Chapter 232: Chapter 126: Land Dispute (2)

Li Gengtian’s third uncle, Li Mingtang, also wanted to buy a plot of land for a house on Little Qing Mountain.

However, he felt the plots to the northwest and southeast were too far from the village. After looking around, he picked the plot of land covered in wild chrysanthemums that lay between Juhua’s home and the Little Qing River. It was about half an acre in size.

One day, he came with his nephew, Li Gengtian, to measure the land. Mrs. Yang spotted them and hurried over to ask what they were doing. When she heard he planned to build a house there, she was immediately displeased.

She quickly sent Juhua to call Qingmu and Zheng Changhe back from the fields, then began to argue with Li Mingtang. In short, the Zheng Family was absolutely against him building a house there.

Li Gengtian hadn’t approved of his third uncle choosing this plot in the first place. For one, he thought it was a poor location for a house, as it wasn’t backed by the mountain. For another, he was sure Zheng Changhe would object and refuse.

But Li Mingtang waved his hand and declared with righteous indignation, “This land doesn’t belong to the Zheng Family. I’m paying for it, so what right do they have to object?”

But Zheng Changhe was there to do just that.

He spoke to Li Mingtang with sincerity. “Third Uncle, Little Qing Mountain is a huge place. Isn’t there enough land for you to buy and build a house? Why must you, an elder, insist on blocking my doorstep?”

Li Mingtang bristled, his whiskers twitching, and said loudly, “Changhe, you’re wrong to say that. Aren’t all of us in the village living close together? Isn’t Zhang Dashuan’s house right in front of Li Laoda’s yard? Isn’t my Gengtian’s house in the same row as Sun Jinshan’s? If you think about it, all our yards are connected, side by side. If everyone were like you, wouldn’t our village be in a constant state of fighting?”

Zheng Changhe was stunned. He felt that wasn’t the right way to look at it, but he didn’t know how to refute him.

Qingmu stepped forward and said calmly, “Third Grand-uncle, why do you want to move to Little Qing Mountain in the first place? Isn’t it for the convenience of raising pigs and chickens and gathering acorns? Wouldn’t building your house by the mountainside be better than blocking the front of our home?”

Old Li stubbornly waved his hand. “I just think this plot is good.” He looked as if he didn’t want to discuss it further.

Li Gengtian felt a headache coming on. His third uncle was just too stubborn. He feared the two families were going to argue endlessly.

By now, a crowd of onlookers had gathered. Li Gengtian sent someone to go home and get his own father to come and persuade his third uncle.

Zhang Huai was working on his newly bought land when he heard the commotion and hurried over. After Qingmu explained the situation, he grew angry. ’If this was a good place to build a house,’ he thought, ’I would’ve bought it long ago. Do you think it would still be available for you?’

He immediately said to Li Mingtang, “Third Grand-uncle, in the village, homes are clustered together and not against the mountain, so of course, you don’t have to worry about what’s in front or behind. But Little Qing Mountain is huge, with plenty of space to build on the north and south sides. Why do you insist on building right here? This plot is right in front of the Little Qing River, and you’d be blocking the Zheng Family’s path to the water. Aren’t you just trying to make things difficult for them?”

Li Mingtang flew into a rage at his words. “Huai Zi, what kind of talk is that from a young whelp like you? How am I making things difficult for the Zheng Family? This land belongs to the Emperor, not to them! You could argue until you’re blue in the face, and you still couldn’t stop me from building here.”

Zheng Changhe said earnestly to Li Mingtang, “Third Uncle, if you insist on building here, I certainly can’t stop you. But we’re all fellow villagers. Aren’t you, an elder, deliberately making life hard for me?”

Qingmu also stepped forward. “There are clearly better places, Third Grand-uncle, but you won’t buy them. You insist on this spot. What’s really going on? Do you have some grudge against my family? Village Chief, this land belongs to the Emperor, so I can’t do anything if Third Grand-uncle wants to buy it. But, Village Chief, our village has always been harmonious. Isn’t causing such a fuss over this going a little too far?”

Li Gengtian was well aware that his uncle’s actions were technically permissible but completely unreasonable. However, he had failed to persuade him in private yesterday. Trying to convince him to back down and give up the land in front of so many people would be impossible, knowing the old man. It would likely just make him even angrier.

Yesterday, even his cousin, Li Gongniu, had failed to talk the old man around and had earned a harsh scolding for his efforts.

So, after hearing Qingmu’s words, he could only give a bitter smile and turn to look anxiously down the village road, waiting for his father to arrive.

Mrs. Yang, however, had no patience for the men’s way of handling things. The more she listened, the angrier she became. “Third Uncle,” she said to Li Mingtang, “are you doing this on purpose to make enemies of my family? Are you looking to start a feud and have a fight?”

This made Li Mingtang even more furious. “Nonsense! The men are talking business. What right does a woman like you have to interrupt?”

Mrs. Yang ignored this and started arguing heatedly with him.

Juhua listened for a long while. ’This is a stubborn, one-track-minded old man,’ she thought. She realized that arguing further wouldn’t solve the problem and might even lead to another fight.

After a moment’s thought, she tugged on Qingmu’s sleeve, pulled him out of the crowd, and walked a few steps toward the Little Qing River. Away from the others, she whispered something to him.

Qingmu listened and nodded. He stood there for a moment, thinking carefully and organizing his words before walking back into the crowd. He then said to Li Mingtang, “Third Grand-uncle, I don’t know why you’re so set on building your house here. A house built against Little Qing Mountain would have ’a mountain at its back and water at its front’—the best possible feng shui. But by blocking our home, you not only ruin our feng shui, you don’t do yourself any favors either. You’ll be building right next to the Little Qing River. What happens if there’s a major flood? Won’t your house be immediately submerged? When the water rose this year, it flooded this very piece of land. I won’t even mention you ruining my family’s feng shui and starting a feud with us—since you clearly don’t have any respect for the Zheng Family anyway. Let’s just talk about how, after all your searching, you’ve picked such a terrible plot of land. Isn’t that just asking for trouble for no reward? Look at everyone else building their houses against the mountain. You just wait and watch them get rich!”

Hearing this, Old Li was suddenly stunned.

His son, Li Gongniu, anxiously tugged at his arm. “Dad, let’s go find a plot to the south. What Qingmu said makes sense.”

He even started to think that the Zheng Family’s good fortune last year was due to their good feng shui. Look at them—they made money from their business, bought land, and even figured out how to use acorns to feed their pigs. If that wasn’t good luck, what was? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets or monthly passes on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep