Chapter 37: The Mu Brothers’ Secret

Su Tang and Yu Miaomiao jumped, intending to flee. Then they heard someone say, “Third Brother, what are you shouting for? There’s no one here?”

Mu Jingyun?

Su Tang and Yu Miaomiao breathed a sigh of relief, their legs so weak they couldn’t stand, and they squatted down on the spot.

“There is someone.”

The trees swayed, and footsteps approached, strong and clear. Louder than the wild boar earlier.

If they didn’t know it was their own family, Su Tang and Yu Miaomiao would have been scared to tears.

“Third Brother…” Su Tang raised her head, her small face pale.

Mu Jingzhou looked at his little wife, then at Yu Miaomiao, his face displeased. “What are you two doing here?”

“We came into the mountains to pick wild fruits and got lost…”

Su Tang became more and more aggrieved, tears falling.

Mu Jingzhou’s heart tightened, and he pulled her up. “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“I was scared by a wild boar, and now I’m scared by you.”

Mu Jingzhou twitched his eyes. “I told you not to go into the mountains, but you wouldn’t listen.”

“You’re still blaming me, woo woo…” Su Tang cried even harder, hitting Mu Jingzhou with her small fists.

Mu Jingyun also came over, seeing his wife there, he was stunned and quickly helped her up. “Wife…”

“I’m fine.” Yu Miaomiao was also scared, but she was relatively calm. “Was that you just now?”

“Yes.” Mu Jingyun smiled. “Third Brother and I often come here; wild boars don’t dare to come.”

Yu Miaomiao nodded and asked, “Didn’t you go to work today?”

“Want to see something good?” Mu Jingyun winked.

Yu Miaomiao curiously asked, “What?”

Mu Jingzhou gave a warning look. “Second Brother!”

“They’ve already found us, what’s there to be afraid of?” Mu Jingyun took Yu Miaomiao’s hand and walked deeper.

Su Tang also said angrily, “Third Brother, I want to see too.”

“Sigh, let’s go!”

“My legs are weak…”

Mu Jingzhou sighed resignedly and squatted down. “Get on.”

Su Tang climbed onto his back.

The high vantage point not only offered a wide view but also allowed her to easily pick fruits from the trees.

Su Tang wiped away her tears and excitedly asked, “Third Brother, are you and Second Brother secretly making money?”

Mu Jingzhou paused.

“You and Second Brother only earn 230 work points a year, and you have to give them to the family. But you also have private money to marry wives, so you must have other jobs.”

“Mm.” Mu Jingzhou nodded. “You’re very clever.”

“Hehe.”

Su Tang giggled; she had seen this in the original script. The script focused on their business after the reforms, not detailing this period in the village.

Soon, they passed through the lush jungle and came to a man-made deep pit surrounded by a thick circle of thorns. A large wild boar and several piglets were eating.

“Ah? You’re raising wild boars?” Su Tang was shocked.

Mu Jingyun said, “Hunting is based on luck; it’s better to domesticate wild boars.”

“This…” Yu Miaomiao counted the number of wild boars.

Not to mention the adult boar, those seven piglets would sell for several hundred yuan when they grew up! Judging by the site, this wasn’t their first batch.

“We sold a few larger ones before the wedding.” Mu Jingyun put his arm around Yu Miaomiao’s waist and affectionately scratched her nose. “Otherwise, how could I afford to marry you?”

Yu Miaomiao blushed shyly.

She was the most expensive bride in the surrounding villages!

“What about the money for marrying me? Did it also come from here?” Su Tang asked.

Mu Jingzhou nodded.

“Second Brother spent 188 yuan on the bride price for Second Sister-in-law, but you only spent 88 yuan. Where did the other hundred go?” Su Tang pinched her waist and asked fiercely.

She strongly suspected that the hundred yuan went to Shen Mingzhu!

It turned out she was right.

Mu Jingzhou had given the hundred yuan to Shen Mingzhu through his second sister.

Normally, how he spent his money was his business. But now, he felt it wasn’t appropriate to tell Su Tang. It looked like he had kept a woman before marriage!

“That money was for Fourth Brother to go to school in the county town.” Mu Jingzhou wasn’t used to lying, luckily his skin was wheat-colored, so even when he blushed it wasn’t obvious.

“Okay!” Su Tang smiled contentedly.

Yu Miaomiao glared at Su Tang: Little troublemaker!

“Third Brother, how long have you been raising them?”

“This is the second batch of pigs; they can be sold in the autumn.”

A normal fat pig could sell for about 150 yuan, but wild boars could only be secretly sold to those who engaged in speculation and profiteering, and the price was very low. Seven pigs could only sell for six or seven hundred yuan at best.

“After we sell these pigs, we can build a new house.” Mu Jingyun threw a basin of dirty sweet potatoes to the wild boars.

They had to feed them themselves. They often bought worm-infested corn and sweet potatoes on the black market.

Su Tang and Yu Miaomiao were puzzled.

The black market was usually at night, but they had been home every night these past few days!

“We stocked up before, and we’ll be out of feed after today. We have to go to the black market tonight.” Mu Jingzhou said.

“You two hid the pigs and grain in this remote mountain area. Aren’t you afraid of being stolen?” Su Tang asked.

Mu Jingyun sneered, “Who dares to steal my things?”

His crazy aura returned.

Yu Miaomiao rolled her eyes at him. “You’re secretly raising wild boars; it doesn’t have your name on it.”

“Uh…” Mu Jingyun scratched his head awkwardly, his crazy aura disappearing instantly. “There were bear attacks here years ago, so people from nearby villages don’t dare to come in.”

“Aren’t you two afraid?”

“We killed the bear.”

“…”

Great, they also sold a bear! As for the money, it definitely went to fund Shen Mingzhu’s university education.

Su Tang and Yu Miaomiao exchanged knowing glances. They decided not to say anything to avoid embarrassment.

“Alright, let’s go back! Don’t come to the mountains again.”

“Don’t tell Mom and Dad about the pigs.”

The brothers instructed, each pulling their wives down the mountain.

Afraid of being discovered by the villagers, they took a detour and finally joined the group of villagers returning from the mountain from another direction.

“Oh, Second and Third Brother are also in the mountains?” Auntie Sun had collected half a basket of wild vegetables, a bountiful harvest. Looking at the four of them, they only had a few handfuls of vegetables and some wild fruits.

Master Wang smiled knowingly. “Auntie Sun, you don’t understand. Young people’s fun isn’t in wild vegetables.”

“These young people nowadays, they don’t work and only think about playing. No wonder Old Madam Mu is always angry.” Auntie Sun chuckled. “Ever since Second and Third Brother got married, Old Madam Mu has been furious. She’s angry nine out of ten days, she’s about to become a firecracker.”

Mu Jingzhou wasn’t used to arguing with people and wanted to silently pull Su Tang away.

But Su Tang wasn’t used to it. These two old people were implying that they were having sex in the mountains. If this got out, it would be terrible!

She stopped and said with a smile, “Auntie Sun, are you envious? Then quickly get wives for your eldest and second sons, and you’ll have the pleasure of dealing with daughters-in-law. If you don’t want to, you won’t even have the chance to suffer.”

Auntie Sun’s face turned green and white. “If marrying a daughter-in-law is to suffer, it’s better not to marry.”

“Auntie Sun, do you want Sun Da and Sun Er to be bachelors for life?” Mu Jingyun slowly replied.

The eldest and second Sun were twins, both 25 years old, but still unmarried. Seeing their peers getting married one after another, they wished they could marry into another village! If they heard their mother say “it’s better not to marry”, they might really leave their mother and marry into another family.

Auntie Sun stamped her foot angrily. “Second, I didn’t say that.”

“Then quickly get wives for the eldest and second Sun! As long as they’re happy, what does a little suffering matter to you? Right?” Mu Jingyun scratched his hair and smiled very politely.

Auntie Sun immediately fell silent.

Even Master Wang wisely shut his mouth.

Su Tang gave a thumbs up. “When it comes to arguing, Second Brother is still the best!”