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

Around noon.

The sun was blazing overhead.

Under a tree at the village entrance, four villagers sat on a stone, wearily looking at the road leading into the village.

It's lunchtime now, and most of the villagers who were working have already gone home to eat, leaving only them here to stand guard.

As instructed by Chen Mo, any outsider entering the village must be notified.

"This awful weather, it's unbearably hot."

"Are we really going to build a village? Such a huge project, how many days will it take?"

The weather was hot and dry, and they were all somewhat resentful.

As we were talking, we suddenly heard the sound of car wheels, which then stopped, followed by a series of chaotic footsteps.

Everyone looked up and saw Wang Mang leading ten servants, walking menacingly toward the village entrance.

The group of servants, armed with sticks and with fierce expressions, clearly came with ill intentions.

"Wait, there's a rule in the village now: outsiders need to report before entering. You can't go in!"

The villagers on guard immediately stepped forward and blocked their way.

Even though the other party was the Wang family, they were not afraid in the slightest.

Wang Mang stopped and looked the villagers up and down, a mocking smile creeping onto his lips.

"Rules? In this village, the Wang family's word is law. You bunch of unruly people, how dare you block my way?"

"We're just following the rules, please don't make things difficult for us."

An older villager frowned.

"To make things difficult for you?"

Wang Mang sneered, pointed at the villager's nose, and shouted, "You lowly people, believe me or not, next year I'll increase your land rent so you won't even have enough to eat."

After saying this, Wang Mang led his men straight inside.

The four villagers took two steps back, their eyes filled with disgust.

They had long been fed up with the oppression of the Wang family. Now that Wang Mang had a large and powerful force, they were no match for him and could only suppress their anger.

"Get out of the way!"

Wang Mang, emboldened by this, shoved one of them to the ground.

The servants rushed forward and surrounded the villagers.

Wang Mang swaggered into the village, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

I haven't been here for a few days, and the village has changed so much.

Moreover, the villagers, who were usually docile and timid, actually dared to resist.

Today he was going to let these villagers know that even with Chen Mo around, the Wang family was not someone they could afford to offend.

Seeing Wang Mang leading his servants toward the village, the older villager hurriedly said, "These people are definitely up to no good. Go and inform Chen Mo and Old Master Li."

"good!"

The other villagers immediately ran to Li Laogen's house.

Chen Mo's small courtyard.

The building is currently under renovation, and there are many bricks piled up.

The craftsmen had just gone back to eat and rest, because the old wall of the courtyard had been demolished and the gate had not yet been installed, so it was left wide open.

At this moment, Chen Mo's family was having a meal under a tree in the yard.

"Where is Chen Mo? Come out here!"

Suddenly, someone outside shouted loudly.

The familiar voice immediately made Chen Mo and his family frown.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Wang Mang swaggered in with his servants.

They were all carrying weapons, clearly indicating they had ulterior motives.

Upon seeing Chen Mo, Wang Mang inexplicably felt a surge of anger.

But when his gaze fell on the Chen family's dining table, he couldn't help but be stunned.

On the dining table were several dishes of fine food, including fish, meat, and cured meat, which were in no way inferior to those at the Wang family's restaurant.

"You have fish and meat; it seems your family is doing quite well!"

Wang Mang was immediately enraged.

They had searched the Chen family's granary many times before, but found nothing. Chen Mo had even complained about being poor on several occasions. Now, they were able to eat such good meat.

Thinking back to the days he was locked up in the military camp, he was eating nothing but salted vegetables and coarse rice, while Chen Mo was enjoying himself outside.

Chen Mo slowly stood up, staring at them warily.

"Father, Ling'er, you two come inside to eat. Leave this to me."

Chen Mo said calmly.

"Mo'er, calm down."

Chen Dashan also looked serious.

The Wang family's repeated visits greatly displeased him.

"Don't worry, Dad."

Chen Mo nodded, then stepped in front of Wang Mang.

It was only then that Wang Mang noticed the situation in the courtyard and discovered the pile of blue bricks and timber on one side, which startled him once again.

"You, Chen Mo, not only are you hiding grain, but you also have spare money to repair your house? Where did this money come from? Did you steal it, rob it, or deduct the villagers' life-saving grain?"

"What business is it of yours what my family's affairs are?"

Chen Mo responded coldly and impatiently.

"None of my business?" Wang Mang roared in anger, stepping forward and demanding, "Everyone in this village knows you were so poor you almost starved to death before, and now you're eating fish and meat like royalty, and even building a new house. Where did you get all that money?"

In fact, Wang Mang already had a guess in his heart. He had concluded that Chen Mo had killed the tiger and then received the reward money.

That's a full two hundred taels!

"What I did is none of your business. Get out of my house right now, or don't blame me for taking action."

Chen Mo said in an icy tone.

"I'm here today to collect debts on behalf of the government. You owe a lot of money and grain, and you must pay it back today, or don't blame me for confiscating your property."

Wang Mang, however, had some thoughts.

He remained deeply troubled by this matter.

Since Chen Mo is no longer pretending, Wang Mang must take a piece of flesh from him today.

"You owe the government money and grain? Do you have an IOU or official documents from the government? Or is it up to your Wang family to decide?"

Chen Mo said with a mocking expression.

"you……"

Wang Mang gripped the stick tightly, his eyes filled with even more rage.

"If you can't produce any evidence and keep coming to harass me, don't blame me for taking action!"

Chen Mo gripped the short knife at his waist tightly.

Although there were many members of the Wang family in front of him, Chen Mo thought they were nothing more than a rabble.

"Get out of here, all of you!"

Chen Mo shouted angrily.

Wang Mang was startled, thinking that Chen Mo was about to make a move again, and immediately pulled the servants behind him to block him.

Seeing that Chen Mo hadn't made a move yet, Wang Mang angrily shouted, "Brothers, search him! Find all the money and provisions he's hidden, and see if he still dares to talk back!"

The servants hesitated slightly, then gripped their sticks and were about to step forward.

"Let's see who dares to make a move!"

Chen Mo whispered again, and suddenly drew the short knife from his waist with his right hand, startling the servants who immediately stopped and retreated.

"What? Weren't you going to make a move? You piece of trash, you weren't you tired of suffering after you were caught by the government troops for setting fire to the mountain last time?"

Chen Mo saw through the opponent's bluff and continued to approach.

"How dare you bring this up!"

Wang Mang was furious again.

"If you dare to be so insolent today, I'll tell General Zhao right away and see how long he'll lock you up this time."

Chen Mo's eyes were icy as he scanned the crowd.

Upon hearing the name of General Zhao, the group of servants immediately changed their expressions and instinctively backed away.

They had also heard many rumors that Chen Mo had the support of government troops and that he had a close relationship with General Zhao.

Chen Mo's current tough stance suggests the rumors are true.

Although Wang Mang was wary of Zhao Canjiang, he was absolutely unwilling to show any fear now.

"Don't be afraid, all of you, charge!"

Having said that, he pushed the servant forward.