Chapter 127: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 127 The Real Culprit (2)
Li Zhong's eyes lit up, and he suddenly sat up from the bed, excitedly exclaiming, "Yan, this idea is brilliant! How come I didn't think of it before!"
Mo Yan smiled without saying a word, but she felt conflicted inside. She both hoped that the woman was Li Xiu and hoped that she wasn't.
The next morning, Li Zhong didn't even have breakfast. He eagerly went out, intending to put Mo Yan's plan into action.
Mo Yan didn't delay either. After breakfast, she also left the house. Beggars were everywhere, and she could easily arrange a few to lead Li Zhong to that brothel.
In just two days, Li Zhong obtained some information about his daughter from a young beggar and hurriedly went to verify it with hope.
Seeing everything under her control, Mo Yan focused her energy on the fruit seedlings. However, before she could find a suitable merchant to bring back apple, grape, and other fruit seedlings from the foreign lands, shopkeeper Xing, came with some extremely good news that delighted her.
"shopkeeper Xing, is what you said true? Can those fruit seedlings really be planted by me?" Mo Yan couldn't believe it; it was like a dream come true.
It turned out that not long ago, the court sent people to the foreign lands to bring back a batch of fruit seedlings. Originally, these seedlings were supposed to be cultivated by officials from the Agricultural Bureau. However, in recent years, despite the enormous efforts and resources the court spent on obtaining these excellent fruit seedlings, the Agricultural department failed to grow a single fruit, which greatly displeased Emperor Huian.
Upon hearing from shopkeeper Xing that Mo Yan wanted to plant fruit trees, Yan Junyu took notice. Using the pretext of paying respects to the Empress Dowager, Yan Junyu convinced Emperor Huian to place these seedlings under his jurisdiction for cultivation.
Emperor Huian was already dissatisfied with the Agricultural department. Knowing that they couldn't grow any fruit from this batch of seedlings, he readily agreed.
However, officials from the Agricultural department felt that Yan Junyu looked down on them and insisted on keeping the seedlings to prove themselves. This led to some heated arguments, but Emperor Huian ultimately intervened and decided to divide the seedlings equally between them.
"Miss Mo, this matter is absolutely true. However, the master said that you must ensure that these seedlings survive and preferably bear fruit. This way, the master can give those stubborn officials an explanation," shopkeeper Xing said with a smile.
Mo Yan was moved upon hearing this but also felt some worry. "Will this cause trouble for your master?"
shopkeeper Xing nodded discreetly. "It's just ordinary trouble. The master doesn't take it to heart. Miss Mo, rest assured."
Mo Yan thought of shopkeeper Xing's identity and nodded in reassurance.
Since the survival of the seedlings was not easy, and after a long journey, it was better to plant them sooner rather than later. After discussing with shopkeeper Xing, they arranged for Xiao Zhu to bring the seedlings over the next day.
Having received such a great favor from Lord Yan Junyu, Mo Yan decided to return the favor. Before shopkeeper Xing left, she packed him some vegetables from the space.
shopkeeper Xing looked helpless on the surface, but he was secretly delighted. The reason was simple: every time he brought these things back, his master treated him exceptionally well and often rewarded him with many valuable items.
With the biggest obstacle resolved, now it was time to clear the uncultivated land.
Seeing that spring was almost over, Mo Yan dared not delay any longer. She took two pounds of meat and went to Liu Yang Village to ask Yang Bao for help in finding people to clear the land.
Yang Bao readily agreed. Although it was the busy farming season, and every household was occupied, plus Mo's family had hired a group of laborers to build houses, there were still enough people left in the village to clear the land. The first step in clearing the land was to remove the weeds and trees from the mountain, a task that could be done by older children and women without much trouble.
After leaving Yang Bao's house, Mo Yan planned to go to the construction site. However, halfway there, she encountered two people she didn't want to see—Mo Yonglu and his daughter, Mo Erni.
"Second Uncle, Sister Erni!" Mo Yan greeted them coldly, stepping aside to let them pass.
At this moment, Mo Yonglu was struggling to carry a large bundle of firewood on his back, while Mo Erni also carried one. Their heads and bodies were covered in crushed leaves and grass, indicating they had just returned from chopping firewood on the mountain.
Seeing Mo Yan, Mo Yonglu felt somewhat embarrassed. He nodded and hurriedly walked past. However, Mo Erni gave Mo Yan a cold look. It was unclear whether it was jealousy or resentment in her eyes. As they brushed past each other, she deliberately bumped into Mo Yan with her shoulder.
Mo Yan reacted quickly, dodging the bump. However, her face was scratched by a protruding piece of firewood from Mo Erni's bundle. It didn't break the skin, but it stung a bit.
"Serves you right!" Mo Erni turned her head back, glaring at Mo Yan fiercely before walking away, her face full of gloominess.
Mo Yan touched the scratch on her face, watching the father and daughter walk away. A faint bitter smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
Mo Erni had always disliked the original owner, so it was normal for her to give Mo Yan a hard time. However, it was Mo Yonglu's attitude that puzzled her. Had thirty paddles and nearly a month in jail taught him a lesson? If so, it would be a rare stroke of luck!
Mo Yan had heard some news about the old Mo family's recent situation. It was said that in order to alleviate Mo Yongshou's guilt, the old patriarch had even paid the last bit of silver the family had to shopkeeper Xing. At that time, they were practically penniless.
Later, Mo Yongfu was too ashamed to work for the Mo family and went to the mountains to chop firewood to sell. However, a hundred catties of dry firewood didn't fetch much money. When old Mo fell ill and needed medicine, Mo Yan had Lin Meng deliver pork and chicken to their house, which was exchanged for money for medicine. When Mo Yonglu returned, he also spent his days chopping firewood on the mountain and selling it in the city.
Everyone had to pay the price for their actions! If this lesson could make Mo Yonglu mend his ways and stop scheming against others, the family would eventually live a good life together. If they continued to scheme against others, they would only bring ruin upon themselves.
Mo Yan didn't sympathize with them at all, but she couldn't help but feel sorry for the innocent children.
Meanwhile, as Mo Yonglu and Mo Erni walked away, Mo Yonglu suddenly turned back and admonished his daughter, "Erni, don't act like today when you see Yan'er. Understand?"
Mo Erni couldn't believe her ears. She stared at her father in disbelief, angrily threw the firewood on the ground, and shouted sharply, "Why should I listen to her? She's just a bastard without a mother! Don't forget, it was her family who didn't save us when we were in trouble, and made you go to jail and lose face!"
Mo Yonglu's face stiffened, pained as he looked at his daughter, who seemed somewhat crazy. He regretted deeply in his heart, "This matter was originally my and your third uncle's fault. If it were you, would you have saved us?"
But Mo Erni couldn't listen to any reasoning. She said darkly, "What right does a bastard have to compare herself with me? I want to see how long she can be arrogant!"
Mo Yonglu was shocked, suddenly associating this with the night when the wood caught fire. He desperately advised, "Erni, listen to me, don't mess around. Do you know that if what happened that night is known to others, our whole family will not be able to stay in Liu Yang Village anymore?"
Mo Erni's face changed drastically, and she screamed, "You know?"
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