Children are very perceptive. Once they understand their parents’ points, they tend to push boundaries to see how much they can get away with.

Cen Huaian, a genius antagonist in the book, was bound to be stubborn and unyielding.

If she showed him that she was lenient, he might not take his mistakes seriously and might end up on the same path as the character in the book.

Chuxia’s tone was not harsh, but Cen Huaian could tell she meant what she said.

His earlier anger deflated immediately.

“When I gave you candy, it was meant for you to share with the other kids and make friends in the Red Class. But you ate them all yourself. That was your first mistake—being dishonest.”

“Chen Chen took your candy, but if you had shared even one piece with him, would he have taken more?

Yes, it was wrong of him to take your candy, but you shouldn’t have hit him.

There are teachers in the Red Class; you could have told them, or asked him to return the candy later, or even get two pieces in return. Instead, you chose to hit him. Don’t you think that was wrong?”

Cen Huaian protested, “I hit that Black Dog yesterday, and you said he deserved it!”

“Is it the same thing? Did Chen Chen insult you?”

Cen Huaian shook his head. “He took my candy, which made me angrier!”

Again, it was about his possessiveness.

Chuxia sighed.

This behavior was likely connected to his past experiences of being deprived.

“It was my fault for giving you so much candy. In the future, you can only have one piece every two days,” she said.

Too much candy is bad for children’s teeth.

Cen Huaian had already had too much today, and she felt like her teeth ached just thinking about it.

“But after Chen Chen apologized and gave you candy, shouldn’t you also apologize for hitting him?”

Cen Huaian raised his head stubbornly and shouted, “If he hadn’t taken my candy, I wouldn’t have hit him!”

Chuxia pressed her forehead.

It seemed her previous attempts to reason with him were in vain; he still felt he had done nothing wrong.

She needed to make him realize his mistake.

She made Cen Huaian stand by the wall, holding a book on his head, facing the wall. “Think about what you’ve done!”

Then she went to the table, lifted the lid of the clay pot, and deliberately made a noise. “The chicken soup smells so good!”

She took a bowl from the cupboard and began serving the chicken soup.

One bowl was filled with a generous amount of meat and some yam, covered with a lid, while the other bowl had only half a bowl of soup and a few pieces of meat.

She carried the bowl with less food over to Cen Huai’an and took a sip, saying, “It’s really delicious; the chicken soup tastes amazing.”

Cen Huai’an swallowed his saliva eagerly and reached for his book, about to throw it on the floor.

Chu Xia immediately said sharply, “Don’t you dare throw it! If you do, I’ll make sure to cook even more delicious food in the future. You stole some today, but if you do it again, you won’t get a single bite!”

Cen Huai’an glared at Chu Xia for a long time, thinking about the tasty food and the satisfaction of being full.

Annoyed, he reluctantly put the book back.

Chu Xia walked over again and held a spoonful of soup to his mouth.

Cen Huai’an quickly gulped it down.

His eyes widened in surprise.

Was this the taste of chicken soup?

It was incredibly delicious, just like the milk candy!

He looked at Chu Xia with longing, his eyes glistening and as eager as a hungry little puppy, making it hard not to feel soft-hearted.

Chu Xia held the bowl and asked after taking a sip herself, “Do you want more?”

“Yes!”

“Then tell me, did you do something wrong today?”

Cen Huai’an looked distressed: “But he stole my candy, and I was so angry, I can’t think of anything else.”

Chu Xia’s heart softened at his words.

She set the bowl aside and sat next to Cen Huai’an, saying, “An’an, you need to learn to control your anger. If you lose control and hit people when you’re angry, it’s okay now because you’re a child and won’t cause much harm. But when you grow up and still act like this, you might end up hurting someone seriously. Then the police will take you away to jail, and you won’t get to eat milk candy or chicken soup. Instead, you’ll only get spoiled food, and you’ll be hungry and beaten in a dark cell with only rats for company.”

Cen Huai’an seemed to visualize that scene and his eyes finally showed fear.

Before he saw the light, it didn’t matter to him if he lived in darkness.

But now that he had seen the light and felt its beauty, he was unwilling to return to an even darker place.

“Do you still think you haven’t done anything wrong?”

Just when Chu Xia thought he might still refuse to change, he shook his head gently.

Chu Xia felt relieved; her efforts had not been in vain.

“But Mom, I still don’t want to share my candy.”

“Alright, if you don’t want to share, you don’t have to.”

It was too soon to change his attitude about sharing candy, but there were other things he could share.

She hoped Cen Huai’an would make genuine good friends in the future.

That way, he wouldn’t end up alone like in the books.

“Reflection time is over; come and eat some meat.” Chu Xia removed the book from his head and uncovered the bowl on the table, pushing it in front of Cen Huai’an, “Here, it’s all yours. Be careful not to burn yourself.”

Chu Xia served another bowl and took it to Sister Li’s house.

“Sister Li, since there’s plenty, you should try my cooking too.”

Li Dajie hurriedly refused with genuine sincerity: “Oh no, you can’t. This chicken is so expensive. You and Anan should keep it for yourselves.”

Chuxia quickly poured some of the chicken into a clean bowl and handed it to her, saying, “There’s only the two of us, so we can’t finish it all. You can give a little to the kids as a treat. It’s not much.”

She left before Sister Li could refuse, not giving her a chance to protest.

Chuxia thought that when she got home, Cen Huaian would be eagerly devouring the chicken.

To her surprise, he hadn’t started eating yet.

Instead, he was staring longingly at the bowl, practically drooling and on the verge of pouncing on it.

As soon as Chuxia sat down, he grabbed his chopsticks and began eating rapidly, as if trying to make up for lost time.

Chuxia smiled, reaching out to pat his head, and praised him, “Anan did great! Waiting for Mommy to eat together. I’ll give you a reward later!”

She began to eat as well, her own hunger catching up with her.

The stew, a medicinal dish with ingredients like poria and yam, was nourishing, aiding in energy, kidney function, and overall health.

Chuxia had only added a small amount of salt before serving.

The chicken, being a free-range variety, was tender and flavorful from the long simmering.

Every bite was delicious, and Chuxia found the yam, having absorbed the chicken’s essence, to be especially delightful.

Cen Huaian was devouring his food with gusto, hardly lifting his head, eating like a little piglet.

Meanwhile, Sister Li’s husband returned home and was surprised to see chicken on the table. “Did you cook chicken today?”

“No way, we don’t have the money for chicken!” Li Dajie shot him a glance while serving noodles. “This was sent by Chuxia. She gave a piece to each of the kids, and they all loved it. If I hadn’t stopped them, you wouldn’t have had any!”

Li Lianfu laughed, “Really? Why would Chuxia give us meat? Has she changed her ways?”

“Seems like it,” Sister Li replied, slamming the bowl of noodles onto the table. “She’s showing appreciation for the eggs I lent her. Chuxia has really changed; she never used to cook chicken before.”

Li Lianfu sampled a piece of yam and remarked, “The flavor is indeed different. It tastes better than the usual chicken we cook.”

“Right?” Sister Li said, her voice filled with pride.

Seeing their father enjoying the meal, the three kids started clamoring for pieces of chicken.

Sister Li had to shout, “Slow down! You’re all acting like you’ve never eaten before!”

Li Lianfu agreed, “Since she’s changed, we should support her more. Raising a child alone isn’t easy.”

Sister Li nodded, “I think so too.”

…

After the meal, Cen Huaian eagerly washed the dishes, more willingly than before.

Once done, he sidled up to Chuxia, his eyes full of anticipation. “Mommy, can we have more chicken tonight?”

“Yes, we can!” Chuxia replied.

Since it was a hot afternoon and no one was outside, Chuxia retrieved Cen Zhengnian’s first-grade textbooks.

She was surprised that he still had his elementary school books, but it turned out to be convenient for her.

She called out to Cen Huaian, who was observing ants in the corridor, “Anan!”

Cen Huaian ran over, thinking there might be more treats.

His eyes sparkled with excitement. “Mom!”

Chuxia smiled and said, “Remember I promised you a reward? Let’s play a character recognition game.”

Cen Huaian looked puzzled.

No one had played games with him before, and he had only watched the other neighborhood kids play.

He had no idea what this game was about.

“Come, I’ll first teach you some characters. Once you learn them, we can start the game,” Chuxia explained.

Cen Huaian’s interest was piqued.

Chuxia started with simple characters: one, two, three, ten, wood, and grain. Although she knew Cen Huaian was smart, she underestimated his talent.

He memorized the characters after just one explanation, his big eyes focused intently on her.

She taught him four more characters, and he learned them quickly, saying he understood.

“Really know them?” she asked.

“Yes!” Cen Huaian eagerly looked at her. “Can we play the game now?”

Chuxia prepared a blank notebook, drawing twenty squares, and wrote the characters on slips of paper, placing them in the squares.

“Alright, we’re going to play a game. If you read it correctly, you keep the card; if not, it goes back. You go first,” she said.

Cen Huaian eagerly grabbed a card from the center of the squares.