Chapter 131: Upholding Justice
Editor: Atlas Studios
When Mu Shi returned to the camp, there were still more than ten acres of wheat left to plant. Mu Yangling and Madam Ma-Liu spent three days planting that with one pulling a plow and the other supporting the plow. Now, only two acres of high-grade land and two acres of medium-grade land remained unplanted in the southern corner.
“Ah Ling, I think we should plant it like the rest. Why experiment?” Madam Ma-Liu felt that she could barely straighten her back and dreaded the thought of slowly dragging this out.
However, Mu Yangling insisted. “Great-aunt, there are many ways to farm. I want to try different methods so that we can choose a better method next year. Although it’s a little tough, it’s all worth it. However, the intensity of the labor these few days is too high. You can rest for two days. Since there’s nothing else going on right now, let’s leave these two plots for two days.”
Not used to resting before finishing her work, Madam Ma-Liu frowned.
However, Mu Yangling stood up and said, “I’ll go to Cousin Li’s house to take a look. His family has 40 acres of land, and there’s only him and his mother working on it. Now that Cousin Li has returned to the camp, he definitely hasn’t finished planting. I’ll go over to help for two days. You and the kids can rest.”
When Madam Ma-Liu heard her say that, she thought of the difficulties of being an orphan and a widow. So, she hurriedly said, “Alright, go quickly. I’ll take care of things at home.”
Mu Yangling carried a fish to Liu Li’s house early in the morning. As it had been a long time since she had entered the mountains, the only non-vegetarian food they had been eating was fish. Although they were a tad sick of it, they needed meat for the strength to work.
Despite the fact that it was not late when Mu Yangling reached Liu Li’s house, Madam Liu-Ma was no longer at home. Sticking her head into the courtyard, Mu Yangling saw that there was an iron plow in the corner. She supported herself with one hand on the wall and jumped in. She threw the fish into the kitchen, carried the iron plow, and jumped out again.
Since it was peak farming season at the moment, the only ones who remained in the village were children under the age of five who could not go to the fields. Mu Yangling casually pulled one over and asked, “Do you know where Liu Li’s land is?”
“Who is Liu Li?”
Mu Yangling pointed at Liu Li’s house. The child she grabbed replied in a childish voice, “Oh, you mean Grandma Ma? Her land is at the foot of the ridge. I’ll bring you there.”
When Liu Li requested for a splitting of family assets, he was very unyielding. He did not want the 100 acres of military field, but chose the best 40 acres of land that was connected together. Third Great-uncle was wary of his current status and did not dare to object forcefully. He could only swallow this anger, but he could not help treating him with a snarky attitude.
When Mu Yangling arrived at the foot of the ridge, Third Great-aunt was standing on the ridge and scolding Madam Liu-Ma for crossing the line and occupying her land.
Madam Liu-Ma swallowed her anger and held the hoe as she worked in the field, pretending not to hear her.
Many families at the foot of the ridge were secretly watching the commotion. They all knew that Madam Liu-Ma was Third Great-aunt’s daughter-in-law. If Madam Liu-Ma retorted, it would be considered unfilial and she would drag her son, Liu Li, down.
At that time, people would probably say that an unfilial mother naturally gave birth to an unfilial son. For the sake of her son, Madam Liu-Ma could only endure this anger. She would not even tell her son when he returned.
Mu Yangling, who was standing at the back, felt her face darken when she heard the gossip. She strode over with the iron plow on her back and stood directly behind Third Great-aunt. “Third Great-aunt, what are you cursing at?”
Third Great-aunt was shocked. When she turned around and saw Mu Yangling, she couldn’t help but smack her. She snapped, “Why are you standing behind someone and talking? You don’t make any sound when you walk. Are you a cat?”
“I’m already walking very loudly. Third Aunt, you were too focused on scolding people and didn’t notice.”
Looking embarrassed, Third Great-aunt asked, “Why are you here?” Her gaze was glued to the iron plow on her shoulder.
Mu Yangling said frankly, “I’m here to help Cousin Li. Why? Are you also here to help your grandson? That’s true. Uncle passed away early, leaving only Aunt and Cousin Li at home. Now that Cousin Li has gone to the army on behalf of your entire family, the widow is left on her own. It makes sense that you’ve come to help. Third Great-aunt, come and help me with the plow while Aunt plants the seeds.”
Third Great-aunt’s face darkened, but she couldn’t say anything unpleasant to Mu Yangling. She could only suppress the anger in her heart and curl the corners of her lips as she said in a strange voice, “Yo, Ah Ling didn’t even help her own great-uncle’s family, but came to help Ah Li first?”
Mu Yangling replied with a nonchalant smile, “My great-uncle has a lot of family members and doesn’t need my help. However, Cousin Li only has his mother. Although his family doesn’t have much land, one person can’t finish farming alone. Shouldn’t I help out? Besides, earlier on, Cousin Li ran over to help my family farm for two days even though he was having such a difficult time himself.”
Mu Yangling’s voice was not soft. Everyone in the field heard her and lowered their heads in embarrassment.
Everyone in the Liu clan, including those who came from Nearhill Village, had received Mu Yangling’s favor. They all knew that the Mu father and daughter did not know how to farm, but other than Liu Li and Liu Yong, no one was willing to go over and help.
Liu Zhuang and his brothers went over because they were the closest relatives and always got involved. They simply couldn’t compare.
Never mind Liu Yong’s family because he still had parents and a younger brother. However, Liu Li’s family was really struggling as he could only rely on his widowed mother now that he was away at camp.
Liu He was originally sitting on the ground to rest, but when he heard this, he couldn’t help but stand up in shame. Back then, he had wanted to finish planting his family’s land before asking Liu Dacang to go over to help. After all, the Mu father and daughter didn’t know how to farm, so their speed would definitely be slow. When the time came, they could just go and help tie up the loose ends. Who knew that Mu Yangling would run over to help Liu Li before she finished planting her own land?
As the patriarch, he felt even more ashamed.
Not caring what they thought, Mu Yangling pulled Third Great-aunt to the field. The latter hurriedly struggled and said, “Ah Ling, it’s hard for Great-aunt too. Look at how much land our family has. How can I find time? I’d better go back and farm my own land first.”
Mu Yangling lowered her head to look at the ground under her feet as she said, “From what I heard just now, Aunt has crossed your family’s land? This is a serious matter and can’t be delayed.” Her gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Liu He. “Since Great-uncle He and all the villagers are here, why don’t we let them measure it? Otherwise, the harmony within the family will be ruined.”
As soon as these words were spoken, even Third Great-uncle couldn’t sit still anymore. He hurriedly walked over and said, “Ah Ling, your great-aunt is spouting nonsense. Since there are no signs on the edge of the field, it’s inevitable that she’ll see wrongly.”
Mu Yangling asked him directly, “Third Great-uncle, do you think Aunt has occupied your family’s land?”
Third Great-uncle was silent for a moment. Seeing that Mu Yangling was staring at him with bright eyes, insisting that he give an answer, he could only lower his head and say, “No, it’s inevitable that she’s seeing things since she’s old.”
“Alright, since Third great-uncle is worried about being mistaken due to the lack of signs, I’ll set up a sign for you.” Mu Yangling put down the iron plow and walked towards the road. When she reached the roadside, she picked the largest stone and placed it at the intersection. She patted the stone and said to Third Great-uncle and his wife, who were dumbfounded, “No one can move such a big stone. In the future, no one can occupy the other party’s land. Everyone just needs to take a look to know where the boundary lies.”
Third Great-uncle and Third Great-aunt felt as if they had swallowed an extremely bitter pill.
Madam Liu-Ma, who was originally touched and wiping her tears, couldn’t help but burst out laughing when she saw this.