The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 408 Wanting to Be a Live-in Son-in-Law
Gu Ruinian originally planned to let Gu Honglian go back first, while he continued to stroll around the town.

He wanted to find out which family in town was rich and powerful, find his target, and perhaps meet their daughter by chance to win her heart.

Then take the opportunity to acquire resources for his own use.

Those sons-in-law who travel through time all rely on the woman's resources to ascend to higher levels.

Although he looked down on Yanguan Town, if he could, he would prefer to go to Shengjing and win the heart of a wealthy noblewoman.

However, it's more important to solve the immediate problem first.

At worst, he can just marry a woman from a better family later.

Anyway, having multiple wives and concubines was legal in this era, and he had the ability to make his wives and concubines live in harmony.

Gu Honglian, however, was unwilling to go back first.

She was afraid that Gu Ruinian might have money and be living a life of luxury without her knowledge, which would put her at a disadvantage.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Gu Honglian, Gu Ruinian asked her, "Auntie, do you know which family in our town is the richest?"

Gu Honglian had been taken to banquets by Grandma Gu since she was a child, so she knew the situation of each family in the town very well. So she said, "That must be the Huang family who live at the east end of town."

Gu Ruinian's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Does the Huang family have a daughter?"

Gu Honglian nodded and said, "Yes. Her name is Huang Jingshan. I've seen her before. She's not good-looking."

Gu Ruinian thought it was a pity he wasn't good-looking. But as long as it could help him, his looks didn't matter, since he was going to marry a noblewoman in Shengjing anyway.

"How old is she?" Gu Ruinian asked.

“She seems to be eighteen this year,” Gu Honglian said. “I don’t know if she’s engaged. Anyway, when my eldest brother passed away and I came back for the funeral, I heard people lamenting that the Huang family, being merchants, wanted to arrange a marriage between Huang Jingshan and a scholar, but unfortunately, she wasn’t pretty and none of the scholars liked her, so the marriage never came to fruition.”

Gu Ruinian was overjoyed.

He said his luck wouldn't be that bad, and that good things were waiting for him in Yanguan Town.

Regardless of whether she's pretty or ugly, I'll hook her up first.

He was a student preparing for the imperial examinations, about to take the county-level exams. He was also quite handsome, and with the title of nephew of the local magistrate, marrying the daughter of the wealthiest merchant in town was a huge honor for her.

Gu Ruinian couldn't wait to go home and ask his parents to propose marriage to the Huang family.

"What are you thinking? The Huang family's daughter hasn't been engaged yet? Don't think that just because you're wearing a scholar's hat, you're worthy of the Huang family's young lady."

A disdainful voice rang out, and Gu Ruinian turned around to see an older man dressed as a scholar mocking him.

"May I ask who you are?" Gu Ruinian asked, clearly uncomfortable.

The other person waved his fan and said, "You don't even recognize me? I'm the only scholar in our Yanguan Town private school."

Gu Ruinian remained calm.

So what if he's the first scholar? Next month he'll not only become a scholar but also top the list.

Looking at the scholar's sullen expression, could it be that he also covets Miss Huang?
"Auntie, do you know who the only scholar in our town is?"

Gu Ruinian had already regarded Fan Tong as a rival for the Huang family's son-in-law, so he deliberately turned to ask Gu Honglian to show his contempt for the man in front of him.

Gu Honglian's eyes lit up when she saw Fan Tong. Wasn't this the Fan Tong that Gu Taohua had mentioned before?

"Young Master Fan," Gu Honglian said with delight, "I didn't expect that you would have become a scholar after only a few years."

Fan Tong muttered to himself, "Who is this?" This Fan Xiucai looked very ordinary in his clothes, and his mouth reeked of sourness. He only had a slight liking for Fan Xiucai in his aunt's village.

Gu Ruinian had no intention of continuing to entangle with Fan Tong and turned to leave.

He had more important things to do.

Fan Tong stopped Gu Ruinian and mocked, "I just heard you mention Miss Huang and inquire about her marital status. Do you think you can be the Huang family's son-in-law? Don't you know Miss Huang is already married? She married Young Master Lu from Wanliu Academy in the prefectural city."

Gu Ruinian's heart sank, but he said calmly, "Young Master Fan, you misunderstand. My aunt and I were just chatting. I feel like you're the one who's angry that Miss Fan married the Lu family's son."

Fan Tong snorted and turned to leave.

Although Gu Ruinian had never met Miss Huang, he was still regretful that he had missed out on a good marriage opportunity.

Gu Ruinian lost interest in sightseeing and took Gu Honglian back to Qinghe Bay in Grandpa Xu's oxcart.

The Gu family's old house was packed with people.

This time, Grandpa Gu asked the clan chief to invite the clan members who had rented his land to his home to discuss the return of the land.

They discussed it for a long time but couldn't come to a conclusion.

Grandpa Gu hoped the other party would return the land as soon as possible, but the other party planned to wait until after the wheat harvest to return it.

"Grandpa, when I rented your land, we agreed on a ten-year lease. I've already paid you for ten years' worth of money. You can't go back on your word now." The one who rented the land from Grandpa Gu was Gu Daqiang, the nephew of the Gu family patriarch.

Grandpa Gu thought that after enjoying a life of luxury in the south with his second son, he would no longer farm, so he leased the land to Gu Daqiang for ten years.

Although there was no written agreement and only a verbal one, the other party did indeed pay him ten years' rent.

There were witnesses in the clan who witnessed this, so even if he went to the authorities, he wouldn't be in the right.

Besides, the second son went bankrupt and is now back in his hometown with an unstable foundation, so he can't afford to fall out with Gu Daqiang.

But it won't work if the land isn't taken back.

Grandpa Gu said, "Daqiang, I rented it to you for ten years at a rate lower than the market price. Everyone has their difficult times. If our business hadn't failed, I wouldn't have asked you to terminate the lease."

When talking about his family's business losses, Gu Youtian looked unhappy, feeling that Old Master Gu had figured out his secret.

Old Master Gu kept repeating himself, and Gu Daqiang was getting tired of it. He still insisted on his point of view: "The price below market value is not because I'm taking advantage, but because I'm the only one willing to pay you ten years' rent upfront. My wheat is growing well this year, and it looks like it's going to be a bumper harvest. You want to take it back now, but you're not in the right no matter what. As I just said, you can take the land back, but the ten years' rent and the wheat harvest from the land are mine."

Gu Daqiang has already made many concessions.

Grandpa Gu fell silent.

Firstly, he didn't have that much silver on hand; the remaining silver was reserved for daily expenses and the cost of Gu Ruinian's trip to the prefectural city for the imperial examination.

Secondly, he wanted the wheat from this season's fields.

Otherwise, the whole family would starve.

The clan chief had been mediating all afternoon and was starting to have a headache. He had persuaded Old Master Gu to come back, but Gu Daqiang was his own nephew, and it wouldn't be good for him to side with either of them.

"How about this? After deducting the first four years' rent from the ten-year rent, there are six years left. We'll pay Daqiang the rent for those six years, and the harvest from the land will belong to Daqiang." The clan chief believed he had handled the matter fairly.

Old Master Gu said, "Brother, you make a good point. Then I'll pay back six years' rent, and the wheat harvest from the fields will be mine. I can pay Daqiang the market price. But you know my current situation; I don't have the money. I'll owe you the six years' rent and the wheat for now, and I'll pay you back when I have the money."

Gu Daqiang was stunned.

He never expected that Old Master Gu would be so shameless.