Chapter 19: Marriage Proposal

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

“Come on, let’s go home. You won’t be alone with them again. Everyone in the village will understand.”

After Mu Jingzhe finished warning them, seeing that Zhao Lan didn’t dare say anything, she took Shao Dong and the others home.

Shao Bei held Mu Jingzhe’s hand and looked at the furious Zhao Lan, then back at Mu Jingzhe. The hatred and gloom in her beautiful eyes turned into surprise and admiration.

The other children also had complicated expressions on their faces.

Mu Jingzhe was neither tall nor strong. Compared to their father, Shao Qihai, she looked thin. Even when standing before Zhao Lan, Mu Jingzhe didn’t have an advantage in terms of size.

However, she had used her slender body to protect them.

At that moment, she made them feel more secure than their father had.

They deliberately avoided thinking about what Zhao Lan had said about Mu Jingzhe leaving at any time.

Mu Jingzhe didn’t even think about it and went home to prepare dinner.

After the meal, Shao Dong took on the job of washing the dishes despite not saying much.

Meanwhile, Mu Jingzhe bathed Shao Bei.

Then, it was time to sleep. However, Shao Nan dilly-dallied and didn’t go to sleep. Shao Dong strangely let him be tonight.

“What’s wrong? Do you want to go to the toilet?”

Mu Jingzhe looked at Shao Nan’s expression and guessed.

Shao Nan’s face stiffened. “No.”

“Then what’s wrong with you?” What’s with that constipated expression then?

Mu Jingzhe asked, “Do you feel unwell? Don’t be afraid.”

“No.” Shao Nan pursed his lips. “I’m sorry.”

Mu Jingzhe was stunned.

Seeing that she was not reacting, Shao Nan said in one go, “I’m at fault for misunderstanding you last night. I’m sorry.”

Mu Jingzhe reacted but paused. “I accept your apology this time, but I hope there won’t be a next time. It doesn’t feel good to be wronged.”

Shao Nan heaved a sigh of relief. “I know. I won’t suspect anyone without evidence in the future.”

“Alright, go to sleep then.” Mu Jingzhe couldn’t help but stroke his head.

Shao Nan’s entire body stiffened. He wanted to dodge, but he held himself back. After taking a few steps, he was unwilling to just go away like that and turned back.

“Although I misunderstood you this time, I still don’t trust you. I will be keeping an eye on you.”

Mu Jingzhe nodded. “Sure, go ahead and do that.”

Upon seeing that she didn’t look angry or guilty, Shao Nan went back to sleep silently.

That night, Little Bei fell asleep hugging Mu Jingzhe’s arm and jolted awake twice in the middle of the night.

Mu Jingzhe wanted her to take two days off school, but Little Bei shook her head.

“No, I want to go back to school. I still have to get to the top of the class.”

Then, she explained, “I’m fine.”

After Mu Jingzhe sent them to school, she talked to Shao Zhong while making hair ornaments.

The hair ornaments were selling well, but the market was too small, so the sales were limited. Furthermore, if she really wanted to do this business, she couldn’t keep buying rags. She had to buy some special materials for making hair ornaments.

This way, she would be able to expand the business and earn a lot of money. Otherwise, she would only be able to do this on a small scale.

The problem was that the money she had earned previously had been spent on finding Little Bei.

Therefore, she had to think of other ways to earn money.

Mu Jingzhe had been pondering this since she had returned yesterday.

A business with a small capital… After thinking for a while, she finally decided on food.

At noon, Mu Jingzhe made steamed buns.

“How are they? Do they taste good?”

Mu Jingzhe earnestly asked the children for their opinions.

“Mmm-hmm. Delicious.”

“Delicious.”

The children were busy eating and only spoke briefly.

Judging from their reactions, the buns were truly delicious.

However, Mu Jingzhe was worried and went to look for Li Zhaodi.

“Mom, how do they taste?”

Li Zhaodi kept nodding her head as she ate. “They’re delicious. Jingzhe, when did you learn how to make buns? You even made them really well.”

“I learned after watching others. Mom, do you think I could sell them in town?”

“Are you going to make and sell them?” Li Zhaodi was uncertain. “I don’t know. Why did you suddenly think of making steamed buns to sell them?”

“I’ve eaten steamed buns on the street before. I think they tasted average. I can make them too.”

Mu Jingzhe had asked about this before. Many people in the village had some dried goods. Every family had dried mushrooms, so it wouldn’t be expensive to buy them.

Some people didn’t like mushroom buns, but if the buns were fragrant, people would like them very much.

There were also vegetable buns. She could grow vegetables at home so she wouldn’t have to buy them.

As for the pickled vegetable stuffing, Li Zhaodi’s pickled vegetables were very delicious.

Mu Jingzhe shared her thoughts. “Mom, I can’t handle this alone. Do you want to sell buns with me?”

“Will that work?” Li Zhaodi didn’t have much confidence in herself. “You can try. I’ll help you.”

Mu Jingzhe didn’t try to persuade her. She would sell them first. If the sales were good, she would rope in Li Zhaodi to help.

The reason Li Zhaodi picked on Mu Xue so much was because she was poor. If she had something to do and earned some money herself, she wouldn’t have the energy to be such a piece of work.

This was only selling steamed buns, but when the plan was implemented, there would be a lot to keep one busy.

While Li Zhaodi and Mu Jingzhe were making preparations, Li Zhaodi also tried her hand at making buns.

The result was very delicious. They were not any worse than Mu Jingzhe’s buns.

Actually, Li Zhaodi was good at cooking, but the Mu Family never let her cook because she would secretly eat and hide the food.

Li Zhaodi also knew that she was despised and looked down upon, so she’d simply cast aside her pride.

However, after working with Mu Jingzhe for two days, being praised by Mu Jingzhe, and being complimented by Shao Dong and the other children for her delicious cooking, she gained some confidence.

While Mu Jingzhe and Li Zhaodi were busy preparing this business, there wasn’t much commotion. However, the people next door could still sense it.

The fragrance of the steamed buns could be smelled from next door.

Zhao Lan was so angry that she couldn’t fall asleep.

In the past two days, the atmosphere in the eldest branch’s house had been especially bad. In contrast, the old house was busy and prospering day by day. From time to time, the sound of children’s laughter could be heard.

The life on the two sides seemed to have been reversed.

Previously, the eldest branch’s house had always been lively, while the old house had been cold and deserted.

The eldest branch couldn’t accept this disparity. Their reputation was affected, and they were even threatened. Zhao Lan couldn’t help asking her eldest daughter-in-law to go out and complain, but it was futile.

After all, the villagers weren’t fools. They all knew what was going on.

In the end, they could only say that Mu Jingzhe wouldn’t take care of the children for the rest of her life. “Mu Jingzhe has become a good person for now. Everyone praises her, but she has never raised a child before. How would she know that raising a child isn’t easy?”

“Talk is cheap. That’s why she’s so free to do whatever she wants. If she were to swear that she would take care of them for the rest of her life, we wouldn’t have anything to say about it. But do you think she will? Who knows when she’ll wash her hands off of them and get married when a good marriage prospect appears? When that happens, we’ll be the ones taking care of these children again.”

As though what they said was a premonition, someone actually came to propose marriage.

He was interested in Mu Jingzhe.

Although Mu Jingzhe hadn’t returned to the Mu Residence, the person who wanted to propose marriage still went to the Mu Residence.

The identity of the man surprised and excited everyone.

Li Zhaodi quickly went to find Mu Jingzhe.

At the moment, Mu Jingzhe was delivering buns to Tang Moling outside the school.

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