Doted By The Regent King
Chapter 281: Competing for Land

Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Competing for Land

Due to Wufu being engrossed in seclusion and carving, Liu Jin temporarily did not mention to Madam Zhou the disdain she experienced at Zhou Dajun’s place, but wholeheartedly prepared with Madam Zhou for the construction of the new house in the family.

However, within just two days, they had already settled the construction matters with the Zhang brothers, with the wood supplied by them, inclusive of all labor and materials.

Madam Zhou specifically chose an auspicious date from the almanac, setting the groundbreaking on the first day of September, and prior to this, the Zhang brothers came again to measure the area and lay foundation stones.

Behind their house was a vast barren piece of land that Madam Zhou had cleared to plant some vegetables and the like.

Now that they were going to build a house, they would do so on another plot of land to the left of the house. This piece was also barren land, and moreover, sandy loam soil, unsuitable for cultivation, and for many years, no one had come to till and plant on it.

So Madam Zhou thought it would be fine to just build on it.

Her thoughts were simple, yet little did she know a problem would arise exactly at this juncture.

Overnight, that piece of land was cultivated by someone.

Madam Zhou, accompanied by the Zhang brothers who came to measure the land, stared bewilderedly at Zhang Jiguang’s wife and others who were guarding the field.

Zhang Jiguang and Zhang Facai were brothers from the same clan; Zhang Facai’s household and Zhang Jiguang’s household, even their grandfathers, were also closely related brothers.

Therefore, when Zhang Facai saw his elder cousin’s wife and children, he was very surprised.

"Elder Sister-in-law Zhang, what are you doing here?" Zhang Facai frowned and stepped forward to ask.

Lady Chen, wife of the Zhang Jiguang family, was known for being fertile. She had given birth to four sons and two daughters in quick succession, almost one each year. Because of this, her family was so poor that they could barely keep the pot boiling.

And in the village, Lady Chen was notorious for being a shrew, with a mouth that could damn the dead.

Drenched in sweat, with a hoe still in hand, Lady Chen glanced at Madam Zhou, who was dressed like a wealthy lady, her eyes flashing with a hint of jealousy, envy, and greed. She said to Zhang Facai, "What else could we be doing but clearing the land? With so many mouths in the family to feed, if we don’t clear land, where will our food come from?"

Zhang Facai was taken aback.

"You’ve cleared land up to here?" Zhang Facai’s brother, Zhang Fawang, pointed at the piece of land and asked.

"What’s the matter? Can’t we? The village’s barren lands, whoever clears them, they belong to that household," Lady Chen huffed.

Zhang Fawang said, "But this is next to Lady Zhou’s house..."

"It’s all barren land, Uncle Fawang, it’s the same next to anybody’s house," Lady Chen interrupted him.

Madam Zhou’s face turned an iron blue with fury, and she stepped forward to say, "Elder Sister-in-law Zhang, this is the land we are preparing to build our house on."

"Oh dear, who says this land is yours? It’s all barren land. With so much barren land in the village, whoever clears it owns it. That’s the custom, Zhou Yingmei, surely you know that, right?" Lady Chen said loudly, "Now that our family has come to clear it, this land is ours."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhou trembled with anger and pointed at her, saying, "You! You are stealing our land."

This was too much. Why clear the land now and not earlier? Now, right when they planned to build a house, she came to clear the land, and right next to their house at that. What was this, if not bullying?

Madam Zhou thought of this and her eyes reddened with rage. This was how it was with a widow and orphan; they were bullied right to their doorstep.

"What stealing land? It isn’t marked as your land, we cleared it, so it’s ours, who says it was stolen?" Lady Chen shouted, "If you want to talk about stealing, let’s have everyone come and judge."

Madam Zhou’s voice was not as sharp as hers; she was immediately speechless, looking towards the Zhang brothers. This Elder Sister-in-law Zhang was from their own family line.