Travel to the mountains and make a fortune in silence

The two walked into the courtyard and saw Wang Qing'er, and immediately called out "Sister-in-law!"

This made Wang Qing'er embarrassed, her face turning slightly red. "Could these two be the legendary Sheniu?"

Mu Xiao held up a pheasant and showed it off to Mu Nan, "Brother, isn't your little brother amazing? I hit it with a slingshot and then pounced on it to catch it."

Mu Nan smiled and took the farm tools from his hands, praising, "You're the most capable in the Mu family, alright?"

Mu Xiao is fifteen years old this year, which is the age for marriage. If it weren't for Mu Nan, Wang Qing'er might be his wife.

Mu Lin is only eight years old and studies at the village's private school. Today is his day off, so he went to help in the fields with his second brother and father.

Mu Nan actually had a younger brother who died of illness when he was young. If he were alive, he would be twenty years old now.

People married young in ancient times, so Old Man Mu and Wang Cuiying were both under forty years old, in their prime.

Mu Nan then introduced her father and two younger brothers to Wang Qing'er, and the group greeted each other.

Just then, Wang Cuiying called from inside the house, "Dinner's ready."

Mu Xiao took the pheasant to his grandmother, mother, sister, and niece and showed it off again. Wang Cuiying was very happy to see that her second son had caught a pheasant.

The family brought the food to the table and invited Wang Qing'er to sit down and eat.

Wang Qing'er looked at the dishes on the table: a large bowl of green vegetables and a large bowl of bamboo shoots with a few pieces of cured meat, a bowl of pickled vegetables, a basin of sweet potatoes, and a bowl of brown rice porridge in front of each person.

The children's eyes lit up when they saw the meat inside the bamboo shoots, and they stared at it intently, but none of them picked it up.

Seeing that Wang Qing'er kept picking at the pickled vegetables, Mu Nan put some green vegetables and bamboo shoots into her bowl, and also gave her two pieces of meat.

Zhou also put a piece of meat on each of the children's plates.

Wang Qing'er didn't say anything, just kept her head down and drank the porridge in her bowl. She thought the pickled vegetables were tastier than the green vegetables and bamboo shoots.

The person who makes the pickled vegetables is quite skilled; they taste crisp, refreshing, and go well with rice. The greens and bamboo shoots don't have much oil in them.

Although there are a few pieces of meat inside the bamboo shoots, they are just meat without any oil or fat.

Wang Qing'er also didn't like the taste of brown rice porridge; it was a bit too sweet and always seemed to have a strange smell.

However, unable to bear the hunger, he had no choice but to eat the whole bowl of porridge with some pickled vegetables.

This family has a nice house, but in terms of food, they are indeed very poor.

What she didn't know was that tonight's dinner was the best the Mu family could afford; normally, they would have to sell vegetables and bamboo shoots on the street to make money.

We only eat the leftover, less appealing vegetables; we usually eat wild vegetables that we dig up from the mountains and fields.

We hadn't eaten meat for several months, but tonight, with our new sister-in-law joining us, each of the kids got to eat a piece of meat. Also, the brown rice porridge tonight was much thicker.

After the family finished eating, Wang Qing'er was about to get up to clear the dishes when Wang Cuiying stopped her, saying, "Qing'er, you've walked so far today, don't move, I'll do it."

After saying that, he called to his son, "Mu Nan, quickly take your wife back to the room to rest." The couple returned to the room, and Mu Nan lit the oil lamp he had made himself.

The two sat there awkwardly for a long time before Mu Nan suddenly stood up and said, "Let me show you where you wash up."

"okay."

Mu Nan took the candlestick and led Wang Qing'er to the back of the room, where there was another door.

After the door opened, you could see a very small wooden house.

Mu Nan opened the door of the wooden house and went inside. "This is where you wash up. There's also a small cubicle inside where you can use the toilet."

When Wang Qing'er stepped into the cabin, her eyes were immediately drawn to everything inside.

To her surprise, the wooden tub for bathing and the shelves for storing things both exuded the fragrance of fresh wood, as if they had just been created by a carpenter.

The entire space was filled with a fresh, woody scent, suggesting that no one had ever used this place before.

Two soapberries were placed on the wooden shelf, with two towels and a large bath towel hanging on top.

The ground was paved with stone slabs, and there was a small window covered with tarpaulin. Even when it was closed, there was no worry that people outside could see inside.

The small cubicles inside also have tiny doors and a small outhouse.

Filled with curiosity and doubt, Wang Qing'er couldn't help but ask, "Was this little wooden house recently built?"

Mu Nan smiled and nodded in affirmation, then said softly, "That's right, it was just completed yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qing'er's eyes widened as she looked at Mu Nan in disbelief. After a moment's hesitation, she cautiously asked, "Did you prepare this place especially for me?"

Faced with such a direct question, Mu Nan was slightly shy, but she still nodded firmly and replied in a low voice, "Yes."

Wang Qing'er felt a surge of warmth in her heart, and a slight smile appeared on her lips as she gently said to Mu Nan, "Thank you!"

Just then, as if suddenly remembering something important, Mu Nan quickly added, "Oh, right, there's a simple stove under the eaves over there, which you use to boil water for your bath."

Following the direction Mu Nan pointed, Wang Qing'er indeed saw a small and exquisite stove placed under the eaves.

A cast iron pot rests securely on the stove, surrounded by a neatly stacked pile of dry firewood, and next to it sits a large water vat filled with clean water.

Wang Qing'er walked quickly to the stove, examined it carefully, then turned to Mu Nan and asked again with surprise, "Did you build this stove too?"

Mu Nan smiled sheepishly, scratched his head, and replied, "Yes, the bathroom and outhouse in the house used to be shared by the whole family, which was very inconvenient, so I built this wooden house and stove."

Good heavens! Wang Qing'er exclaimed inwardly. This seemingly simple and unpretentious man actually possessed such a delicate and considerate heart.

Such a good man is hard to find even with a lantern in this day and age!

At this moment, Wang Qing'er was filled with anticipation for the future and secretly resolved to cherish this hard-won life.

At the same time, Wang Qing'er couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion, silently feeling sorry for the original owner of this body.

However, this feeling only lasted for a mere five seconds! Yes, only five seconds!

"You've walked so far today, you must be exhausted. I'll boil some water so you can take a nice hot bath and then rest."

Wang Qing'er: "Yes, thank you!"

"You don't need to keep thanking me; it's all I should do. Go back to your room and tidy up your belongings. The wardrobe in your room is for you to use too. I'll call you when the water boils."

"Oh, okay." Wang Qing'er agreed and turned to walk towards the room.