Not long after Gu Xingzhao left the neighborhood, she ran into Auntie Li. Gu remembered that Aunt Li didn’t live nearby.
“Aunt Li, where are you headed?” she asked.
Seeing Gu Xingzhao, Aunt Li instinctively hid the bag of medicine she was carrying behind her back and smiled. “Oh, I have some business at the station to discuss with Director Lu. Are you just coming back from dinner?”
It wasn’t unusual for people from the station to visit Director Lu in the evening to talk about work, especially since he was preparing for early retirement. There were bound to be many things to handle.
Gu Xingzhao didn’t think much of it. “Yes, I just finished. You should hurry, it’s getting late.”
Aunt Li, holding her bag of medicine, headed toward the gate but couldn’t help calling out, “Xiao Gu!”
Gu Xingzhao stopped and turned around. “Yes?”
Aunt Li hesitated, wanting to tell Gu about Director Lu’s illness, hoping she could persuade him to accept treatment. But memories of Gu’s grandfather’s passing came to her mind.
Back then, in the small town hospital, Gu had watched her grandfather go from eating, drinking, and laughing to gradually losing consciousness, unable even to swallow liquid food. In the end, after much suffering, they decided to stop treatment.
Her grandfather had been Gu’s last remaining family at the time.
Now, for Gu Xingzhao, Director Lu was just like her grandfather had been. He didn’t want her to experience that kind of pain again.
Why be the bearer of bad news? Aunt Li sighed inwardly. “Xiao Gu, try to spend more time with Director Lu. He’s always thought of you like a daughter.”
Gu Xingzhao paused, then smiled softly. “I know.”
As she watched Gu walk away, Aunt Li sighed again. Maybe spending more time together now would make things easier to look back on later.
Back at home, Gu Xingzhao felt a bit heavy-hearted. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but something seemed off with Director Lu tonight. He had talked more than usual.
But she quickly brushed off her worries. It’s probably because Uncle Lu is retiring soon and isn’t in the best mood. I’ll visit him more in the coming days.
With that in mind, she grabbed her fully charged e-reader and power bank and returned to the past.
Since there was no e-reader, both Shunyu and Lu Youtang were practicing calligraphy tonight.
Lu Youtang was still struggling with her writing, and at the moment, Lu Qing was teaching her, determined to help his granddaughter develop beautiful handwriting that wouldn’t lose to that of his eldest grandson.
Standing behind Shunyu, Gu Xingzhao noticed that her handwriting had improved significantly, now carrying a sharpness it hadn’t had before.
Next to her, Liu Xiangbai glanced at Shunyu’s newly written characters, a rare look of approval crossing his face. “Your Highness, your calligraphy has become quite elegant.”
Shunyu was overjoyed. It wasn’t often that Mr. Liu praised her, and this was the first time in a long while. She couldn’t help but smile. “It’s because of your excellent teaching, sir.”
Only then did Gu Xingzhao realize that Shunyu had been learning her calligraphy under Liu Xiangbai’s guidance.
Liu’s expression darkened slightly, and his tone became more serious. “Your Highness.”
Shunyu froze, immediately realizing she had let her emotions show. She quickly wiped the smile from her face and returned to practicing, mentally reviewing Mr. Liu’s teachings.
Watching the scene unfold, Gu Xingzhao couldn’t help but think, You can’t even smile? That’s strict.
She slipped the e-reader and power bank into Shunyu’s nearby bookbag and decided to explore other parts of the residence.
At the moment, Lu Qing was sitting in a wheelchair, completely unwilling to leave it. The other clan members looked on enviously but didn’t dare to say anything, as he was the head of the family.
Meanwhile, Lu Xingyao sat nearby, glaring at his grandfather with frustration.
Does the old man really have to sit in that thing all day and all night? He doesn’t even care if it hurts after a while.
He propped his hands under his chin, looking aggrieved, much like a scorned woman.
Sitting across from him, Gu Xingzhao couldn’t help but laugh. It was hard to reconcile this image with the description Mo Li had given her: “refined and elegant, like jade.”
She suddenly remembered her first impression of Lu Xingyao before meeting the Lu family. Back then, she had thought he was very poised, the epitome of a noble young man—graceful and well-educated.
At that time, he had also been taking care of his sickly third uncle, a picture of maturity.
Gu Xingzhao sighed. How did he turn into such a dramatic character?
It’s true—people are more beautiful from a distance.
Her gaze shifted to Lu Xingyan, who was sitting farther away. His eyes were calm, like autumn waters. Though his body was weak, and his brows were slightly furrowed, his movements carried the grace and dignity of a noble family. Even in his current situation, wearing prison clothes, his composed demeanor was unmistakable.
Now this is someone who is truly refined, like jade. She thought. Just looking at him makes me want to bully him.
Out of nowhere, she pulled out a fruit and popped it into her mouth, wondering which lucky girl in the future would get to enjoy something this good.
At that moment, Lu Yang, who was trying to perform a magic trick to make his wife happy, realized the fruit he’d been planning to use had disappeared. Bewildered, he muttered, “???”
Where did it go?
His wife, Xu, had waited long enough. Seeing that her husband couldn’t even produce a small fruit, she dragged their daughter into the tent to sleep.
Lu Yang was panicking. That fruit had cost him two buckets of instant noodles to trade with a minor official!
Where on earth did it go? Did it just vanish?
The next day, Gu Xingzhao met with Mo Li to discuss a potential collaboration.
When Mo Li heard that Gu Xingzhao was about to open a large supermarket, she was shocked. Her eyes were full of admiration. “Running a big supermarket is no small feat. You’re really brave!”
In small cities, small convenience stores are more practical. Large supermarkets often lose money and close down quickly.
Gu Xingzhao, on the other hand, admired Mo Li. “You’re the brave one. Not everyone dares to take on 1,000 acres of land.”
She herself had a backup plan. Even if she lost all her money, she still had He Zhen’s successful fireworks shop generating income. Plus, the treasures and antiques she received could be sold for a good price at Xu Shisan’s shop.
But Mo Li had taken on a real challenge—1,000 acres of land, with the livelihood of several villages and all her workers depending on her. One misstep, and it would mean financial ruin and huge debts. Everyone involved would suffer.
Gu Xingzhao knew she didn’t have that kind of courage.
Mo Li scratched her nose, embarrassed. “It was my dad who had the courage. He convinced the villagers, selected the seeds and saplings, and negotiated the partnerships. I’m just inheriting what he built. It’s nothing special.”
She felt like she was merely enjoying the fruits of her father’s labor.
“Oh, by the way, what you suggested sounds good. I’ll have someone draft up a contract when I get back. You can choose the products, and once your supermarket opens, I’ll supply them daily. We can negotiate the price later.”
Gu Xingzhao smiled. “Sounds perfect.”
After wrapping things up with Mo Li, Gu Xingzhao went on to meet with several other people and successfully secured a few more collaborations. She even checked on the supermarket, where renovations were nearly complete, and the results exceeded her expectations.
Everything was going more smoothly than she had hoped. Delighted, she stopped by a restaurant on her way home and ordered dozens of duck leg meals after checking her system panel and seeing that everyone was hungry.
Feeling a little indulgent, she added a special request: “Oh, and for two of the meals, add an extra chicken leg. Please label them for me.”
Leave a Reply