Chapter 137: 106 Treatment, the little monk with a clever mind (two updates combined into one)

At dinner, the entire family watched as Little Monk Jingkong was fiddling with a golden abacus, all of them feeling as if they were about to get blinded by its dazzling brilliance.

Little Monk Jingkong did not have much understanding of gold; the currency he knew about was only copper money and silver because these were the only types he had spent in his house so far.

As he said, he only liked the golden abacus because he thought it looked nice.

Gu Jiao: Perhaps every child likes shiny things?

Just one bead from the golden abacus, if sold, could provide for their family’s meals for a year. But they still had moral integrity; no matter how poor they were, they would never consider taking advantage of Little Monk Jingkong’s golden abacus.

At night, Gu Jiao helped Little Monk Jingkong to tidy up all his belongings again, and found that apart from the golden abacus and the Buddhist scriptures, there were no other valuable items. The rest were just old and broken playthings, which didn’t seem worth much money.

Gu Jiao sighed in relief, “That’s more like it. A monk with too much wealth is quite terrifying, isn’t it?”

It seemed that Little Monk Jingkong’s master loved him very much. Even though they were quite poor, because Little Monk Jingkong liked the golden abacus, his master did his utmost to acquire one for him.

The private school had abaci for the students and didn’t require students to bring their own. So Little Monk Jingkong would only bring out the golden abacus at home for revision, and wouldn’t take it to school.

This saved them a great deal of trouble.

The next day, as usual, Xiao Liulang took the three “eldest kids” to school, and the Yao Family’s lady came to their house with gifts brought by Gu Jinyu.

As expected, Gu Jiao did not accept any of them.

She did not force Gu Jiao to accept them.

The Housemaid whispered, “Madam, you should persuade Miss. Even if the second Miss is not her biological sister, she should at least pretend to accept the gifts.”

The Housemaid wasn’t really standing up for Gu Jinyu. Gu Jiao was not even her biological daughter; to her, giving Gu Jiao any attention was a privilege. However, sometimes, appearances are important.

A young lady should behave like a young lady.

However, Mrs. Yao spoke gently, “As long as Jiaojiao is happy, it’s good. In this world, there is no rule forcing someone to accept another’s goodwill.”

The Housemaid sighed.

After Mrs. Yao left, Gu Jiao went to the town to order iron tools.

Zhan Country had strict control over the production and sale of iron and salt; Gu Jiao needed a large number of farming tools. She needed to register at the Yamen and obtain an official document granting permission.

Gu Jiao went to the Yamen.

The local count personally received Gu Jiao.

He chuckled and asked, “What brings Mrs. Xiao to the Yamen? Is someone from the village causing trouble again?”

His words startled Gu Jiao for a moment.

Without his reminder, Gu Jiao had almost forgotten about the troublemakers in the village.

After Marquis Gu suppressed the Gu Family, the local count was the first to take action, removing her father’s Lizheng position. Subsequently, he was completely in charge of sending the quarterly meal allowance to Xiao Liulang.

Of course, he did not know Gu Jiao’s true identity, he only knew of her ties to Marquis Residence, and since she was Mrs. Xiao, he treated her with extra courtesy.

“I apologize for the offense caused in the past, Mrs. Xiao.”

He was referring to the incident where he arrested Gu Jiao and Little Monk Jingkong on Marquis Gu’s orders.

Gu Jiao said, “No problem. I came today to order some iron tools. Would the count be willing to provide an official seal?”

The count hurriedly replied, “Of course! Of course! How many does Mrs. Xiao need?”

Gu Jiao gave him a number.

The count startled, “So many? May I ask what Mrs. Xiao needs them for?”

Gu Jiao showed him her land deed, “I bought a mountain and I’m going to reclaim some wasteland.”

With this explanation, the count understood. Reclaiming wasteland was no small task, requiring a large amount of manpower and resources, so the need for so many farming tools was not surprising.

Usually, these kinds of documents would take several days to process, but because the count personally handled it, he quickly issued the official permit to Gu Jiao.

Before she left, the count said to her with a smile, “If you need any help from the Yamen, Mrs. Xiao, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Gu Jiao nodded slightly, thanked him, and left.

Just as she walked out of the Yamen’s gate, she saw the Second Landlord huffing and puffing as he ran over, “Gu…Miss Gu…I finally found you…I went to the village…your granny said you were at the Yamen…you’re alright, aren’t you?”

“I’m fine, I needed to buy iron tools, just came to get an official stamp.” Gu Jiao replied while giving him a curious glance. “What about you? Why did you go to the village so early in the morning?”

The Second Landlord rubbed his hands together, seemingly hesitant to speak.

Gu Jiao then said, “Just say it, is there a patient somewhere?”

“Cough! Cough!” The Second Landlord gestured for Gu Jiao to present him the document bearing the official seal in her hands.