Chapter 4: The Mu Family

"Delicious! Delicious! The medicine from the immortal is truly extraordinary!"

Hong Luan nodded vigorously.

"What nonsense immortal medicine! That crazy Taoist might have done it on purpose. I heard from my own father that it's just a roasted chicken head, enough to make oneself roll their eyes."

But Yang Sanniang was convinced that it was immortal medicine. When her husband mentioned it, she even glared at him and gave him a nudge under the armpit, repeatedly bowing and apologizing, "Immortal sir, please forgive us! Immortal sir, please forgive us!"

Now that the eldest daughter had finally recovered from her illness, they couldn't afford to offend the immortal sir. If he were to bring down punishment, what would they do?

After listening to Mu Da's account of her birth, Mu Hong Luan couldn't help but be moved. "That crazy Taoist's behavior is indeed strange, but it seems that he does have some ability. He even knew about my situation in the underworld. If he really has the ability, I should take the opportunity to ask him to find out where Jing Ge is. It would save me the trouble of searching for him!"

She had vaguely heard some rumors these days. The current emperor, Yan Zhan, was staying in Lin'an Prefecture. The former empress had left behind a prince, and he had married another empress, who had given birth to several princes. She didn't know how old these princes were, and which one was Zhao Jing's reincarnation.

But Mu Da said that the crazy Taoist was in the distant Taixu Temple fifty miles away. Her parents would never let her go alone. With her small stature, how could she make the journey on foot?

In these chaotic times, being abducted and sold as a slave would be unjust. It would be better to stay at home honestly and find a way to go there when she grew up!

While the sisters were talking, Yang Sanniang returned with someone. She entered the village and didn't see their little monkeys running around outside. She was puzzled.

"Second, third, fourth..."

She called out each of their names, but there was no response. She asked a naked child, who laughed and said, "They were caught by your silly elder sister!"

Yang Sanniang was shocked and hurried back home with a bamboo basket and a stick.

The eldest had just recovered from her illness and had been confined to the house for several days. How could she come out today to take care of the little ones?

She pushed open the door and saw their children sitting happily in front of the stove, their small bodies clean and tidy. The eldest was combing the hair of the fourth with a broken comb.

"Ah! Eldest sister... it hurts..."

The fourth shrank back.

"Stop moving!"

Mu Hong Luan slapped the fourth on the back, and she immediately became obedient, gritting her teeth as her elder sister deftly braided her hair.

"Eldest! What are you doing?"

Yang Sanniang came over, and Mu Hong Luan turned around and smiled, "Mother, you're back. The porridge in the pot is ready!"

Yang Sanniang lifted the lid and saw that the clear porridge in the pot was ready. She was overjoyed and hugged the eldest, tears streaming down her face.

"My child, you are finally better!"

Although the eldest could speak and laugh now, Yang Sanniang often saw her sitting in a daze in the house after recovering from her illness. She was worried that her daughter might revert to her previous dull and silly state with a blink of an eye. Now that the eldest could come out of the house, take care of her siblings, and cook, it seemed that she was truly better!

The other children crowded around when they saw their mother hugging their eldest sister and crying. Bao Sheng even squeezed his head between them, kicking his feet and trying to push the eldest sister away. But Mu Hong Luan gave him a slap on the bare bottom and glared at him.

"If you dare to cry, you won't have dinner tonight!"

Although Bao Sheng was young, he knew that having dinner was a top priority. He quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

"Burp..."

He swallowed the breath in his throat and dared not cry!

Yang Sanniang couldn't help but laugh.

"Good! Red Niu'er is indeed formidable!"

Although this little demon was young, he was the only male in the family, and his parents valued him. Therefore, apart from the eldest, he dared to be unruly with his sisters. Now that someone could discipline him, Yang Sanniang praised Mu Hong Luan.

She was not the kind of mother who spoiled her children!

In this poor family, the old man worked hard outside for a living, and the children relied on the eldest to take care of them. When Mu Da was ill, it was good that she was now better and could take care of the family. She could discipline Bao Sheng, which was great. Yang Sanniang was relieved.

She took the children into the house and rummaged through the boxes and cabinets, looking for something.

"Your father won't be back for a while. Let's wait for him!"

She covered the fire on the stove and opened the wooden box in the couple's room.

They had fled from Datong Prefecture to Taiyuan Prefecture, and the few valuable items they had were long gone. The box contained only about a hundred copper coins they had saved, as well as two pieces of slightly worn fabric that Mu Da had received as a reward for doing some temporary work in the city.

Yang Sanniang took out a piece of fabric and compared it to the eldest.

"Our Red Niu'er has grown up and should have some new clothes!"

It is said that boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven. Although families in poverty do not have so many rules, as the children grow up, they still need clothes to cover their bodies. Mu Hongluan lowered her head to look at the fabric on her body. The fine cotton Jinjiang cloth was soft and comfortable, but perhaps it had been stored in the warehouse for too long, as it had faded and turned yellow.

In the past, such fabric would not have been worn even by the lowest maidservant in her courtyard. It would have been used as a kitchen cloth by the cook, as it was absorbent and dried easily.

But now, having such a piece of fabric to make clothes was rare. The younger maidservants in the room looked at the fabric on her with envy.

"Mother, I want one too!"

The fourth maid, being the youngest, immediately started to make a fuss. The second and third maidservants, however, remained silent, biting their lips. Lady Yang, the third mistress, smiled and said, "After making clothes for your older sister, I will alter hers to fit you. How about that?"

The younger maidservants nodded eagerly. Although it was old, having clothes was still a source of joy for them.

Mu Hongluan felt a pang of heartache seeing this. In her previous life, although she was born into a noble family, she never had to worry about food and clothing. Her madam also genuinely cared for her, presenting her with many good things. Even when she was dissatisfied, she would still sulk and throw tantrums.

In this life, in such a poor family, these young girls, despite their tender age, were already very sensible, much more so than she had been in her own childhood.

She immediately said, "Mother, I don't need new clothes. You should make them for my younger sisters!"

Lady Yang smiled and hugged her, "Good child!"

The youngest, Baosheng, didn't care about clothes. He just hated that his older sister was being held by their mother. Seeing this, he cried out and ran over, grabbing Lady Yang's skirt and climbing onto her lap, using his little head to nuzzle against his sister's chest.

Mu Hongluan was so angry that she reached out and pinched his face, "Go away!"

She pulled Baosheng down from their mother's lap. Just as he was about to cry, he saw a tall figure at the door.

"Dad..."

He struggled to say a word and quickly crawled over to his father, grabbing his leg and pointing at Mu Hongluan, complaining.

Mu Da returned home to see his wife and daughters huddled together affectionately. Seeing this, he was overjoyed and bent down to pick up his son, showing off a piece of meat in his hand that was four fingers wide and a foot long.

"Today, Zhang Er from the meat shop didn't have good business, so I got a good deal. This big piece only cost four copper coins. Today, we'll have meat!"

As soon as they heard there was meat to eat, the children immediately crowded around. Mu Hongluan also went over and took the piece of meat from Mu Da's hand. Seeing that the color of the meat was a bit off, she leaned in to smell it and noticed a faint odor. It must have been sitting unsold on the counter for a day.

Mu Da saw his daughter frown and hurriedly said, "This meat has just been sitting for a while, but it's still good to eat!"

After being left outside all day in this weather, the smell was indeed not pleasant. However, if this large piece of meat hadn't gone bad, it was a good deal to get it for just four copper coins!

Lady Yang took the meat from her daughter's hand and said, "It's fine. We'll wash it thoroughly and add more fire when cooking it later!"

After washing a small piece of the meat in the outdoor shed, they cooked it. The remaining large piece was not salted, but was instead rubbed with wood ash from the stove and hung over the fire to smoke. This large piece of meat would last them a long time.

That night, the whole family had a bit of a meaty smell. Mu Da and his wife saw their five children eating eagerly, like a litter of little piglets. Each of them felt full just by having a taste of the meat and a bit of grease on their lips!

The next morning, before dawn, Mu Da took a large piece of flatbread made by Lady Yang and drank some leftover soup from the night before before heading to the city gate to wait.

After seeing him off, Lady Yang quickly ate a few bites and then called out softly to her eldest daughter, "Hong Nuer, Hong Nuer..."

Mu Hongluan opened her eyes and looked at her, "Mother..."

"Yesterday, I agreed with Aunt Liu from the Liu family to go to the South Bixi Village to help in the kitchen..."

Mu Hongluan looked at the weather. It was just past five in the morning. She nodded, "Mother, you should go! I will take care of my younger siblings at home!"

Lady Yang kissed her on the forehead, "Good child. I'll bring some pastries for you when I come back tonight!"

Helping in the kitchen meant being able to bring home leftovers from the guests. The host family also had to provide meals.

Mu Hongluan got out of bed and followed Lady Yang to the door, "Be sure to lock the door carefully!"

Lady Yang reminded her daughter several times. Nowadays, the world was in chaos, and the villages outside the city were inhabited by refugees. There were incidents of theft and mischief every day. With only a few small children at home, if thieves were to break in, losing possessions would be a small matter, but what if the children were taken away!