Chapter 330 Gui Ge Er
After the fifteenth day of the lunar year, Sun Shan prepared to start his study again.
Su, Sun Boming and Hanlu were busy packing their luggage, while Huang went to the neighboring Yangjia Village to ask for a talisman.
Everything seemed to have returned to the scene a year ago when Sun Shan went to the provincial school.
Everyone felt relieved only after everything was sorted out.
Sun Shan quietly gave Han Lu five taels of silver as her dowry.
Hanlu shook her head and said, "Shanzi, I don't want it. I have it. You are studying in Zhangzhou Prefecture and you need a lot of money. You don't have to give it to me."
Hanlu knew that Shanzi would give dowry money to his sisters, but Hanlu thought it was better not to take it.
She didn't have to spend much money when she married into the Zeng family, so she didn't need to bring that much money with her.
Besides, my parents will also give a dowry, so I don’t need Shanzi’s money.
Sun Shan smiled and said, "Fourth sister, I'm giving this to you to keep with you. You need money wherever you go. If you want to buy something, you can't do it without money."
Sun Shan bought a pair of silver bracelets for Han Lu in Zhangzhou Prefecture for 5 taels, and then bought her another 5 taels.
Sun Shan felt that he was very fair, and gave each of his four sisters a dowry of 10 taels.
As for more money, there is nothing I can do.
Over the years, Sun Boming, Su, and Huang often gave him money to spend, as did Aunt Sun. Together with the money from Uncle Second Uncle Sun, Uncle Third Uncle Sun, Aunt Sun, and people from the village, the total amount was quite a lot.
Sun Shan was able to save a lot of money by being frugal. He no longer had to ask his parents for money when he wanted to buy necessities.
Hanlu's eyes were red, she nodded, and said with emotion: "Shanzi, thank you."
Hanlu knew that Sun Shan gave the dowry money in advance because his brother might not come home to see him off.
Sun Boming and Su have already agreed that Sun Shan will get married on Hanlu, so he doesn't need to come back.
After all, the journey is long and it would be too painful to come back.
Sun Shan initially wanted to come back to see off the bride, but Sun Bomin and Su insisted on not using him. Even Huang asked Sun Shan not to come back.
With Yong'er and De'er at home, Sun Shan can just study at ease in the provincial school.
Sun Shan understood what they meant.
Travel expenses, asking for leave from the government school, and delaying studies are secondary. The most important thing is that the journey is long and the mountain road is steep, and I am afraid of accidents.
Although the world is peaceful, there are many bandits where there are many mountains.
Sun Bomin, Su and Huang did not want Sun Shan to take risks and walk around. If he encountered bandits, they would want to die.
So even though they missed Sun Shan and hoped that he would come home more often, facing the reality and the journey, Sun Boming, Su and Huang would rather Sun Shan not come back. Safety comes first.
Three days before departure, the village chief came to the door and brought a boy with him.
Sun Shan stared at him for several times and thought for a while before he knew who the boy was.
It turned out to be Sun Dinggui, the grandson of Sun Banxian, the adopted grandson.
The village chief said very seriously: "Shanzi, I heard from your father that you were looking for a servant boy. So I brought Gui Ge'er here. Don't worry, Dinggui is a good boy. You see he is tall and strong, it is most suitable for him to stay with you. He can be your servant boy and your bodyguard along the way. If you encounter danger, Gui Ge'er is good at fighting and will definitely save the situation."
Sun Shan was stunned, not to mention whether he needed a servant.
Sun Shan admitted that the boy Gui in front of him was half a head taller than him, but he was not strong at all. He was even worse than Brother Bi De.
Sun Shan remembered that Sun Dinggui was one year younger than him, and he was afraid that he would have to take care of Dinggui when the time came.
Sun Shan shook his head and said, "Village head, I don't need a book boy. I am used to the school now and can do things on my own."
The village chief disagreed and said, "Why don't you need a book boy? I heard from your father that all the scholars in your dormitory have book boys, but you don't. How can that be possible? There are people in the village. It's an honor for the boys in the village to be your book boys."
The village chief turned around, looked at Sun Dinggui and asked, "Brother Gui, would you like to be Mr. Sun's servant?"
Gui's eyes sparkled as he said eagerly, "Grandpa Village Chief, I want to do it. I want to be Brother Shan's servant. I don't want money, I just want food."
The village chief nodded with satisfaction: "Shanzi, I heard that Gui Ge'er really wants to be your book boy. Just give him food. It's a blessing for him to stay with you. He will benefit from your guidance for the rest of his life."
Sun Shan really couldn't understand why the village chief insisted on letting Gui boy be his book boy, so he gave Sun Bomin and Su a look.
Su understood immediately and led Gui Ge'er out. Only Sun Boming, Sun Shan, Huang and the village chief were left in the room.
Sun Bomin also asked in confusion: "Uncle Village Chief, why are you looking for a book boy for Shanzi so suddenly? I was thinking of taking my time to find one."
Sun Shan glanced at Sun Boming. How come he didn't know that Sun Boming was going to find a servant for him?
The village chief sighed and said with a little sadness: "I thought that Gui Ge'er would be adopted by Sun Banxian and inherit Sun Banxian's inheritance for the rest of his life. But I didn't know that Gui Ge'er's eldest brother was not a good person. Last year, he went to the gambling house in the next town to gamble, and ended up losing so much that others wanted to cut off their fingers."
Sun Bomin and Huang had heard a little about this matter.
Huang asked doubtfully, "Village Chief, didn't you say that the problem has been solved? Didn't the Changhe family pay off their gambling debts? Didn't Brother Guige'er turn over a new leaf and become a good man?"
At this point, the village chief was furious and said bitterly: "Yes, the debt has been repaid, but it was paid with the silver and land left by Sun Banxian. Now Gui Ge'er only has the three adobe houses of Sun Banxian."
Sun Bomin, Huang Shi, and Sun Shan looked at the village chief in shock.
Sun Changhe was going too far. He actually used Sun Banxian's property to help his eldest son pay off his debts.
By doing this, isn’t he afraid that Sun Banxian will find him in the middle of the night?
The village chief continued to explain: "Hey, it's all my fault. Last year, Changhe came to me and said that Sun Banxian's land deed and the silver should be returned to Gui Ge'er for safekeeping. Now Gui Ge'er has grown up and he has to learn how to manage the family.
What he meant was that I had occupied Sun Banxian's property for many years and should return it to its original owner.
What he meant was that I took the property and didn't want to return it, and wanted to keep it for myself.
I was so angry that I returned the land deed and the money to Gui Ge'er."
The village chief now regretted it. Sun Changhe must have planned what he said, and he must have planned to use Gui Ge'er's property to pay off his eldest son's gambling debts.
Although Gui Ge'er was adopted by Sun Banxian, Sun Changhe has been very good to Gui Ge'er over the years.
The village chief thought that Sun Changhe was worried about him holding the land deed and the silver, so he wanted to keep them for himself and return them to Guiger when he grew up.
But he soon used the money to pay off his eldest son's gambling debts.
Sun Changhe's family were also ruthless people. After paying off their gambling debts, they brought their eldest son up to apologize.
She cried and said that they had no choice but to resort to such a desperate measure. They couldn't just watch their eldest son die.
After all this talk, the clan elders were also parents, so they naturally understood Sun Changhe's approach.
Finally, the three of them were punished by being forced to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and then beaten with a club ten times. That was the end of the matter.
But Gui Ge'er lost all the land and money that he relied on for his livelihood, poor Gui Ge'er.
Sun Shan had never imagined that so many things had happened in the village. He thought the village was as peaceful and calm as before.