Chapter 14: The Spendthrift Wife

Wen Yaowu, carrying the little girl, quickly followed behind Zhou Yu, even jogging through the alleyway until they reached Zhou’s courtyard.

He took them directly to the east room, where Zhou Yu told Wen Yaowu to put the little girl on the bed. Xu An went over and tucked the blanket around the girl. Su Xiaoyang stayed close to the bed, his eyes fixed on his sister.

Xu An first went to the door and boiled a pot of hot water, brewed two cups of cold medicine, and had Zhou Yu bring them to the two children.

She took a clay pot, rinsed the rice, and put it on the stove to boil porridge. When she returned to the inner room, she saw Su Xiaoyang apologizing.

“My sister dirtied your bed. I’ll clean it.”

He was so young, yet he acted like a big brother, strong and heartwarming.

Xu An entered the room, reached out and grabbed Su Xiaoyang’s wrist, stopping the boy from kneeling down to thank her.

“Your sister didn’t dirty anything. Don’t worry.”

Xu An finished speaking and turned to look at Wen Yaowu. She took out a hundred yuan from her pocket and handed it to him, saying softly, “Go to the department store and buy them a set of clothes. Come back as soon as possible.”

The two children’s clothes were almost worn out and couldn’t keep them warm at all.

Wen Yaowu turned and looked at Brother Yu, and under Zhou Yu’s nod, he obediently took the money.

Su Xiaoyang hastily refused, “No, no need to buy us new clothes.”

Xu An reached out and touched his hair, which was rough and messy. She glanced at the little girl on the bed who was in a daze, and said softly, “This is a loan for you. You will have to repay it eventually. You and your sister both need it.”

Su Xiaoyang was silent for a moment, his eyes red, and he stubbornly stared at Xu An. “I will definitely repay you later.”

Xu An hummed softly, and Wen Yaowu left the room with the money.

Only then did Xu An turn her attention to Zhou Yu beside her. She had acted on her own again. The man’s face was expressionless, his arrogant features were calm, and there was no sign of displeasure. Xu An breathed a sigh of relief.

She then walked towards the door. The porridge was almost cooked. Xu An washed some lean meat, cut it into small pieces, coated it with a layer of cornstarch, and poured it into the clay pot. A faint meaty aroma filled her nostrils, smelling quite good. Xu An covered the pot and simmered it for a few more minutes.

Just as she picked up a towel, the man in front of her snatched it away and skillfully lifted the clay pot off the stove.

Xu An could only grab two pairs of chopsticks and ladle out two bowls of porridge. “Zhou Yu, bring a bowl to your brother.”

After she finished speaking, she carried a bowl of porridge into the room and sat down by the bed.

The little girl was no longer so dazed. She saw Xu An and said weakly, “Pretty sister.”

Xu An adjusted the pillow, allowing her to sit up on the bed, gently blew on the porridge in the bowl, and coaxed her softly, “Be good, let’s eat our fill, okay?”

The pretty sister’s voice was so gentle. Su Xiaotong obediently nodded and ate, and as soon as the porridge reached her mouth, tears rolled down her cheeks, her voice filled with a thick nasal tone.

“So fragrant.”

One bowl of lean meat porridge filled the little girl with satisfaction.

Seeing how much she liked it, Xu An continued to feed her.

Su Xiaoyang, however, didn’t get the same treatment. Zhou Yu walked in with a bowl and, without a word, forced the porridge into his hand, then lazily leaned against the door, arms crossed.

Su Xiaoyang blinked and looked over, only to see his brother staring at his sister. He lowered his eyes and looked at the fragrant meat porridge in his bowl, savoring every bite.

It really was fragrant. He hadn’t eaten a hot meal in a long time.

Xu An saw the cracked chapped skin on the little girl’s face and the black dirt. She turned to look at Zhou Yu, who was blocking the light by the door. Unexpectedly, their eyes met. She stared at those deep eyes and said tentatively, “Zhou Yu, go heat up a basin of water.”

Zhou Yu looked away, making a dramatic “tsk tsk” sound, and turned to leave.

Xu An felt like he was walking faster than usual.

Confused, she turned back and continued to feed the little girl the porridge. She didn’t dare to give her any more. The little girl had been starving for so long, she probably didn’t know what it meant to be full. She would eat as much as she could, and feeding her too much would cause problems.

She put the bowls away and reached for the bowl in Su Xiaoyang’s hand. The boy dodged her, shaking his head. “I can take it myself.”

Xu An raised an eyebrow and let him be, placing the bowls and chopsticks in the basin.

At that moment, Wen Yaowu ran quickly into the yard and handed the clothes he had bought to Xu An.

Xu An took the clothes and looked down at Su Xiaoyang. “I’ll bathe your sister first, then let Brother Yu bathe you.”

Su Xiaoyang looked at the new clothes and shook his head silently. “I can wash myself.”

Xu An stared at him. “You’re still too young.”

“I’m twelve, not young. I can take care of myself.” Su Xiaoyang said stubbornly.

He looked no older than six or seven, but he was actually twelve. He was severely malnourished. Xu An sighed softly. “Okay, you can bathe yourself later. Make sure you wash yourself clean, then change into the new clothes

Su Xiaoyang furrowed his brow, “Go back.”

Go back to their leaky, drafty house? That was no place for children to live.

Seeing the boy’s determined expression, Xu An sighed, feeling a little helpless.

Her gaze fell on Zhou Yu beside her.

Zhou Yu stared at her watery eyes, clicked his tongue, and said softly, “Yaowu, come with me, we’re going to buy some tarpaulin.”

He glanced at Xu An again, “Take them back and tidy up that broken house.”

The man’s tone was rough, but his intention was good. He was offering to help. Xu An nodded with a smile.

Zhou Yu turned his head slightly and left with Wen Yaowu.

The two of them strode away. Xu An looked at Su Xiaoyang, “Come on, hold your sister’s hand, lead the way.”

She had walked the path once, but she was still afraid of getting lost.

Su Xiaoyang lowered his head and said softly, “Thank you.”

He then took his sister’s hand and walked out. Xu An closed the door behind them. As soon as they stepped out, she saw Pan Hehua coming out of the main house. Pan Hehua saw the two children beside Xu An and was furious.

 She had noticed the commotion earlier, but had kept her temper in check while Zhou Yu was there. Now that he was gone, she couldn’t hold back her anger and started to scold Xu An.

“You, second daughter-in-law, where did you get these wild kids? You’ve turned the house upside down!”

At her shout, Su Xiaoyang quickly grabbed his sister’s hand tightly, looking at Xu An with worry, afraid that he and his sister were causing her trouble.

Xu An stood in front of the two children, “Mom, they’re not wild kids. It’s you who sounds like you’ve never been taught manners. You’re more like a wild person without a mother than they are.”

“You’re taking advantage of Zhou Yu being gone to pick on me, aren’t you? I’m a woman without a backbone. I’ll let Zhou Yu tell you when he gets back.”

She openly threatened Pan Hehua with a complaint. Pan Hehua clutched her chest, feeling suffocated and short of breath by the couple.

She had intended to make Xu An feel bad, but ended up swallowing a mouthful of anger herself.

Xu An ignored her, turned back to Su Xiaoyang, and said softly, “Let’s go.”

Su Xiaoyang, afraid of causing her trouble, quickly nodded, took his sister’s hand and walked ahead. Xu An took a broom and followed behind them.

When they reached the broken wooden house, Xu An began to clean diligently. Su Xiaoyang also helped to clear out the debris inside. After much effort, the floor was finally cleaner, but overall, there wasn’t much change.

Xu An’s hands and feet were stiff with cold. The wind blew through the house, and she couldn’t imagine how the two children had endured it.

It wasn’t until Zhou Yu and Wen Yaowu returned with the tarpaulin, spread it out, and started nailing it to the dilapidated house to block the wind.

Zhou Yu’s leg couldn’t reach the roof, so Wen Yaowu nimbly climbed up in two steps. Zhou Yu passed the tarpaulin up, and Wen Yaowu secured it with nails.

Xu An stared at Zhou Yu’s stern face and stood beside him, “Is covering it with tarpaulin enough to block the wind?”

Zhou Yu glanced at the woman indifferently and replied in a deep voice,

“It’s better than that broken wooden house.”

Xu An nodded. The two of them worked for the entire afternoon, wrapping the entire house with tarpaulin. Xu An stayed inside and could clearly feel that it was much, much better than before, when the wind blew through the entire house.

After they finished, Wen Yaowu climbed down from the roof. Zhou Yu limped into the house and said softly to Xu An, “Go back.”

Xu An looked down at the siblings, then at the thin, uninsulated blanket on the bed, and took a deep breath.

The idea of buying them a bed and blankets flashed through her mind.

But that was only a temporary solution. Besides, two half-grown children, with no parents, would struggle to even support themselves.

Xu An was unusually silent. She needed to think carefully.

She followed Zhou Yu out, when suddenly she heard the siblings behind her say in unison, “Thank you, brother and sister.”

Xu An turned her head. The two children were smiling. They didn’t know what their future held, but they were sincerely grateful to those who helped them.

Xu An bit her lip gently, reached out and grabbed Zhou Yu’s sleeve. Seeing the man’s cold gaze, she said softly, “Zhou Yu… you’re right, I really am a spendthrift wife.”

After criticizing herself, Xu An took forty yuan from her bag and turned to stuff it into Su Xiaoyang’s hand. “Take good care of your sister. You need to be healthy to earn money to repay me.”

She then turned around, afraid that Zhou Yu would object, grabbed his hand and pulled him out.

Zhou Yu stared at the woman’s hand, his fingers were plump and pink. From behind, he could only see her white, delicate ears, which were reddened by the cold.

Seeing that she was afraid of him stealing the money, as if he were a robber, he said nothing, but the corners of his lips curled up in a mischievous way. He let her drag him home, slowly following behind.