Chapter 365: Take the Benefits, and Reap the Fisherman’s Profit

Upon hearing Guo Zijian’s words, Old Master Li knew the old fellow had misunderstood.

"Old Guo, look at you. Where has your mind wandered?" Old Master Li shook his head and chuckled. "How could I possibly cast this child aside? Besides, Dongmei has made a sacrifice for our two families, and I haven’t forgotten that. The Wu family may have broken off the engagement for this very reason, but I still can’t abandon the child. However, you know how much we need the Wu family’s power right now. So, we’ll have to ask Dongmei to bear a grievance. We need her to get engaged, or even married, to a reliable man as soon as possible. We’ll say the child belongs to someone else, not Gongming."

"This... This..." Mr. Guo breathed a small sigh of relief. He had heard that abortions were very harmful to a woman’s body. Besides, he also wanted to have another piece of leverage over the Li family. But if Dongmei admitted the child wasn’t a Li, then they would lose any future threat against the family.

Of course, Old Master Li understood the old fox Guo Zijian’s thoughts. He chuckled and said, "Old Guo, your eldest son, Guo Donghai, is young and promising. I’ll hand the Northeast market over to him. What do you think?"

Hearing this, Mr. Guo’s eyes lit up. Based on the Guo Family’s power and his son Guo Donghai’s own abilities, there was absolutely no way he could have obtained that position.

"As for Dongmei, I won’t treat her unfairly either. I’ll arrange a very good position for her in the South. She can’t stay in Jincheng City. Let her go work in the South for a few years and come back when the child is a bit older," Old Master Li said. "Old Guo, I can only ask you and Dongmei to endure this hardship. But you know as well as I do, Gu Qingyu’s momentum has been fierce lately. If we don’t handle this properly, we’ll give Gu Qingyu an opening to exploit."

Mr. Guo listened with a great deal of emotion, nodded, and said, "Elder Brother, it hasn’t been easy for our two families to get to where we are today. Our current achievements and status were earned through storms and struggles. Of course, we can’t let one single incident lead to a catastrophe. For your sake, Elder Brother, I’ll grit my teeth and accept."

Old Master Li was very pleased that Guo Zijian could see the bigger picture and make a concession.

Although the promises and rewards he offered were very generous, Old Master Li believed that once they defeated Gu Qingyu, the benefits they would reap would far outweigh the loss from this small concession.

"Good, Zijian, you truly are a good brother to me!" Old Master Li said with emotion, deeply moved. "To think, we were just nobodies back then. But after more than a decade of hard work, we’ve grown continuously to become one of the top families in Jincheng City. If we want to protect this glory, or even take another step forward, we must be willing to pay an even crueler price. I know we’ve wronged Dongmei this time. But you must tell her that as long as the Li family can remain stable, we will surely bring her supreme glory."

"Thank you, Elder Brother Li. I will pass this on to Dongmei," Mr. Guo said. "Don’t you worry, that child of mine, Dongmei, has always been very sensible since she was young."

Sensible?

Old Master Li just smiled without further comment, but inwardly, he held Guo Dongmei’s actions in great contempt.

Old Master Li and Mr. Guo, the two old men, discussed matters late into the night before reaching a comprehensive agreement. Then, Mr. Guo left the Li family residence in the dead of night.

"Bastards! Bastards! This is utterly outrageous! Utterly outrageous!" Mr. Guo was furious. After returning home, he flew into a rage, so much so that the Guo family servants didn’t dare to enter the room.

In the end, it was Guo Donghai who braced himself and came in. He asked, "Father, what on earth happened to make you fly into such a rage?"

"What else could it be? The Li family has gone too far! They actually went back on their previous promise to us!" Although Mr. Guo had agreed to the Li family’s demands in their presence, and even accepted their compensation, he was, after all, the head of the family. To convince his son and daughter, he had to adopt the attitude of a patriarch.

’You are making a sacrifice, and it pains me as well. But for the sake of the Guo family, every one of us must make sacrifices and concessions.’

This was Mr. Guo’s strategy.

"They changed the agreement? How is that possible?" Guo Donghai was astonished, unable to believe it. "If the Li family changed their strategy so rashly, then our previous plans must also be changed accordingly!"

"Yes, that’s why I’m so angry. After all, we had made such thorough plans. Now, even our scheme to rise up by stepping on the Li family after their downfall is temporarily useless," Mr. Guo said resentfully. "However, the Li family has compensated us. They’re giving you the market in the Northeast."

"Ah?" Guo Donghai was overjoyed to hear this. ’This doesn’t seem like a bad thing at all.’ "Father, what does our Guo family have to give in return?"

"Sigh, your sister is the one who has to suffer for this!" Mr. Guo said with a sigh. "The Wu family found out your sister is pregnant, so they broke off the engagement with the Li family. But the Lis don’t want to give up a powerful in-law like the Wu family, so they want your sister to temporarily get engaged and marry another man, have the baby, and then insist it’s not Li Gongming’s."

’My God, the Li family really is outrageous! They treat our Guo family like a soft persimmon they can squeeze however they please!’

’Even though they gave some compensation, this completely strips the Guo family of all face.’

"If we agree to the Li family’s demands, then later, if they refuse to acknowledge the child in Dongmei’s belly, we’ll have no recourse," Guo Donghai said with difficulty. "In that case, we’d lose a piece of leverage against the Li family."

"That’s right. By doing this, the Li family can advance or retreat as they please. But we also stand to gain, which is why I agreed," Mr. Guo said. "Actually, after the Wu and Li families were engaged, I had already decided to give up on the Lis. So we’re switching to plan B: we will take the benefits the Li family is offering, and we’ll also reap the rewards after Gu Qingyu and the Li family are done fighting."

"Sigh, I suppose that’s the only way. Your considerations are thorough, Father, so we aren’t in a passive position. All that matters now is that Dongmei is willing," Guo Donghai said in a low voice. "We should tell my sister about this sooner rather than later. The sooner we make our preparations, the sooner we can put the Li family’s minds at ease."

"Go on, bring Dongmei here. I’ll speak with her," Mr. Guo said in a low voice. When it came to his daughter, he was very confident he could persuade her.

When Guo Dongmei arrived, Mr. Guo explained the decision. Afterward, Guo Dongmei remained silent, her head bowed.

After a long while, Guo Dongmei raised her head, her face streaming with tears. "Father, why is my life so bitter?"

Mr. Guo hadn’t expected his daughter’s first words to be these.

"Dongmei, let’s not compare ourselves to others. Let’s compare ourselves to our neighbors, the Xiang family. Because they refused to yield, refused to be flexible, they ended up with their family shattered and scattered—wife and children gone, the family ruined. Who knows what forgotten corner of the world they’re holed up in now, just trying to survive! So you tell me, is their fate bitter or not?" Mr. Guo didn’t answer his daughter’s question directly, but instead gave her an example.