Chapter 453: Passing Away

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 Chapter 950: A Petrified Lu Sanzhu

Da Niu followed closely behind her and went down as well.

As soon as they went down, they saw Lu Sanzhu sitting on the ground, staring straight ahead.

Shu Yu turned her head to look. In the faint light shining down from the cellar entrance above their heads, she saw a thin and frail middle-aged man sitting not far away, leaning against the corner of the wall, with his eyes wide open and unmoving. It was chilling.

The cellar had an unpleasant smell, but amidst the various odors in this space, there was a distinct stench of decay.

This person had probably been dead for several days.

Shu Yu took out a matchstick and blew on it twice, instantly brightening the light. The cellar didn't feel as cold as before.

Finally, Lu Sanzhu, trembling, stood up with the support of Da Niu. He wasn't afraid of dead bodies, but in such a scene, it was truly terrifying.

Shu Yu walked towards the corpse with the matchstick in hand, wanting to confirm something. Seeing this, Da Niu quickly grabbed her and said, "Don't go. Let me... let me go and check."

After speaking, he forcibly took the matchstick from Shu Yu's hand without any room for negotiation.

Da Niu's scalp was also tingling, but he couldn't let his little sister go in front.

In a short while, he turned around with a serious expression and said to the two of them, "The person is already dead."

Shu Yu thought, how should she respond to that? He just used his fingers to check if there was no breath at the tip of his nose, and that confirmed it?

However, after observing for so long, even without approaching, Shu Yu knew that this person had indeed been murdered.

Just as she was pondering, they heard Jiang Gongzi's voice from the cellar entrance. "Lu girl, how are you all? Are you okay?"

"We're fine. We're coming up now."

Shu Yu was the first to climb out of the cellar, followed closely by Lu Sanzhu, and Da Niu was the last to come out.

By the time he emerged, Shu Yu had already explained the situation inside the cellar.

Master Jiang's brows furrowed tightly. He sent someone down to confirm and had Hu Bo take a look as well.

When Hu Bo came up, his face turned grim. "It's indeed Old Cui. He's been dead for two days."

The onlookers exploded upon hearing this. Old Man Cui was dead? And he died in his own cellar?

They lived so close, yet they hadn't noticed for two days.

No wonder they hadn't seen Old Man Cui leave his house these past few days. They thought he was like everyone else, unable to rent land and in a bad mood, hiding at home. Who would have thought he had lost his life?

"How did he die?" Jiang Gongzi asked.

Hu Bo replied, "He had two stab wounds—one in the leg and one in a vital area."

Master Jiang took a deep breath and turned to his subordinates. "Go report to the authorities. Don't touch the bodies for now."

After speaking, he waved his hand, instructing everyone to leave.

"Don't linger here. If we disturb the scene and the officials come, we'll all be held accountable. Everyone, leave first."

He was the first to walk out the door, and the villagers couldn't help but take a glance inside the cellar before quickly retreating.

However, someone ran back and found a white cloth, covering Old Man Cui's body with it.

Master Jiang glanced at the woman who was being held by Ying Xi, his brows furrowing.

The man named Li Xiaoshan was killed by this woman. But as for who killed Old Man Cui, that would have to be determined through an official investigation.

Master Jiang felt a headache coming on. A homicide occurred his estate, and not just one person, but two deaths. It was ominous to everyone.

Especially since the buyer stumbled upon this directly, he feared that his estate would be unsellable.

Thinking of this, Master Jiang couldn't help but look at Shu Yu. "Lu girl, today's incident must have scared you. I will have someone keep an eye on this side. As for you..."

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  Chapter 176: Visiting (2)

Xiao Zhu, on the side, was genuinely happy for Aunt Tong. Seeing Aunt Tong's stunned expression, he nudged her, urging, "Aunt Tong, you should agree quickly."

Aunt Tong snapped out of her daze, her eyes turning red. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and choked up, "Miss Mo, there's no need for so much. Really, if you're willing to offer me stable work despite my old age, that's already a great kindness to the Tong family."

Mo Yan smiled, "Aunt Tong, one tael per month isn't much, especially considering the size of the orchard. Besides, when there's no need to hire people, you'll still have to clean up, which will be tiring."

Xiao Zhu also added a few words of persuasion, and Aunt Tong, with tears in her eyes, finally agreed. However, she still felt uneasy inside, thinking that her labor wasn't worth a tael of silver.

With the matter settled, Aunt Tong hurried to return home. Mo Yan was about to see them off when Xin'er's voice came from outside the door, "Sister, do we have visitors at home?"

As she spoke, Xin'er entered the hall hand in hand with Zhen'er, followed by Li Xiu and her nephew. The four of them had just returned from the embroidery workshop.

"Hello, Brother Xiao Zhu. Greetings, Aunt Tong."

Upon seeing Xiao Zhu and Aunt Tong, Xin'er and Zhen'er quickly greeted them politely.

Aunt Tong looked at the well-behaved siblings and liked them very much. However, as she looked at the delicate and pretty Xin'er, she felt a sense of familiarity. It wasn't just this little girl who looked familiar; even Mo Yan reminded her of someone.

Aunt Tong thought carefully but couldn't figure out who the sisters resembled. It wasn't until they left Mo's house that she suddenly realized and exclaimed with a strange tone, "So it's her!"

Xiao Zhu, beside her, asked innocently, "Aunt Tong, what are you talking about?"

Aunt Tong shook her head absentmindedly and muttered to herself, "It must be just a coincidence!"

Xiao Zhu couldn't understand, so he shook his head and followed her.

Within two days, Aunt Tong and her family moved to the orchard and settled in the two newly built rooms. The two orchards were adjacent, making it very convenient for the Tong family to take care of them.

Aunt Tong was indeed dedicated. After familiarizing herself with the orchard, she suggested to Mo Yan to plant thorns around the perimeter. This would not only maintain the soil but also prevent theft of the fruits when the trees bore fruit in the future.

Mo Yan readily accepted her suggestion and hired many villagers to dig thorns. They densely surrounded the orchard. When the seedlings grew larger, she could release the chickens from her space to roam freely, without worrying about them running away.

Moreover, these thorns were not only planted around the orchard but also around the new house to prevent wild animals and unwanted visitors.

With Aunt Tong and her family taking care of the orchard, Mo Yan became completely hands-off and only occasionally went to water the seedlings with the spiritual spring water. The new house also entered the decoration stage, with fewer things for Mo Qingze to handle, and Mo Yan didn't need to worry.

Furthermore, with the Mo family settling down, those jealous villagers who coveted their wealth had learned their lesson from Wang Dali's experience and didn't dare to have any crooked thoughts. With no troublesome matters, Mo Yan's days passed peacefully and leisurely.

"Yantou, these are the revised blueprints from the carpenter's workshop. Take a look and see if there's anything else that needs to be modified."

Li Zhong took out a stack of blueprints as soon as he returned from the carpenter's workshop and handed them to Mo Yan.

There were about forty or more of these blueprints, all depicting tables, chairs, beds, cabinets, and other furniture designs. The patterns outlined on them were simple and atmospheric, yet not monotonous. Mo Yan carefully looked through them and nodded in satisfaction in the end, "Grandpa Li, these are already very good. Let them follow these blueprints."

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 Chapter 949: The Son-in-law of the Liang Family?

Shu Yu and the others entered the courtyard one after another. Master Jiang's expression turned serious, and he immediately turned towards the tenant who had heard the commotion outside and shouted, "Quickly go to the manor and fetch Hu Bo."

He then explained to Shu Yu, "Hu Bo knows medicine. Let's have him come and take a look first."

After speaking, he went forward to inspect the man lying on the ground.

To their surprise, just as they turned the man over, Da Niu exclaimed, "Li Xiaoshan?"

Shu Yu was astonished and turned her head. "You know him?"

"Of course I know him! This good-for-nothing." Da Niu snorted coldly. "He is the son-in-law of our village's Liang family. Oh, you might not know. The Liang family is known for accepting sons-in-law. But this..."

"I know." Shu Yu nodded. "Eldest uncle told me. He said this person had accumulated gambling debts and ran away with a woman."

So, this woman was the one currently being held by Ying Xi.

Da Niu nodded. "That's right, it's him. I never expected that he would come here. They caused so much trouble for Uncle Liang's family. This is their retribution."

Li Xiaoshan struggled to raise his head, noticing Da Niu in front of him. He gasped for breath with great difficulty. "Save... save me..."

Da Niu sneered, "I don't have the ability to save you. You brought so much misery to Uncle Liang's family. This is your karma."

Tears and mucus streamed down Li Xiaoshan's face, and he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

Da Niu turned his head away, unable to bear witnessing it.

Hu Bo quickly arrived, but unfortunately, after examining Li Xiaoshan, he shook his head slightly. "It's too late."

Indeed, it was too late. Hu Bo did his best to stop the bleeding, but before he could finish, Li Xiaoshan had already passed away.

However, before Li Xiaoshan died, Shu Yu seemed to see him mouth two words.

But he couldn't produce any sound; she could only judge from his lip movements.

While she was contemplating, the young woman in the neighboring room suddenly spoke up, "Where's Old Man Cui? Wasn't he at home? Why hasn't he come out during such a big commotion?"

The other villagers were also puzzled. "Yeah, Old Man Cui hasn't left his house for the past couple of days. How could something like this happen..."

A sense of unease flashed through everyone's minds. Could something have happened to Old Man Cui?

Shu Yu suddenly had a flash of insight and exclaimed, "The cellar!"

"What cellar?" Lu Sanzhu asked in confusion.

Shu Yu looked at Li Xiaoshan and said, "Before he died, he said two words that sounded like 'cellar'."

Without hesitation, Lu Sanzhu rushed to the kitchen. "There must be something in the cellar. I'll go and take a look."

Shu Yu didn't stop him, and the other villagers followed him into the kitchen.

Shu Yu stood up and was about to follow them when she heard Lu Sanzhu's horrified scream from the kitchen.

"Ah..."

Shu Yu's expression changed slightly, and she rushed inside with Da Niu.

Several villagers were crouched at the entrance of the cellar, anxiously asking, "What happened inside? What's going on? Brother, say something!"

Afraid that something had happened to Lu Sanzhu, Shu Yu asked the people to step aside and went down into the cellar herself.

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  Chapter 175: Paying a Visit (1)

Xiao Zhu quickly arrived at Aunt Tong's house with half a basket of eggs.

Aunt Tong was a straightforward person. The pickled peppers she gave to Mo Yan were made from homegrown chili peppers and only cost a bit of salt. She firmly refused to accept the eggs, but after Xiao Zhu insisted, she reluctantly accepted them, thinking about making some appetizers to send to Miss Mo later.

Then, Xiao Zhu explained the matter of Mo's family hiring someone to manage the orchard and asked for Aunt Tong's opinion.

Aunt Tong was initially pleased, but upon considering her family's situation, she declined. "Xiao Zhu, you're a good kid, and I know you're doing this for our family's sake. But your grandfather is not in good health, and Xiao Qing is still a child. I have to take care of them; I can't do work for Miss Mo's family."

"Aunt Tong, that's okay. Miss Mo's family has a house in the orchard. When the time comes, you can take Grandpa Tong and Xiao Qing with you. This way, it won't delay anything, right?"

Xiao Zhu knew that Mo's family had built a house in the orchard; otherwise, he wouldn't have proposed this to Aunt Tong.

Aunt Tong became even more unwilling to agree. "Xiao Zhu, you know that our family is old and young, and we're not very useful. Miss Mo is a good person; I can't take advantage of her."

Aunt Tong was upright and didn't like to take advantage of others. Over the years, their family had faced difficulties, but thanks to the care of their neighbors, Aunt Tong never took advantage of anyone. Whenever someone needed help, she would offer assistance without being asked. This was also why their neighbors always got along well with the Tong family.

Xiao Zhu was at a loss. "Aunt Tong, you can oversee the orchard normally and prevent anyone from causing trouble. When it's time to water, fertilize, or prevent pests, Mo's family will hire people to help. You just need to teach them what to do. How is that taking advantage?"

"Is that true?" Aunt Tong was genuinely moved. After all, it was a stable job, much easier than cultivating and selling seedlings.

"It's true. If you don't believe me, we can go to Mo's house and ask Miss Mo." Seeing Aunt Tong's interest, Xiao Zhu seized the opportunity.

As long as Aunt Tong agreed, it would be beneficial for both families. With a reliable person to take care of Mo's family orchard, the Tong family's life wouldn't be as difficult as before.

Since it was still early, Aunt Tong agreed and informed her husband and grandson before going to the kitchen to fetch an unopened jar of pickled vegetables. Then, she followed Xiao Zhu to Mo's house.

Mo Yan was naturally happy when Aunt Tong agreed to help manage the orchard. She explained the situation of the orchard and the tasks Aunt Tong would have to do. After ensuring Aunt Tong had no issues, Mo Yan brought up the matter of wages.

"Aunt Tong, there's a house in the orchard for your family of three to live in. You can cook for yourselves. Regarding the wages, do you have any requirements?"

Aunt Tong shook her head repeatedly, her face filled with gratitude. "Miss Mo, talking about managing the orchard for your family is just a matter of talking. It won't be tiring at all. As for the wages, whatever you give us will be enough for our family of three to live on."

This request was already very low. For a family of three like the Tong family, they could buy some grains and meat for themselves, and they could grow vegetables themselves. Adding Uncle Tong's medicine expenses, a monthly income of five or six hundred wen would suffice.

But the Tong family was considered skilled labor. Naturally, Mo Yan couldn't just pay them six hundred wen. So, she said, "I'll give you one tael per month as wages, and I'll also provide you with grains and other necessities monthly. If the orchard is managed well, I'll give you an additional reward at the end of the year."

One tael per month plus grains?

Aunt Tong was stunned. You see, even though she worked hard to cultivate and sell seedlings, she couldn't earn a few taels of silver. Even with the little money she made, she had to save some for oil and salt. But even so, their family still struggled to make ends meet. Now, they would effortlessly earn twelve taels of silver in a year. It was like winning the jackpot!

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 Chapter 948: Murder

The woman was familiar with Master Jiang but not with the girl in front of her, so she didn't dare to complain and seek sympathy like before. She quickly put away the handkerchief in her hands and replied in a low voice, "The people living next door are Old Man Cui and his granddaughter."

"His granddaughter? How old is she?"

"Five years old."

Shu Yu furrowed her brow. "But I heard a female voice from inside earlier, and it didn't sound like the voice of a five-year-old."

The woman was taken aback, then suddenly realized, "Oh, that must be the distant niece who came to rely on Old Man Cui."

Shu Yu frowned. Did this distant niece come from Shishi Village?

She didn't say anything, and the woman continued, "This distant niece and her husband came here two months ago. They said that both of their parents had passed away, and Old Man Cui was their only relative left. So, they've been staying here for two months now."

The woman obviously had no good impression of this distant niece and pursed her lips, saying, "They're so young, yet they have the audacity to rely on an old man and a young girl. It's laughable. But if Old Man Cui is willing, we outsiders can't say anything, right?"

Shu Yu agreed with what the woman said. She had thought that the distant niece came alone to rely on her only relative in her hometown, which would have been understandable for a young girl who had been mistreated in her hometown. But from what she heard, it seemed that the distant niece already had a husband.

If she already had a husband, why did she need to rely on others? If the distant niece had wealth and power and wanted to take advantage of the situation, it would be normal. But in the case of Old Man Cui and his granddaughter, who could only rent land and were not in a good situation, it seemed strange.

Shu Yu narrowed her eyes. Just as she was wondering about the meaning behind the mention of Shishi Village, a loud crash came from inside, as if something like a water jar had been smashed.

Everyone turned their heads in unison, looking towards the source of the noise—the Cui family's house.

Shu Yu quickly walked a few steps and reached the door. "Something seems to be happening inside."

Lu Sanzhu was always interested in joining in the fun. If he hadn't been afraid of embarrassing himself by following Shu Yu outside, when he heard the words "Shishi Village" earlier, he would have crouched near the front door and eavesdropped.

Finally, after hearing abnormal noises from inside again, he didn't hesitate to rush forward, saying, "Let's go in and see. It seems like a fight has broken out inside. Hopefully, no one has been killed."

As he spoke, he kicked the door, but unfortunately, he didn't have enough strength. Not only did the door not open, but he also stumbled backward a few steps and nearly fell to the ground.

Shu Yu said, "Da Niu, Ying Xi."

Da Niu and Ying Xi understood and took two steps back simultaneously. With a collision, they broke through the door.

Shu Yu stood in the center and immediately saw the scene inside the opened door.

A man covered in blood lay on the ground, weakly moving, while a woman turned around, intending to escape.

"Capture that woman." As Shu Yu's voice fell, Ying Xi, who had just landed, instantly leaped forward, rushing towards the woman who had already entered the main hall.

The woman was taken aback and desperately knocked over the chairs in the hall, trying to block Ying Xi.

When she couldn't stop her, she suddenly turned around, holding a knife in both hands, trembling as she pointed it at Ying Xi. "Don't come any closer. Don't come any closer."

While saying this, she wildly swung the knife.

Ying Xi's expression remained unchanged. She stepped onto the table, somersaulted behind her, and struck her neck, knocking her unconscious before dragging her out.

*** Do you guys have idea whose that couple is?  I could connect it to recent news hehe, it is just my wild guess but who knows?

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 Chapter 80: Engagement

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 Chapter 452 Fist and Foot Skills

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 Chapter 451: Hitting Hands

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