Chapter 409: Chapter 409

Mr. Mu’s face was ashen, and his mood grew heavier.

"Dad, why not borrow from the third branch, the third is waiting to buy land today." Mu Dazhong struggled to speak after forcing a smile.

"Yes, our third brother is quite capable. With him around, why worry about money?" Mu Danian’s eyes darted, clearly up to no good.

If a family has one bad apple, it will surely disturb the peace of the whole house!

In the Old Mu Family, where most of the members are troublemakers, the chaos is even worse.

Mr. Mu lit his pipe and puffed contemplatively, pondering whether to approach the third branch for help.

Earlier in the afternoon, he had made a scene that left the third branch in an awkward position. What if the third bore a grudge and refused to lend them money now?

Mr. Mu hesitated, which made Mu Dazhong and Mu Danian uneasy.

"Dad, why are you hesitating? The third is your son, and it’s his duty to be filial to you. Besides, don’t you want him to break free from that little girl’s control?" Mu Dazhong, holding back his discomfort, blurted out his thoughts all at once.

"Dad, my second brother is absolutely right. Our third brother is your child, a member of our Old Mu Family. He has the responsibility to share our family’s difficulties. Besides, can he really avoid relying on our big brother’s success?"

Mr. Mu considered this and realized that if the eldest son succeeded in the future, the benefits would surely extend to the third branch.

There was no way the third branch wouldn’t help him now.

"Alright, I know what to do!" ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽

With Mr. Mu’s declaration, Mu Dazhong and Mu Danian felt assured.

Since their father said so, it meant he would definitely seek out the third branch. With the third branch footing the bill, it had nothing to do with the rest.

At that moment, Mu Shuangshuang had no idea that the Old Mu Family had concocted such a plan. She was secretly pleased with her own cleverness, having left her own house.

Little did she know, the Old Mu Family knew well she was no pushover, and they wouldn’t come looking for her.

Mu Shuangshuang wore a happy expression, evidently in high spirits.

July was certainly not the season for hunting. Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng scoured the mountains without even finding a single wild chicken. What they did find were common wild vegetables and mushrooms.

If this continued, tonight’s dishes would surely be nothing special.

"Shuangshuang, shall we go to the cotton fields to see if there are any quail nests? In this season, there should be quite a few good things in the cotton fields."

Lu Yuanfeng knew much more than Mu Shuangshuang, knowing where to find food in each season.

With time still on their side, the two picked some wild vegetables and descended the mountain.

They headed towards the cotton fields.

The cotton was already at the stage of bearing large bolls. It wouldn’t be long before there’d be cotton to gather. When that time came, the Old Mu Family would be swamped with work.

Mu Shuangshuang was thankful that they didn’t allocate any cotton fields to the third branch this season. Although she’d still have to sell the cotton herself, it was better than working for the Old Mu Family.

Mu Shuangshuang followed Lu Yuanfeng into the cotton fields. He quickly glanced over the well-kept, weed-free fields, but paid special attention to the ones that seemed neglected.

After much effort, they found a patch with lots of weeds, and discovered a nest of gooseberries.

"This is Aunt Zhang’s field!" Lu Yuanfeng said.

Mu Shuangshuang thought for a moment; wasn’t this Lu Yuanfeng’s neighbor who once stole his meat?

Her son, Ma Houhou, was stung by hornets thanks to her, and still couldn’t go out.

"Haha, Fengzi, I think..." Mu Shuangshuang blinked, and Lu Yuanfeng immediately understood, nodding.

"We should come back at night though. In broad daylight, getting caught would surely cause trouble!"

"Hmm!" Mu Shuangshuang nodded in satisfaction.

Lu Yuanfeng headed forward solo and indeed caught a quail and found a nest of quail eggs.

It seemed that foolish people sometimes stumbled upon good luck.

Mu Shuangshuang carried the eggs, and Lu Yuanfeng held onto the quail as they returned home.

Mr. Mu arrived at Mu Dashan’s house just as Mu Shuangshuang’s family finished preparing dinner: braised quail and quail egg soup. Just these two dishes alone were more than enough to outshine the Old Mu Family’s meals for the past six months.

Upon seeing Mr. Mu, Mu Dashan excitedly stood up, needing Yu Si Niang to help stabilize him so he wouldn’t fall.

"Dad, what brings you here? You haven’t eaten yet, have you? We just started. Please join us." Mu Dashan steadied himself and said.

Mr. Mu originally intended to decline, but seeing the lavish spread, he found himself unable to move his feet. He glanced at the smartest person in the third branch, Mu Shuangshuang, to see if she would show any reluctance.