Mu Danian left, and the others couldn’t sit still either.

Mrs. Lin nudged Mu Dazhong.

"Daddy Gou Dan, let’s take the kids and leave. This work isn’t for people."

At this moment, Mrs. Lin felt that holding a sickle was an insult to herself.

Mu Dazhong thought for a moment, then imitated Mu Danian by throwing the sickle heavily on the ground,

he shouted, "Qing, Gou Dan, let’s go with your father and mother to enjoy life, we’re not doing this crappy work anymore!"

The kids didn’t want to work in the first place, so as soon as Mu Dazhong spoke, they started to run wildly.

Soon, only the fourth branch’s Mu Dajiang, Mu Xiaxia, and Mrs. Liu were left on the field ridge.

Xiao Chu was only three years old, not an age for work, so Old Mrs. Mu didn’t let him come out to work.

Plus, Mrs. Liu was usually at home cooking, washing clothes, making it easier to take care of the children.

"Daddy Xiaxia, should we also leave?" asked Mrs. Liu, glancing at the second branch that had already gone far.

"Forget it, everyone is rushing to see Big Brother, and he might not even care about them. Let’s finish the work here and rest with dignity!"

...

...

Old Mu Family

Mr. Mu hurried home, the mud on his legs and face was not yet cleaned.

When he rushed into his own main room, he saw that many people had come to his home.

Mu Dade was wearing fine silk, sitting in the central position, chatting with these people.

Those people surrounded Mu Dade, flattering him with their expressions.

These were all Mu Dade’s schoolmates over the years, of all ages.

The youngest was just over ten, the oldest already in their thirties or forties.

Everyone had a similar aim to Mu Dade, working hard all these years to become a scholar, then go to the Capital for the Imperial Examination, followed by the Palace Examination to see the Holy Emperor.

This is the dream of many scholars for a lifetime; even if they don’t achieve an official position in the end, just meeting the current Holy Emperor would be enough in this life.

"Dade, you’re really amazing. When we studied together back then, none of us were as good as you."

said a well-dressed middle-aged man.

Mu Dade smiled broadly: "This matter isn’t really about my brilliance, but over the years, I’ve repeatedly reviewed and learned, combined with the good teaching of my teacher, that’s how I became a scholar."

Mu Dade was all drama when boasting.

The crowd praised him again, and Mu Dade was almost flying with joy.

Suddenly someone pointed at Mr. Mu and said, "Who’s this old man? Why is he barging into someone else’s home?"

"He’s so dark and filthy, he must be some beggar here for the excitement," another man echoed.

Mu Dade’s classmates generally came from decent families.

After all, to afford education, one would need a few taels of silver each year, which wasn’t available to most families.

Everyone knew Mu Dade’s home was in the countryside, but Mu Dade always said his parents were old and resting in the countryside.

His siblings never enjoyed studying since childhood and had to rely on farming, so no one expected Mr. Mu to be farming, especially not showing up in such a dusty manner.

Mu Dade’s expression wasn’t good.

After all, today was the day these schoolmates came to his house to congratulate him.

"Hey, old man, don’t embarrass yourself here. There’s no place for you to spectate. If something goes wrong, you can’t afford to pay!"

Mr. Mu was so angry his lips twisted.

Being driven out from his own home, called a beggar, he opened his mouth and said, "What are you all talking about? I’m Dade’s..."

Mr. Mu had just opened his mouth when Mu Dade interrupted: "That’s my uncle, I hired him to work for my parents. Don’t worry about him, I’ll take him to freshen up!"

After speaking, Mu Dade stood up and walked towards Mr. Mu.

Mr. Mu looked utterly stunned.

He had never expected his own son to disown him, especially in front of so many people.

"Eldest..." Mr. Mu just started to speak when Mu Dade pushed him out.

Outside, Mu Dade hurriedly said, "Dad, why didn’t you dress properly before coming out? Dressed so raggedly, what would those people think of me as a scholar?

Do you want them to think I’m mistreating you and mom? Want them to think poorly of my character?"

Mu Dade questioned Mr. Mu.

Mr. Mu suddenly felt a bit sad for some reason.

Back when they arranged a match for Fifth, the entire Old Mu Family attended, including the third branch.

Only the fourth branch wasn’t present, his old wife said the fourth branch didn’t have a new piece of clothing, dressed like that, they would definitely be laughed at.

At that time, Mr. Mu didn’t think much of it.

In hindsight, he felt he was excessive.

But things were already like this, and he didn’t want to affect the eldest.

"Eldest, I’ll go change right away, clean up nicely, and later you can tell your schoolmates that I am your dad, okay?"

Mr. Mu had just one scholar son in his life, and he wanted to show off a bit in front of everyone.

"No way! Dad, do you think everyone is an idiot? I just introduced you as my uncle, now saying you’re my dad, people will surely think I’m lying, perhaps they won’t even associate with me in the future.

So, you don’t have to change your clothes, just wash the mud off and help mom in the kitchen. The front hall is covered by Dan Dan’s mother and me."

Just as Mu Dade finished speaking, someone inside the house shouted.

"Brother Da De, come quickly~"

Mu Dade rushed back inside, not forgetting to instruct Mr. Mu beforehand: "Dad, tell the second brother and them to restrain themselves too, preferably not to come to the front hall’s main room today, my schoolmates will leave by afternoon.

Also, kill two old hens for lunch, one for soup, one for frying dry, it’s best if we ask Third Sister-in-law to make it, she’s a good cook."

Mr. Mu felt uneasy inside.

As if he was suddenly drained of all energy.

And Mu Dade didn’t care whether he heard it or not.

He went inside and chatted with a few classmates.

Naturally, the crowd brought it up.

"Brother Da De, why was that person in your home earlier?"

Mu Dade smiled awkwardly: "My uncle never married and has no one to care for him at home. I used to give him some silver every month for living expenses,

you might not know, but it’s harvest time recently, the busiest time for farmers, my family has almost a hundred acres of land and no one to work it, so I thought of paying him."

When Mu Dade mentioned a hundred acres of land, the crowd drew a sharp breath.

Nowadays, land is a rare commodity, worth several taels of silver per acre.

Nearly a hundred acres, just the land alone was worth several hundred taels of silver.

"Brother Da De, your family is really wealthy, impressive, admirable!"

This is how literati and poets socialize; either you flatter me or I flatter you, or write poetry together.

It’s clear these people came to flatter Mu Dade and cozy up to him today.

Mu Dade looked utterly content; this was the life he felt he should be living.