Today, Mu Family Village was different from its usual tranquility. From early morning, the sound of firecrackers popping and crackling filled the small village. The villagers dressed in their festival clothes, visited friends and relatives to give New Year’s greetings, exchanged polite pleasantries with each other, and brought pieces of their homemade New Year cake as gifts. The place was bustling with noise and excitement!
The children were up early, scattering throughout the village in hopes of finding unexploded firecrackers in the aftermath of the celebration. If they were lucky enough to discover any, the children would delightfully tuck them away; they would be saved for a time when others had run out of firecrackers after the New Year.
Occasionally, they would encounter a generous elder who would share some auspicious words with them. The elder might treat them to a piece of rare candy or give them a copper coin as New Year’s money...
As the horse-drawn carriage of the Cai Wei family rolled into the village, it was met head-on by an enthusiastic group of children. The children curiously watched the unfamiliar carriage enter their village, excitedly following behind it, eager to find out which distinguished relatives were visiting.
The horse carriage finally came to a stop at Eldest Brother Mu’s house in the village. They saw Scholar Mu clad in a sky-blue robe, leading the way off the carriage, followed by his wife adorned with a cloak of brocade lined with fur edges. Scholar’s wife looked like a different person altogether; she seemed so much younger and beautiful than before.
Following behind her were his two daughters, both just as stunning as fairies. They had gracefully tied down brocade cloaks and led two spruced-up children out of the carriage; It was Scholar’s children, Wen’er and Wu’er. The suits had seen some significant changes, no longer displaying their once scrawny appearances; instead, they had chubby, fair, round faces.
"Mu Chongwen, is that you?"
A teenage boy asked tentatively.
On seeing the boy, Wen’er burst into laughter, "Mu Niqiu, only a few days have passed, and you no longer recognize me?"
Mu Niqiu scratched his head, embarrassedly laughing, "Why don’t you tell us your entire family has transformed? Even my parents might not recognize you all at first sight."
Lady Du stepped forward, smiling sweetly, "Niqiu, it’s been a while. How is your mother?"
Mu Niqiu grinned wildly, "Thanks to you, auntie, my mother is well. But she misses you. She says you are now rich in the town and fears that you might have forgotten about us, your poor relatives."
Lady Du chuckled, "You mischievous monkey, you’re as playful as ever. You’d better watch out or your dad will scold you."
After saying that, she took out her purse, handed over several dozen copper coins to Mu Niqiu, and instructed him to take the kids and buy some candy from the village’s grocery store.
The children were overjoyed upon receiving the money. After thanking Lady Du, they surrounded Mu Niqiu and cheerfully headed off towards the grocery store at the head of the village.
Having distributed the money, Lady Du smiled broadly as she put away her purse. As she turned around, she saw her mother-in-law, Lady Mu Bai, leaning against the entrance, standing on the threshold, observing them with a slight, insincere smile on her face.
Lady Du jumped in surprise as she was unsure how long her mother-in-law had been there, but she found her mother-in-law’s half-hearted smile quite chilling!
"Well, well, the second son has returned, so full of grandeur indeed. It really shows that you’re wealthy now; just look at how casually you handed out dozens of copper coins to the little monkeys. Even this old lady is envious!"