Farm Girl's Manor
Chapter 378: The Mind to Fight Arises (3)_1

Chapter 378: Chapter 378: The Mind to Fight Arises (3)_1

Seeing her in a daze, he explained, "Our family has already had lunch, and there’s no hot food left. You can take these buns back and heat them up to eat, and this cotton-padded coat is still quite warm. Put it on before you go to avoid catching a cold."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xin immediately realized she was mistaken for a beggar. She couldn’t tell if she felt anger or humiliation, but she deeply wanted to fling the things in her hands back at him. Yet clutching the soft cotton coat that seemed to make her feel a bit warmer, she couldn’t bear to part with it!

Xin Er was unaware of her thoughts, and seeing her head lowered and motionless, thought she might be too shy to say anything. She smiled, said nothing else, and led Liyan inside.

As she watched their figures disappear into the yard, Tang Xin clutched the cotton coat tightly, her eyes glowing with a fierce light...

In the blink of an eye, the Laba Festival arrived, and Mo Qingze had returned the day before. Lizhong also handed over the rice shop’s affairs to Tie Tou and Wang Pangtou, opting to stay at home to help.

There were two things to do for Laba: one was to host a banquet to entertain relatives and friends, and the other was to cook Laba porridge to celebrate Laba Festival. Since these two events coincided, it became rather busy.

Fortunately, there weren’t too many guests to entertain this time, just three or four tables of people. Mo Yan and her family had prepared the ingredients and utensils in advance, so as not to interfere with the festivities of Laba.

A lot of Laba porridge was needed, not only for the family but also to be given to relatives and friends. Generally, those who could afford it would cook extra to give to the needy, as a way to accumulate virtue.

Mo Yan had planned to cook extra Laba porridge on this day to give to the destitute in the city, but since it coincided with the kin recognition banquet, she didn’t have the energy to do so. Instead, she asked Wang Pangtou and Tie Tou to cook some in the shop and distribute it to those who came for rice at noon each day.

The main ingredients for Laba porridge are japonica rice, glutinous rice, and Job’s tears, usually also including a balanced mix of water caltrop, water chestnut, walnut kernels, pine nuts, red dates, and others. The Mo Family had prepared these items two days in advance, and early in the morning, they were busy cooking the Laba porridge.

Making Laba porridge was not difficult, and Mo Yan cooked two huge pots of it. This Laba porridge, served in big sea bowls, was carried in baskets by Xin Er and the younger ones to the homes of Yang Bao, Lin Yong, Aunt Cai, and other close acquaintances.

More than half of the porridge was sent out, leaving just enough for the family to eat. Usually, not all of the porridge would be finished on Laba, with the remainder symbolizing surplus for years to come.

Almost immediately upon receiving the Laba porridge from the Mo Family, Mo Wu, carrying her own porridge, came over with her eldest daughter, Mo Danier, to lend a hand.

Seeing that none of the other people had come, Mo Yan casually asked.

Perhaps due to the previous experiences, the men from Lao Mo’s House knew they wouldn’t be welcomed if they went, so they decided not to bother. Mrs. Niu wasn’t content to miss out and planned to bring her two sons for a feast, only to be harshly stopped by Mo Yonglu with his words.

Mrs. Hong didn’t want to miss the good food at Mo’s house either and was pulling Yongxi out the door when Old Man Mo sternly scolded them, warning not to come within half a step of the Mo Family’s house, or he would break the legs of both mother and daughter.

Mrs. Hong no longer dared to defy Old Man Mo, yet couldn’t bear to miss out on the opportunity, so she asked Mo Wu to take Yongxi with the other grandchildren to the Mo Family’s house. Without hesitation, Mo Wu refused, only bringing the capable Mo Danier to help.

Upon hearing this, Mo Yan didn’t say much and simply asked Xin Er to go to the Old Mo’s House to bring over San Ni and Shitou for the meal. It was better that Old Man Mo and the rest didn’t come to avoid any new issues.

It wasn’t long before those who had received the Laba porridge from the Mo Family came over with their own home-cooked Laba porridge. In addition, each person held a large and a small pair of shoes or socks in their hands, all gifts for the Yun Zhao Siblings.

Even though the shoes and socks were of an old-fashioned style and made from very common coarse cotton, they deeply moved the Yun Zhao Siblings, who happily thanked everyone.

The two youngsters were polite and sensible, especially Yun Zhao’s speech, which was quite different from ordinary children’s, revealing his intelligence. Seeing how closely Zhenzhen hugged his shoulder, as affectionate as real brothers, the crowd began to understand why Mo Qingze had done what he did.

In front of everyone, the Yun Zhao Siblings solemnly knelt before Mo Qingze, kowtowed three times and respectfully called out "foster father".

Mo Qingze was so delighted that he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He opened the two wooden boxes on the table and took out longevity locks, which he personally put around the necks of the Yun Zhao Siblings.

"Foster father, this is a pouch made by Shengsheng. I hope you won’t disdain it."

Yun Sheng shyly presented her prepared gift, a moon white pouch embroidered with a single bamboo leaf.

She hadn’t been doing needlework for long, and even this simple pouch had taken her several days to make, resulting in a few pricked fingertips. Though simple and even somewhat crude, the sentiment was touching.

"Excellent, excellent, foster father likes it very much. Shengsheng is truly a filial and good child!"

Mo Qingze joyfully accepted it, hung it on his waist, and with overflowing affection, lifted Yun Sheng onto his knee.

Those with discerning eyes could see that Mo Qingze truly liked these siblings, and the crowd came up to congratulate them, lavishly praising them until both siblings’ faces turned red with shyness.

Yun Sheng, looking up with admiration, leaned into the warm embrace of her foster father, her eyes shining like stars in the night sky.

Seeing his sister’s delighted expression, Yun Zhao clenched his hands behind his back. A tide of gratitude swept over him, making him want to indulgently weep...

After the lively acknowledgment feast was over, Aunt Lixiu’s nephew tidied up the chaotic table, while Mo Yan slouched in the kitchen, rubbing her aching back, not willing to move. There weren’t many people today, and there were only four tables, each with over twenty dishes she had prepared, her arms were so sore from cooking that she barely had the strength left.

Just then, Xin Er rushed in, frantically pulling Mo Yan outside: "Sister, Xiao Hua Dabai and the Red Python are fighting on the back hill. The Red Python seems very angry; it’s injured both of them. You have to go stop them quickly!"

Hearing this, all of Mo Yan’s exhaustion was scared away!

"How did they start fighting? Also, isn’t the Red Python supposed to be hibernating? How did it come out at this time?"

Xin Er hurriedly shook her head: "I don’t know. We faintly heard Xiao Hua barking, so we ran over to see, and that’s when we saw them fighting the Red Python. They’re both bleeding, and they’re close to fighting their way into the yard."