Transmigrated Farmgirl's Scheme to Get Rich

One of the patrolling officers asked, “Who’s the buyer and who’s the seller?”

Daqiang didn’t know what to do and looked at Mo Yan, who hastily replied, “You’ve misunderstood, I’m no longer selling this house.” Then, she turned to Daqiang and said, “Brother Daqiang, my boss has just told me that this horse is no longer for sale.”

Daqiang was about to leave, but the patrolling officers went to stop him, “What, are you trying to evade taxes now?”

Mo Yan grabbed the horse’s reins, “Neither of us are the owners of this horse. We have no authority over this matter, and I have to go back and discuss this with the owner.”

After finishing speaking, Mo Yan walked to the horse, stepping on the rock slab Daqiang was sitting on, and leaping onto the horse’s back.

“Brother Daqiang, I’m leaving. I’ll see you back in the village.” After saying that, she tapped the horse’s belly with both feet, and it started to gallop away.

The livestock dealers told the patrolling officers, “Stop her! They’re trying to evade taxes!”

The patrolling officers also wanted to stop Mo Yan, but couldn’t catch up with a galloping horse. Mo Yan flicked the reins, and the bay red horse left the livestock market in a flash.

Mo Yan rode it all the way back to the village, but instead of going back to her own house or the Cao family’s house, she went to governing official Wu’s house.

Ms. Liang had asked him for advice before buying her donkey. Mo Yan wanted to ask him about the tax for trading livestock.

Mo Yan got off the horse at the door of his house. Fortunately, governing official Wu was at home. He came out of the house when he heard the sound of the horse galloping, and recognised Cao’s horse at a glance.

“Yan’er, why do you have the Cao family’s horse?”

“How did you instantly recognize this horse, governing official Wu?”

“I have to recognize all of the work animals in this village, and which family they belong to. I even have an official account book for that!”

So these animals also had household registrations!

“Do you have to pay taxes to trade livestock?”

“Yes, you do.”

“How much do you need to pay?”

“There hasn’t been a border war recently, so the livestock tax has been reduced from one fiftieth to one hundredth.”

So the existence of the livestock tax was related to the war.

“When there are sales of work animals within the village, do they go through you?”

“You don’t have to, but if you trade in the livestock market, you have to pay the tax to the governing official there, and they will also charge more.”

No wonder those two patrolling officers rushed to collect their taxes, since they had something to gain.

“People in the village usually come to me to buy and sell livestock, just to pay less taxes and handling fees.” He looked at the horse Mo Yan was leading, “Did you buy this horse?”

Mo Yan nodded, “I want it for my sister’s dowry.”

“Have you agreed on a price?”

“Not yet, how much do you think would be suitable?”

Governing official Wu smiled, “Well, since both parties are from the same village, I don’t want to say much. Go and negotiate the price, and I will try my best to lower the tax for you.”

Mo Yan didn’t want to negotiate with Mr. Cao, “Then how about twenty-five silver taels, this price should be considered fair.”

“Yes! It’s fair! Tell me when you officially make the deal, and I will register it for you.”

Mo Yan led the horse to the Cao family’s house not far away. Daqiang was standing at the gate looking around and waiting for her.

“Yan’er, you can even ride a horse?”

“I just learnt recently, so I can leave the house easier.”

“Are you really buying this horse?”

“Of course, it’s only twenty-five silver taels.”

Mo Yan took out the money and gave it to Daqiang, asking him to hand it over to Mr. Cao. Without waiting for him to refuse, Mo Yan got on the horse, and rode back to the workshop. She didn’t want to take the horse home yet, in fear that Ms. Liang and Mo Feng would have their own intentions for it.

She arrived just as Lu Junming came out of the office, “Nice! You’re riding a horse with confidence now!”

Mo Yan jumped off the horse, and Lu Junming ran over to help her. This scene was witnessed by Xiuying, who wanted to use the latrine. She glanced at them, sneered and went.

“Where did this horse come from?” Lu Junming asked.

“It’s mine, I just bought it.”

Lu Junming looked at the bay red horse, “It looks good, but it’s just a draft horse.”

The corners of Mo Yan’s lips rose, and she smiled happily, “That’s what I want it for. It’s for my sister’s dowry. I’ve also ordered a landau, but it’ll take a few days to be done.”

Lu Junming nodded, “Then this horse is quite good. I guarantee that your sister will have face at her husband’s house.”

“I want to keep this horse here until it’s time to send the dowry.”

Lu Junming naturally knew what she was thinking, so called Ze Wu to take the horse out to the stables.

When Xiuying came back from the latrine, she saw Ze Wu leading the horse to the stables, so she pretended to casually ask, “Ze Wu, whose horse is this?”

“Miss Mo Yan just bought it for Miss Mo Ling’s dowry.”

Xiuying saw that the horse looked familiar, so took a second look. The more she looked, the more her heart ached with jealousy.

In the evening, Mo Yan left the bay red horse in the workshop, and returned to the village with Lu Junming.

As soon as she went back, Ms. Liang immediately asked her, “Did you buy a horse from Mr. Cao?”

The two families were from the same village, so Mo Yan knew that this matter would not be hidden very long. She only hoped to get a day or two of peace, but who would’ve thought they would’ve found out in less than a day?

“Yes, I did.”

“Then why didn’t you take it home?”

“When the carriage is ready, it’ll be just in time to deliver for the dowry.”

“A horse and a cart cost dozens of silver taels. Where did you get so much money?”

Mo Feng came in from outside the house, gritted his teeth and said, “I told you she was secreting away money, but you didn’t believe me. Such a good horse, it’d be a shame to give it away as part of a dowry. Mum, let’s keep it for ourselves!”

Mo Yan had actually forgotten that Ms. Li went to the Cao family every day, so must have passed on the matter of selling the horse to Ms. Liang. And Mo Feng just came back, so he must have been talking to Xiuying.

Ms. Li and Xiuying were really overstepping their boundaries!

Mo Yan sneered, “You must have been talking to Ms. Li and Xiuying! Mother, don’t you think they’re crossing the line? Our family affairs have nothing to do with them. If you really become in-laws with them in the future, you won’t have a single moment of peace.”

Mo Feng soldiered on, “Were they wrong? Did you secretly buy a horse?”

“Buying a horse requires registration in the household accounts, how can it be done secretly! The horse has already been registered under Mo Ling’s name, which cannot be changed.”

Mo Feng went over and pulled Ms. Liang’s sleeve coquettishly, “Mum, I want the bay red horse, not the blind and lame old donkey.”

Mo Yan went into the kitchen to help her sister cook, and ignored them. Ms. Liang pulled Mo Feng’s hand away from her sleeve and followed. She tugged at the front of her clothes and cleared her throat, “We can send the horse when we’re delivering the dowry, but can’t we leave the horse here when Mo Ling returns home? After all, Cheng’er and his family already have livestock.”

Mo Yan was bending over to put steamed buns into a pot. When she heard Ms. Liang words, she suddenly stood up and glared at her angrily, “Mother, do you have face?”

Ms. Liang also felt that what she just said was shameless, so she quietly left the kitchen.

Post-translation notes: I’m not sure whether the author is trying to have character development or make the characters stagnant here. Each time, it seems like one step forward but then two steps back. Of course, thank you for reading!