As soon as Mu Dazhong finished speaking, Lu Yuanfeng increased the pressure.

He continued to hold down Mu Dazhong, who had already eaten dirt, forcing him to swallow more.

His back felt like it was being hammered, causing Mu Dazhong to scream in pain.

His face was flushed red, full of agony.

"Old Four, help me, it hurts so much..." Mu Dazhong cried out.

He called Mu Dajiang because Mu Dajiang was on good terms with the third branch.

Perhaps Mu Shuangshuang would consider this and let him go.

Mu Dajiang had a kind heart, seeing his second brother cry out like this, he knew he must be in extreme pain.

"Shuangshuang...your second uncle knows he was wrong, you...please let him go."

Mu Shuangshuang remained unmoved.

Mu Dazhong’s provocations weren’t new, he always thought he could get away with it.

That’s why he kept coming back. This time, in front of the entire village, there’s a need to teach him a lesson.

"Uncle Four, you don’t need to worry about this. My second uncle’s unfiltered mouth has finally gotten him in trouble, it’s better for family to handle it now than for outsiders to do it later."

As soon as Mu Shuangshuang finished speaking, a few onlookers chimed in:

"The third branch is really poor now, Old Three is bedridden at home, and it’s only Si Niang and Shuang holding it together.

The second uncle not only doesn’t help but publicly accuses Shuang, clearly wanting the third branch to suffer."

"Feng, don’t let go. Stand up for the Third Branch of the Old Mu Family. If Mu the Second wants to complain, all of us can testify that it was the second uncle who insulted Shuang first."

Hearing the villagers’ words, Lu Yuanfeng secretly increased the pressure again.

Mu Dazhong’s whole face was now buried in the dirt, his fingers scraped to bleeding.

He cried even more pathetically.

"Shuangshuang, please tell Fengzi to let your second uncle go, things will get serious otherwise." Mu Dajiang quietly pleaded.

In Mu Dajiang’s heart, although his second brother is lazier and selfish, he’s still family; he couldn’t just watch him suffer!

Mu Shuangshuang saw Mu Dazhong’s cursing grow quieter and realized he was truly hurt. Then, she gestured to Lu Yuanfeng, "Fengzi, let my second uncle go."

Only then did Lu Yuanfeng throw Mu Dazhong out of the threshing field like a rag.

Mu Dazhong crawled up from the ground, several meters away, clutching his bleeding nose, jumping up to curse Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng: "You two damn lovers, wait for me, I won’t let you go."

Lu Yuanfeng stepped forward, displeased, and Mu Dazhong became scared and ran away like a rabbit.

Mu Danian and Mu Dajiang continued to load the Mu family’s cart with the crops and transport them back home.

Mu Dajiang lingered in front of Mu Shuangshuang, hesitating for a while before speaking.

"Shuangshuang, thank you for letting him go just now..."

"Uncle Four, Shuangshuang has nothing much to say, just don’t overwork yourself."

After speaking, Mu Shuangshuang started sorting the rice, which still needed to be sun-dried for a day before going into storage.

Mu Dajiang pushed the cart in the direction of the Mu family.

Back home, Mu Dazhong made another complaint about Mu Shuangshuang, painting her in the worst light.

Originally hoping Mr. Mu would stand up for him, he was surprised when Mr. Mu not only didn’t blame Mu Shuangshuang.

Instead, he scolded Mu Dazhong severely.

This incident buried a grudge in Mu Dazhong’s heart; he decided to get money fast and show Mr. Mu his strength.

...

...

In the afternoon, Mr. Mu hired two strong men from the village to work, agreeing on twelve coins per day, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Since they were from the same village, Mr. Mu dared not treat them with poor food, so he specifically checked the kitchen to make sure Mrs. Liu cooked a good meal.

Thus, after two more days, the Mu family’s rice was finally all transported from the fields to the threshing grounds.

However, the harvest still wasn’t over, as Mr. Mu led his family to continue threshing for another two or three days.

Just as the late rice was stored, a sudden cold wave mixed with autumn rain arrived.

Temperatures dropped sharply, and villagers hardly went outside, staying home peeling rotting cotton.

Mu Shuangshuang, with spare time at home, took the little kids to help Zhao Yun’s house peel cotton.

The walls of Zhao Yun’s main room were piled high with rotting cotton.

The kids’ hands turned black from peeling but, with many hands, they quickly peeled a basket.

Zhao Yun was so happy she couldn’t close her mouth.

She laughed, asking: "Shuangshuang, I haven’t seen Fengzi today, where did he go?"

Usually, where Shuangshuang was, Fengzi was too.

"He’s gone to the mountains, saying now that the harvest is over, all his time must be spent on hunting."

Lu Yuanfeng’s main work is hunting, and with farming done, he should return to the mountains.

From now on, he would go into the mountains at least every two days, so that when the snow comes, he knows where the animals are.

"Is that so, Fengzi is really good. The other day, I was carrying water, he didn’t hesitate to help carry it back."

Speaking about Lu Yuanfeng filled Zhao Yun’s heart with joy.

She even felt like a mother-in-law admiring her son-in-law.

Although Zhao Yun didn’t have a daughter, just a son, Da Long, Mu Shuangshuang was like half a daughter to her.

"Haha, really, he didn’t mention it." Mu Shuangshuang said with a smile.

"The fact that he didn’t say anything shows his good character. Everyone in the village says Shuangshuang and Fengzi are a great match."

When Zhao Yun talked about this, she wouldn’t stop.

Zhang Yutou beside her could no longer bear it and reminded Zhao Yun.

"Alright, alright, you’ve gone on long enough, Shuangshuang’s getting red-faced, change the topic."

"I’m just happy about it, alright, let’s change the topic." Zhao Yun said.

"Shuangshuang, it’s cold now, do you still go to town every few days?" Zhao Yun asked curiously.

"Yes, but it’s really uncomfortable." Mu Shuangshuang sighed.

Autumn had arrived, a cold wave struck, and it was extremely chilly, and her mother’s cotton clothes weren’t made yet.

Yet she couldn’t postpone the delivery trip to town every three days, each time the wind cut her face like icy knives.

Fortunately, Mu Shuangshuang’s gloves proved helpful, preventing frostbite.

"You must dress warmly then, right, yesterday I heard someone say your little aunt is getting married, do you have any inside gossip?

Tell Aunt Xiao Yun about it." Zhao Yun looked at Mu Shuangshuang with a gossiping expression.

"What? My little aunt is getting married?"

Mu Shuangshuang was shocked, suspecting she had misheard.

"So you didn’t know!" Zhao Yun said disappointedly.

Zhao Yun thought Mu Shuangshuang might know some news, she got excited for gossip.