From Folly to Fortune：I Rewrite My Life After Rebirth!

Mrs. Jin’s face was covered with saliva from Mu Dade’s licking.

But Mrs. Jin wasn’t angry. After all, this was just part of the fun between husband and wife, right?

Fun aside, it was time to discuss business.

”Dade, there’s something I must talk to you about!”

Mrs. Jin wore an expression that showed she had thought it through multiple times.

Unexpectedly, Mu Dade didn’t ask what it was but directly said, ”You want to talk about my mother?”

”Yes, how did you know?” Mrs. Jin looked surprised.

”Just now, my mother was also talking about you, but I pushed back against her. Rest assured, between you and my mother, I will definitely choose you!”

Mu Dade first reassured Mrs. Jin.

Mrs. Jin was naturally pleased to hear this.

”Dade, with your words, any grievance I endure is worth it! But this matter must be addressed!

The neighbor women today all came to complain to me, saying your mother is too low and selfish.

She dumps the family trash like swill, unwanted vegetable leaves, and even house dust in our alley.

Even night soil, you know, the woman who collects night soil charges a penny each time, and our house dumps it every two or three days, which is not too expensive.

To save money, she spills the night soil outside, making the surroundings stink, and everyone has quite a big problem with it!”

Mrs. Jin conveyed all the complaints she heard during the day to Mu Dade.

Mu Dade’s face turned ashen upon hearing this.

He felt as if he’d reverted to old habits again.

He was from the countryside, without a family or background, and finally established himself in the county.

But now, due to his mother’s actions, his reputation is tarnished; everyone must be gossiping behind his back.

People from small homes not even knowing where to dump trash properly.

”Dade, what’s wrong with you?” Mrs. Jin noticed Mu Dade’s off expression and asked with concern.

”Nothing, just feeling upset! It’s like my face was slapped!” Mu Dade replied truthfully.

”Oh, I said from the start, we shouldn’t let them stay here! The house being filthy and smelly is one thing.

The whole street turning into a cesspool, what if someone reports it to the County Magistrate, and he thinks you’re incompetent?”

Mrs. Jin had a worried look on her face.

Mu Dade was the County Chief Clerk after all, but it was still a minor clerical position.

There were other small officials above him, as well as the County Magistrate.

If the County Magistrate was displeased with Mu Dade, his future promotions or other good positions wouldn’t be within his reach.

If he truly offended the County Magistrate, this position as County Chief Clerk might not be secure anytime soon.

What Mrs. Jin worried about was exactly what Mu Dade worried about.

He knew why he could take up this role as Chief Clerk; if not for Ruan Xiao Jiao’s meddling, he would not have this opportunity.

After all, in this large county, there are many waiting to take over his position.

”No, this must be dealt with! Otherwise, we’ll have to move!” Mu Dade squinted his eyes, showing his resolve.

”Move?” Mrs. Jin was stunned.

”Exactly, move! Otherwise, this place will be ruined by that old woman sooner or later!” Mu Dade spoke of Old Mrs. Mu with difficulty.

This place was found for him by Ruan Xiao Jiao initially.

The rent was indeed cheap, and most importantly, it was convenient to go to the county government.

Even without a sedan chair, it wouldn’t take long.

”No, we can’t move! Everything is great here, moving is not cost-effective! You should talk to that old woman about this, just use this opportunity to confront her. If she continues like this, talk to Dad and send her directly back to the countryside!”

Mrs. Jin didn’t want to move.

Moving wouldn’t just mean lots of stuff; she’d also lose the network she painstakingly built.

People around her, knowing she was the County Chief Clerk’s Wife, treated her with respect.

Sometimes, when buying things, she’d get plenty of discounts.

Mrs. Jin wasn’t bothered by the discounts but cared about the envious looks people gave her.

If they changed places, these things originally belonging to her might disappear.

”Alright then, you rest first; I’ll find my mother to talk about this!” Mu Dade said as he got up from the kang.

”So late to go?” Mrs. Jin looked at the dark night sky, feeling uneasy, ”Why not wait until tomorrow morning?”

”No way! Tomorrow morning she will surely dump trash again. I saw tonight that the night soil bucket was almost full when going to the outhouse.”

Mu Dade didn’t know, as he was chatting with Mrs. Jin.

Old Mrs. Mu had already carried the night soil bucket out of the Old Mu Family house.

She carried a full bucket of night soil and picked another spot, dumping the entire bucket at a household’s doorstep.

But it was so dark; Old Mrs. Mu didn’t notice and assumed she picked a random spot where people walked.

After dumping the night soil, Old Mrs. Mu felt carefree.

She chuckled while calculating that dumping this bucket saved her another penny.

Don’t underestimate a penny; living in the Old Mu Family with many people, a night soil bucket fills up in a day or two.

One penny a day, over a year, that’s over three hundred pennies, and in ten years, that’s three taels of silver!

Three taels of silver is not a small amount.

The more she calculated, the happier Old Mrs. Mu became.

She placed the night soil bucket back in the outhouse, not bothering to wash her hands, and groped her way back into her own room.

As Old Mrs. Mu entered the room, she brought with her a gust of cold wind, causing Mr. Mu to shiver on the kang.

He said grumpily, ”In the middle of the night, cold and freezing, were you out stealing things again?”

”What are you talking about, stealing? Am I that kind of person? I was out earning money!”

Old Mrs. Mu rolled her eyes and retorted to Mr. Mu.

”Earning money? In the middle of the night what money are you earning? You just talk nonsense, hurry up and come to bed.”

Mr. Mu scolded Old Mrs. Mu a few times, but his final words revealed his concern.

Old Mrs. Mu cheerfully said, ”I won’t tell you! Anyway, I, the old lady, have many ways to make money!”

Mr. Mu didn’t take what Old Mrs. Mu said seriously and didn’t think much of it.

As soon as Old Mrs. Mu got undressed, the two were about to sleep, when suddenly there was a clear knocking on the door outside—

”Knock knock—”

”Dad, it’s me, I’m Dade!” Mu Dade said outside the door.

”Dade, it’s so late, your mother and I are already asleep! Whatever it is, talk about it tomorrow during the day!”

The weather was brutally cold, and after sitting on the kang for a while, Old Mrs. Mu was totally unwilling to get up.

It was Old Mrs. Mu who urged, ”Oh my, no matter what our son has to say, even if he comes knocking in the middle of the night, we must open the door!”

Under Old Mrs. Mu’s urging, Mr. Mu reluctantly got up...