Food was incredibly precious during times of fleeing from disaster. Even for a family like the Zhao family, father and son, it had been a long time since they had seen so much grain. Old Zhao's eyes were practically glued to the grain, and he quickly said, "Of course, of course!"
"I never expected the Chen family to be so well-off! Whoever marries a daughter-in-law from the Chen family will be truly blessed!"
"Tsk, no wonder. I'll say it again, Scholar Zhao is destined to be a high-ranking official. If I were from the Zhao family, I would definitely arrange a marriage with him if I had the means!"
"However, the Qin family has really had the worst luck ever! But then again, what can you do when they're just unlucky!"
Everyone whispered amongst themselves, secretly glancing in Mo Qianshang's direction.
Mo Qianshang then realized that this matter seemed to have something to do with her. She racked her brains and vaguely remembered that before they fled the famine, Widow Chen originally wanted to marry her daughter to Qin Heming.
Although they were poor, the Qin family children did not look like wild children from the village. Each one was clever and bright, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, looking like celestial children from heaven, and they were lovable to look at.
There are quite a few people who are jealous of this.
Although Widow Chen's daughter is young, she can't help but be attracted to Qin Heming every time she sees him. Widow Chen has also shown affection for Mo Qianshang more than once, and the whole village knows about it.
Thinking of this, Mo Qianshang rolled her eyes without any attempt to hide it, pretending not to have seen it, and continued doing what she was doing.
The Zhao and Chen families finalized their marriage agreement during this lull.
Widow Chen stared at it with delight for a while, then tucked the letter of justice into her bosom like a treasure. After that, she pushed through the crowd and walked straight toward Mo Qianshang.
"Oh, old Qin family, I should thank you! If you hadn't always ignored me, our Zhao family wouldn't have gotten such a good marriage, especially with a scholar!" Widow Zhao said proudly, her eyebrows dancing with delight, clearly showing off.
Mo Qianshang stopped what she was doing, her eyes crinkling into a smile, and said generously, "Congratulations! Such a wonderful thing, I must share in the joy!"
Mo Qianshang's generous attitude, without any fuss or tantrums, left Widow Chen speechless. Unsure of Mo Qianshang's thoughts, she asked somewhat vaguely, "What's with all the celebratory spirit?"
Widow Chen suddenly remembered Mo Qianshang, who had become especially sharp-tongued, and suddenly felt a little uneasy.
Mo Qianshang looked surprised and said in an exaggerated tone, "Scholars' families wouldn't be so unceremonious about engagements, would they? It's already good enough that they don't host a feast while fleeing famine, what, not even wedding candy?"
Before Widow Zhao could react, she suddenly realized, "Or is it that the Chen family is dissatisfied with the marriage? They only want your Zhao family's bag of millet and a few taels of silver?"
As soon as she said that, Widow Chen's face turned green with anger. Mo Qianshang's words implied that her family was giving away their daughter's money. Moreover, although the Zhao family had a scholar, they were still very poor. Where would they get the money to host a banquet and give out wedding candy?
With everyone watching, tearing off the mask would be tantamount to admitting defeat. Widow Chen glared at Mo Qianshang, pulled something out of her pocket, stuffed it into Mo Qianshang's hand, and then disappeared in a flash.
The crowd dispersed, and Mo Qianshang finally had some peace and quiet. She glanced at the candy in her hand. Although it was the cheapest thing, the fact that Widow Zhao could still afford it during their escape from famine showed that her family was quite wealthy.
Although it was a rare find, once it passed through Widow Chen's hands, she had no intention of eating it and sold it directly to the system.
Seeing that Widow Chen was no match for Mo Qianshang, the villagers who had been watching the spectacle lost interest and went back to doing what they were doing, or continued to gossip about the engagement on their journey to escape famine.
Mo Qianshang finally has some peace and quiet.
She had actually stolen their treasure from that village and should have left immediately, but that would have been a clear case of protesting too much, and with four children in tow, she didn't want to take the risk.
To suggest that the entire village should travel together is simply wishful thinking.
She knew those people would come after them sooner or later. After all, according to what they had said before, they were supposed to divide the silver before the end of the month. Once the warehouse was opened, the whole village would be in chaos.
Unexpectedly, the next day, people from the village came to their door. The person leading them was none other than the man Mo Qianshang had seen collecting money that day, who was also the village chief, Liu Dafu.
Liu Dafu led the able-bodied men of his village and stormed into the village where the villagers of Fushou Village were staying. These men were carrying weapons, which immediately frightened everyone.
"Get your village chief out here!"
Mo Qianshang calmly called the children to her side and comforted them, telling them not to be afraid.
Logically speaking, village chiefs are usually elderly people who have some connection with the ancestral hall, which gives them prestige in the village. However, Liu Dafu looks to be in his thirties. Considering what they have done, Mo Qianshang can probably understand why he is the village chief.
Liu Shugen walked up to Liu Dafu and introduced himself. Liu Dafu was furious, his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked terrifying, as if he was about to breathe fire: "I suspect that one of you has stolen money from our village. Call everyone from your village over here, we're going to investigate you one by one!"
Liu Shugen had no idea what was going on and was completely dumbfounded. But seeing that the other party was even more arrogant, he, as the village head, immediately choked up and said, "You lost your money, why don't you start looking among the villagers? How would we know where you put your money!"
As Mo Qianshang listened, she thought to herself, "This village chief has some logic, but unfortunately, it might not be of much use to someone like Liu Dafu."
Sure enough, Liu Dafu was used to bullying others. Unlike ordinary farmers, he had no patience and grabbed Liu Shugen by the collar: "Stop talking nonsense! If you don't call everyone over, I'll burn you all down!"
Seeing Liu Dafu's menacing aura and the dozens or even hundreds of people behind him, Liu Shugen finally got scared and quickly sent someone to call back everyone near the cave.
Mo Qianshang sensed the children's fear and, as they cried for help, she spoke up, "Whatever you're investigating, it has nothing to do with the children, right? They're terrified. Can't you let them play outside nearby?"
The other villagers in Fushou Village thought that Mo Qianshang was too bold to talk to Liu Dafu like that, and they didn't think he would agree to it.
What if it was these kids who did it?
But Liu Dafu glanced at it and asked first, "Where is your husband?"
Mo Qianshang raised an eyebrow: "It's just me in my family, with four children."
Of the four children, the eldest, Qin Heming, was only seven years old. Although others did not know, Liu Dafu and the people in their village knew that what they had lost this time was not some small thing, but boxes and boxes of treasures. It would take ten adults to move them all at once.
Liu Dafu felt annoyed at the sight of children, so he waved his hand and let the children go.
Mo Qianshang wasn't worried. She knew Qin Baiyi was nearby, and he would definitely take good care of the children when they went out.
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