Mr. Mu strode confidently towards the third branch’s fields.

As soon as he left, the few people who were still working threw down their sickles, plopped down onto the freshly harvested straw, and exclaimed how tired they were.

"So tired, so tired, this work is really inhuman. At this rate, I’m going to lose another circle of weight..." Mu Dazhong touched the fat on his belly and said.

"Daddy Gou Dan, you take a rest quickly. You’re the pillar of our family, you can’t collapse."

Mrs. Lin, looking anxious, leaned in to touch Mu Dazhong’s face, but he waved her away in disgust.

"Enough, there are so many people here, stay in your place, don’t come over!"

It’s not entirely Mu Dazhong’s fault. The main issue was Mrs. Lin’s appearance, which was truly unbearable.

After sleeping for several days without bathing or washing her hair, and most importantly, not brushing her teeth in the morning, a bad breath wafted over when she spoke, which Mu Dazhong couldn’t stand.

Right now, he remembered what his mother said, exhausted with Mrs. Lin, he could find a young and beautiful wife.

"Don’t come over if you don’t want me to, what’s the big deal, don’t come begging me later." Mrs. Lin answered in a huff but continued to glance over at Mu Dazhong.

Mu Danian slowed his mud-playing movements, looked up, and asked the others.

"Why hasn’t Eldest Brother returned yet? When will the days when he leads us to make a fortune come? The opportunity is already cold, and there’s no sign of him."

Truth be told, everyone’s thoughts were similar. They just wanted Mu Dade to quickly get an official position, so that the rest of the Old Mu Family could follow him to the county.

Nobody wanted to spend their whole life dealing with the fields and being a country bumpkin.

"Eldest Sister-in-law is not here, so of course, we should ask Little Dan and Little Ying about this." Having said that, Mu Dazhong glanced at the ridge to see the two girls from the first branch of the Mu Family, each holding an oil-paper umbrella, seemingly afraid of getting sunburned.

"I say, Little Dan, Little Ying, why are you wrapped up like rice dumplings? The October sun isn’t scorching, are you still trying to keep yourselves fair and tender to enjoy life with Eldest Brother?" Mu Dazhong laughed and asked.

Mu Dandan rolled her eyes at Mu Dazhong without speaking.

Mu Yingying, prone to impulsiveness and not fond of this second uncle, retorted: "Second Uncle, this is between my sister and me. It’s none of your business. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to look."

"Oh, you little girl, how dare you talk like that? I’m your second uncle, your elder! With that attitude, what use will you be in the future?"

Mu Yingying had never been spoken to like this before, and now she felt extremely wronged, with tears welling up in her eyes.

Mu Dazhong persisted aggressively: "Cry, cry, all you know is to cry. You’re not young anymore, why do you love crying so much? No idea how Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law taught you, such nonsense."

"What does it matter to you? I don’t eat your rice, and I’m not from your second branch, so what right do you have to talk about me?" Mu Yingying’s tears fell down.

"You stinky girl, how dare you talk back, I’ll beat you to death!" Mu Dazhong jumped up, intending to hit Mu Yingying.

"Second Uncle, show some respect. Yingying and I are both daughters of a scholar. Do you really think we’re so easy to hit? If you don’t want us to tell our parents, you’d better not touch us!" Mu Dandan stood protectively in front, shouting at Mu Dazhong.

"You’re threatening me?"

Mu Dazhong realized that these two nieces were not easy to deal with, especially Little Dan, who was older and had more ideas.

The most important thing was, this girl knew his weakness.

"It’s not a threat, it’s advice. Second Uncle, don’t think just because our parents aren’t around, you can hit or scold us at will.

We’re not like some branch’s kids, who, after being beaten, can only swallow their grievances and pretend nothing happened!"

Mu Dandan was alluding to none other than the incident where the fourth branch’s son, Mu Xiaochu, was slapped by Mrs. Lin.

But that was something that happened several days ago, which Mu Dandan had witnessed.

She thought the fourth branch would hold Mrs. Lin accountable, but who knew, with one apology from Mrs. Lin, the matter was considered resolved.

This incident still disgusted Mu Dandan, so she brought it up separately.

"Little Dan, you sure have a big mouth. Old Four doesn’t even care about that anymore, what are you making a fuss about?" Mrs. Lin rolled her eyes and scolded.

"Exactly, a junior arguing with elders, pity your grandma isn’t here, otherwise, she’d rip your mouth apart!"

Mu Dazhong and Mrs. Lin sang in harmony, making Mu Dandan furious, so she simply took Mu Yingying to rest elsewhere.

Mu Dajiang’s face was not looking good, especially when the matters discussed by the second and first branches involved the fourth branch.

He stopped his work, glanced from afar at Mu Shuangshuang and Yu Si Niang working in the third branch, his face full of envy.

The current life of the third branch is really worth envying for the fourth branch! They have everything, no worries about food and clothing, and no fear of their parents’ beatings and scoldings.

Especially this work, his father even went to the third branch to learn some skills, making Mu Dajiang more envious.

The third branch has finally risen to the top!

...

...

Mu Shuangshuang was harvesting rice near the slope when suddenly a shadow blocked the sunlight in front of her. She looked up to see Mr. Mu staring at her harvesting rice.

Mu Shuangshuang immediately felt a wave of frustration.

What is this old man up to again?

"Grandpa, what are you doing?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.

Yu Si Niang, who was in front, also stopped her work and walked over, seemingly curious about Mr. Mu’s purpose as well.

"Si Niang, Shuangshuang, I saw you two harvesting rice over there, and your speed is extremely fast. It’s not worse at all compared to when Old Third used to work."

Mr. Mu proactively praised the third branch.

Yu Si Niang appeared flattered, having received praise from her father-in-law in the Old Mu Family for as many times as she could count on her fingers over the years.

"Grandpa, you’re right, my mother and I, one person is almost as productive as two."

Mu Shuangshuang was not boasting; indeed, the two of them worked very fast.

However, Fengzi wasn’t bad either, carrying as much rice as two people by himself, there wasn’t much left.

Mr. Mu chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"You work so fast, do you have any secrets? Teach me, this old man, so I can go back and supervise the others in the family to work."

As soon as Mr. Mu spoke, Mu Shuangshuang suddenly realized.

So he came to cure the laziness plague in the Old Mu Family.

But the Old Mu Family bunch were already in the terminal stage, was there any hope?

There was absolutely no hope!

"Dad, we don’t have any secrets for working; I have long practiced speed by working as an assistant chef outside.

As for Shuangshuang, I guess it relates to working fast with Shuangshuang’s father." Yu Si Niang looked troubled.

"Old Third’s wife, don’t play games with an old man like me. If there really are no secrets, why is it that you work faster than others?"

Mr. Mu looked full of disbelief, thinking Yu Si Niang was unwilling to teach him.