Chapter 45: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 45: The Debut of High-Quality Goods (Part 1)
With the cotton and food prepared, Mo Yan also purchased a batch of coarse cotton and hemp cloth from the cloth shop. Ordinary households in the village often did rough work and rarely wore good clothes except for special occasions, so coarse cotton and hemp cloth were suitable for them.
One good turn deserves another! Mo Yan was willing to help others, but she was not a pushover. If the villagers of Liuyang Village urgently needed food and warm clothing, she could provide them, but not for free. Moreover, she didn't calculate these items at market prices. If she were to seriously calculate it, she would be at a loss.
Li Zhong volunteered to help draft formal contracts. This contract could be considered as the ancient version of an employment contract, with clear and fair terms.
Because they didn't know how many people would be willing to do this, Mo Qingze and Li Zhong only wrote up fifty copies of the contract. With everything ready, in the afternoon, Mo Yan couldn't wait any longer and called for several ox carts to transport some of the cotton, fabric, and food to Liuyang Village.
Several children who had never been there begged to go along when they saw the adults preparing to leave. Mo Yan and the others naturally didn't refuse this small request. They spent a few extra copper coins to hire a covered mule cart to shelter from the wind, and they set off with a line of carts to Liuyang Village.
The originally peaceful Liuyang Village became bustling after more than one hundred households arrived.
Many villagers rushed to the mountains to cut wood and build houses. The small path from the village to the mountain had widened considerably from being trampled by people. Along the way, villagers carrying wood could be seen everywhere, and even when the cold wind blew, the voices and sounds of sawing wood could still be heard from the mountain...
When Mo Yan and the others entered Liuyang Village, they saw a busy scene, with several thatched houses already erected in the center of the village.
These more than one hundred households were all refugees who had fled from the south. Assigned to such a place, they were impoverished families who couldn't even eat their fill. Not to mention brick houses, very few people could afford adobe houses. The vast majority of them could only build two thatched houses for the time being, and they would build better houses after they had money in the future.
Lin Yong knew that the Mo family would come to handle things these two days, so he kept an eye on the village entrance. As soon as the Mo family's convoy entered the village, he knew about it and quickly put down what he was doing to greet them.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lin Yong led them to one of the newly built thatched houses of the Lin family. There were three thatched houses in total, all empty inside, emitting the unique scent of wood. There were also many wood chips and thatch piled on the ground, making it look quite messy.
Mo Yan and the others didn't mind. They instructed the carters to unload the goods into the house, and then they spent a few coins to rent a table and four chairs from the original residents of Liuyang Village.
The Lin family had known about this matter two days ago. When they saw the Mo family bringing so many things over, they were not surprised at all. Some people were still cutting wood on the mountain, so someone had gone up to inform them.
However, other villagers were curious when they saw a line of ox carts and mule carts bringing so many things into the village. They secretly speculated about which family was showing such grandeur.
Some curious villagers came over to watch the excitement. After learning what was happening, their minds became active. After making some calculations in secret, they felt like they were getting a bargain and hurriedly ran back home to discuss with their families.
"Brother Lin, do you think this is appropriate?" Mo Yan invited Lin Yong to sit down and placed a contract in front of him, seeking his opinion.
Without even glancing at the contract, Lin Yong picked up a pen and wrote down the quantities of cotton, fabric, and food needed. He swiftly signed his name three times, and then solemnly pressed his handprint below his name. After the ink dried, he handed it over to Mo Yan with a deep voice:
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