The dusk gilded the green tiles of the Mu family's home, and the carved copper rings made crisp sounds on Mu Yushang's fingertips.
The moment the door was opened, warm yellow light poured out, just outlining the slender figure leaning against the entrance.
"Brother, you are at home!"
Mu Yuchang's eyes lit up, her skirt was still wrinkled by the breeze, and the food box in her arms emitted a faint milky aroma.
Mu Siwen put down the newspaper in his hand and stood up to greet him. Behind his glasses, his eyes were filled with the concern of an elder brother: "Yes, I just got home and was about to pick you up."
He reached out to take the heavy object from his sister's hand, but Mu Yuchang dodged it with a smile.
"What do you mean pick me up? You're obviously going to see Zhiyue!"
Mu Yuchang blinked cunningly and deliberately prolonged the tail tone, "Brother, look!"
She carefully opened the food box, revealing a cake wrapped in a floral cloth. "That's what my second brother is holding. Zhiyue made it herself. I ate it over there. It was as fluffy as a cloud and just the right amount of sweetness!"
Before he finished speaking, the sound of footsteps was heard on the stairs.
Zhang Yao walked down slowly, holding onto the mahogany handrail, her pearl earrings swaying gently as she moved: "Really? Then I'd like to try it. I've been thinking about the mung bean cake Zhiyue made last time for a long time. This girl's cooking skills are getting better and better."
She looked at her daughter with a smile, her eyes full of admiration.
Mu Yuchang held her mother's hand, her tone full of joy: "Yes! Zhiyue said that grandpa and grandma have bad teeth, and this soft cake is just right, so they specially asked us to bring it back to share!"
She turned to look at her eldest brother, her eyes sparkling, "Why don't we invite grandpa and grandma to come eat together?"
Zhang Yao nodded gently and instructed Mu Siwen: "Siwen, go call your grandparents, and let's all taste Zhiyue's kindness together."
Mu Siwen responded and was about to go upstairs when he heard hearty laughter from the second floor.
Grandpa Mu appeared at the stairs with a carved cane, his gray eyebrows raised, and said in a loud voice: "I heard that girl Zhiyue made something delicious? Bring it out and see what good stuff it is! Don't hide it, or an old man like me will be tempted!"
Mu Yuchang tiptoed to her grandfather's side, and when she opened the food box, the aroma of milk instantly filled the hall.
She poked the fluffy cake with a silver fork, and the crumbs fell off: "Grandpa, it's cake! Zhiyue added blueberry jam to the cream, it's better than the one made by the pastry chef in the department store!"
The amber sunset shone through the window, casting a golden edge on the ends of her hair.
Zhang Yao tied on a plain apron, and the bone china knife made a light sound when she cut the cake.
The dense cake wrapped in cream slowly separated, revealing the dark purple filling.
She distributed the cut cake to her family members sitting around the round table, and the porcelain plates made crisp tinkling sounds when they touched the wooden tabletop.
"Yuchang, would you like to join us?"
She pushed the plate toward her daughter.
"Mom, I won't eat it anymore. I've already eaten two big pieces at Zhiyue's place!"
Mu Yuchang leaned against the carved chair back, her eyebrows curved, "If I eat any more, my brothers will laugh at me like a greedy cat."
Grandpa Mu picked up the porcelain plate tremblingly, and as soon as the silver fork touched the cake, he was surprised by the fluffy texture of the cake.
The moment he took a bite, his gray eyebrows instantly relaxed and his cloudy eyes lit up: "Oh! This girl's cooking skills are really amazing, soft and fragrant, even better than the dim sum I had in Shanghai when I was young!"
Tiny cake crumbs fell on his navy blue Zhongshan suit, but he didn't bother to wipe them off and took a second bite.
Grandma Mu held the cake with her handkerchief and nodded after taking a bite: "The cream is not greasy, and the jam is just the right sweet and sour. How come Zhiyue is so thoughtful?"
She turned to look at her son and daughter-in-law, a smile spreading across her wrinkled face, "We should invite our children to come over more often."
Zhang Yao tasted the cake and unconsciously stroked the warm porcelain plate with her fingertips: "That's right, this girl is thoughtful. The mugwort dumplings she sent last time were praised by the neighbors."
She looked at her eldest son and happened to see the smile on Mu Siwen's lips when he lowered his head.
He was carefully rolling up the last bit of cream with a fork, swallowing it with his Adam's apple moving slightly, and a soft light in his eyes.
Mu Xuejun was sitting on a carved mahogany chair, having eaten most of the cake on the bone china plate.
He put down his silver fork, wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, and glanced at the grandchildren sitting at the long table one by one, his expression becoming serious: "How are you reviewing?"
Mu Yuchang was looking at the sunset outside the window with her chin in her hand. When she heard her grandfather's question, she sat up straight and said, "It's okay. I'm still not very familiar with the solid geometry problems in mathematics, but Zhiyue helped me sort out several ways to solve the problems, and I feel much more clear now."
She secretly glanced at her elder brother and saw that Mu Siwen was listening attentively, and added: "I have almost memorized the English composition template."
Mu Sihuai closed the notebook in his hand and pushed his glasses: "I have gone through the basic knowledge points twice, but the electrical experiment questions are easy to confuse. I will concentrate on practicing questions in the next two days."
Mu Siyou scratched his head and smiled innocently: "I always mess up the historical timeline, but Zhiyue made a mnemonic for me, and now it's much better."
Mu Xuejun picked up the celadon teacup and took a sip of Longjing tea. He frowned slightly in the mist of tea: "If you don't understand anything, you can ask Zhiyue."
He put down the teacup and tapped the table with his knuckles, making a steady sound. "This college entrance examination is a test for thousands of people. It concerns your future and the reputation of the Mu family."
He stood up and walked to the wall where the ancestral motto was hung. His eyes fell on the four gilded characters "Agriculture and Study to Pass Down the Family": "Our Mu family has always valued education. Your grandfather changed his fate by studying. Now that the opportunity is in front of you, you must work very hard. Don't let people point fingers at you and say that the younger generation of the Mu family is not doing well!"
Several people stood up at the same time. Mu Yuchang grasped the hem of her skirt and took a half step forward. She was the first to speak crisply: "Don't worry, Grandpa! I recite Zhiyue's notes three times every day. I will definitely get a high score in this mock exam essay!"
There was a light of defiance in the girl's eyes, and the bow in her hair swayed gently with her movements.
Mu Sihuai's eyes were calm and firm: "Don't worry, Grandpa. We will work hard."
He opened the notebook at hand, and the densely packed comments were dyed a warm golden color by the setting sun.
Mu Siyou scratched the back of his head, showing his tiger teeth and smiled: "Grandpa, I am serious too, and I will definitely get good grades."
He held up the neatly folded review materials, the edges of the papers were frayed.
Mu Xuejun's calloused hands stroked the celadon brush washer on the table, and his throat tightened slightly.
He looked at his eldest grandson Mu Siwen and saw him quietly pushing the latest political information in front of everyone. He nodded and said, "Analysis of political hot spots cannot just stay on the surface. It must be combined with textbook theories for in-depth analysis."
These calm words seemed to be inheriting his legacy.
"Okay, okay, okay!"
Mu Xuejun said "OK" three times in a row, his eyes slightly red.
He turned around and took down his treasured purple clay teapot from the antique shelf. The steam from the teapot's spout blurred the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes: "When the results are announced, Grandpa will set up ten tables for a buffet! The children of our Mu family must be proud of themselves in this first year of the resumption of the college entrance examination!"
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