Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside

Chapter 549: Usury



Master Qi sat in the main hall, taking a long while to fully recover before taking out another invitation and handing it to Gu Jinli: "Gu Family's daughter, Elder Gu, and Gu family's elder sister, since yesterday's banquet was missed, this is an invitation I personally issued, to please visit the Qi Mansion for a gathering."

He then said to Gu Jinli: "The lady of my house is very keen to meet you. She has a gentle temperament and treats people with great kindness."

Unlike his mother, there is no need to worry about any schemes or plots.

But Gu Jinli refused: "There's no need for meals, doing business as usual is fine."

She disliked being obligated to attend social functions. To her, business that could be done should be done; if not, then forget it. Engaging in social flattery over meals, she preferred to sleep in at home.

Seeing that she was reluctant to go, Master Qi turned to Third Grandpa: "Elder Gu?"

Third Grandpa smiled and waved his hand, saying: "We appreciate Master Qi's kind gesture, but there's no need for a meal."

Master Qi felt a sense of frustration. Was the food at his home that unappetizing? So much so that they wouldn't even accept the invitation?

He then called out: "Old housekeeper."

The old housekeeper of the Qi Mansion handed a well-written letter to Gu Jinli: "This is about the Li Family's situation. Young miss, take a look and have a good laugh."

Gu Jinli took the letter and passed it to Gu Daya. The chaos at the Li Family would surely amuse Gu Daya, who was directly affected, even more.

After some more small talk with Gu Jinli and Third Grandpa, upon realizing it was all rather awkward, Master Qi got up and took his leave.

Third Grandpa accompanied Gu Jinli and the others to see off Master Qi.

Gu Jinli told Master Qi: "Regarding the tools, there is no need for sir to rush. If the timing isn't right, we can wait until the end of the month when Qi Family comes to get spices, and have them delivered together."

Master Qi nodded in agreement, then boarded the mule cart with his sons and called for the old housekeeper to join them.

After the mule cart left Le'an Street, Master Qi frowned and asked his old housekeeper: "Do you think Gu Family's daughter has let go of her anger, or is she still fuming?"

The old housekeeper, understanding what Master Qi was worried about, chuckled: "Gu Family's daughter didn't just say pleasantries, it's just her nature to dislike complexity, preferring to handle matters in a straightforward manner. In this old servant's opinion, Second Young Master shouldn't overcomplicate things – just stick to business, buy goods, pay silver, that's all. No need to delve into anything else."

Master Qi, feeling reassured, couldn't help but ask: "Is the Qi Family really that bad? Why does that girl look down on us?"

Qi Yun and Qi He also looked towards the Old Gu Family. Right, is the Qi Family really that bad? Are we, as brothers, really that inadequate? Even a farmer girl looks down upon us, what a strange tale.

The old housekeeper smiled and said: "Second Young Master is overthinking it. The life of a farmer is actually very simple: earn money to feed themselves. Gu Family's daughter has made her stance very clear, so there's no need for us to overthink it."

He then turned to look at Qi Yun and Qi He, who were staring at him with wide eyes, and said: "Gu Family's daughter is fierce; she does whatever pleases her. As this old servant sees it, she truly looks down on the inner courtyards of noble families. Over ninety percent of farmer folks spend their lives with just one man and one wife, never having a second woman. Gu Family's daughter surely knows that noble families like to take concubines, and that's why she straightforwardly clarified her stance, to avoid future troubles."

The faces of Qi Yun and Qi He turned green; that statement blatantly told them to wake up and stop having illusions – she simply had no regard for their family's inner courtyard.

After the housekeeper explained, Master Qi and his two sons finally understood that Gu Jinli wasn't just talking big; she was speaking the absolute truth. She wanted to do business in a straightforward manner without any troublesome issues, otherwise, she would turn hostile!

Master Qi dropped this topic and started asking the housekeeper about the selling of spices in the Capital.

The housekeeper said, "The Gu Family's daughter's reminder was on point. Although our Qi Family is a noble family in He'an Prefecture, we are not considered prominent or have royal connections in the Capital. To keep our foundation in He'an Prefecture stable and to take over the Jianghuai region would suffice. Business in the Capital should be conducted slowly; being too conspicuous could bring disaster."

He had always felt that business in the Capital was scarily good. If it continued to thrive like this, the Qi Family would eventually attract the attention of the royal family and the nobility. What then should the Qi Family do?

It would be better to just focus on Jianghuai, earning money steadily and securely.

Qi He said, "The spices belong to the Gu Family. Even if we inspect the goods upon receiving them, if someone in the Capital frames us, the Gu Family would also be implicated. Aren't they afraid?"

He didn't quite like the Gu Family's daughter; although she was beautiful, she was fierce, and her speech unpleasant. He preferred gentle and kind-hearted girls, not a fierce woman like the Gu Family's daughter, who frightened him just by looking at her.

The housekeeper sighed, "In the past, if the Qi Family encountered trouble, the Gu Family would have been unavoidably involved. But now with the backing of the Zheng and Shangguan families, even if the Qi Family were to be destroyed by the Capital's nobles, the Gu Family would remain unharmed."

The Zheng and Shangguan families were not only noble families but also related to the royal family. Protecting a family like the Gu Family would be easy. The Gu Family's daughter was clever; at most, she would sacrifice half of the spice trade to these families to bring them into the partnership. How could she possibly still fear being implicated by the Qi Family?

Master Qi felt like crying when he heard this. His mother had always said that the Gu Family were mere peasants who looked down on others, but looking at the Gu Family now, they had found many powerful supporters, each more formidable than the Qi Family, and would never face any trouble, unlike his own lamentable Qi Family.

After returning home, Master Qi immediately wrote a letter to his elder brother in the Capital, laid out all of the pros and cons, and suggested closing the spice shop and temporarily halting business in the Capital, focusing only on stabilizing He'an Prefecture and holding their ground in Jianghuai.

Master Qi's brother, after receiving the letter and despite the pain of losing silver, knew the severity of the situation; one should only bite off as much as they can chew. Being too greedy would not end well, so he wrote back to Master Qi agreeing to his decision.

...

Gu Jinli instructed Qiu Lang and Feng Jin to move the medicine grinding tools inside the house: "Make sure everything is packed up. We will take them all back when we return home."

"Sure, Young Master, we'll take good care of these tools," Qiu Lang assured as he and others moved the tools, feeling enthusiastic inside. The Young Master, despite her young age, knew how to do business and even gained the upper hand in dealings with a man in his thirties. Working for such a master, they felt confident and no longer anxious.

And the Young Master had told them not to call her the young mistress; everyone in the workshop called her Young Master, so they would do the same.

Qi Kangming was reading the letter from the Qi Family, feeling more and more satisfied as he read, "The Li Family really deserves it. If they keep going like this, they will eventually end up having to sell themselves into slavery."

Elder Li San was carefree. After being cheated in the grain business, he had ridiculously borrowed usury, hoping to use this money to trade in cotton and make up for his losses.

But usury was an insatiable beast, and borrowing such money could cost one their life.

Fortunately, Master Qi was decent enough. Upon knowing about this, he immediately stormed into the Li Family mansion, had the servants drag Elder Li San out for a good beating, and threatened him, saying if he dared to dabble in such crooked schemes again, they would take back his residence and let his family sleep on the streets.

Elder Li San was beaten severely and tearfully agreed.

Mrs. Qu was shocked to learn that Elder Li San had borrowed usury, grabbing him and demanding, "Old Master, you've borrowed usury? Who persuaded you to do this?"


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