Old Mu Family——

Mr. Mu was smoking his pipe in the main room, while Old Mrs. Mu stood beside him attending to him.

The second son and his wife were currently locked in the storeroom by Mr. Mu.

Before the eldest son’s scholar friend left, Mr. Mu wouldn’t release the second branch to deal with the matter.

But even so, Old Mrs. Mu couldn’t help but ask a few more questions.

"Old man, how do you plan to deal with the second family’s issue later?"

At the moment, Old Mrs. Mu was not making a fuss, seemingly genuinely concerned for the second branch.

Mr. Mu sighed deeply, "What can we do? We can’t really send them to the village chief and have him hand it over to the government, can we? The Old Mu Family is not what it used to be; we can’t afford to lose face like this."

Old Mrs. Mu fell silent, seemingly agreeing with Mr. Mu’s sentiments.

Actually, protecting the family reputation wasn’t something the old man was doing for the first time; the last time, Mu Zhenzhen had stolen money from Liu Wangcai’s family, and Mr. Mu protected Mu Zhenzhen.

However, at that time, Liu Wangcai’s family had no evidence, so the matter died down.

But this time, the second son was caught red-handed, and what he stole was the grain most valued by the entire village. Once discovered, the Old Mu Family was bound to face another great calamity.

If Mr. Mu didn’t step in today, the reputation of the Old Mu Family would inevitably be ruined by Mu Dazhong.

"Ultimately, it’s all that worthless girl from the third branch’s fault. If it weren’t for her stirring up trouble, how would the second son become like this?"

Although Old Mrs. Mu often scolded her own son, when it mattered, she still protected him.

A son is always a son; a granddaughter is not necessarily a granddaughter.

"Xiangxiang’s mother, you can’t say that. The second son stole something and was bound to be discovered sooner or later.

If discovered by our own family, we might just lose a few things, but if others find out, the Old Mu Family would be done for."

Mr. Mu was never confused about serious matters.

Today, they lost fifty kilograms of rice and an old hen, but for the Old Mu Family, it was a matter of saving the entire family.

"Don’t talk to me about losing things. That worthless girl is like a leech. Everything in the house has been taken away by her. How could the third branch give birth to such a creature?"

Old Mrs. Mu’s face was full of anger, and when she cursed, she didn’t hold back.

"Alright, this has nothing to do with the third branch or Shuangshuang. It’s the second son who went astray; don’t go looking for trouble with the third branch and annoy people!" Mr. Mu said.

"The third branch, the third branch, it’s always the third branch! Don’t forget, the third branch took the initiative to ask for the separation back then. If you like them so much, then let them listen to you!

Now even a worthless girl from the third branch is opposing you.

If I were you, I wouldn’t give anything to the third branch, let them fend for themselves." Old Mrs. Mu responded defiantly.

Old Mrs. Mu had looked down on the third branch for a long time.

So in her eyes, as long as the third branch was involved, it was their fault.

"I don’t want to talk to you; you crazy woman don’t understand anything!" Mr. Mu threw down these words and went outside.

Old Mrs. Mu chased after him, "You stubborn old man, explain to me how I don’t understand! Am I wrong when I say the third branch is ungrateful?"

While scolding the third branch, Old Mrs. Mu questioned Mr. Mu fiercely.

...

...

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng had already prepared everything to go to town.

A bull cart, a few wooden barrels filled with cold noodles, and one wooden barrel with the mushrooms and some black fungus collected for Xue Zheng.

There was also a large cloth bag filled with popcorn.

Additionally, Mu Shuangshuang gathered fresh vegetables from her own garden; all these were to be sold in town.

By the time they reached town, the sun was already high in the sky; after not coming to town for a few days, it was much livelier.

The cries of the vendors seemed louder than before.

Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng delivered the goods straight to Xue Yi’s restaurant, along with the popcorn, to the previous cooperation site.

After changing partners, Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng’s lifestyle remained unchanged; every few days, they would go to town to deliver goods to the new partners.

When money got into Mu Shuangshuang’s hands, she felt much more settled.

But there were still many places to spend money; with the New Year approaching, there were a lot of festivals to prepare for, and Mu Shuangshuang felt the money in her wallet was insufficient.

She still had to discuss with Yu Si Niang about what to prepare for the New Year and allocate the silver in advance.

"Fengzi, let’s go to the market first and sell those vegetables cheaply, then visit Xue Zheng, and afterwards check out the winter cloth, alright?" Mu Shuangshuang shared her plan with Lu Yuanfeng.

Lu Yuanfeng nodded in agreement.

After finishing their tasks, Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng parked the bull cart at the Xue Family’s entrance.

Xue Zheng had improved quite a bit recently, although he still wasn’t very sociable; he at least had a response to eating.

The Housekeeper Xue directly took Mu Shuangshuang to the backyard; this time, Xue Zheng was not sitting idly in the courtyard but was in his room doing something.

The Xue family’s servants dared not disturb him; Mu Shuangshuang carried a wooden barrel into Xue Zheng’s room.

Xue Zheng was sitting by the window, with the cold wind from outside blowing in, chilly.

"Xue Zheng, I brought back the mushrooms I promised you last time." Mu Shuangshuang shook the wooden barrel while speaking to Xue Zheng.

Xue Zheng hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Mu Shuangshuang.

This was a tacit understanding between them.

Mu Shuangshuang felt that Xue Zheng couldn’t really be called autistic; at least sometimes, he was willing to respond to her.

"Let me tell you, a few days ago, your brother Yuanfeng and I went hunting in the mountains. Do you know what we ended up catching?" Mu Shuangshuang squinted at Xue Zheng.

This was the usual routine: Mu Shuangshuang would ask, then answer herself. If Xue Zheng was in a good mood, he would give a glance; if not, he would ignore her.

"We caught rabbits and pheasants." Mu Shuangshuang replied as usual, but unexpectedly, Xue Zheng also spoke.

"Are they... easy to catch?"

Mu Shuangshuang and Xue Zheng had been interacting for quite some time, and their usual state was her patiently dealing with him while Xue Zheng hardly responded.

But this time, it was too surprising.

Mu Shuangshuang was overjoyed.

"Of course, they’re especially easy to catch. Do you want to come with me?" Mu Shuangshuang cautiously asked.

Given Xue Zheng’s situation, Mu Shuangshuang felt he should interact more with peers.

She thought that with her three kids playing together frequently, they might be able to make him more cheerful.

Xue Zheng hesitated, looking at Mu Shuangshuang, seemingly unsure of himself.

"How about this, you go talk to your grandma about it. If she agrees, I’ll take you along, okay?"