Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 127 The Real Culprit (2)_1

Chapter 127: Chapter 127 The Real Culprit (2)_1

Lizhong’s eyes lit up, and he sat up abruptly from the bed, excitedly saying, "Yan girl, that’s a brilliant idea, such a brilliant idea, how come I never thought of it before!"

Mo Yan smiled without saying a word, but she felt torn inside, hoping that the woman was Lixiu, yet hoping she was not.

The very next day at dawn, Lizhong left the house without even eating breakfast, eager to put Mo Yan’s suggested plan into action.

Mo Yan didn’t dare to delay either, and after eating breakfast she too left the house. Beggars were everywhere, so when the time came, she could simply arrange a few to lead Lizhong to the secret brothel.

Within two days, Lizhong had received some news about his daughter from a young beggar, and he went full of anticipation to verify it.

Seeing that everything was under her control, Mo Yan then shifted her focus to the fruit seedlings, but before she could find the right merchant to bring back apple, grape, and other fruit seedlings from the Barbarian Countries, Punishing Shopkeeper came to her door, bringing with him news that filled her with immense joy.

"Punishing Shopkeeper, are you telling the truth? Are those fruit seedlings really for me to plant?" Mo Yan could hardly believe it; it was like being offered a pillow while dozing off.

It turned out that not long ago, the Court had sent people to the Barbarian Countries to transport a batch of fruit seedlings back, and these seedlings were supposed to be cultivated by officials from the Agricultural Politics Department. However, in recent years, the Court had spent a great deal of manpower and resources on high-quality fruit seedlings that the Agricultural Politics Department had failed to cultivate any fruit, to Emperor Huian’s great dissatisfaction.

Yan Junyu, after hearing from Punishing Shopkeeper that Mo Yan was looking to plant fruit trees and was searching for fruit seedlings, took it to heart. He grasped the opportunity while paying respects to the Queen Mother to persuade Emperor Huian to transfer the fruit seedlings to his name for cultivation.

Emperor Huian, already dissatisfied with the Agricultural Politics Department, knew that even if they were given the seedlings, they would not manage to cultivate any fruit, so with a wave of his hand, he agreed.

Who knew that the officials from the Agricultural Politics Department would stubbornly think that Yan Junyu looked down on them. They insisted on keeping the seedlings to prove him wrong and to grow fruit, but Yan Junyu managed to outmaneuver them with a few words, almost to the point of making them vomit blood.

The argument between the two sides remained unresolved until Emperor Huian intervened, asking both parties to step back and split the seedlings evenly.

"Miss Mo, this matter is absolutely true, but the master said you have to ensure that these fruit seedlings survive, and preferably bear fruit. That way, the master can also give those old stubborn ones some explanation," Punishing Shopkeeper said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan felt moved yet slightly worried. "It won’t cause any trouble for your Family Head, will it?"

Punishing Shopkeeper inwardly nodded, thinking that the trouble was nothing for the master to worry about. "Minor troubles aren’t worth a thought to the master; Miss Mo, rest assured," he said in private.

Mo Yan, upon hearing that, immediately thought of Yan Junyu’s status and nodded in relief.

Since the survival of fruit seedlings was not easy and they had undergone a long journey, it was better to get them into the ground sooner. After discussing, Punishing Shopkeeper arranged for Xiao Zhu to deliver the seedlings the next day.

As Yan Junyu had done her such a big favor, Mo Yan, practicing the principle of reciprocity, gave Punishing Shopkeeper some chickens and vegetables from her space before he left.

Though Punishing Shopkeeper appeared reluctant on the surface, he was actually overjoyed inside. Every time he brought these items back, his master was exceptionally pleasant and rewarded him with many good things.

With the biggest challenge being resolved, all that was left now was to clear the wasteland.

Seeing that spring had only a small tail left, Mo Yan could not afford any further delay. She directly took two pounds of meat to Liu Yang Village to find Yang Bao for help, and broached the subject of hiring people to clear the mountain.

Yang Bao readily agreed, and although it was the busy farming season when households were occupied, and the Mo Family had employed a batch of laborers to build their house, reducing the available workforce, the first step of clearing the wilderness involved removing weeds and bushes, which even half-grown children and women could do, so there was no need to worry about a shortage of people.

After leaving Yang Bao’s house, Mo Yan planned to visit the construction site. On the way, she encountered the last two people she wanted to see—Mo Yonglu and his daughter Mo Erni.

"Uncle, Cousin!" she greeted them coldly, stepping aside to let them pass.

At that moment, Mo Yonglu was struggling with a large bundle of firewood on his back, and Mo Erni also shouldered a bundle, her head and body covered in broken grass and leaves, clearly having just returned from chopping wood on the mountain.

Seeing Mo Yan, Mo Yonglu seemed embarrassed, quickly muttered a response, and hurried past. Mo Erni, however, gave Mo Yan a cold glance, her eyes conveying an unclear mix of jealousy and hostility. As they brushed past each other, she intentionally bumped into Mo Yan with her shoulder.

Mo Yan reacted quickly and dodged, avoiding a solid hit, but her face still got scraped by a protruding stick of firewood from Erni’s bundle. The scratch didn’t break the skin but was slightly stinging.

"Serves you right!" Mo Erni turned her head, staring fiercely at Mo Yan and spat before walking away under the urging of Mo Yonglu, her face clouded over.

Mo Yan touched the scratch on her face and watched the backs of the father and daughter, a faint wry smile forming at the corner of her mouth.

Mo Erni had always detested the original host; it was normal for her to show animosity. However, Mo Yan was puzzled by Mo Yonglu’s attitude; could it be that after being flogged thirty times and spending nearly a month in jail, he had turned over a new leaf?

If that was truly the case, it would indeed be a rare piece of good news!

Mo Yan was somewhat informed about the recent plight of Lao Mo’s house. It was said that to lessen Mo Yongshou’s guilt, Old Man Mo had compensated Punishing Shopkeeper with the last bit of Silver they had, leaving them in dire straits.

Afterward, ashamed to work at the Mo Family, Mo Yongfu had gone to the mountains to chop and sell wood. However, a hundred pounds of dry wood wasn’t worth much. When Old Man Mo fell ill and needed medicine, the pork and chicken Mo Yan had Lin Meng send to Lao Mo’s House were also traded for medicine money. Since Mo Yonglu’s return, he too had been taking his axe to the mountains every day to chop wood and then carry it to the city to sell.

Everyone must pay the price for their actions! If that lesson could lead Mo Yonglu to reform and stop scheming, working together as a family, they would eventually live a good life. But if he continued plotting against others, he would surely bring about his downfall.

Mo Yan felt no sympathy for them, only pity for the innocent children involved.

Meanwhile, Mo Yonglu and Mo Erni walked one after the other. Suddenly, Mo Yonglu turned and cautioned his daughter, "Erni, don’t act like you did today when you see Yan girl next time."

Mo Erni stared at her father in disbelief, angrily dropping the firewood and shouting sharply, "Why should a base-born girl like her matter? Don’t forget, it was her family who abandoned us, leading you to jail and humiliation in the streets!"

Mo Yonglu’s expression turned stiff, his heart aching as he looked at his somewhat crazed daughter, filled with regret. "What happened was my fault and your Third Uncle’s fault. If it were you, would you have helped?"

But Mo Erni was not receptive to this reasoning, her voice dark with malice. "What makes that wretch think she can compare to me? I want to see how long she can stay arrogant!"

Mo Yonglu was startled, associating her words with the night the wood caught fire, and he pleaded earnestly, "Erni, listen to your father, don’t do anything rash. Do you know if the incident that night becomes known, our family won’t be able to stay in Liu Yang Village anymore?"

Mo Erni’s face changed drastically, and she screamed, "You know about it?"