"Mother, is this our new home?"
Qin Qianya and Qin Qingzhu sat hand in hand on a large rock, their adorable appearance melting Mo Qianshang's heart.
"That's right, once the village chief comes back and allocates land to us, we can start building houses and clearing land. Then, as long as we farm, we'll have food to eat!"
Liu Xiaoyun sat with the children, and Xiao Yao said from the side, "It would be good if we could talk to the village chief and get the land allocated to our two families next to each other."
Measuring land is no easy task. The village chief and his men had to walk around the entire area, measuring it on foot. Mo Qianshang, however, was in no hurry and sat under the shade of a tree making something to eat.
It took almost two hours for the village chief and the other men from the village to return. As the head of the household, Mo Qianshang went forward to wait and see what the village chief had to say.
When Liu Shugen saw Mo Qianshang approaching, he subconsciously avoided her gaze. Mo Qianshang noticed his deliberate look and raised an eyebrow slightly.
Liu Shugen stood on a rock and cleared his throat: "Ahem, everyone's here, right? One person from each family, I'll go and show you your allotted land!"
Mo Qianshang had a bad feeling.
There's not much of a deal to be made about residential land, since as long as the land is level, houses can be built on it. What people care more about is where and how much farmland they can be allocated.
"Let's get this straight first, the land is seven mu for men and three mu for women, that's already decided, and children under ten don't count!"
Huh?
"Wait a minute!" Mo Qianshang walked up to Liu Shugen: "Village chief, this isn't right, is it? According to you, my four children won't get any land? Our family of five only has three mu of land?"
Liu Shugen felt guilty: "There's nothing we can do. The soil at the foot of this mountain is very hard, and there's only so much land suitable for farming. We have to rely on the people who can work, right? You have many children, but how many acres can they cultivate? It would be a waste if they were given the land!"
Mo Qianshang resisted rolling her eyes: "This is the first time I've heard of land allocation being based on imagination. If we get land, how much we can cultivate is our own business. We'll get what we're entitled to, and if we can't finish cultivating it, we'll hire someone else to do it. I've never heard of not getting the land we're entitled to because we can't cultivate it!"
Liu Shugen had long anticipated that some people in the village would disagree, and the people who went to inspect the land with him had discussed how to respond.
He sighed, looking earnest: "Since you have objections, how about this: let's see what the whole village thinks, and the minority should submit to the majority, okay?"
In most people's eyes, although Mo Qianshang seemed like a completely different person not long ago, she was still a country girl. How could she be any different from them? It was just a lucky break.
But who is Mo Qianshang? Let alone in this era, even in modern times, given her profession and living environment, she is always the one who can scheme against others!
Mo Qianshang didn't buy their act at all: "Do you think I'm stupid? When the village fled the famine, many of your families abandoned their elderly parents and even daughters. Most of the men in the village went on the journey, so of course they would speak up for themselves. Do you think all the women in the village are stupid?"
Many households with only women turned their gaze away upon hearing Mo Qianshang's words.
It's not that they don't understand, it's just that sometimes it's no use saying anything, since this is a world where men have the final say.
Take Mo Qianshang for example. She has brought this up in front of everyone, and the village chief and the men in the village are losing face. These people who are obsessed with saving face will definitely not think they are wrong, and in the end, they may cause some trouble.
Even if the village gives her some extra land, I'm afraid her family won't have an easy life in the future.
As for the kindness shown to them during their escape from famine, these people wouldn't even remember it in the face of such things.
Widow Chen was secretly delighted to see Mo Qianshang get the short end of the stick. She pulled her daughter along with one hand and said, "Oh, if you ask me, it's not like your family is the only one with only women. My family is the same. I'm also raising my daughter alone. My daughter doesn't get any land either!"
Mo Qianshang couldn't stand people kicking someone when they're down, let alone kicking them when they're down: "Heh, indeed, who doesn't know that you, Widow Chen, have connections everywhere and a lot of money? Three acres of land are enough for you to eat for two days. In a few years, your daughter will be eating the scholar's grain. Do you, as her mother-in-law, want to come along?"
Her sarcastic remarks infuriated Widow Chen. The reason she arranged for her daughter to marry the scholar was naturally so that they could enjoy a comfortable life together in the future. Otherwise, why would she cling to her daughter, who couldn't carry on the family line?
But if people said that, Zhao Xiucai would lose face, and she didn't want people to spread such gossip!
Little did they know, this gossip was something Mo Qianshang had overheard from someone else, and it had already spread like wildfire behind her back.
Widow Chen stretched out her arm and pointed at Mo Qianshang: "I'm better than you no matter what! You're a burden with four children, and no one will want you even if you remarry!"
Seeing that she was about to spill out a whole bunch of nasty things, her daughter quickly tugged at her sleeve, reminding her that this was not the time to embarrass herself!
Widow Chen looked like she hadn't said enough, and angrily shut her mouth.
Mo Qianshang looked around. She had thought a lot about this in the past few days, and it wasn't that she hadn't considered leading the whole village to prosperity. After all, true wealth is when everyone is rich.
But now she's certain that the people in this village are truly not worth it; even if everyone gets rich, they shouldn't be the first to get rich.
Just when everyone was waiting for Mo Qianshang to make a scene, she suddenly turned and left.
Since each family only sent one person to make the decision, Qin Heming's four children, along with Xiao Yaoshi and Liu Xiaoyun, were still sitting there waiting for them. Once everyone else was gone, Mo Qianshang said to Xiao Yaoshi, "I don't plan to stay in the village with the children anymore. I think the mountain looks nice. Are you going to stay here or come up with me?"
Little Yao didn't expect that Mo Qianshang would have this idea. By doing so, she was essentially leaving the village and breaking ties with it!
Although she was on Mo Qianshang's side, she was still hesitant about this matter and squatted to the side, not knowing what to do.
Mo Qianshang wasn't in a hurry. She could understand that Xiao Yao was hesitant. After all, she had a daughter to raise and was different from women of her generation. She always had many concerns.
At this moment, Liu Xiaoyun, who had been listening the whole time, tugged at her mother's sleeve.
"Mother, shall we go with Aunt Mo?"
Xiao Yao was taken aback and looked down at her daughter. Liu Xiaoyun continued, "If we stay in the village, no one will care about us. They might even bully us. Aunt Mo is a good person. She will definitely protect us, okay?"
Thinking of how Liu Dashan had treated them in the past, Xiao Yao's shoulders trembled.
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