Chapter 32: Subsequent Impact (Part 1)

That night, the Qingfeng Brigade was buzzing with excitement.

Wherever people met, they talked about it.

“Did you hear? The two girls from the Mu and Shi families had their articles published!”

“It wasn’t in a newspaper, though. It was some kind of magazine for kids, filled with articles written by children around their age. Pretty much like a newspaper!”

“And they got quite a bit of money too! Do you know how much? Twenty-two yuan! A full twenty-two yuan!”

“That’s impressive! Truly impressive. Their ancestors must be smiling down on them.”

“No wonder they can solve fourth-grade math problems so easily. Those girls are really smart!”

“If they can write one article a day, just imagine how much money they could make in a year!”

“What are you talking about? That’s impossible. I asked Mian girl, and she said the magazine only comes out once a month, maybe even every few months. You think they can write every day? Keep dreaming!”

“Even if it’s just once a month, twenty-two yuan is still a lot!”

—

In the countryside, nothing remained a secret for long. From the time the sun hung low in the sky to the moment it fully set, news of this event spread throughout the entire village.

At this moment, Mu Mian, one of the people at the center of it all, had already arrived home with Mu Fugui.

When the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, who had learned of this a little later, finally heard the news, they were just as excited.

One moment, they were marveling at the book, and the next, they were marveling at Mu Mian herself.

That gaze was even more intense than when they had looked at the ginseng last time.

It was as if that ginseng had transformed into a human, reincarnated into their family, and become their child.

Liu Shuangcui couldn’t stop herself from stroking her daughter’s little head. “Tell me, how did this little brain grow? How can she be so capable?”

Her daughter’s article had actually been published in a magazine. If you round it up, didn’t that mean…

Her daughter could publish a book now!

Oh my, wasn’t this something only the most educated people could do? She could hardly believe it…

With her mind and heart completely occupied by her daughter, Liu Shuangcui conveniently ignored the fact that the magazine contained many other people’s articles as well.

Mu Mian’s cheeks flushed slightly from all the praise, feeling a bit embarrassed, but that didn’t stop her from responding effortlessly, “It’s all because Mom and Dad gave birth to me so well. You two are the most capable!”

Mu Fugui laughed heartily. “That’s right, that’s right! Your dad planted well, that’s why he could produce such capable children like you and your brother.”

Feeling smug, Mu Fugui was immediately smacked by Zhao Meihua. “What nonsense are you spouting in front of the child?!”

Mu Fugui exaggeratedly staggered back as if the old lady’s slap had been unbearably heavy.

Zhao Meihua rolled her eyes, too lazy to pay attention to her burly eldest son’s antics.

She flipped through the magazine again and again, loving it more with each glance. “It’s a pity we only have one copy. When will they start selling it in the county? We should buy a few more copies then.”

Mu Mian knew the answer, as it was mentioned in the reply letter. “This is just a sample copy. The official release will be in half a month, and by then, it will definitely be available in the county.”

Besides that, the letter also expressed anticipation for more submissions in the future.

Submit more articles? Of course, she would!

Who would say no to earning money?

Speaking of which, she still hadn’t received any news about the other article she had submitted. It was sent to a different magazine. Who knew if it was already on the way or if it had completely sunk into oblivion?

While the three adults were still chatting, a commotion came from outside the yard. Mu Mian turned her head and saw her little uncle walking over excitedly while talking.

Mu Xinglong’s expression was just like Mu Fugui’s earlier—full of joy and excitement. “Oh wow! Let me see! Our family has a literary scholar now!”

Such an accomplished girl was actually his little niece!!

Overwhelmed with excitement, Mu Xinglong’s old habit of lifting kids up and tossing them into the air kicked in.

Mu Mian, who had nearly been picked up by her own father in front of a crowd last time, was already prepared. She smoothly took a step back and dodged her uncle’s big hands with ease.

With a righteous tone, she said, “Uncle, I’m already grown up. Go pick up Xiao Chengzi instead.”

Mu Xinglong wasn’t embarrassed about not catching his niece. Instead, he smoothly lifted his hand that had been reaching for her armpits and used it to ruffle her hair instead.

After another round of being patted on the head, Mu Mian: “………………”

Good thing she had thick hair. Otherwise, she’d really start worrying about going bald.

After cherishing his little niece for a bit, Mu Xinglong went over to his mother and eagerly flipped through the sample magazine as well.

His literacy level was about the same as Mu Fugui’s—he could recognize the common characters, but that didn’t stop him from praising Mu Mian endlessly.

In the end, Mu Xinglong even joked in a completely unserious manner, “Dad’s grave must be smoking like crazy! How else could we have such outstanding grandkids?”

First, there was Xiao Zhuo and Xiao Qiu. Now, there was Mian girl.

And there were still three more kids in their family. He wondered if his father’s grave could produce enough smoke to bless them all. Hopefully, there would still be some luck left for his own son and daughter.

As soon as he finished speaking, his mother smacked him on the back. “Stop learning from your brother and spouting nonsense all the time!”

If the grave actually caught fire, that would be a disaster.

Mu Xinglong didn’t just learn from his brother—he even took it a step further. His exaggerated staggering act after being hit was even more dramatic than Mu Fugui’s. The two grown men standing together looked like a pair of middle-aged clowns.

Fortunately, there was still the steady Mu Xingwang.

Since he and Tang Cuixiang lived a bit farther away, they arrived later than the others.

For the adults, this was just like when Mu Qiu got into junior high school—it was a major happy event.

So, that evening, the whole family gathered for a lively meal. With more than a dozen people, the atmosphere was bustling with joy.

—

Meanwhile, in the southwestern corner of Qingfeng Brigade, at Shi Xiaolian’s house.

There were only the mother and two daughters in their family, so their home wasn’t exactly lively, but it was still filled with joy.

Even dinner was more lavish than usual. As they ate, Tian Hongjuan suddenly seemed to think of something, her eyes turning red.

Shi Xiaolian glanced at her mother and said, “Tomorrow, I’ll go burn this book for Dad to see.”

Tian Hongjuan wiped the corner of her eyes. “This book is so precious. It would be a shame to burn it. I’ll just talk to him about it.”

Saying this, she reached out to stroke her younger daughter’s head, her eyes full of pride and heartache.

It was all because she, as their mother, was so useless. That was why both of her daughters had to grow up so sensible and determined at such a young age.

Shi Xiaolian felt that she had probably been influenced by Mu Mian and Xu Lele. Looking at her mother’s eyes, she instinctively praised, “Mom, you haven’t coughed for more than half a month now. That’s amazing!”

Tian Hongjuan hadn’t expected to hear that. She and Shi Xiaozhu laughed at the same time.

With a smile at the corners of her eyes, Tian Hongjuan still had a lingering weariness from years of poor health. “What’s so amazing about that?”

Shi Xiaozhu agreed with her little sister. “Of course, it’s amazing! Staying healthy means you can enjoy delicious food!”

Tian Hongjuan picked up her chopsticks and placed some food onto both of her daughters’ plates. “If anyone is amazing, it’s the two of you. Now, hurry and eat before the food gets cold.”

Even though there were only three of them at the dinner table, it was still warm and comforting.

—

After a lively night, the excitement hadn’t died down the next day. As people walked along the roads, they could still hear folks talking about it in twos and threes.

Compared to the end-of-term exams, this was much more lively. Back then, everyone only thought these two girls were smart, but they never expected them to be this brilliant.

At the root of it all…

It was because this article got published—and it earned money! Twenty-two yuan!!

People spend their whole lives working hard, isn’t it all for a meal and some money?

In the end, money is what truly matters.

Over the past few days, without Mu Mian knowing, even the way the village women talked about her had changed.

Before, they used to tell their kids, “That girl is fierce, don’t mess with her for no reason.”

Now, it had turned into, “Learn from her! Look at how she made over twenty yuan in one go!”

A seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy working as a temporary worker in the city for a month might not even earn twenty yuan.

As for Shi Xiaolian, the words “fierce” and “wild” were not used to describe her. People only said, “That little girl doesn’t talk much, she doesn’t seem very sharp, but who would have thought she’s so clever?”

They even told their children to learn from Shi Xiaolian—less chattering, more thinking, and using their brains instead of just their mouths.

While the adults kept rambling on, the kids had their own way of arguing back—an argument that was both universal and effective:

“They’re so smart because their parents gave birth to them that way!”

Although this statement had some truth to it, it was also very likely to earn them a spanking.

Some parents, unable to keep their pride intact, would respond by giving their kids a slap on the backside.

This commotion went on for several days, and in the blink of an eye, there were only three or four days left before school started.

During this time, Mu Mian had little peace. The moment she stepped out, she would be surrounded by villagers bombarding her with questions—whether they knew her well or not.

The questions were more or less the same:

“How do you even write an article like that?”

“Can you help my child write one too?”

“What kind of topics do they accept for publication?”

“Do these magazines only take submissions from kids, or can someone in their twenties write too?”

“If the writing isn’t that good, can they still get paid? Even one or two yuan would be fine.”

…And so on. The sheer number of bizarre questions was overwhelming, to the point that Mu Mian avoided going outside for two days.