Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Chapter 374. The Bai Family
"So what did you talk about?" Mrs. Wu asked expectantly. "Did you get some advice from him on how to make your guests feel welcome?"

"How is this possible?" Wu Wei was shocked. "Why would they tell us such a business secret?"
Moreover, their storefronts are different from ours; we can't replicate them.

"What a blockhead," Mrs. Wu glanced at him irritably, then turned back to her business.

Wu Wei hurriedly chased after her, "Madam, are you scolding me again?"
I may not be the smartest, but I'm not stupid either. In this whole county, everyone wants to be on good terms with Boss Gu. I've taken that first step before them today.

After seeing off the customer, Mrs. Wu said, "I'm not saying we should copy it, but since this is such a rare opportunity, you should ask if there's anything we can improve about our general store."

I heard that Mr. Gu has several shops under renovation, but I wonder what kind of shops they'll open in the future.

"No matter what kind of shop we open, people will look down on our general store."

"What did you say? Is there something wrong with our general store?"
"This is the culmination of both of our hard work, something we've built up little by little." Mrs. Wu, unable to contain herself any longer, put her hands on her hips and said, "You dare say that again?"

"Madam, can you tell the difference between good and bad words? I was just making a comment."

Besides, we've only just met. How could I possibly ask someone to help me like that?

Madam Wu waved her hand and shooed him away, saying, "So you've been talking for so long and haven't come up with anything, and you've only just met?"
Do you think people are as free as you, with so much time to chat with you?

"Can't this be done?"

“This is his wife’s shop,” Madam Wu rolled her eyes at him. “Alright, from now on you work in the shop, and I’ll stand at the door. Maybe I’ll run into Madam Gu.”

I heard she's the legitimate daughter of the Bai family, and has inherited all of Old Master Bai's skills. If she just helps us a little, it'll be enough to ensure our whole family has no worries about food and drink."

Gu Kaiyuan had no idea that after he left, the couple would have this conversation, and that Bai Suihe would become the next topic of conversation because of this shop.

After taking a walk around, he returned home and had to tell his wife and his gossipy little daughter about the latest gossip of the day.

☆

When Madam Bai received the new letter from Lingnan, informing her that Bai Suihe had safely given birth to her granddaughter, she clasped her hands together and murmured, "Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva protect us."

She had been living in constant fear ever since her daughter was exiled.

She was truly afraid that her daughter wouldn't be able to endure the hardships of the journey and the harsh conditions in Lingnan.

Thankfully, the baby has been born safely, which is a great relief!
"Qingshui, go open the storeroom. I want to pick out some good things for my granddaughter."

Wu Qingshui quickly agreed and was about to turn around and leave when Master Bai, Bai Jingwen, entered, along with her two sons.

"Why is Madam so happy?"

"Mother!" The two sons bowed respectfully and quickly passed Bai Jingwen, supporting Madam Bai on either side.

"This isn't a letter from our daughter. She gave us a little granddaughter." Madam Bai didn't think there was anything to hide. She even wanted to pick out some nice things for her daughter from the storeroom.

"My sister gave birth," Bai Jiannan said with a hint of surprise. "I'm an uncle now."

Bai Jianbei nodded in agreement. The twin brothers looked exactly alike, the only difference being that Bai Jianbei had a red mole on his ear. "This is a very happy occasion."

After the two brothers finished speaking, they both looked at Bai Jingwen and asked, "Dad, aren't you happy?"

Bai Jingwen flung his sleeves and sat down in the main seat, saying, "Judging from your appearance, it's not like you've never been uncles before."

"How can that be the same?" Bai Jiannan scoffed. "That's my own niece, my own flesh and blood." He wouldn't even glance at the children of those illegitimate daughters.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Madam Bai scolded her son before Bai Jingwen could speak. "Although there are some differences, you still need to consider your father's reputation. Even if those people are not respectable, they are still your father's own flesh and blood, aren't they?"

Bai Jingwen, "..."

Bai Jianbei: "My mother is right. Even if I don't like it, I shouldn't belittle it."

Seeing the mother and her two children singing in unison, Bai Jingwen had no choice but to remain silent.

He and his wife were considered a good match in terms of social standing. The concubines in the backyard were not of high social standing; he had bought them when he went out to do business. Now, the contracts of sale were all in his wife's hands. He was better not to anger them, otherwise, who knows who might be missing from the backyard.

"Now that she's given birth, let her live a good life from now on. We'll pick out some more things from the big warehouse and send them over later."

Madam Bai did not immediately agree. Instead, she pushed the letter she had just been holding in front of Bai Jingwen, saying, "It's a letter from our daughter. Take a look."

Bai Jingwen found it strange. His wife would never have given him their daughter's letters before; at most, she would just pass them on.

But when he finished reading the letter, his expression froze, and he cursed, "Isn't this ridiculous?"

"How is this nonsense? You've suddenly gained a son, isn't that a good thing?"

The two Bai brothers craned their necks, their faces beaming with delight. "Sister is truly capable; she should find a son-in-law to live with her."

"What do you know?" Bai Jingwen slammed his hand on the table. "Now that His Majesty has pardoned them, it shouldn't be long before the Gu family returns."

The two families are related by marriage; now that this has happened, how am I supposed to associate with them?

Madam Bai looked at him disdainfully, "How can we still associate with each other? Of course, we shouldn't associate with each other anymore."

"Since my daughter married into the Gu family, she hasn't had a single day of peace. Now, they've even caused her to lose her entire dowry, and my beloved daughter has been banished to Lingnan to live a life of hardship. I want an explanation from them."

"That's utterly foolish. The Gu family has already gotten involved with the Third Prince. Do you think they would be so easily pardoned on the Empress Dowager's birthday?" The Emperor is filial, but not to this extent.

Although he was a merchant and certainly had no sources of information from the palace, he had several relatives by marriage, so news arrived eventually, albeit late.

The Third Prince and Consort Liang's actions could not be concealed; it's just that no one has brought it up openly, since it was His Majesty's decree.

“When the Gu family was imprisoned, you didn’t even care about my daughter and ignored her.”

"You didn't offer help when I was in trouble, so why are you telling me all this now?"

“You are Suihe’s mother, don’t you know how to do these things?”

If you had been more generous back then and given the money to Master Gu, the relationship between the two families wouldn't have become so strained.

Mrs. Bai knew he was shirking responsibility. If he had really done what Bai Jingwen said back then, he wouldn't be receiving any praise now.

Anyway, it's always someone else who's at fault. "Say whatever you want now, but our relationship with the Gu family is beyond repair."

My daughter has no connection with the Gu family anymore, so please don't bring up anything related to the Gu family again.

(End of this chapter)