Chapter 34: Buy Mountain


    Editor: As Studios


    With money in hand, Gu Jiao was contemting what to do next.


    The next day, when Xiao Ling returned home from school, the family of three sat down for their meal in the hall.


    They were considered a family of three, despitecking familial ties. The trio shared an oddly harmonious rapport.


    As the olddy gnawed on arge chicken leg, she nced at Gu Jiao and said: “Speak up!”


    Gu Jiao wondered, how did the olddy know she had something to say?


    “I want to buy a mountain,” Gu Jiao pronounced.


    “A winter coat or an autumn coat?” The olddy shot Gu Jiao a speechless look. She criticised Gu Jiao for dawdling over such a small matter.


    “I’m not talking about clothes, but a real mountain—the one behind our vige,” said Gu Jiao. She often picked fungus and mushrooms on that mountain and noticed its abundance of good stuff. If she could buy it, she could gather mountain products, herb-picking, logging, and hunting… In short, the whole mountainside was a valuable asset. It would definitely be a profitable venture.


    “Go buy it!”


    To their surprise, the olddy didn’t hesitate at all. When it came to spending money, the olddy was undeniably generous.


    If it were the original owner’s biological mother, Mrs. Wu, she would probably jump up and scold Gu Jiao: “You disaster star, the spendthrift! Even a mountain you want to buy, do you think money is blown by the wind?”


    In the eyes of most vigers, the mountain was worthless. At most, they could chop some firewood or pick some wild vegetables. Although there were mountainous fruits and game, nobody would buy the entire hill for these reasons.


    Gu Jiao, with impressive knowledge of mountain goods and the ability to handle any danger deep in the mountains, saw the mountain as a treasure trove.


    In the past, she would make the decisions. Xiao Ling would never interfere with her decisions, but ever since the olddy came, there seemed to be a subtle shift in their interactions.


    “You’re talking about the mountain behind Uncle Luo’s house, right?” Xiao Ling asked.


    “Mm-hm,” Gu Jiao nodded.


    Qingquan Vige was surrounded by mountains on three sides. The mountain that Gu Jiao had her eye on was situated in the middle. It was a mountain that vigers frequently visited, with Uncle Luo’s house located at its foot.


    “Alright, I’ll go ask Lizhengter,” said Xiao Ling without any hesitation.


    Scratching her head, Gu Jiao wondered why Xiao Ling needed to ask Lizheng, her grandfather; she could have asked him herself. She had not shared her intentions only to have him running around for her.


    After dinner, Xiao Ling headed to the Gu family’s old mansion.


    Zhou and Liao families had been flogged thirty times each by the Yamen and had been staying obediently at home to recover. Hence, the mansion was rtively peaceful.


    “Brother-inw! Why are you here?” The door was opened by Gu Xiaoshun.


    “I came to find Lizheng,” Xiao Ling replied.


    Despite being married with Gu Jiao, he always addressed Lizheng by his title.


    “Oh,” Gu Xiaoshun was merely surprised that his brother-inw hade to visit but not about his address for the old man. After all, the Gu family hadpelled his sister to marry, and subsequently exploited money from Xiao Ling. Each incident was a debt in itself.


    “Grandpa, my brother-inw is here!” Gu Xiaoshun led Xiao Ling to the old man’s room.


    The old man was slightly taken aback to see Xiao Ling. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time Xiao Ling had visited the old Gu mansion since marrying Gu Jiao.


    “What brings you here sote?” the old man asked.


    Xiao Ling casually replied, “I came to ask Lizheng how to buy the mountain behind Uncle Luo’s house.”


    “Why are you asking about this? Is someone from the academy looking to buy a mountain?” No matter how imaginative the old man could be, he would never expect his own granddaughter to be interested in buying a mountain. “Buying that mountain would require a significant sum of money… Plus, it’s not up for sale to just anyone. That mountain isn’t managed by the vige or the county Yamen. It’s the temple’s property.”


    “A temple?” Xiao Ling frowned in surprise as he had no idea there was a temple around.


    The old man confirmed, “Indeed, a temple. You probably haven’t been there since you arrived not long ago. It’s on the other side of the mountain. Walk around the foot of the mountain, and you’ll reach it in about two hours. If someone from your academy wants to buy the mountain, you’ll have to negotiate with the temple’s abbot.”


    As if a memory had sprung to his mind, the old man added, “Actually, Jiao was born in that temple.”


    When Xiao Ling returned home, Gu Jiao met him promptly and asked, “How did it go? What did the Gu family say?”


    Xiao Ling ryed precisely what the old man had said.


    “So, the mountain belongs to the temple…” Gu Jiao hadn’t gone to that temple before. Wait, ording to what her grandfather said, she was born in that temple, so technically, she had been there before. “Did they mention approximately how much the mountain would cost?”


    “Not specifically, but smooth negotiations may not be possible with only a hundred taels,” said Xiao Ling.


    “Oh, I can handle that,” as Gu Jiao spoke, she pulled out a handful of silver coins from her pocket and ced them on the table.


    The olddy paused her melon-seed-munching.


    But Gu Jiao was not finished. She pulled out another handful, and another, and yet one more handful from her pocket.


    The olddy and Xiao Ling were both stunned. These silver coins, when added up, must be worth two to three dozen taels – where did she get them all from?


    Xiao Ling collected his thoughts and asked, “Are all these earned by selling mountainous products?”


    “Mm-hm!” Gu Jiao widened her eyes, looking utterly sincere. “I didn’t earn them through fighting—I promise!”


    Xiao Ling: “…”


    —


    Even in ancient times, students didn’t get many holidays. Apart from a ten-day holiday every month, there was the agriculture break during farming seasons, clothing handover break in September, and the biggest break was the New Year’s holiday from December to January.


    The New Year’s holiday usually began in early December, but this year it was postponed tote December. Because the holiday was about to begin, there would be no monthly breaks for the next half-month.


    Gu Jiao didn’t want Xiao Ling to take leave from the academy for this matter, so she decided to visit the temple herself.


    Learning from her past mistakes, Gu Jiao didn’t just leave food in the pot for the olddy this time, but asked Xue Ningxiang to take care of her.


    “Your aunt-inw…”


    “Her disease is under control now. It’s not contagious.”


    “Ah, that’s not what I meant.”


    How could Gu Jiao not know about Xue Ningxiang helping her cover up? She guessed that Xue Ningxiang had figured it out. But Xue Ningxiang had neither used her nor distanced herself from her.


    Xue Ningxiang never asked how Gu Jiao cured leprosy, she just believed Gu Jiao was right, “Don’t worry, I will take good care of your aunt-inw.”