Chapter 23: Persuading Father and Mother

“Dad, you really should listen to me. You can’t handle them on your own. Besides, don’t you know what kind of person Grandma is? You’re her son—how can you not know?”

Hearing his daughter say this, Gu Haixiong thought it made some sense. So, he took his wife along and went to his elder brother’s house. He hoped the issue would be resolved quickly so it wouldn’t drag on. Otherwise, they’d end up as the ones being taken advantage of.

After the parents left, only the three of them were left in the yard.

Lu Yan noticed a large water vat placed in the courtyard. He was curious—aside from water, there didn’t seem to be anything else inside.

He asked, “Why don’t you raise fish in this water vat? If you raised fish, you could sell them at the market and earn some extra money to help with household expenses.”

Raising fish in a water vat—what a rare idea. But she wasn’t sure if her parents would approve. And if they wanted to raise a lot of fish, one vat might not be enough. If they added more vats, it would look strange. And water had to be bought; using wooden barrels wasn’t ideal because wood swells when it meets water.

“You don’t have to rush into it. I’m just giving a suggestion. Plus, it’s still uncertain whether your parents would agree. If they don’t, we can talk about it later.”

Gu Leyou, however, was confident.

“As long as I explain things to them clearly, they’ll agree. My parents are reasonable. Just like how they didn’t make things difficult for you when you brought your child to our house. Parents just want their children to live well. They’re only worried I might suffer if I marry you,” she explained.

When Gu Haixiong and his wife arrived at the elder brother’s house, their mother greeted them first, asking about her granddaughter’s recent behavior.

“So, the second son’s family is here. Has your girl been staying home properly and behaving herself? Don’t let her cause more trouble. Our Gu family is already a laughingstock in the village.”

Old Madam Gu sat in the courtyard. Her words seemed like a veiled warning to the couple—as if saying that, as her parents, they should discipline their daughter better.

“We came today to speak with Big Brother and Sister-in-law. Are they home? And is Mingyue here?” Lin Shi asked.

“They went out. Mingyue also went to visit friends. Why? Did they cause you trouble again?”

Clearly, Old Madam Gu was displeased by their visit and assumed no good would come of it.

“Husband, I told you Big Brother and Sister-in-law wouldn’t be home. They must’ve caught wind of us coming and ran off. If they weren’t feeling guilty, why would they leave?” Lin Shi said sarcastically.

Her words were clearly meant for Old Madam Gu.

Though she was old, the old lady wasn’t stupid—she knew that Lin Shi was hinting at her too.

“Stop bothering your Big Brother and Sister-in-law. If it weren’t for them, that girl of yours might not be able to get married at all. You should be grateful.”

Lin Shi found it laughable.

They were being extorted, yet were expected to feel grateful? What kind of logic was that?

Gu Haixiong didn’t want to start an argument with his mother, so he forced a smile and said, “Since they’re not home, we’ll head back then.”

He pulled his wife away and left.

Lin Shi, however, was fuming. But at home, she still had to listen to her husband, so she could only keep her anger inside.

When they returned home, the hunter and his son had already left.

Even their daughter was no longer in the courtyard.

Hearing the noise, Gu Leyou came out of the house. Seeing her parents’ unhappy faces, she quickly asked, “So? What did Big Uncle, Aunt, and Gu Mingyue say?”

Lin Shi plopped down in a chair and looked at her husband with a face full of complaint.

“Ask your dad. He knows.”

“What kind of thing is that to say? Are you blaming me for this? You think I tipped them off so they could run off?” Gu Haixiong said, displeased.

Seeing her parents at odds, Gu Leyou quickly changed the subject.

“Dad, Mom, the land behind our house can be used to grow rice, right? And that water vat—we can raise fish in it. Both can earn money.”

Her parents were surprised to hear this.

These money-making ideas were things they had never even heard of.

Could this really work?

“Sweetie, where did you get these ideas? Are they from a book? What if it doesn’t work out, and someone gets sick from what we sell? That would bring even more trouble. We don’t want any of that,” said Gu Haixiong.

“Dad, these are not harmful ideas. Once we earn some money, we can send Little Brother to a proper school. We won’t have to keep secretly letting him visit the tutor anymore. If that keeps up, someone will find out eventually and say unpleasant things.”

Gu Leyou knew exactly how to persuade her parents.

She understood that their hearts were tied to her younger brother.

As expected, when Lin Shi heard it was for their son’s benefit, she started trying to persuade her husband.

“Dear, what our daughter says makes sense. We can’t keep sending our son to secretly learn from that tutor. If people find out, it’ll harm his reputation.”

“But this is something we’ve never tried before. If it fails, we’ll be in deep debt,” Gu Haixiong said worriedly.

Ever since the family separated, their expenses had outweighed their income.

It was only thanks to their daughter selling herbs that they had a bit of extra money now.

To ease their worries, Gu Leyou took out a small pouch of money from her pocket.

“Dad, Mom, please trust me. This is the money I earned—keep it safe. If Aunt tries to ask for money again, don’t give it to her. I’ve kept a little aside to buy books for Little Brother. The rest you can save and use to pay his school fees. Even if he needs to go to a school that’s farther away, we’ll have enough saved up soon.”

Lin Shi took the pouch and opened it. She counted the money and looked at her daughter in disbelief.

“How did your herbs sell for so much? I thought at most you’d get a few dozen copper coins, but there are several silver taels here! And what’s this small packet?”

“It’s a few vegetable seeds I bought. Once Dad clears that empty land tomorrow, we can plant them. When the vegetables mature, we can sell them and make more money,” Gu Leyou explained.