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

Chapters 638 and 639. Purpose of Visit
Chen Dafu drank two more large cups of tea and finally recovered before continuing, "Qingmu and his team have done a great job here over the years, thanks to your help!"

"Are you two short of manpower?"

Gu Kaiyuan and Bai Suihe both shook their heads; their current businesses prefer to employ people they can control.

"That's true. I'm just an ordinary citizen now, and I don't have anything to repay you with."

Gu Kaiyuan's face darkened. "Lord Chen, what brings you here today? If you're here to cause us trouble, then you've achieved your goal, and I won't welcome you."

"Look at you, you're not young anymore, how come you still have such a fiery temper?" Chen Dafu said dismissively. "You've been making such big moves in Lingnan, do you think you can hide it from everyone?"

"I've brought you big news this time. You've become easy prey for others, which is why I'm risking everything to warn you."

Chen Dafu wasn't intimidated at all. He knew Gu Kaiyuan's character; the old friendship still existed, and he was sure Gu wouldn't turn against him.

Bai Suihe said, "Hasn't this always been the case? Over the years, the princes have asked many intermediaries to try to reconcile with us, but we only deal with maritime business, so we probably can't help with anything else."

In order to conceal his strength over the years, Bai Suihe has registered his businesses on land under separate names and fictitious identities. These businesses are quite scattered, so no one would notice them.

"There are no secrets in this world that stay hidden forever," Chen Dafu glanced at them. "Not to mention you, the Bai family has been quite high-profile these past few years."

Those people will probably contact the Bai family too. The choice is yours then.

"If I remember correctly, Lord Chen was a loyal minister, right? How come he has changed his mind in recent years? Which one has he switched allegiance to?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to speak on behalf of anyone. I'm just here to see my son and give you some information."

As for what happens among you, I will not interfere, and I will not dictate your choices.

And as for those talk of loyal ministers and not loyal ministers, let's not mention them again.

I'm just an ordinary old man now. I don't have any successful children; I'm just an ordinary old farmer.

These words sounded a bit guilty, but Gu Kaiyuan and the others didn't want to argue. "Then thank you, Lord Chen. Anyway, this is all the property our family owns. It's no use if others covet it. It's not even enough to fill their teeth."

The Chen family elders didn't believe Gu Kaiyuan's self-deprecating words. In Lingnan, who didn't know the Gu family?
I've heard that in recent years, many people have come to Gu Kaiyuan with money, hoping he would help them build ships, but he has refused them all, saying that he is too busy with his own work.

But everyone knows that their shipyard has never sold any ships to outsiders, and their fleet of ships has been growing steadily.

Ten years ago, local officials could have arrested him as a matter of routine.

Unfortunately, the emperor had already issued a new decree ten years earlier, lifting the ban on maritime trade.

He was very puzzled as to how this family knew in advance that the emperor would do this.
Even these close advisors to the emperor dared not fathom the emperor's thoughts. Gu Kaiyuan was merely a commoner; how did he manage to do it? Or did he have other sources of information?

When the maritime ban was lifted, Gu Kaiyuan had already formed a successful caravan and led a group of people to reap the benefits.

And so, the Gu family gradually became the object of everyone's admiration. They earned a lot of money over the years, but they were never seen spending it.

The Bai family, on the other hand, has been expanding their businesses over the years, especially their restaurants and seafood shops, which can be said to have occupied every city. When he was the Minister of Revenue, he also calculated their income, which was probably at least several hundred thousand taels of silver a year.

The three children of the Bai family are truly not to be underestimated.

"Gu Kaiyuan, may I have the opportunity to tour your shipyard?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Kaiyuan sneered, "Lord Chen, you're pushing your luck a bit too far."

If you're just dropping by, I'm very happy to oblige. But how can you just casually show people around such a confidential place as a shipyard?

"Look at you, you old geezer, what are you saying?" Madam Chen patted Chen Dafu on the shoulder. "Don't listen to this old man's nonsense. We're just visiting to thank you for taking care of my children all these years."

One played the good cop, the other the bad cop. Bai Suihe smiled at them and said, "Let's not talk about gratitude for taking care of you. We were just helping each other out. But I see that your children have become quite independent in the past few years. I wish your sons a bright future."

Bai Suihe picked up her teacup. "Lord Chen, Madam Chen, you can expect to enjoy a life of luxury from now on."

Madam Chen's expression changed. If it weren't for Gu Kaiyuan protecting her, her few blockhead sons and grandsons probably wouldn't be able to stand on their own.

She quickly smiled apologetically, "Madam Gu is too kind. The children are still quite unruly..."

"If I remember correctly, Chen Qingmu and the others have all married and started families, and are fully capable of handling things on their own."

You parents and elders shouldn't always look down on them; always give them a chance to prove themselves.

Chen Dafu said, "Alright, since you've all said so, let's all go our separate ways from now on."

After saying that, he pulled his wife up and said, "We won't bother you anymore."

Bai Suihe and the others certainly wouldn't try to stop them, and even thoughtfully escorted them to the door, saying, "Lord Chen, Madam Chen, please take care."

Chen Dafu gave the couple a deep look before telling his grandson, who was driving the carriage, to leave quickly.

"What kind of people are these? Although he passed on a few messages to us, we haven't let him work for nothing. We've taken good care of the Chen family over the years." Bai Suihe felt that his knowledge was still limited, and today he experienced the wickedness of other people's hearts.

Gu Kaiyuan said, "This old fox, as soon as he sensed that the wind was blowing in a different direction, he quickly came over to cut ties with us. He is as cowardly as ever."

"You're saying he did it on purpose?" Bai Suihe realized at this point that Chen Dafu, who had spent his entire life in officialdom, couldn't possibly have done something so careless.

"That's probably it. There might be some different news in the capital, or those princes and grandsons might be itching to make a move against us. He's afraid of being implicated, so he's using this opportunity to inform us and also to distance himself from us."

Bai Suihe was somewhat disappointed. "Actually, we've helped them quite a bit. If something really happens, we can't possibly drag them down with us."

“He’s not afraid of that, he’s afraid of becoming a weapon aimed at us,” Gu Kaiyuan said, helping Bai Suihe inside. “I never expected that after retiring, Lord Chen would become more and more timid. He gets so nervous over the slightest thing!”

Bai Suihe, "Forget it, let's not bother arguing with them. It's better this way. So, should we make some arrangements for the Chen family in the future..."