I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 18 Trouble is coming

Seeing her actions, Gu Chenglin was not only puzzled but also speechless. How could this person not understand the difference between men and women? This personality... He would remind her again when he had time.

“The taller one is a boy,” the boss asked.

"Yes, each child needs two outfits for this season, both inner and outerwear. If they have shoes, they should also have matching socks."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Okay, we have them all. It's a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings now, would you like to add a vest for the kids?"

Dongfang Jin hadn't expected such a thing to exist in ancient times. This shopkeeper was also good at business, asking such a question in a way that wasn't annoying: "Yes, two pieces for each person."

Gu Chenglin sighed, “One is enough. We can make another one in winter. We don’t wash vests all the time.”

Dongfang Jin glared at him. This guy talks too much. "Never mind, just change into your clothes. Boss, give me two sets of clothes, one for me and one for my brother. Oh, and shoes and socks too, double the amount for everything."

Upon hearing this, the boss happily replied, "Okay, okay, I'll prepare everything for you."

You see, his shop can't even sell one set of ready-made clothes a month, but he still can't do without them. That's the difficulty they face in doing business.

In the end, the family bought all their clothes, including shoes and socks, and it only cost them thirty-three taels of silver.

The boss was so happy that he gave her a few red hair ties.

Dongfang Jin looked at the large bundle of clothes and decisively gave the shopkeeper five coins to deliver the goods to the storage facility. The cart had two baskets of cabbages on it.

Seeing that she spent money like water and didn't even haggle, Gu Chenglin felt frustrated for a while. Then, thinking about how quickly she transferred money, he felt even more frustrated.

If this girl isn't followed and kept in check, with her personality, she might cause trouble!

When Gu Chenglin and Dongfang Jin arrived at the storage area, they discovered that one of the cars couldn't be towed back.

Gu Chenglin looked at the pile of things, then silently walked to the side and spent 100 coins to hire an ox. The driver said he would handle the unloading and would definitely deliver the goods back to them safely.

Dongfang Jin looked at the pile of things and said, "I didn't think I bought that much. How come there's so much?" She still had more than twenty taels of silver in her hand.

Gu Chenglin glanced at her, said nothing, and silently loaded the truck.

He didn't know if it was a hallucination, but after drinking the water this person gave him twice today, he felt that the wounds on his ankles and waist were no longer burning, and now he could bend over without feeling any pain.

The oxcart swayed and bumped its way home, and Gu Chenglin saw that Dongfang Jin was already asleep inside.

He glanced at her sleeping position and had no choice but to pick her up, but this person's weight... it seems he needs to nourish her a bit more.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw two children dressed in Xiao Jin's clothes, just like in a play, with their hands holding the dangling part at the bottom.

That careful way of handling it—was she afraid of getting her clothes dirty? It made his heart ache.

He felt an even greater hatred for his mother and himself.

"Stone, help Daddy move things."

Stone looked at the person in his father's arms: "Okay, Daddy, she..."

Gu Chenglin said expressionlessly, "I'm tired."

The girl mustered her courage and said, "Daddy, I can move it too."

"Alright."

Gu Chenglin carried Dongfang Jin into the room, laid out the bedding, and settled her down. Despite all this fuss, she didn't wake up; she must have been truly exhausted.

The father and his two sons, along with the coachman, unloaded the cart. After the coachman left, the father and his two sons began packing their belongings.

Unbeknownst to them, some busybodies had already gone to the Gu family to tell them about Gu Chenglin's return with two truckloads of goods.

How many good people can pass on a message? The moment those words came out of her mouth, they took on a different meaning.

When Gu Chenglin's mother and daughter-in-law heard that he had brought back two large truckloads of things, they immediately exploded.

First is Gu Laosan's wife, Ye Shilan. She gave birth to a son in the Gu family, and her maiden family even shares the same surname as her mother-in-law. She's also good at coaxing people at home.

Upon hearing that my brother-in-law had brought back two oxcartloads of goods from the county, I wondered how much that must have cost. No way, he had to come over.

Old Mrs. Gu was already angry, and with her two daughters-in-law and daughter adding fuel to the fire, her anger surged uncontrollably.

They grabbed a vest, put it on, and the three of them—the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, and their daughter—went on in a flurry of activity and with great momentum towards Gu Chenglin's house.

The messenger, who was already looking for good news, immediately started shouting as soon as they appeared, just like a messenger of good news, telling everyone he met.

In no time, most of the people in Lingwu Village knew about it.

So, in groups of three or five, they headed towards Gu Chenglin's house—to see what was going on.

Some kind-hearted people hurriedly ran to tell the Gu family patriarch and the village head Lin about it.

Upon hearing this, the other two families hurriedly came out as well. Why is it always this one family that's causing trouble every day?

"Gu Chenglin, you unfilial son, get out here right now!" The shrill voice carried far into the courtyard.

By this time, the father and his two sons had almost finished tidying up the things in the yard.

Upon hearing the sound, the two children huddled together and hid to one side, staring in terror at the gate.

Seeing his two children's subconscious actions, Gu Chenglin felt guilty, and the pain in his heart returned.

With her big belly sticking out, Ye Shilan swayed her hips as she walked into the yard, put her hands on her hips, and shouted, "Uncle, you are so unfilial!"

"How dare you hide money from me! Don't forget, we just separated yesterday, and you left with nothing. Where did you get the money to buy all this stuff?"

Those who followed behind also chimed in with their comments.

"Did Gu Chenglin hide some money from his family?"

"Who knows? Let's go check it out!"

"Cheng Lin just separated from the family, can't he even buy something?"

"Don't you know, Gu Chenglin left with nothing. Where did he get the money?"

……

Gu Meiyu entered the courtyard and, upon seeing the man, exclaimed, "Brother, I never expected that you, an honest and simple man, would do something like this—hiding your own money. This is extremely unfilial!"

Our mother raised us with so much care and hardship, how could you do such a thing?

Are you really going to be the kind of person who marries a wife and forgets his mother?

Grandma Gu pointed at Gu Chenglin: "You unfilial son, quickly take out all your things."

Don't forget, those things all belong to your mother. I never imagined that someone as honest and kind as you could do something so unfilial.

Dongfang Jin was enjoying a delicious meal with a handsome man when she was startled awake by the loud noise. She sat up abruptly, pulling herself back to reality.

Damn it, I can't even get a peaceful night's sleep.

She was so angry that she put on her shoes and came out, only to see a fat pig carrying the meat she had bought out of the kitchen.

Gu Chenglin was being shoved by an old woman, while the two children huddled in a corner, trembling with fear and huddled together, watching everything in terror.

Her morning grumpiness is exceptionally bad; she can't feel right all day unless she lets it out.

Seeing this, she was even more grumpy than when she woke up. She turned her head and saw the cleaver at the door. She picked it up and swung it at the fat pig in the kitchen: "Where did this fat pig come from, stealing food? It's broad daylight, and it's trying to steal things from my house!"

"I'll chop your pig's trotters off so you can steal things!"

"Ah!... Murder!" Upon seeing her fierce appearance, Ye Shilan grabbed the piece of meat and ran away.

When Dongfang Jin saw her screaming that someone was going to kill someone, he got so angry that he grabbed a cleaver and threw it at her.

The machete grazed her hairline and went right through it, embedding itself in the door frame.