Chapter 474: Gain Some, Lose Some

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 Chapter 473: Nonsense, I'm Clearly Protecting You

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  Chapter 196: Meeting Strangers, Upgrading the Space (Part 5)

Fortunately, there was no pressure from Xiao Ruiyuan 's side, giving Mo Yan some buffer time.

"Stop right there! You, stop right there! You little brat, you've come to steal from my house again, haven't you? Today, I won't let you off lightly!"

Unknowingly, Mo Yan found herself on the same street where she had encountered that child a few days ago. From afar, she heard an angry voice.

As she looked closely, she saw the two approaching figures, none other than the child and the middle-aged man from before.

Seeing that the child was about to be caught, Mo Yan hurried forward and grabbed the child who was trying to run away.

"Why did you go steal from his house again?" Mo Yan asked as she looked at the child, who was clutching several steamed buns tightly in his arms.

"Big sister!" The child lifted his head joyfully upon hearing Mo Yan's familiar voice.

Mo Yan helplessly looked at the child, then took out a few coins from her purse and handed them to the middle-aged man who had caught up.

The middle-aged man remembered Mo Yan but didn't accept the money this time. Instead, he reached out to grab the child's collar, but Mo Yan stopped him.

"Sir, please, for the sake of his young age, let him go this time," Mo Yan pleaded.

"Impossible! No matter what, I have to teach this little brat a lesson today." The middle-aged man glared at the child angrily. The kick he received last time still hadn't healed completely, and he was determined to hang the kid up and give him a good beating.

Mo Yan frowned. "Even if you beat him up, he'll still come to steal from your house next time. It's better to let him go this time. I promise he won't come to your house again."

The middle-aged man sneered, "You promise he won't come? What makes you think you can guarantee that?"

Ignoring him, Mo Yan looked down at the child. "In consideration of the help I gave you last time, promise me you won't go steal from this uncle's house again, okay?"

She couldn't just watch this child continue stealing. She had already decided to help him find a job or become an apprentice.

The child looked at her solemnly. After hesitating for a moment, he handed the steamed buns to the middle-aged man and muttered, "I won't go steal your steamed buns again in the future."

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, then he sneered and smashed the steamed buns. "I don't believe a word from a brat like you. Today, you'd better let me beat you up properly. Otherwise, even if the emperor himself comes to help you, it won't make a difference."

Mo Yan's expression darkened. "He's just a small child, how can he withstand a beating? If you injure him, what will you use to compensate?"

By now, she could tell that the man harbored a grudge against the child for kicking him last time. But in his anger, he might seriously injure the child, which was unacceptable.

The middle-aged man sneered, "He's just a little beggar. Even if I beat him to death, so what? At most, I'll pay some silver to the authorities. Can they make me pay with my life?"

Mo Yan was furious. "You want to try it? If you dare to harm him, I'll go to the yamen right now. Even if he was at fault first, you won't be able to dictate what happens next."

Although commoners in ancient times had few rights, in a place like the capital, no one dared to act recklessly. If the child was seriously harmed and someone reported it to the authorities, the middle-aged man would definitely not escape punishment.

The middle-aged man glared angrily at Mo Yan, but he was starting to back down inside.

If this meddlesome girl really went to the authorities and accused him of injuring someone without cause, he might indeed face consequences. After all, the child was too young. Even if he was guilty of stealing, it was just a few steamed buns. The authorities wouldn't consider that a serious offense.

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 Chapter 972: Hiring Farm Workers

These tenant households had known for a while that Jiang Kuanyu intended to sell the land. However, after so much time had passed without seeing a buyer, they still held onto a glimmer of hope.

Some of the tenant households even approached Jiang Kuan Yu, suggesting that since the land couldn't be sold for the time being, they should go ahead and plant crops. If they waited any longer, they would miss the planting season, and they were confident they could yield a good harvest this time.

But Jiang Kuan Yu rejected their proposal and advised them to find other work during the busy farming season.

His firm determination eventually convinced the tenant households, and some of them went to the county town or other landlords' estates to find land to work on.

Now that the land had truly been sold, a sense of confusion filled their hearts.

Although they had encountered other prospective buyers, Jiang Kuanyu was the most pleasant to deal with and the most understanding of their situation.

Who knew what the next buyer would be like?

Just as they were thinking this, Shu Yu stood up and walked over to Jiang Kuanyu's side, standing beside him.

The people in the front row were surprised to see her. Wasn't she... the Village lord? They had just met her a couple of days ago.

Jiang Kuanyu began introducing her, "This is Village lord. I believe all of you already know her. From now on, she will be the owner of this manor and the hundreds of acres of land outside."

Village lord Lu? The crowd exchanged glances. This person seemed to hold their fate in her hands, and they couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

Shu Yu surveyed the crowd and coughed lightly before speaking, "Nice to see you all again. My surname is Lu, and you can call me miss Lu. Young Master Jiang has already informed me about your situation. I understand that you want to lease the land to grow crops, but I must inform you beforehand that I have no intention of leasing the land."

"What?"

Someone grew anxious. "Village Lord are you really not leasing any of the hundreds of acres of land? Then, what..."

Did that mean they would have to buy all their food? Rice, flour, and cooking oil were already expensive, and they didn't have much money to begin with. Did that mean they wouldn't even have a means to survive?

The buzzing voices grew louder, and some people started crying.

Shu Yu was almost overwhelmed by the noise. "Please calm down. I haven't finished speaking yet."

She raised her voice, and the people in the courtyard felt a sudden tension, immediately falling silent.

Shu Yu continued, "I plan to use this hundred acres of land to cultivate crops for my own family. However, we definitely won't be able to manage such a large area on our own. Therefore, I am considering hiring people from among you. You are known for being hardworking and willing to endure hardships, and I observed that myself the other day. You are all quite capable."

Pausing for a moment, she said, "So, if you are willing, I will prioritize hiring workers from among you to cultivate the land as our family's farm workers."

"Farm workers?" The people below exchanged glances.

In this day and age, whether as tenant households or farm workers, they were all people who didn't own land.

However, comparatively speaking, tenant households had more freedom. They could have good or bad harvests, as long as they paid a certain amount of rent, the rest belonged to them.

Farm workers, on the other hand, lacked freedom but had a fixed wage. They didn't need to worry about the size of the harvest; they only needed to receive their wages on time.

Of course, both options had a prerequisite: encountering a good master.

Most landlords nowadays were exploiters, and whether as tenant households or farm workers, not many could live a good life.

They didn't know if Shu Yu would be any different, and they were uncertain about what to decide.

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  Chapter 195: Meeting Strangers, Upgrading the Space (Part 4)

So, the shopkeeper of the wood workshop, whose expression usually turned sour at the sight of Mo Yan, was very enthusiastic upon seeing her. He personally brewed a pot of good tea to entertain her and even expressed his hope that Mo Yan could provide more suggestions for the wood workshop.

"I wouldn't dare to give suggestions. I just modified things according to my own preferences, and others may not necessarily like this style," Mo Yan said, trying to be modest. After all, nothing comes for free.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper knew that Mo Yan must have some good ideas, so he sincerely said, "Miss Mo, that's not a problem. As long as you're willing to give us some guidance, the furniture made by our shop can give you a discount of twenty percent."

Twenty percent?

Mo Yan started to calculate in her mind. There was a lot of furniture to be made for her home, all using good materials, costing nearly four hundred taels of silver in total. A discount of twenty percent would be around eighty taels. Eighty taels might not seem like much, but for an ordinary household, it could take seven or eight years of hard work to save up that much silver. One of her ideas could cover the income of a family for several years.

However...

"The shopkeeper is too kind, but although my family is not wealthy, we're not lacking in silver," Mo Yan said lightly, looking as if she didn't care much about the eighty taels of silver.

The shopkeeper's expression stiffened, feeling bitter in his heart. Miss Mo Yan was young, but her mind was sharper than some who had lived for decades.

But whether she genuinely didn't care or was pretending not to care, as long as it was beneficial to the wood workshop, it was worth paying a little extra.

Thinking this, the shopkeeper gritted his teeth and said, "As long as Miss is willing to provide good ideas, everything is negotiable."

Now it was Mo Yan's turn to be surprised. She really didn't care about the eighty taels of silver. Even if she gave the wood workshop an idea, she wouldn't regret it. After all, she just wanted to focus on farming and had no intention of getting involved in business. After all, doing business was a headache. In her past life, her family wanted her to manage a large shopping mall, but she refused.

Now that the shopkeeper of the wood workshop wanted to collaborate with her, it was unexpected, but if they only wanted to give her silver without any obligations, she was happy to accept.

Thinking this, Moyan smiled and said, "Since the shopkeeper is so sincere, I won't beat around the bush. As long as the profits earned from the products made using my ideas at the wood workshop, I want thirty percent."

Thirty percent?

The shopkeeper's lip twitched, feeling the pain, but seeing Mo Yan's serious expression, it seemed that there was no room for negotiation.

Thirty percent it is, not too excessive. If they could really earn some silver, he would still be making a good profit. If they could expand the business of the wood workshop in the future, they would earn even more. So he said, "I agree with Miss's suggestion."

Seeing the shopkeeper's prompt agreement, Mo Yan didn't hesitate either. She immediately asked him to bring in a middleman to draw up a contract.

After the contract was drawn up, Mo Yan immediately asked the shopkeeper to call in the draftsman. Under her guidance, a set of innovative furniture designs was produced.

Seeing that there were no more modifications needed, Moyan nodded in satisfaction. In her past life, there were countless types of furniture, and even a few could dazzle the people of this era. It's not that they were exceptionally good, but it was all about novelty.

Li Zhong stood by, dumbfounded. This child was really something. Just by going out for a stroll, she could easily make a fortune.

Over the next few days, Mo Yan continued to wander the streets, trying to find materials for the drainage tube. The surgical knife and needles were already made, almost identical to those from her past life, but the drainage tube was still missing. As for the upgrade of the space, there was still a bit lacking. She hadn't realized it before, but now that the need for an upgrade was urgent, she found that accumulating merit wasn't as easy as she thought.

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 Chapter 970: Sharing the Profits

Zhou Qiao didn't want to buy a house in the county. Firstly, they didn't have the money for it, and secondly, they didn't live there.

If they bought a house, Li Shi would be eager to move in as soon as possible.

And in the future, if they wanted to come back, it was uncertain whether the house would still be theirs.

They didn't want to work hard to pay off the house only to find out that they couldn't even live in it for a day.

So Zhou Qiao didn't agree with buying a house. Right now, she was more surprised by Lu Sanzhu's decision. "Da Niu, do you think third uncle and aunt have saved a lot of money?"

Da Niu thought for a moment and shook his head. "Probably not much. He borrowed the majority of the money from Ah Yu. I think it's because third uncle has a stable job, and with Da Bao studying nearby, third uncle and his wife can't go back to farming, so they decided to buy a house."

It was different from his situation. He didn't know whether he would live in the county in the future or not.

Zhou Qiao nodded. "That's true. Third Uncle and our situation are different."

As the couple discussed the matter of Lu Sanzhu buying a house, in Liufang Lane, the old lady asked Shu Yu, "Lao San, where does he plan to buy the house? Do you know?"

Shu Yu had just returned. After sending Lu Sanzhu, she went to the estate and informed Liang Wangsheng about Li Xiaoshan's situation.

Liang Wangsheng had no idea that Li Xiao Shan had been missing for two months, and when he heard the news, he was shocked to learn that he had been killed.

At that moment, Liang Wangsheng felt that he deserved it. Evil deeds bring evil consequences.

Coincidentally, Ying Xi returned, which meant that Hu Li and the other officials had brought the prisoner and the two victims back to the county yamen. Shu Yu asked Ying Xi to take Liang Wangsheng to the yamen to identify people.

Lu Erbai was not at the mansion. It seemed that he had gone out to do something. So Shu Yu drove the cart back by herself.

As soon as she arrived, the old lady asked about the house.

Shu Yu didn't delay in the south of the county, and after sending people away, she naturally inquire about Lu Sanzhu's house.

However...

"I think it's probably in that area. It's close to the Peach Blossom Forest, and it's only a few steps away from Da Bao's private school. They've been living there for so long, so they're familiar with the surrounding area."

The old lady thought about it and agreed. Then she turned to Da Niu and asked, "Do you think Da Niu also wants to buy a house since Sanzhu bought one?"

"I asked big brother, and he agreed to borrow money, but he declined eventually," Shu Yu said. Seeing the old lady's frowning expression, she guessed that she knew that housing prices in Jiangyuan County would rise in the future and thought that not buying now would be a loss of millions.

Shu Yu couldn't help but smile and sat beside the old lady, putting her arm around her shoulder. "Grandma, if big brother doesn't want to buy, then he doesn't have to. When we have money in the future, we can let him buy a house in the capital city."

The old lady couldn't help but scold her, "The capital city? Aren't houses there even more expensive? With the little silver Da Niu has, how can he afford it?"

"That's not necessarily true. In the future, big brother will work with me, and I definitely won't mistreat him, right?"

What Shu Yu didn't say was that the sunflower seeds were discovered by her and Da Niu together. Da Niu had taken care of their early cultivation efforts mostly by himself. In terms of effort, Da Niu had put in more than her.

The two of them could be said to contribute money and skills respectively. Therefore, when they had a harvest of sunflowers, Shu Yu planned to share the profits with him. She couldn't just treat him like when she asked him to take care of the store and gave him a salary as the manager.

"Big Brother is honest and has been working hard without expecting anything in return. I can't take advantage of him, can I?"

The old lady held Shu Yu's hand. "But you shouldn't be at a disadvantage either."

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 Chapter 90: Tracking

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