CHAPTER 591: CHAPTER 591: GRAND OPENING

Chang Errui, despite his maturity, was only eighteen and found himself at a loss upon seeing Qi Kangle’s state, his sadness soon overshadowed by a sense of defeat.

He still couldn’t make it.

He was very clear about his own thoughts regarding Qi Kangle; she was exactly the kind of wife he wanted... capable of doing chores, skilled in managing a household, not delicate, and also very considerate. Marrying such a wife would definitely make for a good life.

And indeed, he also liked her.

But he didn’t know when it started, Sister Le stopped helping him move bricks and even avoided him. He searched for a long time but didn’t know the reason.

"Brother Chang, you go inside and rest, I’ll handle these tiles," Qi Kangping came over to persuade, having already rolled up his sleeves and picked up a stack of more than a dozen tiles to carry into Yanfu Building.

Gu Jinli, the gossipmonger, saw Qi Kangping leave and slipped over, saying, "Brother Chang Er, you go inside and apply medicine first."

After saying that, he winked at him.

Chang Errui was not a fool; he knew there was something more to discuss and immediately went inside.

Gu Jinli asked him, "What do you think about my cousin?"

Xiao Ji and Luo Huiniang also followed inside. Hearing this, their eyes sparkled with the excitement of gossip.

Chang Errui looked at the three girls, feeling a bit stuck. Speak up, and it’s embarrassing in front of so many people; remain silent, and he can’t recruit Gu Jinli, Sister Le’s cousin, to help out.

Xiao Ji had seen many a tough escort master get bashful when taking a wife at the escort agency. She understood these things well and seeing the situation, she promised, "Brother Chang Er from the Chang family, don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone about your feelings."

Chang Errui: "..."

Your words don’t sound too reliable.

Gu Jinli said, "Brother Chang Er, I know what you’re worried about, rest assured, my cousin is part of our family, we won’t gossip and ruin her reputation."

Although she supported Qi Kangle’s decision not to marry, if a good man came along, there was no need to keep rejecting him. And she could tell that her cousin probably had some feelings for Chang Errui, but she was burdened by her past of being sold into a brothel, fearing if people found out, Chang Errui and the entire Yuan family would be ridiculed.

After listening, Chang Errui thought for a while, then looked at Xiao Ji and Luo Huiniang and said, "Swear you won’t speak of this, or else you can’t listen."

Xiao Ji: "..."

Swear and curse just for a piece of gossip?

But she couldn’t leave Young Master alone here; Nanny Tao had said that as Young Master grows older, she shouldn’t be left alone with men, to avoid stirring gossip.

Xiao Ji immediately swore, "I absolutely will not talk about Brother Chang Er from the Chang family liking Sister Le from the Qi family, otherwise I and my elder brother will not die a good death."

Look, I even brought my brother into my oath, that’s sincere enough, right?

Luo Huiniang also took an oath; she would not hurt Xiao Yu’s cousin.

After hearing their vows, Chang Errui then spoke about his situation with Qi Kangle.

Gu Jinli: "..."

This is still a love story of moving bricks.

However...

"I can’t help you."

Chang Errui was dumbfounded, so you’re going to just ignore me after hearing the gossip? Isn’t that a bit too shameless?

Gu Jinli had an unassailable reason: "I am Cousin Le’s cousin; I will only stand by her side. If she doesn’t wholeheartedly accept you, I won’t force her. However, I can give you two pieces of advice. First, don’t give up too easily. Second, if you want to marry my cousin, you must understand what she’s worried about, dispel her worries, accept everything about her, and then you can have your wish fulfilled."

After finishing, she left.

Brother Chang Er watched the three young girls walking away, almost bursting with frustration—did they just swear an oath to hear some gossip? But what could he do? He could only shake his head helplessly.

After a while, he pondered Gu Jinli’s words and felt that there was some truth to them. Sister Le had been avoiding him for a reason. Although he didn’t know the reason, he wouldn’t give up. It was not easy to find a wife he liked; if he gave up, he might end up being a bachelor for life.

Brother Chang Er treated his big toe, bandaged it, put on his shoes, and continued moving tiles. He had not seen Qi Kang Le again by the time he finished. He was a bit sad but thought that he could still come tomorrow, and in the following long period, the Qin, Gu, Luo, Tian, and Qi families, including the Qi family, would all be building houses. He could continue delivering green bricks to them and was not afraid of not seeing Qi Kang Le.

Qi Kang Le hid in the kitchen all along, preparing meals. When she heard that Brother Chang Er had left, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to ask Gu Jinli what they had told Brother Chang Er, but upon further thought, she let go of the idea.

Xiao Yu was fiercely protective of her own family and would not harm them.

Gu Jinli brought Luo Huiniang and Xiao Ji to the kitchen to help out. Seeing that Qi Kang Le had not asked her anything after being busy for half an hour, she left to help Mrs. Cui, Aunt Hong, and others clean up their homes.

Knowing they were in town, Gu Jin’an also came to help after picking up Brother Cheng. They worked until the afternoon Shen period and then rode the mule cart home.

When they reached the end of the village, they saw Mrs. Chen standing in front of her partially built new house, looking very pleased. Upon seeing Gu Jinli and the others returning, her eyebrows lifted in excitement. She was just feeling frustrated about not having someone to brag to when people arrived.

She immediately called out to Gu Jinli: "Oh, Xiao Yu’s back. Come and look at Auntie’s new house. It’s so magnificent, just like your house in town, with more than a dozen rooms."

Then she added, "Our family is the first one among us to build a new house."

Gu Jinli looked at her smug face and smiled: "It’s a pity you probably can’t move in before the New Year."

Mrs. Chen’s smile disappeared instantly, scolding: "You girl, why can’t you say something nice?"

However, Gu Dagui was happy they couldn’t move in before the New Year—he wanted to spend it with his elder brother’s family.

Gu Jinli grinned: "Also, Auntie’s house was built with borrowed money; you have to pay it back."

Mrs. Chen felt like she could die of regret. Had she known, she wouldn’t have been so eager to show off. Her attempt to boast had backfired, almost driving her mad with anger.

The reason why Mrs. Chen’s family was the first to build a house was due to their family division. Moreover, the Gu family, along with several other families, had exchanged their lands.

Now, this area used to be the uninhabited earthen houses, workshops, and the courtyard once lived in by Wang Yongfu and others that Gu Jinli’s family had bought. Now, these lands had been exchanged with Gu Dafu’s family, Gu Dagui’s family, Aunt Tian’s Family, Old Mrs. Yan Family, and Qi Family.

After exchanging these lands, her family would have enough space to build a big house without being too far from the Qin family.

Well, living close to the Qin family wasn’t bad; there was Brother Qin to help with the work.

Having irritated Mrs. Chen, Gu Jinli went home.

In the following days, the weather turned colder and colder. Every morning when they woke up, the courtyard was covered with a layer of white frost, and the water in the water jars also formed a thin layer of ice. More people in the village started to catch colds.

Gu Jinli immediately accelerated the production of Convenient Medicine to treat colds, coughs, and fevers.

Doctor Wu knew she had started making Convenient Medicine. He personally checked her recipe and admired, "This recipe is excellent, it’s the most effective for treating colds."

Uncle Dai also said with a smile: "Especially small mustard seeds and trefoil, which are not only good medicines for treating colds and coughs but also reduce fever when combined. Young Master, you’ve composed a good recipe."

However, aside from having a good recipe, in order to successfully make Convenient Medicine, it was necessary to form the medicine, which was originally in soup form, into a solid and figure out a good storage method.

Young Master was working on this and was now eagerly awaiting her final product to see how she would solidify the soup medicine and store it.

But before Doctor Dai could see the final product, Dongzhi festival arrived, and it was time for the opening of Yanfu Building.

Gu Jinli had already stopped making Convenient Medicine three days in advance to help with the preparations for the opening of Yanfu Building, which frustrated Doctor Dai. However, being a servant of the Young Master, he could only obey and hurry as much as he might, it was of no use.