Before the kids’ final exam, Mu Jingzhe recruited three more people and continued making hair accessories.

  Just as she had expected, her hair accessories sold really well, with the butterfly hair clip being especially popular.

  She had to expand the production before her designs were replicated elsewhere.

  Compared to a factory, her business was just a small workshop.

  However, Mu Jingzhe wasn’t afraid, for there weren’t many large factories in that era, and her small workshop was quite efficient.

  The people she had hired were all hardworking, and their speed wasn’t slow either. Everyone worked together quickly and formed the fastest production line possible.

  Before the weather turned cold, Mu Jingzhe renovated the yard and used wooden planks and bricks to completely block out curious eyes. The place now finally looked like a factory.

  She also set up a regulation system to make the factory’s procedures more standardized.

  She was familiar with these things.

  The employees didn’t work in the factory, but they had to clock in and out when they came to work. It was just that formalities were not in place. The management was even stricter than that of a factory.

  The only difference between this place and a factory was that there was no factory building or company. When the opportunity arose, a factory could be established and start operating immediately.

  Most of the villagers only knew that Mu Jingzhe was capable, but those who had the chance to work here knew better than anyone else how incredible she was.

  However, everyone could tell that they were running a brisk business over there. This was especially evident when one looked at the workers—their condition was completely different from before. This invoked envy in all the villagers.

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao and Zhao Lan had heard a lot of gossip about them in the village. Although they were furious, there was nothing they could do. When they heard that Mu Jingzhe was earning money, they wanted to earn money with her. However, Mu Jingzhe simply paid no heed to them. All they could do was make oblique remarks next door, slam things, or quarrel among themselves.

  As the two families lived next door, they could hear all the commotion. Occasionally, Eldest Brother Shao would lose his temper.

  Mu Jingzhe heard it all but simply ignored them.

  However, the conflict at home affected the children. Even though Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ didn’t dare bully Shao Dong and his siblings anymore, they imitated the adults and gossiped behind their backs.

  In particular, they often made fun of Little Bei and Xiao Wu for calling Mu Jingzhe ‘Mommy’.

  They mocked Xiao Wu by saying, “You’re calling any random person ‘Mommy’ just because she can breastfeed you, huh. I can give you food too. Come on, call me ‘Daddy’.”

  They ridiculed Little Bei as well. “It’s fine if that little b*stard calls her Mommy since he doesn’t have a mother to begin with, but even you are calling her that. If Second Aunt finds out about this in the afterlife, I don’t know how sad she will be.”

  \r \r \r

  Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ went around spreading rumors about them. Shao Dong and his siblings’ situation at school had improved, and no one dared to bully them. However, there were also people who disliked them, and they started speaking ill of them behind their backs.

  Mu Jingzhe was sensitive and sensed the change in their mood, but they refused to tell her what was going on when she asked them.

  Later on, she found out from Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao that Little Bei, Shao Dong, Shao Xi, and Shao Nan’s biological mother’s death anniversary was coming.

  The reason Fu, Lu, Shou, and Xǐ would suddenly mention their second aunt was because it would be her death anniversary soon.

  They had not remembered her death anniversary so early because they missed their second aunt or anything like that, but because they wanted Mu Jingzhe to feel miserable.

  No matter how impressive and arrogant Mu Jingzhe was now, it couldn’t conceal the fact that she was a stepmother.

  In ancient times, women in her position were regarded as concubines and would have to bow to the first wife. They would never be able to compare to the first wife.

  Although she treated the children well, and Little Bei and Xiao Wu had even started calling her ‘Mommy’, she was still not their biological mother. She was only a stepmother.

  It was rare for the eldest branch to find something that upset Mu Jingzhe, so they deliberately let their children learn this and even got them to publicize the matter in the village.

  They didn’t mind, but the children indeed took it to heart. It was true that they felt terrible.

  Mu Jingzhe was speechless as she watched Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao prance around.

  She had originally thought that Zhao Lan would also prance around with Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao. However, to her surprise, Zhao Lan didn’t say much about the death anniversary this time. Although she kept pulling a long face, she didn’t say much.

  Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao thought that it would make Mu Jingzhe miserable, but this wasn’t the case at all.

  She seemed to have forgotten that Mu Jingzhe didn’t care about these things now that Shao Qihai was gone.

  Although Eldest Sister-In-Law Shao would only be glad to tell Mu Jingzhe the relevant information, Mu Jingzhe didn’t ask her. Instead, she chose to ask the children.

  “I heard that your mother’s death anniversary is in a few days. I’d like to ask how you used to pay your respects. Is there anything in particular that you do?”

  The children looked at each other for a moment but didn’t say anything. Little Bei even gazed at her cautiously.

  Mu Jingzhe laughed. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Why are you looking at me like that? Is it inconvenient for you to tell me? I don’t mean anything by it. I just want to help you guys prepare.”

  Little Bei shook her head vigorously. “No, we were afraid… that Mommy would be unhappy.”

  So they were being considerate to spare her feelings. The foolish children were sad and worried that she would feel terrible.

  Mu Jingzhe couldn’t help but stroke their heads.

  “Thank you for your consideration, but I’m fine with it, so tell me. I have to make preparations before her death anniversary arrives.”

  Shao Dong, who felt a little uncomfortable having his head stroked, thanked her in a whisper.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Shao Xi looked at Shao Dong. At his command, he took on the responsibility of communicating with Mu Jingzhe as he had in the past.

  Only then did Mu Jingzhe learn that their biological mother was called Bai Lu.

  It was said that she had been named that way because she had been born on Bailu Day[1]. Also, her surname happened to be Bai, so she had been given the name Bai Lu.

  Shao Xi spoke a little too much and even referred to Bai Lu as ‘Mommy’ a few times. When he finished speaking, he was a little embarrassed.

  Mu Jingzhe didn’t seem to notice. “So it’s the day after tomorrow. What did your mother like to eat?”

  “Walnut cookies,” Shao Xi immediately answered.

  “Walnut cookies? Hmm, alright.”

  Walnut cookies were a famous and tasty snack in that era.

  Mu Jingzhe had never known Bai Lu before, but she took this opportunity to get to know her a bit.

  It was difficult to find out from the children, but she had no qualms asking Shao Qiyang. When Shao Qiyang returned, she asked him about her.

  Shao Qiyang was initially still mad over that conversation, but he came back because he was afraid that she would feel awful. In the end, she was completely fine. He had no choice but to tell her what he knew.

  This way, Mu Jingzhe learned about the conflict between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo, Zhao Lan and Bai Lu.

  It was said that Zhao Lan had been dissatisfied with Bai Lu from the start.

  Shao Qihai was the second child. He had Eldest Brother Shao above him and two younger siblings below him. Thus, he was the most neglected child amongst them.

  Ever since he was young, he had never been one to say heartwarming words and he’d only known how to work silently. It was only after he’d joined the army, become successful, and started sending an allowance back that his presence had gradually started becoming obvious at home.

  Zhao Lan had originally wanted to find a good wife for Shao Qihai in Great Eastern Village, but before she could do anything, Shao Qihai had already found someone.

  It was said that an army mate had introduced the girl to him. She was a smart, beautiful city girl with a job.

  It was normally a good thing to find such a daughter-in-law, but Zhao Lan was displeased. This was because after they got married, Shao Qihai started to send back less money, saying that he now needed to support his family.

  Zhao Lan was unhappy. She had wanted to find Shao Qihai a wife from Great Eastern Village so that she could keep her daughter-in-law at home in order to retain control over Shao Qihai. This way, Shao Qihai would continue sending back his allowance to her.

  Alas, Zhao Lan’s objections to Shao Qihai’s sudden request to get married were futile. As a result, she was immensely displeased with Bai Lu.

  Initially, Shao Qihai had asked Zhao Lan to go over to get to know her daughter-in-law before going home to host a dinner party when Chinese New Year came. However, Zhao Lan hadn’t gone.

  In fact, Zhao Lan had even told him not to bother throwing a wedding banquet in their hometown. She said she didn’t have what it took to wait on a daughter-in-law from the city.

  [1] the 15th of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese Lunar Calendar