From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

"That is already quite impressive," Liao Weidong said. "If the boys in my household had even half of your noble son’s luck, I wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore.

"However, I am somewhat curious. Is all the newly harvested grain intended to be used as seeds?"

It was a redundant question, but Gu Wenheng had no choice but to answer it. "Indeed."

"I wonder if Mr. Gu has any extra seeds on hand that you could spare for us?" Liao Weidong pressed, refusing to yield an inch.

Gu Wenheng’s expression remained unchanged. He smiled and glanced at the assembled officials before replying, "As I’m sure you all know, the Holy Emperor sent people to take over those acres of land a few days ago. My son was merely assisting on the sidelines.

"If any of you are interested in acquiring these seeds in the future, I’m afraid you will have to petition the Holy Emperor himself."

Li Laifu caught the crucial detail. "Only a few acres?"

Gu Wenheng held up his hand and raised three fingers. "A mere three acres. I fear the resulting seeds will be quite scarce."

Disappointment rippled through the crowd. The seeds from just three acres of land wouldn’t even be enough to plant in the Royal Manor. How could they possibly expect a share?

"Then may I ask where Mr. Gu acquired these seeds?" Liao Weidong asked. "Could you perhaps point us in the right direction, so that we might also plant some on our estates?"

Everyone turned to stare at him. This question was incredibly brazen. Did he really think he could just scrounge up another new crop variety?

Yu Ligao frowned and interjected, "Mr. Liao, isn’t your question a bit inappropriate? If there truly were more seeds, Mr. Gu certainly wouldn’t hide them from the Holy Emperor; he would have handed them over long ago. You are intentionally putting Mr. Gu in a difficult position."

If he didn’t speak up now, Gu Wenheng might assume he was conspiring with Liao Weidong—and that was a misunderstanding he refused to shoulder.

However, Gu Wenheng simply stared directly at Liao Weidong. "I won’t hide it from you, Mr. Liao. My wife has always been fond of novelties. She has kept a storefront over in Lu City specifically to purchase goods brought in by the sea trade.

"The shopkeeper inadvertently acquired these seeds, and my boy thought they looked curious, so he tried planting them just for fun.

"If you are interested, Mr. Liao, you can always go to Lu City and inquire about them."

Yu Ligao and the others felt anxious on Gu Wenheng’s behalf. Why would he just blurt out this information in front of everyone? The next time a new seed variety appeared, someone else would surely intercept it first.

Gu Wenheng continued, "Mr. Liao, the sea trade fleet in Lu City has now expanded by over a dozen ships, with vessels returning to port every month. If someone were to keep a constant watch there, they might very well stumble upon a great haul.

"I stand here today wishing you the utmost success in finding something wonderful for the Rong Dynasty, Mr. Liao."

Everyone present knew that this Mr. Liao had started as a mere political aide. He was simply lucky enough to latch onto the Crown Prince. Thanks to the power struggles between various factions, he had managed to reap the benefits, yet not a single person in the room truly respected him.

Although he had earned the title of Advanced Scholar, he had clawed his way up completely on his own. He had virtually no family wealth to his name. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in such a desperate rush to secure these seeds to increase his household’s income, all to cope with the exorbitant cost of living in Shangjing.

And who didn’t know that imported goods were astronomically expensive? After today’s revelation, unknown seeds would inevitably be hyped up to sky-high prices.

Following Gu Wenheng’s suggestion, Liao Weidong felt the collective gaze of the crowd fixed on him, leaving him profoundly embarrassed. Never mind buying imported goods in Lu City—he couldn’t even fathom the astronomical rent prices there.

Lu City was no longer the remote, chaotic border town it had been over a decade ago. It was now premium real estate where an inch of land was worth an inch of gold. Anyone without substantial financial backing wouldn’t dare try to establish a foothold there. Even though he now held a high-ranking position, no one was going to simply hand him such a lucrative piece of the pie for free.

At the same time, Gu Wenheng was subtly reminding everyone that obtaining these seeds had been a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

It was common knowledge that Mrs. Gu had single-handedly built the sea trade in Lu City from the ground up. Even though it had since been handed over to the Royal Family, their ties to it were still inextricably linked. When the crowd recalled that Gu Wenheng had been rewarded with a Prince Mansion this time, the Royal Family’s generosity suddenly seemed a bit stingy by comparison. If it had been them in his shoes, they certainly wouldn’t have been so willing to part with such a massive enterprise.

Gu Wenheng remained silent, knowing perfectly well that one had to make sacrifices to gain anything. Having immense wealth but losing one’s life before enjoying it would be the ultimate tragedy. For years, he and his wife hadn’t dared to take seeds directly out of their spatial realm, terrified they wouldn’t be able to justify their origins when questioned. Now that the Emperor had seen the benefits, he would undoubtedly keep a close eye on this sector from now on. It would be absolutely impossible for anyone else to snatch a piece of the profit in the middle.

It was a logic everyone else understood perfectly well; only this Mr. Liao had the sheer audacity to speak his greed aloud. No wonder everyone subtly ostracized him during the daily court assemblies. Gu Wenheng knew that his own recent actions had infringed upon the interests of many officials, yet compared to Mr. Liao, the crowd seemed far more tolerant of him.

The rest of the officials were speechless, driven by a natural respect for capability. Although Gu Wenheng had caused them plenty of trouble, pulling out any single one of his achievements from the past few years was enough to command their absolute submission. It was just that they had spent their entire lives scheming and fighting, and now that they were at the center of power, refusing to fight was simply not an option.

With the atmosphere at a tense standstill, Li Laifu smiled and smoothed things over. "It is rare for Mr. Gu to visit Tianfu Restaurant today. I wonder if we might be fortunate enough to taste the daily limited-edition Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?"

Since someone was mediating, Gu Wenheng, as the host, naturally played along. "I’m afraid I’ll have to ask the kitchen about that. They arrange all my daily meals, so I’ve honestly never paid much attention to the specifics."

"Your lifestyle is truly enviable, Mr. Gu," Liu Chang chimed in with a laugh. "It seems we’ll have to get together with you more often in the future, so the rest of us can piggyback on your privileges. You all have no idea how incredibly difficult it is to reserve certain dishes at Tianfu Restaurant. We’ll definitely have to stay on Mr. Gu’s good side from now on."

Gu Wenheng replied cheerfully, "If you esteemed colleagues don’t mind, please feel free to instruct the kitchen to prepare your meals in advance whenever you visit.

"This is an oversight on my part. I will have someone deliver a discount token to each of you later; please accept it as a token of my goodwill."

Hearing about this unexpected perk, Liu Chang and the others nodded in satisfaction.

Only Liao Weidong made a poorly timed joke. "Just a discount? I thought Mr. Gu would be a bit more generous."

The others stared at him with indescribable expressions. Some people were really getting carried away.

Just as they were debating whether to try and salvage the mood again, Gu Wenheng spoke up. "It’s truly not that I lack generosity. As you all know, the businesses under my household’s name were built single-handedly by my wife, entirely funded by her dowry silver from the very beginning.

"As a grown man, I already take advantage of her hard work enough on a daily basis. I certainly wouldn’t dare push my luck any further."

Though it sounded like self-deprecation, everyone could hear the thinly veiled mockery in his words. Someone in the room was definitely pushing their luck...

Drawing from his earlier experience of bailing out the conversation, Li Laifu laughed again. "Exactly, exactly! Us grown men absolutely shouldn’t take advantage of our wives’ dowries.

"However, it seems Mr. Gu cherishes his Madam even more than the rumors suggest.

"I’ve heard that your household has a strict rule against taking concubines. I wonder if the rumors are true?"

Gu Wenheng had come to Shangjing to take up his post alone. If he hadn’t been in a mourning period, a flood of people would have likely tried to send women into his household by now.

Moreover, Gu Wenheng was intentionally laying some groundwork for Gu Benluo.