Chapter 187: Happy
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Shi looked at his wife with a smile as he handed her the bag in his hand. With a gentle smile, he said, “I’m back.”
Shu Wanniang lowered her head with red eyes and smiled happily. She said in a clear voice, “Come in quickly. Look at you. You’re covered in dust. I’ll boil water for you to take a bath. By the way, what do you want to eat? Ah Ling went into the mountains to catch a roe deer today, but it’s not very fat. Why don’t I ask Xiuhong to buy two catties of pork from the city so that I can make braised pork for you?”
Looking at his chattering wife, Mu Shi nodded and said, “Alright, you can make the arrangements.”
Shu Wanniang went into the house happily.
Mu Yangling stared at her mother with her mouth agape. Just now, she had the feeling that her mother was only a 16-year-old girl. She had never seen such happiness radiating from her.
Seeing her father look at her mother dotingly, Mu Yangling shut her mouth and finally pulled Xiuhong out with her. She wanted to go into the city with Xiuhong to buy pork.
Before she left, she also carried Bosi and Kejia away, saying that she would take the two children out for a walk.
Great-aunt originally wanted to ask Mu Shi what he had been doing for the past few months. Seeing that only the two of them were left in the entire courtyard, she understood tacitly. She turned around, entered the house, took the hoe, and went out. She decided to weed the vegetable fields.
As for Xiulan, the child was sitting in the room embroidering. Even if the sky collapsed, she probably wouldn’t notice. She believed that Mu Shi and Shu Wanniang would forget about her existence.
As for Bowen, he was studying in the academy.
Mu Yangling carried Bosi. Seeing that it was difficult for Xiulan to carry Kejia, she reached out and carried her with her arm as well.
The two babies were already eight months old. Having eaten well, they were fair, strong, and active. They looked around, making it difficult for Xiuhong to carry them. However, Mu Yangling held one in each arm as if she was carrying two little melons. No matter how Kejia twisted her body and jumped around on her arm, she would not fall.
As the two children rarely had the chance to go out, they couldn’t help but gaze around curiously. When they reached the city gate and saw so many people, Kejia reached out to pounce forward. Mu Yangling exerted a little force to pull her back.
Although Bosi was more refined, he also widened his eyes and pointed at the people, making babyish sounds. After a while, when he saw that his elder sister did not seem to understand, he turned to his younger sister and made those babyish sounds.
No idea if Kejia understood what he was saying, but she nodded. The two babies leaned their heads against each other and conversed in the “baby language” that only they understood, gesturing from time to time.
Mu Yangling and Xiuhong first bought two catties of pork belly before strolling around the market. When the two babies saw the many people and colors around them, they kicked their feet excitedly.
When Xiuhong saw this, she reached out and patted their little feet. With a fierce expression, she said, “What if you hurt Sister? Behave yourself lest you fall.”
Mu Yangling raised her arms and pulled them over her head. Smiling, she said, “If you fall, it’d mean I’d trained for years in vain.”
The two babies suddenly found themselves raised higher and twisted their bodies happily, giggling.
Shocked, Xiuhong quickly stretched out her arms to protect them. “Aiya, Cousin, quickly lower them. What if they have nightmares tonight?”
Mu Yangling could only lower them and carry them in her arms. On the way, she bought some small items for them. After shopping on this street, it was almost time for Bowen to finish school.
The two of them brought the babies to the entrance of the academy to pick Bowen up. When the bell rang after school, many children rushed out of the academy. Bowen walked out slowly at the end. Pleasantly surprised to see his sister, he ran over and raised his head to ask, “Sister, why are you here?”
Xiuhong smiled and said, “Your father is back. Cousin brought us out to pick you up and buy pork belly to make braised pork for dinner.”
Bowen drooled. “My mother must be the one preparing the dish.”
“Since Uncle is back, of course it’s Aunt who’s doing the cooking.”
When the few of them returned home, Shu Wanniang had already prepared several dishes. Mu Shi was sitting in the kitchen to start a fire for her. She was cooking in front of the stove with a red face.
Seeing them return, she couldn’t help but say angrily, “Why did it take you so long? Hurry up and bring it over. I’ll cut the pork.”
Mu Shi took the pork belly from Xiuhong’s hand and said with a smile, “Let me do it. You can prepare the ingredients.”
Xiuhong stuck out her tongue and ran back into the house with Mu Yangling.
Seeing Bowen looking at him with sparkling eyes, Mu Shi took the time to rub his head and praised him with a smile. “Not bad. Not only has Bowen grown taller, but he’s also studying now. I’ll check your homework later. You should get back to studying.”
Bowen’s eyes lit up. He responded loudly and ran into the house.
Mu Yangling placed Bosi and Kejia on her shoulders and rubbed her shoulders. “Carrying these two little ones is more tiring than carrying a big wild boar weighing more than 200 catties.”
Xiulan was still embroidering with her head lowered when Xiuhong went forward and snatched her embroidery frame. She said, “You’ve been working all day without resting. Sooner or later, your eyes will be damaged. Didn’t Aunt say that you have to stop for 15 minutes every four hours to go out and look into the distance at the mountains outside? Look, it’s almost dark outside, yet you’re still embroidering with your head lowered. Sooner or later, you’ll become blind.”
Xiulan shrunk her head and lowered it. Mu Yangling sat beside her and said in a low voice, “Your sister dotes on you. She heard that eating wolfberries is good for one’s eyes, so she earned money to buy you some to soak in water for you to drink. You should be more mindful so that she wouldn’t worry too much.”
Xiulan nodded with red eyes. “I know, but I want to learn more so that I can take care of Grandma and Sister.”
Mu Yangling stroked her head and said with a smile, “You can’t be anxious. Like Bowen who is learning to gain knowledge, you have to learn it step by step. If you’re anxious, you won’t be able to learn it well. Xiulan, I don’t know what constitutes good embroidery, but I heard from my mother that embroiderers who embroider well are considered embroiderers. However, if the embroidery has spirituality, the embroidery will have its own meaning, which makes a person with such embroidery skills an expert. My mother said that you have enough talent. As long as you work hard, you won’t just be an embroiderer. So Xiulan, you can’t be anxious. You have to take it slow. Not only do you have to master the foundation, but you also have to fall in love with embroidery. For a person to become a master of an industry, he must love his industry deeply.”
Xiulan looked at her in confusion. She did not understand what her cousin meant, but she could feel her solemnity. Xiulan secretly remembered these words, thinking that she might understand them when she grew up.
Seeing that Mu Yangling was comforting her younger sister, Xiuhong sat at the side and teased Bosi and Kejia. When she saw her cousin coming over, she whispered, “I didn’t mean to scold her. I just couldn’t care less whenever I get anxious.”
Mu Yangling smiled and said, “I understand.”
Xiulan put away the things carefully and sat beside her sister. She played with Bosi and Kejia with her. Soon, the two sisters were talking again.
Mu Yangling could not help but smile when she saw this. Before the smile on her lips faded, Kejia suddenly let out a cry and slapped Bosi’s face with her tiny hand.
Stunned for a good while before he burst into tears, Bosi threw away the toy he had just snatched away.
When Kejia saw that Bosi was crying, she also cried out loud. She even slapped Bosi’s face as she cried. Mu Yangling quickly went forward and grabbed her small hand. She patted it gently twice and said, “How can you hit your older brother? Even if he snatched the toy from you, you can’t hit him. Can’t you just snatch back the toy?”