Crossing Over to Yamada Love

Before Mo Quan could speak, Cheng Juren smiled and said, "Yes, what the clan chief said makes sense. Uncle Mo, we're all from the same village, we'll see each other all the time, why make things so tense? Just divide the tiger meat among ourselves."

"The scholar and the clan chief have spoken, and I originally had no choice but to comply. However, I also have my own difficulties. Scholar and clan chief, please listen to my predicament and see if I am right. Then, you can make a decision for me, okay?" Mo Quan pondered for a moment before speaking to the two of them.

Both Cheng Juren and the clan chief frowned. Was he unwilling? They wanted to hear what kind of nonsense he had to come up with!

Mo Quan said with a serious expression, "To deal with this tiger, the Xue family rushed to make a large animal trap. They hired several craftsmen to work on it overnight. This animal trap alone cost a lot of money. Scholar, clan leader, think about it, if this animal trap hadn't injured the tiger first and broken its leg, would it have been so easy to kill the tiger?"

Cheng Juren and the clan chief both nodded. What Mo Quan said was true; he made sense. If the animal trap hadn't injured the tiger first, the villagers would have suffered several casualties if they had tried to deal with it themselves.

"Also, it was agreed that if the tiger was injured, everyone would go up the mountain, because it was a matter for the whole village. But what happened? Apart from my family, only a dozen or so people followed Young Master Xue up the mountain. It was as if there was no one else in our village besides these dozen or so people."

Upon hearing Mo Quan's words, Scholar Cheng blushed slightly. He had a large family and several servants, but he hadn't sent a single person to his own household. He thought his courtyard walls were high enough that a tiger couldn't get in, and that this matter had nothing to do with him. Now that Mo Quan had said this, he truly felt ashamed.

Actually, it wasn't just him; many people standing there also blushed. They hadn't gone up the mountain or contributed any effort, and they felt a little embarrassed.

The clan chief nodded. Last night, his eldest grandson had gone up the mountain with him and returned with five hundred coins, saying it was a gift from Young Master Xue. His family had not only received money but also contributed manpower, and he felt proud of himself.

Mo Quan glanced at the expressions of the group and understood. He continued, "Young Master Xue led his men to chase the tiger in the mountains until almost dawn and killed it. The tiger was killed by Young Master Xue and his servant. They both know martial arts. If it weren't for them, there might have been casualties in our village. The clan leader hasn't forgotten the incident of the tiger injuring people many years ago, has he?"

"Yes, that year three died and several were injured, not to mention the livestock that were eaten. Compared to that, the casualties this year are much smaller. It's all thanks to Young Master Xue. We should really thank him." The clan chief nodded.

"The clan chief is right. It was Young Master Xue who basically took care of the tiger, so he gave each of the people who went with him 500 coins as a reward, as he felt they had worked hard coming up the mountain. It was also a form of compensation for them. As for the tiger?"

Mo Quan glanced at the people standing in the room and continued, "This tiger belongs to the Xue family's young master. My Mo family is just helping out. Young master Xue said that after the tiger is cleaned up, he will leave ten catties of meat for my shop as a reward. He will take some of the rest with him and sell the rest to my shop. As for the ten catties of meat, if you all want to share it, I have no objection and will share it with everyone. As for the remaining tiger meat, you are welcome to have it too. My family paid for it, and I won't make a profit from your money. I'll sell it for the price I paid. If anyone wants some, just let me know, and I'll have Changhai weigh it for you."

As soon as Mo Quan finished speaking, the people in the room started discussing. They figured that since the tiger now belonged to the Xue family's young master, they couldn't possibly ask him for money. Wasn't this all for nothing?

"Uncle Mo, how much is tiger meat per pound? If it's cheap, I'll buy some too." A man was still hoping to buy tiger meat cheaply and resell it in town to make a profit.

"The Xue family gives us eighty coins a catty. My nephew wants it too, and it'll be the same price. Your uncle won't make money off you," Mo Quan chuckled as he spoke.

The man grinned when he heard the price Mo Quan reported: eighty coins per catty. He couldn't afford that.

“Then brother, divide up those ten catties of tiger meat. The sooner we divide it, the easier it will be for us to leave. We won’t delay your family’s business.” A man in his forties called out to Mo Quan. His name was Liu Qingniu, and he was of the same generation as Mo Quan. He was usually very stingy. He thought to himself: It’s still meat, so I might as well take advantage of it.

Mo Quan glanced at him, smiled, and said, "Alright, let's divide it up. My two daughters-in-law will each get a pound, we won't take any, the Jin family will get a pound, the clan head's family will get a pound, the local headman's family will get a pound, and the Cheng family will get a pound too. That's six pounds. There are still four pounds of meat left, you can discuss how to divide it yourselves, I, this old man, won't get involved."

After Mo Quan finished speaking, Liu Qingniu objected, shouting, "Brother, this is too unfair! Why are you only giving priority to your own family? What are your two daughters-in-law's families supposed to send? Don't send anything to the second wife either. Just take out these three catties and divide them up too."

The others echoed his sentiments. The clan leader and the scholar Cheng remained silent. The Mo family had given them a jin (a unit of weight), which wasn't much, but they only had ten jin. It was enough that they had given it to them, that they were thinking of them, and that they had saved face.

"Brother Qingniu, you're mistaken. It's precisely because my two wives are family that I can't mistreat them. So I'd rather go hungry myself than let my in-laws think I'm mistreating their daughters."

The second branch of the family separated from us. The Jin family is also a large family. Jin's legs aren't very good, but he came out to help last night. We should at least give him a pound. Otherwise, how can it be justified? Also, if we follow Brother Qingniu's suggestion that we don't give to our own family, then fine, Brother Qingniu, bring out all the grain and other things in your house and distribute them to everyone. After everyone has finished distributing, Brother Qingniu can take the rest home for his own consumption. Is that alright?

Mo Quan's words made Liu Qingniu's face turn red. He stammered a few times but couldn't say anything more. Hearing the laughter from others, he was angry and puzzled. When did this old Mo become so talkative?

Actually, Mo Quan didn't intend to keep the tiger for himself. He was also upset that the villagers had lost their livestock. He thought that if everyone worked together to kill the tiger, everyone could get a share. He didn't care how much his own share was, as long as this scourge was eliminated.

Who knew that so many people would come out last night? The tiger's roar was so loud, it's impossible that the others didn't hear it, but they just pretended not to come out. This made Mo Quan feel a chill in his heart, thinking that the people in the village were inconsiderate. How could they do nothing if the tiger didn't hurt their own doorstep?

Later, when Changhe returned and told him that his granddaughter had almost been injured by a tiger, he became even more furious. If everyone in the village had gone, even if the tiger had been incredibly powerful, it would have been killed long ago. But today, they all came to take advantage of him! What a joke!

The reason Mo Quan is treating those who come to take advantage of him in this way is twofold: firstly, he is disheartened by their behavior, and secondly, he is influenced by Mo Lan. When the clan leader and the scholar arrive, Chang Hai and Chang He cannot get a word in edgewise because they are not of seniority enough. If they were to speak, it would be considered impolite. Only he can handle this matter himself, but he cannot afford to make things worse. In the future, the Mo family still needs to maintain its foothold in the manor and cannot afford to offend too many people.

Mo Quan then thought of the methods Wang Shi and Mo Lan usually used to deal with things. He often heard the two of them talking at night and felt that sometimes what they said made sense; one shouldn't be too stubborn. So he came up with the idea of ​​saying that the tiger belonged to the Xue family. Anyway, they wouldn't dare to ask Xue Lingfeng, and even if they did, Xue Lingfeng would side with his family and admit it.

He was already being generous by giving them ten catties of tiger meat; why would he give it all to you? He has to prioritize his own family. No matter how good you are to outsiders, they won't appreciate your kindness. It's just four catties; take it or leave it.

In the end, the four catties of tiger meat were divided up, with each person receiving a few ounces. Mo Lan didn't know, nor did she watch the people arguing heatedly over a few ounces of tiger meat. It was all rather pointless.

After seeing them off, Mo Lan gave her grandfather a thumbs-up, surprised at how capable he was. He'd gotten rid of them so easily. Receiving his granddaughter's praise, Mo Quan's mustache stood on end with delight.

Inside the private room, Xue Lingfeng listened to Steward Xue's report and smiled slightly. Old Master Mo had handled the matter well.

When the Mo family's shop started selling tiger meat, business boomed. Their private rooms were always packed. The young masters of town weren't short of money; they loved novelty. Eating tiger meat was a challenge and a novelty for them. So when they came to Biwu Tiger Meat, they accepted the high prices. What they cared about was that other restaurants didn't have it, and it gave them a sense of superiority.

Fortunately, it's cold now, so the tiger meat can be frozen and sold for a considerable time. Otherwise, such a large tiger would be really difficult to handle. In addition, Mo Lan also had Mo Changhe buy a lot of wine jars and soak the tiger bones in the wine.

Tiger bone wine can cure rheumatism and lower back and leg pain. It's cold here, and many people suffer from these ailments, especially the elderly. Mo Lan plans to brew it and have her grandparents, father, and uncle drink a small cup every day; it will be good for their health.

Before we knew it, it was December again, and the weather was even colder. Guests weren't coming as often, and people were starting to hibernate again.

"Is Erlang about to start his annual leave?" Qiu muttered as she did her needlework.

"It'll be soon, probably in the next few days. I heard that my brother's studies have improved a lot. He'll take the exam next year, and if he passes, our family will have a scholar." Mo Lan said happily. Xue Lingfeng had told her a few days ago that Erlang was doing very well at the academy, very diligent and studious, and since he wasn't stupid, he had made great progress.

When Erlang first entered the academy, he faced some discrimination because of his ordinary clothes and modest family background. Some arrogant rich young men looked down on him.

Over time, firstly, Erlang was ambitious, didn't cause trouble, and didn't fawn over others; secondly, Steward Xue visited him several times and brought him gifts, so people knew Erlang was sent by the Xue family, and their attitude towards him improved considerably. They stopped ostracizing him. Erlang gradually got along well with the other students.