Moving the whole family to the capital?
Although they coveted what Mu Xinghe possessed, the Mu family had never actually thought of it that way.
You must understand that moving the whole family is a big deal. Once the people leave, what will happen to the family's land and houses? In the new place, they will have to buy a house to settle down. The Mu family doesn't have much money, and they are going to the capital. How could they possibly afford to buy a house? They will probably have to sleep on the streets.
Therefore, the Mu family members were quite apprehensive, and Mu Laosan voiced his doubts.
"Selling the family's land and houses, twelve mu of land can fetch 120 taels, and the house and its land can fetch 150 taels, totaling 270 taels. Adding our savings, we have a little over 300 taels, which is more than enough to support us on our way to the capital. We'll even have plenty left over once we get there," Elder Mu analyzed with great experience.
The old man of the Mu family had just passed away, and the family property and land were all together, which made it convenient to distribute.
“No way, brother. I heard that a house in the capital costs at least two or three thousand taels of silver. Even if we sell our land and houses, we won’t even get a piece of the pie,” said Mu Lao Er.
"That's easy. Don't forget what we're going to the capital for." A greedy glint appeared in Boss Mu's eyes.
"If we just find Mu Xinghe, we can get him to give us a house to settle down. He's an official in Beijing now, and he's probably amassed dozens of properties. Depending on the situation, he might not only give us a place to live, but also several more places for us to collect rent from."
Boss Mu spoke with great logic and reason.
The Mu family's eyes lit up. That made sense. They were originally looking for Mu Xinghe. If they didn't rely on him for food and drink, who else could they rely on?
“Providing food and lodging is just the basics. Now that he has the ability, he should arrange a position for every member of our Mu family so that we can also receive a salary, live off the government, and have a worry-free life. It would be best if we could rise through the ranks,” said Mu Lao Si.
The herdsmen were overjoyed. They had houses to live in, ate delicacies every day, and even held official positions. Wasn't this much better than being peasants in this remote place?
“I don’t believe my cousin would bother with us,” said the maid from the third branch of the family. “Ever since he became an official, he has kept his distance from us and has never come back to visit us. He has obviously forgotten the Mu family and is an ungrateful wretch. He might even still think he is a member of the Qiao family.”
“Yes, we have to be careful about moving. What if we don’t like things in Beijing and can’t settle down there? We won’t be able to come back to Datian Village either. What will we do then?” said Mu Lao Er’s wife.
Mu Laoda snorted: "Are your brains made of blockheads? What kind of place is that? That's the capital. Mu Xinghe is a government official in the capital. The most important thing for a government official is not only to be capable, but also to be filial. If he is ungrateful and turns his back on his family, once such a thing is exposed, he will be pointed at and gossiped about, and may even lose his job."
“He can ignore us here, but in a place like that, we can completely control him.”
After hearing Elder Mu's reasoned and well-founded analysis, even the conservative women and maids were moved.
“I’m twenty years old this year and I’m still not married. When I get to the capital, I want to find a wealthy family to marry into and become a noble lady. I’ll be waited on hand and foot from morning till night. It couldn’t be more wonderful,” said Mu Laosan’s youngest daughter.
Mu Xinghe was born to the fifth branch of the family. Several of his cousins had already married, leaving only two: Mu Taoxian, the youngest daughter of the third son of the Mu family, who was twenty years old, and Mu Taoqiu, the only daughter of the fourth son of the Mu family, who was nineteen years old.
Mu Taoxian was ugly, with squinty eyes, sausage lips, a bulbous nose, and a face full of pockmarks, making her intimidating. Mu Taoqiu was of average appearance and should have no trouble getting married, but she was disabled and walked with a limp, which was very unsightly.
Seeing the disgusted and rejecting looks from their brothers and sisters-in-law, they were originally as anxious as ants on a hot pan, but now that they were going to the capital, Mu Xinghe would make arrangements for them, so what was there to be afraid of?
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