Chapter 47: A Family of High-Quality Goods

Sharp-tongued, greedy for money, false righteousness!

These twelve words couldn't be more appropriate to describe Mo Hongshi. Yet, she was Mo Qingze's own second aunt, the original owner's step-grandmother.

As soon as Mo Hongshi appeared, Mo Yan's face darkened significantly. Hearing her incessant cursing only fueled Mo Yan's anger and disgust, which she didn't bother to hide!

However, this family had clearly fled to Yongcheng with the rest of the villagers. Mo Yan wondered why they had shown up here.

"You, Mo Qingze! Back then, I didn't mind that you were orphaned and widowed. I kindly took you into our home, raised you, and even tightened our belts to send you to school. But how did you repay me? You took my money and built a reputation for yourself, causing my granddaughter to fall ill and die on the road because we couldn't afford treatment. Heavens above, why didn't you just strike down this ungrateful wretch..."

Mo Hongshi sat on the ground, slapping her thighs with her fat hands, crying and cursing loudly, directing every foul word at Mo Qingze.

Mo Qingze, upon seeing Mo Hongshi, couldn't react at first. When he finally comprehended her ranting, his entire face turned black!

Just as he was about to step forward, his hand was pulled back. Turning around, he saw his daughter with a stern face, shaking her head at him.

"Dad, this isn't the Mo family village. Nobody here will believe her nonsense! Let her curse; I want to see where she gets the nerve to make up such things!"

Mo Yan knew her father's temperament well. There was no way he would step forward. She took a step forward, blocking her father's siblings, and looked at the crowd with a cold smile: Did they expect her to compromise with them like before? Dream on!

"Look at what she's saying! When they first saw you, dad wasn't too happy and didn't react immediately, right? Even I was happy! When we were fleeing, this Second Grandma and her family broke into our house while you were away and took our only two chickens, all our grain, and said we were all born to be lowly, living was just a waste of food. They even said it was better to feed you guys instead. I'll never forget those words! Now that we've met again, shouldn't the Second Grandma return our grain?"

Mo Yan spoke softly and respectfully, yet her words made Mo Hongshi and the others' faces change drastically.

If it wasn't for this despicable Second Grandma taking away the Mo family's grain, the original owner wouldn't have starved to death on the way to escape. One could say that the original owner's death was indirectly caused by Mo Hongshi. Since she accidentally inherited this body, she had a responsibility to make Mo Hongshi pay for the original owner's death!

Hearing this, the villagers widened their eyes. Those who had previously been skeptical couldn't help but understand now, seeing the shameless expressions on Mo Hongshi and the others' faces.

Are these really relatives? Even enemies wouldn't act like this!

Despite Mo Hongshi's thick skin, she couldn't withstand the disdainful gazes. She rushed to Mo Yan in embarrassment, raised her palm, and slapped it towards Mo Yan's face: "You lowly..."

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 Chapter 772 - What Joyous Occasion Is Today?

Shu Yu's expression became somewhat strange, and she hesitated before saying, "I do want to remember, but there are so many scattered names of medicinal herbs that I can't memorize them all."

Medicinal herbs?

Qi Chan furrowed his brow, suspiciously unfolded the letter, and then his eyes became a little blurry.

He looked inside the envelope again and saw that there was no other paper, uncertainly asking, "Cheng Dong only entrusted you with this?"

Shu Yu nodded, "I don't know why he wanted me to deliver a list of medicinal herb names to the people in the Hetai Mansion. When I saw this, I found him even more suspicious, so I tied him up and brought him into the city."

Qi Chan pondered. It seemed that there were hidden implications in this thing.

That was fine too. Miss Lu didn't understand, and it wouldn't harm her.

"I understand. I will read this letter carefully. As for the matter concerning Cheng Dong, don't mention it to anyone when you return. Pretend you never encountered him, and he wasn't brought to me by you, understand?" Qi Chan said.

Shu Yu nodded. It was the same as what she had told Hou Shi.

Qi Chan stored the letter away. "Alright, leave the rest to me. You can go back now."

"I take my leave, sir."

Shu Yu left, and only then did Qi Chan look at the jar on the table, which was once again emitting smoke.

It seemed that even Linzhang Prefecture was not peaceful.

Cheng Dong was Gong Qiu's person. What exactly did Gong Qiu want to do? Why did he send someone to infiltrate prefect Cheng's side? Was his reach extending too far?

Qi Chan rubbed his temples. He had to send a letter to the capital to have someone keep an eye on Gong Qiu.

After Shu Yu handed over both items, she prepared to go home while leading the mule cart, feeling relaxed.

When she reached the doorstep, she saw Da Hu and San Ya sitting on the children's cart, playing and running around with the other kids in the alley.

Upon seeing Shu Yu, San Ya immediately asked the child pushing her to stop and came out of the cart herself. She didn't even care that the other children were clamoring to get on the cart and rushed over. "Second Sister, you're back?"

Da Hu also ran over. "Second Sister, why were you gone for so long? We've been waiting for you forever."

"Yeah, grandmother said that if you didn't come back soon, she would go outside the city to find you."

"Fortunately, Big Brother Meng said that he saw you go to the county yamen and should be talking to Mister Qi. That's why we were relieved."

"Big Brother Meng went to the restaurant and ordered a lot of food. He said today is a joyous occasion and we should have a hearty meal."

The little girl tilted her head, her brain going haywire. "But what joyous occasion is today? I can't figure it out. Big Brother Meng won't tell me either. My little head is going to explode."

Listening to her younger siblings, Shu Yu's heart warmed, and she smiled, saying, "As long as our family is reunited, that's a joyous occasion. Of course, we should have a hearty meal."

San Ya also realized, "Then let's hurry back and eat."

A few children called out to them, "San Ya, Da Hu, we still want to play with the cart."

Da Hu's expression turned serious. "Not today. Maybe tomorrow morning. We'll come and play again tomorrow. Today, we all have to go home for dinner."

The children were unwilling, wanting to persuade them further, but San Ya had already run over, pushing the cart back home.

Because Shu Yu was leading the mule cart, the children didn't dare to act up. Seeing that there was no cart left, they dispersed

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 Chapter 270: Still Murdered?

Next Chapter ▶▶

 Chapter 269: Missing?

Next Chapter ▶▶

  Chapter 46: The Debut of High-Quality Goods (Part 2)

"I trust you!"

Mo Yan was momentarily stunned, then a brilliant smile spread across her face, her eyes shining like sunlight on a lake.

The feeling of being trusted was simply wonderful!

Lin Yong's prestige in the Lin family was unquestionable. Seeing him readily sign his name, others were even less likely to have any objections. They all rushed forward to sign the contracts one after another.

Seeing many villagers from outside the Lin family also coming to sign contracts, Mo Yan quickly asked them to line up and instructed them to come one by one.

To avoid unnecessary disputes later on, Mo Qingze and Li Zhong carefully read the contract aloud to each villager who wanted to sign it, confirming with them multiple times before allowing them to press their fingerprints.

"Da You, with so many people, won't we be left out at the end?"

Zhang Erniu, who was at the back of the line, had also fled here. Seeing the long line ahead, he couldn't help but ask Zhang Dayou in front of him. There were seven or eight people in his family, and they were still wearing padded jackets. He was hoping to get some cotton to make winter clothes.

"How could that be? Look at all the cotton and food piled up over there!"

Zhang Dayou and Zhang Erniu were childhood friends and had a close relationship. He pointed to the things stacked inside the house, his eyes filled with longing.

Zhang Erniu felt relieved and leaned over to whisper, "I've calculated. Working as a laborer in the city, you can earn at most twenty wen a day, and that's not guaranteed. But if you work for the Mo family for a day, you can get a jin of cotton and two jin of grain. If you were to buy them, you wouldn't get them for less than forty wen."

Zhang Dayou smiled kindly and looked at the busy Mo family with gratitude. "This family must be kind-hearted. They must have seen how difficult our lives are and want to help us."

Zhang Erniu nodded in agreement. "We should work hard when we go to the Mo family in the future. Otherwise, taking advantage of others' kindness would be shameful!"

Zhang Dayou continued to smile innocently, evidently thinking the same way.

Mo Yan walked over and happened to overhear their conversation, couldn't help but glance at them a few more times.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. These two had clear eyes without a trace of greed. Both their words and actions were filled with gratitude. It seemed their character was not bad. With plenty of work to do at home in the future, it would be better to find reliable people.

While Mo Yan was observing others, she didn't know that someone nearby was observing her. This person carefully scrutinized Mo Yan, confirmed that they weren't mistaken, then quietly slipped away from the crowd and ran towards the west of the village.

After the people in line had finished signing, many more rushed over upon hearing the news, but the fifty contracts were already used up, leaving more than thirty people unable to sign.

Seeing the disappointed expressions on those who hadn't signed, Mo Yan could only tally their names and planned to come back tomorrow. Just now, she had a vague idea in her mind, but she needed to discuss it with her father before implementing it.

After confirming that there were no errors in the fifty contracts, Mo Yan and the others checked the numbers filled in by the villagers on the contracts and began to distribute the cotton, fabric, and food.

This time, the villagers didn't need special reminders and lined up voluntarily. They also understood that they were taking advantage of the Mo family's generosity. When most people heard their names read out, they would express their gratitude to Mo Yan and the others before happily taking their things and running back home under the envious gazes of others.

"Ze'er, you little bastard, you've squandered all of our old Mo family's things! Damn it, it's really infuriating!"

Amidst the cheerful atmosphere, a very discordant voice broke in.

An elderly woman of short stature and a round figure pushed her way into the crowd, pointing a fat finger accusingly at the bewildered Mo Qingze, cursing loudly!

Mo Yan saw her and a flash of insight came to her mind. She remembered who the person was. The smile on her face suddenly turned dark...

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  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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 Chapter 771 - I Will Plead for Your Merits

Qi Chan clearly hesitated to let her go and held onto her, asking many questions about the heating pack.

Shu Yu answered each one, informing him that the main material was quicklime made from common limestone. Qi Chan's face lit up with joy.

"This thing is really convenient and can be mass-produced," Qi Chan exclaimed.

Qi Chan excitedly said to Shu Yu, "You are a meritorious figure of the Great Su Dynasty, Miss Lu. Rest assured, I will present this to the emperor and won't take credit for your achievements. By then, you will be able to restore your noble status and no longer need to work as a laborer in exile."

Although what she was doing now couldn't be considered labor, she still lacked freedom, and the money she earned didn't amount to much in her hands.

Shu Yu smiled with satisfaction. Look, she didn't even need to use her connections; Master Qi had automatically secured the greatest benefit for her.

She hypocritically said modestly, "I didn't think about all this at first. I just thought this thing was amazing and had great potential. I felt that it would be a waste if I were the only one using it, and I wouldn't trust giving it to others. Only by giving it to Master Qi, it might be able to exert its greatest effect. That's why I came to find you."

Qi Chan burst into laughter. "You are calculating and a good girl."

"In that case, I'll leave the heating pack to you. My family is waiting for me to return, and it's getting late. I should go home," Shu Yu said.

Qi Chan looked outside and indeed, it was getting late. The sky was about to darken.

It was all his fault for being too excited and talking for such a long time.

Qi Chan patted his forehead. "Alright, you go home first, so your family doesn't worry. I'll take another look at this heating pack, and if there's any issue, I'll come find you."

"Okay."

Shu Yu bid her farewell and took a few steps towards the door before stopping.

Then, as if she had remembered something, she quickly turned back.

As she turned, she saw Qi Chan putting the heating pack back into the container and preparing to reheat the bowl of noodles that had gone cold.

Her mouth twitched. "Sir."

Qi Chan looked up. "What's the matter?"

"Cheng Dong entrusted this letter to me. Originally, I was supposed to deliver it to the Hetai Mansion. I almost forgot to give it to you just now." Shu Yu handed over the letter somewhat apologetically.

Qi Chan paused, "..."

Not only did she forget, he also completely neglected such an important matter.

It was really a mistake. He had completely forgotten about other matter when he saw it.

Qi Chan hurriedly took the letter. "Let me see."

Shu Yu said, "Sir, I've already opened and read this letter. Um, I didn't mean to. At that time, I wasn't sure whether Cheng Dong's intentions were good or bad, whether I should help him deliver this letter or not. So, I took the liberty of opening it."

Well, it was an accident, so Qi Chan, who had just received the heating pack, shouldn't blame her, right?

Shu Yu intentionally took out the heating pack before handing him the letter.

The letter had traces of being opened, and it wouldn't be appropriate to seal it again. If Qi Chan and Master Cheng noticed any problems with the envelope later, they would suspect she was hiding something. It was better to tell the truth since she had her own reasons.

Qi Chan indeed didn't blame her. "Never mind, given the circumstances at the time, opening the letter was an unavoidable choice. However, remember, no matter what it says in this letter, you must keep it to yourself. No, it's best if you forget about it. Otherwise, it won't benefit you. Do you understand?"

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 Chapter 268: Follow-up

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 Chapter 267: Go Investigate

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  Chapter 44: Space Upgrade Again

In just half a month, the space unexpectedly upgraded twice in a row. If everything hadn't been normal before, Mo Yan would have thought the space was malfunctioning or breaking down!

Similar to the last upgrade, this one caught Mo Yan completely off guard. In these past few days, she hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, apart from her usual activities. The only difference was that yesterday when Lin Yong and the others received rations distributed by the government, they resolutely refused to let her send food over.

Could it be that because of her relief efforts, those five hundred people were given the opportunity to continue living, and thus she achieved true merit, leading to the upgrade of the space? Otherwise, why didn't the red mark on the pearl appear before?

Thinking about the unconventional upgrades of the space twice, Mo Yan couldn't help but feel that this was a possibility. She couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed: she carried the space with her, following the path of farming, so why did it feel like she was bound by a system that would erase her if she failed to complete tasks?

After a brief moment of confusion, Mo Yan began to anticipate the changes in the space after the upgrade. However, this time the upgrade took much longer. It wasn't until more than an hour later that she reestablished contact with the space. This was much longer than in her previous life, but when she entered the space and saw its upgraded appearance for the second time, she felt that even if she had to wait another day, she would still be willing.

Inside the space, the previously clear vision became misty, as the abundant spiritual energy condensed into fog. The original fifty mu of land expanded again, estimated by Mo Yan to be at least one hundred and thirty mu, thirty mu more than after the second upgrade in her previous life.

As for the central spiritual spring, its area remained the same, but it was covered by a layer of mist even denser than the spiritual energy in the space. Standing at the edge of the pool, one could not see the surface of the water clearly, indicating that the spiritual energy had become terrifyingly dense.

As for the change in the time ratio inside and outside the space, Mo Yan couldn't determine it yet. However, judging from the area and the condition of the spiritual spring, she felt that it should be higher than the one-to-one ratio after the second upgrade in her previous life.

If the expansion of the area and the acceleration of time flow didn't perturb Mo Yan, then the new function added after the upgrade of the spiritual spring was worth looking forward to!

This time, during the second upgrade of the space, the spiritual spring also underwent its first upgrade. The original two major effects—nurturing all things and strengthening the body—would increase exponentially, and a new powerful function was added: granting animals spiritual intelligence.

However, the upgraded spiritual spring water didn't benefit all animals. Small-brained animals like chickens, ducks, and geese, even if given the entire spiritual spring, wouldn't benefit from it. But mammals like dogs, cats, and cows could develop spiritual intelligence after being fed the spiritual spring water several times and understand simple commands.

In her previous life, Mo Yan was a volunteer for animal protection. In order to help stray cats and dogs find new owners, she would usually feed them spiritual spring water to enhance their physical fitness and increase their intelligence. Even if they weren't adopted in the end or were abandoned again, with their intelligence, they could better survive in dangerous environments.

For higher-level creatures like humans, the effect of spiritual spring water wasn't significant. Apart from strengthening the body, it could only improve memory to some extent. To heal people like in novels, it would require another upgrade.

Regardless, this upgrade of the space was much better than in her previous life. Mo Yan felt that it was probably because she exceeded the tasks and merits before and after the upgrades.

As for why saving only Xiao Ruiyuan in her previous life led to the first upgrade of the space, she could only wildly speculate that Xiao Ruiyuan was favored by the heavens, and saving him brought immeasurable merit.

Mo Yan felt as if she had been injected with chicken blood and began to continuously organize the mature crops and other items in the space. After everything that needed to be harvested was done, she brought out the cotton and food.

The Lin family had only about ninety people, but almost all of them needed cotton clothes and quilts. Following the standard of ten pounds per person, Mo Yan prepared one thousand pounds. Considering that there were still dozens of other households moving to Liuyang Village, and the family would also buy more land and reclaim more land during the winter, requiring a large amount of labor, she took out another two thousand pounds.

As for the food, she didn't prepare rice but potatoes and sweet potatoes. After all, the days of the entire Liuyang Village were difficult, and suddenly bringing out so much cotton was already eye-catching. Adding rice might raise suspicions.

When Mo Yan called for several ox carts and mule carts to transport all the cotton and food to her home, Mo Qingze was standing at the entrance of the alley, anxiously looking around. When he saw her return, he immediately began to scold her.

"Father, I was wrong, please don't be angry. I will never leave you again!" Um, why did that sound a bit awkward?

Mo Yan tried to please her father, bowing and begging for forgiveness. There was no other way. Since the last incident, her father had become more and more like Tang Seng. 

"Humph, you're grown up now, and your ideas are big. What I say doesn't matter anymore. You're speaking nicely now, but in a couple of days, you'll revert back to your old ways!"

Mo Qingze looked at his cautious daughter, feeling both angry and amused. He had to suppress his laughter and continued to scold her with a straight face.

Mo Yan felt a bit dumbfounded at his words. Did her father think of her as an incorrigible troublemaker?

Seeing that she didn't respond, Mo Qingze assumed that she had taken his words to heart and stopped nagging. Unfortunately, since his daughter survived a great danger, she had become increasingly independent. He didn't mind these changes, but he worried that when his daughter married, which man could tolerate such a strong-willed wife? As a father, he naturally didn't want his daughter to have an unhappy life in her husband's family.

Mo Yan didn't know her father's mind was jumping so fast and was already worrying about her lifelong affairs. When her father finally stopped nagging, she quickly had the carters move all the cotton and food into the hall, making the previously spacious hall suddenly feel cramped.

When Li Zhong returned home and saw so much cotton and food, he couldn't help but ask curiously. After learning of their purpose, he admired Mo Yan and her father even more. If it were in the past, he might have thought this father-daughter pair was foolish, but after experiencing so much, he truly began to believe that good deeds would be rewarded!

Thinking of his daughter, whose whereabouts were still unknown, Li Zhong felt a lump in his throat. In the future, he would also do more good deeds. He didn't ask for anything else, only that his daughter would be safe and that he could see her again in his lifetime.

By dusk, Mo Qingze went to the north of the city to express his thoughts. How could Lin Yong not know that the Mo family was helping them? But life in the clan was indeed too difficult, and he couldn't refuse. He could only once again firmly remember the Mo family's kindness and hope to repay it in the future...

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 Chapter 770: Qi Chan's Amazement at the Heating Pack

There were only the two of them in the study, and Qi Chan didn't let anyone else come in to see.

He had a feeling that whatever Shu Yu was about to show him must be something extraordinary, and it wouldn't be good if too many people saw it.

Shu Yu asked him to wait and went to prepare something. Just like last time, she brought water and heating packs, and she brought the uncooked noodles from the kitchen.

Qi Chan looked at her busying around with confusion on his face.

After a while, Shu Yu said, "Let's cook noodles."

Cook noodles? But where was the charcoal fire?

There was no charcoal fire or firewood, so Shu Yu poured water into the pot where the heating pack was placed and covered it with a lid.

Soon, the sound of bubbling water could be heard.

Qi Chan was stunned and reached out to lift the lid. But Shu Yu had already anticipated this, just like Zhao Xi and the old lady did before.

She directly handed him a piece of cloth. "Sir, be careful not to burn yourself."

Qi Chan held his breath and lifted the lid. Indeed, inside was boiling water, emitting bubbles and steam.

"This... this..." Qi Chan raised his head in astonishment. "You actually boiled the water?"

Shu Yu nodded. "Yes, this is something I accidentally discovered. It's called a heating pack. It generates heat when it comes into contact with water. I thought that since the weather is getting colder now, in places where firewood is scarce or it's difficult to cook, this heating pack would be very convenient."

"Yes, extremely convenient." Especially for the soldiers guarding the border. They didn't have the conditions to make fires.

Sometimes, when it was snowing heavily, they would bring dry rations to guard the city, but they could only eat hard and tough bread that could break their teeth. When they were thirsty, a sip of water would leave them feeling cold all over.

But with this, they wouldn't need to find firewood or attract unwanted attention by starting a fire. They could just pour some water and have a warm meal.

Not only the soldiers guarding the city but also the merchants and travelers who often slept in the wilderness during their journeys, it was very troublesome to make fires and cook. With this item, they only needed to pour water into it.

The more Qi Chan thought about it, the more excited he became, and his eyes shone unusually.

It was even more surprising than the farming tools that Yao Tianqin had brought him back then.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at the young girl in front of him.

Last time, he said that this girl was his lucky star, but now it seemed that she was not only a lucky star but also a person of great importance. How could there be such a capable girl?

She brought Cheng Dong, who had been hiding outside, and now she brought the heating pack that could benefit the soldiers and the people.

Qi Chan couldn't help but burst into laughter, he hadn't laughed so heartily in a long time.

Shu Yu couldn't help but tremble. Could it be that he was under too much stress?

"Master Qi, Master Qi? Are you alright, sir?"

"Hahaha, I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine. I'm just happy, so happy." Qi Chan finally stopped laughing. If it wasn't inconvenient, he would have liked to pat Shu Yu's shoulder vigorously.

He didn't say anything further and continued to look at the pot in front of him.

The heating pack lasted for quite a while, and the noodles were already cooked. Qi Chan tasted them and became even more satisfied.

He couldn't wait to open the heating pack, but Shu Yu stopped him and handed him an unused one.

Qi Chan took a deep breath and carefully accepted it, his eyes shining brighter and brighter.

Shu Yu watched as he examined the heating pack, flipping it back and forth. She felt like she wanted to go home.

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  Chapter 43: Dividing Land and Building Houses

Most of the refugees pouring into the capital were kneeling towards the direction of the Eastern Palace, expressing their gratitude for the royal benevolence before happily returning to their hometowns with their families.

The remaining refugees, who had just enough food to sustain them until the next spring, left the refugee camps and returned to the places where they were previously allocated, rebuilding their houses and reclaiming the wastelands to start anew.

"Master, the case of corruption in the southern provinces involves hundreds of officials!" Xiao Shiyi pointed upwards and continued, "That person who successively issued three imperial edicts to rebuke the Prince Jing and also interfered with the duties of Prince Jing's household, causing him to be reprimanded and reflect upon his actions, why don't we take advantage of this opportunity..."

"No need!" Xiao Ruiyuan narrowed his phoenix-like eyes, "The case of corruption in the south involves Prince Jing's faction the most, but the other princes may not be clean either. In order to absolve themselves, there will naturally be people who antagonize Prince Jing!"

"Master's foresight is unparalleled!" Xiao Shiyi chuckled flatteringly, then continued indignantly, "Prince Jing ended up in such a predicament, it's not unjust at all! If he hadn't allowed his subordinates to embezzle the disaster relief food, forcing the suffering people to the brink of survival, how could they have risen in revolt? What's even more infuriating is that he actually colluded with the Second Young Master to obstruct and kill you, attempting to destroy the evidence. If it weren't for your good fortune, they would have succeeded!"

Speaking of this "Second Young Master", Xiao Shiyi's expression was extremely disdainful. This person had been jumping around for many years but had not made any progress. He even colluded with the prince, what difference was there between that and courting death?

Thinking of this half-brother, Xiao Ruiyuan subconsciously touched the wound on his abdomen that had not yet fully healed, and sneered coldly. He didn't care much about this useless person, but Prince Jing had to be dealt with. Taking advantage of being the crown prince, he thought that as long as the crown prince died, the position of the heir apparent belonged to him. Originally, he didn't want to take action against Prince Jing, but he kept becoming more and more arrogant, constantly opposing the crown prince everywhere and even scheming to kill him. Since that was the case, he didn't need to be polite anymore. Keeping this person around was a disaster.

"The case of corruption was exposed by me, and the Crown Prince received praise from that person. The people from Prince Huai's faction won't just sit back, and my good little brother won't keep quiet either. Have someone keep a close eye on them. Once there's any movement, report immediately!"

Xiao Shiyi's expression became serious, and he clasped his hands together, "I understand, Master!" After speaking, he silently withdrew and conveyed the master's instructions to the hidden contacts in various mansions.

With one person less, the spacious study became even colder and more desolate.

Xiao Ruiyuan opened the latest confidential letter and looked at the contents, his eyes becoming even more profound and unpredictable. It seemed that exposing the corruption case was the right move!

The Crown Prince had been targeted in an assassination attempt when he was young, and his roots were damaged, making it determined that he wouldn't live past the age of twenty-five. Now the Crown Prince was already twenty-three, without any children, and his health was deteriorating. Taking advantage of his journey south to pacify the chaos, under the pressure of national crisis, those people actually incited someone to set up another crown prince to stabilize the country.

If it weren't for exposing the corruption case and the Crown Prince proposing to distribute the relief food embezzled by the corrupt officials to the refugees in the suburbs of the capital, giving refuge to those who didn't want to return home, and gaining a reputation for benevolence and wisdom, the Crown Prince's position as heir apparent might really not have been preserved!

Thinking of this, the chill in Xiao Ruiyuan's eyes almost solidified! As long as he, Xiao Ruiyuan, was still here, the Crown Prince's life was not in danger, and he would absolutely not allow anyone to covet the position of heir apparent!

...

No matter how the court was in turmoil, it didn't affect Mo Yan. At this moment, she was like a diligent little bee, constantly drawing and writing on the blueprint, preparing to build houses for the next spring.

The reason for choosing to build houses next spring was that they were going to build houses with blue bricks and tiles, and the weather was too cold now, making it prone to freezing, which was not suitable for building houses.

Looking at the flawless blueprints, Mo Yan couldn't help but imagine the appearance of the house after it was built, and she couldn't help but laugh happily.

Mo Qingze entered the room and looked at his daughter sitting at the desk, smiling foolishly. He couldn't bear to look directly at her, so he had to interrupt, "Yan'er, just now when I went to Liuyang Village, I met Brother Lin who was leading people to cut wood and build houses. When he learned that we were going to build houses next spring, he wanted to prepare the wood we needed. Father thinks it's a good idea, what do you think?"

Mo Yan came back to her senses, thought for a moment, and said, "We need a lot of wood. Let them finish building their own houses first, and then help us cut the wood. But Dad, they are not living a good life now. When the time comes, we have to pay them for their work!"

Mo Qingze nodded, the smile on his face faded slightly, "Father also thinks so. The weather is extremely cold now. I saw that they don't even have warm clothes. Adults can endure it, but it's hard for the elderly and children!"

Hearing this, Mo Yan also felt uncomfortable. After hesitating for a while, she said, "Dad, what Brother Lin's family needs most now is food and cotton. Apart from the money we used to buy land and build houses, we still have a lot left. We'll need to build houses and cultivate the land next spring. We'll definitely ask Brother Lin to help. I think we can buy some cotton cloth and food for them to use and let them work for us in return. This way, we can help them without hurting their pride."

Mo Qingze pondered for a moment and thought this was a good idea, "Okay, let's do that. When they return to the outskirts of the city in the evening, Father will go over and tell Brother Lin. After we have eaten, we'll go to the market and buy cotton cloth and food."

These days, the Lin family's house had not yet been built, and there was no place in Liuyang Village to accommodate them temporarily. They could only temporarily live in the house they had lived in before.

Seeing that her father agreed, Mo Yan felt relieved, and the mountain of food stored in the space could be consumed a bit!

But how to distract her father and take out the food and cotton in the space? Mo Yan couldn't help but feel a little distressed.

After lunch, while Mo Qingze was resting, Mo Yan briefly explained to the others and then left the house, heading straight for the house she had rented. When she entered the house, she was about to take out the cotton and food, but she found that her connection with the space had been cut off, and the things couldn't be taken out at all.

She quickly spread out her right hand and found that the ancient jade imprint was still firmly embedded in her palm. The space was still there, but she couldn't establish contact. There was only one possibility!

Thinking of the only possibility, Mo Yan was shocked as if she had won a huge cash prize. After the shock passed, only wild joy remained in her heart: the space was actually upgrading...

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 Chapter 769: No, She Came to Help

Qi Chan froze for a moment, then quickly stepped forward and crouched down to check Cheng Dong's condition.

After a moment, he furrowed his brows, a hint of regret flashing across his face.

Shu Yu anxiously asked, "What happened to him? Did he bite his tongue and kill himself?"

Qi Chan shook his head. "There was poison in his mouth. He must have taken it to end his own life."

Shu Yu stepped back in astonishment. "So, he's dead?"

"Yes, he's dead."

"How could this happen? Master Qi, I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't mean to kill him, and I didn't expect things to turn out like this. What should we do? He was prefect Cheng's guard. Will Cheng Daren blame me? If I had known, I wouldn't have tied him up."

Qi Chan immediately reassured her, "Don't worry, this has nothing to do with you. Master Cheng won't blame you. On the contrary, he will be grateful to you. Cheng Dong was actually a spy lurking by Cheng Daren's side. We have been trying to capture him for the past few days. He was a dead man, and realizing that he had no chance of escape and didn't want to be interrogated, he chose to take poison. You couldn't have anticipated this, so don't blame yourself."

"Is that so?" Shu Yu asked anxiously, "It really has nothing to do with me?"

"Yes, you did well. Cheng Dong was highly skilled, and if you hadn't tied him up, he might have seized an opportunity to escape and even posed a threat to your life. Miss Lu, both Cheng Daren and I are not mistaken. You are truly exceptionally intelligent."

Shu Yu... felt a bit guilty for no reason?

She quickly changed the subject. "As long as I didn't do anything wrong." She breathed a sigh of relief. "I really didn't expect Cheng Dong to be a spy by prefect Cheng's side. Fortunately, I didn't listen to him and help him, or I would have become a criminal. Is prefect Cheng's alright? This person has been by prefect Cheng's side for many years, and it would have been easy for him to harm prefect Cheng."

"Yes, Cheng Daren didn't expect it either. In fact, he had already captured Cheng Dong. He wanted to extract some information from him, but unexpectedly, Cheng Dong found an opportunity to escape." Qi Chan shook his head. Fortunately, the man was dead now.

Shu Yu thought to herself that's why they didn't keep him alive for further interrogation. It was a wise decision.

"Should we hand this person over to prefect Cheng?"

Qi Chan pondered for a moment. "Recently, there has been a significant drop in temperature in various regions of the Da Su Dynasty, and our area has been affected as well. Cheng Daren is extremely busy and may not have the time. I will take care of the body."

If prefect Cheng hadn't been so busy, the prefect magistrate wouldn't have allowed the man to find an opportunity to escape.

Now that the man was dead, the follow-up matters could be handled by him as well.

Shu Yu nodded. "It has indeed been very cold lately, and prefect Cheng has a heavy responsibility. He must be working tirelessly."

"It's fortunate to have you helping us. After Cheng Daren is done with this busy period, I will make sure to give you credit."

"Master Qi, you're too polite. I just stumbled upon this. However, I do have something else that I don't know if it can be of any help to Cheng Daren."

Qi Chan was taken aback. There was something else?

"What is Something that can help Cheng Daren?"

Shu Yu pursed her lips. "It's something that can provide a warm meal for people. Would you like to take a look, sir?"

Qi Chan nodded. "A warm meal? Something that concerns people's livelihood? Of course, I would like to see."

Shu Yu pointed to the body on the ground.

Qi Chan waved his hand. "It's alright, someone will take care of it."

Since he said so, Shu Yu didn't insist. She followed Qi Chan as they walked towards the study.

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