Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 42 Allocating Land for Housing_1

Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Allocating Land for Housing_1

The refugees gathered north of the city were many, and there were also quite a few within the city. However, those who could enter the city, most of them either had money in hand or connections and relatives, so it was not difficult for them to settle down and acquire property in the city.

Ordinary peasant families could only honestly follow the government’s arrangements and be relocated to villages under the jurisdiction of Jingji. Those with money might buy some good farmland while those without money had to put more effort into cultivating the wasteland allocated to them by the government, but it was still possible to provide for the family.

The Mo Family had over a thousand taels of silver, which was not a small amount. With some luck in finding a suitable house and shop, it was enough to settle down in the city. However, neither Mo Yan nor Mo Qingze wanted to do so.

Mo Yan felt that with Space, it was much easier to become rich compared to others, but in order to keep others from noticing the secret of Space, they must buy land and farm it as a cover.

Mo Qingze, on the other hand, felt that human hearts were too complex. A moment of carelessness could lead you to fall into another’s trap. He was not good at doing business and would never let his daughter be exposed to public scrutiny. Therefore, he thought it was better to live a stable life farming in the countryside.

As for Lizhong, he had three hundred taels of silver and planned to buy some farmland to cultivate. If he couldn’t farm it himself, he would rent it out to others or hire someone to farm it. Life would not be too hard, and as long as he was within the vicinity of Jing City, he could find his daughter. He preferred the simple and plain life of the countryside.

After the two families had made their plans for their new lives, Mo Qingze and Lizhong decided to go to the Government Office to register together. This increased their chances of being allocated to the same place and being neighbors, which would provide mutual support in the future.

When Mo Yan learned of this, she had an idea. With Space and silver in hand, no matter where she was assigned, life would not be difficult for her, but it was different for Lin Yong and his family. Since it was winter and there was no crop in the fields, it was certain times were tough. If they could be assigned to the same place, she could lend a hand. Lin Yong had helped their family immensely—it would be remiss not to help in return.

But before she could seek them out, Lin Yong, Lin Da, and the others took the initiative to come to her.

"Brother Lin, please come inside!"

Seeing them, Mo Yan greeted them warmly, her heart faintly guessing their purpose.

Indeed, after they sat down and had some tea, Lin Yong quickly stated their reason for coming, which was exactly as Mo Yan had speculated.

"That’s great, I was just thinking about this and planning to find you guys!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Da and the others were very happy. Mo Yan was the benefactor of the entire Lin Jiaao. They knew of the previous hardships her family faced. Such a small family was too vulnerable, and without someone to help, they could easily be bullied by others. Being assigned to the same place meant that wouldn’t be a worry anymore.

Lin Yong thought even deeper. For more than two months, Mo Yan had supplied them with so much food and eggs. At first, he really thought she was a city person, dealing with the produce and vegetables from a relative’s land to help them. But later, he learned that her family had also fled here, which meant she must have bought the food and eggs with silver.

After learning this, Lin Yong had many thoughts. Such a sincere and kind-hearted girl was too noticeable to others. If they didn’t watch out for her, she could easily fall victim to someone else’s schemes. There were many bad people in these times, so that’s why, without a second thought, he helped them and even sought out someone he thought he’d never seek help from in his life to resolve the Mo Family’s troubles. He felt it was all worth it!

Mo Yan had no idea what was going through his mind as he hurriedly urged his father to go with them to the Government Office to register so that they could return early for lunch.

Lin Yong and more than a dozen others were all young men with big appetites, and they felt awkward about eating at the Mo Family, so they repeatedly declined. Only after Mo Yan got angry did they reluctantly agree, secretly planning to control their appetites and eat less when they returned.

Mo Yan didn’t care what they were thinking. Once they had gone their way, she took the Silver Coin to the butcher’s shop and bought a large piece of fine pork belly, seven or eight pounds of spare ribs, a set of pork liver, and seven or eight big crucian carp. She also bought three blocks of tofu. With these ingredients and the vegetables and fruits from Space, she had enough to prepare a feast.

Considering that they were all young men in their twenties and thirties who probably enjoyed drinking, she went to the cellar and fetched several pounds of good wine.

The sight of her returning with so many items after a short while was no longer surprising to the three little ones. In fact, the living standard of the Mo Family was quite good, as they almost never ran out of pork, and they ate eggs every day. Combined with Mo Yan’s excellent cooking, everyone always had a full meal and seemed to be gaining weight, especially Zhenzhen who was young and now had an obvious baby fat on her round face. Mo Yan liked to pinch it when she had the chance—the feeling was just too good!

With washing and chopping, and with the help of Xin Er and Liyan, the meal was quickly prepared. Although there weren’t many dishes, only eight in total, each was served in large portions in clay pots. There was no choice—there were just too many people, and using plates and bowls simply wouldn’t suffice.

After two hours, Lin Da and the others returned from registering at the Government Office and were amazed by the table full of dishes with rich colors, aromas, and flavors, their eyes bulging with disbelief!

Braised pork, steamed spare ribs, stir-fried pork liver with chili peppers, crucian carp tofu soup, potato braised chicken... My goodness, they hadn’t eaten this well even during the New Year!

Seeing them stare at the food with a look of bewilderment, as if they hadn’t eaten in eight hundred years, Lin Yong’s face darkened. He deeply regretted deciding to stay for the meal but, as the aroma of the food grew stronger, he couldn’t help swallowing his saliva.

At Mo Qingze’s invitation, everyone sat down around the dining table. Initially, they thought to eat less, not wanting to consume all the food of the host, but after taking the first bite, they wanted another, unable to stop themselves. Even Lin Yong couldn’t resist, devouring three large bowls of rice.

The meal lasted for nearly half an hour, and after it was over, almost all of the eight pots were empty, not even the soup was left.

Feeling embarrassed, Lin Yong and the others watched Mo Yan collect the empty pots without a change in expression, feeling that they had lost face.

After waiting for seven or eight days, the results of the land allocation from the Government Office finally came. As expected, the Mo Family, Li Family, and the Lin Clan were all assigned to a place called Liu Yang Village.

Soon, Mo Yan learned that this place named Liu Yang Village was located to the north of the city, with Yuhua Mountain to its back, about forty li from Jing City. Due to its poor soil and the presence of fierce beasts in the mountains, there was only a small village called Liu Yang Village, which was home to about a dozen families.

There were many untilled wastelands in Liu Yang Village, and quite a number of people were assigned there this time. Along with twenty-three households from the Mo Family, Li Family, and Lin Clan, there were eighty-three households from other regions.

Because it was wasteland with low crop yield and the Government Office allocated the land per capita, at five mu per person, the Mo Family of four received twenty mu. This land would be tax-free for three years; after that, each mu would be taxed as good land, requiring fifteen percent of the crop yield, which was relatively light compared to the thirty percent tax burden of the former dynasty.