Jackie Chan's Son-in-Law

Chapter 13 Young Master

A large crowd had gathered at the entrance of Anrentang; at a glance, there were at least several dozen people.

The Gu family's business is very large. On weekdays, they need many people to sort medicinal herbs, distinguish between good and bad ones, and then distribute them to various households. They need manpower for purchasing, delivering, and receiving goods.

Those who gathered around so quickly were probably mostly employees of Anrentang or their family members.

The Gu family is also among them.

So many eyes watched as Gu Shouyi's elderly mother, wife, and children knelt before Chen Qing, practically clinging to his legs and pleading desperately.

Anyone who saw this scene would probably instinctively think that Chen Qing, the young master from the prefectural city, was bullying someone.

If Chen Qing doesn't agree to their request and continues to make a scene, his reputation will be ruined, not to mention elsewhere, within the Gu family itself.

At that time, it won't just be those few Gu family members who had designs on him who will resent him; probably everyone in the Gu family who has any connection with Master Gu will subconsciously reject this "son-in-law" of the Gu family.

If Chen Qing were to relent, Gu Shouyi, as the aggrieved party, only needed to go to the county government office or say a few kind words to Master Gu, and it was indeed possible that Gu Shouyi would be released from the county government office.

After all, it wasn't a serious crime. If it weren't for Master Gu's intervention, even if the authorities had taken it, it would have just been a beating and compensation, and there was no chance of imprisonment.

Chen Qing looked around at the crowd of onlookers, then looked down at the woman kneeling in front of him. He squatted down and looked at Gu Shouyi's elderly mother and wife.

"Who told you I was Chen Qing?"

There were no photographs in this era, and after Chen Qing arrived in Deqing County, he didn't meet many people. Some people did recognize him, but he had never seen the Gu family, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

The mother and daughter-in-law were waiting at the door. As soon as he came out, they surrounded him, clearly having been waiting for a long time.

Gu's mother remained kneeling on the ground, wailing and crying, completely ignoring Chen Qing's words, and just kept crying.

"Young Master Chen, please have mercy on my Shouyi!"

She screamed, "My whole family depends on Shouyi for survival. Young master, by taking Shouyi, you are taking the lives of my entire family!"

Gu Shouyi's wife, wiping away tears, said, "Young master, you'll be a member of the Gu family from now on. We're all family, so please be forgiving..."

Chen Qing frowned. Looking at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, he finally lost his temper: "Originally, my matter with Gu Shouyi was settled. After he finished his punishment at the yamen, we went our separate ways."

“He’s already in jail, so he can’t possibly identify me to you. I don’t care who’s behind this.”

Chen Qing's voice turned cold: "But you'd better think carefully about who I am."

"Think again about who you are."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law couldn't understand what Chen Qing was saying at all. They looked at each other and were about to start crying again when Chen Qing took a deep breath, stood up, glanced at the crowd of onlookers around him, and then turned around and said, "Manager Lu."

He winked at Lu Qing.

Manager Lu, having been able to operate in Anrentang for so many years, was naturally extremely shrewd, and he immediately understood what Chen Qing meant.

Without hesitation, the head manager of Anrentang stepped forward, bowed slightly, and greeted him respectfully.

"Young master's family."

The address of "Young Master" wasn't very loud; at least the onlookers couldn't hear it. But the mother and daughter-in-law heard it clearly.

The two of them froze on the spot!
Chen Qing had only been in Deqing for a short time, and the two women didn't know her at all. However, no one in the entire Gu family dared not know Lu Qing!

Even though Master Gu's three nephews have been taking on more and more responsibilities in recent years, in reality, they are all working under Manager Lu!
Over the years, I have never heard Manager Lu call anyone "Young Master"!
Chen Qing looked at Lu Qing with gratitude, then squatted down again: "You should turn around and leave now."

"I'm not going to bother with you two stupid women for now."

It's too obvious. It's definitely not these two women causing trouble. Someone is instigating and directing them from behind the scenes. Most likely, it's Gu Shouzhou, who was with Gu Shouyi that day.

That is, Mr. Gu's own nephew.

Or rather, it was Master Gu's sons and nephews who were behind it all.

While the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were still hesitating, Chen Qing shouted, "Get out!"

Anrentang's business has grown bigger and bigger, and now many Gu family members' livelihoods are actually tied to Anrentang. Gu Shouyi's family was the same way before, otherwise he would not have harbored any hostility towards Chen Qing.

Since their livelihood depended on Anrentang, the identity of "young master of Anrentang" that Chen Qing had temporarily created was certainly useful. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were startled by Chen Qing's shout and quickly got up. They took their two children, wiped away their tears, and left crying all the way.

Chen Qing stood with his hands behind his back, watching the departing figures of the group. He glanced around, then turned to Manager Lu and gave a wry smile: "Manager Lu, let's talk inside."

At this moment, the two were at the entrance of Anrentang. Lu Qing nodded, and the two turned around and went into Anrentang. Soon they arrived at the pavilion in the backyard. Chen Qing cupped his hands to Manager Lu and said, "Thank you for helping me out of this predicament, Manager Lu."

Manager Lu glanced at Chen Qing, stroked his beard, and smiled, "Once Young Master Chen marries Miss, he will become the young master of Anrentang. I'm just stating the facts. The fact that you were able to scare away those two shrewish women is due to your own abilities."

"It has little to do with me."

Chen Qing shook his head and said, "Manager Lu's words might offend those members of the Gu family."

"I'm not afraid of them."

Manager Lu looked at Chen Qing and said with a smile, "If it weren't for the kindness of my employer, I would have already resigned and returned to my hometown. If my employer's nephews were to take over Anrentang someday, I would pack my bags and leave without them even having to say a word." Chen Qing said seriously, cupping his hands in greeting, "In any case, I am very grateful that Manager Lu has been able to help me on our first meeting today."

"I am not helping the young master."

Manager Lu shook his head and said, "Young master was brought here by the master; I am here to help the master."

He looked at Chen Qing, paused, and continued, "If I feel that you are also incompetent after you take over Anrentang, I will also pack my bags and leave."

Chen Qing sighed, stood up, and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Been taught a lesson."

…………

As evening fell, Chen Qing returned to the Gu family mansion and went to his own courtyard. After entering his room, he first looked at the bruises on his face in the bronze mirror.

By this time, the bruises had mostly faded.

He was lost in thought when there was a knock on the door.

"Nephew, are you asleep yet?"

It was Master Gu's voice.

Chen Qing got up and opened the door. He saw Master Gu standing at the door with a food box in his hand, smiling at Chen Qing: "I've had some wine and dishes prepared. Let's have a few drinks, you and I."

Chen Qing stepped aside and invited him into the room. Soon, the two sat facing each other at a low table.

Master Gu laid out several small dishes, picked up the wine pot, poured a cup of wine for Chen Qing, and said, "I heard about what happened this afternoon from Lu Qing. Nephew handled it quite well."

He looked at Chen Qing and continued, "If this really gets out, it won't sound good."

Chen Qing raised his wine glass, toasted Master Gu, and downed it in one gulp: "For the past six months, I always thought that once I left home, life would be better no matter where I went. But now it seems that wherever there are benefits and interests, there is strife everywhere."

“The Gu family is even worse.”

Mr. Gu also took a sip of wine and nodded, saying, "If it's just my nephews who are dissatisfied with my nephew, who will become the Gu family's son-in-law, that's not a big problem. What I'm afraid of is that they might have other ideas or try to climb up to someone else."

As he spoke, he looked at Chen Qing and asked, "Will you handle today's matter yourself, my dear nephew, or shall I step in and handle it for you?"

Chen Qing thought for a moment and said, "I would like to handle it myself, but I'm afraid I don't have a say in matters concerning the Gu family."

“That’s easy. As long as you’re determined to stay, you’ll be the young master of Anrentang.”

"I will put in a good word for Lu Qing."

Having already downed two cups of wine, Master Gu looked at Chen Qing with intense eyes and asked, "Nephew, would you be willing to stay?"

Chen Qing tilted his head back and took a sip of wine, then said with a wry smile, "Too much trouble."

"Trouble is everywhere in the world."

Master Gu asked, "Wouldn't it be more troublesome to go back to the prefectural city?"

Chen Qing pondered for a moment, about to speak, when he heard Master Gu say with a smile, "If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."

He abruptly changed the subject and said...

"I have an urgent matter to attend to in the next couple of days."

Chen Qing was taken aback and asked, "Are you going to the capital?"

"No."

"Yes... I'm going to see an important person who might be able to help."

Master Gu picked up his wine cup and said with a smile, "When I was not in Deqing, my nephew was the young master of Anrentang."

"If you want to handle today's matter, then handle it yourself."

The two clinked glasses again, and Master Gu spoke quietly.

"Don't tell Pan'er."

Chen Qing shook his head and said, "I have never even met Miss Gu."

"You live in the same house and are engaged."

Master Gu poured him another glass of wine and smiled.

"If you want to see him, go see him yourself."

(End of this chapter)