Chapter 271: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 271: Buying Land and Reclaiming Wasteland - Fooling Xiaohua (Part 8)
In the following days, Xiao Hua often went into the mountains to bond with Da Bai. Mo Yan didn't know how Xiao Hua communicated with Da Bai, but every time Xiao Hua returned, it had several large blood holes on its forehead.
But this guy became even more fearless. Every morning, it left the chickens Mo Yan gave it and brought them to Da Bai. In the evenings, it returned looking like a starved ghost but managed to eat two full basinfuls of food.
As for what happened later, Mo Yan didn't pay much attention because the low-lying land they had bought for rice cultivation unexpectedly revealed a spring.
"Yan'er, the spring that was dug up is difficult to block, so we can't grow rice there anymore," Li Zhong said, feeling somewhat guilty. If he had promptly ordered someone to block the spring, the land wouldn't have been flooded.
"Grandpa Li, don't blame yourself. The discovery of the spring is a good thing for us," Mo Yan said happily. She had thought that irrigating the land would be a bit troublesome, but unexpectedly, heaven had been so generous, sending them a spring. Not only would there be no problem planting rice on that piece of land, but she also wanted to buy the surrounding slopes.
Li Zhong was stunned. "Yan'er, do you have a good idea?"
Mo Yan nodded. "Instead of blocking, why not regulate? The flow of water from the spring is not small. We can dig a small pond to store it. This way, the land around the pond won't be affected, and we won't have to worry about irrigation when planting rice. Isn't that great?"
Li Zhong's eyes lit up, slapping his forehead regretfully. "Why didn't I think of that! I was only thinking about how to block the spring when it was gushing out and flooding the land. I didn't think about digging a pond."
Mo Yan smiled. It wasn't that Li Zhong's mind wasn't agile enough; it was just that the spring was too strong. After being dug open, the water surged so high that they hadn't thought of it at the time.
With a plan in mind, Li Zhong eagerly ran to the village to find some young and strong laborers to dig the pond.
In the village, many people felt regretful for the Mo family's purchase of so much useless land. But now, hearing that the Mo family was hiring people to dig a pond, those with a bit more savvy immediately understood the Mo family's intentions.
For a while, everyone envied the Mo family, thinking their luck was too good. They had unexpectedly dug up a spring in a corner of the mountain. With a guaranteed water source, as long as they managed it properly, the land would definitely flourish.
While the Mo family was fervently digging the pond, Mo Yan, like lightning, bought up all the slopes surrounding the land.
The total area of the surrounding slopes was much larger than the central piece of land, adding up to a total of 120 mu (about 8 hectares). These were ordinary mountainous areas, each mu costing only one or two silver coins. Mo Yan spent a total of 120 taels to acquire them all, and the government didn't even charge her for the paperwork since she bought so much uncultivated land.
Mo Yan's actions surprised the people in the village. After the previous incidents, no one accused her of squandering money. Some more shrewd individuals went to carefully inspect the area she had bought but couldn't find anything special about it.
Li Zhong thought Mo Yan bought those slopes to plant trees and didn't say anything. But when they were about to reclaim the land for cultivation and found out it was for growing rice, his eyes nearly popped out, thinking Mo Yan had gone crazy and was talking nonsense.
While the Mo family was vigorously reclaiming land, Xiao Ruiyuan was busy collecting evidence of the dangers of moldy grain while also keeping an eye on the movements of the border garrison. He was so busy that he didn't even have time to sleep.
As time became more pressing and the evidence of the dangers of moldy grain was not yet convincing enough, Xiao Ruiyuan started feeling anxious. Just then, a sensational and bizarre murder case in the capital finally provided him with a breakthrough.
The situation was as follows: in the capital, there was an ordinary family of seven, spanning three generations, with two healthy elderly, a young couple, and three lively and adorable children.
This family of seven was kind to everyone, never quarreled with anyone, and never held grudges against anyone. However, two years ago, the two healthy elderly fell seriously ill with symptoms that even doctors couldn't diagnose. They suffered from diarrhea, couldn't eat anything, felt chest tightness and pain, and were weak all over. Despite taking various medicines prescribed by doctors, they couldn't be cured.
The illness progressed rapidly, and within six months, both elderly passed away. When they died, they were nothing but skin and bones, wrapped in dried skin.
Everyone thought the deaths of the two elderly were just ordinary cases of life and death, and after grieving, no one paid further attention. However, not long after, the youngest child of the family also contracted the same illness as the grandparents. The doctors were equally helpless, and the couple spent all their savings but couldn't save their child. The child died within half a year.
At this time, rumors began to spread that this family had hidden ailments and were contagious. For a while, friends, relatives, and neighbors all severed ties with the family.
The family, grieving over the loss of their loved ones, was further distressed by these suspicions and decided to shut themselves off from the world.
However, misfortune didn't end there. In the following three months, the eldest son and daughter of the family also contracted the same illness. They struggled for only two or three months before succumbing to it.
The couple, having suffered successive blows, were already in poor health. Following that, the pillar of the family also left a month ago, leaving behind only a semi-mad and semi-crazy woman.
Just then, a relative of the family suddenly rushed to the government office, accusing the woman of killing her father, mother, children, and husband because they all died from poisoning.
Since there was a plaintiff and it was a major murder case, the government couldn't ignore it. Therefore, the semi-mad and semi-crazy woman was taken to court, and the so-called evidence provided by the relative was publicly presented in court.
Although the evidence was solid, the woman was half-mad and couldn't answer any questions, let alone confess. If she were alone without any family support, the government could have easily closed the case. However, she had relatives, how could they stand by and watch their loved ones be branded with the crime of killing their husbands and children?
So, both sides argued fiercely in court, causing a commotion that spread throughout the capital. When the matter became widely known, the government couldn't hastily conclude the case. After some discussion, it was decided to exhume the bodies and examine them to see if the six family members were indeed poisoned.
After the bodies were exhumed, experienced coroners examined the bones and found that the bones of the six deceased
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