Chapter 94: New Ways to Make Money
While Gu Qingheng went to deliver sugarcane to the village chief, Gu Yu strolled around the courtyard with his hands tucked into his sleeves, thinking about the flash of inspiration he’d just had.
Seeing how expensively the peddler sold the sugarcane, Gu Yu thought of a good way to make money.
Making sugar.
Due to limitations in refining methods, ancient sugarcane only went through a few initial steps, resulting in what was essentially brown sugar.
This was because the juice extracted from sugarcane was not a transparent white but a reddish syrup with many precipitates.
In other words… in this ancient era, there was only brown sugar, no white sugar!
Putting aside whether the sugar-making process was troublesome, the raw materials alone must be quite expensive, otherwise, the price of sugarcane wouldn’t be so high.
When Gu Yu bought candy at the grocery store before, he had already noticed the absence of white sugar. However, at that time, he hadn’t thought of finding a way to make money immediately, so he hadn’t given it much more thought.
It was only after the peddler appeared that it reminded Gu Yu that he could put more effort into this area.
Sugarcane was already expensive enough, so wouldn’t better white sugar be able to sell for an exorbitant price!
With these thoughts, Gu Yu decided to buy some raw materials and tools like sugarcane and sugar beets, and then experiment. This way, if he failed later, all his thinking would be in vain.
After all, ancient sugar-making methods were just a topic he’d casually brought up when chatting with people in a group before.
At that time, Gu Yu had even spent half a day searching online to see how sugar was made in ancient times… and as it turned out, he had indeed found many methods.
Foreign sugar-making techniques like ‘tree ash refining method’ and ‘bamboo steamer method’ were very memorable.
However, when Gu Yu entered these terms into the search bar, he couldn’t find detailed introductions. Only the ‘mud water leaching decolorization method’ left by the ancestors had detailed annotations.
While it seemed troublesome, he could only try it for now.
If all else failed, Gu Yu would have to use another very uneconomical method.
It was said that egg whites could also clarify sugarcane juice.
Regardless, as long as he could develop a unique white sugar, Gu Yu was sure he would become rich.
However, white sugar had to be a high-end product; if promoted to the masses, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to afford it.
Prominent families in the capital, with their many wealthy individuals, would likely greatly appreciate the refined high-quality white sugar.
“Brother-in-law, brother-in-law! There’s big news in the village again!!!”
“What’s going on again? They’re never satisfied, are they…”
Just as Gu Yu was thinking about buying the raw materials and some necessary tools in town after lunch and then figuring out how to make white sugar, Gu Qingheng, who had gone to deliver sugar to the village chief, suddenly ran back.
Gu Qingheng’s excited expression made Gu Yu feel a bit frustrated.
His brother-in-law only got this excited when he heard gossip… It was likely something big had happened in the village again!
Then, after Gu Qingheng spoke, Gu Yu’s guess was confirmed!
However, the conflict between Widow Lin and Madam Li had just passed this morning, and the village had only just calmed down. What had happened now?
Yang Hong was truly unlucky to be the village chief of Yang Family Village.
“Yang Cao’s father is dead!”
“What?”
Hearing Gu Qingheng’s words afterward, Gu Yu couldn’t help but be startled.
Unlike Gu Qingheng’s pure schadenfreude, Gu Yu had personally taken Wu Changlin and Yang Cao’s father into the deep mountains yesterday. He had encountered countless dangers along the way and knew firsthand how treacherous the mountains were.
Therefore, Yang Cao’s father’s death wasn’t entirely surprising. However, how did the villagers find out about this news?
Surely no one would be so bored as to go hunting in the deep mountains!
If they did, their bones would likely have been gnawed clean.
“Brother-in-law, you’re also surprised, right? When I heard the news, I thought it was so scary! Yesterday, Yang Cao was begging my sister to go up the mountain to find her father. If my sister had foolishly gone, she might have… sigh! Why am I talking about such unlucky things? Let me continue talking about Yang Cao’s father. Because besides this news, I also saw Wu Changlin!”
“Wu Changlin?”
“Yes, it seems he went hunting in the mountains with Yang Cao’s father. Suddenly, a black bear appeared and killed Yang Cao’s father with one swipe. Wu Changlin didn’t escape either; his leg was broken, and even one of his eyes was gouged out.”
Upon hearing that Wu Changlin had returned to the village, Gu Yu finally understood why the villagers knew about Yang Cao’s father’s death. However… it was a shame that so many wild beasts in the deep mountains hadn’t taken Wu Changlin’s life.
Wu Changlin, who had plotted against the Gu family, was incredibly malicious. It was anyone’s guess how he got lucky enough to survive.
However, even though Wu Changlin was a seasoned hunter, surviving bare-handed was truly a miracle!
But upon hearing about Wu Changlin’s serious injuries later, Gu Yu felt that it was normal.
A trip into the deep mountains always came with a price.
In fact, Gu Yu suspected that Yang Cao’s father’s death might have been caused by Wu Changlin pushing him out as a target at a critical moment, otherwise, Wu Changlin wouldn’t have returned alive.
However, as Gu Yu hadn’t witnessed the situation himself, he could only speculate inwardly and didn’t speak carelessly.
“Wu Changlin is back, but Yang Cao’s father is dead! This must be quite a scene in the village!”
“Yes, Yang Cao’s mother fainted. Yang Cao grabbed a stick and wanted to settle scores with Wu Changlin, but she was stopped by the villagers. At that time, Jiaojiao Yang was watching the commotion and, to stir up trouble, said… if my sister hadn’t helped, how could Yang Cao’s father have died!”
“What did you do next?”
“I spat at her and said that since she was older than my sister, why didn’t she go to the mountain to look for him herself? Why did she have to ask my sister for help? As a result, Jiaojiao Yang also shut up honestly. Afterward, I was worried someone might try to drag us into this matter, so I didn’t linger to watch anymore.”
“Hmm, good! But don’t be afraid to speak up in the future. Even if they come looking for you about this, I’ll be here to help you deal with it, brother-in-law. You don’t need to worry about these baseless things.”
After listening to Gu Qingheng’s account, Gu Yu nodded at him.
Yang Cao’s father’s death had nothing to do with their family in the first place.
After all, the two families weren’t related, and Gu Mengyao was just a thirteen-year-old girl. Yang Cao’s family should have sought help from the village chief and then the villagers for searching for someone in the mountains.
Going into the deep mountains was something only a fool would agree to do as a favor that could cost them their life.
Therefore, even if Yang Cao brought people to their door, Gu Yu would maintain the same attitude and simply sweep them away with a broom.
This way, they wouldn’t bother Gu Mengyao anymore.
“Actually, even if this didn’t happen, I would have come back. Brother-in-law, you said… once the new house is built, you would send me to study in town. I need to review what I’ve learned before so I don’t fall behind the teacher’s lectures at the school.”
“You need to review?”
“Although I learn things quickly, I still need to review. After all, I can’t be too confident that I remember everything. It would be terrible if I forgot something.”
Although Gu Qingheng appeared modest, Gu Yu didn’t believe that was entirely true.
This kid Gu Qingheng was quite humble and diligent!
“Is that so? Then go and revise. The new house shouldn’t take too long to build, so you won’t have to wait too long.”
“Brother-in-law, are you going to study with me?”
“Me? I’ll pass! I hate studying the most. All that ‘zhi hu zhe ye’ is so sickening.”
Hearing his brother-in-law suggest that he study as well, Gu Yu quickly refused.
Heavens! Before transmigrating to ancient times, he had already studied for many years in modern times. Now that he finally had a chance to relax, he had to go back to studying until his head was about to split and his legs were about to ache? That was like asking for punishment!
Moreover, Gu Yu felt that he didn’t have as good a brain as Gu Qingheng, and studying would be quite exhausting.
It was better to… find a way to make money now and make the family’s life better and better.
“Qingheng, where did your sister go? I haven’t seen her for half a day.”
“My sister went to Auntie Wang Er’s house. She said she was going to see how the chicks were hatching and should be back any time now… Ah! I forgot about Yang Cao’s father’s incident. Won’t Yang Cao come looking for my sister later!”
“Probably not. I’ll go take a look. You stay home and study.”
After saying this, Gu Yu didn’t wait for Gu Qingheng to say anything else. He immediately set off towards the village.
Although he didn’t know where Auntie Wang Er’s house was, Gu Yu wasn’t a dead person. He could just ask someone for directions when the time came.
As Gu Yu was about to reach the village, the village entrance was very lively. When he got closer, he saw two men lying on the ground, bruised and beaten, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers.
Gu Yu looked at the two men lying on the ground, and the more he looked, the more familiar they seemed. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind, and he finally knew who these two people were.
Weren’t they the two guys he’d met in the alley that morning while he was shopping in town, the ones who had made lewd remarks?
They had previously said they were coming to play with Jiao’e Lin, and now they had ended up in such a sorry state?
After realizing who they were, Gu Yu raised his eyebrows. However, worried about what might be happening with Gu Mengyao, he didn’t linger too long at the village entrance.
Brushing past the onlookers and asking for directions, Gu Yu then headed towards Auntie Wang Er’s house.
“Yu, why are you here?”
“I heard from Qingheng that you were here, so I thought I’d come and see.”
Fortunately, when Gu Yu entered Auntie Wang Er’s house, Gu Mengyao was squatting by the chicken coop, watching the mother hen hatch her eggs.
Her small face was full of anticipation, which made the corners of Gu Yu’s mouth curl up. He then walked towards her.
Upon hearing footsteps, when Gu Mengyao turned her head and saw Gu Yu, she immediately abandoned her curiosity about the hatching mother hen and stood up directly, asking a question.
Because she stood up too abruptly, Gu Mengyao staggered a few steps, feeling a bit dizzy.
At this moment, Gu Yu, who had already reached her side, quickly reached out and supported Gu Mengyao’s arm to prevent her from falling.
