Crossing Over to Yamada Love

Madam Feng pouted in dissatisfaction, while Mo Jin remained silent as Second Sister scolded him.

“Oh, Jin, don’t blame me for scolding you, but this matter is really outrageous. I was so angry when I heard about it at home. It’s good that the family has split up. Everyone can live their lives in peace. Whether their lives are good or bad in the future, they can’t blame anyone else.” Mo Zhao, the eldest aunt of the Mo family, also slowly spoke up.

Mo Lan looked at her great-aunt, who was wearing a dark blue long gown and black leggings. Her eyes were gentle, and it seemed that this great-aunt was a good-tempered person.

"What elder sister says is true," Mo Jin replied softly.

"What is it? A debt of thirty taels of silver! It would be a miracle if we could live a good life!" Madam Feng shouted, raising her voice.

"What are you shouting for? Are you trying to show off your loud voice? If you're so capable, why don't you go to the gambling den and shout back those thirty taels? That's what you'll do." Second Aunt Mo Chenshi glared at Fengshi.

Madam Feng gave a low hum.

"Mother, please say less. Haven't you suffered enough over the years? Because you love to talk, you've made others take the blame for you." Feng's eldest daughter, Mo Hua, tried to persuade her, but the implication in her words was far from pleasant.

“That’s right, sister is right. Mother just doesn’t know how to behave. She should learn more from her eldest aunt. Her mouth is so sharp…” Feng’s second daughter, Moqin, also spoke up, covering her mouth with her handkerchief and laughing as she said this.

Mo Lan was speechless. It seemed that Feng's two daughters were just like their mother. Although they were both good-looking, their character was not good. Mo Lan put them in the category of those she could not associate with.

“You two aunts are right. My grandmother is a kind person, so my second aunt should learn more from her. You two aunts are really wise. Did you both bring money today to help Uncle San pay off his debts?” Mo Lan leaned against Wang Shi and asked innocently.

"Oh, Lanlan, you've gotten quite talkative after just a few days." Mo Hua glanced at Mo Lan, took out some loose silver from her bosom, and handed it to Madam Feng, saying, "Mother, this is two taels of silver. This is all the money my husband and I have. You know our family's situation, and we don't have any more. Please accept it."

"This? Hua, you're not exactly living a comfortable life, what do you have?" Madam Feng hesitated as she held the silver.

"Mother, take it quickly. We have enough at home. Even if he doesn't live long, he's my brother. How can I, as his sister, just stand by and do nothing?" Mo Hua's words were quite sincere.

"It's always better to have your own flesh and blood. Unlike those people, who don't even help their brothers when they're in trouble. They're heartless." Madam Feng held the two taels of silver and mocked the eldest son's side. Then she looked at Moqin.

"Hehe, Mother, I came in a hurry. I heard something happened and I was so anxious that I forgot to bring any money. We're not well-off at home lately. I'll bring it next time, Mother." Moqin smiled somewhat awkwardly.

Madam Feng was somewhat displeased. Her youngest daughter had married quite well, much better off than her eldest daughter. She had hoped her daughter would bring her honor, but instead, her daughter had embarrassed her.

"It's good that you have the heart for it." Second Aunt Mo Chenshi said calmly, then called out, "Alright, come over and give the money to your second uncle."

The "Cheng" she mentioned was her eldest son, named Chen Dacheng. He was a middle-aged man in his forties with dark skin and an average appearance, but he seemed very honest and kind. He was also very filial to Mo Chenshi and got along quite well with the Mo family. He agreed and stepped forward, taking out some loose silver from his pocket and handing it to Mo Jin.

"Jin, here's three taels and five mace of silver. I don't have more than that. Take this, and we can pay off the debts as much as we can. The land is our lifeline, so we should try not to sell it if we can avoid it." Although Mo Chenshi had a sharp tongue, she was soft-hearted. Both of them were her younger brothers, and she felt sorry for them. The Mo Quan family were all kind-hearted and honest, and they wouldn't have to worry about making a living after the family split up. But Mo Jin's family was a headache for her.

"No, sister, I can't accept it. Your whole family needs food and drink, how can I take your money?" Mo Jin hurriedly waved his hand to refuse.

"Don't listen to the master. Since it's my sister's wish, I'll accept it. It'll help pay off the debt, and your brother will have an easier time too." Madam Feng chuckled and reached out to take the silver from Chen Dacheng's hand, putting it away.

Mo Chen glared at her fiercely and made a few sarcastic remarks. Feng Shi wasn't angry. She was getting paid, so she could say whatever she wanted. It wouldn't hurt her.

The eldest aunt, Madam Mo Zhao, also had her son take out two taels of silver, and then she gave Mo Jin a few words of advice.

The two aunts ate lunch at home, rested for a while, and then went home.

After seeing off the two aunts, everyone went to the main house. As for the two daughters of the second wife, they had nothing to do with them and didn't need to worry about them.

Everyone was seated. Although Mo Quan was somewhat dejected, the division of the family property had put his mind at ease, so he stopped thinking about it.

“Since everyone is here, I have something to say, let’s discuss it,” Wang said, sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"What is it, Mother? Just tell me," Qiu replied.

"Here's the thing," Wang said. "The other day, the eldest son and Lanlan went to town. When Lanlan was selling wild vegetables at the restaurant, she ran into some of the Xue family's sons. They mentioned that the Xue family was going to build a villa near the mountains in a while, and there would definitely be a lot of craftsmen working there. Feeding so many people would be a problem. I was thinking, why don't we open a small shop and sell some steamed buns or mantou, so that the family can have a livelihood? Tell me what you all think, what are your opinions?" Wang's words were something she had discussed with Molan yesterday when no one was around.

"This? It's feasible, but where would we get the capital to do it?" Mo Changhe pondered for a moment and then spoke up.

“Yes, the cost is one thing, and we’ve hardly ever made steamed buns before. Will anyone buy them?” Qiu also expressed her opinion. Her family had hardly ever made steamed buns before, and she was worried that they wouldn’t sell.

“I think this is a good idea, but like my second brother said, where will we get the capital?” Mo Changhai pondered for a moment and then spoke up.

"You don't need to worry about the capital. I'll figure something out. Just tell me if you think this is feasible. If you all think it is, where should we open the shop?" Wang told everyone not to worry about the money and to think about the location of the shop.

"Of course it's located next to someone's villa. Where else could it be?" Qiu replied quickly.

"When Lan told me about the time, I initially considered opening near there, but then I thought that place was a bit out of the way. Once their villa is finished, we won't have any business left, and we'll just have to wait to close down. I think the fork in the road at the entrance of our village is a good choice. It's not too far from where the villa is being built. Whether it's our village or the village next door, they all have to pass through there to get into town, and they also have to go there to get to the villa from town. I don't think we'll lack business." Wang Shi revealed her thoughts. This was the place that Mo Lan had chosen after thinking about it all the way back from town that day.

After thinking for a moment, Mo Changhe spoke first: "The place Mother mentioned is good. It's a necessary stop on our journey, but the land there belongs to someone else. Should we buy it?"

"Let's discuss whether we can buy it. If we can, we'll start buying materials and building the house. We'll build the house we live in, and then we'll all move in." It seems that Wang is very determined; she has already planned to build the house and move in.

"Then how much land do we need to buy, and how big a building do we need to construct? It must cost a fortune!" Qiu's mouth dropped open. Where would her mother-in-law get so much money?

"It's useless to talk about how much land to buy now; it depends on how much money we have." After saying this, Wang turned around and took off a jade pendant tied with a red string from her neck. She looked at the jade pendant, and her eyes began to glaze over.

“Hai’s mother, you don’t mean to pawn this jade pendant, do you? That won’t do. This is your only keepsake. I don’t agree.” As soon as Mo Quan saw the jade pendant, Li Ma guessed Wang’s meaning and immediately objected.

Mo Lan examined the jade pendant closely. It was made of the finest mutton-fat jade, with a blooming orchid on the front and the character "Lan" (orchid) engraved on the back. Lan? It was the character "Lan"! Mo Lan wondered, wasn't that the "Lan" in her name? Why was "Lan" on her grandmother's jade pendant? Did her grandmother's name contain the character "Lan"? No, wait, wasn't it customary in ancient times for younger generations not to share characters with their elders?

"Sigh, so many years have passed, this jade pendant is just a keepsake now. Changhe, why don't you take Lanlan to town tomorrow and pawn it? It'll still be worth some silver. If we make money later, we can redeem it." Wang Shi hardened her heart, hung the jade pendant around Molan's neck, and turned her face away.

After some more persuasion, seeing that Wang was not going to change her mind, the crowd stopped trying to persuade her. They thought they would work hard and redeem her when they had made enough money.

Seeing that everyone was in low spirits, Mo Lan rolled her eyes, pulled the little San'er from Qiu Shi's arms, touched his little face, and said with a smile, "San'er, you see, everyone is not very happy. Why don't you sing a nursery rhyme for Grandpa and Grandma?"

Little San'er looked into her sister's bright eyes, nodded obediently, and asked, "What are you going to sing?"

"Oh, San'er can sing nursery rhymes? How come I didn't know that, Auntie? Come and sing them for me." Liu was quite surprised.

"My sister taught me," the little guy said shyly.

"Let's sing the little duck song first," Mo Lan said with a smug smile, making the choice for Xiao San'er.

Little San'er stood up from the kang (a heated brick bed) and began to sing while gesturing: "Under the bridge in front of the door, a flock of ducks swam by, come quickly and count them, two, four, six, seven, eight, quack quack quack, there are so many ducks, I can't count how many there are..."

With a childlike voice, adorable movements, and a slight accent when singing, which was quite different from his usual way of speaking, he made everyone laugh, especially when he sang the numbers two, four, six, seven, and eight.

"Good, San'er sang very well. Sing 'Little Donkey' again." Mo Lan praised San'er after he finished singing.

“My family has a little donkey, but I never ride it…” Xiao San’s childish voice floated up again.

Everyone wore smiles. After Xiao San'er finished singing, Wang Shi hugged him and glared at Mo Lan, saying, "You're quite clever. I only told you the nursery rhymes you heard when you were little twice, and you taught them to Xiao San'er. Our Xiao San'er sings them better."

"I was wondering why I'd never heard of this before. Turns out it's something I heard when I was little. No wonder. But it's quite nice," Qiu chuckled.