The Capitalist's Spoiled Young Master? Perfect to Take Home as a Husband

Chapter 181

“I don’t really know the specifics. It seems the people from the power supply station came directly. Why are you asking about this?” Mu’s mother looked at Mu Jingmei with some confusion.“Nothing, it’s just that our village still doesn’t have electricity, so I thought I’d ask you.” Mu Jingmei brushed it off with a smile.

“How would I know about these things? The village head is handling it all.” Mu’s mother didn’t seem too suspicious.

“So, since your village has electricity now, is the cannery workshop producing more? Have you made a lot of money lately?” Under the night sky, Mu Jingmei’s dark eyes hid a barely concealed greed.

“I wouldn’t know about that either. I’m just weaving fishing nets in the square every day. How could I know how much the cannery workshop has earned?” Mu’s mother furrowed her brows slightly.

“But Dad is the village accountant. He should know all the accounts best. Hasn’t he told you anything?” Mu Jingmei pressed on.

“Why would your father tell me about that?”

“Then go ask him, or take a look at his books.” Mu Jingmei’s tone grew urgent.

Mu’s mother didn’t answer right away. Instead, she lifted her gaze and fixed it on Mu Jingmei without blinking, a faint, hidden light flickering in her eyes.

“Mom, why are you staring at me like that?” Mu Jingmei felt a pang of guilt under that gaze.

“Jingmei, what exactly are you trying to get at with all these questions?” Mu’s mother stared straight at her.

“Nothing much. I just wanted to know how things are in the village, and how you and Dad are doing.” Mu Jingmei’s eyes darted around uneasily.

“Jingmei, when you ran away from home without a second thought, refused to come back for your brother, and insisted on marrying Yang Dafu, I thought you had no feelings left for us.” Mu’s mother’s voice carried a hint of coldness.

“Mom, how can you think that? You’ll always be my mom.” Mu Jingmei quickly spoke up.

“Yes, I am your mom, which is why I came to see you tonight. I brought you into this world, and I raised you to be like this. I have a responsibility and an obligation to you. Now that I know you’re doing well, you should just live your own life. Your father and I will take care of ourselves. From now on… don’t come back.” Mu’s mother forced out the last words, then turned to leave.

“Mom, what are you doing? Don’t you want to acknowledge me anymore?” Hearing this, Mu Jingmei panicked and nearly grabbed her mother’s arm.

Mu’s mother paused mid-step and turned back to meet Mu Jingmei’s eyes.

“Then tell me, what was the real reason you came to see me today?”

“I… just wanted to see you. Last time I came back, you wouldn’t even let me through the door.” Mu Jingmei deliberately squeezed out a tear.

“Just wanted to see me? But all you’ve asked about is village affairs, nothing about me personally.”

“Mom, did my brother or someone say something to you? I’m your daughter. Would I try to harm you?” Mu Jingmei couldn’t understand why her mother was so hard to fool tonight, so she resorted to her old trick—binding herself and her mother together, brainwashing Mu’s mother into thinking they shared the same interests.

“Fine, since you say you don’t want to harm me, we’ve said everything we need to say. I’m going home to rest now.” Mu’s mother didn’t want to argue further and tried to pull her hand free.

But Mu Jingmei didn’t let go. Instead, she held onto her mother’s arm with both hands.

“Mom, the canned goods from Qinghe Fishing Village are now famous all over Qinghe County. People outside are buying your products.” Mu Jingmei had finally managed to lure her mother out, so she couldn’t let her leave so easily. Who knew when the next chance to meet would come?

“So what?” Mu’s mother’s tone finally turned completely cold.

“So… go ask my brother for help. Have him arrange for you to work in the cannery. Learn how they make the canned goods, then tell me everything, down to the last detail.” Sensing her mother’s shift in mood, Mu Jingmei knew she had little time left and had to be straightforward.

“Tell you for what?” Mu’s mother shot back.

“I… just do as I say. I’m your daughter, the one you carried for ten months and raised little by little. You want me to live a better life too, don’t you?” Mu Jingmei stared intently at her mother.

Looking at Mu Jingmei, who seemed almost unchanged from the image in her memory, Mu’s mother felt a profound sense of unfamiliarity.

Was this still her daughter?

Was this still her gentle, obedient, well-behaved girl?

She had come under the pretense of a visit, but the real goal was to get her to steal the village’s canned goods recipe—and even tried to use their family bond to pressure her.

Earlier, when Mu Jingmei kept probing about the village, Mu’s mother had already guessed where this was heading. She hadn’t wanted to break through that last layer of pretense, but now that Mu Jingmei had brought it up herself, she felt neither the expected anger nor devastation. Instead, there was a peculiar calm of resignation.

It was as if the sword hanging over her head had finally fallen.

“But have you thought about me?” Mu’s mother said slowly.

“What?” Mu Jingmei was momentarily caught off guard.

“If I do as you say and tell you the village’s canned goods recipe, and you start producing, once your products hit the market, people in Qinghe Fishing Village will know someone leaked the secret. They’ll investigate, and eventually, they’ll trace it back to me. When that happens, how am I supposed to face them?” Mu’s mother asked.

Mu Jingmei’s expression flickered slightly, and her voice dropped to a lower pitch.

“Dad is the village accountant, and my brother has married into Song Nianchu’s family. She’s practically the final authority in Qinghe Fishing Village now. If she speaks up, you won’t be in trouble.”

“By ‘not in trouble,’ you probably mean they won’t call the police and have me sent to jail. But they’ll despise me. Even your father might divorce me. What do I do then?” Mu’s mother pressed again.

“If it comes to that, I’ll bring you to Yang Family Village, and you can live with me.” Mu Jingmei, trying to placate her mother, only offered sweet words.

Mu’s mother let out a bitter laugh.

“Live with you? Since when does a married daughter take her mother along to her husband’s house? Besides, my roots are still in Qinghe Fishing Village. Are you sure your father-in-law would help you again? And even if I did go to Yang Family Village with you, how would they treat me? Would they accept someone who abandoned her own husband, son, and daughter-in-law?”

Mu Jingmei found herself momentarily at a loss for words, a flicker of frustration crossing her face.

“Mom, I only wanted you to help me. Why are you forcing me to answer these questions?” Mu Jingmei’s voice rose sharply.