Chapter 305: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 305: Hu Shi's Calculations, Mo's Family's Plea (7)
Tie Tou's personality would indeed be great for helping out at the rice shop, but Mo Yan hesitated because of concerns about Old Mo and Hong Shi. Considering Mo Wu Shi's previous care for her and her siblings, she would have definitely put Tie Tou to work at the shop if not for these concerns.
However, hiring someone else would make things awkward with Wu Shi in the future. Even though Old Mo and the others weren't good people, Wu Shi hadn't done anything wrong to her family. In fact, she had informed Mo Yan about Mo Er Ni's actions, which helped her be on guard.
Mo Yan was conflicted and decided to discuss it with Xin'er and Zhen'er, hoping to hear their opinions.
To her surprise, both of them strongly agreed to have their eldest cousin help out.
"Sister, you don't know how pitiful Big Cousin is. Even in this cold weather, even San Ni'er has to go to the mountains to chop wood. We've bumped into them several times while playing outside, and their hands and ears are all frostbitten," Xin'er said with sadness. She had wanted to tell her sister earlier but was afraid she wouldn't want to hear it.
Zhen'er chimed in, "One time, Big Cousin even asked if we needed help with opening up the land. I said we didn't, but he looked really sad!"
Mo Yan felt uncomfortable hearing this. She had been busy with the shop lately and hadn't visited the village much, so she didn't know the current situation at Old Mo's house.
Now, even San Ni'er, who was ten years old, was chopping wood in the mountains. It seemed that they were really struggling. But Wu Shi had never come to ask her for help, probably to avoid putting her in a difficult position.
If only they could split from the main family...
Thinking about this, Mo Yan's eyes lit up. She quickly asked, "Did Mo Yonglu and the others manage to split from the main family?"
Xin'er shook her head, "Not yet. It's just heard that Mo Yonglu only gives a little silver to Hong Shi for food, and he saves the rest for himself. If that's true, it's no different from splitting."
Mo Yan felt a bit disappointed. "It would be great if Uncle and Aunt could split. Then we could help them without worrying so much."
"How is that possible!" Xin'er looked at her sister in surprise. "Even if they split, the old folks will still live with the eldest son! Sister, how could you forget about this?!"
"Eh..." Mo Yan was speechless. She hadn't thought of that at all! After carefully reviewing her memories, she realized it was indeed the case!
In that case, regardless of whether the Old Mo family split or not, Old Mo and Hong Shi, those two troublemakers, would still live with the eldest son's family?
Putting herself in their shoes, Mo Yan couldn't accept living with such people for most of her life. Her sympathy for Wu Shi went from seven to ten points.
After considering everything, Mo Yan decided to abandon the idea of hiring Tie Tou to help at the shop. It was selfish of her, but she would rather feel guilty towards Wu Shi in her heart than let Old Mo and Hong Shi interfere again, disrupting the peace of her household.
With these thoughts sorted out, Mo Yan went to Aunt Cai's house. Another person she had in mind was Aunt Cai's eldest son, seventeen-year-old Wang Pangtou.
Wang Pangtou was given his nickname because he was born with a large head. Aunt Cai had helped her family a lot, their relationship was good, and Wang Pangtou was smart enough to handle customer service, making him a perfect fit.
After hearing Mo Yan's intentions, the Wang family was overjoyed. They hadn't expected the Mo family to have a rice shop in the city, let alone have such a good opportunity fall into their laps. Especially Aunt Cai, who dragged Wang Pangtou to Mo Yan and expressed gratitude, not knowing what else to do.
Her sisters-in-law and their sons were also envious. It was hard to find manual labor jobs in the city nowadays, let alone working in a shop. It was a great opportunity with high wages and light work.
"Yantou, if Pangtou goes to your shop, just give him orders. If he doesn't listen, you tell me, and I'll teach him a lesson," Aunt Cai said to Mo Yan, then smacked Wang Pangtou on the head, who was still grinning from ear to ear, "Yantou values you, so you'd better work hard. Whether you can get married next year depends on you."
Originally, Wang Pangtou felt a bit resentful that his mother was scolding him in front of others, but when he heard about getting married, his entire face turned red. He buried his head deep, too embarrassed to lift it.
Everyone couldn't help but laugh and tease him. Watching Wang Pangtou, who was embarrassed from head to toe, Mo Yan couldn't help but laugh either.
After the laughter died down, Mo Yan brought up the issue of wages, "Time is tight, and Pangtou will start helping out tomorrow. The monthly wage is set at seven hundred wen. If he performs well, there will be additional rewards. Does Pangtou have any objections?"
Wang Pangtou hesitantly raised his head, looking at the smiling Mo Yan, and the redness on his face returned. He stuttered, "No... no problem. It's... it's a lot."
Mo Yan thought he had been teased too harshly just now and didn't pay much attention. After instructing him on the work hours, she declined Aunt Cai's offer of dinner and left the Wangs' house.
"Yan... Yan'er!"
As she reached the door, she heard someone calling from behind. Mo Yan turned around and met Wu Shi's pleading gaze...
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