At this moment, Wang Da Ya and Luo Juan solemnly bowed to Dai Fa, Gu Qingcheng, and Mi Guo respectively, saying:
"Uncle, Young Master Gu, if it weren't for you just now, we two would have been abducted by bandits. We will never forget your life-saving grace."
"Eh, why call me Uncle? Shouldn't you call me Father?"
Unexpectedly, Zheng Wu Niang spoke up at this moment.
"Call me Father?" Wang Da Ya was stunned.
"That's right, he is your father, and I am your mother. Silly children, can you still get this wrong?"
Zheng Wu Niang chuckled, without any blame, her expression like a loving mother.
"Haha, Da Ya, Xiao Juan, aren't you going to call me Mother quickly?" Dai Fa urged, afraid that the children's refusal to call her Mother would upset Zheng Wu Niang.
It was their turn to play along.
Wang Da Ya quickly and cleverly chimed in:
"That's right, Mother, it's time to eat."
"Haha, Mother, your hair is messy, let me tidy it up for you," Luo Juan also quickly added.
Zheng Wu Niang smiled with satisfaction and said to Dai Fa:
"Husband, look how well-behaved our children are!"
At this moment, Zheng Wu Niang's expression was normal, showing no signs of illness.
Luo Juan called Zheng Wu Niang aside to wash her face and hands, preparing for the meal.
Gu Qingcheng smiled and said to Dai Fa:
"You get along quite well. Why don't you just adopt these two girls as your daughters? It would be nice for the family to live together."
"Indeed. They are without parents, and we have just lost our son." Dai Fa had already had this idea. Hearing Gu Qingcheng's suggestion, he looked at Wang Da Ya and said, "Would you be willing?"
"Willing! Young Master Gu's proposal is excellent. Just as he said, we have no parents, and you have lost your son. From now on, our three families, who have suffered hardships, will become one family. We will have the shelter of elders and will no longer be lonely and helpless."
When Wang Da Ya heard this, she was naturally happy.
Having spent these days together, she felt that Dai Fa and his wife were very good people, especially just now, when Dai Fa had risked his life to protect them. It was indeed better than what some parents would do.
Their biological parents could only do so much and would not do better than Dai Fa.
"Good, excellent! This way, we can have the best of both worlds. I don't ask you to change your surnames. If you get married and have children in the future, one of them can have the surname Dai."
Dai Fa was an adult and thought things through.
He and his wife were old and probably couldn't have children anymore, so this request was not excessive.
"You say that, but we've been greatly indebted to your care on this journey. You saved our lives, and we should serve you well."
Wang Da Ya wiped away tears, moved by the situation.
When Luo Juan returned after helping Wu Niang wash her face, and Da Ya explained the matter, Luo Juan was naturally happy.
From then on, they addressed each other as father, mother, and children.
Gu Qingcheng did not expect such a happy family reunion to occur and felt very pleased.
At the same time, the system rewarded her with 100 Bliss Points. Source: The Joy of Fostering Family Bonds!
Gu Qingcheng took out a roast duck, a package of sliced braised beef wrapped in oil paper, and a bottle of osmanthus wine from her bundle, smiling:
"Today is a good day. Since good things have happened, we must eat something good to celebrate!"
Seeing Gu Qingcheng take out these delicacies from her backpack, Da Ya and the others assumed she had gone to a town to buy them during her absence and didn't suspect anything.
The current weather was a natural freezer, so food would not spoil easily when carried.
Luo Juan heated the meat in a pot and also roasted some steamed buns. The aroma of the food wafted through the room, making everyone forget their dire circumstances for a moment.
Gu Qingcheng poured the osmanthus wine into bowls. Except for Zheng Wu Niang and Mi Guo, everyone else received half a bowl.
Zheng Wu Niang was not well and couldn't drink, and Mi Guo could barely hold his liquor, so he didn't dare to drink.
"Thank you, Young Master Gu, for the good wine and food. We have no way to repay your life-saving grace now, but we will surely keep your great kindness in our hearts. If you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to tell us."
Dai Fa raised his bowl to toast Gu Qingcheng.
Gu Qingcheng clinked bowls with him and took a sip. Then Gu Qingcheng inquired about their plans after going south.
Dai Fa said that he heard there was a lot of barren land to be reclaimed in the south and that he planned to cultivate some crops. He didn't have long-term plans yet and would see how things went when he got there.
He seemed to be an ambitious yet practical person.
Since Gu Qingcheng had dreamed of him becoming a city lord, Dai Fa must have great fortune in his life, so Gu Qingcheng didn't worry about him.
It was rather that Da Ya and Luo Juan, two young girls, had latched onto Dai Fa, and their future lives should be much smoother, which was also something Gu Qingcheng was happy about.
Perhaps it was due to drinking the wine, the adoption of two daughters, and the stabilization of his wife's condition, Dai Fa was in high spirits and began to talk about the business he had been in before in Jinsha City.
It turned out he was a merchant who sold iron ore.
He transported iron ore from Da Liao and sold it to Prince Xia.
Prince Xia's army needed a large amount of iron to forge weapons.
This business was quite profitable, but with high profits, it attracted the attention of various forces. Besides bribing officials in Da Liao when purchasing iron ore, the transportation along the way involved heavy tolls and taxes.
Even upon arriving in Jinsha City, he had to pay Prince Xia a 50% tax, which greatly reduced his profit.
However, it was still better than earning a living as an ordinary person, and he could save over a thousand taels of silver a year.
However, with the arrival of the extreme cold disaster, not only did his two sons freeze to death, but the tens of thousands of taels of silver he had deposited in the bank also became inaccessible due to the bank's complete collapse and all its staff freezing to death.
He still had over a dozen bank notes, but the bank had not yet resumed business, and it was uncertain whether the bank, having suffered such a severe blow, could honor his bank notes. Therefore, he was now destitute.
As soon as Gu Qingcheng heard that Dai Fa was a merchant dealing in iron ore, her eyes twinkled, and she immediately understood why he could become a great city lord.
It was likely that after his bank notes were cashed, he bought large tracts of land for development, gaining a first-mover advantage, and thus became a city lord.
After the extreme cold came extreme heat and floods. After these three calamities, the Great Zhou Dynasty perished.
Without the restrictions of imperial law, the strong would always remain strong. Dai Fa, with his vision and experience as a successful businessman, became a regional overlord.
Gu Qingcheng's heart stirred, and she asked Dai Fa if he still intended to continue his iron ore business after going south.
Dai Fa said he had this idea because the south surely had abundant iron ore. He knew how to find mineral deposits, and when he had the energy, he would find people to search for them. If they found any, they would make a fortune.
Gu Qingcheng became interested. She feigned contemplation for a moment before saying:
"You don't know many people in the south. Even if you find any, aren't you afraid the government will seize them?"