Chapter 95 Five Jin of Gold

As they were wondering, the servants from the prince's mansion carried numerous chests and caskets from three carriages. These were the gifts from the Prince and Princess to thank Gu Chaobei.

Gu Chaobei accepted them gratefully and had them all carried home.

By the time he arrived home, before even opening the courtyard gate, the golden retriever inside heard the commotion and was the first to bound to the door, barking "Woof woof!" at the entrance.

Gu Qingcheng could now more or less understand Wangcai's barks. Seeing its excited little expression, she knew the visitors were friends, not foes.

Otherwise, if it sensed a completely unfamiliar presence, Wangcai would bark fiercely, its face contorted in a ferocious expression, unlike the current expectant look.

Gu Qingcheng quickly opened the courtyard gate and saw her father, much thinner, standing outside, smiling at her.

"Dad, you're back?"

Gu Qingcheng beamed a wide smile.

Seeing outsiders outside, she felt too shy to rush forward and hug her father, so she just smiled happily at him.

Wow, her dad was truly brilliant and mighty, a master of social circles, who single-handedly handled the prince's mansion and got her out.

Although her dad hadn't been present at the rescue scene and hadn't been the first to pull her out of the deep pit, at that time, her dad had been everywhere, his influence was everywhere. Her dad was the little sun in her heart, warming and illuminating it!

Seeing his daughter's vibrant little face before him, Gu Chaobei's eyes welled up with tears.

This was his own flesh and blood, whom he would risk his life to save.

The servants from the prince's mansion carried over a dozen chests and caskets into the Gu family's main hall, piling them up high, making the hall seem smaller.

After setting down the gifts, the servants respectfully bowed and took their leave.

Gu Chaobei wanted to give them tips, but they refused to accept.

Knowing the prince's mansion's rules, Gu Chaobei did not insist further.

After they left, Gu Qingcheng closed the courtyard gate. This was the Gu family's domain now.

At this moment, Gu Chaobei finally saw Mi Guo.

Where did this boy come from?

Had Hu Lanfang given birth while he was away?

Impossible?

Had he eaten a ginseng fruit?

Or had the child grown that quickly after birth?

He had only been away from home for less than seven days?

This child didn't look like he was only seven days old.

Gu Chaobei was quite puzzled.

Mi Guo had delicate features and a pure, harmless expression on his face. He was looking at Gu Chaobei timidly, yet also seemed to crave his attention.

Gu Chaobei paused for a moment, then realized that the most direct way to know the truth was to ask.

"Qingcheng, who is this child?"

Gu Qingcheng then launched into a "blah blah blah," finally explaining Mi Guo's origin and background.

After understanding the truth, Gu Chaobei couldn't help but touch his nose, a voice akin to the Douyin trend echoing in his mind: "That scared me to death!"

Fortunately, it wasn't his wife who had given birth...

He didn't want a cuckold's crown.

Gu Chaobei happily patted Mi Guo's little head and said,

"Boy, if you want to stay with us, you can!"

Mi Guo knew that Gu Chaobei was the master of the house and a skilled physician. He also knew that his sister's rescue had been indirectly facilitated by Gu Chaobei.

Mi Guo had long admired Gu Chaobei to the point of prostration, and meeting him in person now, he was naturally even more excited. He nodded repeatedly and said,

"As long as benefactor doesn't dislike me, I am willing to stay."

Seeing Doctor Gu return safely, Hu Lanfang's eyes also welled up with tears. She said,

"Husband, you've lost weight. Were you troubled at the prince's mansion?"

"Not at all. I ate well and slept well at the prince's mansion, and the hospitality was top-notch. How could I lose weight?"

Gu Chaobei said with a smile.

Cloud-like and breezy, he mentioned achievements, not burdens. This was what a mature middle-aged man should do.

After the emotional reunion, the family gradually calmed down.

It was then that they noticed the chests and caskets sent by the prince's mansion and went to open them.

Gu Qingcheng felt it was like the surprise of opening blind boxes, as the prince's mansion had truly been generous.

She opened a small chest on top and found it filled with neatly stacked gold bars.

Picking one up to weigh, she estimated each bar to be about one tael. Looking at the inscription, it indeed read "one tael." There were fifty bars in total, amounting to nearly five catties of gold?

How much was five catties of gold worth?

Gu Qingcheng calculated. One catty equals 500 grams, and one gram of gold is worth about 400 yuan. So, five catties of gold would be equivalent to 4 million yuan.

To convert this to current methods, one tael of gold equaled ten taels of silver, which equaled ten guan of copper coins, or 10,000 wen of copper coins. Then, five catties of gold would be equivalent to fifty taels of gold, or 2,000 taels of silver.

Prince Xia was truly generous.

But considering his family owned a gold mine, it was understandable that he could afford such a gift of gratitude.

After marveling at the "toluene gold" (a pun on "土豪金," meaning extravagant gold), she opened another chest. It contained high-quality brocade fabric. This kind of superior brocade could be used as a hard currency in those times.

For example, in the Tang Dynasty, officials' salaries were primarily paid in grain and cloth. Interestingly, because salaries were distributed in kind, a courier service for wages emerged in the capital city: officials in the capital who found it troublesome could have their stipends delivered to their homes instead of picking them up from the Imperial Granary themselves. Of course, officials had to pay a small "courier fee."

Therefore, if the Gu family didn't want to wear silk garments, they could exchange this chest of high-quality brocade for gold and silver, or use it directly as currency to trade for grain.

Opening another chest revealed a dazzling array of treasures: jade bracelets, agate, gold bangles, turquoise, and more.

The Gu family, being ordinary people in modern society, could recognize some of the jade and other stones commonly seen in the market. As for the rarer items, they couldn't identify them but knew they were valuable.

Besides gold, jewelry, and brocade, there was also a chest of high-grade ingredients: matsutake mushrooms, red mushrooms, shark fins, ham, dried scallops, dried cuttlefish, sea cucumbers, bird's nests, and snow clam, among others.

There was no best, only better.

The prince was truly generous!

But then again, considering the prince's own life was so precious, these gifts were nothing.

Of course, their family wasn't greedy. The main point was that the princess had also saved Gu Qingcheng. In essence, a life for a life, the debt of gratitude had already been repaid.

Even if the prince's mansion hadn't sent these gifts, the Gu family was already immensely grateful to have Qingcheng back. These gifts were just an unexpected bonus.

Gu Qingcheng stored all these gifts into the storage cabinet.

She did all of this in front of Mi Guo. Since Mi Guo had decided to stay and become a part of their family, she didn't intend to hide anything.

She didn't need to tell him the specific details, and Mi Guo had to get used to it.

She couldn't possibly treat him like a thief in his own home, could she? What would be the point of taking him in then, only to cause trouble for her own family.

Gu Qingcheng and her parents reached this consensus.

Mi Guo was young and an innocent slate. Seeing Gu Qingcheng's ability to store things invisibly, he didn't show any fear or unease. Instead, he said with admiration,

"Sister, you really are an immortal. I knew you weren't an ordinary person."