Farm Tough Girl

Chapter 75 - 75 76 Playing Landlord Game_1

?Chapter 75: Chapter 76: Playing Landlord Game_1 Chapter 75: Chapter 76: Playing Landlord Game_1 The fat pig of a landlord was petrified, pointing dumbly at Wu Haoli for a long while without being able to utter a word. It was Mr. Li who first snapped out of it, cursing loudly, “You’re deliberately toying with us, aren’t you? Saying you would sell the land if you lost, to find you were merely jesting all along. Do you think we all have as much idle time on our hands as you?!”

The others began to curse as well, “Exactly! With Old Mr. Wu passing away so early, it must have been the frustration you caused that killed him. Seeing how frivolously you behave now, he surely won’t rest in peace underground!”

Muniang scoffed to herself. When they spoke of gambling and winning three taels per mu, they all eagerly crowded in, yet the moment they lost, each one started preaching—such is human nature!

Wu Haoli’s face remained unrippled by the profanity hurled at him, merely laughing softly, “Blame only your own ill luck, why make so many excuses. Don’t worry, though my father may not rest easy underground, he certainly won’t disturb you.”

“You! How dare you utter such unfilial words so casually?!” barked the fat pig of a landlord.

Mr. Li, who was originally so angry he was about to explode, suddenly calmed down and said sternly, “It will be, we have no desire to meddle in your family affairs. We also don’t have the time to indulge your antics. Just name your price for these thousand mu of fertile land, how much silver?!”

Wu Haoli raised his eyebrows, “But aren’t there still those who haven’t gambled?”

Upon saying this, everyone’s gaze fell on Muniang and Hong Luo. It was with reason they had been previously overlooked: Hong Luo was clearly an imbecile, how could he possibly gamble? As for that Muniang, a woman’s place is in gambling? Hah! Ridiculous!

“Those two? Better to forget it!” said everyone, their tone not without disdain.

Yet Muniang stepped forward and declared loudly, “Since I’ve come here today, whether to call it off or not is for me to decide!”

This display of spirit was by no means inferior to that of the men, causing them to stiffen in shock. Was this young lady really intent on joining the gambling table?

Wu Haoli seemed to anticipate Muniang’s actions and gestured for her to proceed.

Muniang picked up the dice cup, inspected it, and disdainfully tossed it onto the gambling table: “Such childish playthings that require no intellect whatsoever really don’t interest me.”

With astonishment, Wu Haoli inquired, “Then what do you propose?”

The gentlemen were even more shocked; such words from a young lady!

Muniang tilted her head, “I want to play something fresh, something beyond child’s play, something interesting!”

Wu Haoli’s lips curved into an intrigued smile, “And what would that ‘something fresh’ be?”

With a light smile, Muniang said, “Fight the Landlord!”

“What?” Everyone looked at Muniang with bewildered eyes; naturally, people from ancient times would not recognize what ‘Fight the Landlord’ was.

Muniang replied with a smile, “However, I didn’t bring my tools today. I shall visit again tomorrow, at which time, I fully intend to give Mr. Wu a lesson or two.”

Mr. Li scoffed coldly, “Tomorrow? You’re not trying to buy time, are you? If you can’t gamble, just say so—no need to pretend to be something you’re not.”

Such people, obviously, cannot stand to see others succeed when they themselves have failed!

Muniang didn’t even look at him, only saying to Wu Haoli, “You only mentioned winning before, not specifically dice. I just want to change the method of gambling. What do you say, Mr. Wu? If you don’t even have the guts for that, I really must have overestimated you.”

Wu Haoli’s lips quirked up, goading? That trick really didn’t work on him, but—
“Very well, I’ll await you here tomorrow, and I hope that your ‘Fight the Landlord’ won’t disappoint me.”

Life is so long, you’ve got to find yourself some fun.

Muniang smiled contentedly and said, “It’s a deal!”

When she got home, Muniang began cutting sheets of paper into small pieces. Because the paper was very thin and there was no cardboard, it was awkward to handle. So Muniang simply pasted three small pieces of paper together with glue. Once they dried, they became quite stiff.

Erliang also helped out, accustomed as he was to Muniang occasionally coming up with something novel, and thus he wasn’t too surprised.

The two were busy working inside when they saw Hong Luo assisting Mrs. Lin in.

“Muniang, how did things go with the land today?”

Upon seeing Mrs. Lin, Muniang hurried over to support her, “Mother, you’re still not fully recovered. What if you fall while wandering around?”

“With Hong Luo accompanying me, what could possibly happen,” Mrs. Lin said, clearly pleased to hear Muniang’s concern.

Mrs. Lin sat down on the kang, and only then did Muniang speak, “That matter isn’t settled yet, we’ll have to go again tomorrow. Mother, you should just focus on your recovery. Leave the outside affairs to me. Don’t worry yourself.”

Mrs. Lin scolded, “Aren’t I just afraid you’ll be too impulsive and waste the silver? It wasn’t easy for you to earn this money. I’m already content with our life as it is. I’m just worried your ambition is too great, and one misstep could become a lifelong regret.”

Muniang chuckled softly, “Alright, I know. This land, we might just get it for three or two silver pieces an acre.”

Mrs. Lin exclaimed in surprise, “Three or two? That cheap? Could it be a scam?”

“Don’t worry, your daughter isn’t that foolish. That young master just likes to squander money for fun. We’re just picking up a great bargain, isn’t that wonderful?”

Mrs. Lin was clearly still skeptical, but seeing Muniang so confident, she didn’t say much more. Her gaze then fell on the pile of small pieces of paper on the table, and she asked in puzzlement, “Muniang, what are you up to with these?”

“Oh, these? They’re playing cards. The last time I went to the town, I saw two people playing at a wonton stall in the street. I got interested and learned a bit, just in time to take these and trick Mr. Wu.”

Muniang had intended to just say it was something she’d come up with on a whim, but felt that might be unreliable. Her “talent” in cooking was shocking enough already, and adding yet another skill might arouse suspicion. So she simply said it was something she learned.

Mrs. Lin was somewhat astonished, “We have such things in our town? I’ve never heard of it.”

Muniang smiled and said, “Their accents were not from around here. They must be traders from afar. Not many people here would know of it.”

Mrs. Lin was thus relieved of her doubts. Muniang’s eyes twinkled as she suddenly said, “How about I make you a set too? It’s so boring for you always staying at home. If you had these playing cards, you could pass the time.”

Mrs. Lin waved her hands dismissively, “Let it be, I’m just fine sewing clothes and shoes for you all. Those are the kinds of things for the gentlemen to play with. How would it be fitting for me to dabble in such things?”

Muniang teased with a grin, “Don’t worry, it’ll be just between the two of us. We won’t tell anyone else. I’ll teach you, it’s not hard.”

Mrs. Lin was actually tempted, but traditional thinking in her mind prevented her from agreeing. Muniang, of course, could see this and preemptively decided for her. As soon as Mrs. Lin heard it was a secret just between mother and daughter, she found it hard to refuse.

Seeing her daughter busying herself with making these, Mrs. Lin naturally joined in to help with pasting the paper. After all, there was nothing else to do.

Before long, a small figure walked in quietly, with a gentle voice, “Good day, Second Aunt, Mu, Brother-in-law.”