Chapter 361: Chapter 359 Fengzi’s Gift (Third Update)
"Second daughter-in-law, are you dead? Xiangxiang is throwing a tantrum! Why don’t you persuade her for me, you want to die!"
Unable to scold Mu Qingqing, Old Mrs. Mu vented on Mrs. Lin, not caring that Mrs. Lin was pregnant at the moment.
Mrs. Lin wasn’t even upset about being scolded, because her daughter was so sensible, and was about to be chosen as the weaver.
"Mom, it’s not Qingqing’s fault. It’s the villagers who chose. If you’re unhappy, I’ll have Qingqing step down." Mrs. Lin pretended to be obedient.
Old Mrs. Mu was so angry she almost fainted.
"Oh, Mrs. Lin, you’re quite cruel-hearted. That dead girl is on the stage now. If she steps down, how will the villagers laugh at our Old Mu Family?"
Old Mrs. Mu was angry but not stupid. If Mu Qingqing stepped down now, folks would think she was biased.
"Mom, I didn’t mean that. I’m just doing it for Xiangxiang’s sake!" Mrs. Lin retorted, inwardly cursing Old Mrs. Mu as an old hag.
"For Xiangxiang’s sake, you should learn from the third branch. Look, did Shuang come? Did Yu Si Niang come?
Only your second and fourth branches cause trouble. If it weren’t for you coming, Xiangxiang would have been the weaver by now."
Old Mrs. Mu uncharacteristically praised the third branch, her venomous gaze almost piercing through Mrs. Liu and Mrs. Lin.
Mu Xiaxia was protected behind Mrs. Liu, not daring to peek out at all.
"Mom, that stinky girl..."
"Are you calling her a stinky girl? You better behave, pray that Qing doesn’t get selected, or I’ll skin you!"
Leaving harsh words, Old Mrs. Mu began to comfort Mu Xiangxiang.
Calling her all sorts of endearments, but Mu Xiangxiang was hardly appeased when she threw a fit.
And so, when the weaver was selected, Mu Xiangxiang was still upset.
...
...
On the north side, under Niuwei Mountain, a bright bonfire blazed, Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng were roasting meat around it.
Because they had two bonfires and Mu Shuangshuang had sprinkled realgar powder around, they didn’t worry about snakes coming.
The children gathered around playing games and chatting about fun things, while Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng were busy roasting meat.
Lai Mi resolutely stuck by Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng, eyes fixed on the rabbit meat Mu Shuangshuang was roasting.
The Little Black Dog was dirty, its fur scruffy, stuck with burdock burrs that wouldn’t come off.
"Fengzi, when Lai Mi is a bit older, I want to give it a bath and teach it to guard the house."
Mu Shuangshuang had interacted with police dogs before, understood the basic training, and Lai Mi seemed clever enough to possibly train as a hunting dog.
Currently, it’s summer, and the truly valuable things in the mountains haven’t appeared yet. Once winter comes, those treasures emerge, and she and Fengzi should head into the mountains.
Winter is the best time for hunting, but also the most dangerous; the animals coming out then are generally hungrier.
They’re also more ferocious.
Having a hunting dog would increase their safety.
"Sure, let me know when you’re ready and I’ll give it a bath."
Lu Yuanfeng decided to take on the task of bathing the dog; he had the birthday gift for Shuangshuang in his pocket.
He was hesitating about giving it.
While Mu Shuangshuang was watching the rabbit meat on the grilling rack, occasionally turning the rack, soon the aroma of rabbit filled the air.
Lai Mi looked at the meat on the rack, swallowed, letting out "woof woof" sounds.
Little Black comforted it, preparing to jump up and grab the rabbit meat.
Mu Shuangshuang watched all this.
She couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
What kind of animals did she raise, so capable?
"Little Black, if you’re not afraid of turning your fur into a bald patch, go ahead and grab it. I’ve never eaten roasted mink, after all."
Little Black retracted its paws, making "hissing" sounds, bowing to Mu Shuangshuang, looking adorably at her.
It seemed to want Mu Shuangshuang to deliver it personally.
Unfortunately, Mu Shuangshuang wasn’t that easy to trick.
"If you want rabbit, there are two ways: one is to wait, and the other is to catch it yourself. You better think clearly about your choice."
Mu Shuangshuang looked at Little Black playfully, curiously anticipating how it would choose.
Little Black chose the first option, sitting obediently watching.
At that moment, Lu Yuanfeng couldn’t sit still, taking a silk box from his pocket and handing it to Mu Shuangshuang.
"Birthday gift, if you don’t like it... you can..."
Lu Yuanfeng dared not be rejected, leaving himself an out in his words.
"Anything Fengzi gives, I like without even looking, but don’t buy me such expensive things in the future. If you think it’s my birthday, a flower crown will do."
"How did you know what’s in the box?" Lu Yuanfeng was stunned, just a box, how did Shuangshuang know?
"I guess it’s a bracelet."
The silk box was bright red, with carved patterns outside, just by looking at the silk box, it was clearly not cheap.
Moreover, the box was fairly square, just about bracelet-sized.
Lu Yuanfeng nodded; he indeed bought a bracelet, a jade one, though it wasn’t great quality, it was worth three taels of silver.
Though he knew Shuangshuang didn’t care about the money.
"May I open it?"
"Yes! Certainly." Lu Yuanfeng himself was a bit embarrassed.
When Mu Shuangshuang opened the box, the dark green jade bracelet inside instantly drew her attention.
This piece of jade was more beautiful than any she’d seen in modern times, and holding it, there was a cool feeling.
"Fengzi, this... wasn’t cheap, right?"
Modern jade ranged from a few hundred to thousands; this ancient piece couldn’t have been cheap either.
Lu Yuanfeng shook his head: "It’s not expensive, as long as Shuangshuang likes it."
Such a simple sentence warmed Mu Shuangshuang’s heart, warmer than the bonfire itself.
"You really are... anyway, I’ll keep the gift, we have a long time ahead together."
Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng had long been entangled; scrutinizing these matters would be pretentious now.
She picked up the bracelet, putting it on her hand.
Fortunately, it didn’t slip off her wrist; by the firelight, Mu Shuangshuang examined it closely, liking Lu Yuanfeng’s gift more and more.
She thought that was it, but when Lu Yuanfeng mentioned there was more, Mu Shuangshuang was dumbfounded.
One bracelet was already the biggest gift—was there something else?
Lu Yuanfeng stood up, heading towards his home.
Mu Shuangshuang remained in place, grilling meat, curious about what Lu Yuanfeng was talking about.
(Explanation: Last time’s dumpling needle insertion is a Qixi Festival tradition, not a common knowledge mistake, and won’t result in harm, don’t dwell on that issue.)