Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 128: Offering Friendship

Upon seeing the white paper on the table, he asked, "What’s this? It looks like a contract. What kind of contract are you signing?"

Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan had not expected Village Chief He to come, and upon hearing his words, their faces showed surprise.

However, Village Chief He didn’t show the slightest embarrassment and spoke quite naturally, "Brother Gu, signing a contract is a serious matter. You can’t just sign one carelessly, or it could lead to trouble."

Brother Gu?

Even the way of addressing had changed; it seemed that Village Chief He had come to make amends.

Not only had Village Chief He come, but he was also followed by He Dacang and a young man wearing a bamboo-colored long coat with an air of a scholar.

The young man was no other than Village Chief He’s eldest grandson, He Jinseng.

Liang Zhuzi and the others had finally gotten the Gu Family to agree to sell them enough tofu, and just as they were about to sign the contract, Village Chief He interrupted them, infuriating them completely.

Liang Zhuzi was quite clever; he knew that this was the village chief of Da Feng Village and did not immediately fly off the handle. Instead, he said, "Village Chief He, we’re from Lianghe Village ahead, my name is Liang Zhuzi. We’re not bad people. The contract we’re discussing isn’t about selling fields, land, or people. It’s a tofu business contract we’re signing with the Gu Family."

Village Chief He naturally knew they had come to discuss tofu business with the Gu Family. Precisely because of this, he had rushed over to interrupt.

It was his fault to begin with; Dacang had long advised him, suggesting that he make good relations with Gu, Qin, and Roth’s families in Luotian.

But he was old, and his greatest fear was bringing disaster to his family. Wary of retaliation from the Lu Family and County Magistrate Zou, he had merely been observing, not daring to approach the Gu Family.

However, when he learned that County Captain Jiang had once again helped the Gu Family take care of Manager Tao in the town, and Scholar Shang had taken Gu Jin’an as a student, he immediately realized that the Gu Family had indeed come into good fortune. The He family no longer needed to wait and could start building relations with them.

But just at this moment, Liang Zhuzi came out, saying they wanted to start a tofu business.

He had also set his sights on the tofu business and was planning to discuss it with the Gu Family.

The He family was poor, and apart from farming, the He Family People could only do odd jobs in town or the county.

But how much could be earned from odd jobs?

The young and old masters of the village would gather by the large millstone in the center of the village to idle away their time; this couldn’t go on. He had thought of the Gu Family’s tofu, intending to ask the Gu Family to sell tofu to village residents at a cheaper price, allowing them to carry tofu to other villages for sale to earn money.

Village Chief He ignored Liang Zhuzi and settled himself down, then called He Jinseng and said to Third Grandpa, "Brother Gu, this is my eldest grandson, Jinseng. I should have brought him to visit you a long time ago, but Jinseng was studying in the private school in town, and his studies were intense. One delay led to another, which has brought us to this point."

He then scolded He Jinseng, "Come and pay your respects to Third Master Gu, Uncle Dashan, and Miss Xiao Yu of the Gu Family."

Upon hearing the term ’Miss Xiao Yu of the Gu Family’, Xiao Yu felt a wave of goosebumps and hastily said, "No need to call me Miss; my name is Xiao Yu." The whole ’Miss Xiao Yu of the Gu Family’ bit was too cringy; she couldn’t stand it.

He Jinseng was startled, then, regaining his composure, bowed to Third Grandpa and Gu Dashan, "The younger generation, Jinseng, pays respect to Third Grandpa Gu, Uncle Gu... Xiao Yu."

Third Grandpa smiled and said to Gu Dashan, "Jin Sheng, no need for such formality, we country folks don’t fuss over this."

Village Chief He laughed and said, "You are his elders, it’s only right for someone young like him to show respect."

Seeing Village Chief He chatting happily with Third Grandpa, Liang Zhuzi became anxious and hurriedly said to Gu Jinli, "Miss Gu, we need to head back home, let’s sign the contract now."

As he spoke, he even bit his finger and used the blood as ink for the fingerprint. Village Chief He acted quicker, picking up the contract from the table and giving it a read, then frowned, "Five hundred pounds of tofu a day, that’s a lot; does your family have the time to make all this?"

Village Chief He looked at Third Grandpa and reminded him, "Brother Gu, it’s mid-February now, and in half a month it will be time to sow seeds. Does your family have enough hands to make so much tofu? You shouldn’t neglect the fields for tofu making; perhaps it’s better not to sign this contract and wait until after the sowing is done."

Third Grandpa also figured out Village Chief He’s purpose for coming over. Since Xiao Yu had already agreed to Liang Zhuzi’s request, backing out was not an option. So he responded with a smile, "There’s no need for the village chief to worry about us. Our fields are not paddy fields but dry land, and we can only plant soybeans and sweet potatoes. Planting the seeds late is not a big deal, and we have the manpower to make tofu."

Liang Zhuzi was both angry and panicked at first, but upon hearing this, he was relieved, thinking that the deal was going to fall through. He hadn’t expected the Gu Family to be true to their word and had no intention of reneging.

Hearing what Third Grandpa said, Village Chief He knew there was no stopping this transaction and could only put down the contract.

He Dacang became very anxious and wanted to say something, but Village Chief He stopped him. Since they came to make amends, they couldn’t overdo it and risk making enemies.

He Dacang had no choice but to give up.

Liang Zhuzi and the other two villagers happily pressed their fingerprints on the paper contract.

After the blood stains dried up, Gu Jinli carefully collected the contract.

Without prolonging their stay, as soon as Gu Jinli finished securing the contract, Liang Zhuzi and the others took their leave, "Elder Gu, Brother Gu, Miss Gu of the Gu Family, we shall head back now and come pick up the tofu and spices tomorrow morning."

Seasoning spices are a must for selling plain tofu, or else it won’t taste good.

Gu Jinli nodded, "Alright, you can come and collect the tofu tomorrow, but there’s no need for so many people; five or six will do."

"Yeah, yeah, we understand, we’ll discuss and make sure not to be reckless like yesterday," Liang Zhuzi and his companions put down their gifts and left cheerfully.

He Dacang watched their joyful departure, feeling both anxious and regretful; they should have come yesterday, but when they heard that the Gu Family had turned away Liang Zhuzi and the others, they thought the tofu deal had fallen through, thus didn’t come immediately but waited until today.

To his surprise, it was too late.

He Jinseng watched his father’s despairing gesture and also felt anxious, but since he only knew how to study and was unfamiliar with these practical matters, he had no idea how to help his father.

After Liang Zhuzi and his companions departed, Third Grandpa asked Third Grandma to bring out a plate of bean dregs cake and a few bowls of soymilk. Then he said to Village Chief He, "We don’t have much to offer at home, but if the village chief doesn’t mind, please try our homemade bean cake and soymilk."

"Why would I mind? This golden bean pancake is a hot commodity, we’ve been craving it," Village Chief He picked up a bean dregs cake and bit into it, the flavor was delicious, and followed it with a sip of soymilk that was rich and pleasantly sweet. He couldn’t help being impressed, wondering how the Gu Family could make such tasty food.

After swallowing the bean dregs cake bite in his mouth, Village Chief He finally spoke up, "Brother Gu, about the matter with the Lu Family, I didn’t handle my duties as village chief properly. I knew that the Lu Family was overbearing, and when Lu San came to bully for the recipe, I didn’t bring anyone over to stop him... It is my fault."