Chapter 186: Return
Editor: Atlas Studios
Upon receiving the bag, Mu Yangling opened it. Inside was a five-foot-long soft cotton cloth with a gold bar hidden inside.
When Madam Ma-Liu saw the gold bar, she was shocked and quickly ran to close the door. “Where did your father get this?”
Mu Yangling also frowned slightly. It seemed that her father’s work was extremely dangerous. Otherwise, how could he have the chance to obtain such a thing?
Mu Yangling put away the gold bar and said, “Since Little General sent it over, there’s no problem. We’ll just put it away. Great-aunt, we don’t have to worry what to do in the event of a drought now.”
Madam Ma-Liu frowned. “But you can’t just rely on your father alone. We can’t just sit at home and live off what we have, right?”
The optimistic Shu Wanniang said with a smile, “It can’t be more difficult than the times we experienced during winter, right?” She took out some small items from her bag. “Your father bought these for you. Ah Ling, give them to your younger siblings.”
Seeing that although Shu Wanniang was smiling, her eyes were red, Madam Ma-Liu knew that she was worried about Mu Shi. She sighed in her heart and stuffed the bag into Mu Yangling’s arms. “Go ahead. I have a few words with your mother.”
Mu Yangling took the things to her room.
Mu Shi had bought some small pearl flowers for her, Xiuhong and Xiulan, and gave Bowen a seal.
Delighted to receive his father’s gift, Bowen blew upon the paper and stamped the seal all over the paper messily. He asked his sister excitedly, “Sister, when will Father be back? I miss him!”
“Soon.” Calculating the time in her heart, Mu Yangling realized that Mu Shi had been away from home for two months. No matter how difficult the mission was, it should be almost completed, right? It wasn’t like he was hiding in ambush for a long time.
Mu Yangling did not expect that they had to wait for more than a month.
Mu Yangling was sitting on a stool and haying. The rabbits she raised now had already filled nine sheds, and the remaining shed was used to store the young rabbits. As the rabbits were already very big now, the grass in the pastoral area was a little insufficient, so Mu Yangling went up the mountain and cut a lot of grass. After drying it in the courtyard, she cut the grass into smaller pieces before feeding the rabbits. This way, the rabbit meat would be firmer.
Madam Ma-Liu sat on the steps and looked at the sun in the sky. With a sigh, she said, “The heavens aren’t giving us a way out.”
Old Man Sun walked over and leaned against the wall of the Mu family. He also looked up at the sky and sighed. “Didn’t the scholars say that in the heavens regard everything on earth equally, including humans? The heavens are heartless and unjust. How can they give us a way out?”
Having just taken the tea bowl to drink water, Mu Yangling spat out a mouthful of water, almost spitting all over the face of Xiuhong who was pouring water for her.
Mu Yangling coughed and said happily, “Grandpa Sun is really knowledgeable. You even know how to quote Laozi1?”
Old Man Sun scratched his head in embarrassment. “I heard it from somewhere. How can it compare to you guys who’ve learned to study properly?”
Mu Yangling became slightly serious and said, “Grandpa Sun, Daoism says that the world is heartless, but I don’t agree. Instead, I feel that the heavens are the most benevolent. In this world, all living beings are treated equally and allowed to live and multiply in it. This is the greatest benevolence.”
“Then why doesn’t the heavens bless us with rain?” Old Man Sun asked in confusion.
“This is also a part of nature. Overall, the energy between heaven and earth is balanced. The rain in the sky came from the sun evaporating the water vapor on the ground, after which rain would fall from the sky.”
Mu Yangling said, “The snow last year consumed a lot of water vapor. In order to balance it out, there might be a drought this summer. Perhaps if there’s too much water in another place, there will be a drought here. Perhaps this year, there will be a drought. In 20 years or so, the clouds that are hiding will appear again, bringing a flood once more. Since we can’t control the weather, we can only try our best to control our actions.”
Old Man Sun and Madam Ma-Liu did not understand.
Madam Ma-Liu changed the topic and asked, “Brother Sun, why are you free to come over and sit today?”
Old Man Sun was silent for a moment before saying, “Isn’t there less and less water in the river? In a few days, if it doesn’t rain soon, are we going to start to irrigate the fields? Sister, do you think your ditch is going to be blocked? It’s fine for the villagers in our village. Those who live near can still scoop water from your ditch, but the other villages have objections and think that your ditch takes up a lot of water…”
Who were those people lying to?
Madam Ma-Liu despised them in her heart. There were also people from other villages who dug ditches and canals, but she had never heard of anyone asking them to block them. These water conservancy facilities had been painstakingly constructed. How could they block them?
In the end, it was because the villagers were jealous of the Mu family for having access to such convenience.
Not only were there two large canals that passed through their fields, but there were also small ditches on the 60-odd acres of pasture. Every day, Xiuhong would bring a spoon and a wooden bucket to carry water up to splash the weeds. She would only carry about 10 buckets of water a day and that wasn’t tiring for her. If she walked along the small ditches like this, she could finish going through the 60-odd acres in ten days. Therefore, even during a drought, their pastures grew well and were sufficient to feed more than 3,000 rabbits…
Madam Ma-Liu was silent for a long time. In the end, she was unwilling to get into a conflict with everyone because of this matter. Anyway, as the river water decreased, the ditch would most likely stop being used. So, she went with the flow and said, “Alright, I’ll get Ah Ling to block the ditch another day. However, I’ll say this first. It’s fine to block the ditch, but I don’t have the time to vent the water in the ditch. Don’t push your luck by asking me to do this later.”
“Gosh, am I that kind of person?” Relieved to hear that, Old Man Sun stood up and said, “Then I’ll go back first. I hope you remember this.”
Madam Ma-Liu nodded. Seeing that he had left, she turned around and said to Mu Yangling, “Ah Ling, go and block the ditch tomorrow. Then, go to your great-uncle’s house and get a few of your uncles to build a straw hut at the rabbit sheds. In two days, I will move there and personally guard it. I’m still worried about leaving the rabbits there. Now that we’re having a drought, people are impetuous. Once they’re impetuous, they’ll easily do bad things.”
“That won’t do. Let me guard the place instead.”
Madam Ma-Liu glared at her. “You don’t have to worry about the family? Don’t worry. I’m just going to light a lamp. As long as the light is on, those people won’t have the courage to try anything funny. On the other hand, although you don’t say it, I know that your father has done something big outside. If the people he offended come looking for him and you’re outside, won’t we be at the mercy of others?”
Mu Yangling was deep in thought when Madam Ma-Liu patted her and said with a hearty smile, “Don’t worry. I’ve more life experience than you. I know those little thieves who spy on rabbits the best. As long as there’s someone there and the lamps are lit, plus with Little General as our backer, they will consider the consequences before acting. Our Mu family isn’t easy to bully.”
“Who bullied our family?” Mu Shi pulled open the door from outside with a scraggly beard and looked at the people in the courtyard with bright eyes.
Mu Yangling looked at her father in shock. Before she could react, Shu Wanniang had already rushed out of the house and looked at him with red eyes. “Y—you’re back?”