Having settled on her idea, Mu Simiao returned home and immediately picked up her brush and ink to draw a design for a stove.
The next day after closing her stall, she brought it to the blacksmith. The blacksmith had never seen such a design before—it featured several compartments separated by iron sheets, with a base resembling a traditional stove.
Although unclear about Mu Simiao’s purpose for creating it, the design wasn’t overly complicated. Moreover, with payment secured, the blacksmith accepted the order and informed Mu Simiao of the required timeframe.
As the temperature hadn’t dropped yet, Mu Simiao wasn’t in a hurry to make handmade meatballs. Instead, she first wrote out the menu and prices on a signboard. Besides the confirmed meatballs, vegetable dishes would have the lowest cost.
Lotus root, cabbage, radish chunks, mushroom skewers, and potato pieces—these were the most common vegetable dishes. Combined with chicken meatballs, they should be sufficient to launch her Guandong Zhu business.
Mu Simiao used a brush to write these items and their prices on a wooden board, hanging it on the wall to let the ink dry. Meanwhile, Qi Yuze was brewing Sour Jujube Drink, while Liu Haoxuan sat by the stove tending the fire, his gaze still occasionally drifting toward them.
His intentions were too obvious. Amused, Mu Simiao sat on a stone stool watching him, narrowing her eyes and smiling when he looked over.
Catching her gaze, Liu Haoxuan guiltily averted his eyes and bent down to toss more firewood into the stove.
Qi Yuze deftly tossed ingredients into the pot, mirroring Mu Simiao’s movements from the previous day. She watched as Liu Haoxuan visibly relaxed, as if comparing it to yesterday’s recipe.
Since she was already exposed, Mu Simiao no longer felt the need to observe him. After just one glance, she shifted her attention, taking a sip of tea from the cup on the table before setting it back down. She then began teasing Yue’er with her fingers.
Yue’er reached out to grab the teacup, prompting Mu Simiao to quickly lift it higher. Unexpectedly, the child stood up by holding onto her playpen. Mu Simiao’s expression tightened slightly as she raised the cup with one hand while using the other to support Yue’er, preventing her from falling.
Qi Yuze, who had just covered the pot, also noticed Yue’er’s movement. He hurried over, intending to pick her up. Sensing his intention, Mu Simiao softly said, “Don’t move. Let her crawl.”
This would help her develop her motor skills. With both of them nearby, it was safe. The next moment, Yue’er’s foot slipped, and she nearly fell off the platform. Mu Simiao swiftly scooped her up with her arm, and the child landed securely in her embrace, immediately reaching again for the teacup.
Finally securing the cup, Yue’er giggled happily, clutching it with both hands and bringing it to her mouth. This time, Mu Simiao didn’t stop her, allowing her to take a small sip with a pleased expression.
Only then did Mu Simiao look up and notice Qi Yuze’s pale face, clearly frightened by their earlier actions.
“So scared? As her mother, would I really let her fall?” Mu Simiao intended to reassure Qi Yuze, but her words seemed to affect him even more deeply.
Qi Yuze’s lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but after a moment of hesitation, he remained silent. Instead, he wordlessly took Yue’er from her arms and walked into the house with a displeased expression.
His behavior was truly unusual. Mu Simiao was utterly confused, completely unaware of what he was thinking. However, it didn’t take long for her to piece things together.
The original host of this body seemed to have a bad temper. Suddenly, Mu Simiao understood—could it be that he had been worried she might harm Yue’er?
Once the idea took root, Mu Simiao grew increasingly convinced her speculation was correct. She downed the tea in her cup in one gulp and strode into the inner room to look at Qi Yuze sitting on the chair.
She cleared her throat dryly with a fist against her lips: “Yuze?”
Qi Yuze pretended not to hear her, turning away while stroking Yue’er’s fingers.
Seeing the situation wasn’t promising, Mu Simiao repositioned herself in front of him: “Let me explain – I was just being playful earlier and never meant to harm Yue’er. Besides, crawling more is actually good for her, it helps exercise her walking ability.”
Though these were all fabricated excuses, Qi Yuze seemed to actually listen: “But Mu Niang never considered what would happen if she fell? Moreover, you’ve always been dissatisfied with Yue’er’s birth.”
This touched on Mu Simiao’s blind spot. Having such a beauty bear her daughter – how could the original owner possibly be dissatisfied? But Qi Yuze had no intention of leaving her in the dark, immediately explaining the reason.
“I know your heart belongs to another, but we are already married. Though having Yue’er wasn’t your choice, I was also forced into this. You cannot push all the blame onto us father and daughter.”
Qi Yuze wept pearly tears, and Mu Simiao found her attention captured by his exquisite face, momentarily forgetting to question the “heart belonging to another” in his words.
“No, I’ve never blamed you.” Mu Simiao realized she was actually the most wronged party here – none of this was her fault, but who told her she’d taken over someone else’s body?
Qi Yuze clearly distrusted her words, and Mu Simiao felt helpless. After all, the original owner’s credibility with him was indeed quite low.
Left with no choice, she mustered all her skills, repeatedly swearing she had truly reformed and turned over a new leaf. Combined with her recent serious efforts to earn money – which Qi Yuze couldn’t possibly overlook – he gradually believed she was genuinely changing for the better.
With the temporary resolution of their rift, Mu Simiao sighed in relief, taking the handkerchief from his waist to wipe his tears before smoothly changing the subject: “Did you notice anything unusual about Liu Haoxuan today?”
Qi Yuze took the handkerchief back from her, drying his tears. His voice grew slightly hoarse from crying: “Just as Mu Niang predicted – he kept watching me make Sour Jujube Drink today, likely stealing the recipe. Should we do something about it?”
“Nothing needs to be done.” Mu Simiao knelt on one knee before him, leaning close to peer into his reddened eyes. “We’ll wait for the rabbit to come to the tree. He’ll eventually reveal himself.”
Qi Yuze averted his gaze again, nodding with a muffled “Mm.”
As Mu Simiao predicted, over the following days Liu Haoxuan not only memorized the Sour Jujube Drink recipe but even roughly learned the Liangmian sauce formula. Qi Yuze generously allowed the theft anyway – after all, modern cuisine offered more than just Liangmian. If Liangmian got stolen, she could still make re gan mian, hui mian, and all kinds of other noodles. There was no need for concern.
Still, she felt somewhat displeased. Liu Haoxuan didn’t seem the type to do such things, so she immediately pointed fingers at Granny Liu – after all, she was a typical miser, fully capable of such schemes.
After closing up shop that day, Liu Haoxuan suddenly spoke up from behind the two of them, his tone somewhat awkward: “Mu Jiejie, my injuries have mostly healed these past few days. As a son, I’ve been rather willful lately. Tonight I’d like to return home to be with my mother.”
His words carried hidden implications, making it sound as if Mu Simiao had deliberately taken him away. Qi Yuze immediately furrowed his brows, wanting to defend Mu Simiao, but she stopped him.
Mu Simiao smiled at Haoxuan and took out ten copper coins: “That’s your freedom. I have no right to interfere. Do as you wish.”
Hearing her words, Liu Haoxuan accepted the coins, bowed to her, then headed in the direction of his home. Mu Simiao watched his retreating figure, lost in thought.