CHAPTER 171: CHAPTER 171: LOVE IT SO MUCH THAT YOU CAN’T LET GO

"But..." Little Zhi still wanted to say something, but Mu Shuangshuang’s pleading eyes forced her to swallow her words.

Little Zhi was at the age where she was curious about everything. If you added up everything she said, it would probably be like the book "Ten Thousand Whys."

Usually, Mu Shuangshuang would answer her questions, but at this moment, all she wanted was to quickly help Xiao Han take off his clothes.

"Xiao Han, stop dawdling and take off your clothes. I’ll hang them for you to dry."

"Sis, you... you turn around too. I’ll hang my clothes myself." Xiao Han’s face was as red as a boiled lobster shell.

Mu Shuangshuang suddenly realized that this little guy was being bashful not just because of Little Zhi, but because of her too.

Come to think of it, hasn’t she seen everything already?

But, well, he’s a kid with his own ideas, which is normal, and she had to respect that, right?

Mu Shuangshuang turned around, waiting for Xiao Han to take his clothes off. She gave Little Zhi a few instructions and then went up the mountain by herself.

Whenever she came here, she thought of picking some wild vegetables to make the trip worthwhile.

As usual, she picked some fresh wood ear mushrooms and a handful of wild greens before heading down the mountain.

Xiao Han had already put his clothes back on. When he saw Mu Shuangshuang, he ran up to her and checked, as if to see if she was hurt.

"Let’s go home!"

With a bountiful harvest, Mu Shuangshuang and Little Zhi headed back more energetically than usual, walking with heads held high—so spirited.

Back at home, Lu Yuanfeng and the Zhao Brothers were busying themselves. Yu Si Niang wasn’t home; Mu Dashan said she went to Lu Yuanfeng’s house to make lunch.

Mu Shuangshuang couldn’t spare a moment for rest and headed straight to Lu Yuanfeng’s house, carrying a basket.

Once lunch was ready, everyone enjoyed a sumptuous meal at Lu Yuanfeng’s house.

Lu Yuanfeng followed Mu Shuangshuang back home. She had mentioned to him the day before that she had something for him, but they hadn’t run into each other earlier in the morning since Mu Shuangshuang had left early.

"Lu Yuanfeng, wait here for a moment."

After speaking to Lu Yuanfeng, Mu Shuangshuang went into her room. When she came out, she was holding two bags made of pigskin, more polished than the one Little Zhi had made, and much nicer.

"This bag is made from that wild boar skin you got last time. The big one is for you; you can use it to carry some tools. I reinforced it, and even the stitching is done with thick thread.

Even if a hammer is inside, it won’t fall out and hit your feet. The small one is Yuanbao’s, for him to carry spare change more conveniently.

Inside your bag, I’ve made a few pairs of gloves for you. When we go plowing this afternoon, you can wear them so you won’t have to worry about snakes or getting injured."

The gloves were rushed out overnight, only two pairs. In all her time here, Mu Shuangshuang hadn’t seen anyone in the village working with gloves.

Everyone worked with bare hands, and after a day’s work, they often had blisters of all sizes on their hands. It hurt, not to mention it slowed down their work the following day.

Lu Yuanfeng couldn’t put down the bag Mu Shuangshuang gave him. Although he had never seen anything like it before, he knew what Shuangshuang gave was always good stuff.

He was quite keen to open the bag and see what the gloves Mu Shuangshuang mentioned were. The term was very unfamiliar to him, never heard it before.

But he felt embarrassed to do so, especially since Shuangshuang hadn’t explicitly said he could look at it now.

His curiosity was like a cat scratching at his heart, itching to take a peek.

Mu Shuangshuang didn’t notice at first. When Lu Yuanfeng kept staring at the bag for a while, she suddenly understood.

"You can open it and have a look. I can show you how to wear them. If you find them useful, I can make a few more pairs."

Lu Yuanfeng untied the bag, and the cotton gloves were revealed inside.

Lu Yuanfeng looked at the gloves in his hands with confusion until Mu Shuangshuang picked up a pair and put them on her hands, and only then did Lu Yuanfeng react.

The cotton had decent breathability, was the right thickness, and didn’t feel cumbersome when worn.

"These are amazing, Shuangshuang, how did you come up with this?"

Lu Yuanfeng held onto the gloves, trying them on his own hands, and played with them like a toy.

Because of these gloves, Mu Shuangshuang rose a few ranks higher in Lu Yuanfeng’s mind.

"Ah, that’s a secret!" Mu Shuangshuang pretended to be mysterious, then laughed and went inside the house.

After lunch, it was time for a little nap.

——

The next day, the entire Old Mu Family set out grandly. Today was the day for rice transplanting at the Old Mu Family, so everyone except Old Mrs. Mu and Mu Dashan went out to work.

Mu Dashan had been called by Old Mrs. Mu to work, but Mu Shuangshuang had told Old Mrs. Mu about Mu Dashan’s health, though she didn’t mention the cost to avoid having Old Mrs. Mu bring it up to Mu Dashan and make him feel bad.

Old Mrs. Mu did throw a bit of a tantrum, but eventually, it was Mr. Mu who told her to come out and work, and she finally settled down.

The children were tasked with pulling seedlings in the rice field. The seedlings were tied up with straw and thrown to the bank, waiting for Mu Danian and Mu Dazhong to carry them in baskets.

If you had to guess what was in highest demand during the double cropping season, it would inevitably be people, cattle, and carts.

The Old Mu Family only had one wheelbarrow, which was fine for pushing a couple of bags of rice, but for transporting seedlings, it was far from sufficient.

So Mr. Mu designated Mu Dazhong and Mu Danian as the porters.

Mu Danian was in the lead, bent over and looking like he could barely move.

"I’m telling you, I’m still injured, so put fewer seedlings in my basket. If I get crushed under the weight, it’s not going to be good for any of you."

Mu Shuangshuang decided not to play into Mu Danian’s whim. He asked for fewer seedlings, so she had Xiao Han and Little Zhi stuff them in like crazy. In no time, Mu Danian’s basket was overflowing with seedlings.

"Hey, you little brat, can’t you understand human language? I said don’t put them in my basket."

"Uncle Wu, Grandpa is already urging. Aren’t you going quickly? I heard Grandpa say that whoever slacks off today, he’ll have a piece of their flesh cut off."

The Old Mu Family’s work was already behind schedule, so to speed up, Mr. Mu had to press Mu Danian and Mu Dazhong to work harder.

He had given the two of them a stern talking to about slacking off and made them promise not to do so in front of everyone.

Mu Danian turned around and indeed saw Mr. Mu waving at them.

"Damn, thought I could get away with less work. Now I have to do everything myself."

"Ugh, so heavy!" Mu Danian tried his basket, and it was just impossible.

"Ow, this job’s going to kill me! I quit, I quit!" Mu Danian threw down the carrying pole, refusing to work.

"Fifth brother, just keep calm. Don’t drag me down with your laziness. I’m off first."

Mu Dazhong’s seedlings had been loaded by Mu Qingqing, so there weren’t many in his basket, and he could move nimbly.

Mu Danian was quite envious, looking at his second brother’s basket and then at his own.

Darn, heartless brat!

(There won’t be an update after midnight today; it will be moved to 8:30 PM with two updates, so don’t wait around!)