Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 416: Driven Out of Liu Yang Village (2)_1

Chapter 416: Chapter 416: Driven Out of Liu Yang Village (2)_1

"Dad, do we really have to change Tang Xin’s household registration? Can’t we just incorporate her into our family registry without changing it?"

After breakfast, while Tang Xin was washing the dishes, Xin Er stealthily pulled her father aside in the courtyard and urgently voiced her plea.

Today was the day Mo Qingze was taking Tang Xin to the Government Office to change her registration. Xin Er genuinely considered Tang Xin a good friend and couldn’t bear to see her enter into servant status.

Mo Qingze looked at his little daughter with a gentle expression and was not angry at her somewhat presumptuous request, "Xin Er, I can’t agree to your request."

Seeing his little daughter’s eyes dim with dashed hopes, he continued, "You’re growing up day by day and should understand some principles of interacting with others. Your dad isn’t often at home and can’t instruct you carefully, so you should learn more from your sister. In the future, you will understand why I didn’t agree to your request."

The ten-year-old girl looked at her father, puzzled by his words. Out of admiration and respect for her father, Xin Er did not throw a tantrum as some unreasonable young girls might. Still, she felt somewhat distressed and remained quiet for a moment.

Mo Qingze sighed softly, patted her head, and said nothing more.

Tang Xin finished washing the dishes and encountered Mo Qingze and his daughter coming in from outside. Seeing Xin Er’s complexion not looking too well, and feeling guilty, she guessed the gist of the matter. Moved, she stepped forward, took Xin Er’s hand, and her smile did not seem forced.

She was very aware that once she changed her registration at the Government Office, she would transform from a good citizen into a servant. If it were before, she would never have accepted this willingly, but after having stayed with the Mo Family for two days and no one really treating her as a servant, she felt that even if she did enter into servant status, the Mo Family’s attitude towards her wouldn’t change much. With this thought, her heart wasn’t too heavy.

Mo Yan had already readied the carriage and was wickedly amusing Little Black with a carrot. Seeing her father bringing Tang Xin over, she quickly stuffed the carrot into Little Black’s mouth and took out a shopping list from her sleeve, handing it to him: "Dad, here’s a list of New Year’s goods that we need to purchase. Please bring them back when you get a chance!"

The New Year’s goods should have been prepared earlier, but it had been snowing incessantly for half a month, preventing them from buying in town. Besides the sacrificial offerings of incense and fireworks for ancestral worship, the four gifts (pastries, brown sugar, alcohol, tea) used for visiting friends and relatives during New Year’s had to be there, not to mention oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and various other necessities that also needed replenishing.

Mo Qingze checked the list and, seeing that everything the house needed was included, nodded and put it away.

Tang Xin, who couldn’t read, was astonished at the full page of items on the paper, and after seeing the food and items the Mo Family had used over the past two days, she gained a deeper understanding of the Mo Family’s wealth.

Not long after Mo Qingze took Tang Xin away, the bells in the courtyard rang. It was Yang Bao coming to find someone. Learning that Mo Qingze had gone into the city, he had to leave a message with Mo Yan to come to his house once they returned, not specifying the matter before hastily departing.

Mo Yan stood at the entrance, mulling over whether it was about setting village rules or dealing with the incident of Wang Dali and others attempting to extort the family. Either way, it didn’t seem to be bad news.

In the evening when Mo Qingze returned, even though he hid it well, Mo Yan still detected an unexpected expression on his face and, upon checking the items he bought back, realized that several were missing, which made her heart sink.

"Tang Xin, did something happen in the city today?" As soon as Mo Qingze went to Yang Bao’s house, Mo Yan called Tang Xin into the courtyard and asked with some urgency.

Tang Xin, who was new to the Mo Family, was unaware of any nuances regarding Mo Qingze’s mood and found Mo Yan’s question a bit odd; nevertheless, she thought carefully before finally shaking her head: "The Scholar took me out from the Government Office, we bought New Year’s supplies on the street, and then came back. Nothing happened!"

Mo Yan frowned slightly, not wanting to give up, "Think carefully, did my dad meet anyone familiar, did he talk to anyone?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Xin’s expression grew serious. She thought for a long time with her head bowed and then suddenly her eyes lit up, "We passed by a jewelry shop, and the Scholar seemed to want to buy you and Xin Er some jewelry. He was about to go in but after stepping one foot inside, he quickly backed out and hurried away. There were quite a few people in the shop choosing jewelry at the time, and I am not sure whom the Scholar might have seen..."

After hearing this, Mo Yan was almost certain that the problem had arisen in the jewelry shop. Had her father come across someone with whom he had a past conflict, causing him to hurry away despite having already stepped inside?

No, that wasn’t right; her father was a mild-mannered man and, even if he had a dispute with someone, it wouldn’t have been something he started. If he had actually encountered someone, he wouldn’t have simply avoided them like this. And if it was a trivial person or matter, his reaction wouldn’t have been so strong.

Unable to discern the true reason, Mo Yan was worried but could only put it aside for the time being, deciding to subtly inquire when her father returned from Yang Bao’s house.

She ended up waiting for quite some time. As Mo Yan suspected, Yang Bao was indeed seeking Mo Qingze regarding village rules. After ten days of repeated discussions, Yang Bao and several elders in the village finally drafted a complete set of village rules.

They called Mo Qingze over, firstly, to seek the opinion of the Scholar and asking him to put the village rules in writing, which would then be declared in front of all villagers; secondly, to deal with the matter of Wang Dali and others’ extortion and to ask for Mo Qingze’s opinion as the victim.

Mo Qingze had not heard from Mo Yan about Wang Dali and others’ attempt at extortion, and only learned of it when Yang Bao brought it up. After hearing the entire account, he was extremely furious! He could tolerate others plotting against him, but he would never let anyone who bullied his children go unpunished. This time, Wang Dali and his actions had truly crossed his line and provoked his wrath.

Therefore, when Yang Bao, considering the village rules, expressed his opinion on the punishment for Wang Dali and others, Mo Qingze did not feel any pity for them. Instead, he thought the punishment was too lenient. Coupled with his unpleasant encounter during the day, he was already in a bad mood, and his words took on a tinge of discontent.

While the others’ actions could be set aside for the moment, Wang Dali behaved like a ruffian, seeking trouble at his doorstep time and again. Merely driving their family out of Liu Yang Village was getting off too easily!