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墨書 Inktalez
"Master's master, you lit this fire, so you must be responsible for putting it out!"
If one were to speak of ruthlessness, they had never encountered a leader like hers. She dealt with enemies with a swift strike, without hesitation. But compared to Xia Muxin, she was nothing. Xia Muxin took her time to drive people insane, to break them down slowly. In the end, she wouldn’t let you die, but living would be worse than death.
Ming Yi and the others understood her nature quite well. At heart, she was kind, but there was a wickedness that ran deep within her—targeted only at those who deserved it. Over time, the dozen or so of them naturally began to flatter her, especially since their leader was now utterly obedient to her.
They thought Xia Muxin would help him, at least say a few comforting words to soothe his severely wounded pure heart. Instead, Xia Muxin turned around after listening and stared at him for a while, making Ming Yi’s hair stand on end in terror. Then she patted his chest and said with a practiced air:
"Well, you have a talent for acting. Keep up the good work next time."
Upon hearing this, Ming Yi covered his face and spat blood before collapsing. Ming Qi laughed so hard he nearly trembled and didn’t even pursue revenge anymore.
At that moment, Shen Muhan returned with the Golden Python. The few young men who had been joking around suddenly straightened their faces and vanished without a trace. Songzi watched in astonishment; he had been learning from Brother Ming Yi for several months but had only scratched the surface. He couldn’t even manage to climb a single leaf on a tree. When would he acquire such unparalleled skills to disappear like them?
"Wow, Uncle, Python Brother!"
The rest of the family rejoiced over Xia Jihua's newfound freedom and sat in the house chatting casually. Seeing Ming Yi and the others fly away, Songzi found a straight branch about the length of his arm and looked for a place to practice. Meanwhile, Xia Muxin cheerfully ran over to Shen Muhan and waved happily at the Golden Python.
The Golden Python flicked its tail a few times before sulking off to its little nest. Noticing its unusual behavior, Xia Muxin looked curiously at Shen Muhan.
Shen Muhan approached her and affectionately brushed his fingers against her nose before raising an eyebrow with a faint smile.
"A few people were scared out of their wits and left quite a stench behind. Quite impressive, hmm?"
The last "hmm" left Xia Muxin puzzled, but the genuine smile hidden in his eyes was unmistakable. After a pause, she proudly replied:
"Is that a compliment or an insult?"
What he meant was that he had seen the few people returning, and they were so frightened that they had wet their pants, which explained their disheveled appearance.
Shen Muhan furrowed his brows in mock contemplation, while Xia Muxin made a face at him, tugging at his arm and giving him a playful glare. Shen Muhan chuckled and replied reluctantly, "I suppose it's a compliment!"
Upon hearing this, Xia Muxin pouted, her lips jutting out. With an impatient tone, she asked, "Then why did you leave?"
"I was afraid I might not be able to resist chopping them up and feeding them to the fish in the river."
"......"
In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed. Today was the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. During these days, Xia Muxin had made two trips to Town to sell Wine-Pickled Fish and Game Meat.
Overall, Zhushan County was the largest county in the Tianli Kingdom, but it mostly consisted of mountain villages that were remote and backward. However, the county itself was bustling like the capital. In winter, snow would blanket the mountains, causing the townsfolk to rarely venture outside. Thus, goods during this time were particularly scarce and precious.
Especially Game Meat; when Xia Muxin first visited Fushou Tower, the kitchen was nearly empty. The cold weather made wealthy people in Town reluctant to eat at home; they preferred dining out together. Fushou Tower was bustling with activity, but there were significantly fewer dishes available. Even if they wanted to transport ingredients from elsewhere, it would take time and even then, the food would not be fresh. Moreover, transportation costs were not cheap; even a small cart of vegetables could cost several dozen taels of silver. Uncle Bingzi was worried sick about this.
Xia Muxin happened to have Ming Yi and others gather a substantial amount of Game Meat for her. The price had more than doubled. The next day, she collected various vegetables from the village—radishes, cabbages, garlic, celery—and filled a large cart before transporting them to Fortune and Longevity Restaurant. This earned her quite a fortune as well; upon returning home, she distributed the silver among the villagers while pocketing a significant profit herself.
After all, this phenomenon was only temporary. If she offered villagers prices based on what Fushou Tower charged, they would become dissatisfied next time if she offered them less. Those who didn’t understand might even think she had withheld their silver.
On her second visit, she brought over the last batch of Wine-Pickled Fish for the year. Most of these were sold to Town residents. At that moment, she taught Uncle Bingzi how to prepare a dish—hot pot. That very afternoon, they pushed it out as a special offering and unexpectedly sold out all two hundred servings within just one lunch period.
Xia Muxin was quite clever; during her first visit, she had already ordered several hundred small pots and little charcoal stoves designed according to her specifications. After paying a deposit, the owner was thrilled and managed to complete them within her stipulated timeframe. She even brought along charcoal and gave Su Yan-Chu a good scolding for good measure—all of this cost her two thousand taels of silver.
However, she did not make Su Yan-Chu pay immediately. Instead, after testing the dishes, she began teaching Uncle Bingzi and the others how to prepare the ingredients in the kitchen. They had everything from chicken to duck, fish to pork ribs. As a result, after the first table was served, the guests praised the food endlessly. Moreover, it was something new, so each subsequent table ordered at least two different hot pots.
In the end, Su Yan-Chu voluntarily handed over the money to her, praising her work.
In recent days, Aunt Xia's belly had begun to sag noticeably, and it was estimated that she would give birth in just a few days. Shen Muhan made sure to give her acupuncture treatments every morning and evening, while Summer Forest stayed close by her side.
Xia Muxin had bought a lot of New Year goods and cut window paper. With so many people in the house, it was sure to be a lively celebration.
At that moment, Ming Yi and the others were helping to paste the window paper. Xia Muxin was skilled at cutting the paper; whatever she cut looked exactly like what it was supposed to be. Once pasted on the windows and doors, it looked almost real.
She also led everyone in making lanterns, painting auspicious symbols on them. The characters were written by Shen Muhan because his calligraphy was the best—much better than Summer Old Man's.
The main door had four panels designed in a modern rural style, all adorned with "Fu" characters, which were even upside down.
Everyone was puzzled until they learned from Xia Muxin that this meant "good fortune has arrived."
A dozen young men were busy: some were pasting window paper, some cleaning up, and some tidying the yard. Meanwhile, Summer Forest stayed inside with Aunt Xia since she could no longer get out of bed today. The moment she tried to get up, she felt as if the baby was about to come. After giving her acupuncture, Shen Muhan advised her not to leave the room and sent someone to Town to fetch a midwife. After all, her delivery was expected to be somewhat difficult. They were all big men without experience and found it inconvenient. Xia Tieshu and his wife brought New Year gifts to Yang Dadong's house.
At this moment, Xia Jihua was helping Xia Muxin in the kitchen.
Xia Muxin had brought back more than ten jars of oil and a lot of flour, sesame seeds, white sugar, and brown sugar. Everyone wondered what she was planning to make. Shen Muhan followed her around curiously as she busied herself alone in the kitchen. What delicious treat was this girl going to prepare?
Indeed, what Xia Muxin was making at that moment was one of the simplest homemade snacks—little flower pieces commonly known as cat ears.
The process of making this snack wasn't difficult; as long as all the ingredients were prepared and measured correctly, it was easy for Xia Muxin. From mixing ingredients to preparing dough and filling, rolling out the dough and stacking it together took no more than half an hour. However, the final cutting required skill.
Xia Muxin might have been proficient with other tasks but wasn't quite as good as Xia Tieshu when it came to this aspect. She probably used fifty pounds of flour and rolled them all out perfectly. Of course, during this time, Shen Muhan helped with kneading and rolling since he had great strength.
As if timing it perfectly, Xia Muxin had just finished rolling everything up when Xia Tieshu returned.
"Brother, great savior, hurry and wash your hands, come help us!"
Natsume poked her head out from the kitchen door, grinning as she called out to Xia Tieshu, mischievously winking at his blushing wife, Ermiao.
Ermiao felt a bit shy and playfully pushed Xia Tieshu away before darting off to her mother's room.
Xia Tieshu knew that this girl was full of tricks; if she was doing something well, she wouldn't call him over. So he didn't hesitate and quickly washed his hands before entering the kitchen.
Xia Muxin demonstrated how to use the knife for cutting the seams, emphasizing the thinness required—comparable to a sheet of paper. Fortunately, Xia Tieshu was quick to grasp it. As soon as Xia Muxin finished demonstrating, he got to work cutting, his technique precise and swift, achieving the right thickness.
Shen Muhan observed the hundreds of rolled tubes and then watched as Xia Tieshu cut one. Without saying a word, he grabbed a kitchen knife and joined in, swiftly slicing away.
He hadn't realized it until he started working, but once he did, Xia Muxin was utterly astonished. Each slice he made was as uniform and neat as if done by a machine, perfectly thin and at a speed much faster than Xia Tieshu's.
In awe, Xia Muxin gave Shen Muhan a thumbs up.
"Uncle, you're a great helper at home; you'll make a wonderful husband in the future!"
- End of Chapter -
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