I'm full of rebellion against fate

Chapter 211: Fortune and misfortune depend on each other

There are usually schools in the ancestral hall for the younger generation of the clan to learn knowledge. Chang Ningchen deliberately chose a place with many people to start his performance.

After Dong Er said Gu Xishui's name, his whole body suddenly convulsed and he rolled his eyes. He said with difficulty, "Bring me a pen and paper!"

Everyone thought Dong Er was having an epileptic seizure, but he sat very straight and suddenly reached out for paper and pen.

You have to know that Dong Er is an illiterate farmer. The fastest place to get paper and pen here is in the school in the ancestral hall. It happened to be after school and many students looked at Chang Ningchen curiously, wondering what he was doing.

Dong Er got the paper and pen and started writing.

The Gu family members and the old scholar nearby watched and chanted, "I am Gu Gong Xishui, and I long to meet my eldest grandson, Gu Xingtao. This child is a star from heaven sent down to earth to revitalize the Gu family. You must not neglect him. He must be handed over to the eldest daughter-in-law to be raised! If you neglect him, I will appear in my dreams and scold you! This is a secret of heaven and cannot be revealed to outsiders!"

If you can’t tell me, I’ll write it down for you to see. Don’t bully the children and daughters-in-law of the eldest family, otherwise I will lecture you in your dreams!

Gu Gaoxiang and Gu Shijie's faces turned pale with fright when they saw these words. Everyone in the Gu family knew that Dong Er was an illiterate commoner, and besides, Old Master Gu had been gone for many years and no one would mention his name.

Seeing Dong Er act like an official and write beautifully, they all thought he was possessed by Old Master Gu! They all knelt down immediately.

After writing this, Chang Ningchen shuddered. His whole body shook and the pen in his hand fell. Then he looked at Gu Gaoxiang and Gu Shijie who were kneeling on the ground with a confused look on his face and asked, "Why are Master Gu Er and Master Gu kneeling on the ground? I can't bear it!"

He knelt on the ground like a bumpkin and kowtowed to Gu Gaoxiang and the others, behaving like a typical country bumpkin.

Gu Shijie showed the paper to Dong Er with some disbelief and asked, "Dong Er, have you ever learned calligraphy before?"

Dong Er said with an embarrassed look, "Don't laugh at me, Third Master. I grew up in the fields and had to work hard during the busy farming season. My family didn't have the spare money to send me to school. I can't read a single word. When I first entered the mansion, I made a lot of jokes."

The original owner, Dong Er, was indeed illiterate and was laughed at by the Gu family in the early days. Everyone saw it. When Gu Qingshu asked him to take the books from the shelf, he couldn't even get them. He had to rely on servants to show him the way to any courtyard or hall.

He got lost after going to the toilet at night, and it was the maid who found Dong Er, who had been freezing outside all night. This incident was laughed at by the Gu family for a long time.

Fortunately, Chang Ningchen can read, and he can find out the name of the old man of the Gu family by just asking. Now he has no strength to fight against the other two families, and can only rely on pretending to be a ghost to protect himself.

There were many people watching this incident, and Gu Gaoxiang and Gu Shijie didn't say much. In case the old man really couldn't bear it anymore and showed up, they were also afraid of being scolded in their dreams at night. So they returned Gu Xingtao to Dong Er, asked him to take good care of the child, and left.

Holding the soundly sleeping Gu Xingtao in his arms, Chang Ningchen breathed a sigh of relief temporarily. This kind of ghost story could only fool people temporarily, not permanently.

He must find a way to take power into his own hands. Only when he becomes strong will others not dare to bully him!

As a person who traveled through time, Chang Ningchen has the ability to predict the direction of history. After all, he has experienced several periods of the Republic of China, and some things must be similar.

When he had nothing to do, he would carry Taotao to the teahouse to listen to the news. Everyone thought it was normal for a countryman to like to listen to the interesting stories told by peddlers and hawkers, and he just had to remember to bring the child home for dinner.

The Gu family didn't care much about Dong Er. A peasant couldn't teach a child well. It was very likely that the child he taught would be rustic, vulgar and illiterate.

By the time they become useless, it will save more people from competing with them for the Gu family's property. We can just give them a piece of wasteland and send them away!

Chang Ningchen got a lot of information from the peddlers and hawkers. Although life here seemed peaceful, the world outside was already turbulent.

The corrupt dynasty was defeated in the war with foreign countries. Fearing the attack from the other side, the dynasty even began to cede land and pay compensation. The increased taxes made it unbearable for the people. Compared with the people who were complaining, some small landlords and prominent families were still living a good life.

For example, the Gu family, because they have a highly self-sufficient production model, they don’t have to worry about major changes in the outside world. It’s like a mouse that owns a warehouse. As long as its warehouse is not attacked, it will not be afraid, and it will not be affected and can still eat and drink as usual.

If the current head of the Gu family had a sense of danger, he would have taken action, but Gu Gaoxiang and Gu Shijie were both playboys who only cared about pleasure and wanted to suck the blood of the Gu family.

Chang Ningchen estimated that the Qing Dynasty was about to exit power at this time, and it would be better to hoard goods than to make money during the political turmoil.

Food, medicine and weapons are all very important things when fighting. Gu Qingshu was very good to Dong Er and left him some assets and a few shops. He was worried that the Gu family would make things difficult for him, so he left him a way out.

Chang Ningchen cashed part of it into silver and asked Lao Li, the shop owner who belonged to his assets, to help him buy food and hemostatic herbs.

Now he has no one to rely on, so he can only use interests to build trust between him and the bosses. If it works, the bosses will become his allies for the sake of interests. If not, he can only think of other ways.

After waiting for a few months, Gu Xingtao started to learn to sit and crawl. Chang Ningchen went to find the shop owner Lao Li again, but found that he looked very sad.

When he saw Chang Ningchen coming, he told him the bad news that their caravan encountered a group of bandits when they were about to reach the county town, and all their belongings were stolen.

Chang Ningchen asked in shock: "Did you encounter them when you were almost reaching the county town? Are you guys okay?!"

Old Li said, "I heard those soldiers only wanted things and didn't kill people. They seemed very legitimate. If you ran into them, you could just hand over your things and leave safely. They were just random robbers, so if you ran into them, you just accepted your bad luck. In this world, the government can't even take care of itself, so how can they have the time to catch these bandits?"

After listening to what Lao Li said, Chang Ningchen thought that it was a blessing in disguise, so he gave Lao Li some more silver and asked him to transport the goods again, but this time he wanted to send them to these soldiers, and he specifically let the soldiers know that these were sent by him, Dong Er.

In addition to money, Chang Ningchen also needs a backer. Only when the tiger is around can those big rats in the Gu family dare not act presumptuously.

If this group of people has enough fighting power, it is very likely that this area will belong to these warlords after the Qing Dynasty withdraws. Moreover, as long as they don't kill people, there will be no killing or looting in the surrounding villages. It seems that this group of people is also very disciplined.

Old Li felt that the young man was courting disaster, but he offered a lot so he agreed. After all, no one would resist money.

After giving the instructions, Chang Ningchen took little Taotao back. When Gu Xingtao grew up, she was as delicate as a piece of jade and looked no different from other children, but she was very obedient.

Could it be that Dongfang He happened to wear this child's body by chance? Chang Ningchen was very confused about this.