She has been living with her mother in the Mu family since she remembered. The Mu family’s house is a southern courtyard-style building with the main hall, a side hall, and a garden behind it. She and her mother live in the side hall behind the backyard.
The Mu family is engaged in the cloth business, and it is because of the tailoring skills of the Mu family that they can start the cloth business. Grandfather was skilled in craftsmanship. Almost every one of Xiacheng celebrities in the Republic of China had a cheongsam made by Master Mu of Mu family in Chengxi.
Grandfather had a son and a daughter. Mu Qing’s father learned the skill from his grandfather since childhood. But he was not interested in it, nor was he have intelligence in learning. On the contrary, Mu Wan’s mother was very talented and learned the eight-point craftsmanship of her grandfather.
When her mother was alive, she didn’t talk to Mu Wan about her father, and the Mu family also kept silent about her father, saying that he was dead. Mu Wan and her mother live in the Mu family’s house, but they don’t eat and drink for nothing. After his grandfather passed away, the Mu family’s craftsmanship sign became her mother, and Mu Wan watched her mother make cheongsam since she was a child.
Because of her mother’s craftsmanship, the Mu family did not dare to do anything to Mu Wan and her mother. When her mother was alive, except when she was not there, Mu Wan was ridiculed. At other times, she was well protected by her mother.
Her grandmother prefers sons over daughters. After her grandfather’s death, all the assets in the Mu family were given to Mu Qing’s father, Mu Yatang. Mu Yatang married Yan Mei, the Yan family’s daughter, and gave birth to Mu Qing.
The three members of the family are not good people. Mu Yatang just wants to use her mother’s craftsmanship and reputation to maintain the Mu family’s business. On the other hand, Yan Mei felt that her mother was pregnant before marriage and raised Mu Wan made the Mu family lose their face. Especially after Mu Qing was born, as the two children grew up, it was evident that Mu Wan was better-looking and smarter than Mu Qing. Thus, she felt jealous again and was picky about Mu Wan.
Yan Mei raised Mu Qing in various ways since she was a child, but her talent was limited. So, she can hardly lift her head in front of Mu Wan, becoming inferior and vain. In Mu Qing’s heart, Mu Wan was like her lifelong shadow and enemy.
Mu Wan and her mother were able to live quietly in the Mu family home in this kind of environment, not only her mother’s craftsmanship but also her mother’s personality. She just wants to live quietly with Mu Wan, not to fight or grab, not compete or rob, not seek wealth and prestige, but to live comfortably and conveniently.
To some extent, the way Mu Wan lives today is also greatly influenced by her mother.
At that time, Mu Wan was young and listened to her mother’s words obediently. She always stayed with her mother when she was at home and rarely went to the front yard. At school, Mu Wan was a stranger to Mu Qing and pretended not to know her. She crouched beside her mother like a little fox. Even if her mother is not strong enough, she can also shelter her from wind and rain. Mu Wan’s life is peaceful and happy at that time.
But this kind of life didn’t last long. After graduating from elementary school, her mother fell seriously ill, could not be cured for a long time, and finally died. Before she died, she told Mu Wan that if Mu Yatang and the others drove her out of the Mu family’s house, they would threaten them with her status.
The Mu family is in decline. Another scandal will affect Mu Qing’s reputation, and she couldn’t marry a good family.
When her mother passed away, Mu Wan was only twelve years old. Both her parents had died, and she had no relatives. Her mother just wanted her to have a place to stay, receive education, and grow up normally. Even if she got ridiculed in the Mu family’s house, it is better than having no fixed place outside.
As soon as her mother died, Mu Wan’s blessing also disappeared. In addition to cynicism at the Mu family’s house, she has also been severely beaten by Yan Mei and Mu Yatang and violently treated by Mu Qing.
Middle school children can imagine more wicked ways than adults, and Mu Wan’s life is completely dark. At that time, Mu Wan was too young and had just lost the protection of her mother, so her mind was still immature. The life of walking on thin ice also made her gradually stronger. In high school, if the Mu family’s attitude were not good, she would threaten the Mu family with the things his mother revealed to him before her death. However, at that time, Mu Wan’s word was actually just a threat. She was just an adolescent girl with strong-minded, and she didn’t want to destroy her mother’s reputation because of herself.
As Mu Wan grew up, she was no longer as polite to Mu Qing as she used to be. She was like a lion with exploded hair, beginning to be aggressive, and the Mu family gradually restrained her.
After graduating from high school, Mu Wan was admitted to the Film Academy in order to make money quickly and completely cut off contact with the Mu family. Occasionally, Mother Wu would visit her at school and tell her about Mu Qing’s situation. Mu Qing failed in the college entrance examination and was sent abroad by Mu Yatang to learn dance. Hearing what Mother Wu said, the Mu family also wanted Mu Qing to enter the entertainment industry.
Even if you can’t wed a big family, you can marry a rich man after becoming famous in the entertainment industry. Mu Yatang did not make a mistake in this step. When Mu Qing came back from abroad, she met Shen Cheng. Shen Cheng is not only a wealthy family but also gave up his heart to Mu Qing. The Mu family had become attached to the Shen family. Now that she had cleared away the gloom of her family fortune, she was really proud of herself.
Mu Wan looked out of the car window, thinking things out in her mind and distracted. The taxi stopped at the end of the lane, and the driver turned the meter and reminded her, “Miss, we are here.”
“Okay, thank you.” Mu Wan took back her sight, and after paying the fare, she opened the door and got out of the car.
The development of Xiacheng did not lead to the development of the Western District. This area is full of old-fashioned buildings in Xiacheng, an alley, and a few houses, all are in blue tiles’ style and white walls with small doorways.
The lanes are neither spacious nor narrow, the cars couldn’t get in, and the street lamps were the ones that were directly mounted on the wall. When Mu Wan was a child, her mother went to pick her up from cram school and bought her a small cake at the shop just down the street. While eating, she would take her mother’s hand and go home.
This road is quite old and long, and it carries a lot of her memories. Even though she had a hard time after her mother died, she walked through it again and thought more of being with her mother.
With her eyes closed, Mu Wan walked to the door of the Mu family’s house. The door was not closed, Mu Wan pushed the door and walked in, crossing the screen wall, and the main hall came into view. Before she saw anyone, she heard Yan Mei’s voice first.
“If you can’t act in this drama, then it’s over. Didn’t Acheng also invest in other dramas for you? Why did you have to screw in this drama?” Yan Mei raised her eyes and glanced at Shen Cheng standing on one side from time to time as she spoke.
After Mu Qing came back from the crew, she lost her temper, and in her anger, she said to move Mu Wan’s Mother’s tomb. Yan Mei was anxious at the time, so she agreed. As a result, Mu Qing’s anger didn’t come down. Later, Shen Cheng came and became a little quiet.
Usually, Mu Qing in front of Shen Cheng has always been quiet and elegant. Now she is suddenly angry, Yan Mei is also worried that Shen Cheng’s impression of her will deteriorate. But Mu Qing was still very capable. After she lost her temper, Shen Cheng looked distressed and said to give her better resources.
Shen Cheng coaxed and persuaded Mu Qing to get forward. When Mu Qing was satisfied, Yan Mei dared to ask what was going on. It turned out that Mu Qing was in the crew today and suddenly was notified that she could not act in this drama. Mu Qing has a high spirit and has been going well after entering the entertainment industry. She has never suffered such grievances like this, so she did not rush to her schedule and went straight back home.
Mu Qing sat on the sofa with her arms on the armrests, stared at the water glass on the coffee table, and sneered.
“It must be Mu Wan who is playing tricks behind her back.”
Speaking of Mu Wan, Yan Mei’s expression changed again. Mu Qing is so concerned about Mu Wan that she has no logic when thinking. Every time something wrong happened, she would blame it on Mu Wan. But if you think about it carefully, Mu Wan is a supporting role, so how can she have such a great ability.
“How can she have such great ability.” Yan Mei said with slight disdain, then turned to look at Shen Cheng and smiled, “A Cheng, what do you say is the reason for your company’s suddenly withdraw their capital this time?”
Shen Cheng stood behind Mu Qing and put his arms on her thin shoulders to comfort her. When Mu Qing got angry, she looked cold and desolate, looking more affectionate than usual.
For the Mu family, Shen Cheng only cared about Mu Qing. Hearing Yan Mei’s question, his eyebrows frowned, and he only said, “It is the group who requested to withdraw the capital, and I did not ask for details. This is not a good resource anyway. It’s what Mu Qing wanted all of a sudden, so there is nothing wrong if she not acting this time.”
“That’s right. That’s right.” Yan Mei echoed.
“I don’t want to let it go.” After Mu Qing finished speaking, she looked at Yan Mei, “When will Dad coming back? Tomorrow, on Mu Wan’s mother’s death anniversary, her tomb will be moved. She has a child, so why are she still buried in our Mu family?”
“Who dares?” There was a faint voice.
It's really... Leaving the whole family/clan's properties and assets to just one person (the heir/heiress) and let his/her siblings and family to work for him/her or fend for themselves. And the heir/heiress has no obligation whatsoever to the rest of his/her sibling(s) and family. It's as if the family/clan only has this one descendant: the heir/heiress.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the author should make up her mind about where MW had her college/university degree. Was it in science programs as MQ has claimed (and the few chapters after that have mentioned)? Or, was it acting department of Film Academy (which is part of Art study programs and in line with the initial narration)? Or, she took double degrees, both in a science program department in a University and acting department in a Film Academy? And she still have time for auditions and shooting for movies and dramas. Honestly, I don't know how she managed her time for her double degrees and budding acting career (back then, I had to spent 8-10 hours a day either in classes or in laboratories and 2-4 hours of commuting a day just for one degree. It's not even including the time I spent to do the tasks and reports. Attendance was a big thing in my University. I couldn't ditch any classes or laboratories time because it'd make me fail the class/credit and I'd have to retake it the next year. Taking double degrees would mean I'd only have 4 or less hours a day to do tasks, reports, independent/self-study, socializing, commuting, and sleep.)