A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

Wang Mang led a dozen or so servants straight toward Black Wind Ridge.

Sun Dazhu and Chen Mo exchanged a glance and silently followed.

Before long, the group arrived at a cave in Black Wind Ridge.

"Brother Mang, this is it!"

Zhao Si, the assistant, cleared away the rocks and branches at the entrance of the hole.

The cave was hidden behind bushes, and if Zhao Si hadn't deliberately marked it before leaving, ordinary people would never have found it.

"good!"

Wang Mang was overjoyed.

"I knew those two rascals had hidden the grain on the mountain, and I was right!"

He turned his head smugly, glanced at Chen Mo following behind him, and looked quite pleased with himself.

"Chen Mo, you're quite the hider, aren't you? You think you can hide in this godforsaken place and I won't find you? I'm reporting you to the authorities right now! You've been hoarding grain, let's see how you explain that!"

"Wang Mang, don't talk nonsense! It's just an empty cave; where would you find any food?"

Sun Dazhu's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Seeing his flustered expression, Wang Mang became even more certain of his judgment.

"An empty cave? You're pale as a ghost, still trying to talk your way out of it? If you weren't hiding anything, why are you panicking?"

Wang Mang scoffed, stepped forward, and kicked away the rubble at the entrance of the cave.

"Wang Mang, if you can really find grain, what makes you so sure I hid it?"

Chen Mo stood still, his expression remaining calm.

He had long anticipated that the Wang family would follow him, so he wasn't surprised at all.

"Chen Mo, don't pretend with me. With your family's poverty, without this stash of grain, your father and your little sister would starve to death in less than half a month!"

He took two steps forward, his face full of malice.

"I advise you to obediently hand over the rest of the hidden grain. Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I might spare you a few grains to let your family live a few more days. Otherwise, once it's found, don't even think about keeping a single grain!"

Just as Wang Mang was feeling triumphant, shouts from his servants suddenly came from inside the cave.

"Brother Mang! Found it! There's a big box over here!"

"Haha! I knew it!"

Wang Mang was instantly overjoyed.

"Chen Mo, let's see how you try to deny it now!"

After saying that, he couldn't wait to bend down and crawl into the cave.

Chen Mo stood at the cave entrance, a smile playing on his lips.

A moment later, a gasp came from inside the cave, followed by a foul stench emanating from within.

"It stinks! What the hell is this thing?!"

"vomit!"

"Brother Mang! This box is full of manure!"

The sound of vomiting came from inside the cave again, and the servants covered their noses and ran out of the cave one by one.

A moment later, Wang Mang rushed out in a disheveled state, his face ashen, and he was retching incessantly.

"Brother Mang, what's wrong with you?"

Chen Mo feigned surprise and looked at Wang Mang with a smile.

"Didn't we find the food supplies? Why does it smell so bad?"

"Chen Mo! How dare you scheme against me!"

Wang Mang looked furious.

"You deliberately put this manure box here just to make a fool of me!"

"Trying to scheme against you? I didn't do anything. You insisted on leading people in to look for food supplies. Didn't you find any?"

Chen Mo smiled faintly.

Sun Dazhu, who was standing to the side, also turned his head and smiled, no longer showing the tension and unease he had shown before.

Wang Mang gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly.

He realized that this must have been a trap set by Chen Mo long ago!

Moreover, they deliberately placed a sheet of dung there to humiliate Wang Mang.

The Wang family, a prestigious clan, has been targeted by this guy on numerous occasions.

Thinking of this, Wang Mang became even more furious.

"Don't get cocky!"

He turned around and yelled at his men behind him, "Keep searching! The grain supplies are definitely hidden inside!"

"Brother Mang, this..."

The servants all covered their mouths and noses, looking embarrassed.

The cave reeks; anyone who stays inside for too long will faint.

"Go, all of you, or you won't get paid this month!"

Wang Mang roared again.

Under Wang Mang's threat, the servants had no choice but to pinch their noses and continue searching.

After searching for a long time, they still found nothing and slunk out.

"Brother Mang, there really is nothing else inside."

The servant retched as he spoke.

Wang Mang's face was ashen, and he turned his head to stare intently at Chen Mo.

"You're lucky this time. I'll find something on you sooner or later, and then you'll be begging me on your knees!"

Chen Mo listened to his threat without showing any fear, and continued to mock, "Brother Mang, remember to share some with me when you find the stored grain."

Wang Mang snorted coldly and said, "There are plenty of caves in Black Wind Ridge. Search them one by one; I refuse to believe we can't find them!"

"Suit yourself. Black Wind Ridge is so big, take your time searching. We won't keep you company."

Chen Mo remained remarkably calm, certain that Wang Mang could not find his secret grain storage location.

As he spoke, he gave Sun Dazhu a wink, and the two of them turned and headed down the mountain.

"stop!"

Wang Mang roared again, trying to step forward to stop him.

But Chen Mo ignored him completely and continued walking forward.

Wang Mang stood there, stunned, gritting his teeth.

Seeing Wang Mang's hesitant expression, the servants dared not step forward rashly and could only watch helplessly as Chen Mo and Sun Dazhu left.

"You bastard!"

Wang Mang was quite unwilling.

Thinking of Sun Dazhu's flustered appearance just now, he felt that Chen Mo must be acting strangely, so he could only grit his teeth and give the order.

"Keep searching! Don't miss a single cave. If you don't find food, nobody's going back!"

On the other side, Chen Mo and Sun Dazhu had only walked a short distance.

Sun Dazhu looked around to make sure no one was following him, and the panic on his face vanished instantly.

"Brother Chen Mo, you're amazing! I almost couldn't keep up the act just now, afraid that Wang Mang would see through my act!" He lowered his voice, his tone full of admiration.

"Don't let your guard down, they've been following us the whole time."

"Luckily, Brother Mo, you were cautious today and deliberately led them to a fake cave, which prevented that guy from succeeding."

Chen Mo nodded and said, "This place is far from our secret grain storage, which will make their efforts futile and buy us some time."

Despite saying that, Chen Mo didn't dare to completely let his guard down. Once Wang Mang and his gang left, he would have to find an opportunity to improve the secrecy of the secret storage location.

"Dazhu, the Wang family will definitely not let this go. They suffered in silence this time, and they might keep a closer eye on you next time. You must be careful and not be followed again."

Chen Mo's expression was serious.

"Don't worry, Chen Mo, I'll be careful."

Sun Dazhu's smile faded considerably, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

Chen Mo withdrew his gaze and continued walking down the mountain.

Wang Mang targeted them repeatedly simply because he had connections with the town.

If this hidden danger is not eliminated, there is no guarantee that this person will not cause any more trouble in the future.

However, if we take action now, even if we can eliminate Wang Mang and his son, the government will definitely target Chen Mo.

At that time, not only Chen Mo himself, but also his family will be retaliated against.

In these times of great desolation, there are bandits and unrest everywhere. Even if Chen Mo manages to escape with his family, he won't be able to find a better place to settle down.

However, upon further reflection, the Wang family had been oppressing the villagers for a long time, and it wasn't just Chen Mo's family that was targeted; even the highly respected Li Laogen was not spared.

If we could unite these oppressed villagers, perhaps we could stand against the Wang family...