Chapter 815 - 818: Persuasion

Chapter 815: Chapter 818: Persuasion

Jin Qianqian didn’t expect Gu Dashi to be involved in this as well. "Didn’t they say he hasn’t concerned himself with family matters for years?"

"That is, if he could even manage them," Liu Liu blurted out. Realizing her slip of the tongue, she quickly covered her mouth. Seeing the knowing look in Jin Qianqian’s eyes, she offered a toothy smile. "Anyway, you just need to remember one thing: Mother has the final say in our family.

"At the time, Father seemed to have said something about how they’re all our own descendants, and that Old Seventh should help out however he could.

"Mother pointed her finger right at his nose and gave him a terrible scolding. It was a whole litany of things, but I only remember her saying that Father harbored ill intentions.

"Tell me, what kind of logic is this? When other women marry out, they rack their brains trying to find ways to subsidize their maiden families. But Yuanfeng, on the other hand, can’t wait to hoard everything for her husband’s family.

"We’ve humored her and her trivial nonsense so many times, yet in her eyes, not a single one of us is a good person.

"Anyway, the rest of our households are all disappointed in her. You need to keep a firm grasp on things on your end too. I’m afraid she won’t give up so easily."

Jin Qianqian shook her head. "It seems Shi Dayong is utterly useless too. For a grown man to actually rely on using his own wife to reap benefits... I don’t know if it’s because Mother has poor taste in sons-in-law, or if Gu Yuanfeng is just too bizarre."

In Jin Qianqian’s view, every pot had its lid. It was impossible for Shi Dayong to be oblivious to everything Gu Yuanfeng was doing. By the same token, Gu Yuanfeng knew exactly what Shi Dayong was plotting. For her to still act this way with total disregard for her maiden family meant she was only looking out for her own interests. At the end of the day, it was nothing but selfishness.

"Mother once complained in private that if she had known Shi Dayong was this kind of person back then, she wouldn’t have married her daughter off to him no matter what.

"Even if it meant building two extra rooms in the village and having Gu Yuanfeng raise her two children as if she were a widow, it would have been better than dealing with all this endless trouble later on.

"It truly is a pity for Chuncao and her sister. To have a biological mother like her... they don’t even have anywhere to go to reason things out."

Jin Qianqian was speechless. She thought, "So, in a mother’s heart, when something goes wrong, it’s always someone else’s child at fault."

"It is a pity," Jin Qianqian agreed aloud.

Liu Liu said, "They asked me to come get you partly to ask what you plan to do about Chun Ya. Are you going to give her a dowry addition just like you did for Chuncao?"

Jin Qianqian found her choice of words quite interesting. The other side had directly demanded a full dowry, yet here Liu Liu was deliberately calling it a "dowry addition."

"They are both nieces, so naturally it wouldn’t be right to show favoritism. When Chuncao got married, we weren’t at home, so I don’t know how Mother prepared for it back then. When the time comes, I’ll just leave it to her to arrange everything together."

Jin Qianqian pushed the decision-making authority directly to Li Cuicui. Whatever amount was decided on later, she would only give more, never less.

Liu Liu understood immediately upon hearing this. "We understand now. Besides, over these past few years when the younger children got married, we all have a pretty clear idea of what kind of gifts she gave as their aunt.

"We won’t hold it against her. We’ll be a bit more generous so that, at the very least, things look decent on the surface."

Hearing these words full of contempt and complaint, Jin Qianqian could guess the general reason without even having to ask. She silently shook her head. This Gu Yuanfeng was truly something else. Had she forgotten all about basic human interactions and reciprocal etiquette?

Perhaps she hadn’t forgotten, but was simply emboldened by the belief that she had nothing to fear.

The subject of their discussion, Gu Yuanfeng, snuck into the village the very next day and found Gu Dashi.

"Father, I am your daughter. Look at how prosperous my oldest brother and the others are living, and how successful your children and grandchildren have become.

"Then look at me. You only have this one eldest grandson from my side. Are you really willing to let him languish in mediocrity in this village?

"Our Laiyun isn’t like those nieces and nephews. If he truly succeeds, the first person he will never forget is definitely you, his maternal grandfather.

"He has mentioned to me time and time again that if he had some family wealth, the first thing he would do is take you in to live with us. He would take you out to see the world when he had the chance. It would be much better than being cooped up in this room."

Gu Dashi stared thoughtfully at his numb legs. "Did that child really say that?"

"How could it be fake? You’ve just spent too little time with him to know what kind of person he is. He only looks a bit unreliable, but deep down, he values relationships more than anyone.

"Sometimes when I do a few chores and accidentally bump into something, his heart aches for half the day, and he’ll even stop me from doing any more work."

Gu Dashi looked at her with a smile, his gaze lingering on her well-maintained hands for a long time. He said pointedly, "I heard you kept both of your biological daughters by your side. I saw those two girls before, and they had thick calluses on their hands. It seems they’ve done their fair share of toiling over the Shi family’s household chores."

"Father, they are the younger generation. It’s only right for them to do a little more work," Gu Yuanfeng said. "Did someone come over here to gossip again?

"You know how it is. If you don’t discipline children, they’ll just laze around. I’m their biological mother and I only wish the best for them. Would I actually harm them?"

"I know why you’ve come," Gu Dashi said. "But I’ve already spoken up for you once about this matter. Don’t bring it up again in the future."

"Why?" Gu Yuanfeng asked anxiously. "Father, after all these years, you are the head of the family. You can’t always listen to Mother."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? How could I possibly listen to your mother?" Gu Dashi raised his head and declared loudly. "In the past, we told you to rein in your temper, but what did you do?

"Let me tell you, before you even got here, many of the clan elders came to me to discuss this very matter, telling me to properly discipline you.

"Because you are my only daughter, I suppressed the issue, but you can’t put your father in a difficult position and make it impossible for me to answer to the clan."

After years of being constantly brainwashed by others, Gu Dashi’s mindset had been slowly shifting. Gu Wenheng had brought him, his biological father, immense glory. In the future, even when facing their ancestors, he would be able to hold his head high.

The entire family had been repeatedly instructed not to smear the clan’s reputation or drag them down. Only then would it be possible for them to become a century-old noble family.

Whoever dared to be the first to cause trouble would become the enemy of everyone else and would no longer be able to stay in the village. Even if he was Gu Wenheng’s biological father, it wouldn’t save him when the time came. The Clan Leader had the authority to adopt someone out to another branch, and this was something Gu Dashi absolutely could not tolerate.

Gu Sanbu thought that without such intimidation and threats, there was no telling how Gu Dashi would have taken the lead in stirring up trouble.

"Father, it’s not like I’m asking Old Seventh to do anything atrocious. I just want him to give his nephew a way to survive," Gu Yuanfeng said, bringing a basket out from behind her. "Look, this is the fine wine your filial eldest grandson found for you."

"Wine?" Gu Dashi’s eyes sparkled. He hadn’t touched a drop in over a decade.

He eagerly reached out to take the bottle. Opening the lid, he greedily sniffed the aroma of the alcohol.

"How is it?" Gu Yuanfeng asked, smugly taking a few dishes of snacks to go with the wine out of the basket. "To bring these things in, your eldest grandson had to coax the old lady for ages. Father, you see, your youngest daughter’s family treats you the best, right?"