What angered Village Chief He the most was that after the Mo Family sold themselves into servitude to the Lu Family, they could simply return to the village; as if his earlier pronouncement forbidding their entry was a mere joke. He felt like he had been slapped in the face by the Lu Family.
"Mo Family sold themselves to the Lu Family?" Gu Jinâan was a bit surprised, then sneered sarcastically: "This is indeed something their family would do. Itâs just that they donât need to sell themselves at all."
"Exactly, I said I would go to the county government to annul Mo Familyâs household registration, but I havenât done it yet. If they had any sense, they should take this time to go to nearby destitute villages and give a little silver to the villagers to allow them to settle in. Once settled, if they work hard, they could have made a living. But they refused, and now the whole family has sold themselves to the Lu Family."
Village Chief He, huffing in anger, walked into Gu Jinliâs courtyard and sat down before speaking: "A family of twelve people, all sold into servitude; this is the first time Iâve seen an entire family become servants to their fellow villagers."
"Why did they have to sell themselves to the Lu Family of all people? Do they really think the Lu Family is such a benevolent homeowner? Wait until they donât even know how theyâve been ruined by the Lu Family."
Mo Chunyue, however, didnât care and reassured Village Chief He instead: "Village chief, donât be upset. Their fall to this state is all of their own making."
The Mo Family had enough people. If they had settled down and worked honestly, they would have pulled through long ago. However, Elder Mo was always pining for the good old days at their ancestral home, thinking he was still one of the wealthy households in the village, not willing to work, always looking to make a fortune through crooked schemes.
Village Chief He frowned upon hearing this, and he said to Mo Chunyue: "Donât go around saying things like that, or others will say youâre heartless."
Although the Mo Family had wronged Mo Chunyue, she was after all the granddaughter of the Mo Family. Now that her entire natal family had sold themselves into servitude, her saying these things would certainly draw criticism.
"Yes, I wonât dare next time." Mo Chunyue was very pleased with Village Chief Heâs verbal reminder, as it showed he had accepted her as a member of the clan.
Gu Jinli, on the other hand, didnât care much about the whole Mo Family selling themselves into servitude. She took out the last bowl of hairy tofu and placed it on a stool for Village Chief He and the Third Grandpa to eat.
After trying a piece, Village Chief He exclaimed with delight: "This tastes good. Is this another new delicacy youâve come up with?"
Gu Jinli nodded: "Yes, this is hairy tofu. It can also be made into a kind of preserved tofu, which can be used as a seasoning, or as a side dish with rice, porridge, or pancakes. Preserved tofu has a longer shelf life. Now that the weather is hot and tofu spoils easily, preserved tofu is more durable and great for selling."
Finally, Village Chief He cheered up: "This is good, this is very good. Making something that can last is something customers will gladly buy."
Third Grandpa, Third Grandma, and Gu Dashan all tried a few pieces of the hairy tofu and found it delicious.
Third Grandpa advised while eating: "The Mo Family has become the Lu Familyâs servants, so our families need to be wary of the Mo Family lest they cause trouble for the workshop."
Gu Jinli said: "Third Grandpa doesnât have to worry about this. The Lu Family is already greatly weakened, and the Mo Family are merely their servants; they wouldnât dare to make trouble for our workshop."
But she underestimated the Mo Familyâs stupidity. Just the next day, Old Mrs. Mo brought her two daughters-in-law and Mo Qiuyue to the workshop.
With He Sanlai and Old Zhu away seeking refugees from Changping Town at other towns, there was no one to guard the workshopâs gates, and the Mo Familyâs mother and daughters-in-law entered the workshop in an imposing manner.
Old Mrs. Moâs drooping eyelids struggled to lift as she scanned the workshop and declared arrogantly: "Has everyone in Guâs Workshop died? The clients have arrived, yet nobody is out here to welcome them?"
Gu Jinli was in the workshop selecting soybeans for making soy sauce. Hearing Old Mrs. Moâs words, she turned her head to look at the courtyard. Upon seeing the Mo Familyâs mothers and daughters-in-law, her gaze shifted and settled on Mo Qiuyue.
Mo Qiuyue wore a new dress and held a handkerchief in her hand, standing there like a boneless snake, her body leaning to one side.
Gu Jinli narrowed her eyes, thinking Mo Qiuyue was transforming from a wild chicken to a phoenix, wasnât she?
She dusted off her hands and stepped out of the storeroom, sneering at the Mo mother and daughter-in-law, "Greeting guests? A bunch of servants, who do you think you are to be considered guests?"
Old Mrs. Moâs face darkened with anger as she retorted, "You little brat, we are guests as soon as we step through your door, and guests should be treated as such."
Mo Dakuiâs wife chimed in, "Exactly, and we are big customers. Today we want to buy thirty pounds of fried tofu. You better watch your tone, or we might not buy it!"
Gu Jinli laughed, "You not buying? We would gladly not sell to you. Get lost, and if you blabber one more word, Iâll flatten you."
Really, the Mo Family must be sick in the head, thinking they can challenge her just because they butter up the Lu Family? She isnât even afraid of the Lu Family, much less the Mo Family.
Mo Qinzi and her daughter, Mo Chunyue, and the workers from the workshop all came out, pointing at the Mo mother and daughter-in-law, "Didnât you hear our Young Masterâs words? Get lost, or weâll lay hands on you."
Guâs Workshop had a lot of people, and the Mo mother and daughter-in-law were surrounded by more than twenty people, so they said somewhat fearfully, "We... we came here to buy things."
He Dazhuangâs wife spat at them, "Buy what? Are you deaf? Our Young Master said weâre not selling! Our workshop sells thousands of pounds of tofu every day. Who cares about your handful of pounds?"
Mo Qiuyue, taking small, graceful steps, walked out and curtsied to the crowd, saying, "Since the business is open, thereâs no reason to drive customers away."
She looked up at Gu Jinli, her mouth curling into what she believed to be a fetching smile, "Miss Gu, if you drive us away today, by tomorrow the news of Guâs Workshop turning away its customers will have spread. You should think thrice before acting."
Gu Jinli smirked, "We havenât seen each other for just a few days, and an illiterate person like you has started using idioms, is that what the Lu Family taught you? What else did the Lu Family teach you?"
He Dazhuangâs wife was a tough character; she had already noticed something off about Mo Qiuyue and pointed at her, clicking her tongue, "What else can the Lu Family teach her? Itâs nothing more than serving men. Just look at how she stands, how she holds a handkerchief, clearly not something a decent girl would do."
Her words provoked laughter from everyone present.
Old Mrs. Moâs face turned green as she pointed at He Dazhuangâs wife, "Donât you spout nonsense here. My Qiuyue is a pure and innocent girl. She is learning these skills to work as a maid in Zou Mansion."
"Do you know what Zou Mansion is? It is the residence of the County Governor. You bunch of dirt-poor country bumpkins, once my Qiuyue goes to the County Governor Mansion and becomes a phoenix, youâll all be jealous."
At this point, Old Mrs. Mo felt proud, thinking their family had no hope left until Shuan Daâs wife suddenly came seeking them, willing to take in their family and even send Qiuyue to work as a maid in the County Governor Mansion, suggesting that if the chance arose, she could even help Qiuyue to become a concubine.
As for whose concubine she might become, they didnât ask, nor did they care. They just wanted to climb up to the County Governor Mansion.
Now that Old Mrs. Mo felt her family had a bright future, she considered them soaring to the skies, so she came to Guâs Workshop with her two daughters-in-law and Mo Qiuyue, strutting proudly.