Chapter 416 - 412: Sour Grapes

Chapter 416: Chapter 412: Sour Grapes

Zhang Minzhen was utterly stunned.

Anyone who suddenly found a wall made entirely of gold bricks standing before them would have felt the same. Her heart couldn’t help but start pounding in her chest. Reaching out, she tentatively touched one of the gold bricks. It took Zhang Minzhen a long moment to find her voice. "Nuannuan, where did you get this...?"

"I was wandering around outside and stumbled upon an undiscovered gold mine. Since I found it, I just brought some back with me." Gu Nuan Nuan didn’t dare mention she had actually snuck into the territory of Nan’an Country. ’This story might fool Mom,’ she thought, ’but there’s no way it would get past Grandpa or Uncle.’

She didn’t want to risk being exposed, and she didn’t think they needed to know everything, anyway. So, she hugged her mother’s arm and whined playfully, "Mom, can this just be our little secret? Please don’t tell Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle, or Aunt that I can sense ore veins. What if Uncle decides to be all noble and selfless and makes me use my ability to contribute to the Alliance?"

"Your uncle isn’t that foolish. If this ability of yours ever got out, you’d probably never have a moment of freedom again in your life. Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul. No matter who asks, I’ll take this secret to my grave." The moment Zhang Minzhen thought about the dangers her daughter would face if this secret leaked, a chill ran down her spine. Suddenly, the wall of gold didn’t seem so exciting anymore.

She pointed at the wall of gold and urged Gu Nuan Nuan, "Put it away, quickly. And don’t take it out so casually in the future."

"Okay." Gu Nuan Nuan obediently made the gold wall disappear. Still hugging Zhang Minzhen’s arm, she said with a grin, "Mom, you should keep that box of gold bars. Whether you want to have jewelry made or use it for my brother’s wedding in the future, don’t worry—I’ve got all the Gold covered. And besides what you’ve just seen, I have a lot more."

"Alright, I’ll keep the box then. Why would I stand on ceremony with my own daughter?" Zhang Minzhen smiled, then she recalled how the Liu Family’s eldest daughter-in-law had mocked their family for being "nouveau riche," and she snorted to herself. With the thought of Gu Nuan Nuan’s special ability and those gold bricks, she realized that even if the company ran into cash flow problems, they would have nothing to fear. The possibility of the family suddenly going bankrupt was now zero.

Her confidence instantly soared, because she was absolutely certain that if the family ever faced a crisis, Nuannuan would never stand by and do nothing. A mix of pride and indignation swelled within her. ’So what if they call us nouveau riche? Every aristocratic family started out as nouveau riche. The only difference is they’ve had a few more years to develop than we have! Hmph, I’d love to see if they’d be so disdainful, calling Gold tacky, if a wall like that was sitting in front of them.’

"That’s the right way to think, Mom! They’re just jealous, aren’t they?" Gu Nuan Nuan laughed. "If you’re still mad, how about this? Tomorrow, I’ll use some of that Jade and Gold to make a few sets of dinnerware. Then, when we host a birthday banquet for Grandpa and Grandma, we can use them to entertain the guests and show everyone what being truly, fabulously nouveau riche looks like. How about it?"

"That doesn’t sound very good at all. If we actually did that, people would definitely start calling us nouveau riche behind our backs." Zhang Minzhen couldn’t suppress a chuckle. Gu Nuan Nuan laughed along with her. "What’s tacky about it? Mom, did you know that even the Emperors in ancient times ate from golden plates and jade bowls?"

"Really?" Zhang Minzhen was skeptical.

"Of course it’s true. The height of vulgarity is the height of elegance!" Gu Nuan Nuan said with a perfectly straight face. "You know the saying: the first generation focuses on what they eat, the second on what they wear, and the third on their cultural refinement. Isn’t it just a process of improving your taste once you have money? By that count, it’ll be here before we know it. Once my two cousins and my little brother are grown up, our family will have its own refined third generation!"

"Is that how you calculate it?" Zhang Minzhen burst out laughing.

"Hehe. Mom, don’t pay attention to what they say. Deep down, they’re probably incredibly jealous of us. What’s wrong with Gold? If it were really so tacky, why have so many people worn it throughout history? There’s a reason for its enduring popularity. The Liu Family’s eldest daughter-in-law is just a classic case of sour grapes. Heh, our family is countless times richer than the Liu Family now—we’re not even in the same league. She’s just trying to feel superior by putting us down," Gu Nuan Nuan said with a pout.

"You’re right." Zhang Minzhen thought for a moment and realized her daughter was spot on. She checked the time, saw how late it was, and stood up, urging Gu Nuan Nuan, "It’s getting really late. You should hurry and get to bed. You must be tired from your trip. We can talk more tomorrow; there’s no rush."

"I am getting pretty sleepy." Gu Nuan Nuan yawned and stood up as well. "You should get to bed early too, Mom. Otherwise, my little brother might wake up in the middle of the night, not see you, and start crying."

"He’s a bit older now. Your father made him start sleeping in his own room a while ago," Zhang Minzhen said. Yawns are contagious, and she started yawning one after another. And with that, the mother and daughter returned to their respective rooms.

「The next day」

Gu Nuan Nuan saw her grandpa, grandma, uncle, aunt, and two cousins again.

Everyone was excited to see her back. Zhang Wei Qiang even personally handed her the various international passports he had arranged for her. Naturally, Gu Nuan Nuan also gave out the gifts she had prepared for everyone.

A few days later, when Song Yong returned, he was delighted with the jade cufflinks Gu Nuan Nuan had given him and put them on immediately. Gu Nuan Nuan stayed home for another week or so, until she grew bored of her idle life and decided to head to the Medicine Garden.

As she approached the vicinity of the Medicine Garden, before even setting foot inside, Gu Nuan Nuan was startled. ’There are way too many bees around here! Could Duoduo be responsible for all of them?’

’This was more than just a lot of bees—it was practically a plague! They formed massive swarms, and from the looks of it, each bee was nearly twice the size of an ordinary one. I didn’t have to worry about them stinging me, so I wasn’t scared. But anyone else, especially someone with a fear of swarms, would probably have been paralyzed with terror on the spot.’

"Master, just call for Duoduo in your mind. Summon her here and ask her what’s going on." Instead of being scared by the surrounding bees, Cao Cao seemed unusually excited, yet also quite puzzled. "There must be at least several hundred thousand bees here. I can’t believe it reproduces this fast!"