Chapter 426: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
**Chapter 426: Conflict (2)**
The rice shop had only been operating for two months, with nearly seven hundred taels in pure profit in the first month. Business was even better this month, with the accounts showing 850 taels. After today’s sales, the net profit, excluding processing fees and wages, would not be less than 860 taels.
Earning fifteen hundred taels in just two months was quite impressive, and Mo Yan was very satisfied. With more funds available next year, they could hire more people to properly manage the 120 acres of land in the mountain valley, aiming for a bountiful harvest in the first year.
Back home, Mo Yan called out to Tie Tou and Wang Pangtou, who were about to leave. She gave them their full monthly wage of seven hundred wen and added an extra red envelope.
Tie Tou and Wang Pangtou accepted their wages but firmly refused the red envelope.
Seeing their genuine reluctance, Mo Yan's smile grew even wider: "Take it. This is a reward for your hard work over the past two months. Come the eighth day of the first month, I’ll need your help again to manage the rice shop business!"
Still, they refused. Tie Tou scratched his head, feeling embarrassed: "Doing our job diligently is our duty. The little boss has already given us our wages. We really can’t accept any more."
Tie Tou, less articulate, simply nodded in agreement: "We can't take it, we can't take it!"
Mo Yan, helpless, pretended to be angry and forced the red envelopes into their hands: "Since I’ve given them to you, just take them. If you don’t want them, you can throw them away after you leave my house."
With the matter settled, the two men didn’t dare decline further and put away the red envelopes.
Seeing Tie Tou tuck his wages into his pouch and hang it at his waist, Mo Yan couldn't help but remind him: "Brother Tie Tou, put the pouch inside your jacket and hand it directly to Auntie when you get home. Don’t let anyone else take it."
To get a few hundred wen of wages every month from her cousin, Hong shi had made quite a fuss. Niu shi had also reverted to her old ways, trying to benefit from it, which had somewhat smoothed relations between her and Hong shi.
With his simple nature, if Tie Tou carelessly took the money home and ran into Hongshi or Niu shi, his aunt wouldn't see a single coin.
Tie Tou blinked, not quite understanding his cousin's meaning, but he obediently removed the pouch and carefully tucked it into his jacket, pressing it down to make it less conspicuous.
After giving the money, Mo Yan also handed over two strips of cured meat and two packages of snacks from the table to the two men as year-end bonuses. This gesture deeply moved them, and they promised to work hard in the coming year and not let the little boss down.
Once the two men left happily, Mo Yan returned to the dining room to eat with her family. They enthusiastically discussed the New Year’s Eve dinner for the next day. They finally settled on sixteen dishes, including the essential fish and meat for the ancestral offering, and each person’s favorite dish, ensuring everyone's happiness.
Meanwhile, Tie Tou, carrying the money, hadn’t even reached home when he ran into Hong shi, who was returning from the restroom, in an alley not far from home.
"Well, my dear grandson is back. I missed you so much," Mo Hongshi said.
Standing there, waiting for her grandson to greet her, Hong shi's eyes lit up upon seeing the cured meat and snacks in his hands. She approached with a smile, reaching out to take them.
Remembering his cousin's advice, Tie Tou instinctively hid the items behind his back and said sheepishly, "Grandma, the cured meat is heavy. I can’t let you carry it."
Hong shi's face stiffened, displeased: "What nonsense are you talking about? Grandma isn't so old that a piece of cured meat will wear her out." She said, reaching out again to grab it.
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