Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 1047: Recalling the Bizarre Train of Thought (4)

Chapter 1047: Chapter 1047: Recalling the Bizarre Train of Thought (4)

It must be said, the way these three people wired their brains was quite peculiar, only contemplating success but never the consequences of failure, and whether they could bear them. So much so that when Zhao Dafu’s eyes twitched as he reported back to Mo Yan the next day, Mo Yan was speechless to the extreme, no longer knowing what to say.

Mo Yan read through the confessions of the three culprits and handed it over to Zhao Dafu, "These three have already signed and sealed their confessions, which can be taken to the Government Office at any time as evidence against them. However, seeing as they are our fellow villagers, it’s not good if relations become too strained. Take this confession and gather the tenants, you know what to do without the County Lord having to remind you, right?"

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Zhao Dafu hurriedly said, "County Lord, your servant knows what to do. This time, I will definitely reclaim the fields without fail."

To this, Mo Yan could neither agree nor disagree, only waving his hand to signal Zhao Dafu to go and take care of the important matters.

Zhao Dafu had his three sons and son-in-law go to Chen Family Village to inform the tenants, who quickly gathered outside the manor.

Under the big tree outside the manor, Zhao Dafu read out the confessions of the three culprits’ misdeeds. Not to mention the reactions of the other tenants, the family members of the three culprits just collapsed on the ground and started wailing loudly.

These people were just common folk, with the village chief being the highest official they had ever seen. Strictly speaking, the village chief wasn’t even a real official; even the most ordinary Government Official in the Government Office would have these villagers too scared to straighten their backs, and now their loved ones had committed offenses that fell into the hands of none other than the County Lord, beyond the handling of a hundred village chiefs. Apart from crying, they dared not even beg for mercy.

The other tenants had originally harbored complaints against the three culprits for their reckless actions, which affected them as well. However, seeing how bitterly the families of the culprits cried, their resentment gradually dissipated and they began sighing, feeling deeply uncertain about how their future days would unfold.

It was clear to everyone present that the land would no longer be rented out to them. Otherwise, they might be considered accomplices in a plot against the County Lord. Not having land to farm was better than ending up in jail, and at worst, life would just be tougher.

The tenants left in dejection. Zhao Laoda, who had been the ringleader in the grain hoarding and threatened Zhao Dafu and Chen Xue, stayed behind, speaking to Zhao Dafu with visible distress, "Many families in the village rely on those fields to live. If you take them all back abruptly, isn’t that forcing them to die?"

Zhao Dafu’s good mood wasn’t affected by Chen Xue’s rude questioning. He shook the confessions in his hand and replied honestly, "Those families managed before they started renting those fields, and they’ll have to manage the same way afterwards! Over the years, the grain you’ve pocketed should be enough to buy several acres of good land. If good land won’t do, there’s wasteland to develop, which will yield harvests after a few years. How could it lead to starvation?"

Chen Xue’s eyes widened, wanting to argue but not knowing what to say. Over the years, they had indeed improved their lives by pocketing the grain, saving up enough money to buy a few acres of land. But the land they could buy would be taxable, and there were no well-cultivated fields available in the village. Newly developed wasteland would not yield a good harvest for three to five years, which was nowhere near as good as renting the quality fields they had before.

Zhao Dafu had been dealing with Chen Xue for many years and privately, their relationship was quite decent. Seeing his reaction, Zhao Dafu couldn’t help but sigh, "If it wasn’t for you all trying to cheat the County Lord before, pocketing so much grain, and committing such an act this time, the County Lord originally only wanted to take back the fields and let you help farm them. Regardless of whether the harvest was good or bad, he planned to give you enough grain for a year’s rations at the rate of two catties per person per day. It’s a pity you committed such an act, completely chilling the County Lord’s heart. Otherwise, being hired as farmers on the manor, your days would have been even more comfortable than those renting fields on the manor."

In Chen Family Village, it was already considered good if adults could eat a catty of grain turned into cooked food each day. As hired labor on the manor, even the children could receive two catties they would never finish, without worrying about good or bad harvests; by selling the excess grain, wouldn’t their lives be much better than renting land?

Watching Chen Xue filled with regret, Zhao Dafu couldn’t help but feel relieved, grateful that he had taken the initiative to admit his fault earlier. Otherwise, his fate would have been much worse than the tenants’.

With the lead of the Chen Sangou’s family, Zhao Dafu smoothly reclaimed the thousand acres of land. Mo Yan had Zhao Laoda and his brothers beat up the three culprits and then starved them for three days, giving them only water to drink, before releasing them.

While these people had made mistakes, their offenses were not deserving of death. Moreover, the land had just been reclaimed, many people were already envious, and if those men were sent to the officials, it might cause discontent among the villagers of Chen Family Village. Sabotaging the fields with a small fire in secret was not impossible, so it was unnecessary to create such enmity.

As for Zhao Dasha, he was treated to good food and accommodations for a few days. By the time he returned to Chen Family Village, looking radiant and jovially sharing everything about his time at the manor, no one dared to mistreat him despite their lingering anger.

Having resolved the manor’s issues, Mo Yan returned to Mo Family Village with his two sisters and Six Beasts.

Gazing at the familiar village and home through the carriage window, Mo Yan couldn’t help but reflect: though it had been less than ten days since he left, it felt like a long absence, truly ’a golden castle is not as comforting as one’s own dog kennel’.

However, as soon as he returned home, Mo Yan became incredibly busy. In his absence, numerous matters had piled up both inside and outside the home. While most were manageable, there were a few things on the construction site that required his decision. After spending two days sorting out these issues one by one, Yang Bao came to seek him out again...