Little Black entered the house, and naturally, Little Black Dog and Little Black Mink wouldn’t stay in the yard.

The three little ones entered Mu Shuangshuang’s room one after another. Mu Shuangshuang, not entirely at ease, shouted, "You can stay in my room, but you’re not allowed to mess up my things, or none of you will have anything good to eat at noon!"

Inside the house, came a few "woof woof" dog barks.

Carrying a bamboo basket, Mu Shuangshuang entered the cooking room to start preparing lunch.

She had been out for quite a while, and the mung beans had soaked enough. Mu Shuangshuang scooped them out of the wooden bucket and rubbed off their skins with her hands.

This is a meticulous task, taking Mu Shuangshuang about the time of three tea breaks.

Only the peeled mung bean flesh is the material used for grinding cold noodles.

Mu Shuangshuang washed the stone mill clean and began to pour the beans into the mill. Initially, to gather money to open a restaurant, Mu Shuangshuang sold the recipe for cold noodles to Xue Yi.

Now, the cold noodles could only privately appear on her family’s dining table.

Fortunately, the method for making cold noodles and cold skins hasn’t been given away yet.

At the moment, the weather is quite hot; no one likes steaming hot dishes, so the restaurant should provide some cooling and refreshing items.

Thinking as she walked, Mu Shuangshuang pushed the wooden axis of the stone mill.

Round after round, her face was covered in sweat, and her clothes were unknowingly soaked through.

But it wasn’t as strenuous as the first time she pushed the stone mill.

Without taking a break, Mu Shuangshuang finished grinding the mung beans, found a sieve, and filtered out the excess, leaving behind only the starchy milk for making cold noodles.

There were a few more steps left, and Mu Shuangshuang was quite adept at completing them.

The ground mung bean starch was hung by Mu Shuangshuang with an iron hook on the beam to dry before being made into cold noodles.

The cold noodles didn’t need attention for the time being, so Mu Shuangshuang took out everything from the bamboo basket.

Wild vegetables and fresh mushrooms, along with a small amount of wood ear fungus.

The wood ear fungus was placed in a sieve by Mu Shuangshuang and taken outside to dry.

Returning to the cooking room, Mu Shuangshuang sorted out all the wild vegetables to be eaten and set them aside.

She took some fresh mushrooms out to wash, planning to make a mushroom fish fillet soup for lunch.

The fish caught by Lu Yuanfeng, one was eaten in the morning, and the remaining one was kept by Yu Si Niang in a large vat. Mu Shuangshuang retrieved the fish from the vat.

She scaled it, sliced it, and from the fish fillet, took some out and minced them finely.

Previously, only Little Black ate raw food, but with an additional Little Black Mink now, more needs to be prepared than usual.

From the third branch’s cooking room came the sound of chopping vegetables, echoing far.

Anyone familiar with the third branch would know they were about to make something delicious again.

...

Mu Dalang went confidently to Mu Dade to ask for money for ten pounds of pork.

He originally thought it would be an easy task, but it turned out to be quite frustrating.

Mu Dade, without the slightest hesitation, told Mu Dalang, who came to demand the debt, "Dalang, it’s not that your uncle doesn’t recognize the money for ten pounds of pork you mentioned. It’s just that your grandpa never mentioned it, so I don’t know if there’s any misunderstanding here!"

Mu Dade had a smile on his face, looking amicable.

But no matter how Mu Dalang saw it, he found it irritating.

"Uncle, what do you think? Do you think I’m lying on purpose? Just for this ten pounds of pork?" Mu Dalang stared at Mu Dade, asking with an unfriendly tone.

Mu Dade maintained his smiling appearance.

"Nephew Dalang, listen to what you’re saying. Is your uncle that kind of person? I’m only saying, let your grandpa say it personally when he wakes up, and if that’s really the case, I’ll give you the money for ten pounds of pork immediately!"

"Spare me your words. You think I don’t know what you’ve been up to?"

Mu Dalang, having split from the family, didn’t expect Mu Dade to ensure his well-being, so he didn’t bother considering Mu Dade’s feelings while speaking.

Mu Dade’s expression turned somewhat unpleasant immediately.

He indeed didn’t want to pay the 150 wen for the pork.

Mu Dalang was from the second branch, and Mu Dade found him annoying; how could he possibly give them money?

Besides, Mrs. Lin was someone who intended to steal their gold bracelet!

"Dalang, what did I do? What do you know? I don’t know who’s been gossiping behind my back, and I don’t want to take the blame.

Anyway, I’ve made myself very clear. My wife and I made a mistake, thinking the bracelet was real. But no matter what, your mother and fifth uncle are caught stealing from us."

Mu Dade revealed his inner thoughts to Mu Dalang.

Mu Dalang, frustrated for a while, finally said after a long pause, "Are you really not going to give me the 150 wen?"

"It’s not that I’m not giving it, but let your grandpa say it!" Mu Dade corrected Mu Dalang impatiently.

"Hmph, what’s owed to me won’t just vanish; I’ll wait for grandpa to wake up and then come to you!"

Mu Dalang stormed out of Mu Dade’s room and walked toward the direction of the Old Mu Family’s house.

Entering the house, he headed straight for Mr. Mu’s room. All the words he had prepared vanished the moment he saw Mr. Mu lying on the kang (a traditional heated bed).

Mr. Mu was already awake, lying on the kang, taking his time to get up as per Zhang Huai Shu’s advice.

He hadn’t gone to ask Mu Dade for a solution yet.

Seeing Mu Dalang, he became a bit emotional.

However, Old Mrs. Mu quickly pushed Mu Dalang out.

"Your grandpa’s not fully recovered yet; no visitors for now!"

Mu Dalang called out from outside, "Grandpa, take care of your health. I’ll come to see you when you’re better!"

Mr. Mu, feeling a bit emotional, was about to get up when Old Mrs. Mu stopped him.

"Old man, do you want to risk your life? Have you forgotten what Old Zhang said? These days, you should stay put on the bed and wait until you’re better!" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Besides speaking with a firm tone, Old Mrs. Mu was otherwise quite humble.

Probably because she feared Mr. Mu would fall ill again.

Mr. Mu sighed, closed his eyes, and continued to rest.

Mu Dalang stood outside for a while, thinking about his mother at home, who was also sick, so he went to see Mrs. Lin.

Mrs. Lin lay on the kang, with no one taking care of her.

Gou Dan had disappeared early in the morning, and Mu Qingqing went to town every day at dawn to accompany Mrs. Liu.

The Old Mu Family had so many issues that everyone only knew that Mu Qingqing seldom appeared. Still, unknowingly, she had made quite a name for herself in town.

In the hot weather, Mrs. Lin felt lazy, lying on the kang with a parched throat, reluctant to get up and get a cup of water for herself.

She kept calling the names of Mu Qingqing and Gou Dan, asking them to get her some water.

The door creaked open, and Mrs. Lin opened her mouth immediately: "Mu Qingqing, is that you, you brat? Hurry up and get your mother a cup of cold water; I’m dying of thirst here!"

Mu Dalang, who had just stepped into the room, paused for a moment, then quickly entered.