Chapter 1696: Chapter 1696: Slipped Away

"There are several soldiers brought by Company Commander Liang with scarred faces, and two others had their hands chopped off. The warriors in the Northwest fighting Rong bandits are even worse off, yet you still begrudge giving some silver?"

The shopkeepers looked at each other, and said, "We know the soldiers work hard to resist the Rong bandits, but we’ve already paid the Kangrong tax and contributed, why do we have to pay again?!"

The shopkeepers were also very angry, as they had it tough too.

Zhang Sanjin said, "The Ministry of War has already sent people and brought the Emperor’s decree. If we don’t pay this silver, soldiers from the Ministry of War will come directly to chop people. I advise you not to be stingy, quickly hand over the silver, it’s not like you don’t have any. Besides, the court has also brought us medicine for curing the poisonous insect disease..."

Mrs. Chen, tired of listening to Zhang Sanjin’s nonsense, said, "So, we’re definitely paying this silver?"

"Of course you’re paying, Mrs. Chen; just wait till you’re bankrupt from paying, hahaha!" Mrs. Gao, like Mrs. Chen, loved to harshly criticize others whenever she found a flaw.

"You stinky woman, I’ll throw poisonous insects into your well so your family can’t do business and can’t even afford a sip of Northwestern wind!" Mrs. Chen was so angry she was about to roll up her sleeves to hit Mrs. Gao, but Zhang Sanjin said, "No, your shop doesn’t need to pay the tax."

"What?!"

Everyone present was shocked, including Mrs. Chen herself: "Why doesn’t my family have to pay?"

The good news came so suddenly, Mrs. Chen couldn’t believe it.

Zhang Sanjin said, "Company Commander Qin and Little Boss Gu achieved great merit, and the news reached the Emperor, who decreed that due to Little Boss Gu’s contribution in fighting Rong bandits and making medicine, their shops should be exempt from tax, and Little Boss Gu was also rewarded with one hundred taels of gold!"

"Really? Hahaha, the Lord Emperor truly is an insightful elder!" Mrs. Chen burst out in laughter, so loud that even the government officials had to retreat a few steps.

The shop doesn’t have to pay taxes, and since San Lang and Xiao Yu achieved merit, Mrs. Chen went into a frenzy, pushed through the crowd, got to Mrs. Gao, and pulled her hair, slapping her twice: "Stinky woman, did you hear that? My niece achieved merit. The shop doesn’t have to pay taxes and was even praised by the Lord Emperor. The person the Lord Emperor praises, yet you bully her aunt, be careful the Lord Emperor sends someone to have your whole family beheaded!"

Mrs. Gao was also stunned by the news of Qin San Lang and Gu Jinli’s merit and the Emperor’s reward; she was so frightened her face turned pale, and she hurriedly begged for forgiveness: "Sister Chen, please calm down, I didn’t mean it... it’s just my mouth that’s too careless. Sister Chen, rest assured, I’ll definitely keep my mouth shut in the future and won’t give you any more grief."

Having been in the marketplace, Mrs. Gao knew best how to beg. As long as Mrs. Chen didn’t use the Lord Emperor to trouble her family, she would even kneel before Mrs. Chen... maybe this kneeling could even cozy her up to Mrs. Chen, thus cozying up to Little Boss Gu and his wife, and ultimately the Lord Emperor, so her family could prosper.

"Bah, you old cabbage stump, about to go to the grave yet still calling me sister, I’m much younger. Besides, my Da Gui isn’t blind, if he were to accept a concubine, he’d find someone young. What skills do you have to call me sister?!" Mrs. Chen sprayed Mrs. Gao with spit, feeling relieved after cursing her, she happily ran to Zhang Sanjin and asked with a smile, "Constable Xiao Zhang, did the Lord Emperor give any other rewards to the Gu Family? After all, Xiao Yu is part of the Gu Family, and having achieved such merits, shouldn’t the Lord Emperor reward the Gu Family properly?"

"Reward your nonsense, Mrs. Chen, are you losing it? Hurry back to the shop!" Gu Dagui had just returned from the government office and saw Mrs. Chen here saying things that could bring trouble, wishing to give her a beating, he hurriedly scolded her.

Mrs. Chen wasn’t afraid of Gu Dagui, seeing him back, she ran over and said, "Da Gui, San Lang and Xiao Yu achieved great merit, the Lord Emperor promoted them and rewarded them with gold!"

Gu Dagui, feeling a headache, yelled, "I already know, no need for you to say, shut up now, have you forgotten Brother An’s words? Don’t you want the silver?!"

Earlier, Brother An had instructed that since Xiao Yu made insect attractant medicine and presented the recipe to the court, as the news spread, while the Gu family would receive praise, they would also be watched. They must be cautious, manage their family and shop servants well, and not trouble San Lang and Xiao Yu.

Mrs. Chen, who cared most about silver, recalled Gu Jin’an’s warning and quickly shut up.

Gu Dagui said to Zhang Sanjin, "Elder Jin, I’m sorry, you know my wife well, she’s just fond of going crazy, please don’t be angry."

Zhang Sanjin chuckled, "Brother Gu, you must be joking. The Gu Family saved the whole city, and we remember the kindness; why would we be angry with sister-in-law."

Zhang Sanjin’s words were meant for the shopkeepers; people are most concerned about inequality. Seeing that the Gu Family’s shop didn’t have to pay taxes, they would surely feel envious.

He had to remind them of the Gu Family’s life-saving grace, lest they think that the Gu Family’s privileges came without reason.

After listening, everyone thought about those terrifying poisonous insects and those who died from the disease, and their envy diminished, no longer coveting the Gu Family Shop’s privilege.

Gu Dagui took the opportunity to drag Mrs. Chen away, to avoid people stopping them to ask for help... after all, Magistrate Gu had reminded him that people might come asking to put their shop under Gu’s name, which he couldn’t agree to, lest the Gu Family’s privilege turned into crises.

Mrs. Chen said dissatisfied, "Why are you pulling so hard, our Gu family is in the spotlight, and I haven’t..."

"You still want to show off? I’m warning you, don’t be foolish. Now’s a risky time. If you dare to flaunt it, Brother An will not treat you kindly." After scolding Mrs. Chen a bit, Gu Dagui dragged her back to the shop.

Once inside, he ordered the staff to shut the doors.

Mrs. Chen said, "Why close the doors? Are we going out of business, not earning silver?"

Unexpectedly, Gu Dagui nodded, "Yes, first close the shop, we’ll go back to the village for half a month."

Mrs. Chen got angry, "What? You’ve gone mad, even though San Lang and Xiao Yu achieved great merit, we still need to earn this silver. The shop was closed for half a month due to the poisonous insect disease, if we close again, how can we survive?"

Gu Dagui relayed Magistrate Gu’s reminder and added, "We have only a little ability, not versed in those city folks’ sneaky calculations. It’s better to retreat to the village for a while to avoid bringing disaster to San Lang and Xiao Yu."

That did make sense, but Mrs. Chen, distressed about the silver, replied, "Closing for half a month, the lost silver almost matches the tax."

Gu Dagui said, "Stop complaining; Third Uncle often says, one must suffer small losses for long-lasting fortune. Our Gu Family has received the Lord Emperor’s rewards, such a massive good fortune, let’s take our time to recover, lest we be crushed by fortune."

Mrs. Chen finally nodded after listening, "Alright then."

Looking at him, she said, "Gui, I’ve noticed your little mouth is getting quite articulate... a smooth talker, you scoundrel aren’t thinking of flirting with a young widow, learning from others to accept concubines, are you?"

Gu Dagui was speechless, "You sure can jump to conclusions, how did it get to accepting concubines? Aren’t I honest enough? Plus, you’re the one controlling the silver at home, where would I get the silver to accept concubines?"

True.

But...

"But you won’t have a daughter with me?!" After the last pregnancy false alarm, Mrs. Chen still wanted to have a daughter, but Gu Dagui wouldn’t cooperate with her, making her feel like he must be keeping a young widow outside.

Gu Dagui instinctively supported his waist; this waist of his was almost breaking from cooperating with Mrs. Chen to have a daughter.

However, to appease Mrs. Chen from causing trouble, he had no choice but to put on a resigned face and say, "Alright, this time back to the village, we’ll continue to plant fields, have a daughter."

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