Chapter 7: A Day in the Fields

Since coming home that morning, Mu Mian hadn’t gone to see her newborn twin cousins yet.

But there was no rush. They were in the same brigade and wouldn’t be going anywhere.

For now, Mu Mian emptied the worms from her bottle into the chicken coop. While the hens scrambled to peck at them, she reached into the nesting area and felt around. She found two freshly laid eggs.

Carefully, she placed them with the others before setting some water to boil.

Her father’s job was exhausting and used up a lot of water. He came home covered in grime every day, and if he didn’t wash up, the strong scent of blood would linger on him.

As the sun started to set, Zhao Meihua and Liu Shuangcui, who had finished their work in the fields, arrived home. At the same time, a few passing women gathered at the entrance.

Each one of them looked at Mu Mian with amazement.

And why wouldn’t they?

Just two nights ago, they had all helped search for her, scouring the hills and fields. When the brigade leader’s son reported the incident to the public security, everyone assumed the worst—that these two little girls had been taken.

Who could have imagined that at the break of dawn, someone would arrive at the brigade announcing that the girls had fought off their kidnappers and escaped?

It was even said that one of the men had his teeth knocked out, and another had been kicked in a rather… unfortunate place.

What a fierce little girl!!

How had they never noticed before?

Surrounded by onlookers, Mu Mian obediently greeted the women, calling them “auntie” one by one, only to be bombarded with a flood of questions.

Everyone had been busy working during the day, but now that they had free time, they were eager to hear the full story.

Mu Mian also liked watching lively discussions, but being the center of one wasn’t nearly as fun.

Luckily, Mu Fugui returned from work just in time. He loved bragging, so there was no need for others to ask—he immediately launched into a vivid retelling of his daughter’s heroic escape.

He was just as proud as he had been last year when Mu Zhuo was selected for military service.

In fact, from the brigade entrance to their house, Mu Fugui had been telling the story non-stop. He just couldn’t keep it in.

Thanks to her father’s enthusiasm, Mu Mian became the main topic of conversation at dinner.

Not that this was anything new. Ever since the incident, she had been the talk of the brigade. Yesterday, she had been in the hospital, so no one had a chance to see her. Now that they could, everyone was buzzing with gossip. Some even brought their rice bowls over to watch.

Mu Mian, who was also eating in the yard: “………………”

She finally understood—there really weren’t many entertainment options in these times.

On their way home, the aunties and grandmothers continued to chat.

“That Mian girl seems much sharper now! She talks more than before.”

“I heard she had a high fever yesterday. Maybe the fever burned some sense into her.”

“I’ve heard of people getting burned silly, but this is my first time seeing someone burned smart.”

“That girl is a bit too fierce, though. How could she kick a man in that place?”

…

…

Some of the more straightforward aunties immediately spoke up in defense. “So what if she kicked him? She did the right thing! It’s not like she kicked your son. What are you so worried about? If you ask me, girls should be a little fierce. That way, they won’t be easily bullied by their in-laws in the future.”

To prevent an argument from breaking out, others quickly changed the topic. “I never realized before that Mian girl had such strength. She actually managed to take down two grown men. I heard she even knocked out two of that kidnapper’s teeth.”

“She must have been desperate. It’s not like she usually goes around hitting people.”

“Thank goodness for Mian girl. Otherwise, the brigade leader’s daughter would have been in real trouble this time.”

“You think the brigade leader and Guizhi gave Fugui and the others a lot of good stuff? After all, they basically saved their daughter’s life.”

“Who knows? Even if they did, they wouldn’t let you see it.”

Mu Mian had no idea about that part either. Adults often discussed such matters behind children’s backs.

But she could guess. Her mother only accepted things from the boy’s family because they were strangers.

As for the brigade leader’s family, they had been neighbors for so many years. Talking about material compensation in a situation like this would hurt their relationship.

She had seen it herself yesterday evening—when the brigade leader patted her father on the shoulder, his eyes were red, as if everything had been said without words.

Besides curiosity, some people in the brigade also echoed what Officer Yang had mentioned at the hospital.

However, instead of thinking that Mu Mian had the potential to become a police officer, they simply felt that, as the daughter of a butcher, she might inherit her father’s work in the future—slaughtering pigs with a single stroke of the knife.

If Mu Mian had heard this, she would have definitely protested in her heart.

Butchering pigs? That was absolutely not part of her career plan.

She only wanted to be the pig that catches the wind and flies high.

Unfortunately, the wind hadn’t come yet, and she was still just a little piglet.

—

That night, little piglet Mu Mian had a great sleep. The next morning, she woke up to the sound of clucking hens.

Spring plowing was already more than halfway done, with only a little left to finish.

Early in the morning, the brigade leader, Xu Yongshou, raised his voice to rally everyone. The sky looked like it might rain in the next couple of days, so the goal was to finish everything before then.

As a result, there was no time for the people of the brigade to go home for lunch. The elderly or children at home brought meals to the fields, and for those without, one person was allowed to leave a little earlier to prepare food.

In Mu Mian’s family, Liu Shuangcui naturally stayed in the fields.

So Mu Mian was responsible for delivering lunch to her mother and her uncle, Mu Xinglong. There was no one to cook at her uncle’s house either, as Zheng Xialan was still bedridden.

Xiao Chengzi was only six years old and could help tend the fire and boil water, but cooking was out of the question.

A while ago, Mu Xinglong had already brought over some grain, so their grandmother cooked for both families every noon.

After packing her lunchbox, Mu Mian carried her small basket on her back and headed to the fields. On the way, she ran into Xu Lele. In her family, it was her third brother who did the cooking, as her eldest brother, second brother, and parents were all working in the fields.

The two girls walked at a steady pace, careful not to spill the food.

When Mu Mian arrived at the ridge, she immediately spotted her mother. Liu Shuangcui put down her hoe and walked over. “Have you and your grandmother eaten?”

Mu Mian shook her head. “Not yet. Grandma went to check on my Aunt and Xiao Chengzi, so she’ll eat with them. I’ll eat later when I get home. The rest of the food is still warm in the pot.”

Liu Shuangcui was too tired to say much and only nodded.

Mu Mian then picked up the other lunchbox and went to find her uncle. Mu Xinglong was in another group, two fields away from Liu Shuangcui.

When she arrived, Mu Xinglong was already sitting on the ridge, taking a break.

From a distance of five or six meters, Mu Mian called out, “Uncle!”

Mu Xinglong turned his head, a mischievous grin on his sweat-covered face. “Mian girl, you got the wrong person again. I’m your fourth uncle.”

Mu Mian: “…”

Her uncle was just as unreliable as she remembered—he acted like he couldn’t go a day without joking around.

When he and Fourth Uncle were kids, they used to play this “guess who I am” game. But at their age now, the only reason her uncle still did it was because he simply wasn’t serious about anything.

Fourth Uncle never played along.

Mu Mian smiled sweetly, looking as cute as ever. “Oh, I got the wrong person? Then I’ll just give the food to Fourth Uncle instead.”

She turned and started walking toward Fourth Uncle.

The nearby uncles all laughed, and Mu Xingwang, who was in the same group and only a few meters away, cooperated by reaching out his hand.

Mu Xinglong immediately jumped up. “Mian girl, your uncle was wrong, okay?! Give me the food, I’m starving!”

Only then did Mu Mian turn back and walk toward him.

Mu Xinglong took the lunchbox in one hand and playfully tapped his niece’s nose with the other. “Alright, alright, you’ve gotten smarter, huh? You even dare to tease your uncle now.”

Mu Mian raised an eyebrow. “It was obviously my uncle who started it first.”

Mu Xinglong took a few bites of food and mumbled through his mouthful, “I was just testing you to see if your eyes were working properly.”

Mu Xingwang couldn’t stand it anymore and waved at Mu Mian. “Ignore him. Come sit with Fourth Uncle for a while. Your mother will still take some time to finish eating.”

Mu Xingwang’s family had plenty of laborers. Besides him and his wife, their eldest and second sons were old enough to help.

Their eldest, Mu Qing, was only four years younger than Mu Zhuo. At fifteen, he would soon be old enough to start considering marriage. As a young man, he could already earn eight work points a day.

The second son, Mu Qiu, was thirteen and focused on his studies, hoping to get into middle school. Occasionally, he helped out in the fields.

Apart from the youngest, Mu Shi, they also had a third daughter, Mu Wan, who was ten. During the busy farming season, she was the one who cooked for the family.

Mu Xingwang was now eating the food that Mu Wan had brought over.

Mu Mian didn’t stay long with Mu Xingwang. After resting for a bit, she got up, ready to look for her mother.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to rest longer, but the uncles here were incredibly chatty. Besides bombarding her with questions, they also looked at her strangely.

Just now, when she sat beside her fourth uncle, the men who had been sitting on the ridge with their legs spread suddenly pressed them together.

Mu Mian found it hard to describe her feelings. She really had no interest in kicking anyone.

She patted the dirt off her clothes and said, “Fourth Uncle, take your time eating.”

Before Mu Xingwang could respond, Mu Xinglong quickly scooped up a few more bites of food and said, “Wait a moment. I’m almost done. Take the lunchbox with you.”

Mu Mian glanced at her little uncle’s lunchbox but didn’t stop walking. “Just leave it with Uncle for now. Wash it in the evening and have Xiao Chengzi bring it over.”

With that, she ran off.

Mu Xinglong clicked his tongue. “She’s really as fast as a rabbit.”

When Mu Mian returned, Liu Shuangcui was still eating.

“What were you talking about with your little uncle and the others?” she asked.

Mu Mian sat next to her mother. “He was teasing me, saying he’s my Fourth Uncle.”

The aunt sitting beside Liu Shuangcui was Cao Chunfeng, who was also from Qingfeng Brigade. Hearing this, she burst into laughter. “No matter how old Little Fifth Mu gets, he’s always like that. Among the three men in your Mu family, when it comes to steadiness, Old Fourth Mu is the one.”

Her words implied that Mu Fugui wasn’t very dependable either.

Although that was the truth, Mu Mian didn’t want to admit it. “My dad is great too.”

Another woman nearby chuckled. “This girl is really sweet, always standing up for her father.”

Before long, the conversation about the Mu family naturally shifted back to Mu Mian’s legendary stick-breaking moment.

Cao Chunfeng casually picked up a hoe beside her and joked, “I heard from Xu Lele that you broke a stick while fighting kidnappers. Want to try breaking this?”

As soon as she said that, several women nearby cheered her on.

Liu Shuangcui opened her mouth, about to stop them, when she heard her daughter speak up first.

Mu Mian puffed up her cheeks and looked at Cao Chunfeng. “Aunt Chunfeng, are you teasing me too? This is public property. If I break it, the brigade leader will make me pay for it.”

She knew very well that the farming tools were borrowed from the brigade’s storeroom and had to be returned after work.

Besides, performing like a monkey in public wasn’t appealing. She had already done that last night.

The women, who had momentarily forgotten about this, burst into laughter.

Cao Chunfeng clicked her tongue. “This girl is getting sharper and sharper.”

Mu Mian leaned against Liu Shuangcui, looking smug. “This is called being smart. I take after my mom.”