Chapter 46: A Casual Chat Between Siblings (Part 2)

The next day was Monday.

Mu Mian woke up as usual and only noticed the bicycle was missing when she went to scoop water to wash her face.

She asked Liu Shuangcui, who had just come out of the kitchen, “Has Dad already left for the commune?”

Liu Shuangcui nodded. “Yes, he said they’re unloading a truck of pigs today and needed to get there early. Didn’t he mention it before?”

Mu Mian splashed water on her face and replied while washing up, “He didn’t tell me. What about Big Brother? Is he out too?”

Liu Shuangcui said, “He’s in the cellar sorting sweet potatoes.”

Mu Mian responded with an “Oh” and then washed Shiyi’s face as the dog trotted over to her. As she rubbed its head, she asked, “Is Big Brother going to visit Aunt and Uncle’s house today?”

After all these years apart, now that they were back, it was only proper to pay them a visit. Plus, Big Brother had brought some specialty goods that needed to be delivered.

Liu Shuangcui smiled. “You sure like to worry about things. Your dad and I have already talked it over. He’ll go to your aunt’s place on his way back tonight and ask her to bring the kids to Yangliu Brigade this Sunday.

“We’ll visit your uncle’s house on Sunday. The things your brother brought can last a week, so there’s no rush.”

As mother and daughter chatted, Mu Zhuo emerged from the cellar carrying a few sweet potatoes and casually asked, “What are you two talking about?”

Mu Mian replied, “About when to visit Aunt and Uncle.”

Mu Zhuo said, “Mom already told me this morning. We’re going on Sunday. As for Second Aunt and Third Aunt, I’ll visit them when I have time.”

While speaking, he scooped water to wash the dirt off the sweet potatoes. Shiyi curiously sniffed at them.

These past two days, the dog had been following Mu Zhuo around, probably confused about why there was suddenly a new person in the house whom it had never seen before.

Mu Zhuo held out a sweet potato. “Want to eat?”

Shiyi didn’t open its mouth, only staring at him with its round dog eyes.

Mu Mian laughed. “Shiyi only eats cooked food.”

Mu Zhuo chuckled. “Picky eater, huh?”

Mu Mian grinned. “Takes after me. I don’t like raw ones either. Did you wash these for breakfast? Isn’t it a bit late to steam them now?”

Mu Zhuo replied, “Grandma said we’ll cook them at noon. There’s already corn steaming in the pot.”

The siblings crouched together, chatting back and forth.

Mu Mian asked, “If it’s for noon, why are you washing them now?”

Such efficiency—no wonder he had spent years in the army.

Mu Zhuo shrugged. “Got nothing else to do, might as well get it done early.”

Mu Mian chuckled. “You’re just like Grandma. Can’t sit still.”

Liu Shuangcui passed by and laughed. “Isn’t the one who can’t sit still in this house actually you? Always so full of energy.”

Mu Mian chuckled, “I’ve got plenty of energy, plenty of energy~”

Mu Zhuo glanced at the bucket in his mother’s hands. “Fetching water?”

Liu Shuangcui nodded. “The pot still needs some time, so I’ll have enough time to get back.”

Mu Zhuo took the bucket from her. “Mom, let me do it.”

Mu Mian grabbed the other two empty buckets. “I’ll go too.”

Liu Shuangcui didn’t argue and handed them over. Smiling at Zhao Meihua, who had just come out of the kitchen, she joked, “It’s like we have two oxen in the house.”

Zhao Meihua chuckled. “That’s a blessing! Oxen are valuable, and other families don’t have them.”

With their “two oxen” at home, fetching water was never a problem.

Each sibling carried two buckets, making two trips, and soon the water tank was full.

After breakfast, Mu Zhuo still didn’t take a break.

The old lady told him to rest properly for a while, but he simply couldn’t sit still. One moment, he was tending to their small plot of land. The next, he was chopping firewood.

He said that traveling by train wasn’t nearly as exhausting as his usual missions and that he had already rested enough yesterday.

Meanwhile, Mu Mian stayed inside for a while, working on her illustrated books—after all, she couldn’t stop making money.

When she came out, she overheard her brother talking about heading to work.

Zhao Meihua said, “If you’re really that idle, why don’t you visit your grandfather’s grave and clear the weeds?”

Mu Zhuo immediately agreed. “I almost forgot! I haven’t gone to pay my respects yet. I’ll go now!”

Zhao Meihua reminded him, “Don’t bring anything else, just take a hoe up the mountain.”

Burning offerings like yellow paper wasn’t allowed these days.

Mu Mian chimed in, “Even if Big Brother wanted to bring something, we don’t have any, right?”

Zhao Meihua didn’t correct her, but she knew that if someone really wanted those items, they could still get them.

Mu Zhuo, of course, understood he couldn’t bring anything. He jogged over to grab a hoe and called out to Mu Mian, “Come on! Let’s go together.”

Mu Mian tilted her round little face up, her eyes darting mischievously. “Alright, since you insist, I’ll reluctantly accompany you.”

Zhao Meihua burst into laughter. “You sure? You slung your basket on faster than your brother. Where’s the reluctance?”

Mu Mian answered instantly, without a moment’s pause. “The reluctance is in my heart! Just because my body is honest doesn’t mean my heart is.”

Mu Zhuo laughed heartily. “Well, thank you for your reluctant company.”

Mu Mian waved her hand. “No need for thanks between siblings!”

Zhao Meihua said, “If you two keep dawdling, it’ll be noon soon.”

Mu Mian glanced at the sky and took the lead in stepping forward. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go right now!”

As she spoke, she also called out to the dog, “Shiyi!”

Shiyi, who had been curled up in its nest sleeping, suddenly sprang up and ran to Mu Mian’s side, wagging its tail.

Mu Zhuo praised, “This dog has really sharp ears.”

The siblings chatted as they walked.

Mu Mian said, “Shiyi’s nose is even sharper. One time, it actually sniffed out wild eggs in a pile of grass. I didn’t even notice them and almost missed them! And remember that time I wrote to you about? That wild pheasant—it was Shiyi who detected it first!”

Mu Mian went on and on about Shiyi’s impressive feats. Many of these stories she had already written to her brother, but neither the storyteller nor the listener ever got tired of them.

After all, when the family is together, they love to bring up the same stories over and over again.

As she spoke, Mu Mian looked at Shiyi running ahead and casually asked, “Brother, does your unit also have dogs?”

Mu Zhuo replied, “Yes, but we usually don’t interact with them. There are specialized trainers for that.”

Mu Mian’s tone was full of admiration. “Military dogs must be really impressive!”

She felt that Shiyi had the potential, but unfortunately, it had ended up with an owner who didn’t really know much about training.

Mu Zhuo reassured her, “Shiyi is not bad either.”

That was the absolute truth. His little sister had often written in her letters about how much the dog had grown, but since he hadn’t seen it in person, he couldn’t really picture it.

Now that he was home, he had to admit—this dog was indeed well taken care of.

Mu Mian instantly felt a little proud. “Of course! Our Shiyi is the best! Even Uncle Xu once asked if I wanted to raise pigs. He said that if I did a good job, he could give me an extra work point every day.”

“But after I told him what Shiyi eats every day, he immediately changed his mind. He said he couldn’t afford to waste that much feed.”

Mu Zhuo laughed. “That makes sense. If you fed the pigs the way you feed Shiyi, you’d never make a profit.”

Mu Mian shrugged. Shiyi was their own dog—of course she was willing to feed it well. Besides, Shiyi could help her catch pheasants and rabbits.

Perhaps understanding that the siblings were talking about it, the dog, which had been trotting ahead, suddenly ran back and stuck close to Mu Mian’s side.

Mu Zhuo glanced down at the dog and seemed to remember something. He casually said, “Old Wen mentioned once that he used to have a black dog.”

Mu Mian asked, “Oh, you mean that good guy, Company Commander Wen?”

That man had been promoted pretty quickly. If she remembered correctly, her brother had mentioned before that he was already a company commander.

Mu Zhuo nodded. “Yeah, but I think that dog got sick and died.”

Mu Mian couldn’t stand hearing things like that. “Ah? I hope our Shiyi lives a long and healthy life!”

Mu Zhuo glanced around before tilting his head slightly toward his sister and lowering his voice. “If it lives too long, wouldn’t it turn into a spirit?”

Mu Mian, for some reason, also lowered her voice. “Do the math, brother. Just calculate it properly!”

Mu Zhuo rubbed his nose. “You tricked me into that one.”

Mu Mian hummed smugly. “Not my fault. It’s just that your brain didn’t keep up.”

Mu Zhuo slung an arm around his little sister’s shoulders. “So you’ve grown up, huh? Now you even think your big brother is slow.”

Mu Mian patted his arm. “No, no, Big Brother is the smartest!”

Mu Zhuo let go of her and said, “Speaking of which, Old Wen’s leave was around the same time as mine. I think he’s supposed to pass through our provincial capital soon.”

Mu Mian turned her head and thought for two seconds before asking, “Didn’t you tell me before that his family is in the capital? Why would he pass through here?”

It was true that they were in the same general direction, but their location was farther from Ningzhang City, meaning he would have to pass the capital first.

Mu Zhuo hesitated for a couple of seconds before lowering his voice again. “I heard Old Dong mention it in passing—apparently, he’s going to visit some farm. I don’t know the details.”

Hearing that, Mu Mian immediately stopped asking.

If he was going to a farm, it probably meant someone he knew had been sent there.