From Folly to Fortune：I Rewrite My Life After Rebirth!-Chapter 1004 - 1000: Got Screwed Over (First Update)
When Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng arrived, Mu Dalang had only turned over a small part of the land.
There was still a large piece of wasteland waiting to be cultivated.
But there was no other way; the pigsty had to be built on this garden plot.
"Brother..." Mu Shuangshuang called out Mu Dalang’s name.
Mu Dalang quickly put down his work. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking at the two in astonishment and said, "Shuangshuang, Yuan Feng, why are you here?"
At this moment, it was the peak time for the construction of the pigsty, and Mu Dalang never expected Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng to come.
Nor did he expect that they would roll up their sleeves and jump right into the garden to start working.
Lu Yuanfeng grabbed a hoe, while Mu Shuangshuang took a sickle to cut the grass, with Lu Yuanfeng digging the soil behind her.
The two got into the swing of things as soon as they arrived, not showing a hint of hesitation.
Mu Dalang felt a bit guilty.
"You two should rest. It’s enough that I’m here," he said.
"No worries, brother, the three of us together are strong. If we work hard, we can wrap up early today and start building the pigsty sooner,"
Mu Shuangshuang said with a joyful face, without a hint of unwillingness, making Mu Dalang feel warm inside.
His third uncle’s family and Yuan Feng were always good to him, willing to help with any work.
In contrast, those from Old Mu Family, including his mother, knew he was coming to clear the land but showed no intent to help. Early in the morning, they even stood outside his bedroom door, saying all sorts of things to upset him.
"By the way, brother, when is Sister-in-law Bita coming out with you? The house of Old Liu seems good enough to live in without any repairs,"
Mu Shuangshuang said while working without stopping.
She moved quickly, stacking the chopped grass neatly aside. This grass was for Old Master Wang in the village to feed his cattle and horses.
The third branch mostly borrowed cattle and horses from the Old Wang Family. Old Wang never accepted money from Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng, so they could only do what they could, like preparing some cattle grass or horse grass.
When Huang Bita was mentioned, a flash of sadness crossed Mu Dalang’s face.
"Shuangshuang, Bita can’t come... Grandpa and Grandma won’t allow it." Mu Dalang hesitated, lowering his voice.
"What? What happened?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.
"Grandma told me I need to pay nine Silver Taels a year to let Bita come with me. I... I don’t have that much money."
When Mu Dalang talked about this, his voice changed, clearly showing his deep self-blame.
"Brother, what did you say to Grandma and Grandpa to get out here?" Mu Shuangshuang asked.
"I told them you would give me three Silver Taels a year and that I would give them the money from castrating pigs and breeding, and they also want me to provide pork for the holidays..."
Mu Dalang was quite reluctant to talk about this matter. As a grown man, being so controlled by his family was quite embarrassing to say out loud.
However, if he mentioned splitting from the family now, his grandparents would certainly disagree and might even make him divorce Bita.
Mu Shuangshuang realized that Mu Dalang was also tricked.
Old Mu Family was too stingy to buy pork for holidays; Old Mrs. Mu only bought pork to please Mu Xiangxiang and Mu Dade, leaving others without even a chance to drink the soup.
She calculated that with all the miscellaneous expenses, Mu Dalang had to pay at least five Silver Taels a year to Old Mu Family, not even eating there.
She paid Luo Bai five Silver Taels a year as well, but Luo Bai was different; he put a lot of effort into teaching and deserved the money.
Mu Shuangshuang’s mention made Mu Dalang immediately realize that the price he paid to get out was too high, and he hadn’t even managed to bring Huang Bita out.
"Shuangshuang, what are we going to do? I spent the money, and Bita isn’t out; she..." Mu Dalang was anxious, itching to run back immediately.
But the words were already spoken from his own mouth, and there was no way his grandparents would allow him to take them back.
Mu Shuangshuang also found this issue hard to solve.
Said words were like spilled water; Old Mu Family was certainly eagerly awaiting Mu Dalang’s five Silver Taels now.
If they refused to pay, Old Mrs. Mu would indeed be difficult to deal with.
Moreover, handing over so much money to Old Mu Family was not easy for Mu Dalang.
Even Mu Shuangshuang, an outsider, felt the pain of wasting money, especially when such a high price hadn’t even brought Huang Bita out.
"Shuangshuang, how about letting the brother tell your grandparents that the pigsty doesn’t need someone watching over it, that you hired another person, and those Silver Taels should be split," Lu Yuanfeng suggested.
This was the only solution to solve the problem, although it was not fundamental, it could at least recover some losses.
"But this isn’t the best solution," Lu Yuanfeng added.
Mu Shuangshuang frowned, thinking for a moment, and then took over the conversation from Lu Yuanfeng: "Might as well go all the way, Brother, tell Grandma and Grandpa you don’t need to be here for the pigsty!"
"Ah!" Mu Dalang was stunned by Mu Shuangshuang’s words.
He didn’t understand what Shuangshuang meant.
"I mean, we shouldn’t be led by the nose by Grandma and Grandpa. Five Silver Taels a year is something you can afford, but you shouldn’t just hand it over for nothing."
Mu Shuangshuang was sharp with her Silver, using it on things that needed it and people who deserved it, not letting it benefit ungrateful wolves.
Moreover, the person who really needed to come out to work from Old Mu Family wasn’t Mu Dalang, but Huang Bita.
"Find a time to tell Grandma and Grandpa that you plan to handle the pigsty yourself and feed the pigs yourself, which means all those benefits are gone. No more pork, no more money."
Mu Shuangshuang knew that this move would surely upset the people from Old Mu Family.
But this was the only way to recover the loss.
"What if Grandma doesn’t agree to let me come in the future?" Mu Dalang asked.
"She won’t. Old Mu Family is now an empty shell. Grandpa and Grandma need money. When they come to me, I will take the opportunity to lower the price."
"If we can get Sister-in-law Bita out, the money would be worth spending."
Mu Shuangshuang discussed the details with Mu Dalang, mainly suggesting that he not show too much concern for this issue.
The less he cared, the less Old Mu Family would place hope on him.
Nobody wanted to be a sheep that provided wool and was not treated well.
"Okay, I’ll listen to you and wait and see. But what if Grandpa and Grandma don’t let me do this work anymore?" Mu Dalang was a bit worried.
It’s the spring planting season, and if he doesn’t do this work, he will have to go to Old Mu Family’s side for the spring planting.
This situation is indeed difficult, as one task after another leaves him with no time to handle the pigsty work.
