Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 356 Malicious Arson by the Zhang Family (3)_1

Chapter 356: Chapter 356 Malicious Arson by the Zhang Family (3)_1

Wang Dali thought the attempt had failed and cursed out loud, "You worthless nag, can’t even handle such a trifle. If that girl won’t let it go, so what if you’d really let her hit you a few times? Once she calms down, wouldn’t all this blow over?"

"You, you good-for-nothing, are those the words of a sane man?" Sister-in-law Wang gave Wang Dali another punch in his body, "I’ve been with you for so many years and the first time I stayed in a brick house was someone else’s. If you were any capable, would I need to stoop so low to curry favor with smiles?"

Wang Dali pushed her away, impatiently saying, "What’s the use of saying all this? If that girl is appeased, won’t we be able to earn silver by following behind her? Look at those who are on good terms with her; isn’t each of their lives getting more prosperous by the day?"

Sister-in-law Wang snorted coldly, "That girl is too cunning and doesn’t buy any of my acts. It’s already good enough that she doesn’t fuss about the past. I’m not capable enough to make her happy."

Wang Dali’s eyes lit up, and he hugged Sister-in-law Wang’s sturdy waist with a grinning face, saying, "That girl is no longer holding onto the past? Does this mean that if the Mo Family has any good fortune in the future, we could also have a share?"

Sister-in-law Wang blushed, spat at him, and said with great pride, "That girl told us to rest easy; then let’s enjoy our stay in this place, with a house so nice it’s foolish not to live in it."

Wang Dali looked around at the bright and warm house, truly reluctant to move out, "But this isn’t our house. When the weather clears up and the house is repaired, we’ll have to move whether we like it or not."

"Hmph, you can move if you want, but I’m not willing to go back to that dilapidated straw shack that leaks from all corners and freezes people to death," Sister-in-law Wang said with disdain and pushed him aside, twisting her body away.

Wang Dali scratched his head, feeling utterly puzzled, "If we insist on staying put, that girl will surely evict us. It’d be quite embarrassing when that comes to pass."

Sister-in-law Wang snorted and a shrewd look flashed in her eyes, "The Mo Family cares about their reputation, right? By that time, we just need to come up with a plan to make it impossible for them to drive us out."

As soon as Wang Dali heard this, he immediately perked up, "Do you have a plan? Come on, tell your man."

Sister-in-law Wang gave him a disdainful look, "Am I not trying to think of one?"

Wang Dali glared at her, never more disappointed.

...

Given that the Niu Family’s circumstances weren’t good, and they had given her the Exploded Burned leaves, Mo Yan couldn’t just take them for nothing. That night, she steamed an extra basket of chicken broth meat buns and had Xin Er take them over under the pretense of delivering the dustpan.

There were twelve chicken broth meat buns in one basket, valued about the same as a dustpan full of Exploded Burned leaves, so the Niu Family wouldn’t feel they were taking advantage when accepting it.

Xin Er went to the Niu Family, worried that they wouldn’t accept the buns, so she put the dustpan with the buns on the table, said a few courteous words, and turned to run off.

Seeing the steaming, plump buns, the Niu Family had complicated looks on their faces. They had given the Exploded Burned leaves just to express their gratitude for the shelter extended by the Mo Family and had now received a basket of buns in return.

The children were overjoyed, lured by the delicious aroma of the buns as they gawked at their parents, swallowing saliva quietly; they couldn’t even have buns with such a strong meaty smell for New Year’s!

The Niu parents looked at their children’s eager gazes, feeling heartache, and knowing the buns couldn’t be sent back, split one for each of them. The remaining seven buns were left in the dustpan to sate the children’s cravings the next day.

The children, caring about their parents, saw that their parents weren’t eating, so they shared half of their buns with their parents. The first bun was split open, and the intense scent of meat made everyone’s mouth water uncontrollably.

The Niu parents, seeing the buns stuffed with lots of meaty filling, were somewhat reluctant to eat it. But prompted by the children, they took a cherished small bite, finding it more delicious than anything they had ever tasted before.

As the snow had melted during the day, the temperature at night dropped even lower, and people entered their dreams early. At the first hint of dawn, the Mo Family’s courtyard door was pounded loudly, which startled the people closest to the gate, who thought they were in a dream.

Before they could get up and check, Lixiu was already dressed and rushed out hurriedly. After asking through the gate, recognizing Wang Pangtou’s voice, she quickly opened the courtyard door.

Seeing Wang Pangtou’s anxious face, Lixiu was taken aback, "Why have you come back at this hour? Is there trouble in the store?"

Wang Pangtou stepped inside, nodding messily, "Aunt Li, go quickly and urge the Little boss, please have her hurry into the city."

Lixiu, worried, didn’t wait to ask further, and hurriedly ran towards Mo Yan’s courtyard.

Mo Yan had just woken up and was still lying in bed playing with Mao Tuan when she heard the store was in trouble and instantly sat up, quickly putting on her clothes. As she hastily arrived at the main hall, Wang Pangtou briefly explained the situation.

"What, the Zhang Family set fire to the warehouse?" Mo Yan could hardly believe her own ears, "Do you know why they would do such a thing?"

Turns out, last night the Zhang Mother and Son sneaked to the Mo Family’s warehouse, were about to start a fire with oil when they were caught on the spot by Little Zhu and his friends guarding the warehouse, and were taken to the Mo Family Fragrant Rice Shop. Since it was too late last night and the city gates were closed, Wang Pangtou had to wait at the gate until it opened to come back and deliver the message.

After hearing Mo Yan’s question, Wang Pangtou looked troubled and didn’t know how to respond, so he bravely said, "The Zhang Mother and Son are now in the store, the Little boss can ask them personally."

Mo Yan nodded, knowing that the priority was to go to the store and clarify things. If it was just the Zhang Family seeking revenge on the Li Family it was still manageable, but if the Xue Family was scheming behind the scenes, she had to be cautious.

Yesterday’s thaw had left a thick layer of ice on the roads, making them very slippery. Mo Yan wrapped Little Black’s hooves with coarse cloth and wound hemp rope around the cart wheels, hoping it would help with grip against the ice.

This measure was somewhat effective, and coupled with Little Black’s moderate pace, the journey went quite smoothly, taking only an extra quarter hour longer than usual to reach the store.

By then, Lizhong was already waiting outside, wearing a deep fatigue on his face. When he saw Mo Yan, he hung his head in self-reproach...