Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 314 - 150 Black Spot on the River
Gu Chengyu saw that Jiang Yazi was unwilling to reveal the master of the house, so he didn’t ask further. These brokers often deal with large households, so they naturally have to keep their mouths shut. Otherwise, who would do business with them?
However, from what he said, Gu Chengyu understood. The hot spring manor surely wouldn’t worry about being unsold; an aristocratic family buying two manors obviously can afford it.
But it seems that the master of the house doesn’t want acquaintances to know about it and dares not publicize even if they intend to sell, which is why it’s cheaper for Gu Chengyu. After all, being able to come up with nearly twenty thousand taels at once is not something ordinary people can do.
"In that case, I am indeed to give you seven hundred taels of silver. I keep my word and never go back on it; let’s go to the government office to handle the red contract." The red contract must have Gu Chengyu’s signature and fingerprint, so he certainly has to attend.
In ancient times, merchants were not allowed to take the imperial examination and become officials, but buying land and property was still permissible. As for the shop, although Gu Chengyu bought it, the nominal master is not him but uses another household registration.
Many officials in the Dayan Dynasty did this, otherwise with such meager salaries, wouldn’t the entire family starve to death? Some were credited to the dowry of the mistress, others were under the names of the servants in the mansion. Of course, such servants must have their slave status eliminated.
Gu Chengyu didn’t have these conditions, nor did he have trustworthy servants, so he could only use this method. Actually, officials are not stupid; they naturally can think of this way too, but handling such household registrations can create loopholes. If the household registration and land deed are lost, then it’s all gone.
Fortunately, Gu Chengyu doesn’t need to worry about that; he can store them in the space.
After completing the red contract, Gu Chengyu and the others boarded the ship.
"Brother Ye, quickly take the medicine, or you’ll suffer greatly from seasickness again!" Gu Chengyu gave Ye Zhiqiu a bottle of his crafted medicine and urged him to take it immediately.
By now the ship had started; there was some wind on the river today. Initially boarding the ship felt a bit unstable and somewhat dizzy.
Afterward, Gu Chengyu returned to his room and started planning Gu Wan’s marriage in his mind. If they go to the Capital, the furniture cannot be transported back to the village. He could only go to the Prefecture, secretly store the furniture into the space, and then take it out upon reaching the Capital. It can be claimed that it was custom-made in the Capital; he hadn’t mentioned this to his family before anyway.
Regarding furniture, since the size of Sun Family’s new house is unknown, Gu Chengyu only made some round chairs and canopy beds, as well as a beauty couch. Additionally, a desk for the study, but no bookshelf, as that requires specific measurements. The canopy bed is made small enough to fit into ordinary rooms.
His second sister has been good to him. After traversing to this place, aside from his parents, she is his closest kin. Although Gu Wan has some personal thoughts, her concern for him isn’t fake. In the Dayan Dynasty, women can only depend on men; his second sister wanting to depend on him as her younger brother is quite normal.
His elder brother is many years older and has always treated him as a son, but he is reticent, not good at expressing himself; as for his second brother, it needn’t be said, disliking him in numerous ways; concerning his third and fourth brothers, though they share the same mother, they are all boys, hence the emotional connection isn’t as strong. Moreover, now they’re married and have their families, how could they always keep him in mind? 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Gu Chengyu then thought of Mr. Gu and the others. Once Gu Wan is married, the elderly couple would be somewhat lonely. While he goes to study in the Capital, he wishes to take them along, but he knows Mr. Gu is certainly unwilling.
Firstly, it’s hard to leave their hometown; secondly, there are other brothers at home, it’s impossible for them to follow him to the Capital, this can only be considered later. The celebratory news from the Provincial Exam should arrive at the county in a few days; they might be able to catch it when returning.
Life on the ship isn’t easy; not only is there no freedom of movement, but the constant rocking never feels as steady as having feet firmly on land!
About eight or nine days passed like this, Gu Chengyu felt the room was stuffy and decided to come out at night to enjoy the river breeze.
The Jingyuan River is vast; Gu Chengyu glanced around, discovering only their ship within his vision’s range. It seems yesterday’s ship had anchored at the previous dock. That was also a passenger ship, about the same size as the one Gu Chengyu and the others were on.
Gu Chengyu sat on the deck, feeling the river breeze. After a while, he felt somewhat cold and got up, intending to go back.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he spotted a small black dot in the right front. He has night vision, and this dot appeared quite suddenly. Previously there was nothing visible. Yet, he didn’t pay much attention, assuming it was a similar ship to theirs.
However, by now, he’s drawn to this ship. Logically, ships shouldn’t travel fast at night. Although there are lanterns and torches on board, it’s challenging to navigate at night.
But that ship was moving swiftly towards them. In a brief moment, it had come much closer. Now Gu Chengyu could recognize it as a slightly smaller ship, carrying a flag, but it was too far for him to discern clearly.
He sensed something was off. At such a late hour, how could a ship be advancing fast? Particularly rushing towards them with considerable urgency.
Observing further, he noticed numerous torches on that ship’s deck. Though at a distance, he could unmistakably identify them. Suddenly, a possibility struck him; damn it! The very thing he feared!
Gu Chengyu immediately turned and ran towards the captain, shouting in a lowered voice, "Call everyone; River Bandits are coming!"
By now, he couldn’t bother with what others might think. His night vision was trivial in this context; now was the time to hurry preparations. He knew on such large ships, there would certainly be many archers and fighters; even the crew had martial prowess, which was essential for large vessels on the river. However, at this late night, there was uncertainty about whether they could be ready in time.
The captain felt this little boy was daydreaming; he glanced around and saw nothing of the sort. Besides, they paid annual tributes, how could River Bandits possibly attack?
Gu Chengyu also knew a child’s words weren’t convincing to the captain. He was extremely anxious; he wasn’t scared himself, as the truly valuable items were stored in space. Ming Mo and the others practiced martial arts, with Sun Xian and company, self-defense was assured.
His current martial arts were just about at the level of a Martial Arts expert, still far from picking flowers with leaves! That would take years more training. Facing vicious River Bandits who desired wealth, not life, he had to fight with all his might.
On this ship, at least four to five hundred people were present; how could all escape? Moreover, on this river, there’s nowhere to flee. He couldn’t possibly watch so many people perish right before his eyes. Furthermore, without a ship, land couldn’t be reached.
"I have sharp eyes; there’s already a ship approaching us from the right side. Trust me, I’m this year’s top scorer in the Provincial Examination; how could I deceive you?"
