At this moment, quite a few people were gathered at the village entrance, clustered around watching the process of popping rice.
From a distance, Mu Shuangshuang saw an elderly man with dark skin and white hair, hunchbacked, busy managing both the fire and the task at hand.
With a tin box for popping rice, a bit of firewood, and a cloth bag, these simple items in his hands turned cups of rice into popped rice.
Generally, everyone would bring a cup of rice to pop or watch how much others popped and then go ask for some themselves.
After a loud "bang," the last batch of popped rice was ready. Everyone took a little bit, and then they were satisfied and about to leave.
A few young wives approached after seeing Mu Shuangshuang.
"Hey, Shuang! Is your family also popping rice? What are you holding, isn’t it corn?"
"Yes, my uncle came over and brought some corn, so I thought I could try popping it." Mu Shuangshuang nodded in response.
"You’re really silly. Who pops rice without using glutinous rice? What’s with using corn?
Your family doesn’t have any glutinous rice, right? Or is it that Yu Si Niang is so stingy, letting you—a child—bring out some corn pretending it’s glutinous rice?"
"Haha... Yu Si Niang is really interesting. This kid was silly before, and she’s still silly now. How can this be? Who would dare to marry her in the future!"
The people speaking were full of sarcasm. They didn’t understand Mu Shuangshuang’s behavior and looked down on her actions.
Especially recently, the Mu Family’s Third Branch started raising pigs and catching chickens; they were clearly the poorest and most struggling family.
Suddenly, they jumped ahead, leaving others far behind. Naturally, this made others eager to make Mu Shuangshuang feel bad.
At present, Mu Shuangshuang had become a laughingstock in others’ eyes, appearing with something incomprehensible and arrogantly claiming to pop rice.
"Aunt thinks Shuangshuang is embarrassing, but Shuangshuang doesn’t. Because with anything, only by trying can you know if it’s good; someone who doesn’t try new things will forever just tread old paths."
Mu Shuangshuang was not the least bit angry because she knew that mocking words like these would only become more frequent from now on.
She would not stay forever. Someday, she would prove with her actions that she was always trying, always improving.
However, the old man popping rice was kind. He didn’t dismiss Mu Shuangshuang like the others or deliberately say anything excessive. Instead, he greeted her warmly with a smile.
"Girl, how many batches do you want to pop?"
"Grandpa, could you pop two batches for me? Please don’t add anything to the corn."
Before heading out, she had added a little caramel, and now she just needed to pop the corn.
The old man took the corn Mu Shuangshuang handed over, poured half into his tin can, then covered it, lit the fire, and started to rotate the can.
These familiar tasks, the old man had been doing for nearly fifty years. Relying on this craft, he had earned quite a lot and seen a lot of the world.
He didn’t see the little girl as wrong; rather, he thought the girl was very clever.
Ten minutes later, the first batch of popcorn emerged. The aroma of popcorn spread everywhere, and the white popcorn attracted everyone’s gaze.
Everyone stared at the novel snack for quite a while, unwilling to take their eyes off it, while Mu Shuangshuang grabbed a handful to stuff into her mouth.
"Crunch, crunch~" The popcorn’s full flavor spread in her mouth, so fragrant, sweet, and crispy that it almost made Mu Shuangshuang want to scream.
She secretly thought, how had she never realized popcorn was this delicious before? Could it be that everything seemed tastier after coming to this ancient time?
"Shuang, the thing in your hand, can you let us have a taste?"
Just watching was unbearable, so someone boldly asked.
Mu Shuangshuang was generous, giving some to each person, but when she reached those who had insulted her, she stopped.
She turned her body with the basket and continued waiting for the pop to finish.
"Hey... You little girl, why so stingy? We only just spoke about you, is that necessary? Just look at your stingy-cat demeanor, overly protective of food."
"I say you should just calm down, Zhang Family’s daughter-in-law. Shuangshuang is just a child; being scolded like that, she surely got mad. If it were me, I’d have slapped you already!"
Having a bite makes more reserved, the group eating the delicious popcorn saw Mu Shuangshuang being bullied and didn’t hesitate to come forward to argue for her, not needing her to speak up herself.
"Exactly, Zhang Family’s daughter-in-law is renowned for having a spiteful tongue, not even sparing a child. Surely, she will have her tongue pulled out after death."
After someone stood up for her, everyone spoke even more freely.
"Well, it’s just a little nasty thing. Is it worth saying so much about me? Do you really think that brat likes you? She’s just using you, fools!"
"That’s still better than you. You’ve never given us anything—if you don’t snatch things from us, consider it a blessing!"
"You... you all make me so angry." Zhang Family’s daughter-in-law stomped her foot and left in anger, but before leaving, she didn’t forget to cast one last glance at the popcorn.
Mu Shuangshuang naturally didn’t miss that final look from Zhang Family’s daughter-in-law or her action of licking her own lips, yet she didn’t want to give her any.
After all, she had insulted her.
Once the last batch of rice was popped, Mu Shuangshuang gave two copper coins to the old man, then casually asked, "Grandpa, if I go to buy one of these popcorn-making things, how much would it cost?"
"What’s up, little girl wanting to start this business too?" The old man was in good spirits and simply paused his work to chat with Mu Shuangshuang.
"Yes, but I am not doing business; I want to make it for myself to eat."
Yeah, right, Mu Shuangshuang indeed wanted to start a popcorn business, just as Jiu Si Xuan needed something new. But she definitely wouldn’t casually share such plans with outsiders.
"Haha, you clever little girl, haha... you crack me up, such a blatant lie. Who would buy such a big contraption just to make some at home for themselves? This thing could provide you enough popped rice for half a lifetime."
Her lie exposed, Mu Shuangshuang shyly looked down at her toes, but deep inside, she grew more respectful towards the old man.
"Since Grandpa put it that way, Shuangshuang won’t beat around the bush. I just want to see if the business is good. If it is, I’ll focus on doing this!"
Mu Shuangshuang was still half-serious and half-joking. She felt quite lost now, not knowing what to do, but she planned to do whatever earned money.
"Haha, imagine an old man like me, meeting such a clever girl at this age. Tell you what, since you saw me do it twice, if you can pop a batch yourself, then I’ll tell you!"