Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 129: Mistaken Identity

Third Grandpa was startled, not expecting Village Chief He to come to admit his wrongs.

Village chiefs are always the most powerful figures in each village, respected and yielded to by the villagers. Even when a village chief did wrong, he would not admit it, yet Village Chief He personally came over to admit his mistake, this was really...

Third Grandpa didn’t know what to say.

But their families still had to live in the village and might need the help of Village Chief He in the future, so he said, "Village Chief, this was the Lu Family’s wrongdoing; it has nothing to do with you. The affair is past, let’s not talk about it."

Gu Jinli cracked a smile and continued after Third Grandpa’s words, "Indeed, you don’t have to take it to heart. With County Captain Jiang and Uncle Shang around, the Lu Family can’t bully our few families."

She meant to tell Village Chief He that they wouldn’t be taken advantage of by him just because he admitted a mistake. They were no longer the same as when they had first fled to the area; they now had livelihoods and patrons.

Village Chief He got the message and felt even more regret. If only he had listened to Dacang earlier and built good relations with these families sooner. Now that the Qin, Gu, and He families from Luotian had connected with the Shang Family and County Captain Jiang, the He family was no longer so important to them.

But things had come to this, and all Village Chief He could do was regret.

After a short while, he braved himself to state his purpose: "Da Feng Village is poor, and the He Family People are even poorer, lacking any craft or trade. I was thinking that since we are all from the same village, and your family’s tofu sells well, I’d swallow my pride and come here to propose on behalf of the villagers to sell your tofu and spices to the He Family People so they can carry it to sell in the ten miles and eight villages around us, to earn some Silver Coin."

Village Chief He originally intended to get the Gu Family to sell their tofu to them at a low price, but after seeing that contract from Lianghe Village, he didn’t have the nerve to ask.

Although they were fellow villagers, the people of their village had often bullied the Qin, Gu, and He families. Now that these families had connected with Lord County Captain, he was already fortunate that they were not settling scores with them; how could he have the cheek to ask the Gu Family to sell tofu to them at a low price?

He Dacang was eager to conduct this business and immediately said, "Third Uncle Gu, Brother Dashan, Niece Xiao Yu, rest assured, our He family truly wishes to engage in this business with you. In view of us being from the same village, please allocate some tofu and spices to sell to us."

He Jinseng felt uncomfortable watching his grandfather and father beg the Gu Family like that, but he was helpless and could only stand there with his head down, saying nothing.

Third Grandpa found Village Chief He and his son’s pleas to be quite troubling: "Our few families are limited in manpower, and we can only make so much tofu a day. We’ve already given five hundred pounds to Lianghe Village, and we still need to keep some tofu to sell at our stalls; I really can’t give you a definite answer."

He Dacang became anxious, "Third Uncle Gu, we don’t ask for much, just a portion will do."

The fact that Liang Zhuzi and others were carrying tofu to sell was not a secret; anyone could find out with a little inquiry, and Dacang was quite envious to hear they’d made a good sum, which made him anxious.

Third Grandpa was hesitant to make a decision and turned to look at Gu Jinli.

Gu Jinli thought for a moment and said, "Village Chief He, Uncle Dacang, spring plowing is near, and our families are indeed too busy to manage. However, if you really want to enter into this business, it’s possible, but we can only give you so much tofu every day depending on the situation, and that’s for us to decide."

They still had to live in Da Feng Village, and though the Lu Family was already an enemy, if the He family could be swayed to their side, then it would be possible to isolate the Lu Family.

Village Chief He frowned but still said, "That’s reasonable; after all, you are short-handed."

Gu Jinli continued, "Though we are from the same village, clear accounts make for good relationships. If you want to do this business, you have to sign a contract like Lianghe Village did, abide by the agreement, and if the contract is breached, we’ll see you in the government office."

Village Chief He shuddered, somewhat reluctant to proceed with the deal. That daughter of the Gu Family, why was she so keen on going to the authorities?

He looked towards Third Grandpa and asked, "Brother Gu, do you also think this way?"

Third Grandpa nodded smilingly: "Mm, for the tofu business, Xiao Yu calls the shots."

Village Chief He was quite surprised. He knew that the Gu Family’s daughter had some abilities, but he never expected that she could be in charge of the tofu business.

With no alternative, he thought for a while and could only agree: "Alright, let’s sign a contract."

Gu Jin’an was not at home, so the contract was written by He Jinseng.

Gu Jinli would read out a line, and He Jinseng would write down a line.

This contract was nearly identical to the one signed with Liang Zhuzi and his fellows. After it was completed, Village Chief He asked He Jinseng to read the contract several times, then he represented the He family and pressed his handprint.

The content of this contract was almost entirely in favor of the Gu Family, but as long as the He family’s tofu purchases didn’t cause trouble, there shouldn’t be any issues.

Village Chief He let go of this slight dissatisfaction and said to Third Grandpa: "Well then, Brother Gu, we will come to collect the tofu tomorrow."

Third Grandpa nodded: "Alright, but how much you can take, we’ll see tomorrow."

The contract did not specify how much tofu was to be sold to the He family, only that whatever amount the Gu Family provided was final and the He family could not object.

Though somewhat domineering, tofu was in hot demand and sold extremely well, and Village Chief He and his associates only wanted the Gu Family to supply them with tofu to sell for a profit. Other minor details they were willing to ignore and not care about.

After the tofu business was settled, Village Chief He stayed at the Gu household for a while, until Gu Jin’an came home.

Seeing Gu Jin’an arrive, Village Chief He smiled and said: "Good Brother An has returned; I heard you’ve been studying with Scholar Shang. That’s quite impressive."

Gu Jin’an glimpsed Village Chief He and hesitated for a moment, then came over and gave a cupped-hand salute, saying: "Village Chief, Uncle Dacang."

Village Chief He saw that Gu Jin’an looked good and had proper etiquette, and nodded with satisfaction. He pointed at He Jinseng and said: "This is your elder brother Jin Sheng, sixteen this year, a year older than you, and also studying."

Gu Jin’an looked toward He Jinseng and greeted with a smile: "Elder brother Jin Sheng."

He Jinseng returned the gesture to Gu Jin’an, replying: "Good Brother An."

Grandpa brought him to the Gu family specifically to make friends with Gu Jin’an today.

Grandpa said, since Gu Jin’an has apprenticed under Scholar Shang, not only is Scholar Shang knowledgeable, but he is also the son-in-law of Lord County Captain. If he can befriend Gu Jin’an, he might be able to visit Scholar Shang’s Family, or even meet Lord County Captain at the County Captain’s Family, which would be very beneficial for him.

He Jinseng didn’t like this; in the past, Grandpa wanted him to play with the grandsons of the Lu Family, but those Lu brothers only bullied him.

Village Chief He, however, didn’t care how He Jinseng felt. He had already stood up and said to Third Grandpa: "I and Uncle Dacang will head back first. Jin Sheng and Good Brother An are about the same age and are both studying, so I’ll let Jin Sheng discuss scholarship with Good Brother An and come back later."

He Jinseng had no other choice but to stay.

After Village Chief He returned home, he asked He Dacang to pass the word to several honest families of the He Family to come to his house and discuss the tofu business.

As soon as He Dacang called those families over, the news spread like the wind throughout the whole village. The entire He family was shocked, filled with both jealousy and unwillingness, and all flocked toward Village Chief He’s house.