Chapter 50: Remembering the Past (Part 2)

In truth, she couldn’t have handled the wild boar situation alone. Neither her sister nor her mother would have been able to either. Besides, she had no way to explain how she even knew about it.

All she had done was provide some information and lead the way, yet she still ended up with thirty-five yuan and five pounds of meat.

That was already a lot. A temporary worker at the commune only earned about seventeen or eighteen yuan a month.

This amount was equivalent to two months’ wages.

If she hadn’t gone to Mu Mian, she wouldn’t have gotten those five pounds of meat or thirty-five yuan.

That wild boar would only come down to root around in the cornfields, then it would be hunted down by the brigade leader and his men. By then, if her family could get even five taels, it would already be pretty good. She remembered that in her past life, she had only gotten one tael.

Just as Shi Xiaolian was thinking about this, she heard Mu Mian chuckle, “Actually, I was originally thinking of a 70-30 split, but you insisted on 80-20.”

Mu Mian nudged Shi Xiaolian with her elbow, “You were so polite back then, so of course, I wasn’t going to be polite either!”

Shi Xiaolian: “………………”

She knew it. The only thing about this person that looked innocent was her face.

Shi Xiaolian gave Mu Mian a familiar deadpan stare.

Mu Mian completely ignored the look and spoke as if she were very experienced, “Take notes. Next time someone dares to call for a 90-10 split, just shout 10-90 back. You can’t lose in terms of momentum!”

Shi Xiaolian sneered, “Got it.”

Mu Mian was pleased, “Good to hear!”

Shi Xiaolian didn’t say anything else. Now that they were done talking, it was time for her to head home.

It was getting late anyway.

Mu Mian suddenly remembered her little matchmaking mission. She turned around and saw her eldest brother and Sister Sihui walking over, each carrying a bundle of firewood.

From the looks of it, the two seemed to be getting along quite well.

Mu Mian was delighted. Unlike Shi Xiaolian, who found fault with almost everyone, she genuinely hoped her brother would find someone he was compatible with.

Shi Xiaolian glanced over and noticed how much things had changed from her past life.

Back then, one of them had died, and the other had struggled for over a decade.

This was much better.

Shi Xiaolian withdrew her gaze and said to Mu Mian, “I won’t walk with you all. I’ll head back first.”

Mu Mian nodded, then suddenly thought of something. “Where’s Lele? Why isn’t she back yet?”

Shi Xiaolian guessed, “Probably got carried away running around.”

Just as they finished speaking, a figure appeared behind Mu Zhuo and Nie Sihui, along with a dog. It was unclear where they had come from.

Before Xu Lele even reached them, her voice rang out, “Sister Mianmian! Hahaha… I found it!”

Compared to Lele, Shiyi was much faster. It dashed forward like a gust of wind.

Mu Mian patted its head. Apparently, Lele wasn’t the only one who had run wild today—Shiyi had been just as energetic.

A moment later, Xu Lele caught up, carrying a fat wild chicken.

Mu Zhuo let out a whistle, “That’s one plump chicken!”

Xu Lele grinned from ear to ear. “Shiyi spotted it first! The nest was super well-hidden—I didn’t even see it. But when Shiyi chased it, the chicken panicked and ran straight towards me. I caught it in one go!”

The little girl had twigs and leaves stuck in her hair, making it clear that she had been through quite the scuffle.

There was even a small scratch on her forehead, though it wasn’t serious. It was hard to tell whether a branch had scratched her or the chicken had.

Mu Mian smoothed her hair and praised, “Nice work!”

They chatted as they walked down the mountain.

Xu Lele happily lifted the fat chicken. “Sister Mianmian, I’ll split it with you!”

Mu Mian laughed, “Why would you share it with me? I didn’t even help. Just give Shiyi some bones, and that’s enough.”

Mu Zhuo looked at their dog with curiosity. “I still don’t know if its eyesight is sharp or if its nose is just that good.”

Nie Sihui smiled, “Probably both. Xiao Mian takes good care of it. Shiyi’s coat is much shinier than any other dog I’ve seen before.”

Shi Xiaolian, who was about to leave earlier, didn’t join the conversation. She quietly glanced at Shiyi.

That might be true, but she figured the real reason was probably just pure luck.

Old Tang’s dog wasn’t nearly as impressive, even though he had more experience in this regard.

She had noticed several times that while Shiyi seemed to be chasing birds, it would somehow end up pouncing directly onto a wild pheasant’s nest. And coincidentally, the bird would still be sitting inside.

It could only be said that different people raised different kinds of dogs. Some people were just lucky—even their dogs had exceptional luck.

With this thought in mind, Shi Xiaolian couldn’t help but look forward to the recruitment day.

Mu Mian was also quite excited, but she hadn’t forgotten the main task at hand.

She walked arm in arm with Nie Sihui, chatting with one person here and another there, creating a perfect cover.

As a little matchmaker, she was truly doing her job with dedication.

Shi Xiaolian’s house was in a different direction, so once they reached the foot of the mountain, she headed the other way.

Nie Sihui carried her small bundle of firewood and the handful of wild vegetables she had gathered and returned to the educated youth dormitory.

Today, it was Jian Mulan’s turn to cook. When Nie Sihui arrived, Jian Mulan had just finished cutting the winter melon.

Nie Sihui placed the firewood by the stove. Jian Mulan glanced at her basket and let out a surprised “Oh” before asking, “Didn’t you go foraging for wild vegetables? Have all the nearby ones been picked clean?”

Nie Sihui neither nodded nor shook her head, simply replying, “This much is just right. No need to save any for tomorrow morning. I can cook it quickly.”

Jian Mulan chuckled, “Adding an extra dish works too.”

Then she laughed again and said, “You really don’t mind the exhaustion, huh? After working all day, you still had the energy to climb the mountain with the girls.”

Hearing this, Nie Sihui’s first thought was of that strong figure. She suddenly felt a bit flustered and stammered, “It’s… it’s fine.”

She truly didn’t find it tiring. After all, they hadn’t walked too far up the mountain. They had just circled around the same spot.

—

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Mu Mian and the others naturally weren’t tired either. Even after running all over the mountain, the energetic dog was still full of life.

Then, just as they reached the house, Mu Mian watched in astonishment as the dog trotted off behind Lele.

To be precise, it was following the chicken inside Lele’s bag, not even sparing a glance at its owner.

What a realistic little traitor. It only cared about meat.

What happened to the saying that dogs never abandon their poor owners? Why was her dog different? It was a bit too good at adapting to circumstances.

Mu Mian immediately showed her disdain for the dog.

Her expression was so amusing that Mu Zhuo, who had witnessed everything, burst into laughter.

Liu Shuangcui was busy in the courtyard when she heard the laughter and glanced over. “What’s so funny?”

Then she noticed the dog following Lele and asked, “Why did Shiyi go with Lele?”

Mu Mian wasted no time reporting the dog’s betrayal. “Lele caught a wild pheasant, and Shiyi abandoned me for it.”

Liu Shuangcui scolded, “Little girl, what’s with all this ‘mother’ talk?”

Mu Fugui joined in, adding, “Your brother is laughing like he just found a pile of money. I thought he had finally gotten together with that Nie girl.”

Liu Shuangcui immediately followed up, “How’s it going?”

Mu Zhuo grinned. “There’s hope!”

Mu Fugui was intrigued. “What did you two talk about?”

Mu Mian had plenty to say about that. “I heard them talking about me, chattering back and forth.”

Mu Fugui asked, “Talking about you? What did they say?”

Mu Mian beamed. “Of course, they were praising me for being smart, adorable, clever, and capable.”

That wasn’t a lie—at least in Sister Sihui’s eyes, she was exactly that.

Mu Fugui ruffled his daughter’s hair. “Well, they’re not wrong.”

Then he turned to Mu Zhuo and said, “So, was that all? Didn’t you pick some wildflowers or something for her?”

Mu Zhuo didn’t have much faith in his father’s so-called romantic advice and chose to ignore that part. He only replied, “We also talked about things going on in the military family compound.”

Liu Shuangcui shot her husband a glare and told Mu Zhuo, “Don’t listen to your father. You’re not even together yet. What’s the point of picking flowers?”

Mu Fugui refused to back down. “So what? Once they’re together, it’s fine to pick flowers, right? When I gave you flowers back then, you smiled like a blooming flower yourself.”

Liu Shuangcui huffed, “I was just being polite and giving you some face. That flower of yours was all wilted, like it had been hit by frost.”

Mu Fugui defended himself, “It was summer! Where would the frost come from? I had to hide the flower inside my clothes while I walked to find you so that no one would see. That’s why it got crushed a bit.”

Liu Shuangcui suddenly realized something. “Oh, so that’s why I smelled sweat back then. And the flower stem was damp! You told me you had just washed your hands at the river, but it was actually your sweat, wasn’t it?”

Mu Fugui scratched his head with an awkward grin. “Heh, I was just afraid you’d dislike it.”

Liu Shuangcui immediately pulled a disgusted face. “Well, now I dislike it.”

The couple bantered back and forth.

Mu Mian and Mu Zhuo stood side by side, watching the show. Meanwhile, their grandmother stayed in the kitchen, not even poking her head out.

She was probably already used to her eldest son’s antics.

Mu Mian smacked her lips. So it turned out Liu Shuangcui had sugarcoated the story she had told before.

She could only say that her father was truly something else—romantic in a completely absurd way.