Chapter 1712 - 1707: Just Like a Deadbeat

"Today and tomorrow, we’ll rest at home, and the day after tomorrow we’ll go to the county. We’ll have one day left to gather information!" Mu Shuangshuang said.

"I’ll head to the town’s restaurant tomorrow and have that young man come over the day after!"

"Then I’ll trouble you with that, Shuangshuang!"

The four chatted for a while longer, and then Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng left Mu Dalang’s house.

Back home, Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng took their bows and arrows and went for a stroll in the mountains.

It was spring, and there were many wild pheasants and rabbits in the forest.

After walking in the mountains for about an hour, they came back down with seven or eight pheasants in hand.

They also caught five or six rabbits.

This time, the harvest wasn’t exceedingly abundant, but there were gifts for each family.

For the Sun family, Mu Shuangshuang took a pheasant, and as for Zhao Yun and Zhao Gouzi’s households, each got a rabbit.

Later, when Mu Dalang comes to her house, there’ll be a rabbit and a pheasant for him.

Even before bringing the prey home, Mu Shuangshuang had already allocated everything.

Lu Yuanfeng, standing by the side, couldn’t stop giggling.

He even envisioned how meticulous Shuangshuang would be as his future wife.

On the other side, knowing that Mu Shuangshuang and Mu Dalang’s family were coming to her place for dinner, Granny Sun started cooking early.

The crispy rice from a rural family’s kitchen, once cooked, still needs to sit for a while, resulting in a sweet crust more delicious than any snack.

Granny Sun busied herself in the kitchen.

She was stoking the fire, cooking rice, and preparing vegetables.

Mu Zhenzhen, taking advantage of her pregnancy, occupied Granny Sun and Old Mr. Sun’s room, not to mention avoiding all household chores whenever possible.

As a result, it wasn’t long before Granny Sun was sweating profusely.

Just then, Sun Dali came in from outside, deeply concerned when he saw his mother.

"Mom, you go rest. I’ll take care of the remaining work!" Sun Dali said.

"Go away, what are you saying? Cooking is a woman’s job! Haven’t you heard? Men doing women’s work only makes them poorer!" Granny Sun firmly refused to let Sun Dali work.

"Mom, don’t say that! Remember when I married Mu Xiangxiang, I did all kinds of chores, washing clothes, cooking, and nothing happened!"

Sun Dali clearly didn’t agree with Granny Sun’s words.

"You said it yourself, ever since you married that jinx, when has our family ever been peaceful? Only when you divorced her there was some peace!" Granny Sun disagreed.

"Mom... if you say that, Mu Zhenzhen isn’t peaceful either. I just came out of the room, and she’s still lying in bed!" Sun Dali said.

"That’s different, Zhenzhen has my eldest grandson in her belly. I want her to rest! If she rests, my eldest grandson rests!" Granny Sun said proudly.

The only thing Granny Sun cared about was this unborn eldest grandson.

This was the Sun family’s first child.

In the future, the Sun family would have more and more children.

How could she not be happy?

"Alright, alright, alright! You’re right about everything! Mu Zhenzhen needs rest, she needs nutrition, but you’re my mother and I can’t let you work alone!" Sun Dali said.

Just as he finished speaking, there was a commotion outside the courtyard.

The Mu Shuangshuang family arrived, and so did the Mu Dalang family.

Everyone was there for the meal.

Hearing someone calling him from outside, Sun Dali said, "Mom, I’ll go take a look, wait for me!"

Sun Dali rushed out and found about ten people at the gate.

All were relatives, and he quickly invited them in.

"Dali, is Auntie busy in the kitchen?" Yu Si Niang asked.

"Yes!"

"Then let’s go help!" Yu Si Niang said.

Mu Dashan handed a pheasant to Sun Dali, and Mu Dalang also gave Sun Dali some meat he had brought from home.

"What are you all doing? Just coming is enough, why bring things?" Sun Dali refused to accept the gifts.

"Take it, we brought them out, we can’t take them back with us, right?" Mu Dashan said.

"Exactly, second brother-in-law, take the stuff. We men will enjoy a good drink tonight and have some heart-to-heart conversations!"

"Alright!"

Sun Dali reluctantly nodded.

Carrying the pheasant and meat, he followed Yu Si Niang and Huang Bita into the kitchen.

Mu Shuangshuang joined the men for a chat, accompanied by three little kids around her.

They burst into hearty laughter from time to time.

Old Mr. Sun hadn’t been well recently and was bedridden, but when Mu Shuangshuang and her family arrived, he mustered the energy to come out.

After chatting for a while, he went back inside.

In the kitchen, after Yu Si Niang and Huang Bita went in, Granny Sun didn’t have any work left to do.

One was cooking, the other preparing and washing vegetables, and tending the fire.

"You’ve taken over all the work, haven’t you? Now I’m just idle?" Granny Sun said helplessly.

"Auntie, you just rest here, we’ve got everything covered!" Yu Si Niang said with a cheerful smile.

Huang Bita also chimed in, "Listen to my fourth aunt, Aunt Sun! The two of us are more than enough in the kitchen!"

Granny Sun couldn’t argue with the two of them, so she could only rest to the side.

In no time, smoke started rising from the roof.

The iron pot began to sizzle with food.

Earlier, Granny Sun had already butchered a chicken, planning to make a pot of chicken soup in the evening, both to feed everyone and to provide nourishment for Mu Zhenzhen’s pregnancy.

"Auntie, should we follow your plan for the evening and not make any other dishes?" Yu Si Niang asked.

"We can make something else! With the meat you just brought, we can make some meatballs, the men love that!" Granny Sun said.

"Alright, I’ll take care of that!" Yu Si Niang said.

The kitchen was filled with a delightful aroma.

In the main room, everyone was chatting animatedly.

They listened to Fengzi talk about his experiences in the Northwest, and Mu Shuangshuang shared amusing stories from the county.

Then there were tales from the Old Mu Family.

As long as it wasn’t something from the town, everyone listened with great interest.

After a while, Granny Sun came out.

"It’s about time, everyone head to the dining room, the food is ready!" Granny Sun said.

"That was so quick, we haven’t even been chatting that long!" Mu Dashan said in surprise.

"Of course, with Si Niang and Bita working, how could it not be fast? Don’t delay, let’s enjoy the hot food, and tonight there’s crispy rice too!" Granny Sun said.

"Then let’s all go eat!"

Granny Sun pulled Sun Dali aside and said, "You go call Zhenzhen, these are all relatives, and with so much good food, she can’t miss out!"

Sun Dali’s expression changed slightly, but he still respectfully replied, "Okay!"

Returning to his room, Sun Dali spoke to Mu Zhenzhen, who was lying in bed like a salted fish, "Zhenzhen, it’s time to eat!"

Mu Zhenzhen didn’t move.

Sun Dali called out again, "Zhenzhen, third brother and sister-in-law are here, Dalang is here too, and Shuangshuang and the others are all here!"

Mu Zhenzhen suddenly sat up in bed.

"What are they doing here? Make them leave!"