Now her house had been burnt down, Ms. Hua lived in the workshop as a domestic worker, since they needed someone to fill that role.
It was time for the spring harvest. Ms. Liang went to their original two acres of land, and saw that this yearâs wheat seedlings had grown better than ever before.
When they divorced, they agreed the two acres of land would belong to Mo Zenian, but since he wasnât at home, they had to harvest the wheat for him. Besides, they had planted the wheat in the first place, so those were their seedlings and their labour! At most, theyâd give some of the wheat to the old woman in the back courtyard.
The first batch of raincoats and canvas bags had been finished, and they were packed and sent to the Upper Valley. It wasnât the rainy season yet, so the benefits of this raincoat may take some time to be realised.
The Shunlai Restaurant had been cleaned and renamed the Three Rivers Firm.
In addition to the raincoats and canvas bags made in the workshop, there were also fabrics and jewellery from the Upper Valley. Mr. Cao bought various medicinal herbs and supplements to sell, so the products they had to offer were varied.
They timed the opening day to be a market day, and many people came to shop. There are many kinds of goods here, for all price ranges.
For the time being, the only employees were the adorable Xiao Zhuzi and Zhou Liangsheng, who had both come to help out at the firm.
At noon, the number of people entering the firm started decreasing, and Liu Fengchun came over with two attendants. As soon as they entered the door, they congratulated her, âCongratulations on your successful opening!â
Mo Yan went up to thank him, then asked someone to serve tea. Liu Fengchun sat there with something clearly on his mind.
Seeing no one around, he whispered, âMiss Mo, I heard that you bought Ms. Huaâs yard?â
Mo Yan nodded with a smile on her face, âYes! I felt sorry for them.â
Liu Fengchun sighed and said, âThose two are under my jurisdiction, and I should take care of them. I donât know how much you spent on buying their yard. Iâll pay you back!â
âWith the current rumours about the yard, I canât just give the yard to you now. How about this, sell me the previous clinic too! In the future, we can build a storefront on that land to operate a business. Iâll take care of the twoâs lives, after all, Iâm afraid of Zhaoâerâs father having a bone to pick with me!â
Mo Yan paid attention to Liu Fengchunâs expression. If he really killed Zhaoâerâs father, he would definitely feel guilty.
Liu Fengchun sighed, âZhaoâerâs father was an unfortunate man. He was sickly in life, and was banned from entering his ancestral grave after death. He ended up as a wandering spirit. The rumours werenât groundless, maybe his spirit appeared because he was angered. Arenât you afraid at all, girl?â
Mo Yan poured a cup of tea for him, âI believe that as long as I treat Zhaoâer and Ms. Hua kindly, he will be fine with me!â
The two continued chatting for a long time, but nothing came out of it. Liu Fengchun saw that Mo Yan didnât want to give up Ms. Huaâs yard, and left to think of another way.
Not only did she refuse to sell the courtyard, she also wanted to buy the clinic in front of it. This little girl had a large appetite!
This matter was temporarily set aside.
The spring breeze brought warmth, and the pond had turned green. The trees by the pond had regained their leaves. The owls on the tree still hooted occasionally, but Mo Yan was no longer as scared as before.
One day, when the workshop was closed, she asked the whole family to plant medicinal herbs. After hearing about it, Ms. Hua also went to help, and also to see Zhaoâer. Chi Jie and Ze Wu had never seen farmland before, so wanted to go, and Lu Junming accompanied him.
Mo Yan took germinating Chinese foxglove seeds, and buried them in the ground at regular intervals.
This wasnât tiring work, and Mo Feng also followed them to the field. Since the shop had been dismantled, he had nothing to do.
While they were resting, Mo Yan explained to Chi Jie, âIn another month, wild flowers will bloom everywhere. Itâs a beautiful sea of flowers.â
Hearing that, Chi Jieâs face was full of yearning, âI must come and see it.â
Mo Feng said disdainfully, âItâs just wildflowers, thereâs nothing special about them.â
Chi Jie was aggravated by his words and wanted to retaliate, but Lu Junming shook his head at him, signalling him to ignore Mo Feng.
Ms. Liang said, âYanâer, you have a workshop and a business, where can you arrange a job for your brother? Donât let him stay at home all the time.â
Mo Feng was very happy when he heard this, and said enthusiastically, âIâm not interested in working in a workshop, let me go to the firm to be a manager.â
Ms. Liang also nodded in agreement.
Lu Junming had grown used to this song and dance, but Chi Jie rolled his eyes when he heard it and couldnât help but speak up.
âMay I ask you if you know how to balance accounts? Do you know how to tell the quality of goods, and their origin? Being a manager also requires skill and technique.â
âI can learn. Wonât I know how to if you teach me?â
Mo Yan said, âIâm not the boss of this firm, thatâs Lu Junming. If you want to be the manager, our firm is in need of one, but we have standards for this position. If you want it, you will have to undergo testing.â
âWhat kind of testing?â
âI want to buy bamboo, so we can sell bamboo wares. Your test is to handle this issue.â
Mo Feng stared at her, âThatâs only available in the south. Itâs thousands of miles away, with high mountains and long roads. Thereâs no way Iâm going.â
Ms. Liang also said, âYes! Thereâs no way youâre letting your brother go so far away.â
Mo Yan smiled and said, âThere are merchants who transport goods from the south here. Our firm isnât very large, so we can buy from these people.â
âThen where can I find these merchants?â
âYouâll have to search for them yourself! How can you be a manager if you canât even find quality goods on your own? We found all the goods being sold in our firm.â
Mo Feng suddenly stood up and said, âDonât I just have to find someone who sells bamboo? Iâll go tomorrow.â
Ms. Liang said with concern, âWhere can you go to find them? You need to ask around.â
With a straw in his mouth, Lu Junming replied, âAsk someone who makes bamboo goods.â
Ms. Liang said happily, âThatâs right! We can ask the Luo family.â
Mo Yan rolled her eyes at Lu Junming, and went back to work. Lu Junming called Chi Jie back home.
It was almost noon. Ms. Hua wanted to go to Mr. Caoâs house to see Zhaoâer and cook for them, so she also left. Mo Ling saw that there werenât many Chinese foxgloves left, so she said that sheâd go home after planting to save herself another trip in the afternoon.
Mo Feng threw away the small shovel in his hand, and said dejectedly, âItâs already noon, Iâm starving to death, and weâre still working!â
As the others continued planting, he sat on the edge of the fields, digging up soil with twigs and watching the ants with his head down.
Post-translation notes: Mo Fengâ¦he never changesâ¦Annoying and obnoxious as always.