Chapter 333: The Opportunity Before You

Gu Zhang thought for a moment. “We actually do have people, and they’re trustworthy. Your aunt’s husband is an honest man, but he can’t read.”

“The village chief—uh, I mean, at Sixth Uncle’s house, Jin Sheng and Yinsheng are both literate. And they’re dependable.”

Gu Fei glanced at Mrs. Chen. “Dad, going to sea is a dangerous business. These are all relatives, I’m just afraid that—”

Gu Zhang waved his hand. “I know what you mean. But you don’t understand—ordinary people like us trade our lives for money.”

“We don’t care about the risk, as long as we can make money.”

“What I mean is, first, I want to give them a leg up. And second, I can only really trust our own relatives.”

Gu Fei nodded. Going to sea had its risks, but it wasn’t a suicide mission. Besides, high risk also meant high reward.

Gu Zhang looked at Gu Fei and added, “If you really decide to buy a boat, you shouldn’t go on the first voyage. I’ll take a few men and go.”

Gu Fei’s expression changed slightly. “Dad, going to sea is still dangerous. I should be the one to go.”

Mrs. Chen chimed in anxiously from the side, “No one is going! Neither of you! We have enough money to live on now. We never even dared to dream of a life like this, so why do something so dangerous!”

“I’m happy as long as the family is together, even if it means eating scraps.”

Gu Zhang shook his head. “You don’t understand.”

‘It’s fine to be content with a small fortune, but when you have a chance to change the entire family’s destiny, any risk is worth taking.’

‘His own daughter had placed the opportunity right in front of him. Did he not even have the courage to seize it?’

Gu Fei waved her hand. “Dad, we can discuss who goes later. We haven’t even bought a boat yet.”

“First, we’ll go into the city. You and I will take some people to check on the shops. We won’t do anything else for now, just tell them there’s a new owner.”

“Then we’ll buy a few literate or quick-witted servants and start training them, so we won’t be short-handed later.”

Gu Zhang nodded and sighed. “Our family’s foundations are still too shallow.”

‘All of a sudden, we have shops and land, but not a single capable steward.’

‘I used to think I had plenty of sons, but now that I need them, there’s only Er Lang to count on.’

‘Thankfully, I had them all learn to read when they were young. Otherwise, we’d be completely lost.’

The family finished their discussion, but Mrs. Chen’s objections were futile. Seeing Gu Zhang and Gu Fei so stubbornly set on their path, she was on the verge of tears from anxiety.

Gu Fei put an arm around her mother and said, “Mom, don’t you worry so much. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

‘What could she do? She couldn’t control either Gu Zhang or Gu Fei.’

After placating Mrs. Chen, Gu Fei and Gu Zhang once again rode into the city on Er Lang’s cart.

The three of them went to check on Housekeeper Wu’s three shops. One was an Oil and Rice Shop, one sold cosmetics, and the last was a silver building. The silver building was on Furong Street, not far from their inn.

Gu Zhang took out the property deeds, explained his identity, and summoned the men from the shops to the inn.

These men had heard just yesterday that Housekeeper Wu had been beaten to death and his house ransacked.

They were merely shopkeepers hired by Housekeeper Wu, and their hearts were pounding with anxiety. They guessed the new owner was either a master from the Prince Mansion or someone connected to the masters, and they had no idea if they would be allowed to keep their jobs.

Gu Fei and Gu Zhang checked the last month’s accounts, ignoring the previous ones. Seeing no problems with the books and that they had earned a fair amount of silver, Gu Fei said, “Since you shopkeepers have been managing the shops well, let’s keep things as they are. Submit the accounts once a month. Whatever wage Housekeeper Wu was paying you, I’ll add ten percent. All you need to do is continue managing the shops well.”