CHAPTER 224: CHAPTER 223: THE DAUGHTER IS PROMISING (14TH UPDATE)

The chairs at Shuangshuang’s house were always not enough. This time, she borrowed a few in advance from various households, otherwise, everyone would have to stand while eating.

"Everyone, don’t be polite. Consider our home as your own, eat whatever you want."

Mu Dashan sat at the head of the table and spoke a few heartfelt words as the host.

After everyone laughed, they looked at the large table full of dishes, each with wide eyes, somewhat in disbelief.

Braised pork, boiled live fish, and cold black fungus salad...

These dishes, if not during a festival, were usually not tasted by everyone. Yet these were just plain fare as per Yu Si Niang.

If this was considered plain fare, then what they ate would be equivalent to pig feed?

"Alright, alright, Dashan, you don’t have to worry about us being polite. We are all so familiar, if we’ve come to eat, we’ll definitely eat to our fill."

Zhao Gouzi picked up his chopsticks and said to Mu Dashan with a grin.

"That’s right, let’s eat and drink well. It’s rare for everyone to get together. Shuang can now make cold noodles and earn money to buy meat!"

The speaker was Zhang Yutou, remembering the time Mu Shuangshuang made cold noodles at his house. He still recalled the sour and spicy taste, craving it many times but feeling too shy to ask Shuangshuang.

After all, she uses it to sell for money.

"You’re just greedy. Next time, when Shuangshuang makes it again, sneak in and ask her to make some for us." Zhao Yun knew her husband well; he usually loved to eat good food, especially spicy stuff.

The cold noodles Shuangshuang made perfectly suited his taste, and Zhao Yun, hearing him mention it several times, was tempted to satisfy her husband’s cravings.

"Haha, Aunt Xiao Yun, Uncle Yu, as long as you like it, it’s good. Tonight, I’ll make some more and send a bit over to you tomorrow."

Mu Shuangshuang laughed heartily. It was rare for someone to appreciate what she made, so she planned to soak more mung beans later.

"If I hear it, I want a share. I want to eat whatever good stuff there is."

"Alright, alright, once I’ve made it, I’ll give each family a little, but it’s just to satisfy cravings, not enough for a large supply." Mu Shuangshuang nodded, then urged everyone to dig in quickly.

Zhang Yutou was the first to start; he picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth, barely chewing before giving Mu Shuangshuang a thumbs up.

"Mmm... this is amazing, Shuang, how is your cooking so good? Not even the town’s chefs can top this."

"Is that so? Let me try..." Zhao Gouzi, unwilling to be outdone, also took a piece of braised pork.

"Oh my, it’s delicious. Shuang, your skills are truly extraordinary!"

The compliments for Mu Shuangshuang kept coming from the third branch’s kitchen, and the joyful laughter spread far and wide in an instant.

...

...

On the other side, Mrs. Lin returned to the main house. She embellished the story about the third branch raising a wild boar and having a feast to tell the Old Mu family people.

Sitting at the head, Mr. Mu’s face looked somewhat displeased, feeling like something was stuck in his throat, an increasing unease settling in his heart.

When the third branch split off, he deliberately gave them only one and a half mu of poor land, hoping they would see the difficulty and retreat. Who would have thought that not only did they not retreat, they persisted stubbornly like hitting a brick wall?

How long has it been since the division? And now it’s fish and meat galore. It’s not that he cared so much about the third branch’s things, but hearing that they invited outsiders without inviting his own family made Mr. Mu feel that something was slipping from his control, leaving him feeling choked up inside.

"What about that ungrateful girl? I, the old woman, have seen through it; Yu Si Niang used to pretend to be pitiful and honest in front of me.

In the end, isn’t she just a piece of filth, if not scheming then deceitful? Back then, I shouldn’t have allowed Old Three to marry that bitch, nor birth that sordid girl."

Old Mrs. Mu sneered to herself, her words filled with disdain for the third branch.

"Exactly, it’s that unscrupulous girl in the third branch. If she had been married off, my eldest brother would have had financial support a long time ago." Mrs. Lin echoed, predictably fueling the hatred towards Mu Shuangshuang at the dining table.

Mu Zhenzhen, having taken a few bites of her meal, lost interest upon seeing not even a bit of meat, putting her chopsticks down with a lackluster expression.

"What’s wrong, Zhenzhen? Didn’t you say you were hungry?" Old Mrs. Mu noticed that her daughter hadn’t touched her rice or dish, having merely bitten into it before pushing it back to the table.

"Oh, I’m not hungry anymore. I’m going out for a bit."

In truth, upon hearing Mrs. Lin mention the third branch having a feast, Mu Zhenzhen was intrigued. In Dahuo Village, a feast means plenty of fish and meat, and the third branch seemed well-off now; perhaps they had such fare.

Watching Mu Zhenzhen leave the main house, Mr. Mu suddenly voiced what had been stuck inside him for a long time.

"Wife, we should let Zhenzhen return. She’s been here at her parents’ home for so long now, if she doesn’t go back, Zhuangzi’s mother will start complaining again."

"Complaining about what? Isn’t that little beast already retrieved? Our Zhenzhen isn’t obliged to work for them. Going back can wait."

Old Mrs. Mu directly refuted Mr. Mu’s words.

She hadn’t cared for her daughter enough, and besides, her eldest son was about to take the exams. How could she manage without someone by her side? Once her eldest was gone, she would give all the good food to Zhenzhen.

"Woman, don’t you fear Zhuangzi will divorce Zhenzhen saying things like that?" Mr. Mu was infuriated, unintentionally raising his voice.

"Bah, who besides our Zhenzhen would look at someone like Zhuangzi, who resembles a fat pig? Don’t assume a few plots of land make them so special. Don’t forget, their family has the third son. When the property is divided, who knows if Zhenzhen will get any?

Zhenzhen staying with her own family means having enough to eat and drink. When the eldest son becomes a scholar, they might come begging to us."

Old Mrs. Mu stubbornly refused anything contrary, leaving Mr. Mu to sigh heavily, fuming alone while poking at the food.

"Who knows what the third branch is eating? We are all family, how could their hearts be so cruel, inviting outsiders and not us?" Mu Danian always knew how to twist the knife.

Last night, he suffered a setback, failing to gain anything from the third branch, and today he didn’t get to eat anything good, leaving him feeling unbalanced.

"Why concern yourself with other people’s business when you haven’t cleaned up your own mess?"

"Dad, I’m just stating facts. What kind of principle involves inviting outsiders but not inviting your own family?"

Mu Danian grumbled, but eventually, no one felt like eating anymore, and only then did it stop.

Mu Zhenzhen practically ran to the third branch, and when she entered the kitchen, the third branch people were enjoying their meal with laughter.

She immediately chimed in. "Hey, Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, eating already? I’m just in time, I’m hungry too, let’s eat together!"