"Aunt Second, your explanation is useless to me. You need to explain to my grandparents since the money for those mooncakes was given by them."
Mu Shuangshuang seemed indifferent.
"Mrs. Lin, tell me, old woman, what exactly is going on today?"
Old Mrs. Mu is not easily fooled; upon thinking it over, something seems off.
She wouldn’t dare accuse others, but Mrs. Liu stealing food?
Her courage is smaller than a mouse’s. If she shouted, Mrs. Liu would be so scared she might wet herself.
There’s something fishy about this.
"Mother, are you suspecting me, suspecting your eldest grandson?" Mrs. Liu recalled her own "fake goods" and began to act pitifully.
"Humph, you know very well yourself." Old Mrs. Mu said sarcastically.
"Mother, I’m innocent. If I did such a thing, then let the child in my belly die terribly."
As soon as she finished speaking, Old Mrs. Mu slapped Mrs. Lin.
"If you die, you die, but don’t drag my grandson down! I’ll beat you to death!"
Old Mrs. Mu was about to strike again when Mrs. Lin ran to Mr. Mu.
"Dad, save me! Mom’s going to kill me."
Mr. Mu, with a stern face, dropped the tobacco in his hand heavily onto the ground.
"In this family, who is in charge, who calls the shots? Are you all rebelling against me? Do you still consider me your father?"
Of course, the sons nodded.
"Dad, you’re definitely our biological father. If not you, then who?" Mu Danian said with a flattering smile.
Among these people, he had the sharpest mind, knowing when to yield and when to speak nicely.
"Yes, Dad, we’ll stop causing trouble. Whatever you say goes!" Mu Dazhong nodded too.
"And you, old woman, lately you haven’t been respecting me as the head of this household. Do you think you’ll be in charge from now on?"
Old Mrs. Mu’s expression changed immediately.
A wife should act according to her husband, a widow according to her son!
No matter how fierce she is, the sky in this household is still her husband, Mr. Mu.
She should stand by her man, not disgrace him.
"Old man, of course you call the shots in this family—who dares to defy you, I’ll skin her!"
Old Mrs. Mu glared fiercely, suddenly appearing more savage!
But this savageness was directed at Mu Shuangshuang.
Old Mrs. Mu’s eyes were full of warning.
Mu Shuangshuang just smiled without replying. After all, she didn’t get along with the old lady, and she didn’t believe a stare could kill.
"Regarding today’s incident, I, the old man, won’t pursue it. Those preparing food should continue doing so!"
"Wife of Old Fourth, I asked your Second Sister-in-law, Sixth Son, to invite you over for the festival before, but you all wouldn’t come. I, the old man, am here now, humbly inviting your family to come over, just to keep this old man company and have a chat, it’ll be nice!"
As Mr. Mu spoke this much, Yu Si Niang couldn’t refuse.
"Grandfather, Feng Ziyuan was originally going to celebrate at our house, we..." Mu Shuangshuang said awkwardly.
"Let him come too. I know he has a good relationship with your family."
Mr. Mu rarely showed generosity, but Old Mrs. Mu felt a piece of meat being taken away.
The things made at home during the Mid-Autumn Festival weren’t bad, why should outsiders benefit?
But remembering that she had just promised to give her husband face, she could only angrily glare at Mu Shuangshuang.
Mu Shuangshuang originally didn’t want to go, but Old Mrs. Mu’s look stirred a desire within her to go. Anyway, her family hadn’t prepared lunch yet, so all snacks would be brought to her grandmother’s house for dinner.
Deciding so, Mu Shuangshuang nodded.
"Grandpa, we’ll definitely come for lunch! It’ll be a family reunion."
Mr. Mu finally felt satisfied and left.
Inviting someone, three visits to the cottage—Mr. Mu should have been unhappy about this, but somehow, today he felt inexplicably happy. He told himself he must let the third branch know later that the eldest was going to succeed in the examination.
The matter ended, and although Mrs. Liu felt aggrieved, she wasn’t severely blamed.
In the courtyard, only the family of the fourth branch remained.
Mu Shuangshuang directly invited them to the kitchen, brought out the mooncakes, but none of the three ate.
"Uncle Fourth, Aunt Fourth, please have some. Just take a few for Xiao Chu later."
Xiao Chu was only three years old. Usually, when Mrs. Liu worked, the child played around at the kitchen or in the threshold of the main room.
Or he would play alone with a broken pottery bowl in the sand in front of Old Mu Family’s courtyard, scooping sand alone for an entire afternoon or morning without needing supervision.
So, during the previous altercation, he didn’t appear.
"Shuangshuang, Aunt Fourth thanks you for helping out earlier. Aunt Fourth doesn’t know how to repay you."
Saying this, Mrs. Liu started to wipe her tears. She still had that punk hairstyle, her hair unkempt, looking quite haggard.
"Shuangshuang, Si Niang, thank you for helping Xiaxia’s mother earlier, I... I also don’t know how to thank you." Mu Dajiang added.
"Ah, we’re all pitiful people. Our family situation is similar to yours and endured through thick and thin for some time. Better days will come soon, naturally things will improve!"
"Yes, better days will come along soon!" Mu Dajiang said, opening his mouth with great effort to say this.
But will good days really come?
Mu Dajiang didn’t know. Yet, the three still each ate two mooncakes that weren’t hot but were warm.
Yu Si Niang chose two mooncakes and asked Mu Dajiang to deliver them to Mr. Mu and Old Mrs. Mu.
This time, Mu Shuangshuang said nothing.
Mid-Autumn, the day of reunion—let Baozi Niang make baozi once more!
"Mom, I’ll take some mooncakes to Aunt Xiao Yun!" Mu Shuangshuang packed three mooncakes into a bowl, divided them into three portions, then found a bamboo basket to hold everything and went out.
The fourth branch only took one mooncake for Xiao Chu; the rest were adamant about not accepting, leaving Yu Si Niang no choice but to let the fourth branch go.
With the mooncakes given by the third branch, Mu Dajiang was surrounded as soon as he returned to the main room.
"I told you, Old Fourth and the third branch have a good relationship. If he went, he surely could bring mooncakes back."
Mu Dazhong reached out to grab them, but Mu Dajiang blocked him.
"These are for Dad and Mom, Brother Second, no eating them!"
In the pottery bowl, there were only two mooncakes. Fortunately, the portions were sizable enough for Mr. Mu and Old Mrs. Mu.
Old Mrs. Mu snatched the bowl, didn’t let Mu Dajiang speak, and started scolding.
"Stingy people truly are stingy. So many people in the house, and they only send two. Is this for feeding cats? Not even enough for Xiangxiang."
"Mom, I want to eat!" Mu Xiangxiang said nearby.
"Good Xiangxiang, Mom will give these to you." Old Mrs. Mu handed both mooncakes to Mu Xiangxiang, ignoring the looks from the other sons.
Mu Dazhong stood beside, drooling.