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墨書 Inktalez
In this year, the Tianli Kingdom experienced various improvements, and the people were happier than ever, wholeheartedly supporting their current emperor, Tian Ming Rui.
At the same time, as the borderlands were being cultivated, the soldiers no longer feared running out of supplies. While they guarded the city gates to protect the nation, they also learned various ways to sustain themselves.
Day by day, winter arrived once again. The border had ample food supplies, and the environment and conditions had greatly improved. Moreover, this year, there were no external invasions, allowing everyone to focus entirely on cultivation.
Due to the river excavation project, a large number of soldiers were needed. With the river area came vulnerabilities that enemy forces could exploit. Under Xia Muxin's various suggestions, Shen Muhan prepared comprehensive strategies and presented them to Tian Ming Rui, who was deeply impressed and issued instructions accordingly. Meanwhile, Xia Muxin successfully marketed her cement.
She recruited hundreds of workers to produce cement, and the court announced that during the river excavation period, they would provide as much as needed.
In just one year's time, Xia Muxin opened five Large Supermarkets in various locations. This year, she and Shen Muhan spent little time together since he was primarily managing things while she was tied down by three Little Carrot Heads.
This winter saw an early snowfall that buried Xia Muxin's more than four hundred acres of Rapeseed under thick snow. However, this did not dampen her spirits; in fact, it signified a bountiful harvest year for her.
In Dayao Village, in addition to the various fruit trees she had previously transplanted, she cultivated a large area of seedlings. The terraced fields she had contracted continued to flourish as she planted cotton and Sweet Potatoes.
Moreover, she contracted additional land for planting Sweet Potatoes along with corn, soybeans, and peanuts. With the emergence of Sweet Potato Starch and various flavored chips, prices for Sweet Potatoes began to rise.
Calculating her holdings, Xia Muxin likely owned over a thousand acres of land. Not only did she have many fields, but she also employed over a thousand workers for farming. Ninety percent of the population in Dayao Village and Daimiao Village were employed by her family.
The Workshop required more than a thousand pounds of Firewood daily, indicating just how substantial her business had become.
Wherever her supermarkets and Workshop were located, nearby villagers found stable jobs close to home.
"Cool... cool... the price has changed again."
After giving birth, Xia Muxin had become somewhat fuller, especially in her chest area. She had also grown taller, with her features becoming even more refined. At this moment, she was in the courtyard sketching something.
It was the first sunny day after the snow had melted. Her long, waterfall-like hair danced wildly in the cold wind, and a hint of a smile lingered on her face. Suddenly, a high-pitched, mispronounced voice pierced her ears, causing her to furrow her brows and set down her pen. She looked at Shen Yuanyuan, who was less than two meters away from her, with a headache. Her eyes gradually narrowed as she took a few big steps forward, grabbing the collar of Shen Yuanyuan's clothes and roaring:
“Little Bun, you’re stirring up trouble again!”
Shen Yuanyuan was the third child, round and chubby, with eyes as round as grapes, always filled with innocence and cunning. At not even two years old, she had managed to outsmart both adults and children alike, leaving everyone praising her for being clever and understanding. In this village, every boy under eight who was decent-looking was considered her Husband. Only Xia Muxin dared to give her a stern look and discipline her.
Shen Muhan treated her like a treasure, not to mention Ming Yi and the others.
Whenever she came to complain about her two brothers fighting, it was always because she had instigated it—often because all three had their eyes on the same rock.
Yes, a rock. Ever since Donghe dried up, the rising water level revealed many oddly shaped stones. Everyone was busy, but these three Little Carrot Heads had time to spare. If they weren’t busy bringing rocks home, they were avoiding sleeping with adults by each having their own room. If you entered their rooms, your biggest find would be rocks.
Under the bed, in the cupboard, in various small boxes—these toys were all rocks.
At that time, Xia Muxin complained to Shen Muhan, wondering why they didn’t just jump out of the rocks like Sun Wukong’s successors. The two ended up discussing Sun Wukong for an entire day and night. This single-minded man kept asking who Sun Wukong was and why she knew he came from a rock. For this reason, Xia Muxin felt like smashing her head against tofu in frustration—wasn’t it true that men got more narrow-minded as they aged? As a result of that comment, he kept her pinned down for three days and nights in Dayao Village...
Thinking back, it had been three months since he last returned.
Little Bun was Shen Yuanyuan’s nickname. The three children were born on the same day; the two boys were exquisitely handsome as if they were celestial beings descended to earth—everyone who saw them praised their beauty.
But Shen Yuanyuan, on the other hand, was quite different. Her skin was delicate and tender but round as a ball and she could eat like two people combined. Fortunately, her big round eyes sparkled with mischief. Still, this gave Xia Muxin quite a blow; she couldn’t fathom how siblings born together could differ so much.
At this moment, Little Bun’s collar was being tugged by her mother while her round body was lifted up effortlessly. Yet she remained relaxed and calmly pointed the way for Xia Muxin.
“Cool! Just ahead!”
Xia Muxin shot an annoyed glare at Little Bun, then quickened her pace.
What gave her a headache was when she reached her destination; her two sons were rolling around on the ground fighting over an ordinary stone the size of an egg. The ground was wet from melting snow, and both boys wore light-colored jackets that were now covered in mud.
“Stop it right now!”
Xia Muxin trembled with anger. Ever since the children learned to walk, her voice had grown louder, and now she set down Little Bun, her eyes darting mischievously as she tiptoed over to the stone. Taking advantage of her two brothers' distraction, she grabbed the stone and scampered away on her short legs.
Xia Muxin couldn't care less about the commotion. Seeing Little Bun running toward home, she rushed over and pulled apart the two boys who were still fighting. She gave each of them a light smack on the head. They winced in pain and simultaneously realized they had been reported by their little sister, looking up at their mother with innocent expressions, yet they did not defend themselves.
In their hearts, Mother was the fierce Mother Tiger, while Father was seen as an accomplice to their sister's mischief. Yet, Father favored Little Bun, and it was no ordinary favoritism.
It is often said that every family has its own troubles. Xia Muxin had never felt this way until the three children were born; it became painfully obvious.
They would get upset over the smallest actions from adults, and children are always blunt. They had told her many times that Father only liked their sister and not them.
She had mentioned this to Shen Muhan, but seeing Little Bun's round figure made Shen Muhan feel pity for her. As a skilled doctor, he surely understood that Little Bun was not truly just chubby.
Outsiders might say the child was clever and adorable, but what did she really think inside? This had become a constant worry for both parents. After all, they were all flesh of their flesh. Xia Muxin disciplined them strictly for their own good.
Seeing her sons puffing out their cheeks with grievance made Xia Muxin's anger dissipate entirely. She grabbed one by each hand and headed home. Once there, she prepared water for them to bathe.
"You two are big brothers; you need to let your sister have her way, understand?"
The two boys settled into a tub of warm water, enjoying the soothing soak while Xia Muxin lovingly washed their faces and reminded them gently.
The children were still young; she couldn't impart too many profound lessons but could only take it step by step.
She always believed her three children were more mature than others their age. However, they were still kids, and she wanted them to have a wonderful childhood filled with warmth from home.
"Mom, that stone glows and can even talk," her eldest son Shen Jing suddenly exclaimed.
They had been guarding that stone for over ten days now. It often rolled around on its own, making it hard to catch. Yet all three siblings had taken a liking to it, leading to arguments between the second brother and Shen Jing today when they tried to grab it at the same time.
In the end, that cunning fat man still managed to take the stone away, and just thinking about it made him feel quite resentful.
It wasn't that he wanted to complain to his mother, but his sister was simply too despicable and sneaky, always using her wits to snatch away their treasures.
"At such a young age, what nonsense are you talking about? Can a stone speak?"
Xia Muxin couldn't help but give her eldest son a light smack on the head, disapprovingly saying so, even starting to doubt whether she should have told them those fanciful mythological stories.
"Your mother has been busy these days, so you all need to behave. In half a month, it will be New Year, and your uncle and aunt will be coming back."
Yan Zhouwan had mentioned in a letter that they would return for the New Year this year, and after the holiday, they would settle their lifelong matters. This news brought comfort to Xia Muxin. She also planned to mention Shen Muqing in her letter, noting how much he had changed and how well he treated her. However, in this past year, he had not taken that final step.
This surprised Xia Muxin; she figured Shen Muhan probably couldn't do what he did either.
"Mother, are you talking about Zhou Zhou and Auntie and Uncle Qing?"
At that moment, the second child, Shen Teng, popped his head out from behind the barrel, excitedly asking.
The children really liked Yan Zhouwan and Shen Muqing. They often sent rare gifts to them, thoroughly bribing the kids.
- End of Chapter -
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