Chapter 757 Mo Family Village
The account books left by Wang Binglan contain records of purchasing meat for the soldiers in the Northwest. Because the merchants were scattered, the prices were higher than those in the Forty-Eight Villages.
Lin Yuesha meant that, from a business perspective, they still needed to negotiate lower prices with the Forty-Eight Villages and make large-scale purchases.
"Miss, are we going to the Forty-Eight Villages?"
Longjing felt resistant. If it were just ordinary, unruly people, that would be one thing, but the people of the Forty-Eight Villages all had murder cases on their hands. She didn't understand why she had to deal with these ruthless bullies who lived on the edge of death.
"No, let's go check out the surrounding villages first."
Not knowing the situation of the Forty-Eight Villages, it was not advisable to visit them rashly, so Lin Yuesha wanted to take a roundabout approach and ask the villagers in the surrounding areas for information.
If she knows someone in the village, she is willing to pay them to act as a middleman.
Having connections makes things easier, and money should be spent wisely. Hiring someone can save you money compared to buying directly from the supplier.
When Jiang Baozhu learned that Lin Yuesha was going out, she was very worried. She thought it would be more convenient for the servants to run the shopping errands than for Lin Yuesha, a young lady, to do it herself.
“Sister Yue Sha, you know that Zhao San Niang and Xiao Xi plotted against me and were exiled to the Northwest…”
When Jiang Baozhu spoke of her hidden worries, she knew that those who were exiled to the Northwest must have committed serious crimes, and those who escaped from the mines or survived were certainly not ordinary people.
It's best to avoid dealing with such people if possible.
"Sister Baozhu, I understand your good intentions."
After considering it for several days, Lin Yuesha finally decided to go to the surrounding villages to find out what was going on.
Moreover, she didn't just randomly stumble upon the door; she asked the kind old lady who had helped her cut in line when she bought oil tea last time. The old lady had relatives living in a village near the Forty-Eight Villages.
"In short, your safety comes first."
Jiang Baozhu kept giving her instructions. If she had known she couldn't be of much help, she would have stayed in the capital to continue her business. However, she was also glad that she had come; at least she had changed the carriage and lured the Wei family into the trap, so she wasn't entirely useless.
After leaving the courtyard, Lin Yuesha and Bai Cha took a carriage to pick up the kind-hearted old lady.
"Auntie, you brought a gift too? How much is it? I'll have Bai Cha give it to you."
Lin Yuesha had already asked Bai Cha to buy several boxes of pastries in advance, and upon learning that her aunt's relative had a little one, she also brought some shortbread.
Bringing a gift when visiting someone's home is considered polite, especially since it's their first meeting and she has a favor to ask. It wouldn't be appropriate for her to ask the old lady for help and incur expenses.
“It’s alright. His home is close to the Forty-Eight Villages. He always brings me meat whenever he goes there. So I’m preparing some homemade fruit wine. It’s homemade and not worth much.”
The old lady's courtyard was full of grapevines. The grapes from Qincheng were large and sweet, and the wine made from them was of the highest quality. When visiting relatives and friends, it was customary to exchange some of their own produce.
“My husband’s relative has always hated the people of the Forty-Eight Villages because his daughter died, so he may not be willing to help.”
The old woman sighed as she mentioned her relatives, but she had visited them again recently and heard from the couple that they had changed their opinion of the people of the Forty-Eight Villages. Otherwise, even though she was a kind-hearted person, she wouldn't have rubbed salt into her relatives' wounds.
"Auntie, I know all this, so don't worry, I won't say anything inappropriate."
Lin Yuesha assured the old woman that her family would definitely abide by the rules, otherwise, if the old woman were imprisoned, she would be caught in the middle.
With Lin Yuesha's promise, the old lady felt more at ease and began to talk about her relatives' situation.
"By all accounts, Mo Datou is my husband's cousin. He only has one daughter. Ever since his daughter was harmed and committed suicide by the people of the Forty-Eight Villages, the couple has been devastated and almost followed her in death."
Two or three years passed in the blink of an eye. Just when the couple was about to give up, they discovered they were pregnant again, this time with twins, a boy and a girl.
"Mo Datou said this was God's compensation, that their daughter had returned, so they spoiled her like a treasure."
The old lady gave a brief explanation, explaining that the Mo family's daughter was a bit spoiled, and hoped that Lin Yuesha wouldn't take offense if she said anything wrong.
The old woman was very talkative, and we chatted with her for more than an hour before the carriage arrived at Mo Family Village.
"Mojia Village is the closest village to Qincheng. The territory not far away is the Forty-Eight Villages."
After getting off the carriage, the old woman pointed to the north and introduced the area to Lin Yuesha.
The surrounding area was yellow earth, and the dry grass in winter was below the white snow. Large grains of sand on the snow surface made it look very desolate.
Upon reaching the village entrance, villagers immediately recognized the old woman and greeted her with smiles.
"Why are you out in this freezing weather?"
The surrounding area is not safe, so people rarely go out in winter except for essential tasks like gathering firewood.
"It's been so long since you last visited! We're doing great here!"
Another elderly woman with a wrinkled face stepped forward, looked Lin Yuesha up and down curiously, and asked, "Is this the young lady who has come to visit?"
"Yeah, let's go to Big Head's house."
The old woman looked towards the village entrance and saw many young girls sitting in the doorway basking in the sun, something she had never seen before, which surprised her.
"So that's what happened to the tyrant who lived not far away. He was wiped out, not a single one of them was left alive. Now that this area is under the jurisdiction of women, the security is much better!"
After the old woman finished speaking, she was both emotional and gratified. If those women had taken over the family years ago, the daughter of the eldest son wouldn't have ended up like that.
People from the village would occasionally come down to bring meat to the villagers, and there were never any conflicts; the two sides maintained a harmonious relationship.
The villagers didn't care what crimes those women had committed in the past; as long as they lived in peace and harmony, that was enough.
"No more cattle, sheep, pigs, or dogs have been stolen in our village, and no women have been harassed. Moreover, if you encounter any injustice, you can go to the village for help!"
The old woman urged, "Alright, I've been too talkative. You should hurry up and go to Mo Datou's house!"
Mo Datou's house was the third one at the village entrance. The door was ajar, and the old woman stood in front of the fence gate, smiling as she said, "Baiyu, Huajuan, your aunt is here!"
"Auntie!"
The two younger children, about five or six years old, the girl wearing a new red jacket and the boy wearing a patched cotton coat, immediately ran out to greet them upon hearing the call.
"Pretty lady, who are you?"
When Bai Yu saw Lin Yuesha, she shyly hid behind the old woman, but couldn't help peeking out curiously.
"You can call me Sister Lin."
The Mo family's preference for daughters over sons was taken to the extreme, making Lin Yuesha think of her own parents. Her mother's belly should be swollen by now.
"Sister Lin, you are so beautiful."
After Bai Yu finished speaking, she hid behind the old woman, refusing to show her face.
"You, you're usually so fierce at home, but now that you're seeing a stranger, why don't you have that same energy?"
The old woman smiled and brought Baiyu out, then asked her younger brother Huajuan to inform their parents.
A moment later, Mo Datou and his wife came out to greet them, invited them into the house, and served them melon seeds and walnuts, saying warmly, "We don't have anything fancy at home, but if you don't mind, young lady, please try our old tree walnuts."
The village had never seen a girl dressed so richly before, and Mo Datou and his wife felt that she was an important person, so they were nervous and couldn't relax.
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