Looking down, Mo Qianshang thought to herself, no wonder the tremors that night were so rhythmic. Not only were there tremors that day, but so many rocks also rolled down the middle of the mountain.
Yesterday's earthquake wasn't actually very strong, but the accompanying rockfalls and landslides were the source of the noticeable tremors felt on the mountain.
Mo Qianshang was certain that such a thing was extremely rare, and just as she was about to leave, a glimpse of color in Yu Guangzhong's eyes made her stop in her tracks.
The exposed rock after the fracture is grayish-white with a yellowish surface; most of the exposed rocks in this area are this color.
only……
Mo Qianshang glanced at it, took out a hemp rope from the basket on her back, and tied it to a tree above.
After securing the knot, she tied the other end around her waist and slowly backed down, wearing the work gloves she had acquired. She had no interest in getting injured.
The color she had just seen was on the other side, but when she went down five meters, she saw the same color on the exposed rocks on this side.
green.
Mo Qianshang rubbed it with her palm, and sure enough, the green color was not exposed on the outside, but deep inside the stone.
She looked down a few meters and around, realizing that this couldn't be a simple coincidence.
Mo Qianshang hung there for a full quarter of an hour before climbing back up and sitting under the tree to think.
She had been involved in many jade-related tasks before, including gambling on stones, so she had some understanding of these things. Although she couldn't make a complete judgment based on what she had just seen, she felt that there must be something in these mountains.
In ancient times, many jade stones were gradually exposed by landslides and water erosion, and there were specialized jade collectors who would collect them.
If this were a gold or silver mine, Mo Qianchang would only have some petty schemes, but a jade mine... that's a different story.
She stopped picking things, carried her basket back, and found Chen Jin working.
"Oh, master, is there something you need?"
Mo Qianshang nodded: "I want to ask about something. If you want to buy a mountain, is there any procedure?"
"Buy the mountain?"
Chen Jin was taken aback: "There's no specific rule. As long as the mountain is unclaimed, you can go and talk to the county government."
The real question Mo Qianshang wanted to ask couldn't be asked directly. She considered it for a moment and said, "After I buy it, this mountain will belong to me completely. I can prevent others from coming up if I don't want them to, and everything on the mountain will belong to me."
Chen Jin nodded: "That makes sense."
Mo Qianshang raised an eyebrow: "There are exceptions?"
Chen Jin said in a low voice, "If gold or silver mines are discovered in the mountains, the government might get involved."
Mo Qianshang feigned ignorance: "If this mountain had gold or silver mines, it would have been investigated by the government long ago, and it wouldn't be sold to people. But this is just too domineering."
Chen Jin waved his hand: "If someone has a certain family background, the government naturally wouldn't dare to touch them. Although there will be transactions, the owner of this mountain will also make a profit, and ordinary wealthy people will only take a small share as a token."
Mo Qianchang sighed: "Sigh, I bought this mountain not for any other reason than to keep the nearby villagers at home, but outsiders can't just come up the mountain, otherwise it would be too unsafe!"
Buy a mountain for safety?
Chen Jin didn't quite understand. In his eyes, Mo Qianshang was different from those refugees at the foot of the mountain. She must be a down-on-her-luck lady from a wealthy family, otherwise she wouldn't have been so generous.
He felt he didn't understand other people's thoughts. He had asked Mo Qianshang why she didn't just buy a house in the county town with the money, but she said there was no rush.
Mo Qianshang wanted to know what procedures were needed to buy the mountain, but then she thought that no matter what procedures were needed, she probably didn't have them.
She is still a refugee from Fushou Village, and doesn't have any official status here!
As Mo Qianshang sat in the tent deep in thought, Little Yao came over, holding a garment in her hands: "Mo sister, come and try this on, I've finished making your clothes!"
Mo Qianshang changed her clothes inside the tent, and she looked clean and tidy, which was quite nice.
But after thinking about it, she realized that sometimes these clothes weren't enough.
The next morning, after saying goodbye to Xiao Yao, she went to the county town again.
This time, she wasn't lucky enough to encounter the oxcart from Dongshan Village and had to travel on foot.
Upon arriving in the county town, she did not head straight to the county government office. Instead, she went to a clothing store and bought a set of clothes that, although she did not understand them, clearly indicated a person's social status.
The outfit cost her two taels of silver, and she even had the tailor shop owner's wife redo her hair.
Once everything was ready, she went to the county government office.
She also inquired about buying the mountain from the owner of the clothing store, but the answers were all ambiguous. It would be better for her to go to the county government office and ask for clarification directly.
When she arrived at the county government office, she waited for a quarter of an hour before a certain official, a Mr. Li, appeared.
Li, the registrar, looked her up and down: "You said you wanted to buy a mountain?"
Mo Qianshang knew what kind of persona she was supposed to portray with her current attire, so she naturally frowned at his casual scrutiny and even turned her body slightly to the side.
Some people are like that; they feel that others are impolite and treat them very rudely, but when they find that the other person is a person who values manners, they immediately become timid.
Registrar Li took a step back: "Oh, Madam, let's talk inside, let's talk inside!"
Mo Qianshang put on airs, and Li Zhubu wondered to himself, he couldn't remember any family in the county that had such a lady—could it be that she was a newly promoted lady from some wealthy household that he didn't know about?
Regardless, judging from the other person's attire, he should be cautious.
“Registrar Li, it’s not that I necessarily want to buy the mountain. It’s just that I’m new here and want a place to stay. I think Qingping Mountain is quiet.”
She frowned slightly: "But I stood outside for a while and thought there wasn't much to buy on this mountain. Besides, I haven't decided whether to stay here yet. So... let's just forget about it and go to the neighboring county to take a look."
Clerk Li immediately became anxious.
It's not that he really took this woman from who-knows-where seriously, but no matter who it was, if they wanted to buy mountains or land within their county, the government would have to pay them a sum of money.
The Qingping Mountain is just sitting there; it has nothing to do with the local government. If it can be sold, then the county will get free money!
"No, no, this is negotiable. It's just Qingping Mountain, it's for sale! Eight hundred taels a day!"
Mo Qianshang changed her posture, looking somewhat uninterested: "Eight hundred taels for such a lousy mountain? Even if it's a big mountain, I can only build a house on it, it's not farmland."
Of course, Clerk Li knew that the price was high. In this day and age, who would want to buy a mountain? If enemy troops attacked the vicinity, it would be hard to say who would own the mountain!
Mo Qianshang ate snacks and drank tea, letting Li Zhubu talk incessantly, trying every trick in the book to persuade her to buy the mountain.
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