Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 435: New Year’s Red Envelope - Picking a Quarrel (2)_1

Chapter 435: Chapter 435: New Year’s Red Envelope - Picking a Quarrel (2)_1

The thumb-sized little ox was delicately crafted and lifelike, its naïve charm even more endearing than that of Little Yellow, who had already grown up at home. There was a hole on top, just a bit larger than a needle’s eye, through which one could thread a red cord to wear it around the neck as a pendant.

Zhenzhen fondled it incessantly, unable to part with it. Under the envious gazes of the Yun Zhao Siblings, she proudly tucked it into her purse.

Mo Yan and her sister Xin Er also knelt down to wish their father a happy new year, each receiving a purse. Like Zhenzhen’s, theirs contained ornaments corresponding to their respective zodiac signs: Mo Yan’s was a pair of lovely little horses, while Xin Er’s was a pair of adorable little dogs.

Then, it was the turn of the Yun Zhao Siblings. The two knelt together on the cushion, with a look of admiration, they respectfully kowtowed three times to their adoptive father and uttered auspicious words with utmost sincerity. At last, Yun Zhao, born in the Year of the Ox, likewise received a little ox, and his dragon-zodiac sister received a little dragon.

Finally, it was the turn of the Grandfather and grandson of the Li Family and Tang Xin.

As servants of the Mo Family, Lizhong with his two descendants and Tang Xin would have normally knelt to wish their masters a happy new year. However, the Mo Family did not encourage such customs, and naturally, Mo Yan and the others would not allow them to kneel.

The red envelopes for the four were prepared by Mo Yan. She was never particular about Silver Coin, and she was always generous to those who diligently served her family. She gave Lizhong a straightforward gift—placing six taels of silver inside his purse without any fancy decorations. Lixiu received a pair of silver hairpins, Liyan got a pair of Auspicious Cloud Silver Bracelets, and Tang Xin received the same, albeit with a different pattern.

After the family had finished exchanging New Year’s greetings among themselves, it was time to head to the village to wish others a happy new year. However, someone had to remain at home to host the neighbors who came to visit. Thus, Lizhong and the others stayed behind, while Mo Qingze led Mo Yan and the five others to Old Man Mo’s House first.

On the way, they encountered many adults and children out to give their New Year’s greetings, greeting each other with a cheerful "Happy New Year." Although most of them could not afford new clothes and even wore patched ones, their faces were nevertheless alight with brilliant smiles, and their conversations brimmed with hope for life.

Ordinary yet true, yearning yet content! Mo Yan’s heart, which had been troubled and restless all night, was miraculously soothed. A smile of relief surfaced on her face.

She had dear family members, adorable animal companions, a comfortable life, and dreams that were being fulfilled one by one... No matter what the future held, at least she should savor the present. As for those worries—let them go to hell!

When they arrived at Lao Mo’s House, to their surprise, everyone was there. Aside from Mo Hong’s family who pulled a long face and turned away upon seeing them, and Mo Yongxi, who eyed Mo Yan’s new clothes with envy, jealousy, and resentment, the others were fairly welcoming, especially Mo Wu’s family, who served tea enthusiastically.

Seeing that the water in the tea bowls was the color of brown sugar, clearly indicating it had been sweetened, a completely enraged Mrs. Hong exploded at the sight, unable to bear even the thought of offering her nephews and grandnephews a drink. She pointed at Mo Wu and furiously berated her, "You reckless woman, just like those damned ingrates struck by lightning, eating and drinking from our family, and now wasting things like this, you get out!"

This scathing criticism, though not direct, caused the faces of Old Man Mo and his three sons to turn extremely ugly. They immediately looked towards Mo Yan and the others, but saw them playing with Si Nier and Little Stone as if they hadn’t heard a thing, which made them breathe a sigh of relief.

No matter who was right or wrong, it was the New Year, and if the two families started a row, it would not only become a laughingstock to others but also be ominous. Moreover, they wanted to bridge the gap between the two families. Even if they couldn’t be as close as one family, they certainly shouldn’t be worse than strangers!

Seeing Mrs. Hong with her hands on her hips, still nagging and cursing nonstop, Old Man Mo was infuriated and slammed the table as he shouted, "Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and here you are throwing a tantrum again. Do you really want to chase away all the good fortune from this house and tear this family apart before you’re satisfied?"

"Humph, if it wasn’t for that woman ruining our household, would I need to discipline her? Why are you being fierce towards me? If you have the guts, tell eldest son to divorce her." Mrs. Hong lost face in front of all the younger relatives and, in a fury, spoke without thinking, lashing out at Old Man Mo and opening her mouth to divorce Mo Wu.

"You shut your mouth! If you dare to make a scene again, I’ll be the first to divorce you!" Old Man Mo didn’t want to waste any more words on his unreasonable spouse and directly threatened her harshly.

"You..." Mrs. Hong was seething with anger and was just about to explode when she saw Old Man Mo’s face darkening with anger. She instantly did not dare to utter another word, but she glared at Mo Wu with deep resentment.

Seeing her quiet down, Old Man Mo was satisfied inside but had quite a few complaints about Mo Wu, who was becoming increasingly "unruly."

Brown sugar was a precious commodity, more expensive than pork. Since fleeing here, he had never seen it. It was unthinkable for the mistress of the eldest son’s household to have such a luxury and not offer it to the elders! It was no wonder his wife took the opportunity to create a scene. If it wasn’t for the presence of guests and the fact that it was the first day of the Lunar New Year, the eldest son’s wife should indeed be well-disciplined!

Mo Wu, who was chatting with Mo Yan, had no clue about his thoughts, and even if she knew, she wouldn’t care. She bought the brown sugar with her own silver, and she was free to give it to whoever she wanted. If she did not wish to give it away, nobody could take advantage of her.

"Yan girl, when you go to pay New Year visits to other families later, could you take Si Nier and Shitou with you, and let them get to know more people? These two children are so cooped up at home that they’ve become almost wooden, and no matter how much I coax them, whether it’s because they’re timid or shy, they just don’t want to go out. It’s really worrying," Mo Wu asked lovingly as she looked at her young son and daughter, her heart aching.

The poor reputation of her own family had also impacted her children, making it difficult for them to find playmates. The older ones were somewhat better, busy with chores at home, but the two younger ones were timid and had stopped wanting to go out after being mocked by other thoughtless children a few times.

"Alright, Auntie, don’t worry. I’ll take good care of them," Mo Yan didn’t know the underlying reasons and simply thought the two little ones were introverted, so she agreed.

Having been patiently looked after by Mo Yan before, the two youngsters depended heavily on her. Although they were still reluctant to go out, a few gentle words of persuasion from their cousin Mo Yan had them obediently taking her hand and following along.

However, with the silent approval of Old Man Mo and others, Mo Yongxi stubbornly insisted on joining Mo Yan and the rest to visit other families for the New Year.

The village roads were not the private property of the Mo family; if Mo Yongxi wanted to come along, Mo Yan and the others had no reason to refuse. Yet Mo Yan did not have a high opinion of Mo Yongxi, who burned their own wood and damaged the fruit seedlings. She did not warm up to her forced familiarity and swiftly shut her down, leading Si Nier and Little Stone in the front.

Little did she know that because of this, Mo Yongxi harbored resentment which nearly led to Mo Yan suffering a great loss...

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