In the past, Mu Xue had never taken this cousin seriously. In her eyes, Mu Jingzhe was just a clown. In fact, she had considered it beneath her to even argue with her. They simply weren’t from the same world, and this was a fact that everyone silently agreed on.

  But now, things had changed. She and Mu Jingzhe were like archenemies. Mu Xue felt that if Mu Jingzhe lived well, she wouldn’t live well. If Mu Jingzhe made something of herself, she probably wouldn’t be able to lift her head.

  Mu Xue didn’t want to scare herself, but she didn’t want to admit this reality either.

  In the past, Mu Xue used to be the one who started trends among the young girls in the village. For example, student haircuts or dresses. All the girls in the village used to imitate her.

  Mu Jingzhe had always imitated her too and made a fool of herself. But now, Mu Jingzhe had become the trend-setter in the village.

  “Mu Jingzhe’s dresses are really pretty. I heard that they were bought in Ocean City. I want to buy one of them someday.”

  “Me too.”

  The girls wanted to wear the hair ornaments that Mu Jingzhe made and the clothes that Mu Jingzhe wore. There were even girls who wanted to cut their hair short. They only gave up that idea after being scolded a few times.

  Mu Xue looked at herself, feeling baffled. The clothes she was wearing now were all good stuff, many times better than Mu Jingzhe’s clothes. They had all been given to her by Tang Moling. By right, Mu Jingzhe’s clothes, which had been bought in Ocean City, should pale in comparison. So why couldn’t those girls see that?

  Mu Xue didn’t know that her things were actually too good, way beyond what everyone else could afford. On the other hand, Mu Jingzhe’s clothes were more down-to-earth, so they were still within reach.

  After two days, Mu Xue discovered something else.

  Many young men in the village, with the approval of their parents, actually wanted to marry Mu Jingzhe in private.

  On the surface, no one said anything. The reason no one went to propose marriage was because they knew that Mu Jingzhe wouldn’t agree.

  In the past, the person people didn’t dare propose marriage to used to be Mu Xue. Now, that person had become Mu Jingzhe.

  She was clearly a young widow who had already been married once, but so many promising young men felt that they weren’t worthy of Mu Jingzhe and didn’t dare propose marriage to her.

  Mu Xue was mystified. “How did things end up like this?”

  Mu Xue couldn’t remember when the change had started. When she returned home and saw Li Zhaodi, Mu Xue was also momentarily dazed.

  She almost didn’t recognize her sharp, unkind scoundrel of a second aunt. When did her unpresentable Second Aunt, who was like a clown, become so spirited and cheerful? When did she start having so many people fawning over her?

  \r \r \r

  Wasn’t Second Aunt the most unpopular person in the past? Hadn’t the villagers avoided the very sight of her?

  Mu Xue hesitated and remembered that Second Aunt hadn’t come to provoke her or snatch her things for a long time.

  Thinking back carefully, Second Aunt didn’t even stare at her hatefully anymore, especially after they’d split up the family assets.

  When and why had she changed?

  Mu Xue looked at Li Zhaodi in a daze and tried her best to recall. Li Zhaodi didn’t look at Mu Xue at first, but when she saw that she was staring at her, she couldn’t help but purse her lips.

  Why was this arrogant girl’s gaze so terrifying when she had been busy with her own matters and hadn’t had the time to complain about her?

  Li Zhaodi pondered this for a while. Her attention was then quickly diverted by everyone’s flattery.

  “Don’t praise me. It’s just an ordinary piece of clothing. Even if it was bought in Ocean City, it’s still just a piece of clothing.”

  Li Zhaodi was busy thinking about ways to remove Mu Jingzhe’s scar, but when she turned around, she was drowned in gifts.

  Little Bei had remembered Mu Jingzhe but hadn’t forgotten her brothers and maternal grandparents either. She had bought things for them as well.

  Mu Jingzhe had also remembered and bought them clothes. On the other hand, Li Zhaodi had previously bought clothes for the children. Naturally, Shao Dong and Shao Xi had to reciprocate with a gift. They made their own money, and even Mu Han had brought something for his parents.

  Dizzily, Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng found themselves with a pile of brand-new clothes and shoes.

  Mu Jingzhe was in the limelight because she was wearing the dress she had bought in Ocean City, and so were Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng. After Li Zhaodi finished bragging about the clothes, she went on to brag about the shoes and the scarf.

  “I didn’t know there was such soft leather in this world. It’s so soft when you wear it. Jingzhe doesn’t even wear it herself, but she insisted on buying one for me.”

  “And this scarf. Never mind how small it is. It’s not cheap. That lass Little Bei is still a child, yet she insisted on buying it for me by using the money she earned. My hands are so rough from working all day that I’m afraid I’ll damage the scarf if I touch it.”

  Everyone knew that Li Zhaodi was showing off, but they couldn’t help but be envious. They had never seen silk scarves and flowers from Ocean City.

  They wanted to feel the texture, but they were afraid they would accidentally damage it. In the past, Li Zhaodi would never have let them touch it, but this time, she generously allowed them to touch it.

  Li Zhaodi’s mouth and tongue were dry from all the talking, but she was feeling smug in her heart. Previously, everyone had laughed at her and said that they were stupid for acknowledging the five kids who weren’t even biologically related to them.

  However, the five kids had made them proud. It had only been a short while, and they were already buying things for them with their own money.

  To be honest, even a biological child might not be able to do this. Now that she could finally hold her head high, Li Zhaodi had to boast about it.

  Compared to Li Zhaodi, Mu Teng was much more reserved. However, he also frequently put on his new hat and clothes and strolled around the village.

  He didn’t know how to boast, but he enjoyed everyone’s gazes. Although he spoke modestly, he was actually very gleeful about it.

  Even though the weather hadn’t turned cold and it was too warm to wear a trapper hat[1], he was determined not to take it off.

  Mu Jingzhe found Mu Teng and Li Zhaodi’s behavior amusing and potentially maddening. Li Zhaodi’s smug look as she flaunted everywhere made her seem like a weird character in television dramas, an existence that the villagers hated the most. Logically speaking, she should have said something, but seeing how happy they were, she couldn’t bear to douse their enthusiasm.

  Forget it, as long as they were happy, it was okay.

  The older generation had suffered too much. This was their proudest and happiest moment. The envy and jealousy of others was even sweeter than honey to them.

  Mu Jingzhe was happy, Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng were happy, but Zhao Lan, Eldest Brother Mu, and his wife were almost angered to death.

  Zhao Lan hadn’t expected the children to be so promising. These kids, who she had considered a burden, were actually capable of earning money? And so much money at that?

  In the past, she hadn’t given a damn if the children acknowledged her or not. She’d even felt that it was best if they didn’t, in case she had to spend money on them.

  However, when she saw that they had actually bought all those things for Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng, she couldn’t help but feel jealous.

  She, their biological grandmother, was still there. She was the one who had raised them from a young age. Why hadn’t they bought anything for her?

  Who the hell were Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng? It wasn’t as if they were their biological grandparents. Those kids had merely called them Grandpa and Grandma a couple of times, yet they had bought the two of them all this stuff?!

  The happier Li Zhaodi and Mu Teng were, the more they showed off, and the less capable Zhao Lan was of controlling her anger. Every day, she would keep making oblique remarks from next door or right at their door.

  She would call them ingrates and shameless children and other things like that. At the end of the day, she was just hinting that Shao Dong should buy things for her.

  If she had her way, she would be asking directly, but after that scare last time, she didn’t dare to.

  Since she didn’t have the balls to do so, Shao Dong and the rest simply ignored her. They treated her as a joke and never paid attention to her.

  The children still remembered Zhao Lan’s reaction after Mu Jingzhe had been bitten by a snake. They remembered the kindness they had been shown, but they also bore grudges.

  “She’s cursing at the door again,” said Little Bei quietly when she came in.

  “Just leave her be. This is just an appetizer. It’s nothing compared to what is to come. There’ll be plenty for her to be angry about.” Shao Xi sneered. “When she left us to Mommy, she did so without any hesitation. Let her wallow in regret and anger for the rest of her life.”

  The children casually discussed the matter and then pushed Zhao Lan to the back of their minds. At present, they had a new headache.

  Since god knew when, many young men had started coming to their house. Those young men would greet the kids with a smile and appear outside their home from time to time.

  In the beginning, the five kids didn’t think too much about it. However, recently, every time they came back from school, by observing the situation, they’d started to understand.

  These people seemed to be interested in Mommy!

  [1] a fur cap with ear-covering flaps