TRANSMIGRATING TO THE 80S TO BECOME STEPMOM TO FIVE BIGWIGS

by Usui Takumii

not mine, news novel.

34. 211 to 220

Chapter 211: Only Know the Pain After Experiencing It for Oneself

At noon that day, they cut the ham and ate it first. Be it boiled or stir-fried, it was especially delicious.

After lunch, it was time to prepare for the evening meal. Ji Buwang asked Mu Jingzhe, "Jingzhe, did you invite anyone else? How many people will be eating at home tonight? Let me know so that I can make preparations."

"There should be quite a few people. Family, friends, and them over there." Mu Jingzhe pointed at the few workers. Although they were there to celebrate her birthday, since she'd be killing a goat, it was somewhat like entertaining relatives and friends after the Spring Festival.

"That's good. A lively home is good."

The preparations to kill the goat started. Ji Buwang didn't have any experience in this aspect, whereas Shao Qihai did, so he was the one who took the lead in making the arrangements. The five kids hadn't left yet, and it was rare for them to gather on the side and watch the show.

Little Bei wanted to look but was afraid. She covered her face and looked through the gaps between her fingers. Because she was afraid of dirtying her dress, Little Bei stayed some distance away.

The four boys, however, squatted on the side and watched. Xiao Wu even became interested in the goat's horn. After playing with it for a while, he asked Mu Jingzhe if sounds could be produced by blowing it.

"This horn won't do. It's too small. You can try using one of those big ones or ready-made ones in the future."

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"Okay."

"You kids should head off to school. Don't be late."

After the reluctant children were sent off to school, Ji Buwang watched as the mutton started to cook. His gaze was turned to the chicken. Determined not to fall behind this time, he confidently raised the chicken. "Jingzhe, stand aside so the chicken blood does not splash on you. I'm going to kill the chicken."

Mu Jingzhe: "Uh, you know how to kill chickens?"

She really couldn't associate Ji Buwang with the act of killing chickens. These two simply didn't belong in the same world.

"I do. I've practiced. I've tried killing chickens before with Uncle Li helping me hold them." Ji Buwang nodded confidently.

However, it was obvious that he was too confident. In the end, he didn't even manage to kill the chicken after getting chicken feathers all over the ground. Ji Buwang had chicken feathers all over his head and body and started doubting life as he held the knife. "Jingzhe, this chicken is deliberately bullying me! This isn't an ordinary chicken. This is a gamecock, right?"

Mu Jingzhe tried her best to suppress her laughter and remove the feathers from his clothes. "It's alright, it's alright. My dad will kill the chicken later. He knows how to do it."

Feeling proud and elated, Shao Qihai rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward. "What gamecock? This is just an ordinary rooster, but you can't kill it. You're simply not cut out to kill chickens. Watch me."

Shao Qihai was indeed quite capable. He successfully killed the chicken before shooting a smug look at Ji Buwang. Following that, he poured boiling water on the chicken and prepared to heat its feathers.

However, just as the water was poured down, the originally motionless chicken suddenly jumped out of the pot… like a zombie chicken.

Startled, Shao Qihai could only watch as the chicken run a few meters away. "What's going on…"

Seeing the two of them struggling with the chicken, Mu Teng clicked his tongue and rolled up his sleeves. "Both of you get out of the way. Let me do it."

In the end, it was Mu Teng who successfully subdued the two chickens, with Shao Qihai and Ji Buwang acting as his assistants. The two of them even competed with each other, comparing their stamina and culinary skills, and they also competed at chopping firewood later on.

After the commotion, lunch was finally prepared. Mu Jingzhe and Li Zhaodi didn't even have to lift a finger.

After watching the show the entire morning, the female workers at Mu Jingzhe's home even got to see the two men flexing their muscles. This was truly a feast for their eyes.

But soon, Ji Buwang no longer had the time to compete with Shao Qihai, for he wanted to make the cake personally. This would be the highlight of the day.

Uncle Li specifically drove there to deliver the necessary items. After Ji Buwang started baking the cake, the fragrance spread far and wide. It just so happened that Shao Dong and his siblings had also finished school. Quite a few children came to the door, following the aroma.

After the five kids entered, they were overjoyed to see Ji Buwang baking the cake. They even tried making it with him. However, when they went out again, they were stopped by their little companions, who were salivating due to the fragrance and asking what it was and what a cake tasted like.

When Shao Dong saw that they were asking, he ran back home and asked Mu Jingzhe if he could bring his classmates back to the house to eat cake.

"They said they've never tasted cake before…" It was rare for Shao Dong to be embarrassed.

Actually, they hadn't eaten any before either. They only had the chance to eat some now that Mu Jingzhe had come. They liked it a lot and wanted their little friends to try it too.

"Of course you can bring them." Mu Jingzhe looked at Shao Dong. "If you want to invite your little friends, go ahead and do so. The same goes for your birthdays in the future."

Shao Qihai squeezed his way over and asked Shao Dong, "How many people are there? I can get someone to deliver…"

"No need. We can make as much as needed by using what we have here. I just have to do some liaising on my side." Ji Buwang interrupted Shao Qihai.

Shao Dong didn't care about their little competition. In any case, he was glad to hear that he could bring his little friends back home to eat. After he told his friends the news, everyone was overjoyed. They let out excited cheers at the door and happily rode their tree-branch horses everywhere, causing dust to fly all around.

This was their favorite game. They would snap a tree branch and treat it as a horse. However, Shao Dong had never played this before, as he felt that it was too silly. This time, in their excitement, his little friends pulled Shao Dong over to ride with them twice. Later on, Shao Xi and the others also joined in.

The clean road outside the Shao Residence was filled with the happy screams of children. In contrast, the Shao Residence next door was clouded with gloom and worry.

They could hear the commotion and smell the fragrance next door very clearly. When Zhao Lan saw that Mu Jingzhe's birthday celebration was so lively, she was furious. What made her even angrier was that Shao Qihai hadn't even invited her to go over. On the other hand, Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ cried because they were craving the aromatic food next door.

"I want to eat some too. I want to eat cake too!" Hearing the laughter outside, Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ got even more upset and wailed even harder.

In the past, they used to be the ones playing with everyone. No one had played with Shao Dong and his siblings. Shao Dong and his siblings were the ones constantly being bullied. However, the tables had turned now. These days, the other kids only played with Shao Dong and his siblings and mocked Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ whenever they saw them.

In the past, they used to call Shao Dong 'little stutterer' and Xiao Wu 'bastard'. Now, it was their turn to be called 'tofu brains' and 'pigs'. It was only now that they had experienced it for themselves that they realized how painful it was to have a nickname.

Now that they were called by their nicknames, mocked, and left to play alone, these brats finally experienced how Shao Dong and his siblings had felt in the past. They grew to hate their stomachs. No matter what Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao said about it being a blessing, it was useless. Having grown up inferior and afraid of strangers, they didn't dare go out and play anymore.

While looking at Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ, who were crying and throwing a tantrum, Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao felt heartache and anger. "Stop crying. Even if you cry to death, I won't be able to conjure a cake for you!"

In the past, with Shao Qihai's allowance to support them, she used to lead a good life. Now, life had become bitter, and Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao's personality had become increasingly irritable.

Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ kept making a fuss. In the end, she couldn't help but hit the children.

While listening to the sounds of the kids being beaten up and scolded next door, coupled with Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ's crying voices and Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao's hints that were disguised as scoldings, Mu Jingzhe shook her head and ignored them.

She wouldn't repay evil with kindness. In the past, they had lived a good life while starving her five kids.

After the fragrance of the cake dissipated, the mouthwatering scent of chicken, mutton, and ham wafted over. Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ looked at the only food available in their house—vegetables—and burst into tears again.

Amidst the four brats' cries, Mu Jingzhe, Shao Dong, and the others ate until their stomachs became round.

Chapter 212: I'll Put You in My Pocket and Carry You Around

After a lively dinner, under everyone's eager gazes, the five little ones pushed out the giant cake made by Ji Buwang.

"Mommy, happy birthday. That day was hard on you, Grandma. Love you!"

The five kids carefully expressed their blessings and gratitude to Li Zhaodi. Li Zhaodi ate her first slice of birthday cake ever and was overwhelmed by gifts.

The gifts had been prepared by Mu Jingzhe and the five kids. They had given their presents to their mother first in the morning because they still had to give their maternal grandmother gifts at night. Their mother had said that their maternal grandmother was actually the one who had worked the hardest and was the most deserving of blessings and enjoyment.

Ji Buwang had also prepared a gift for Li Zhaodi. Even Mu Teng had bought a gift thanks to Mu Jingzhe's constant hints.

Li Zhaodi laughed and cried. "My Jingzhe, why are you… Little Dong, you kids…"

She had lived for so long and given birth to two children. When she had given birth to Jingzhe, Old Madam Mu had pulled a long face and called her useless for giving birth to a girl. The villagers had also expressed their regret that she hadn't given birth to a son.

Fortunately, Mu Teng hadn't said anything. However, no one felt that it was hard on her after she risked her life to give birth to the child. They all felt that it was only right.

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Even so, she had never regretted it. However, after 21 years, she was suddenly being valued and thanked. What had she done to deserve such treatment?

Too overwhelmed to speak, Li Zhaodi hugged Mu Jingzhe for a long time before finally saying, "It's so worth it. Mom's life is so worth it…"

Li Zhaodi was certain that she would be the happiest mother in the future, as she was the only one in Great Eastern Village who received such treatment. She would fight with whoever competed with her for that title.

Li Zhaodi took a big bite of the cake. "Everyone, eat! Hurry up and eat!"

His forthright manner made them feel like they weren't eating cake but having wine. Everyone laughed and ate at the same time.

In this day and age, even sponge cakes were rare, let alone cream cakes. It wasn't so bad for the children in the city, but countryside kids had no chance to eat these things.

The little companions Shao Dong and his siblings brought back ate ravenously. The female workers also treasured the food.

However, a woman stopped eating after taking a bite. When Mu Jingzhe realized this, she quickly asked if she didn't like it.

"No, I like it a lot." The woman was a little embarrassed. "It's just that I want to take it back for my children to eat it because it's so delicious."

She couldn't bear to eat it, as she wanted to leave it for her children to taste.

"Go ahead and eat it. There'll be more after you finish eating. You can bring it back to your children." Ji Buwang interrupted. "I've prepared a lot."

Ji Buwang wanted to contact Uncle Li to think of a way to find some more cake, but Shao Qihai stopped him. "I've already asked someone to bring it over. Everyone in the village can eat it."

After saying that, he couldn't help but glance at Mu Jingzhe and Li Zhaodi, frustration flashing across his eyes.

He hadn't made any preparations in the morning or given Mu Jingzhe a birthday present. Under the siege of Ji Buwang, Shao Qihai had racked his brains to urgently prepare a present for Mu Jingzhe. He had wanted to find an opportunity to give it to Mu Jingzhe at night, but in the end, no one had given presents to Mu Jingzhe at night. They'd all given presents to Li Zhaodi. He was… one step too late once again.

What he had prepared for Mu Jingzhe was not suitable for Li Zhaodi, so… he had yet to give the gift.

Li Zhaodi couldn't bear to let go of Ji Buwang's hand. Like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, the more she looked at him, the more pleasing she found him to the eye. In contrast, she didn't so much as cast a glance in Shao Qihai's direction.

Hoping to make up for his mistake, Shao Qihai had the cake sent over that very night. Shao Qihai also gave some cake to the people who came to the house to have fun. Most of the children in the village came to the house to eat cake.

Because of this, Mu Jingzhe's birthday, which was also Jingzhe[1], became the day that children looked forward to the most. Whenever they thought about this day, they thought about having cake to eat.

After they ate cake, it started getting late. Li Zhaodi, Mu Jingzhe, and Shao Qiyang saw Ji Buwang out. Ji Buwang had come in an open and aboveboard manner, so no one said anything.

After they left, Shao Qihai placed the gift in Mu Jingzhe's room while no one was paying attention.

Elsewhere, Ji Buwang also gave Mu Jingzhe the gift he had prepared. "A birthday gift for you."

"There's even a birthday gift?"

Mu Jingzhe thought that it was a rare enough birthday present that Ji Buwang had done so much.

"There's a secret to the gift. It will all depend on when you discover it." Ji Buwang said this and drove away.

"What is it? Hurry up and open it." Li Zhaodi urged Mu Jingzhe.

The gift was in a wooden box and wasn't packaged, so Mu Jingzhe saw it the moment she opened it. "Eh…"

Mu Jingzhe took it out and took a look. "It's a set of Russian dolls."

"This little person looks like you. Look, her hair is short, and her small eyes look similar to yours too." Li Zhaodi could tell at first glance.

Mu Jingzhe took a look and realized that it really did look like her. "Where did he find this? To think it looks so much like me."

Mu Jingzhe didn't expect that other than buying it, one could also draw one.

Ji Buwang drove out and watched as Mu Jingzhe and Li Zhaodi's flashlights went further and further away. "I hope you find out soon…"

After he'd been driving for a while, a car suddenly appeared in front of him. The road was narrow, and the car didn't give way to him. When Ji Buwang stopped the car, he saw Tang Moling.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be on a business trip?"

"I came back today for Jingzhe's birthday." Tang Moling was fuming. "I knew you did it on purpose. You purposely sent me away so that you could come see Jingzhe and fawn over her. How can there be an uncle like you?"

"Her birthday is over. Go back."

"I'm not going back. I must see Jingzhe today and make her leave that b*stard Shao Qihai!" Something suddenly occurred to Tang Moling. "Uncle, have you heard? I heard that Shao Qihai is still alive."

"Of course I heard. You learned the news too late."

"It's all because of you!" Tang Moling gritted his teeth. "I'm going to meet Shao Qihai and tell him what's good for him so he'll give up on Jingzhe early. I've already bought a ring. I want to propose to Jingzhe…"

Tang Moling wanted Ji Buwang to see his determination, but as soon as he finished speaking, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his neck and his vision darkened.

Ji Buwang had immediately knocked Tang Moling out. "You're proposing when even I haven't done so? Don't you know how to respect the old and love the young? Don't you know what 'first come, first served' means?"

After poking Tang Moling's head and scolding him, Ji Buwang dragged Tang Moling to the passenger seat and left after meeting up with Uncle Li.

When Tang Moling regained consciousness, it was the next day. By then, he was already at the airport. Right upon waking up, he was taken to the plane and sent away again.

"Uncle… Ji Buwang, I'll never forgive you!"

After the liveliest birthday, Mu Jingzhe fell asleep a little late due to her excitement. The next day, she woke up to see Little Bei quietly sitting at the table and playing with the set of Russian dolls that Ji Buwang had gifted her.

Because these dolls bore a great resemblance to Mu Jingzhe, Little Bei hugged, stroked, and kissed them, feeling very fond of them.

Upon seeing Little Bei's actions, Mu Jingzhe laughed. "You like them that much?" In that case, she'd give Little Bei one next time.

"Mommy, you're awake." Little Bei pounced over with her arms wrapped around one of the dolls. "That's right, I like the dolls because they look like Mommy."

It wasn't only because the dolls were cute. More importantly, they resembled Mommy.

"Can I take one with me wherever I go? This is like carrying Mommy with me. I can put her in my pocket and look at her whenever I want."

[1] the 3rd of the 24 solar terms in traditional Chinese calendars

Chapter 213: Hello, Little Jingzhe

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

It turned out that men weren't the only ones who knew how to say things that made you feel smaller, as though they could put you in their pockets and carry you around. Daughters also knew how to say such things. Furthermore, they were self-taught, which made it more touching than when it was coming from someone who had learned this by googling 'romantic things to say to a girl'.

Mu Jingzhe stepped forward and cupped Little Bei's face. "Why are you so sweet? I want to keep you in my pocket too."

"Mommy, you'll let me do that?" Little Bei was delighted to hear that. Then, she looked at the doll and shook her head. "Although I really want to do this, this is a gift from Teacher Ji to you, Mommy. It won't be good if I lose it. I'll just buy a set that looks like yours in the future. When the time comes, I'll secretly hide one before giving it to you."

Mu Jingzhe looked at the smallest doll and suddenly felt that it wasn't small enough. "Maybe there really is an even smaller one…" Could Ji Buwang have hidden it?

"Probably not, right…" Mu Jingzhe recalled the secret Ji Buwang had mentioned last night and carefully searched the dolls for any secrets.

At the same time, Ji Buwang woke up from his dream and turned to look at the pillow beside him.

In the middle of the pillow was a tiny doll. It was exactly the same as Mu Jingzhe's, except it was really small. It was only the size of a human thumb.

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1

"Morning, Little Jingzhe."

Ji Buwang picked up Little Jingzhe and tapped her head. "Or should I call you Thumb-Sized Jingzhe?"

Ji Buwang stood up and placed Thumb-Sized Jingzhe on the bedside table. "Before I enjoy the company of the real Jingzhe, I'll have to trouble you to accompany me."

After washing up, before Ji Buwang left, he carefully placed Thumb-Sized Jingzhe in his chest pocket. "It's time to go to work."

After the meeting, Ji Buwang took Little Jingzhe out of his pocket to take a look while resting. "I really feel like I'm carrying you in my pocket while I'm at work."

Meanwhile, Mu Jingzhe finally discovered traces of a secret. There was something hidden underneath the smallest doll.

The base of the doll was made of different colored plaques, and the different Chinese characters were made of different colors too. The first character was the character 'Le', but by pushing the plaques, a new set of characters could be formed. "Does this mean that once the correct set of characters is formed, it will open?"

Mu Jingzhe tried several times, including by using Ji Buwang's name, as well as her own name, but none of them was the right combination to open it.

"It's quite mysterious. I'll continue trying in the future." Mu Jingzhe was having a lot of fun. When Shao Qihai noticed this, he was very depressed.

He had also given her a gift, but his gift was much less impressive than the Russian dolls and the gifts of the children. However, he had really given her this gift from the bottom of his heart.

Shao Qihai had given her a fountain pen. That fountain pen had been a reward for his meritorious deeds in the past. Later on, it had even saved his life by chance. It was Shao Qihai's lucky pen. Every time he wrote or signed something with it, it seemed like his wish would come true.

Therefore, he actually treasured it very much and was usually reluctant to use it. He had given it to Mu Jingzhe in hopes that it would also bring her luck.

However, it didn't seem like Mu Jingzhe had any intention of using it after receiving it, for she had put it away.

Alas, it wasn't appropriate for Shao Qihai to chase after Mu Jingzhe and tell her how precious the gift was. Seeing Mu Jingzhe playing with the Russian dolls that Ji Buwang had gifted her and not even looking at what he had given her, he was speechless.

It was only when he saw that the kids had come home from school that he perked up. "Little Dong, can you teach me foreign languages? I want to learn too."

He wanted to improve alongside his children. Mu Jingzhe also spoke foreign languages and would talk to them from time to time. He wanted to learn so that he could blend in and converse with them.

Shao Qihai cleverly chose to ask Shao Dong, but Shao Dong frowned. "You'd better not learn from me. After all, I stutter."

Shao Dong calmly mentioned the fact that he stuttered, but Shao Qihai's heart ached. Guilt then appeared on his face. "You don't. You sound fine."

In the past, because Shao Dong stuttered, he was often mocked behind his back, which had made him very averse to talking and caused him to avoid talking whenever possible. This time, upon returning and seeing that Shao Dong seemed to have recovered from that, he had forgotten about Shao Dong's situation in the past.

By neither accepting nor turning down Shao Qihai's apology, he was effectively rejecting it.

Shao Qihai thought for a moment and finally went to look for Little Bei. He had seen how formidable Shao Xi and Shao Nan were and deliberately avoided them. He thought that since Little Bei was so cute, she probably wouldn't bear to refuse him.

However, darling Little Bei said in her most adorable and gentle voice, "I don't really know how to speak it either. I learned it from my older brothers. I remembered it yesterday, but I think I forgot it today."

Shao Qihai: "…"

When Shao Xi and Shao Nan heard that he wanted to learn, they approached him without him even having to look for them.

"Actually, when we speak foreign languages, we're just making up some random nonsense. Since Mommy spent money for us to learn, it would be unacceptable if we couldn't speak at all, so we just made up some gibberish. But if you're willing to continue paying for our lessons, we should be able to gain a slight mastery in two to three years."

"That's right. Foreign languages take a really long time to learn. If the five of us learn for another two to three years, it will only cost around 10,000 yuan. Can we learn?"

Shao Nan and Shao Xi did their utmost to paint themselves in a bad light and started to sound out how much money Shao Qihai had. They also took this chance to trample on themselves, hinting that they spent a lot of money.

Shao Qihai naturally wouldn't be deceived. Upon hearing their nonsense, he knew that they didn't want to teach him. However, when he heard about the expenses, he said seriously, "Of course you can. If you want to continue learning, I'll pay your tuition fees. Don't worry, I won't make you suffer in this aspect."

Shao Qihai had been delayed for the past year. The transport convoy hadn't seemed to have much work, but because they had done a meritorious deed, they had received a big remuneration, and some collaborations had been proposed later on.

Everything else aside, this was enough for the convoy to grow, as it was sufficient for him to provide for this family.

Shao Dong and Shao Xi looked at each other, both getting a sense of his finances. "Then can we buy anything else? I want to buy toys!"

"I want toys too. I also want new clothes!"

"Me too! And I want to eat meat every day!"

They sounded like they were being mischievous, but in reality, this was also what they really wanted. Previously, their hearts had ached for Mu Jingzhe and they had constantly wanted to save money. They had pretended that they didn't like toys and only liked to learn until they could earn money too.

However, in the past, they had really been envious of kids who had toys. When Little Bei was three or four years old, she had liked pinwheels, which had been trending in the village at the time. A pinwheel would move whenever the wind blew when one ran holding it, but no one had bought one for her. In the end, Shao Dong had thought of ways to make one for her.

Alas, Little Bei had only played with it for a short while before it had been snatched away by Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ. When Little Bei had gone to snatch it back, those brats had stomped on the pinwheel and destroyed it.

At the mention of toys, the five kids unanimously recalled these past events. For some time, they felt quite upset. Shao Qihai had clearly still been alive at the time.

Shao Qihai still didn't know that the children had been reminded of the past. When he heard that they wanted toys, he smiled and agreed. "Alright, I'll buy them all for you."

However, his agreement didn't make the five kids' expressions improve. Instead, they became even more depressed.

In the past, they had known that Shao Qihai worked hard and had always acted very sensible, wanting to make it easier for him because they knew about his identity. It was the same even after his retirement from the army and his return.

But now that they thought about it, they had probably been too sensible. They hadn't cried or told him about their hardships. Besides, Zhao Lan was good at acting, so Shao Qihai hadn't paid much attention to them.

Now that they were being mischievous, he seemed to be paying more attention to them.

Chapter 214: I've Already Suffered Through Retribution

After so many years, the five kids finally realized that children who cried got sweets to eat. It was only then that they learned the wrong method that many children used to attract their parents' attention, something many children learned without being taught.

They had learned it, and Shao Qihai was truly paying attention to them. But now, they already had a mother and no longer needed him.

It was too late. Regardless of whether it was revenge or venting, the five kids still acted on the idea that they had previously thought of, pretending to be lousy and playful and spending a lot of money in front of Shao Qihai. They even observed the children who were famous for being mischievous in the village and performed in front of Shao Qihai after learning.

Coincidentally, Mu Jingzhe went out to deliver goods the next day, and Shao Qihai officially took over the job of taking care of them.

Breakfast was fine, as Mu Jingzhe was still there. When Mu Jingzhe left, the children instantly revealed their mischievous side. When they were told to go to school, they pretended not to hear and continued fake-fighting with rods.

It wasn't easy for Shao Qihai to finally send them to school, but when they returned at noon, the five children had turned into mud monkeys. Even Shao Dong had.

After a lot of difficulty, he finally managed to get them to change clothes and clean up before sitting them down to eat. However, they refused to eat properly and ran around. After a great deal of effort, he finally managed to get them to go back to the dining table, but they started playing at the dining table as well. Two of the bowls were overturned, and the soup was spilled. They carelessly picked up food with their chopsticks and dropped food all over the table. Xiao Wu even had oil and rice all over his face.

Little Bei quietly washed her hands, threw down her chopsticks, and started eating rice with her bare hands.

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Shao Dong frowned and pickily criticized the food for tasting awful, either complaining that it was too salty or too bland. He was unwilling to eat.

As he looked at the messy kitchen, Shao Qihai started to doubt his life. He felt that the warmth and good times he had experienced when Mu Jingzhe was around seemed to have turned into a dream. The children had transformed from little angels into little devils.

But they hadn't been like this before. Why was it that this time…

Shao Qihai didn't know what the children were thinking and almost couldn't hold back his anger. However, when he thought of the debt he owed them, he felt that the children might be doing it on purpose, so he endured it.

After the meal, the kitchen looked like a battlefield. The kids were all dirty and had changed into a second set of clothes. Due to this change, their bedroom also became a battlefield. Shao Qihai was sweating profusely.

After clearing away their dirty clothes without a word of complaint, Shao Qihai prepared to take them to school. However, when he got out, he saw Xiao Wu playing with water. There was water everywhere in the courtyard, and most of the water that he had fetched had been wasted.

In just half a day, Shao Qihai felt both physically and mentally exhausted.

After sending them away with difficulty, Shao Qihai returned home with abnormally heavy footsteps.

Shao Dong turned around the corner and glanced at Shao Qihai. His eyes were extremely calm. There was no trace of guilt or joy in them.

There was indeed nothing to be happy about. Taking care of five children was difficult and tiring to begin with. This was how their mother used to live. No matter how obedient they were and how much they didn't want to trouble their mother, the process of taking care of them was still very tiring for their mother. They had seen Mu Jingzhe secretly massage her back several times.

After Shao Qihai washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, he went to wash the clothes. A long time passed, and soon, it was time for the children to return from school. It was about time for him to prepare dinner once more.

Shao Qihai felt like his entire body had been hollowed out, but he had no choice but to perk up and wait for the children to come back from school. As Mu Jingzhe had instructed, he would ask them to eat some fruit and then watch them do their homework.

When he was done making all these preparations, the five kids still hadn't returned.

It was only when Shao Qihai found his way to school that he realized it was empty. He didn't find the five kids. Instead, he saw Mu Xue.

Shao Qihai turned to leave at the sight of Mu Xue. Gritting her teeth, the latter caught up to him. "Brother Qihai, you don't even want to see me now?"

Shao Qihai had a headache. "No, I was busy looking for my kids. They didn't come home."

"Maybe they went somewhere to play. They're sensible and won't run away easily." Mu Xue walked up to Shao Qihai. "Brother Qihai, let's have a nice talk."

"What do you want to talk about?" Shao Qihai didn't think that he had anything to talk to Mu Xue about.

Seeing Shao Qihai's cold gaze, Mu Xue bit her lips. "Brother Qihai, do you mind that I was engaged previously?"

"I don't. I give you my blessing," Shao Qihai said helplessly.

Mu Xue didn't believe him. "You don't have to mind. I've already suffered through retribution and have become the laughing stock of the entire village. Brother Qihai… I wished you were still alive. When I found out that you were dead, I was shocked and regretful and even blamed myself for being willful. Otherwise, you wouldn't have died."

Mu Xue knew that Shao Qihai had gone out to work not long after his marriage because he had been too sad. "Brother Qihai, thank you for still being alive."

"Thank you." Shao Qihai looked at Mu Xue, feeling complicated. This was because he suddenly realized that Mu Xue was the only one who was happy that he had returned alive.

As the two of them spoke, they didn't see Shao Dong stick his head in around the school gate. When he saw this scene, he quickly left.

They deliberately hadn't gone home on time as usual because they wanted to see if Shao Qihai would come looking for them. In the end, Shao Qihai had come, but they no longer knew who he was looking for.

Shao Qihai didn't notice. He looked at Mu Xue and paused for a moment before saying, "You don't have to feel so bad. The villagers just casually said a few words. You don't have to worry about it. When fate comes, it will come. You will also find happiness."

This was his wish for her.

Mu Xue looked at Shao Qihai and smiled. "Thank you." After she thanked him, Mu Xue's expression became complicated.

"Brother Qihai, what about you? Are you happy?" In the year that Shao Qihai had been gone, Tang Moling and Shao Qiyang had surrounded Mu Jingzhe and been attracted to her. Ji Buwang had even come to provoke him repeatedly. How had Shao Qihai endured it?

Mu Xue was furious on Shao Qihai's behalf.

Shao Qihai stiffened for a moment. "I'm fine."

"If you think it's fine… that's good." Mu Xue lowered her head, revealing a fair, slender neck.

Because of their height advantage, Shao Qihai saw it immediately. For a moment, he felt a little uncomfortable and strange. He was afraid that others would see him talking to Mu Xue and Mu Jingzhe would get the wrong idea. He didn't dare say much and quickly bade her farewell before continuing to look for the kids.

However, he searched the entire village for places they could possibly have gone to and didn't find them anywhere. All five of the children were missing. When he asked their classmates, some said that they had gone to the mountain, while others claimed they had seen them going to the river.

The five kids had been obedient since they were young, and such a situation was unprecedented. When Shao Qihai heard that they could be by the river or on the mountain, he became anxious and quickly searched everywhere. When the villagers heard this, they also helped him look for the kids, but to no avail.

When Mu Jingzhe returned, the first person she saw was Shao Qihai, who was sweating profusely. When she heard that the kids had disappeared, she also became anxious and joined the search.

Mu Jingzhe even thought of the last time Little Bei had disappeared. At the time, Little Bei had been given away by Zhao Lan. Could those people be up to no good again?

Chapter 215: The Five Children Were Lectured

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Zhao Lan was still laughing at Mu Jingzhe and Shao Qihai's anxiousness, but a second later, the door to her house was kicked open. The sturdy door shook due to Mu Jingzhe's kick and made Zhao Lan's eyelids throb. Another kick and the door would be gone!

"Mu Jingzhe, stop… Stop! Have you gone mad?!"

"Did you do something to Little Dong, Little Bei, and the rest? Tell me, where did you hide them? Or did you give them away again?" Once bitten, twice shy. As she recalled that Little Bei had been locked in a cage previously, Mu Jingzhe's eyes burned with rage.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean where did I hide them? My goodness, I didn't do anything this time!"

"It's not like you admitted it last time either. You even fanned the flames to frame me. I don't believe you. Where's Shao Qiyun? Is Shao Qiyun up to no good again?"

Mu Jingzhe started searching everywhere. "Little Dong, Little Bei, where are you?"

Zhao Lan was furious. "No, Xiao Yun left that day and hasn't returned since. She was forced away by you. Stop looking for her. We haven't seen Shao Dong!"

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Mu Jingzhe didn't listen. She quickly opened the room door to check and accidentally found Eldest Brother Shao lying there sick. "Mu Jingzhe, don't go overboard…"

"So are you hiding the kids or not? Tell Shao Qihai." Mu Jingzhe interrupted him and pulled Shao Qihai over.

Eldest Brother Shao froze when he saw Shao Qihai. "It's really not like that. It's really not us this time."

"That's right!" Zhao Lan added. "Why would I hide them?"

Mu Jingzhe was about to ask more when a surprised shout came from the door. "Shao Dong… Shao Dong and the others are back!"

Shao Qihai rushed out of the door. As soon as he stepped out, he saw five kids who looked like mud monkeys. Shao Dong gave Shao Qihai a mischievous grin. "We went to the mountain to play…"

After saying this cheekily, they saw Mu Jingzhe walk behind Shao Qihai.

"Mommy?" The smiles froze on the five kids' faces. Why was Mommy back so early? Shouldn't she be back before nightfall?

They'd only wanted to scare Shao Qihai on purpose to annoy him. They hadn't wanted to scare their mother.

"Mommy…" Seeing the worry in Mu Jingzhe's eyes, Shao Dong wished he could hide underground.

"So you know the way back? Where did you go? Were you kids trying to scare me to death? I thought you were abducted again."

Mu Jingzhe looked at them one by one and saw that they were fine. She heaved a sigh of relief and was so happy that she wanted to cry. However, when she stretched out her hand, she couldn't help but make a move.

"Why are you running around? Who taught you not to come home after school?" Since they were so disobedient, she had to spank them to make them remember this lesson.

The five children were all spanked by Mu Jingzhe. "If I don't spank you, you won't remember. Let's see if you'll run about again in the future."

Like all parents, although Mu Jingzhe was happy and relieved, this didn't stop her from wanting to hit the children.

Mu Jingzhe spanked them one after another. Because of how strong she was, it was truly a painful beating.

The five kids were all stunned. This was the first time they were spanked. Previously, Shao Xi had been spanked twice, but it had been very light at the time. This time, it wasn't.

They had really been taught a lesson. Like other children, their buttocks were spanked until they were red and they might even swell later.

At that moment, they felt a mixture of pain, fear, and regret. Little Bei pouted and burst into tears. "Mommy, I'm sorry. I won't run around anymore."

While crying, she hugged Mu Jingzhe's leg. Xiao Wu hugged the other one. "I won't run around anymore either."

Shao Dong, Shao Xi, and Shao Nan's actions were faster than their thoughts, so they jumped into Mu Jingzhe's arms in unison. Their buttocks hurt, but for some reason, they wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.

A similar thought flashed across the three brothers' minds. They finally knew why the children who had been beaten up by their parents because they were playful didn't run away. Instead, they snuggled into their parents' arms. They now wanted to do the same.

As she was snuggled by the mud-covered trio, Mu Jingzhe's clothes were ruined.

"My clothes… You kids are really… Why are you so disobedient?" Since Shao Qihai had returned, it seemed like the children had become quite mischievous. She couldn't fathom why.

Mu Jingzhe could never have guessed their thoughts. The five of them looked at Mu Jingzhe's clothes and awkwardly moved away from her, waiting to be scolded.

Zhao Lan finally found an opportunity to retort. "Look at how wronged I've been. Those children went missing, and you came looking for me…"

"It's only because you had a bad track record!" Mu Jingzhe immediately replied before coughing. "I misunderstood you this time. I'm sorry."

Mu Jingzhe apologized very readily. A mistake was a mistake. She was glad that she hadn't broken the door completely. Otherwise, she would have had to pay for it. Then, she pulled the kids with her. "Come back home with me!"

When they returned to the courtyard, Mu Jingzhe didn't say anything. The children stood in a row, admitted their mistake, and apologized.

This was the first time in history that they were mischievous and actively admitted their mistake. Mu Jingzhe, who had returned home after a tiring day and had been scared stiff, didn't have the energy to continue lecturing them. "Quick, go clean up. Don't do this again. I'll go cook now. You must be hungry."

"Let me do it. You've been working the entire day." Shao Qihai quickly offered. He would have already finished cooking if this incident hadn't occurred.

Mu Jingzhe didn't argue and just watched as the children changed out of their dirty clothes.

Shao Qihai was also scared stiff by the children. When he saw that the five kids had washed themselves, he couldn't help but say that they shouldn't be mischievous. In the end, Shao Xi retorted the moment he opened his mouth.

"Didn't you have a good time talking to Teacher Mu Xue? You claimed you were looking for us, but who knows who you were really there to meet? Since you were so busy, we went to play on our own."

Mu Jingzhe could lecture them, but Shao Qihai wasn't qualified.

Shao Qihai hadn't expected to be seen by the children. Clearly, nothing had happened between him and Mu Xue, but he felt panicky. He hurriedly looked at Mu Jingzhe and said, "Little Xi, don't talk nonsense. I was there to look for you kids and merely had a casual chat when we happened to meet."

These words were an explanation for Shao Xi, but even more so for Mu Jingzhe.

However, Shao Qihai realized that other than raising her eyebrows, Mu Jingzhe didn't have much of a reaction.

There was actually a reason why Mu Jingzhe had come back early today. She had gone to ask about her marriage situation with Shao Qihai.

Initially, within a year after the death of a husband or wife, the surviving spouse could apply to declare their marriage invalid. This way, even though Shao Qihai had returned, their marriage would still be invalid.

However, because the original Mu Jingzhe hadn't known about this, she hadn't applied for it. Mu Jingzhe had only discovered that Shao Qihai was dead after transmigrating, so she hadn't thought of this problem at all and hadn't applied for it either. She thought that since he was dead, that should be the end of it.

How could a marriage still exist if one of the parties had died? Unless it was necessary, no one would apply for this. Who would have thought that Shao Qihai would come back alive and she wouldn't be remarried?

Because Shao Qihai hadn't deliberately faked his death, they'd probably still have to go through the divorce process.

After all this, she still had to get a divorce. As long as Shao Qihai wanted to, it was possible that he wouldn't let her see the children again. She was really depressed.

Upon hearing that Shao Qihai had met Mu Xue again, Mu Jingzhe wasn't in the mood to care much.

Chapter 216: The Youngest Movie Queen in History

While they were eating, Mu Jingzhe was a little distracted and couldn't muster up any energy. Thinking that they had frightened Mu Jingzhe, the five kids transformed into considerate little darlings, showing great concern for her and looking extremely obedient.

Shao Qihai looked at the few of them, who were completely different from how they had been at noon, and thought that they were deliberately pranking him because they were angry with him. Unexpectedly, when the five kids saw Mu Jingzhe looking listless, they secretly decided that they had to speed up.

However, just as Shao Xi had said previously, sometimes it was impossible to stop being outstanding. It was as if the heavens were opposing them. It wasn't easy for them to score against Shao Qihai, and they were about to continue implementing their mischievous plan. However, good news kept coming one after another. Their sparkle couldn't be hidden no matter how hard they tried.

Firstly, Little Xi's book would be officially launched on the market after New Year's. Before it was published, a few copies were sent to Shao Xi. The teachers and principal of the school had long known about this. After they received the books, they organized an activity that involved the entire school learning together.

Everyone in the village knew that Shao Xi didn't just publish articles in magazines and newspapers. He also published books. He was incredible and he was thus praised everywhere.

Meanwhile, the show Shao Nan had participated in was still broadcasting. It was even broadcast until the end when he started to show his might. The name Shao Nan was now known by many people. Seeing that it was a good show and Shao Nan was really inspirational, not only did the principal become an avid viewer of the show when it was broadcast at night, but he even moved the television to the school. When it was replayed in the day, he would watch it with the teachers and students, letting everyone learn from Shao Nan.

He even let Shao Nan share his insights into becoming so knowledgeable. Seeing that Shao Nan knew a lot, the villagers would ask him if they had any questions. Sometimes, they would just ask casually, and other times, they would seriously consult him, especially regarding legal issues.

Shao Nan's answer actually helped a person in the village get back his salary. The boss had originally bullied him because he was illiterate and ignorant. He had even wanted to delay payment, but because of Shao Nan, he didn't dare to.

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That person brought something over to thank Shao Nan. Everyone in the village said that Shao Nan was the most promising boy.

Shao Nan and Shao Xi were very glad and proud, but they were also extremely annoyed. However, there was more good news to come.

Director Lu had sent over internal information that Little Bei's movie had a high chance of winning an award at the Film Festival and she was very likely to become the youngest six-year-old movie queen in the history of the country. Although she hadn't won the award overseas, Little Bei had attracted a lot of attention because of her age.

The name Little Bei instantly became the focus of attention in the industry. She was already astounding enough, but who knew that Xiao Wu would be even more shocking.

Xiao Wu was also rapidly gaining popularity. He first became popular overseas. Although the movie didn't win an award overseas, his soundtrack was praised and hailed as a stunning piece of music.

A globally-renowned director and a world-famous musician publicly praised Xiao Wu's music. They said that it had made them cry and also made them laugh. It had been many years since they had come across such a stunning piece of music, so they really wanted to get in touch with him and collaborate with him. When they contacted Xiao Wu, they accidentally learned how old he was.

Xiao Wu was only four years old, while he had only been three years old when he had composed that piece of music. What kind of concept was that?

Director Lu had kept Xiao Wu's age under wraps and shocked the musician and director in an unexpected way, causing Xiao Wu to become even more popular overseas.

Both Little Bei and Xiao Wu shot to fame, especially after people found out that he was Little Bei's younger brother. This made the media fight to report the news.

Although Xiao Wu and Little Bei didn't win an award, they successfully made a name for themselves and garnered widespread attention.

Meanwhile, the local media fought to report the storm caused by Xiao Wu overseas. When the news spread to their country, it was coincidentally time for Xiao Wu and Little Bei to attend the award ceremony.

The formal evening wear that Mu Jingzhe had tailored was finally put to use. Just as they had agreed, the family went to the award ceremony, each of them dressed up smartly.

Shao Qihai, who had returned unexpectedly, also attended the event shamelessly. He then witnessed Little Bei and Xiao Wu's love confession.

Little Bei really went on to win the award and became the youngest movie queen ever. When she stood on the podium to receive the award, even the emcee cooperatively squatted down to interview her. The entire audience felt proud of Little Bei.

However, Little Bei only had eyes for Mu Jingzhe and kept looking in her direction. When the emcee asked her how she could convincingly portray a hearing disorder at such a young age, Little Bei answered seriously.

"It's because my ears were almost damaged by a fever. Fortunately, Mommy discovered it in time and rushed me to the hospital overnight. I'm fine now, but I remember how flustered Mommy was at the time."

Little Bei made it sound like she hadn't ignored Mu Jingzhe back then. Mu Jingzhe laughed when she heard that, but Little Bei took this opportunity to confess. "Mommy, I love you!"

Mu Jingzhe had formed all sorts of hearts with her fingers for the five kids when she had nothing to do. As everyone laughed, Little Bei asked the emcee to take the trophy and then formed a series of hearts with her fingers, gesturing at Mu Jingzhe.

Who could resist Little Bei? Everyone present smiled maternally. Mu Jingzhe was so thrilled that she wished she could jump up and scream maniacally from below, "Little Bei, I love you too!"

At the end of her acceptance speech, Little Bei said, "I only managed to achieve all this today because of Mommy. I hope I can be with Mommy forever."

For the time being, Little Bei didn't know what creating momentum was, but she used the most sincere words to express her feelings.

After getting off the stage, Little Bei ran over on her short legs and threw herself into Mu Jingzhe's arms. She gave the trophy to Mu Jingzhe, and this scene was captured like crazy by the reporters.

After Little Bei was crowned the youngest movie queen, Xiao Wu also went on stage. Because he was too young, Director Lu led him up.

The emcee squatted down again and praised the siblings for being incredible. Xiao Wu was embarrassed. "It's all because Mommy is good. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to do it. She asked me to learn it."

"It seems that our Shao Bei and Shao Zhong both like Mommy very much." The emcee praised them, using this merely as a passing remark. The emcee was about to continue the interview, but Xiao Wu suddenly nodded and added, "Yes, yes. Mommy is the most amazing and beautiful. I like Mommy the most."

At the mention of Mu Jingzhe, shy Xiao Wu wasn't afraid to speak anymore. He took the initiative to lean over and say into the microphone, "The best person in the world is Mommy. If it wasn't for Mommy, I might not even have known how to speak. I love Mommy!"

Then, he started to form hearts with his fingers like crazy. He even pouted and mimicked a kiss. With his short legs and arms, he looked way too adorable.

The emcee smiled helplessly. Children tended to lose control when they went on stage. He had made many preparations, but he hadn't expected the two children to lose control and confess their love for their mother instead of running around, screaming, or spouting nonsense.

After Xiao Wu finished his unbridled confession, he buried his head in Director Lu's arms in embarrassment and whispered that he wanted to get off the stage.

Director Lu laughed and told the emcee in jest, "This child is insisting on going down. I suspect that he came up just to praise his mommy and tell her that he loves her."

Director Lu was really just joking. He hadn't expected Xiao Wu to nod obediently in his arms. The emcee and Director Lu were helpless. They shrugged and said that they had tried their best to salvage the situation and there was nothing they could do now.

Mu Jingzhe's heart almost melted from Xiao Wu's cuteness. After Xiao Wu got out, he jumped into Mu Jingzhe's arms and also gave Mu Jingzhe the trophy, which he could only carry with both hands.

Mu Jingzhe raised him up, then plopped him down on her right and Little Bei on her left. Besides them, there were also Shao Dong, Shao Xi, and Shao Nan. She was very much looking like a winner in life.

Chapter 217: Shao Qihai Is Dead Again?

The five children of the family were all very good-looking, so the reporter took many photos of them.

The reporter casually snapped photos of them but subconsciously ignored Shao Qihai, who was next to them. When the reporter turned around and saw Shao Qihai constantly appearing in the photos, he even complained inwardly that he was in the way. "Why is he always there?" Although Shao Qihai was very pleasing to the eye and looked nice in the same frame, this wasn't what the reporter wanted.

The reporter didn't expect him to be the children's father. Because Little Bei and Xiao Wu only mentioned their mother and had not said a word about their father, everyone subconsciously ignored their father.

When the reporter took a closer look at the photos, he realized that Shao Xi and Shao Nan looked very familiar. The more he looked at them, the more familiar they looked. Upon closer inspection, he realized these two were the young geniuses.

Shao Xi rarely appeared, but it was possible to find out information about him due to the fact that he had already published a book at such a young age.

There was no need to mention Shao Nan. During this period of time, everyone had come to know about this little prodigy. Many parents religiously tuned in to the program with their children, wanting their kids to learn from Shao Nan. Shao Nan had become that kid parents compared their kids to, a nightmare for many school-age children.

They hadn't known until now. So, it turned out that they were siblings?

These four children were heaven-defying, weren't they? A television station reporter quickly went to find out about the children's situation, then rushed to report it as a front-page story.

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In order to be the first media outlet to report this, this reporter hadn't actually done comprehensive research. Or rather, he hadn't obtained the latest news. Therefore, according to the report, Mu Jingzhe, who was a stepmother, wouldn't remarry for the sake of those children, who weren't related to her by blood, and had taken care of them without any complaints. This was also why they liked their mother so much.

This report was really touching. After it was published, the other media outlets also reported on this upon seeing it. Hence, other newspapers, magazines, and radio stations all published similar reports.

The theme was that the children were pitiful. First, they had lost their mother and then their father. Fortunately, they had a good stepmother. It was a touching story about how they'd become successful and thanked their stepmother.

Shao Qihai: "…"

No, he had returned alive. He was still alive. Hey, he wasn't dead yet.

Although Shao Qihai was still alive, he was reported dead in media publications. The first reporter didn't update the news in time, causing everyone to think so. In addition, the children had never mentioned their father and were always talking about their mother, so they naturally felt that their father was gone.

Say, would the children have done that if their father was alive? No one detected a problem.

Shao Qihai saw reports of his death everywhere. The villagers were also curious to know how he had died again. Helplessly, he called the news agency and told them that he was still alive and they should not write that he was dead.

The newspaper agency representative sneered. "You're Shao Bei and the other kids' father? Yeah, right. And I'm your grandfather. You should know what line of work we're in. How dare you lie to us?"

The person who answered the phone said he had seen this kind of prank too many times before sneering and hanging up without hesitation.

Shao Qihai: "Wait, I'm telling the truth!" The call had already been hung up.

Shao Qihai was feeling extremely helpless. Actually, there was another way to correct the report, and that was by getting the children to say something. As long as they said something, all these problems would be solved. But judging by the children's attitude, he felt that he should just forget about it.

Before Shao Qihai could correct them and declare that he was still alive, the media had already turned the page and stopped talking about him. The reports started to focus heavily on the five children. The reports on the children attracted countless people's envy, jealousy, and hatred. Mu Jingzhe, as a mother, also became an object of envy for many people.

The only lame one was probably Shao Dong, the eldest son. Every single one of his younger siblings was very promising, and it seemed as if he was the only ordinary one.

After reading the reports, many people said that it would be great if their older brother could become successful too.

However, after a long time, they realized that they were too naive. Who was ordinary-looking? He was simply a hidden bomb that could scare people to death.

He wasn't ordinary. With such younger siblings, how could he be ordinary?

The newspapers went crazy reporting this.

The five kids were left speechless when they read the news.

They had won an award and fervently confessed their love for their mother, and Shao Qihai hadn't even revealed his face, so they were really happy. However, this period was really subtle.

Their plan to pretend to be ordinary seemed to have completely failed.

Li Zhaodi didn't understand the troubles of the five children at all. She was only focused on being happy, especially since Little Bei and Xiao Wu had praised Mu Jingzhe so much. She felt that she hadn't doted on the children for nothing.

Because of the news reports on them winning an award, the movie became popular for a period of time and would soon be broadcast on the television station's movie channel.

Li Zhaodi had previously said that she wanted to invite the villagers to watch it. In the past, it had not worked, but this time, it did. Taking advantage of this lively atmosphere, she immediately invited a movie theater owner to the village. Furthermore, they agreed to play it for three days straight.

When the news spread, the people of Great Eastern Village prepared to take their seats. When the people of other villages, such as Little Eastern Village, heard this, they also rushed over to watch.

Knowing that Little Bei was from Great Eastern Village, the people from other villages were very interested. Although the people from Great Eastern Village often saw Little Bei, they were still very keen to watch the movie. However, they wouldn't lose face in front of the villagers from other villages. They had a firm disposition and they stuck out their chests as they told everyone.

"Since they're busy now, there's no need to specifically visit Little Bei. They'll come when the movie is released. You guys can look at her or even talk to her then. But remember not to get too close. She's our big star, so she's not someone you can touch easily."

Everyone was sensible. After saying that proudly, they definitely wouldn't take these people to the Shao Residence. When someone went to look for Little Bei, they even stopped them to prevent them from doing anything overboard.

Because the villagers automatically took up the roles of assistants and bodyguards, Mu Jingzhe and the others weren't affected. Although they had already gone to the cinema to watch the film, since it was released in the village this time, Mu Jingzhe and the others still had to go see it again.

Hence, they ate earlier and prepared to leave with their stools.

"Mom, Grandma said that we don't have to bring the stools. She specifically brought a superstar's seat and put it in the middle and even laid a cushion for us and Little Bei. She told us we can just go over to watch the movie. No one is snatching the seats from us."

Mu Jingzhe laughed out loud. "Alright, then I won't bring one. Your grandmother is cute, right?"

Li Zhaodi was really giving them the treatment of a movie star attending her movie screening at a theater.

"Cute. When everyone heard that Little Bei is going, they got busy snatching the seats beside her. They said that they are waiting for us and they will start playing the movie when we get there."

"Let's go then." Mu Jingzhe and the five children packed up and set off. However, when they reached the door, they noticed that Shao Qihai had not followed them.

"You're not going to watch it?" This was Little Bei's movie.

Shao Qihai coughed. "You guys go ahead. I'll come over in a while."

Mu Jingzhe frowned. The movie was about to start. She was ready to say something when Little Bei stopped her. "Let's go, Mommy. He doesn't like watching movies."

Little Bei glanced at Shao Qihai. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't disappointed. Her tone was calm, but she had actually hoped that Shao Qihai would make an exception for her.

In the end, he had still disappointed her.

Chapter 218: The Manly Man With a Face Full of Tears

Shao Dong glanced at Shao Qihai coldly and held Little Bei's hand. "Let's go. We'll go with Mommy. Grandma and Grandpa are waiting."

If Shao Qihai didn't want to watch, there were plenty of people who would. There were lots of people who wanted to support Little Bei.

"Mm." Little Bei perked up. She held Mu Jingzhe and Shao Dong's hands and skipped forward.

Shao Qihai chased after her, taking two steps forward, as if he wanted to say something. In the end, he didn't say anything. His face was filled with frustration, and he couldn't help but scratch his hair.

Because there were many people watching and it was Little Bei performing, the principal generously allowed the movie to be screened directly on the school field. Now, their school field had also been laid with cement.

Since the cement ground had been built by the parents of the students, they could enjoy it together.

The principal didn't expect to come across such a promising child at school. He was incredibly fond of those five children.

As soon as Mu Jingzhe and Little Bei went over, someone with sharp eyes shouted for Little Bei to come, causing everyone to look over. The villagers were fine, but the people from other villages stretched their necks and rushed over.

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"Don't squeeze through, don't squeeze through. Sit and stand properly. Otherwise, all of you can go back. Stop looking."

Li Zhaodi instantly panicked. She and Mu Teng stood in front of Little Bei and automatically acted as security guards.

Mu Jingzhe and Shao Dong also automatically acted as security guards and escorted Little Bei to her special seat in the center.

There were two wooden chairs from the principal's office there. Now, they were being used by Li Zhaodi.

Even after Mu Jingzhe sat down with them, she could still see everyone craning their necks to look at Little Bei. She thought that they hadn't asked to take photos with Little Bei or get her autograph only because they weren't in the habit of doing so. Otherwise, they would have come to get autographs and take pictures with her as memorabilia.

The entire school field was packed with people, so it was noisy. However, when the movie started, the place went quiet.

When they saw Little Bei in the movie, these people's reactions were exactly the same as Li Zhaodi's in the past. They looked at Little Bei and mumbled, "She's exactly the same."

As the plot progressed, each and every one of them started to cry. When they saw Zhao Lan and Li Zhaodi, the bad guys, appear, Li Zhaodi scolded herself. Also, since she was the one treating them to the movie, no one criticized her.

However, Zhao Lan was in trouble. She was beaten up the moment she arrived.

That's right, Zhao Lan also came. The village was so lively that she couldn't take this lying down and secretly came to take a look. In the end, someone happened to see her. A little boy who couldn't distinguish between acting and real life picked up a rock without hesitation and threw it over at the sight of the baddie.

"I'll beat you to death, you evil grandma!"

Shortly after her arrival at the lively scene, disaster befell Zhao Lan. With a dong, she was struck by the rock.

She cursed in response, and upon seeing that everyone was itching to come over and hit her, she shut up and fled in a hurry.

This was even after Mu Jingzhe stopped everyone. If she hadn't, Zhao Lan would probably have had trouble leaving.

Even though Zhao Lan had gone overboard with the five kids, Mu Jingzhe couldn't let them continue hitting her. What if they beat her to death? She could only stop everyone and explain that this was just acting.

In spite of this incident with Zhao Lan, the movie continued playing.

Toward the end, there were sobbing sounds everywhere. Everyone was engrossed in the movie.

Mu Jingzhe had seen it once before and felt it deeply. However, as she watched, she felt the need to relieve herself, so she secretly left to go to the bathroom.

When Mu Jingzhe returned from the bathroom, she was almost frightened to death by a crying sound as she walked past the lawn outside the school.

The village wasn't like the city, which was brightly lit. In the dark night of Great Eastern Village, one couldn't see their fingers without a flashlight. It was really creepy to hear someone crying at night.

"Who is it? Come out. Stop hiding and scaring people."

Mu Jingzhe thought that someone was playing a prank on her, as there were many people there. Unexpectedly, the moment she shouted, the crying sound stopped. A moment later, the other person let out a crying burp.

It seemed like that person was really crying. Upon hearing the hiccups, Mu Jingzhe wasn't that afraid anymore and quickly said, "I'm Mu Jingzhe. Are you alright? If there's anything wrong, you can tell me. Stop hiding and crying."

Mu Jingzhe thought that someone had been wronged and was hiding in tears. She wanted to comfort the other person to prevent anything from happening.

Mu Jingzhe wasn't exaggerating. This was something that had happened when she had just transmigrated. A young lady had given birth to her first child, a daughter. Her mother-in-law, who had been dissatisfied, had kept scolding her and hadn't even taken care of her during her confinement. The confinement period was very important to a woman who had just given birth. Being scolded like this every day made the young mother depressed, which had resulted in conflict with her husband and her crying often.

After seeing her crying a few times, everyone knew that she felt aggrieved, but there was nothing they could do about it. Later on, one night, because her daughter was sick, she wanted to take her to the doctor. Her mother-in-law objected and said that it was a waste of money. Her husband didn't dare make a sound either, so she left with the child on her back.

Everyone originally thought that she had gone to the doctor with the child on her back, but the next morning, the bodies of the mother and daughter were found in the reservoir.

The young mother had lost her biological mother, and her biological father was crazy. She had suffered many grievances and had nowhere to complain. No one had given her any advice either. In the middle of the night, in her despair, she had jumped into the pond with her child.

When they were hauled up, the child was still firmly tied to her mother.

Mu Jingzhe had just arrived at the time and had only met this young mother once. She hadn't expected her to be gone so quickly.

This matter had impacted her quite greatly. She felt that the young wife might have been forced into depression by them. In addition, she had been so desperate that she had made a bad choice.

However, it had been too late to say anything then. Now that she'd heard this sound of crying, the first thing that came to her mind was that incident. Hence, she asked what was wrong out of concern, thinking that if it was another young woman in similar circumstances, perhaps a few words of advice from her could save one or even two lives.

Mu Jingzhe tried her best to sound as gentle and approachable as possible. "Can you hear me? I'm coming."

After greeting the person, Mu Jingzhe was about to go over. However, the person hiding seemed to be frightened. After letting out a panicked sound, they rolled down the stairs and ran away.

"Are you alright? Don't fall and hurt yourself…" Mu Jingzhe quickly climbed up and searched with the flashlight, only to see a fleeing figure.

The flashlight had a limited range, so she couldn't see who it was. From the back, it seemed to be a man, and he looked a little familiar.

"Who is it? It's actually a man."

Did men cry like this too? Did they also suffer such grievances?

Mu Jingzhe chased after him, taking two steps forward, but when she realized that she couldn't catch up to him anymore and couldn't remember who it was, she stopped. However, she picked up a pair of binoculars from the ground.

The binoculars were wrapped in tape, and the lens was cracked. They were very old.

"He was even carrying binoculars… He'll probably come back after he realizes they're missing, right?" Mu Jingzhe put away the binoculars and returned to the school, wondering who it was.

"I'm sure I know him. I'm sure I've seen him before. Why else would I find him familiar… That physique…"

As soon as she arrived at the school gate, Mu Jingzhe had a flash of inspiration when she saw Shao Dong. "Shao Qihai!"

Mu Jingzhe shouted in surprise and then paused. "That's impossible. It can't be Shao Qihai. Why was he hiding there crying? He hasn't suffered any grievances."

Although that person had looked quite a lot like Shao Qihai, Mu Jingzhe felt that it was impossible. Shao Qihai would even teach his children to 'shed blood and sweat but never tears'. How could he possibly hide in the grass and cry his heart out?

Chapter 219: Escaping Death

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Mu Jingzhe couldn't imagine this cold scene, so she shook her head and pushed those thoughts away. She found Little Bei and the others and continued watching the movie.

Elsewhere, Shao Qihai, who had run home in a sorry state, heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Mu Jingzhe hadn't caught up with him. He felt like he had just escaped death.

He had almost been exposed. He had been scared out of his wits just now.

Shao Qihai let out a breath and washed his face. However, his eyes were still swollen. He touched his swollen eyes and accidentally hiccuped, smacking his head in frustration.

"I knew I shouldn't have gone there."

Shao Qihai never watched television dramas or movies. In front of outsiders, he'd claimed that he didn't like them, but in reality, he was afraid of seeing people cry while watching television or movies. Once they cried, he would cry along with them.

He hadn't gotten the chance to watch Little Bei's movie yet, but it sounded like a very touching movie. To sum up, it contained a lot of crying scenes.

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He couldn't even take it if an ordinary person cried. If he saw Little Bei cry, he would probably cry to death with her.

Therefore, Shao Qihai hadn't dared to go with them. Otherwise, if he cried in front of the men, women, and children of Great Eastern Village, as well as in front of other villagers, he would be finished. Who knew what those people would think of him.

Shao Qihai didn't dare. When he had seen Little Bei's disappointed expression, he had felt terrible but had still persisted.

However, he couldn't bring himself to not watch it at all. That was Little Bei's first movie, and it had even won an award. In the end, after they'd left, he had secretly followed them. He didn't dare watch the movie in public, so he had hidden away to watch it.

Since he was too far away to see clearly, Shao Qihai had used a pair of binoculars. He had applied to bring the binoculars back after the army had discarded them.

Although they were a little shabby, they were better than the ones outside. One could see clearly through these binoculars. Because the volume was loud, he could watch the movie just fine even from a distance.

Shao Qihai had been very engrossed while watching it. He'd kept praising Little Bei in his heart, but he couldn't help but cry along.

Unexpectedly, just as he'd been crying uncontrollably, Mu Jingzhe had discovered him. He didn't even dare to imagine Mu Jingzhe's expression if she saw him like this.

Shao Qihai had run away in fear. Because he was really anxious, he even scraped his ankle.

He lowered his head to look at his ankle. The wound was small and it was nothing serious, but Shao Qihai also realized that he had lost the binoculars while he had been in a hurry.

"Please don't let Jingzhe pick them up." If he was exposed, he would be finished.

Shao Qihai was hesitating, not sure whether he should take the risk and go out to look for them. Just as he was about to leave the house, he saw Shao Qiyang return.

These days, Shao Qiyang had been leaving early and returning late, so he'd rarely seen Shao Qihai. Ever since Shao Qihai had discovered his intentions, the two hadn't met in private. When he saw Shao Qiyang return, he greeted him with conflicted thoughts.

"You're back."

"Mm." Shao Qiyang glanced at Shao Qihai. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"Ah, I'm fine. I just accidentally rubbed some chili into my eyes and made them sting." Shao Qihai forgot that the swelling in his eyes had yet to subside and hurriedly made up an excuse. "Have you eaten? I've saved you some food."

Shao Qihai had originally wanted to talk to Shao Qiyang, but now that his eyes were red, he'd probably have to postpone it.

Shao Qiyang looked at Shao Qihai's back and was silent for a moment. "Where are Jingzhe and the kids?"

"They went to the movies. Little Bei's movie is being screened in the village." Only then did Shao Qihai realize that Shao Qiyang had never called her second sister-in-law. He had always called her Jingzhe. There had actually been signs all along.

Shao Qiyang nodded in understanding. Then, he looked at Shao Qihai with disappointment in his eyes. "Then why didn't you go?"

"You know I don't like movies. We'll talk about it later." Shao Qihai was stiff.

Shao Qiyang sneered softly. "Even if you don't, that's the first movie Little Bei has starred in. She will probably be very disappointed."

Even Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng had thought of screening Little Bei's movie to make her happy. In the end, her father had refused to watch it because he didn't like movies. How ironic. He didn't even go although the movie was being screened almost right on their doorstep.

Shao Qihai froze, also knowing that it was wrong of him to do this. "I'll go and see it later. I just won't watch it for the time being."

"It's up to you." Shao Qiyang was increasingly disappointed in Shao Qihai. He couldn't be bothered to continue speaking to him, so he turned to look for Mu Jingzhe and the five kids.

The movie had already ended, but Little Bei was surrounded by passionate viewers and couldn't leave for a while.

Even after the movie was finished, everyone was crying. When they looked at Little Bei again, they were still immersed in the movie, and someone even rolled up his sleeves, wanting to settle the score with Zhao Lan. "Where is this old, wicked woman? Didn't she appear previously? Let's go and hit her. Let's just beat her to death."

Zhao Lan had just been hit by a rock. If this person went over, she might really be beaten up again. Little Bei hadn't expected that after such a long time, someone would finally stand up for her.

She was quite happy in her heart, but she was sensible enough to stop everyone from acting rashly. She repeatedly told everyone that everything in the movie was fake and that it wasn't true. She had a mother and brothers who treated her very well.

Although she said that, everyone in Great Eastern Village was there. It was a fact that this was just a performance in a movie, but it was also a fact that Zhao Lan wasn't a good person. Everyone couldn't help but be reminded of what Eldest Brother Zhao, Zhao Lan, and the others had done to the kids.

Hence, Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ, who had blended into the crowd and were crying with everyone else, once again entered everyone's line of sight.

Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ, who were originally very happy to be watching the movie and even silently admired Little Bei and wanted to say a few words to her, saw everyone's gazes and ran away crying.

After what Little Bei had said, the crowd gave up on the idea of beating Zhao Lan up. Then, someone said that it would be great if they could take a picture with her. Since this was her first time watching Little Bei's movie in the village, Mu Jingzhe had brought her camera. Hence, they ended up taking a group photo that would one day be precious.

Although there were no autographs, everyone did take group photos.

One village after another took a group photo with her, gathering around Little Bei. Then, they even stuffed money into Mu Jingzhe's hands, insisting that she buy a copy for them when she developed the photos.

Because of this fan meeting, they were delayed for a while and didn't return home.

After Shao Qiyang came over and helped the five children and Mu Jingzhe take a photo, they walked home amid everyone's enthusiastic encouragement to stay.

On the way home, Shao Dong noticed the binoculars that Mu Jingzhe had hung in front of her chest to free her hands up to take photos. "Mom, where did you get these binoculars?"

"I picked them up. What's wrong?"

"These binoculars look familiar. I think I've seen them before."

"Really? Whose are they?" If only she could find that person and return the binoculars. Most importantly, she had to persuade him not to take things too seriously.

Shao Dong's expression was strange for a moment. "I must have seen wrong. They shouldn't be his." He seemed to have seen these binoculars among Shao Qihai's belongings before.

Mu Jingzhe understood what Shao Dong meant. "You mean that these belong to your father?"

She realized that the children weren't willing to call Shao Qihai 'Daddy' anymore. They didn't want to call Shao Qihai 'Daddy' in front of him, and they didn't want to call him 'Daddy' in private either. They would replace the word 'Daddy' with 'he', but she didn't feel like it was her place to speak to them about this.

"I think I've seen them before, but I don't think so."

"I don't think so either. They probably belong to someone else."

As they spoke, they returned home and happened to encounter Shao Qihai, who was about to leave the house.. He had originally planned on going back to look for the binoculars, but when he raised his head, he saw that the binoculars were hanging over Mu Jingzhe's chest.

Chapter 220: Teacher Mu's Mother Is So Pitiful

Shao Qihai instantly coughed and choked upon being startled.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going out for a while." Afraid that they would see his red and swollen eyes, Shao Qihai lowered his head and walked out.

'What should I do? How did Jingzhe pick up the binoculars? Could she know I was the one crying?'

At the thought of Mu Jingzhe looking at him strangely, Shao Qihai felt like breaking down.

Fortunately, based on his observation, Mu Jingzhe didn't seem to have realized that it was him, which made Shao Qihai heave a sigh of relief.

Little Bei's movie was screened for three days. Every day, the place was packed with people. There were people from other villages who came over, as well as people from their own village. They watched it for three consecutive days again and again.

They didn't get sick of watching it for three days, because if they did, they could still reveal spoilers to the people from other villages who hadn't watched it before. Seeing those people's shocked expressions was their proudest moment.

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Everyone was still immersed in Little Bei's movie, but after Mu Jingzhe discussed it with Little Bei and the kids, they decided what Little Bei's next movie would be.

Little Bei was young. Previously, scripts had been sent over to her, but there were rarely any offers for leading roles. This was normal. She was too young, and there weren't many shows with children as the main leads.

It wasn't like she had to play a leading role, but this concerned Little Bei's future, so they were very cautious. So far, they had only chosen a supporting role in a movie, but there weren't many scenes with Little Bei in it. She could just film it over a weekend.

This time, Little Bei was still considered the female lead. However, the real protagonists were another Best Actor and a new actor. Basically, they were all good at acting. Everything, from the director to the actors, the script, and the production team, was just right. That was why they'd decided to accept the role after careful consideration.

During the process, Shao Qihai hadn't felt like he'd participated much, as he didn't know much about these things. Even Shao Qiyang and Ji Buwang could make some suggestions, but he didn't have the chance to speak.

Although the script had been finalized, the official shooting process would have to wait. This was even better for Little Bei. She could focus on her studies and film it later.

This was fine, actually. What made Mu Jingzhe feel concerned was her relationship with Shao Qihai.

Thinking back on it, she realized Shao Qihai had been back for more than two weeks. During this time, the two of them had grown a little more familiar than before.

Shao Qihai was also busy. His transport convoy seemed to have been restored to its original state. He would also go out to handle work-related matters, but he knew that he had been absent too much previously, so his main focus was still his family.

As he had promised, he'd taken over the expenses of the children, including the fees for the kids' enrichment classes and the books that the kids wanted. He had also bought the things that the professor had suggested Shao Nan buy, as well as the musical instruments that Xiao Wu wanted. He had never said a word of complaint.

He tried his best to get closer to Mu Jingzhe, but Mu Jingzhe was busy herself and whatever free time she had was basically occupied by the children. Thus, he didn't have many opportunities to talk to Mu Jingzhe. When they did speak, their conversations revolved around the children.

After counting, Shao Qihai realized that he and Mu Jingzhe had been alone for more than three minutes only a handful of times. Forget about nurturing their relationship.

His original room was now occupied by Mu Jingzhe. The children said that it wasn't suitable for him to sleep in the same room with her, so he could only pack up his things and sleep with the boys.

As long as the children were around, he was busy and basically surrounded by housework and all sorts of chores.

Every day, he would carry a basket of clothes to wash them, clean the house, cook, and do all the housework. He was basically kept busy all the time.

Although the children were a little vengeful at first, that was no longer the case later on. They liked to be clean and were all sensible. In the past, in order to prevent Mu Jingzhe from washing clothes every day, they'd specifically paid attention to avoid dirtying their clothes.

The other children were like mud monkeys, but they were very careful. However, now that Shao Qihai was back, they no longer paid so much attention. These days, they played and jumped whenever they wanted.

Anyway, Shao Qihai was there to wash the clothes. He had already become a scenic sight in the village. Every day, when he went to wash clothes, he was mocked by others.

Zhao Lan had mocked him before, saying that she was the one who had helped Shao Qihai wash his clothes in the past. Now, he had to wash the clothes himself.

Shao Qihai didn't care, and the five kids didn't take the villagers' gossip to heart either. On the other hand, after hearing the villagers gossip a few times, Mu Xue found this unjust for Shao Qihai.

When the five kids finished school that day, Mu Xue hesitated for a moment before calling their names to stop them in their tracks.

"Shao Dong, I want to speak with you about something."

"Go ahead, Teacher Mu." Shao Dong's voice was polite, but his expression was very indifferent.

Mu Xue didn't notice this change. Although she often heard news about the children, they were still young and she was a teacher, so she continued treating them like children out of habit.

"I heard some gossip recently that your father often goes to wash clothes and has become a laughing stock in the village. There are no other men in the village washing clothes. Isn't this a tad inappropriate?" Mu Xue felt indignant on Shao Qihai's behalf.

What Shao Qihai had done couldn't be publicized, but she knew that he had done a good deed. Such a person deserved respect. In her opinion, since Shao Qihai had returned, Mu Jingzhe shouldn't have stayed in contact with Ji Buwang and the others.

It was one thing for her to not know that he was still alive, but it wasn't appropriate for her to be doing this now. She'd felt that Mu Jingzhe wasn't doing a good job to begin with, so when she heard that Shao Qihai washed clothes every day, Mu Xue felt even more indignant.

Although Mu Xue didn't mention Mu Jingzhe, her expression and words revealed her true thoughts. Rather than making this about Shao Qihai, she was implying that Mu Jingzhe should be the one washing the clothes instead.

The kids weren't fools, so they knew what she was hinting at right away.

Shao Dong's expression became even colder. "Why would anyone laugh at someone for washing clothes? We've washed our own clothes in the past. Besides, he hasn't washed them in a long time. Compared to what Mommy has washed, what he's washed is nothing."

Mu Xue paused and belatedly detected Shao Dong's coldness. Just as she was about to say something, Shao Xi tilted his head and said curiously, "Teacher Mu, my mother is your cousin. She washed many of our clothes in the past. Why have you never felt heartache for her?"

Mu Xue was stunned. Had Mu Jingzhe washed them before? She hadn't noticed…

Shao Nan observed her expression and smiled as he hit Shao Xi. "Second Brother, don't you know? Teacher Mu has never washed clothes. As a teacher, she can't suffer such hardships. She's also afraid that washing clothes will hurt her hands. Didn't Grandma say that in the past, she would have Mommy wash her clothes? Grandma made a fuss for a long time before Mommy finally no longer had to wash them for her. Since then, Teacher Mu's mother has been washing them for her."

Mu Xue's face instantly turned red. In the past, Old Lady Mu hadn't been able to bear to see her suffer. Her clothes had indeed been given to Mu Jingzhe to wash by Old Lady Mu, but it hadn't been for that long. It had only been for a year or two.

Later on, when Li Zhaodi had found out, she'd kicked up a fuss. Then, she had stopped. Why would Li Zhaodi even tell the children something like this?

Mu Xue wanted to say something else, but Little Bei asked curiously, "Would washing clothes hurt your hands? Why aren't our hands damaged? Doesn't Teacher Mu know how to wash clothes?"

"I do." Mu Xue blushed and answered quickly.

"That's good. Otherwise, Teacher Mu's mother would be too pitiful. You're already so big, yet she still has to wash your clothes." Little Bei heaved a sigh of relief like a little adult. "Besides, Teacher Mu, what if you get married? No one will wash your clothes for you anymore."