The shouting and scolding from the Lin family had conditioned Heidan to wake up at the crack of dawn each day. Even without anyone yelling at him, he’d become so used to their sharp, cutting voices that he would often wake abruptly from dreams as if he still heard them.

But this time, he opened his eyes to silence. There was no yelling, and the place around him was unfamiliar. He wasn’t in the cold firewood shed. Instead, he lay under soft blankets that smelled of sunshine and warmth.

Heidan thought he had entered the place where the gods lived.

Getting out of bed, he noticed a few muddy marks on the bedding and panicked slightly, thinking he’d dirtied something precious.

Yawning, Song Wei sat up and stretched. “Why are you up so early? It’s not even time to start working yet.”

She can fall asleep quickly in any place and any environment, but was sensitive to the slightest sounds around her when someone else was in the same room.

Seeing Song Wei, Heidan’s face lit up with relief and joy. However, his expression quickly changed to worry as he clutched the blanket, his eyes beginning to redden. “I’m so sorry, Sister Song. I got your blanket dirty…”

He looked terrified, wondering what he would do if she got angry.

“If it’s dirty, we’ll just wash it,” Song Wei said, unfazed. She was awake now anyway, so going back to sleep was out of the question.

“Come on, let’s heat up some water for a bath.” She had wanted to give him a proper wash and shampoo for a while but hadn’t pushed the issue before since they hadn’t known each other well.

With a bar of soap in hand, Song Wei led Heidan to the communal stove, boiled a big pot of water, and added some cool water to bring it to a comfortable temperature. She then prepared to take off Hei Dan’s grimy, tattered clothes.

Hei Dan blushed, holding his clothes tight and shyly insisting he could wash himself. His small, tense body reminded her of a skittish little chick, making Song Wei laugh heartily—a light, clear sound that filled the room.

The early morning sunlight shone on her, catching on her white forearms where she had rolled up her sleeves, and for a moment, she looked radiant.

Luo Yecheng, just stepping out of his house, stopped in his tracks, caught off guard by her beauty. For a fleeting moment, he regretted his choice to be with Jiang Xiaowan. But just as quickly, the illusion was shattered.

Song Wei noticed him looking and turned with an unmistakable eye-roll of distaste, her expression full of exasperation.

His moment of regret vanished, replaced by irritation. Who would want to marry someone like Song Wei? That’d be a lifetime of misery!

“Where’s my ration tickets? When are you planning to pay me back?” Song Wei demanded, seated on a low stool as she washed Hei Dan’s hair. Her hands stayed busy, but her sharp words came out easily.

“Don’t push me, Luo Yecheng! I don’t not care about what others think, I’ll go straight to secretary Jiang’s house if you keep this up!” She raised her voice, and Luo Yecheng’s face darkened in anger.

“You’ve become impossible, Song Wei!” he snapped.

“Oh, really?” she scoffed. “You didn’t find it impossible to borrow from me, did you? Now that I’m asking you to pay up, it’s like I’m asking you for a kidney. They say poverty doesn’t ruin one’s character, but it seems to have done quite a number on yours, Mr. Luo!”

Meanwhile, Heidan sat obediently on the floor, letting her wash his hair, but he shot a fierce, wary glare at Luo Yecheng, clearly seeing him as an enemy. Anyone who upset Sister Song was a bad person!

Unable to get a word in, Luo Yecheng finally stormed off, red-faced.

With that, Song Wei continued with the task at hand. She managed to shampoo and wash Heidan’s hair, but it was now time to take off his clothes for a bath. Hei Dan hesitated, blushing even more as he slowly removed his tattered shirt. When Song Wei’s gaze fell on him, her expression changed to one of deep sadness and anger.

His small body was covered in bruises and scars. Most of them were beaten with thin sticks, some old and some new. Some had broken skin and left scars, and most had alternating blue and purple marks.

Song Wei took a deep breath; she didn’t need to ask to know these were from beatings by the Lin family.

She rarely judged people solely on rumors, knowing how personal biases could distort stories. But seeing these scars firsthand filled her with an intense dislike for the Lin family, whom she had never even met.

“Does it still hurt?” she asked gently.

Heidan shook his head, then nodded. “It hurt a lot when they hit me, but it’s not as bad now,” he answered in a small, strong voice.

“And these?” Song Wei pointed to other marks that didn’t look like cane lashes.

“My cousins kicked me,” Heidan whispered.

Song Wei thought she had built up a strong enough heart not to be affected, but seeing this was painful.

Gently, she began to wash him, dabbing carefully around his wounds with a soft cloth.

Meanwhile, the early morning stirrings of the commune began, as the young workers, already accustomed to the daily routine, emerged one by one. Several people noticed Song Wei washing a child’s hair and bath and were surprised, though most knew better than to approach her. Only Li Juan, curious, came over.

“Is this a village kid? How’d he end up here?”

Heidan tensed and shrank back, clinging to Song Wei’s shirt silently.

“I found him wandering,” Song Wei replied, scrubbing out layers of grime from his hair and skin until he looked clean and refreshed, though still very tanned from all the time he spent running up and down the mountains in the sun.

Li Juan’s eyes widened. “You just brought him back? Aren’t you worried his family might show up looking for him?”

Then she noticed his bruises and gasped, “Why is he so thin—and what’s with all these injuries?”

“Beaten by awful relatives,” Song Wei said tersely, unwilling to get into the whole story right now.

Li Juan’s felt sympathy and outrage, while Song Wei lifted Heidan and turned to her. “Would you mind getting some breakfast ready? Make some for Heidan too”

“Of course,” Li Juan replied eagerly.

“”I’ll go to the mountains to get a rabbit or a pheasant some other day to thank you for helping out.”

“Not a problem!” Li Juan agreed, her face lighting up with excitement at the mention of meat.

She quickly went to prepare breakfast and even brought out a few small tomatoes for Heidan.

Song Wei threw Heidan’s old clothes straight into the trash. Standing barefoot and freshly cleaned on her bed, Hei Dan watched her searching for something to wear, a goofy smile spreading on his face.

Sister Song is so good to me, he thought. If only I could stay with her forever.

This wasn’t the first time he’d had this thought, but with each passing day, the wish grew stronger.

Finally, Song Wei found an old, plain shirt and helped Hei Dan put it on.