CHAPTER 265: CHAPTER 264 MU DASHAN PROTECTS HIS OWN (THIRD UPDATE)

Old Mrs. Mu angrily threw ninety-five coins at Zhang Huai Shu. After Zhang Huai Shu picked up the money, she kicked him out, causing him pain and declaring he would no longer treat the Old Mu Family.

"Fine, just don’t. Damn swindler, hurry up and get far away from me, or I’ll chop you up if I see you again."

Old Mrs. Mu shouted curses at Zhang Huai Shu.

These words, in the eyes of the villagers, only confirmed the evidence that Mu Danian was ruined.

It also made the villagers more convinced that they absolutely shouldn’t let their daughters or friends’ daughters marry Mu Danian; not marrying is minor, but being a widow is major.

"Mom, it hurts so bad. I want to eat meat..."

Mu Danian was actually not hurting anymore, but realized that such concern was rare; he might as well take advantage and get some food.

Now that Mu Danian’s manhood was preserved, Old Mrs. Mu didn’t care anymore, her attitude cooled significantly.

"Eat what? When your brother left, he took all the money from the house, where’s the money for meat!"

"Alright, things are this way, you should say less." Mr. Mu reprimanded from the side.

"You dead old man, why blame me? Why don’t you say anything about what that pesky girl from the third branch did?

Your heart is really biased, you think that girl can earn money now, has skills, and want to bring her back?"

"You’re crazy. Fifth is like this, and you’re hurting him. I say something, and you blame me. You’re becoming more unreasonable. If you don’t want to manage this family, hand it over to the wives of the second and fourth sons!"

Managing the family meant managing money; not managing meant Old Mrs. Mu had to hand over her savings and stash.

"Pah! You wish! As long as I’m alive, no one will manage the Mu Family but me! I’ll go check on Xiangxiang now, you dead old man look after your good son. If anything happens again, he can treat it himself!"

Old Mrs. Mu returned to the kitchen, taking the lunch made by Mrs. Liu from the fourth branch to Mu Xiangxiang, inevitably hearing Xinaxiang’s grievances.

"Mom, look at my face, is it still presentable?" Mu Xiangxiang pointed at her swollen face, crying.

"There, don’t cry, wait till I have time, and I’ll sort out that nasty girl, so she won’t do any more bad things."

"Yes, yes, best to peel her skin, scratch her face, so she can call me ugly." Mu Xiangxiang nodded vigorously and told Old Mrs. Mu how she wanted Shuangshuang to be punished.

"Alright, alright, my little darling, as long as you don’t cry, I’ll do whatever you say!"

...

...

All afternoon, Mu Shuangshuang, Little Zhi, and Xiao Han were working hard on the five fen of dry land allocated by the Old Mu Family. Though it was called dry land, it was no different from barren land.

This dry land was originally used for planting cotton, but the weeds grew too abundantly, gradually ruining the cotton. Now, the cotton in the field is the same size as when it was just planted.

It seems like picking cotton in July or August is impossible. Mu Shuangshuang gritted her teeth and decided to pull out all the cotton seedlings and replace them with vegetable seeds from Zhuangzi’s family.

"Sister, if you pull out all the cotton, what will we wear in winter?"

Cotton could be used to make cotton clothes, which Little Zhi understood.

But she didn’t know why her sister wouldn’t keep the cotton.

"Don’t worry, we can wear fur clothes in winter. I and Brother Yuan Feng can hunt in the mountains. As for these cotton plants, they’re overdue; they haven’t yielded by now, and even if they keep growing, there won’t be cotton. Rather than wasting land, it’s better to turn it into a vegetable garden."

"Mmm!" Little Zhi nodded, somewhat understanding.

Her face had already deflated now, but the tear marks remained; her maturity made Mu Shuangshuang ache.

"Little Zhi, does your face still hurt?" Mu Shuangshuang asked hesitantly.

"It doesn’t hurt!" Little Zhi shook her head, but seeing the worry in her sister’s eyes, she nodded again.

"It hurts a little bit, sister can blow on it, and it’ll be fine." She said, bringing her face closer.

Mu Shuangshuang, holding back tears, blew on Little Zhi’s face, comforting her, "In the future, when sister goes out, I’ll bring you along, not letting anyone bully you."

"No need, Little Zhi wants to stay home to take care of dad. If Aunt comes again, I’ll beat her up!"

The little girl held up her tiny fists earnestly.

Came to think of it, Little Zhi’s fist-waving looked cute, Mu Shuangshuang rubbed her head, nodding with satisfaction.

"Good, that’s the spirit of my sister! If anyone bullies you, just swing your fists, sister will back you up!"

After this talk with Little Zhi, Mu Shuangshuang felt more energized while working. She calculated that, together with the five fen plot, her family had seven fen and five of vegetable land.

Not only enough for her own family to eat, but when snow comes and the ground hardens, she could take these vegetables to town to sell them for a good price.

After another round of hard work, Mu Shuangshuang finally finished working the five fen plot, and time had reached dusk. She knew continuing was impractical, so she took the two children back home.

At nightfall, Mu Shuangshuang put dinner on the table, when an uninvited guest arrived. Mr. Mu barged into the third branch’s kitchen without greeting, wearing a shabby coat, holding a broken pipe.

"Dad, why are you here? Want some dinner?" Mu Dashan invited courteously, then turned his head telling Shuangshuang to serve some rice.

Tonight, there was again meat on the third branch’s table—a couple ounces of meat minced and mixed with onions, made into soup.

Mr. Mu’s nose was filled with the smell of meat, and he even felt his mouth watering.

But recalling his motives for coming, he hardened his face.

"Third, I’m not here for dinner, I’m here to talk reason. You might not know what Shuang did; she beat up your little sister today, and her face is still swollen."

Mr. Mu feared Mu Dashan didn’t know, so he explained again.

Who knew Mu Dashan would actually nod, "I know about this!"

"Since you know, I’ll say no more! Xiangxiang wants Shuangshuang to apologize, admit fault, and be her maid for two months, then she’ll let it go."

So, Mr. Mu’s real purpose in coming was to make Mu Shuangshuang apologize.

Mu Shuangshuang sneered, eyes filled with displeasure looking at Mr. Mu.

"Dad, in this matter, Shuang is not at fault; Xiangxiang is the one in the wrong! She shouldn’t have taken Little Zhi’s things, nor should she have hit Little Zhi! I will not let Shuang apologize."