Chapter 201: The Brothers Are All Back To Pay A Visit (2)
His words shocked everyone!
“Something is about to happen? What is it?” Gu Conghua had a sense of foreboding.
Gu Yunjing glanced at his aged father and said, “Things are rather messy where I am now. I might… might be demoted and sent for labor reformation.”
Gu Conghua instantly turned pale.
Wen Ruyu was terrified. “Reformation? Why do you need to reform? This… will anything happen to you? Where are you going? Is it one of those desolate places? Does… does Jinye have to go too?”
Gu Jinye was the eldest grandson in the Gu family. He was twenty-eight years old and still single.
Gu Yunjing glanced at his eldest son and said with some regret, “Jinye will have to go too. Even if he stays, I doubt he’ll be able to remain in his position for long. Even I have to go. If Jinye stays, nothing good will come of it. Now we are just hoping to keep our family together.”
“What… what shall we do?” Wen Ruyu started to cry.
Gu Yunjing was filled with guilt when he saw his aged mother sobbing.
He had worked away from his home for many years, but in the end, he still caused his parents so much worry.
“Mother, Mother, don’t worry. It’s my own plan to leave. Beihan told me that I might be in danger if I stayed, so I thought I might as well find a way to leave. Actually, we are just going away for a while until this blows over. I will certainly be able to return after a couple of years. Please don’t worry.”
“Grandma, don’t worry. These are our own arrangements. Nothing will happen to us. When things have died down after a couple of years, we’ll be able to come back.” Gu Jinye comforted Wen Ruyu.
Wen Ruyu’s face was covered with tears. She clutched Gu Jinye’s hand. “But… but demotion always means suffering! Our lives are hard enough. This… you aren’t even married yet. If you are demoted, what… what will we do!”
Gu Jinye’s smile was a little forced. “Grandma, I’ll be able to come back in a couple of years’ time. I might even find a wife while I’m demoted!”
Eldest Aunt, Fang Ling, looked rather angry. “We already made a match for Jinye. The last time Yao Yao sent us so many good things, we made our preparations and gathered many things. We already agreed on the match. But now the other side is having second thoughts.”
Fang Ling grew angry when she thought of it.
She had been so nice to the girl. After they were introduced, Jinye had taken so many nice things from their family to give to her. Now there were only rumors of their demotion, but no actual news. However, the girl had already changed her mind. It was too much!
Gu Yunjing said, “Alright, let’s not talk about these things. Just as well Jinye didn’t marry someone like that, or he would be worse off.”
Fang Ling snorted coldly, but held her tongue.
Gu Qingyao was bewildered as she listened from the sidelines.
Eldest Uncle’s family was being demoted?
Had such a thing happened in her previous life? That’s right, in her previous life, Eldest Uncle’s family had indeed been demoted, but at that time, it was only her eldest uncle and aunt, and not her eldest cousin.
To be precise, he was not demoted at first, but he ran into trouble later on.
At that time, her eldest cousin was already married, but had run into trouble not long after his marriage. The girl divorced him and took the initiative to break off their ties.
Her eldest uncle’s family only returned after five years.
At this time in her previous life, she had been hiding at home, not daring to go out! The adults had not told her about all these things. She had only learnt about them later, long after Eldest Uncle’s family was demoted.
She only found out about her eldest cousin’s marriage and divorce long after the incident had occurred.
When she thought about it carefully, it had indeed happened around this time.
Were the present circumstances different from her previous life?
“Eldest Uncle, did you say it was Elder Brother Beihan who told you the news?”
Chapter 202: The Brothers Are All Back To Pay A Visit (3)
Gu Yunjing looked at Gu Qingyao, startled.
Only then did he recall that the children were all playing outside. Only the adults were here, and Gu Qingyao was now an adult.
She was about to be engaged!
Gu Yunjing nodded and said, “That’s right, it was Beihan who told me. His comrade brought me a message, telling me to be careful. If all else fails, I should take the initiative to leave. In that way, the blow will not be so severe, and I can even decide where to go, so there is some element of choice.”
Gu Qingyao frowned and thought about it. Her eldest uncle’s family had indeed suffered greatly in her previous life. At that time, they had brought the two young boys along as well. But most crucially, Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt had been separated and Eldest Cousin had been sent even further away.
Mo Beihan had told him?
How did Elder Brother Beihan know?
Gu Qingyao could not figure it out.
Gu Qingyao was still young, and a girl, so Gu Yunjing paid her no more attention when he saw that she did not say anything more.
Instead, he told the two old people, “Father, Mother, right now I’ll probably be leaving for the north-east. The environment there is harsh, so I thought I would send the two younger ones here instead.
“If I and the children’s mother have to suffer, then so be it. Jinye doesn’t have a choice either. He’s grown up, and we’re not so worried about him. But I really can’t bear to bring the two little ones with us.”
The two young ones were nine and six years old, respectively. How could they bear to bring such young children up north to suffer?
Gu Yunshen thought about it and said, “In that case, it would be best to leave the two younger ones here. The north is too far and the environment is too harsh. The children probably cannot stand it. Let them stay here! When we have time, our father and I can teach them to read and write.
“Once Eldest Brother’s family leaves, Third Brother might as well leave his two children here as well. That way, the children won’t find it so odd. Otherwise, if Eldest Brother leaves without the children, Little Six and Little Nine will be sad to see Little Seven and Little Eight leave with their parents.”
In the Gu family, only the boys were ranked. Gu Ruoqing’s case was special. Both the old people and Gu Yunshen had never thought of her as part of the family.
So all the rest were boys, and Gu Qingyao was the only girl.
In terms of ranking, everyone’s habit was to rank only the boys. Gu Qingyao was the exception.
Of the two young boys in Eldest Uncle’s family, Gu Jinrui was currently nine years old and was number six. The younger boy was six years old, and was number nine.
The two older boys in Second Uncle’s family were already grown up. They were number two and number four.
The two little ones in Third Uncle’s family were twins. They were eight years old and were numbers seven and eight.
Let them all stay?
It would not be easy to bring up four children. Just feeding them alone would require a lot of food!
As the fourth brother, Gu Yunshen had remained in their hometown all these years to take care of their parents. Because of that, his three older brothers were free to leave and establish their careers without any worries. Now they were rather embarrassed that they even had to leave their children in their old home.
Eldest Brother had no choice. But Third Uncle was embarrassed.
“That… that’s not right! I’ll bring Little Seven and Eight back! There are so many children at home…”
“By the way, where’s Qing Qing?”
Eldest Uncle interrupted Third Uncle before he could finish speaking.
Third Uncle said there were so many children, but Eldest Uncle, Gu Yunjing, had not yet seen Gu Ruoqing.
That child was not very likable, but she was still a granddaughter of the Gu family, so Eldest Uncle asked about her.
Eldest Uncle’s family had not yet heard about Gu Yunshen and Zhang Xiaohui’s divorce.
Gu Yunshen recounted what had happened and also told them about Gu Yunshuang.
“What?”
Gu Yunjing was so angry he almost leapt up.
Chapter 203: The Brothers Are All Back To Pay A Visit (4)
Gu Yunjing really disliked that woman, Zhang Xiaohui. He had always felt a little guilty towards his younger brother, and now that he discovered that his brother had been bullied by a woman, he was furious.
Especially Gu Yunshuang. His only younger sister had suffered so much.
Gu Yunshen pacified him a little before Eldest Uncle’s temper cooled.
“They’ve gone too far!”
Gu Qingyao suddenly said, “Eldest Uncle, Third Uncle, don’t be angry. I’ve visited the Li family and considering the circumstances, it’s best that Younger Aunt is back. Also, she had no regrets about her divorce. She has long wanted to leave the Li family, but the situation over there is complicated, and the brigade leader, Li Aiguo, is difficult to deal with.
“Since all of you are back today, why don’t you get Younger Aunt’s accounts and food rations transferred here! While you’re doing that, get them to write a divorce certificate. Also, Ting Ting must break off her ties with them. That Li Dahai is really a poor specimen of a man. I’m worried that when our family does better in the future, the Li family will bother Younger Aunt and Ting Ting.
“The Li family members are fairly easy to deal with, but everyone thinks that Li Dahai is a good man – filial, honest and simple. If he apologizes and refuses to leave Younger Aunt and Ting Ting alone, others might even speak up for him. Then Ting Ting will be in trouble!”
Gu Yunshen thought about it and said, “That’s right. Yao Yao is right. Eldest Brother, we should seize the opportunity before the news of your demotion becomes common knowledge. We brothers, Jinye and the other cousins should go together. Li Aiguo will probably be wary when he sees all of you. If you can get Younger Sister’s rations back, then that will be good. But if you can’t, then at least you must get a clean break from that family. That will save trouble in the future.”
Gu Yunjing was very angry. “Alright. We’ll go together. In fact, we’ll go now. We’ll settle it so we can enjoy Yao Yao’s engagement dinner tomorrow.”
“Alright!”
They had returned at an opportune moment. They had boarded the train on the morning of the eighth to Jiangchong City, and arrived home just past lunchtime.
They had plenty of time if they went now.
So the brothers packed up and put Gu Yunshuang in the cart. They lined the cart with thick blankets and covered her with more blankets. Li Fangting also sat in the cart. Then the troop of them marched grandly off towards the Poplar Brigade.
The members of the Poplar Brigade had just finished lunch when they saw the large group from the Gu family arrive. All of them were tall and well-built, and their expressions were grim. When they saw Gu Yunshuang and Li Fangting in the cart, they knew that these must be the Gu family brothers returning to settle accounts with the Li family.
Everyone in the nearby brigades knew the Gu family. They were famous landlords. Much of the Poplar Brigade had once belonged to the Gu family. They were truly an important family.
It was just after lunch and many members of the Poplar Brigade were sunning themselves. Today, the sun was unusually bright and many of them were gathered together, softly discussing how Old Madam Li had met a ghost last night.
Old Madam Li was an active member of the brigade and often went on stage to give speeches during propaganda sessions. She even talked about the importance of believing in science. For years, Old Madam Li had flaunted herself as someone who was well versed in science!
But last night, she had wailed tragically as she half-crawled, half-ran home. Along the way, she continued to shout about ghosts.
Everyone had run to the Li house to look. Old Madam Li had been beaten until her face was bruised and swollen. She was drenched and half-frozen. She was a pathetic sight.
When they asked her what had happened and who had beaten her, she said she had encountered a ghost. What a strange incident!
When they saw a crowd from the Gu family arriving, everyone hurried over to watch the show.
The Gu family immediately headed for the brigade leader, Li Aiguo’s house.
Li Aiguo was smoking in his house, but came out when he heard the noise. When he saw the group from the Gu family, his knees grew weak and he collapsed to sit on the ground.
“What… what do you want?”
Chapter 204: The Brothers Are All Back To Pay A Visit (5)
Everyone was shocked by this scene!
Li Aiguo was usually very arrogant. Why was he suddenly so scared?
When Gu Yunjing saw how Li Aiguo was behaving, a trace of disdain flashed across his eyes. Li Aiguo had been a vagrant in the Poplar Brigade. He had even beaten up this fellow once before he left home. At that time, that bastard had not even dared to resist. Who could have known that in these times, someone like that could become the brigade leader.
What irony!
Gu Yunjing said, “Are you Comrade Li Aiguo, the leader of the Poplar Brigade?”
Li Aiguo was a local ruffian and could only bully ignorant villagers. He was naturally frightened of someone like Gu Yunjing, who had worked for years outside the village. He not only held an important position, but was also an imposing person!
“You… who are you? What do you want?”
His knees were still weak and he had not managed to get to his feet.
The men of the Gu family seldom came back, especially the oldest, Gu Yunjing. He had not been back for many years. Now Li Aiguo was frightened and unable to recognize Gu Yunjing.
At that point, Gu Yunshuang and Li Fangting were still in the cart. Li Aiguo had not seen them, so he could not remember who this man in front of him was.
Gu Yunjing said, “I am Gu Yunjing, Gu Yunshuang’s oldest brother. I heard that she’s divorced. Li Dahai beat her until she miscarried, then the Li family chased her out of the house. We brothers happen to be back today, so we are here to transfer our younger sister’s accounts.”
When he heard that they were here to transfer her accounts, some of Li Aiguo’s courage returned. He painfully scrambled to his feet.
Gu Jinye, Gu Jinfeng and Gu Jinlin abruptly entered the Li house and moved all the tables and chairs out.
The sun was shining brightly today and it was warm in the yard. The Li house was built such that the front yard was out of the wind and it was comfortable to stay there, under the sun.
Li Aiguo sat down. The three brothers, Gu Yunjing, Gu Yundong and Gu Yunshen occupied the other three sides.
Gu Yunjing said, “Comrade Li Aiguo, since Gu Yunshuang is divorced from Comrade Li Dahai, then her accounts should naturally return to the Gu family. Her food rations should also be transferred. In the future, she will live in the Qing River Brigade. We are here today to complete all the procedures.”
Li Aiguo looked at the six men from the Gu family. All of them were tall, well-built and grim looking. Just the sight of them frightened him. He was instinctively fearful, and nodded.
“That’s only right. Now people are free to marry as they please. Since they are divorced, they should cut their ties cleanly and return home as soon as possible.”
He was the brigade leader. Of course, he could do these things.
Gu Yunjing said, “There is one more matter. When Gu Yunshuang and Li Dahai got married, there was no marriage certificate. Now that they’re divorced, it is better to have written proof. Otherwise, others might not believe that they are divorced. Then whether Gu Yunshuang or Li Dahai marries again, there might be trouble later on. Let’s write a certificate and have both of them add their thumbprints. Then it will be clear in the future.”
Li Aiguo thought for a while and felt that this made sense.
Gu Yunshuang was the daughter of a landlord family. It was her good fortune to be able to marry Li Dahai. But she was completely useless and unable to give the Li family a son after so many years. Who would marry a woman like that?
In the future, Gu Yunshuang would not be able to marry again, and might come back to make trouble. It would be good to have a certificate.
Li Dahai did not quibble over this point. He simply told someone to go over to the Li House and get Li Dahai.
But just as the person was prepared to go over and get Li Dahai, the entire Li family came over in an imposing group.
Old Madam Li had just been beaten yesterday and was still running a fever, so the Li brothers carried her over on a plank.
Old Madam Li sat grandly on the plank, looking for all the world like the Empress Dowager on progress.
Chapter 205: The Brothers Are All Back To Pay A Visit (6)
Old Madam Li had done very well over the past few years. Emancipated serfs sing proudly. She had not dreamt that she would attain such a lofty status one day!
Over the years, she had grown used to her lofty position. But last night, someone had dared to hit her!
The crux was not that someone had beat her, or that someone had poured cold water over her, but that others were mocking her!
Actually, Old Madam Li still shivered at the thought of what had happened last night. But she was a proud woman. Although she was afraid, she would not allow others to make fun of her.
She knew that last night’s incident was already common knowledge and everyone was discussing it fervently. How could she bear such embarrassment?
She had been terrified last night, and drenched in cold water. Now she was running a high fever and was very ill.
But when she heard that the Gu family was here to get even, Old Madam Li immediately jumped up.
My God!
A landlord and a family of bad elements dared to make trouble for the Li family? She would see what this Gu family could do!
Old Madam Li was so ill that she could barely stand, but she called her sons to carry her out. She heard that the Gu Family had gone to the brigade leader’s home, so the Li family also made for Li Aiguo’s house.
Along the way, Old Madam Li continued to berate Li Dahai. “It’s all your fault for marrying that jinx. She hasn’t had a single son after so many years in our family, but only gave birth to another useless mouth. Look at your brothers, which of them has girls?
“Now look what’s happened. It doesn’t end with a divorce. She dares to bring her brothers here to make trouble? She’s a girl from a landlord family. She’s incredibly lucky to marry into our Li Family. She’s not only ungrateful, but she also dares to come to make trouble. How dare she!
“Has she ever shown any respect for you as a husband?
“It’s the new year and we Lis are being humiliated by that jinx!”
She scolded Li Dahai so hard that he dared not raise his head.
In his heart, he also felt that Gu Yunshuang had gone a little overboard. There was nothing that could not be discussed at home. Was it necessary to make such a big scene?
More and more people gathered to watch the excitement. There were people in Li Aiguo’s yard, outside his yard, and perched on the walls.
When everyone saw the Li family’s grand entrance, they were so frightened they moved aside to let the Li family pass.
Old Madam Li just sat on the plank, her legs covered with a blanket as the Li brothers carried her across the threshold.
“Who dares to make trouble for the Li family? Are you tired of living?”
Old Madam Li started shouting loudly the moment the plank reached the door to the yard.
The Gu family turned to see the Li family make a grand entrance. Even Gu Yunjing was taken aback.
Gu Jinye, Gu Jinfeng and Gu Jinlin were thoroughly frightened when they saw Old Madam Li.
This was Younger Aunt’s mother-in-law?
Shit!
But Gu Yunjing had held an important position for a long time, and had plenty of experience with important occasions. He was startled for a moment, but instantly regained his composure.
These people were truly a bad lot. Matters had already reached this point, yet they not only showed no remorse, but continued to behave so arrogantly. It was just as well that Younger Sister had left a family like that!
Gu Yunjing was displeased with the Li family, and his expression grew frosty. His demeanor grew even more imposing and he began to radiate a murderous aura. His malevolent and bloodshot eyes looked at the group from the Li family.
The Li family, who had been acting so grandly, shivered when they entered the door and saw Gu Yunjing’s murderous look. An icy feeling crawled up their spines. Their imposing manner immediately vanished.
Even Li Aiguo, who was sitting nearby, could not help but shiver.