He Zhiran did not know that Peng Wang's evaluation of him was so high. He concentrated on roasting the fish.
He thought those officials would cause trouble for this reason. He Zhiran was already prepared to deal with it.
There was a reason why she did this.
They had just departed from Beijing and still had a long way to go before reaching the northwest.
If she began to flatter and please these officials from the start, making them feel it was all a matter of course, wouldn’t they make exorbitant demands in the future?
In addition, He Zhiran also wanted to test the bottom line of these officials, which would be convenient for her to handle things appropriately in the future.
Judging from the distribution of roasted fish just now, these officials were quite reasonable.
He Zhiran also had a preliminary understanding of them.
The second batch of carp was roasted, still 10 fish.
He Zhiran took two fish and gave them to Peng Wang and Mo Jiuye first.
Although Mo Jiuye was injured and it was not suitable for him to eat fish, there was no other way during this special period. He could not just watch others eat and salivate.
Moreover, Mo Jiuye's injuries were all under He Zhiran's control. Eating one fish would not hurt him.
Peng Wang took a bite of the roasted fish, and his eyes lit up instantly.
It could be said that this was the most delicious roasted fish he had eaten in his life.
"Mo Jiuye, didn't I say your wife is capable? Even her roasting fish skills are so good. You are really lucky."
"Well, the taste is indeed not bad."
Mo Jiuye casually responded with a word, but his mind was even more intricate.
None of the things He Zhiran had done should be something a young lady from a good family was capable of.
However, it was precisely her uniqueness that allowed the Mo family to suffer little since departing from Beijing.
Mo Jiuye's mind was complicated. He felt useless for causing his family to be exiled. Now he had to rely on a woman to resolve various matters.
He Zhiran did not know Mo Jiuye's thoughts. After distributing the roasted fish, four officials did not get any.
Her attitude this time was good. After giving out the food, she naturally could not offend others again.
"My lords, I will go roast the next batch. Everyone will get a share."
Seeing their brothers eat with great appetite, the remaining four officials felt upset.
However, looking at He Zhiran's busy appearance, not resting for a moment, they still suppressed their anger and waited patiently.
After about ten minutes, the four officials finally got the roasted fish contentedly.
The others had finished their roasted fish long ago. Now, looking at the four of them eat, they still could not help but swallow saliva.
The four suddenly felt a sense of superiority, slowly eating the roasted fish, extremely satisfied in their hearts.
He Zhiran left a roasted fish for herself and gave the other three to her second sister-in-law.
"Second sister-in-law, please take these three fish to Uncle Xie and the others to try."
The second sister-in-law looked incredulous.
"Sister-in-law, are you serious?"
He Zhiran smiled and replied, "I'm serious. Uncle Xie and Auntie are getting older and have not eaten enough these two days. Eating some roasted fish will nourish them. Xie Lin also needs nourishing food during her weakness."
The second sister-in-law was so moved that tears almost came out.
"Okay, okay, I'll take them over right away. Thank you, sister-in-law."
Watching the second sister-in-law's quickly disappearing figure, He Zhiran found a shady place to sit down, rest and eat roasted fish.
This move once again attracted countless resentful eyes.
After noticing those eyes, He Zhiran did not choose to ignore them.
Instead, she met them one by one.
She wanted to see how much these people hated the Mo family.
The first were the He family, led by the two strong laborers pushing the carts. They all stared at He Zhiran.
Their mouths kept opening and closing. It was obvious they were scolding her.
Perhaps because they were afraid of those officials, they did not dare to speak loudly.
So He Zhiran could not hear their voices from her position.
The Li family was no less hostile than the He family. All their men, women, young and old were glaring at He Zhiran.
Especially Li Rou'er. If looks could kill, He Zhiran would have died countless times from her gaze.
She raised the roasted fish towards Li Rou'er's direction, took another bite, an action that could drive one mad with anger.
Although the Fang family were also looking at He Zhiran, their eyes did not contain endless hatred like the He and Li families.
After careful observation, He Zhiran found that their eyes seemed to contain pleading and unwillingness.
The Xie family needless to say. He Zhiran had saved Xie Lin’s life before. Now she let the second sister-in-law deliver three roasted fish to them. As a result, their hostility towards the Mo family lessened even more.
It seemed that the Fang family, like the Xie family, also harbored hatred that could be slowly resolved.
Of course, it would be most appropriate for Mo Jiuye himself to be involved in this matter.
After all, only confronting the parties concerned could explain things more clearly.
He Zhiran now had a good grasp of the situation. She would find time later to discuss it with Mo Jiuye.
Just as she finished eating the roasted fish, Peng Wang called her over.
"Miss He, your fishing skills are good. Take this opportunity while we rest to go catch some more fish."
He Zhiran smiled sarcastically, "Lord Peng, you still haven't eaten enough?"
Embarrassed for having his thoughts seen through, Peng Wang's old face flushed red.
"Uh... yes, let's just say so!"
In fact, even if Peng Wang didn't say it, He Zhiran also planned to do so.
However, she did not want to miss any opportunity to gain favor.
"Lord Peng, I'm just a young lady. If not for the sake of my family eating something, I wouldn't have waded barefoot into the river to catch fish in front of everyone.
Now that everyone has eaten fish, please don't make things difficult for me."
Rejected, Peng Wang suddenly looked upset.
But thinking of the delicious roasted fish, he still endured.
"This time you don't need to catch too many, just ten, ten fish."
He Zhiran pretended to bow her head in thought, acting undecided.
Peng Wang became anxious.
"How about this - you just need to catch ten more fish, and I promise you a condition within my capabilities."
"Since Lord Peng has said it to this point, if I don't go it would be pretentious. Alright, wait for me."
Having achieved her goal, He Zhiran didn't say more. She took off her shoes and socks and entered the river again.
There were plenty of fish in the river. Catching ten was like playing a game for He Zhiran.
Soon, she flung ten fish onto the shore.
The sisters-in-law also did not hesitate. They took the fish, squatted by the river to clean them, then strung them on branches.
He Zhiran thought that since she was already in the river, she might as well catch more fish to keep for supper.
So after catching ten fish, she did not hurry out of the water but continued busying herself there.
At this time, Mrs. Zhao, wife of Fang Chuanzhou, came to Old Lady Mo.
She behaved with utmost humility.
"Old Lady Mo, we were wrong to insult Lord Mo yesterday. Please do not hold it against us."
Old Lady Mo looked at her, not knowing what she was scheming.
"Mrs. Fang, Mo Jiuye is no longer a lord now. Just call him by name directly to avoid others seizing the handle to make trouble."
