Chapter Ninety-Six

Today is a rare sunny day these days, and the owl is sleeping sprawled out in the yard, its furry belly wide open.

Huang Pang'er had somehow climbed up the larger branches of the bare peach tree, which had lost all its green leaves.

It was like a wide noodle, basking in the sun, sleeping soundly.

Taking advantage of the fine weather, Mu Jin brought out the bedding that hadn't been aired out for days.

He tapped the owl's belly a few times with a wooden stick and said to Wen Zhaoran, who was stroking the owl's belly:

"There aren't many pieces of cloth to dry today, but there's plenty of space to dry other things. Go back inside and wake Bai'er up. Don't sleep. Bring your bedding out of your room and air it out so you can sleep more comfortably tonight."

Wen Zhaoran nodded, reluctantly removing her hands from Ye Xiao's warm, soft belly.

The owl, who was enjoying being rubbed, let out a soft hum and nudged Wen Zhaoran's hand with its wet nose.

Wen Zhaoran chuckled, patted the dog's head, washed her hands, and went back inside to get her bedding.

Mu Bai was still fast asleep in the room. Without Zhou Ling around to keep an eye on him, he became much lazier.

Especially in the cold winter, he can sleep the most, and he won't wake up until the sun is high in the sky.

Wen Zhaoran patted the bulging blanket and sighed with a smile, "Bai'er, get up, the sun is already shining on your head."

Mu Bai rolled over, as if she hadn't heard anything.

Helpless, Wen Zhaoran resorted to her trump card, "My brother said that if you don't get up, he'll come and call you himself."

Upon hearing this, Mu Bai immediately sprang to his feet and sat up.

"I'll get up, I'll get up right now, Second Brother."

Wen Zhaoran chuckled, "If Uncle Mu knew you were this lazy, he would surely drag you home and give you a good talking to."

"Good second brother, I can't get up now, please don't tell my uncle."

Mu Bai opened her big, watery eyes, her expression innocent yet carrying a hint of ingratiation.

If he had a tail like an owl, he would probably wag his tail even more enthusiastically than the owl had just done.

The hibiscus in the yard tidied up the quilts that had been drying, went to Bai Qiqiu's room, and brought out the quilts from his room.

It's been quite some time since Bai Qiqiu went to the capital, and he should be on his way back by now.

After the bedding was aired out, Mu Jin took out the apron she had changed out of yesterday.

Zhou Lin filled the water tank at home early in the morning.

Mu Jin was too lazy to go to the ice-breaking hole by the river to wash clothes, so she simply scooped water from the water tank and washed the dirty clothes at home.

When Wen Zhaoran first arrived, she had never lifted a finger to do housework, but now she has learned how to use soap to wash clothes.

The cotton-padded coat is only taken off and washed after winter and spring when the weather warms up.

Winter clothing consists mostly of inner garments, inner layers, and outer cotton-padded coats, which are not difficult to wash.

This year, thanks to planting cotton and weaving cotton and linen cloth, we were able to make winter clothes for our families, saving a lot of money.

When the sun was shining, Mu Jin moved the wooden basin to the yard and washed clothes while basking in the sun, which was quite relaxing.

"Big brother, you're busy."

Zhou Si was carrying a piece of pork belly weighing about one pound and a string of cleaned pig intestines.

Seeing that the courtyard gate was ajar, he pushed it open and went inside.

"You're here, why did you bring meat? That's too much of a formality."

Mu Jin smiled, washed the last of Zhou Lin's robes until the scum was dry, wrung out the water, shook it, stretched it out, and hung it on the clothes rack.

Zhou Si placed the meat and pig intestines he had brought in the kitchen, and went out of the house to report:

“Brother Lingyun just bought a pig today and slaughtered it at home. I thought it was new, so I kept some for our own consumption and also saved some for you and your older brother. I’ve been so busy with things at home lately that I haven’t had time to help make Qi Qiu’s wedding quilt.”

Mu Jin rubbed her hands, which were red from being exposed to cold water, and chuckled.

"Don't be so polite, we're family. I've embroidered the mandarin ducks you made onto the wedding quilt. They're really beautiful. I don't know how happy Qi Qiu will be when she comes back."

Zhou Si smiled, her complexion much rosier than before.

Mu Jin moved a stool and handed it to him, while Wen Zhaoran grabbed two handfuls of roasted melon seeds from inside the house.

The group sat in the courtyard and chatted for a while.

Mu Bai cracked some melon seeds and said, "Brother Si, your new house is very close to mine. It will be very convenient for me to visit you in the future."

Come whenever you have time, and I'll cook you something delicious.

Mu Bai nodded with a smile. It was common knowledge in the village that the two sons of the hunter had separated from their family.

Zhou Ling was at home and mentioned this matter several times, mostly implying that Zhou Si was troublesome.

Mu Bai was close to Zhou Si and spoke up for him several times, only to be gently poked on the forehead by Zhou Ling, who called him stupid.

However, Zhou Ling's words still touched Mu Bai's heart to some extent.

Upon seeing Zhou Si today, who looked exactly the same as before, I couldn't recall Zhou Ling's words anymore.

Mu Jin chuckled and said, "All you ever think about is eating."

He then turned to Zhou Si and asked, "Is the house all tidied up?"

Zhou Si nodded gently, "These past two days, Brother Lingyun went to town to sell pork and bought some pots and pans that were missing from the house. He moved in yesterday. In a couple of days, we're thinking of inviting some close relatives to our house for a housewarming party. Brother, Zhaoran, Bai'er, are you free?"

The three nodded in unison, "Of course we're available."

Zhou Si smiled and sighed, "It's a pity Qi Qiu isn't here; it feels like something's missing."

"He might come back the day you light the stove."

Wen Zhaoran and Mu Bai were young and couldn't sit still. Before long, they called Ye Xiao and went out.

Mu Jin glanced at the wagging big dog tail as it disappeared into the distance and said softly, "Did Mother go looking for you again?"

Zhou Si laughed upon hearing this, "Not going? Do you think that's possible, brother?"

Hibiscus shook her head rather honestly.

"However, my father, my stepfather, my eldest brother, Mian-ge, and I all said that since we've divided the family property, the game we hunt is no longer related to me and Lingyun-ge. If my mother and second brother come again, no matter what they say or how much they want it, we just won't give it to them. No one else can say anything. Otherwise, this family property will have been divided in vain."

Hibiscus nodded gently.

Zhou Si cracked open a melon seed, his expression calm.

“Mother has gone there twice in the past few days. My father will let her say whatever she wants, but he just won’t give her any game.”

Upon hearing this, Mu Jin laughed and said, "Then Mother would be furious when she goes back."

Zhou Si smiled and said, "My father and I seem to be much calmer now. I don't know where they heard that Lingyun and I moved to a new house. They just came looking for us. Many villagers came to buy meat after hearing the news, but because of our reputation, we only gave her a pound of pig intestines. That's all we had."

If she wants hibiscus, I won't even give her this pound of pig intestines.

"Tell me, Mother, aren't you afraid of ruining Fourth Brother's reputation by doing this? Doesn't Father care?"

Zhou Si shook his head, "My parents said that the family's money was used to support my fourth brother, and the family is almost starving. They came to ask their children for things. What's wrong with that?"

Mu Jin sighed inwardly, wondering if Zhou Wu would cause trouble once the wooden building was completed next year.

Just thinking about it makes me feel a bit restless and anxious.

Well then, we'll just have to deal with whatever comes our way.

"Brother, the bracelet on your wrist is really nice. I've never seen one like it before."

Zhou Si didn't want to talk about these troublesome things. Seeing the new bracelet on Mu Jin's hand, she sighed.

Upon hearing this, Mu Jin looked down, a slight smile playing on her lips, and gently touched it with affection.

"It was a gift from your older brother. He said it was a style from the south, so it might have just been brought here."

Zhou Si gave Mu Jin a teasing look, "Big brother treats his brother the best. He's the most loving husband in our Mu family village."

Mu Jin blushed slightly and gave Zhou Si a reproachful look.

As the two were chatting and laughing, Zhou Ming walked over with a not-so-good expression.

Mu Jin and Zhou Si immediately stopped laughing.

Zhou Ming was busy, so he didn't waste any words and said directly, "Fourth brother's wedding has been moved up. The wedding banquet will be held at the beginning of the month. Since Si Ge'er will be there, I won't have to make another trip to your house. The wedding is urgent, and your parents are asking you two to go back tomorrow to help with the preparations."

After saying that, he turned and left in a hurry, as if something extremely urgent was waiting for him ahead.

Mu Jin and Zhou Si exchanged a glance, both looking surprised.

"The wedding date was set so far in advance, there must be something going on."

“When Brother Lingyun sells pork, he sometimes goes to Baiyun Village before going to town. There are many rich people in that village. I asked him to find out about it when he goes.”

Mu Jin nodded, vaguely sensing that Zhou Wu Shi would probably not have time to look into Zhou Lin and Zhou Si's affairs for a while.

Zhou Si couldn't sit still any longer, so she quickly got up, rushed home, and told Mu Lingyun about it.

Unexpectedly, before Zhou Si could find out anything, Wen Zhaoran and Mu Bai, their faces full of gossip and their eyes brimming with excitement, returned home.

A night owl followed behind, carrying a half-dead wild rabbit in its beak.

Speaking of which, ever since Ye Xiaoqiu was taken up the mountain by Mu Lingqiao during the day a few times, he learned a few tricks from Zhui Feng.

Nowadays, when you go into the mountains, you can catch a wild rabbit or a pheasant from time to time.

Zhou Lin and Mu Jin were truly at a loss for how to pamper their precious wolfhound, Night Owl, so they gave it half again as much food.

Seeing this, he first patted Night Owl's big dog head, then went into the kitchen to get a whole rough-textured steamed bun and tossed it to Night Owl.

Then he turned to Wen Zhaoran and Mu Bai and said, "What's wrong with you two? You look like you've heard something incredibly important."

Mu Bai couldn't contain himself any longer and blurted out, "Big brother, you don't know!"

Mu Jin chuckled: "Don't know what?"

"Zhou Qiang got her fiancé pregnant!"

It was a big deal, but Mu Bai's words were concise and to the point.

"They said they're going to arrange the wedding ahead of schedule. When Erming came over just now, I guess he was talking about the same thing."

Mu Jin was quite surprised, realizing that was the reason. However, she thought that the young man was far too bold.

If a man gets pregnant before marriage, the villagers will gossip about him so much they could drown him.

Where did you two hear that from?

Wen Zhaoran felt that Zhou Qiang deserved it for causing such a scandal.

"Bai'er and I went for a walk at the foot of the mountain when we came back. We saw my eldest brother-in-law and second brother coming out of the house. Perhaps because our house is in a remote area, they were cursing and swearing, saying that my fourth brother was always causing trouble, getting the eldest brother pregnant, and not even choosing the right time, which was delaying his money-making."

Hibiscus: "..."

Zhou Ming really isn't afraid of being overheard, which shows how much he loathes Zhou Qiang.

"If you ask me, more people should know about this. It would be best if it were brought to the academy. If a man like Zhou Qiang, who has no sense of responsibility, were to become an official, how many people would he harm?"

Mu Jin's eyes flickered slightly, and she made a plan in her mind.

"Don't wash your dirty linen in public. You two mustn't let it slip, especially you, Bai'er. When you get home, don't tell your uncle and the others about this. After all, it's not something to be proud of."

Mu Bai pouted, "Big brother, the Zhou family doesn't treat you well, why keep it a secret for him? If he gains power in the future, Aunt Zhou will wag her tail and come over to be annoying again."

Wen Zhaoran nodded in agreement.

Mu Jin gently shook her head. "I have other plans for this. You two keep this to yourselves and make sure you keep it a secret."

Wen Zhaoran and Mu Bai nodded obediently.