived here all my life, I know many people within ten miles, so you don’t need to worry about the fieldwork in the manor. I can find people to work for you. And you don’t have to worry about the manor’s assets either, as long as I’m watching, no one dares to sneak in and cut the crops."
Food is precious. In the countryside, whenever the crops are ripe, there would always be people sneaking in at night to cut others’ crops, but Elder Mi is a highly respected elder in town, and as long as he speaks out, generally no one dares to steal.
Gu Dashan was pleased to hear this, thanked Elder Mi, then left with Gu Jinli and Qin San Lang.
As for the contract and such, they would sign after Elder Mi formally agrees.
On the way, Qin San Lang deliberately lagged behind a bit, carrying dried bamboo shoots, his gaze still on Gu Jinli.
Gu Jinli noticed and said to Gu Dashan: "Dad, I’m going to help Brother Qin carry things."
Gu Dashan was always lenient with children, and he smiled and nodded: "Go ahead, take it slow, if you get tired, bring me the dried bamboo shoots, and I’ll carry them for you."
"Okay." Gu Jinli responded and ran to Qin San Lang, took the basket from his hands, and asked: "What did you see?"
He must have seen something at Elder Mi’s house, or else he wouldn’t have specifically signaled to her.
Qin San Lang said: "A pair of boots, tall straight horse leather boots."