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

Chen Mo's scolding immediately deflated Zhao Si. He glanced at the gazes of those around him and felt a little flustered.

"What are you so arrogant about? All you do is brag. Let's see how long you can keep up this act. I'll wait until you bunch of poor bastards starve to death!"

Zhao Si cursed loudly again.

He glared at Chen Mo fiercely, then tried to leave the crowd.

But this outburst immediately provoked the anger of those around him.

The villagers were used to being bullied by the Wang family and dared not speak out, but now a lackey of the Wang family was actually showing off in front of the whole village.

Many people had already reached their limit and raised their heads to strike Zhao Si on the head.

"Who, which bastard hit me!"

Zhao Si was startled and turned around, cursing.

Before he could finish speaking, he was kicked again and fell to the ground.

"I'm one of Brother Mang's men, do you dare lay a hand on me?!"

Zhao Si lay on the ground, his eyes filled with panic, yet he still acted arrogantly, taking advantage of the situation.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do!"

Someone shouted, and the nearby villagers immediately swarmed forward, punching and kicking Zhao Si.

They vented all their resentment towards the Wang family on Zhao Si.

"Alright, stop. Don't kill anyone."

After an unknown amount of time, Li Laogen shouted, signaling everyone to stop.

The villagers weren't satisfied with just beating him, so they took turns kicking Zhao Si again.

He only stopped after he had vented his anger.

As the crowd dispersed, Zhao Si was already bruised and swollen, and had almost died.

If Li Laogen hadn't intervened, Zhao Si would probably be dead here today.

"You...you all wait!"

Zhao Si covered his badly injured face, struggled to his feet, and fled out of the village.

Seeing that the situation had calmed down, Chen Mo continued, "Those who are willing to come up the mountain with us to reclaim the land, please come and register now. If anyone is not here, please have someone else notify them."

After saying that, Li Laogen organized the villagers to register.

Soon, seventy households in the village had signed up.

Now Chen Mo's team has nearly a hundred more workers.

There are hundreds of acres of wasteland in the Black Wind Ridge area, which Chen Mo and his dozen or so men could not possibly develop, and the potatoes they have now are more than enough.

There's still some time before winter arrives, so we can definitely complete the task assigned by General Zhao before winter comes.

Once the number of people had been registered, Chen Mo began assigning tasks.

Those who were capable of heavy work were all put into the reclamation of wasteland. Among them were some elderly people, women and children, who could also join the work, responsible for harvesting and logistics.

Furthermore, to ensure everyone's safety, Chen Mo also arranged for a team to take turns patrolling the mountains.

Although the threat of tigers is no longer present in the mountains, the threat posed by bad people is clearly greater than that of tigers.

After the manual labor was completed, Chen Mo once again arranged for everyone to meet at dawn to prepare to start clearing the land on the mountain.

This is the first time the entire village has collectively reclaimed land like this.

Although Chen Mo was confident, he couldn't be too sure about the outcome.

At least for now, the villagers have been united and become a community of shared interests. If the Wang family still wants to cause trouble, it won't be so easy for them.

Shannan Town.

The Royal Family Residence.

"Brother Mang, it's me, open the door."

Zhao Si, panting heavily, pounded on the Wang family's gate.

Soon, the butler opened the door and, seeing Zhao Si standing there with a bruised and swollen face, asked in confusion, "Who are you looking for?"

"Brother Mang, something terrible has happened!"

Zhao Si ignored the steward and rushed straight into the mansion.

At this moment, Wang Mang was drinking and eating meat in the courtyard. When he saw Zhao Si's disheveled appearance, he couldn't help but frown.

"Why are you looking like a pig's head? What happened?"

He had a slight sense of unease.

Wang Mang was very unhappy that he had sent men to ambush and kill Chen Mo yesterday, but there had been no news since. He thought that the bandits he sent out had run away with the money.

Zhao Si's arrival at this moment only added to his frustration.

"Brother Mang, something terrible has happened! That brat Chen Mo is rebelling!"

Zhao Si knelt on the ground, his face filled with panic.

"Chen Mo is still alive?"

Wang Mang's expression immediately turned cold.

Yesterday, ten men were sent out, yet they failed to kill Chen Mo?

"Chen Mo summoned everyone in the village, saying he wanted to go up the mountain to reclaim wasteland, and also said... that the government troops had put him in charge of requisitioning grain from the village!"

Zhao Si told Wang Mang everything he had seen and heard in the village.

"Nonsense! This grain collection job has always been Wang Jiaqian's responsibility, how could it be Chen Mo's turn!"

Wang Mang suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with rage.

"It's true. That kid Chen Mo said he helped General Zhao transport tigers and gained General Zhao's favor. He also said the official documents from the government will be issued in the next couple of days. Many people in the village believe him and want to work for him."

Zhao Si quickly replied.

Upon hearing this, Wang Mang's face darkened again.

"Damn it, they really have a lot of nerve!"

Wang Mang couldn't understand how Chen Mo had managed to curry favor with Zhao, and he couldn't comprehend how a job as a tiger handler could earn Zhao's favor.

Something's definitely fishy here!

"A bunch of useless trash!"

Upon thinking of this, Wang Mang was filled with rage and smashed his wine cup on the ground.

"More than a dozen people couldn't kill Chen Mo!"

Wang Mang still harbored resentment over this matter.

More importantly, the two hundred taels of silver used to kill the tiger were stolen just like that.

"We absolutely cannot let Chen Mo succeed!"

Wang Mang roared.

"What happened? Why are you so angry?"

At this moment, Wang Laoqi heard the commotion outside and came out of the house.

He glanced at Zhao Si kneeling on the ground, then looked at his son, his face turning grim.

"Father, something terrible has happened! That brat Chen Mo is still alive, and he's inciting the villagers to go after our Wang family!"

Wang Mang excitedly stepped forward and told Wang Laoqi everything Zhao Si had said.

As he listened to his son's description, Wang Laoqi's expression gradually became more serious.

"Is Chen Mo deliberately going against our Wang family?"

A murderous glint flashed in Wang Laoqi's eyes.

Yesterday's attempt to assassinate him failed, and now it has led to a major disaster.

Now Chen Mo has not only climbed up to General Zhao, but has also won over so many villagers. If this continues, the Wang family will probably have no standing in the village in the future.

Moreover, with these villagers all going up the mountain to reclaim wasteland, no one is working on the Wang family's land. As a result, the loss is not just about saving face.

"Father, is there really a document from the government? Is Chen Mo lying?"

Wang Mang expressed his doubts.

"uncertain."

Wang Laoqi suppressed his anger and calmly considered the situation.

Two days ago, Zhao Canjiang taught the Wang family a lesson, and now he has assigned the task of collecting grain to Chen Mo. He probably intends to use Chen Mo to win over the villagers in order to counterbalance the power of the Wang family.

"Father, what should we do?"

Wang Mang asked eagerly.

Wang Laoqi frowned, lost in thought.

"General Zhao is not an easy person to talk to. Since Chen Mo is so eager to reclaim the land, then let's make sure he reaps nothing!"

He said through gritted teeth.

If Chen Mo fails to deliver the grain, he will face certain death!