Chapter 19: Aunt’s Arrival (Part 2)

After a while, she spoke with amazement. “It actually worked. They stopped fussing.”

The two older girls and the two little ones made their way to the courtyard gate. Mu Wan casually glanced into the distance and suddenly froze.

She nudged Mu Mian with her elbow. “Hey! Look! Isn’t that Second Aunt and Third Aunt?”

Mu Mian was facing the courtyard and hadn’t seen them. She instinctively replied, “That’s impossible. Second Aunt and Third Aunt—”

She was about to say they couldn’t have arrived so early.

But who else could those two families in the distance be if not her second and third aunts?

Mu Wan immediately raised her voice and shouted, “Grandma! Second Aunt and Third Aunt are here!”

Mu Mian wanted to stop her, but it was too late. The two little twins, who had just dozed off, were startled awake and immediately burst into wails.

Mu Mian quickly rocked her arms, but it didn’t help. In the end, Mu Xinglong and his wife had to take the babies from them.

In just a short while, Mu Chunfen and Mu Dongxue’s families had already arrived, calling out loudly, “Mom!”

Zhao Meihua hurried to welcome them. “How did you get here so early? Did you leave before sunrise?”

Mu Chunfen bore a strong resemblance to the old lady and already had a few wrinkles on her face. She smiled and said, “No, actually, we have to thank eldest sister-in-law’s younger sister.”

Liu Shuangcui helped take the baskets off their backs and asked, “Are you talking about Dongping? Did you run into her?”

Mu Chunfen’s laughter was just as hearty as Mu Fugui’s. “Hahaha, exactly! We happened to catch a ride on their transport truck when they were heading to the purchasing station. Otherwise, we would’ve had a long walk ahead of us.”

The last time they had all met was during the New Year visit to their maiden home. The adults caught up excitedly for a while before finally turning their attention to the children.

Aside from the two newborns that the two families hadn’t seen before, Mu Mian was the most talked about.

From time to time, she would lift her little face and smile sweetly at one person, then another.

Mu Chunfen and Mu Dongxue didn’t just bring gifts for the old lady. They had also brought a little something for each of the children. Given their limited means, they were small gifts but heartfelt ones.

Mu Mian received two beautiful hair accessories and thanked them sweetly. “Thank you, Second Aunt! Thank you, Third Aunt!”

Mu Chunfen ruffled her niece’s hair. “Why so formal with your aunt?”

Mu Xinglong, holding his little daughter, squeezed into the group. “Second Sister, what about my daughters? You wouldn’t leave them out just because they don’t have hair yet, would you? If you do, I’ll make a fuss on their behalf. You’re bullying them just because they can’t speak yet.”

Mu Chunfen smacked him on the back. “Get out of here! You’re a grown man, yet still so childish.”

Mu Xinglong yelped in pain but didn’t move away. He waggled his eyebrows and asked, “Really, though? Nothing for them?”

Mu Dongxue, who had a calmer and more composed temperament like Mu Xingwang, chuckled. “How could we forget about your daughters?”

She handed over a bag and said, “Here. Your Second Sister and I prepared this together as a gift for the twins’ full-month celebration. When your wife gave birth, we really couldn’t make time to come over.”

It was the busy season for spring plowing, so traveling such a long distance wasn’t practical.

Mu Xinglong grinned so wide that it almost reached the back of his head. “Hehe, I knew Second Sister and Third Sister dote on me!”

Zhao Meihua’s eyes had been filled with laughter all day, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes never smoothing out. “You’re a grown man now, yet you’re still messing around with your sisters.”

Mu Xinglong, carrying the bag without even looking inside, was beaming. “How is this messing around? This is called ‘a crying child gets the candy’!”

Xiao Chengzi, who was playing in the courtyard with his older siblings, instantly picked up on the keyword from his father’s mouth. He dashed over in a flash. “Candy? Where’s the candy?”

Mu Wan also caught the word and immediately pulled Mu Mian along, rushing over. “What? candy? Who’s giving out candy?”

Mu Mian who was dragged along without a choice: “……..”

She truly appreciated her cousin remembering to bring her along, even if the candy was only hypothetical.

Mu Chunfen and the others burst into laughter. “Haha! Here comes the crying child. Fifth Brother, hurry up and hand out the candy!”

Mu Xinglong: “…”

Completely unaware of his father’s predicament, Xiao Chengzi craned his neck and looked around. “But no one is giving out candy! Dad, you’re lying!”

Mu Xinglong: “…”

He almost didn’t want to acknowledge this silly child as his own.

But unfortunately, he wasn’t the only fool. Mu Wan, who had excitedly dragged her little cousin over, pursed her lips. “Uncle always lies.”

Her expression showed she was already used to it.

The adults burst into laughter again.

“Hahahahahaha…”

“Haha, Fifth Brother, look at what you’ve raised!”

“It was all because I was led astray by eldest brother when I was little.”

“Hey, why blame me? You’re the ones who grew crooked, not me. Look at Fourth Brother, he’s not like this.”

“Alright, alright. Fifty steps laughing at a hundred steps. None of you act like proper older brothers.”

…

Amidst the lively chatter, two tables of dishes were served. There was fish, rabbit, cured meat, and pig trotters. The feast looked even grander than New Year’s, but in reality, with so many people, each person could only get a couple of bites. The only thing they could eat more of was the fish.

Even if they could only get a few mouthfuls, the children were overjoyed.

Mu Mian finally understood what her grandmother meant by “having a headache from all the noise.”

Her Second Aunt and Third Aunt’s families had two children and three children, respectively—five in total.

On their side, not counting her eldest brother, Mu Zhuo, they had eight kids altogether, enough to fill an entire table.

Since women like Cao Chunfeng, Liu Guizhi, and a few other close friends had come without their children, it was just them.

These days, every household had its struggles. Those who were sensible wouldn’t bring their whole family to a banquet—it wouldn’t look good.

—

Lively times always passed quickly. Not long after finishing their meal, Mu Chunfen and the others had to head back.

It wasn’t like New Year’s when people weren’t working or going to school, and they could all squeeze onto the kang and stay for a few days.

Now, things were different. There was work in the fields and chores at home.

Mu Chunfen and Mu Dongxue, one on each side, held onto their mother, while Zhao Meihua was also reluctant to part. She stuffed their baskets with all sorts of things.

Mu Chunfen tugged at her. “Mom, stop packing, we have plenty at home. Keep it for yourselves.”

The old lady refused. “It’s not for you. Look at the kids—they’re so thin. Let them eat more.”

Mu Chunfen chuckled. “You’re making it sound like I don’t feed them. They’re growing! Of course, they look thinner.”

Mu Wan, who had been curiously watching, chimed in, “Xiao Mian isn’t thin at all—she’s chubby!”

Mu Mian, who had been helping her mother pack, remained silent.

Fine, chubby it is. Chubbiness brings good fortune!

Mu Chunfen laughed. “Mian girl hasn’t hit her growth spurt yet.”

Mu Dongxue added, “That’s even better. Her little round face looks so blessed. The more I look at her, the more I like her.”

She then turned to tease the child. “How about coming to Third Aunt’s house for a few days? You can sleep with your cousin. Her dad just built her a new bed.”

Mu Dongxue’s first child with Zhong Zhimiao was a girl, already fourteen, named Zhong Tian.

Zhong Tian smiled brightly. “Yes! That would be great!”

Before Mu Mian could say anything, Mu Fugui objected. “Third Sister, what are you doing? Trying to take my daughter before you leave?”

He even urged the old lady, “Mom, are you done packing? If they don’t leave soon, they won’t make it home before midnight.”

Mu Chunfen gasped in mock outrage. “Look at this! Half a day and Eldest Brother already finds us annoying. I knew it! A married daughter is just like spilled water.”

Mu Fugui clicked his tongue. “As long as you don’t take my daughter, I won’t mind. If you don’t leave soon, it’ll be dark on the way. Did you bring a flashlight? If not, take mine…”

Mu Chunfen waved him off. “We brought one, we left it at Old Su’s place.”

With all the chattering, they had packed up everything.

Zhao Meihua and Mu Fugui and his wife accompanied them to the brigade entrance, while Mu Xingwang and Mu Xinglong also went along.

Mu Mian, meanwhile, was given the task of staying home, tidying up the courtyard with Mu Qiu and Mu Wan.

About twenty minutes later, the three adults returned.

Liu Shuangcui took the cloth from Mu Qiu’s hand. “Xiao Qiu, stop cleaning. Leave it to me. Go read your books.”

Mu Qiu glanced outside. “Did my father and the others go straight home?”

Liu Shuangcui nodded. “Yes.”

So Mu Qiu took Mu Wan with her and went back inside.

As Mu Mian moved a chair, she noticed her grandmother occasionally glancing toward the courtyard entrance.

Mu Mian’s grandmother was still reluctant to part with her two daughters. Seeing this, Mu Mian didn’t disturb her and simply helped her mother put away the pots and pans.

Unlike the women in the family, Mu Fugui, as a man, wasn’t as sensitive to such emotions. He spoke carelessly, “Mom, you’re still looking? If you miss them that much, next time I’ll take you to visit Second and Third Sister!”

“You can stay at their place for ten days or even half a month, long enough that you’ll be sick of each other before coming back.”

The old lady was still feeling down and didn’t even notice the latter half of her son’s sentence. She just sighed, “I’m old now. My arms and legs don’t work like they used to. I can’t travel that far.”

Mu Fugui responded, “That’s why I keep saying we should get a bicycle.”

Mu Mian immediately perked up. “What? Dad, are you thinking of buying a bicycle?”

The three big items!

In her past life, she had seen all kinds of bicycles, but in this era, they were truly rare and precious.

Having a bicycle would make life much more convenient. They wouldn’t have to rely solely on their legs for every trip.

In their brigade, only the brigade leader and the accountant had bicycles. No other families owned one.

Liu Shuangcui let out a laugh. “Your dad is just talking nonsense. He’s been saying this for half a year already. Do you think you can buy one just because you want to? Where’s the ticket?”

Mu Mian immediately deflated.

Oh, right. They didn’t have a ticket.

Tickets for the three big items were extremely hard to come by. Ordinary city workers usually only had grain tickets, industrial tickets, and some miscellaneous daily-use tickets.

Tickets for the three big items were special benefits reserved for skilled and experienced workers. Even then, getting one a year was considered fortunate.

Mu Fugui also looked discouraged.

Liu Shuangcui called out to the father and daughter, “Stop sulking. Come help me move the table to Guizhi’s house.”

She also assigned Mu Mian a task—to return the borrowed pots and dishes.

Their own set wasn’t nearly enough for today’s two large tables of guests.

Liu Shuangcui had already sorted out which items belonged to whom and had even prepared a few small bags of fried peanuts—golden, crispy, and fragrant.

She reminded Mu Mian, “Give these to them together with the dishes.”

Mu Mian picked up a stack of plates along with a bag of peanuts and walked off. “Got it, got it.”

When she reached Aunt Chunfeng’s house, Mu Mian raised her voice and called out, “Aunt Chunfeng! Are you home? I’m here to return the plates.”

Cao Chunfeng poked her head out from inside. “I’m here, I’m here! Have your aunts left?”

Mu Mian nodded. “Yeah, they left. Here, Aunt, take these peanuts as a little snack.”

Cao Chunfeng exclaimed, “Oh, your mom just loves being particular about things! I’m too old for snacks. You should take them back and eat them yourself.”

Just then, Dazhuang, who had just come back from playing outside, squeezed in. “What snack?”

Mu Mian had long mastered the art of handling polite refusals. When there were kids around, giving it to the child was always the best approach.

She handed the peanuts to Dazhuang. “Fried peanuts.”

Dazhuang’s face immediately lit up with a grin. “Thanks, Sister Xiao Mian!”

Cao Chunfeng lightly patted her son on the back of his head. “How many times have I told you? Mian girl is younger than you.”

Dazhuang argued confidently, “But she can beat me up.”

Cao Chunfeng thought about it for a second. “That’s true.”

Mu Mian, who was already a few steps away, “……”

Well… it wasn’t like she hit people all the time.