Chapter 99

After taking a short nap in the afternoon, the boys in the family gradually woke up in the warm sunlight streaming through the window.

Zhou Lin wasn't home, so Bai Qiqiu took Wen Zhaoran and Mu Bai to Mu Zhaoye's place.

Before going to Beijing, the fish that Mujia Village caught in the river were kept at home. Mu Zhaoye's cousin took the key to the courtyard gate and would come to check on the house from time to time.

The weather has been warm these past few days, and the thin ice and broken ice on the river are enough to catch fish for a few more days.

Hibiscus opened the wardrobe door, letting in the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms.

He took the sewing basket off the cabinet and quickly cut out the fabric.

The courtyard was quiet and peaceful, with few boys making noise or playing.

At Mu Zhaoye's place, it was a chaotic scene. Inside, surrounded by layers upon layers of villagers, came heart-wrenching cries and wails.

Bai Qiqiu pulled Wen Zhaoran and Mu Bai and squeezed in with great difficulty. When he looked up, he saw that Mu Zhaoye's courtyard gate was littered with bedding and clothes.

Uncle Mu and Mu Zhaoye's younger brother, along with his arrogant and disdainful younger brother, sat down right at the doorway, seemingly unconcerned about the cold ground.

Slapping his thigh, tears streaming down his face, he kept shouting that Mu Zhaoye was unfilial.

Mu Zhaoye's eyes were cold and ruthless. "Take your filthy things and get out!"

Uncle Mu stiffened his neck and straightened up. "You're my eldest son! If you don't support me, who will? There's no such logic anywhere in the world!"

Mu Zhaoye's stepfather wiped away non-existent tears, secretly glancing up at Mu Zhaoye. Startled by Mu Zhaoye's gloomy gaze, he shrank back and cried even harder.

The chubby boy was clearly from the family, always busy eating, and his plump face was full of hatred.

“Father said, what’s yours is mine! This house is mine! You’re the one who should be thrown out.”

Bai Qiqiu, Wen Zhaoran, and Mu Bai arrived beside Mu Zhaoye at some point, and upon hearing this, they laughed in exasperation.

“Your father is shameless. You mustn’t follow his example at such a young age. Otherwise, when you grow up, you’ll look just like your father. Which young man or woman would want to marry you?”

Uncle Mu pointed at Bai Qiqiu's nose and said angrily, "No matter what, I'm still your future father-in-law. How dare you talk to your elders like that?! What an utterly rude young man!"

Mu Zhaoye's stepfather took the opportunity to say, "That's right, Zhaoye, you can't have a son who doesn't respect his elders. Marrying such a troublemaker will bring no peace. My nephew from my mother's family is much better; he's very obedient."

Mu Zhaoye sneered, too lazy to pay attention to them, and pulled Bai Qiqiu to go inside.

Uncle Mu's voice trembled as he threatened, "If you... if you really don't care about us, I'm not afraid of anyone with nothing to lose, I'll definitely go to the yamen and report you."

Mu Zhaoye stared at him intently for a moment, "You just go. Every time you go, I'll beat you up. Since you're already unfilial, I might as well make this reputation real. I'll give you as many beatings as I get in the yamen!"

Upon hearing this, the belatedly arriving Chief Kimura said in a deep voice, "You brat, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

Mu Bo, who was trembling with fear at Mu Zhaoye's presence, felt that someone had come to his aid and started shouting.

"Village chief, you have to do us old folks justice!"

Village Chief Kim glared at him. "At your age, coming to your son's house, where you've already separated from the family, to cause trouble—aren't you ashamed?!"

"Even if we separate...he's still my son, isn't he?"

"I heard everything just now. Under heaven, there's no reason for parents to live in the home of a son who has moved out. Go ahead and sue him, and see which side the magistrate is on!"

Village Chief Kim had been there for a while, and the villagers outside were thinking of making room for him to come in, but he didn't rush to come in.

He listened to the whole story from behind, and only stepped forward when Mu Zhaoye uttered those outrageous words.

Even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. He was mostly saying this to scare Uncle Mu and the others. If village matters escalate to the county government and bother the county magistrate, it would be a dereliction of duty on his part as the village head.

It also damages the reputation of Mujia Village in other villages.

He certainly didn't want Uncle Mu and the others to make a big fuss.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Mu immediately shrank back. He had only scared Mu Zhaoye; normally, he would even avoid the entrance of the county government office, being extremely timid.

Mu Zhaoye composed himself, still showing proper respect to Village Chief Kim.

“Village chief, I was away from home for a while and gave the key to the gate to my third cousin. I didn’t expect them to take advantage of me. They forced my cousin to give the key to them because of their seniority. Luckily, I was careful to add a lock to the main house. There are still signs of prying on the lock. It’s fortunate that it wasn’t opened, otherwise, I don’t know what valuable things would have been stolen.”

The younger cousin blushed with embarrassment, feeling as if he had let down his older cousin's trust.

"I'm...I'm sorry, eldest cousin."

Mu Zhaoye glanced at him but said nothing. He and his cousin had been holding out for many days. A couple of days ago, his father, perhaps annoyed by his cousin Mu Bo or something, forced him to hand over the key.

All told, Uncle Mu and Mu Zhaoye's stepfather stayed at home for less than three days.

The two originally intended to break down the door of the main house and ransack it, but the lock was difficult to open. They also thought that if they waited for Mu Zhaoye to return and gave him a good look, they might be able to stay in such a nice house. So they obediently stayed in the side room.

Even the side room was much more comfortable than the dilapidated house they lived in.

Although they hadn't stayed long, the two were extremely reluctant to go back.

The village chief said softly, "Your father was wrong in this matter, but you shouldn't have said such angry words."

Mu Zhaoye nodded, "This junior will keep in mind the village chief's teachings."

Chief Kimura didn't tell Mu Zhaoye to apologize to his father; he just waved his hand.

"Let's all go, let's all go. It's such a rare time of leisure for farmers, and all we do is create trouble."

After saying that, he put his hands behind his back, swayed back and slowly went home.

They didn't care about Uncle Mu's family; after all, the bedding and other items were brought by them, and they would find a way to get them back.

Mu Zhaoye ignored them and hurried into the courtyard with Bai Qiqiu and the others, closing the gate behind them.

Mu Zhaoye's cousin felt embarrassed to come in, but after thinking about it, he helped Uncle Mu carry the things back home.

Mu Zhaoye came back today and was very busy. He took Bai Qiqiu home and then went to town. When he came back, he went to look for Zhou Lin and Mu Heng.

When they got home, Mu Zhaoye's stepfather was busy cooking in the kitchen.

Seeing Mu Zhaoye return, her face was full of smiles. "Zhaoye is back. Come in and rest. Dinner will be ready soon."

At that time, Mu Zhaoye's face was so dark it could drip water.

After some pulling and tugging, they finally managed to throw their bedding and bundles out the door.

As for the chickens in the yard, consider them payment for the firewood they provided.

Bai Qiqiu looked at the messy yard and rolled up his sleeves.

"I'll get ready, I'll be quick. Are we going fishing today?"

Mu Zhaoye nodded and followed him to clean the yard.

The kitchen was cleaned and tidied up again, and the room where Uncle Mu, Mu Zhaoye's stepfather, and his younger brother lived was also cleaned inside and out.

Mu Zhaoye finally felt a little better.

Wen Zhaoran and Mu Bai helped gather the last bundle of firewood.

This was their first time entering Mu Zhaoye's house, and their eyes darted around.

The courtyard was paved with stone bricks, and even the kitchen was paved with bluestone.

After cleaning, the entire yard and house were neat and tidy, spotless.

Despite all that work, my feet are still clean.

There's also a small pavilion in the courtyard, with a stone table and benches underneath. Imagine enjoying fruit and the breeze in the pavilion during the summer – it sounds incredibly pleasant.

No wonder Uncle Mu and Mu Zhaoye's stepfather, once they moved in, were reluctant to leave.

Wen Zhaoran secretly decided that next spring, once the wooden building was completed, he would also pave the courtyard with bricks and stones.

After they finished their work, they took the fishing nets and went out the door. They called over the men from before and went to the river together.

Mu Zhaoye's cousin walked over hesitantly, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his cousin didn't chase him away.

As the sun began to set, its afterglow bathed the entire village.

The evening breeze carried a chill.

Mu Jin rubbed her stiff hands. The sleeves of the smock were finished, and she would probably be able to make a complete set by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow.

Stretching her aching back from sitting for so long, Mu Jin pushed open the door.

Bai Qiqiu, Wen Zhaoran, and Mu Bai haven't returned yet. In the courtyard, Night Owl is gnawing on the lamb ribs it was reluctant to eat, and it has been doing so for several days.

They'd gnaw on it for a while, then bury it again; if they wanted to, they'd dig it up and continue gnawing.

Mu Jin smiled and patted the dog's head, thinking of going out to look for them.

With the sun about to set, it's time to go home.

As soon as they stepped outside, they saw Bai Qiqiu and Wen Zhaoran walking towards them in the sunset, each carrying a fish in their hand.

"Why did it take you so long to get back?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Qiqiu, Wen Zhaoran, and Mu Bai, one after another, chattered on and on, vividly recounting the events concerning Mu Zhaoye's family to Mu Jin.

Hibiscus had a headache from the noise the three of them were making.

Without the three of them, the house feels a bit lonely; with them, it's too noisy.

Mu Jin sighed and chuckled. After listening, she could only admire Mu Zhaoye's courage.

If the father said no, then no; even if he wanted to go to the county government, he wouldn't agree.

Mu Jin never thought she could completely sever ties with the Zhou family. Being able to avoid contact during holidays and festivals was already a good thing.

Thinking of this, Mu Jin said to Bai Qiqiu, "In the afternoon, the Zhou family delivered a bolt of cloth and took half of the money from them."

Bai Qiqiu nodded. With Wen Zhaoran and Mu Bai around, he learned about most of what had happened in the village in less than half a day while he was away.

He sighed inwardly again, thankful that he had been quick-witted and wise enough to break off the engagement with Zhou Qiang.

Back home, Mu Jin first carefully secured the courtyard gate, then fed Night Owl a whole coarse flour bun, so that Night Owl could guard the house with a full belly.

The sun gradually disappeared behind the western mountains, and the last rays of its light faded away.

Bai Qiqiu had just returned, and Wen Zhaoran and Mu Bai were both excited and eager to hear him recount the events that occurred on his journey to the capital.

The two brothers couldn't have what they wanted.

He pulled Mu Jin along and they slept on the big bed in Wen Zhaoran's room.

The four boys slept in a row, with Bai Qiqiu sandwiched in the middle, and there was no oil lamp lit.

Bai Qiqiu began to recount the interesting things he had experienced along the way, much like a storyteller.

The winter night was silent, save for Bai Qiqiu's clear voice.

There were many people in the bed, and it was very warm under the covers.

Gradually, the sounds subsided, leaving only the soft breathing of a few people asleep.