Traveling to ancient times with a sign-in system

Chapter 157 Favors are hard to return
Practical?
Gu Tang shook his head secretly when he heard these three words. With Gu Mei's personality, he could only find someone who could suppress her. If he really wanted to find someone reliable, he was afraid that he would not be able to control her and would let her harm others instead.

She secretly glanced at her father and saw disapproval in his eyes. It seemed that her father had the same idea as her.

Although Gu Lianshan did not agree to find a reliable man for his eldest daughter, he still heard one thing in his heart, which was to invite a matchmaker to his home and let the matchmaker talk to his eldest daughter.

"After dinner, I'll go to Qinzhai Village and ask the matchmaker to come home and persuade them."

"I'll go with you." Gu Tang suddenly said.

"It's so cold outside that it could freeze you to death. Aren't you afraid of the cold?" Gu Lianshan glanced at her. His second daughter was very afraid of the cold. She would not go out to suffer the cold unless it was necessary.

"Even if you're afraid of the cold, you have to go. After we've been to Qinzhai Village, let's go to Bei'an City and bring the chickens and ducks in the yard back to raise them. Now I don't have to worry about anyone stealing my chickens and ducks."

"What chickens and ducks?" Third Uncle was confused. Why did he bring up chickens and ducks again?
Gu Tang paused and glanced to the side. Gu Laian was eating there, so it was not easy to tell the truth. He told the old man the story with a mixture of truth and lies.

"I caught a sheep in the mountains a while ago, sold it, and bought some chickens and ducks to raise. As you know, my grandparents back there don't like me. When they saw me buy chickens and ducks, they insisted on killing them and eating them, even though they were still laying eggs.

My father couldn't stand it, so he sent the chickens and ducks to a family in Bei'an City for foster care. My father knew the family from the past, so they agreed. Now that they have been raised there, they have been raising the chickens and ducks. Now that we have moved here, it's time to take the chickens and ducks back."

Gu Laian, who was standing by, twitched his ears. No wonder the chickens and ducks suddenly disappeared. It turned out that they were being fostered in other people's homes!
Humph! His father is really biased! With so many chickens and ducks, he didn't even bother to bring some home to kill and eat. He would rather let others raise them than bring them back for him to eat!

Gu Lianshan didn't know his son was secretly cursing him for being partial. He was only focused on talking to Gu Tang: "Yes, it's time to take them back. Twenty male chickens and twenty female ducks. Just the eggs from the chickens and ducks every day can be exchanged for a lot of copper coins."

Thinking of those chicken eggs and duck eggs, Gu Lianshan felt that selling eggs was also a good way to make a living. He could try selling them for a few days. If he could make a living, he could try to raise more later.

"In that case, you and your daughter can go together." The Third Uncle looked at Gu Tang and said, "It's not a big deal to always foster them in someone else's home. Our backyard is very spacious. Not to mention forty chickens and ducks, we can even raise twice as many."

Gu Tang had already strolled around the backyard. It was indeed spacious. He could set aside a part of it to raise chickens and ducks, and the rest could be used to build a pigpen or a sheep pen.

The pigs sold outside are not castrated, and the "pig food" they eat is a mixture of some pickled excrement and various pig grasses, which makes the pork smell fishy.

After traveling through time for so long, Gu Tang has never eaten a bite of pork. To be honest, he is indeed a little craving for pork.

When next spring comes, if there are piglets for sale, I can buy two and feed them myself with wheat bran.

By the way, let's try to castrate the pigs. If successful, the pork will probably no longer have a fishy smell.

In this way, I have found another way to make a living.

After making up her mind, Gu Tang finished the porridge in the bowl in a few mouthfuls and urged her father to leave quickly.

Go early and come back early. It’s very cold and she doesn’t want to delay her return until night.

Gu Lianshan stuffed the last piece of bread into his mouth, wiped his mouth casually, and took Gu Tang out of the house.

Gu Liu's ox cart was still parked in the yard. He had originally planned to return the cart after dinner, but now he needed it again, so he could only wait until they came back in the afternoon to return it.

Gu Tang went back to the house and took out the bedding that had been changed yesterday and put it on the ox cart. She also took her own rabbit skin blanket with her, which was for her father.

Her father sat at the front of the car, blocking most of the cold wind. Although he was wearing a fur coat, it would be better to put on one more layer to prevent the cold wind from entering his body.

The third uncle brought Gu Ping'an out. One of them reminded Gu Lianshan to be careful on the road, and the other one approached Gu Tang and whispered something to him while trying to help him.

"I took a close look at the firewood in the backyard, and it's much less! I'm afraid it won't be enough to burn this winter. After you and Dad leave, I have to go into the mountains to chop firewood. We can't live without firewood in winter."

Gu Tang frowned. He didn't need to think about it, this must have been done by Old Man Gu!
"How much firewood is left? If we don't light the stove and just use it to cook, will it be enough to last the whole winter?"

"That's enough, but if we don't light the stove, people will freeze to death!" Gu Ping'an shook his head. His second sister's idea was not acceptable.

Gu Tang rolled his eyes at him and said, "What nonsense are you imagining? You are not allowed to chop wood. I'm going back to Bei'an City and buying some charcoal. From now on, you can use it to burn charcoal in your room, Dad's room, and Grandpa's room. The firewood in the backyard can be used for cooking."

Gu Pingan smacked his lips. "If I burn charcoal, how much silver will I burn this winter?! It won't work, it's better to burn firewood. I'm used to chopping wood, so it won't be a problem. I can chop it in ten days or so and it will be enough."

Gu Tang ignored him and climbed onto the oxcart and sat under the quilt. He glared at him and said in a harsh tone: "Do as I say! If you dare not listen to me! Don't talk to me again in the future!"

As soon as Gu Tang lost his temper, Gu Ping'an suddenly became silent and didn't dare to mention going into the mountains to chop firewood again.

"Also..." Gu Tang glanced at the east wing and whispered to him, "Keep an eye on Big Brother and Big Sister. Tell them I said there's not enough firewood. If they want to light the stove in the house, they'll have to go into the mountains and chop it themselves! If anyone dares to sneak into the backyard to get firewood, I'll beat them up!"

Gu Ping'an quickly nodded in agreement and promised not to let them go to the backyard to get firewood.

"Have you siblings finished your private conversation? Are you ready to set off after that?" Gu Lianshan got on the ox cart and glanced behind him. He had no idea what the siblings were whispering about.

The words were made clear, and Gu Tang waved his hand to let Gu Ping'an take two steps back to avoid being hit by the ox cart later.

As for her father's words, Gu Tang ignored them and just said two words without turning around: "Let's go."

The whip landed lightly on the ox's back, and the ox cart slowly started moving.

Gu Ping'an followed behind, and after the ox cart left the yard, he watched from the door for a while before closing the door.

When he helped his third uncle back to the main room, Gu Laian was still eating. The bowls of porridge, fried eggs with pickles and other dishes on the table were all empty, not a single bite left.

Gu Ping'an's face turned green!
"Brother, I haven't finished eating yet, why did you eat all of my portion?"

The two great Buddhas in the house, Gu Tang and Gu Lianshan, were not at home. Gu Laian started to tremble again. He curled his lips nonchalantly and said, "You just put down your bowls and chopsticks and left. I thought you were full. Who knew you didn't eat well? If you don't eat fresh during the meal, don't blame me for eating it all."

"You!" Gu Ping'an was so angry that he glared at Gu Laian and wanted to beat him up!
Seeing that the two brothers were about to quarrel, the third uncle hurriedly spoke to persuade them: "It's just some food, just eat it, there's no need to get angry. I always eat until I'm 70% to 80% full. Eating too much is not good for your health."

His son was about to leave, and if these two kids started to make a fuss, he really wouldn't be able to stop them.

Besides, there is a big girl in the east wing, and the second boy is alone. He will definitely be at a disadvantage when facing two of them at once.

Third Uncle winked at Gu Ping'an, signaling him not to be impulsive and to take a step back for the time being.

Gu Ping'an is a man who listens to advice. Their family is about to adopt him. His second sister has already made a fuss. If he makes a fuss again, his grandfather will probably feel bad.

Just take a step back.

Gu Pingan calmed down his temper and started to clear the dishes without saying a word. Unfortunately, his concession did not make Gu Lai'an stop, but continued to tease him: "Did you hear that? I told him he's finished eating, but you're still talking nonsense!"

Gu Ping'an's mood calmed down a lot, and he twitched the corner of his mouth sarcastically: "No wonder my second sister said you were stupid! Dad and my second sister are just out on business, it's not like they won't be back. Who are you showing off to with such arrogance and rudeness? When Dad and my second sister come back, if they know what you did, how many beatings will you get?"

Gu Laian froze, panic in his eyes. Obviously, his thin brain had never thought about it at all.

He stood up in a panic, not daring to say anything stubborn, and wanted to go back to the east wing.

"Stop!" Gu Ping'an stopped him in a stern voice, pointing at his and Gu Mei's dishes and chopsticks: "Second sister said before that you and eldest sister should wash your own dishes and chopsticks. If you don't wash them, you will have to use them when you eat dinner tonight!"

Gu Laian felt so aggrieved and his face turned dark.

He wanted to walk away and ignore Gu Ping'an's words, but when he thought of the threat just now, he hesitated for a while and finally didn't dare to do it.

With a drooping face, he casually gathered his and Gu Mei's bowls and chopsticks together, ignoring the grease and residual rice porridge on them, and went directly to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Having won the game back, Gu Ping'an felt better. He quickly cleaned up the dishes and wiped the table clean.

"Master, please go back to the east room and sit down. There's a stove there, and it's warmer inside than outside. When I'm done, I'll come find you to learn how to read."

"Okay, I'll prepare the pen, ink, paper and inkstone and wait for you." Third Uncle said happily and walked towards the east room eagerly.

Gu Ping'an watched the people enter the house, and then took the dishes to the kitchen to wash them.

When I got to the kitchen, I found that there was no one there. Gu Laian, who had just come in with the dishes to wash them, was nowhere to be seen. There were only two sets of dishes on the stove. They looked like they had been washed, but not thoroughly.

Gu Ping'an put the two sets of bowls and chopsticks aside, and when it was time for dinner in the evening, he used these two sets of bowls and chopsticks to serve rice with Gu Mei and Gu Lai'an.

There is hot water on the stove in the kitchen. Add cold water to make it warm water. Wash the dishes first, and then wash the used pots.

Finally, turn off the stove and lock the kitchen.

There were rice, flour, oil, salt and a basket of eggs in the kitchen. Gu Mei had just eaten a few bites of food, so she would definitely go to the kitchen to find food in a while.

She has always looked down on her family and her second sister. Since this is the case, it is better for her to stay away from the food bought by her second sister.

Patting the key in his chest pocket, Gu Ping'an glanced towards the east wing and skipped to the main room.

……

Since the ox cart left the village, the cold wind suddenly became stronger. Gu Lianshan put on a rabbit skin blanket, and Gu Tang also covered his head with the quilt.

Qinzhai Village is in the north, and going north means walking against the cold wind.

Due to the wind obstruction and the cold weather, the yellow cattle did not walk fast. It was very considerate of them to walk at a leisurely pace.

Gu Lianshan didn't dare to whip it to speed up. Due to the influence of winter, the ox was not as obedient and docile as usual, so he couldn't force it.

It took almost quarter of an hour to reach Qinzhai Village.

When they found the matchmaker's house, Gu Tang didn't get out of the car. Only Gu Lianshan went into the yard to talk to the matchmaker for a few words and decided on the date to settle down with her.

After briefly explaining the matter, Gu Lianshan did not stop at all, got on the ox cart and hurried to Bei'an City.

By the time we entered the city, it was almost noon.

Gu Lianshan drove the ox cart and wanted to go straight to the yard bought by Gu Tang, but was stopped by Gu Tang halfway and asked to drive the cart to the horse market.

"Why go to the horse market? We are not selling livestock." Gu Lianshan asked in confusion, but still turned to the horse market.

Gu Tang said something shocking: "We go to the horse market just to sell livestock? Can't we go to buy livestock?"

"What the hell!" Gu Lianshan stopped the ox cart and turned back to ask Gu Tang in surprise, "What did you just say?"

"I say, we don't necessarily go to the horse market to sell livestock, we could also go to buy livestock."

"You want to buy livestock?"

"Yes, buy livestock." Gu Tang nodded, his tone as if he was talking about buying chickens and ducks.

Gu Lianshan took a deep breath and said, "We're going to adopt him. If you buy an animal and take it back, the villagers will probably stab us in the back."

Gu Tang was helpless: "Do we have to say that we bought it? We can tell others that my grandfather paid for it with money. Everyone in the village knows that my grandfather has a rich family background and can still afford to buy an animal."

Gu Lianshan paused. Do you really want to buy livestock?

He asked Gu Tang: "What kind of animal do you want to buy?"

"A yellow ox and a new ox cart." These were all planned when Gu Tang came.

"Yellow cattle?" Gu Lianshan's eyes fell on the yellow cattle in front of him.

"Yes, buy an ox!" Gu Tang said firmly, "We have a yard in Bei'an City. If you want to come here to sell incense in the future, I'm afraid we will have to go to the city countless times every month. If that's the case, we can't keep borrowing other people's ox carts. We should have our own ox cart."

This made perfect sense. They were bound to go to the city more often in the future, so why would they have to borrow an oxcart every day? If someone's ox was treated like this, they would definitely feel bad.

But the price of a yellow cattle is very expensive.

"You know, a good-looking yellow ox costs at least fifteen taels of silver, and even the lowest-quality one costs eight or nine taels. There are only two cattle farmers in our village, and they both spent all their savings to buy a calf and raised it from a young calf. If you want to buy a mature yellow ox now, you can't do it without nine taels of silver."

"I have to buy it even if it's expensive. If I don't, I'll have to continue borrowing someone else's ox cart. We have the money, so why should I go through the trouble of borrowing an ox cart with Xiaoxin?"

Borrowing a bullock cart means you owe someone a favor.

The debt of favor is the hardest to repay. Over time, even the best relationship will be completely ruined by borrowing an ox cart and gradually become cold.

Gu Tang didn't want to see her father and Uncle Gu Liu go to that point.