Farming Family's Pocket Dimension: A Charmed Little Lady Comes to Farm

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: A Good Beating Will Do the Trick

A chill ran through Gu Zhong.

’That’s right,’ he thought. ’I’ve been so obsessed with having a son. For one, I was afraid of people calling me heirless. But more importantly, wasn’t it because I was counting on a son to support me when I’m old and can no longer work?’

’This brat... he only ever thinks of himself. He even dares to steal his grandmother’s food. Can I really count on him in the future?’

Gu Zhong shot to his feet, hauled Bao’er away from Ms. Qian, and landed several hard slaps on his bottom. "I’ll teach you to be unfilial! I’ll teach you to steal your grandmother’s food! You little bastard, you think you’re above the law!"

Bao’er shrieked and wailed from the beating.

Gu Fei, eating her dough drops and listening to the commotion, commented slowly, "When a child misbehaves, it’s usually because they’ve been spoiled. A good beating will sort them out."

Just then, Gu Zhong must have gotten rough, because Bao’er began to bawl, screaming between sobs, "Mom told me to do it! Mom told me to do it! Why are you hitting me!"

Lan Zhi held her bowl and lowered her head, snickering to herself.

’Life was tough, but she felt it was much more interesting than life in the Marquis Mansion. The Marquis Mansion was dead and dreary all day long; you’d never see a spectacle like this there.’

Watching Lan Zhi, Gu Erlang also broke into a goofy grin.

Lan Zhi’s eyes accidentally met his, and she hurriedly looked away.

After a moment, she couldn’t resist sneaking another peek at Gu Erlang. He was still watching her with that same goofy grin.

Lan Zhi quickly turned away, not daring to look again.

Gu Fei took in their entire flirtatious exchange but pretended she hadn’t seen a thing.

’She wouldn’t meddle in this sort of thing. Still, if they really did get together, it wouldn’t be a bad thing. Lan Zhi would truly become one of her family.’

At night, they all slept on a large communal platform. Lan Zhi was to Gu Fei’s left, with Mrs. Chen next to her. Little Cao was to Gu Fei’s right, with Li Chunhua next to her.

They couldn’t be too particular while on the road, but the men and women were still separated. Anything else would have been too improper.

The next day, Gu Zhang got an early start and called for Gu Qing to join him. He had to go buy a mule cart.

They were gone for about an hour. Just as Mrs. Chen finished making breakfast, the pair returned, driving a mule cart.

The other families were secretly envious. It seemed Gu the Second’s family still had quite a bit of silver.

Alas, you just can’t compare one person to another.

After breakfast, they set out from Fuyuan Town. Around noon, when they stopped to rest, they came across a merchant caravan hauling grain.

The mule carts were piled high with burlap sacks, and seven or eight guards with sabers stood watch around them.

Upon seeing the Gu Family’s group, the caravan also stopped to rest a short distance away.

Gu Zhang grabbed a bun and, while gnawing on it, went over with the village chief to ask for news.

The caravan leader was a middle-aged man in his forties. Gu Zhang walked over and gave a cupped-fist salute. "Brother," he asked, "where are you hauling this grain from?"

The leader looked at Gu Zhang’s group warily, relaxing only after he saw the white flour bun in Gu Zhang’s hand. "Are you from Lin City, too?"

Gu Zhang nodded.

Only then did the leader reply, "We’re hauling it from Huainan County."

Gu Zhang smiled. "There’s plenty of grain in Huainan County. It shouldn’t be too expensive there, right?"

The leader shook his head. "Of course it’s expensive."

"This year, the south has been hit by torrential rains, and several rivers have flooded. It’s especially bad over in Han Zhong County. At the end of the sixth month, there was a massive flood when the Yunjiang broke its banks. Tens of thousands of acres of prime farmland were submerged. All the rice, which was just about to be harvested, was completely ruined. Meanwhile, the five northern counties are suffering a severe drought, so there’s a grain shortage everywhere. The grain from Huainan County is being sold to the northern counties, and the price has already multiplied several times over."