Hearing what Mo Yongxi said made Mrs. Hong’s mood suddenly much better, and she couldn’t stop praising her daughter for her intelligence. Since her daughter was living in the city, if that white-eyed wolf succeeded, she could leverage its influence without it knowing, and the one benefitting would be her own daughter. Even better if it didn’t succeed—best if it never succeeded, hmph!
The mother and daughter whispered to each other for quite so ti until a servant outside announced lunchti. Mrs. Hong realized it was already noon, and suddenly rembering the true purpose of her visit, hurriedly stopped Mo Yongxi, who was about to go to lunch. She told her about the fierce beasts raised by the Mo Family and asked for Mo Yongxi’s advice, saying that it would be best if the entire Mo Family were taken to the Governnt Office and taught a harsh lesson.
After listening, Mo Yongxi frowned and said, "Mother could’ve let that woman with the surna Wang report to the Governnt Office. What’s the use of telling this?"
Mrs. Hong replied anxiously, "You think I don’t understand that? But that white-eyed wolf had a stroke of dog’s luck—there’s a classmate of his who is none other than Second Master Han, a very imposing figure. Even The Fair and Upright God in the Governnt Office doesn’t phase him! Last ti when soone saw wild beasts hidden at their ho, and it reached Wang Dali’s ears, he led a group of governnt officers to search that white-eyed wolf’s house early in the morning, only to be blocked by Second Master Han. If we file a report to the Governnt Office again, I’m afraid it’ll be useless."
Mo Yongxi’s expression darkened, and she spoke with an unpleasant look, "If that white-eyed wolf has backing, what can you achieve by asking ? The Fang Family may be a prominent household in Liu Yang Village, but they are nobodies in Jing City. If I report to the Governnt Office, who would even recognize the young mistress of the Fang Family? I’d be humiliated and thrown out. I can’t afford to lose that face!"
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Hong grew even more anxious, "Aren’t you acquainted with a noble person? Can’t you use that noble person’s na at the Governnt Office? Even if that na doesn’t work, surely that noble person must know other even more powerful officials. Anyway, it would be best if we made it so that the white-eyed wolf’s family could never turn over a new leaf! And who knows, maybe their possessions could beco ours in the end. Could you possibly miss out on a share of that?"
Mo Yongxi was naturally greedy, and upon being provoked by Mrs. Hong, she instantly thought of the Mo Family’s extensive orchards, dicinal herb fields, paddies, and the large estate with chicken farming. She trembled with excitent—how could she resist?
Although she was tempted, she knew her limitations. She may have made the acquaintance of a noble person, but in the eyes of that noble person, she was less than a lapdog—not at all able to persuade the noble to help deal with that white-eyed wolf family.
Seeing her silent, Mrs. Hong took it as acquiescence and her face lit up with joy. "No need to ponder any longer—if this is successful, the benefits to our family will be trendous. Without resorting to the influence of a white-eyed wolf, you’ll be able to firmly establish your position in your in-laws’ ho. From now on, whenever you go out, see who dares laugh at you as a poor, powerless person of humble origin!"
Mo Yongxi clenched her teeth and, in the end, greed overca reason as she nodded emphatically, "Mother, it’s settled then. I will find that noble person tomorrow and make sure that the white-eyed wolf’s family never gets back on their feet."
"Oh my, I truly didn’t love you in vain, you are indeed my good treasure. I can rely on you for the rest of my life!" Mrs. Hong was overjoyed, embracing Mo Yongxi and showering her with praise.
Mo Yongxi was quite pleased with herself, and looking at her reflection in the mirror, which now seed to shine brighter than before, her eyes swirled with boundless ambition!
...
Little did Mo Yan know that Mo Yongxi, even after marrying ’into fortune’ in the city, was still scheming against her family. At that mont, Mo Yan was busy in the field with Tang Xin, directing the villagers to dig canals and build greenhouse fras, hoping to sow by the end of the month so that the vegetables could reach the market sooner and earn money earlier.
Including the Mo Family, thirty-six households in the village had invested in planting greenhouse vegetables. Naturally, not all their lands were adjacent to each other. To facilitate future irrigation and managent, they decided to center around the thirty mu of Mo Family land (originally twenty mu, with an additional ten mu acquired from the grandfather and grandson of the Li Family, totaling thirty mu) and rented the remaining thirty-five mu not owned by these households.
All the lands together amounted to ninety mu, a size Mo Yan had calculated based on the consumption of vegetables by the city and its surrounding residents during winter. Ninety mu might not be sufficient, but for the first year of such large-scale planting, Mo Yan’s calculation couldn’t be precise. Moreover, the other thirty-five households nearly depleted their savings to gather enough silver for the materials needed to build the greenhouses; they couldn’t reasonably be expected to sell their food staples to collect more silver.
Although Mo Yan could put forth all the silver herself and deduct it from the earnings later, this would indirectly teach the villagers to ’trap a white wolf with empty hands.’ Should the villagers face situations requiring silver in the future, they might habitually resort to similar thods to borrow from the Mo Family. When that ti cos, should the Mo Family lend or not?
Despite this, one-third of these thirty-six households felt that ninety mu of land was too much. However, the majority ruled, and the preparations—tarpaulins, bamboo, and wood were still made with ninety mu in mind.
To avoid any disputes over profits, the inco from these ninety mu of land would be distributed based on a credit system drafted by Mo Yan. According to the rules, each household could only provide two laborers, with each type of work being assigned a value based on its difficulty. Dirtier and more exhausting tasks would earn more points, while easier tasks fewer points.
The more and better work you do, the more credits you get, and the more silver you earn; those who work less and are lazy naturally receive fewer credits, and thus less silver.
Mo Yan left the matter of credits to Tang Xin, supervised by the village head and three other highly respected villagers. This system was currently the fairest thod Mo Yan could think of...
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