Chapter 155 Result (2)_1
The arson incident was temporarily not pursued by the village due to Old Man Mo’s "coma," but it needed to be resolved. After a couple of days, Yang Bao, accompanied by Mo Qingze and the villagers whose houses had nearly burned down, arrived at Old Man Mo’s House to demand an explanation from Old Man Mo.
When everyone learned that Mo Yongxi had set fire to the fruit seedlings simply because Mo Yan was beautiful, well-fed, wore pretty clothes, and was about to move into a big house - and that her jealousy had compelled her to teach the Mo Family a lesson - they were all dumbfounded.
Mo Yongxi’s behavior was not just a matter of pettiness or intense jealousy; it was sheer foolishness and maliciousness.
Initially, Yang Bao wanted to drive the entire family out of Liu Yang Village; after all, a person who could set fires without regard for others’ lives due to jealousy was far too dangerous. What if Mo Yongxi became jealous of another girl next time and decided to set fire to someone else’s house?
But Lao Mo’s House wasn’t just Mo Yongxi; if more than ten people were expelled, they would have nowhere to go but back to their hometown.
However, Mo Yongshou had previously offended Landlord Chen at their hometown, losing both their house and land, so even if they returned safely to their hometown, the whole family, unless selling themselves into slavery, would have only death waiting for them.
Seeing the children crying bitterly, everyone’s hearts softened after all; it wasn’t their fault.
At this moment, the people of Lao Mo’s House should feel lucky that the fire had been put out in time on that day, only causing the loss of most of their lumber and not more severe consequences. Otherwise, the villagers of Liu Yang Village would never allow Lao Mo’s House to remain in the village.
However, punishment was still necessary. At Yang Bao’s insistence, Old Man Mo’s family had to compensate for the Mo Family’s lumber at market rates in silver, as well as apologize to the other villagers in person.
Apologizing was one thing, but Lao Mo’s House only managed to stave off hunger by selling the firewood the men chopped in the mountains and the needlework the women did for money. Where would they find the extra silver to compensate for the lumber?
In the end, Yang Bao, following the example set by Mo Yan that day, had them sign an IOU to Mo Qingze and also draft a deed that essentially stated that if any member of Lao Mo’s House dared do anything that harmed the interests of other villagers in the future, they would be driven out of Liu Yang Village.