Despite saying that there would be no wedding banquet, Nie’s mother still made a large pot of sauce noodles.

She crossed the river to serve two bowls to the Chen family relatives, and her own relatives also each received a bowl.

The noodles were steaming hot, and when the second branch of the Nie family’s daughters heard that, a few of them even gagged from the smell.

On the first day, as a new bride, Chen Lina had to stay on the kang (a traditional heated bed) for the entire day.

While sitting there, a little child came in, rummaging around, and eventually found a peanut.

The child turned to run off with it.

“Tell me, what’s your name?” Lina asked.

“I won’t tell you.”

“Then give me the peanut back. There are plenty of peanuts and candies on this kang. If you tell me your name, I’ll give you one.” Chen Lina then unwrapped a piece of fruit candy and waved it in front of the child.

“Er Dan, I’m Er Dan.” The little boy, with a new pair of shoes but a face covered in snot, grabbed the candy and stuffed it into his mouth.

“Say ‘Mom,’ let me hear it.” Chen Lina didn’t plan to let him off easily.

“Mom!” The child said sweetly, and Lina relaxed her grip, ready to give him more candies.

But as soon as she did, he turned and ran off, shouting, “Yao Po, you’re Yao Po!”

At this moment, Nie’s second daughter-in-law, Chen Qiaoqiao, came in with food. “He just called you Yao Po,” she said.

“Yao Po doesn’t feel sorry for hitting children. She doesn’t just hit them; she twists them. Besides sticks, she uses ropes.” Er Dan was outside singing, shaking his head, as if mocking.

“Yao Po” was a term used in their local area to refer to a stepmother, stemming from an old legend.

It was said that during the times of Yao, Shun, and Yu, Shun’s stepmother was named Yao, and she was notoriously cruel, giving rise to this negative stereotype that stepmothers were always bad.

But Chen Lina didn’t mind. “Children are taught by adults. I don’t know who taught them this. When they start calling me ‘Mom,’ I won’t teach them to say such things,” she said calmly.

Chen Qiaoqiao smiled awkwardly and quickly left the room.

It was obvious who had taught the kids this, though.

As the evening approached, it was time for bed.

With the Nie family being large and the house small, there wasn’t enough room.

Nie’s parents, Nie Bozhao, and his three children shared one kang, while the second son and his wife, along with their two kids, shared another.

The four daughters of the family squeezed onto a third.

For the past few nights, Nie Bozhao had been sleeping with his two children on one kang, while the second son’s daughters and the grandparents shared another.

But tonight, if the two younger kids were sent to sleep with the grandparents, the kang would be so crowded with seven or eight children that it would be hard to even stand.

“Mom, can we put another kang here?” Nie Bozhao asked.

The house had the space, but no extra bedding.

His mother, Nie’s mother, was not pleased. “We have four kangs, but only three mattresses. In this cold weather, we can’t sleep on the mud kang. You’ll be leaving tomorrow, so make do for one night. Or, we can let the three kids sleep with you,” she said.

She was frugal by nature, and with the three kids leaving soon, the family’s finances would change, so she wasn’t going to spend extra on new bedding.

Reluctantly, Nie Bozhao, Chen Lina, and the three children all had to share the same kang.

Chen Lina thought that since the wedding was finally over, she and Nie Bozhao might be able to talk a little more.

But with three kids sprawled across the kang, and Nie Bozhao busy washing their faces, feet, and brushing their teeth, by the time she was ready to close her eyes, there hadn’t been a moment to talk to him.

“Dad, our toothbrush heads fell off,” Nie Weimin, the eldest, said, fiddling with his toothbrush. “Can we skip brushing?”

The three kids were sharing one toothbrush, and it had barely any bristles left.

Now that the heads had fallen off, how were they supposed to brush their teeth?

Nie Bozhao looked at his son. “Then just rinse your mouth with clean water. Hurry up and get back to bed. It’s late.”

“My dowry included three sets of things—one for each kid,” Chen Lina said as she adjusted the bedding. “They can use them.”

Nie Bozhao was stunned. “That wasn’t your dowry?” he asked

“The three children share one toothbrush. The bacteria in their mouths pass from one to another, and it won’t protect their teeth. If they get sick, it spreads quickly. I only have one mouth and my own toothbrush, I don’t need to share. You can give it to them.”

In this village, having one toothbrush per person was considered a luxury.

The three children were overjoyed and rushed to the basin by the wall.

“One toothbrush per person, no fighting. Sandan, you have to brush too. You must brush for at least three minutes,” Nie Bozhao said, turning back with an apologetic look at Chen Lina.

She had delicate skin and beautiful features, truly stunning.

It was a pity though, occasionally her mouth would twitch, as if it made her seem like she had lost her mind.

But if she wasn’t a little crazy, Nie Bozhao truly wouldn’t dare let her go to the desert to take care of his children.

The vast desert was no place for a young man to waste his time raising kids.

The three children, in between grinding their teeth or muttering in their sleep, were all sprawled out.

The youngest, soft and thin as a stick, kept pushing his little bottom toward Chen Lina, curling into her arms.

“Comrade Old Nie, do you believe in ghosts or gods?” After all three children had fallen asleep, Chen Lina finally calmed herself and asked the question.

“I’m a materialist, I don’t believe in ghosts or gods, I only believe in Marxism and Leninism,” Nie Bozhao answered bluntly. Well, that was a bit of a stiff response, Chen Lina thought, wondering if this man was completely lacking in romance.

“Do you believe in reincarnation, then?” she asked again.

In the dark, Nie Bozhao furrowed his brows. “That’s feudal superstition, it’s one of the ‘four olds.’ You can only talk about such things here on the kang. Don’t go spreading it around outside.”

Well, this man spoke as if she were a child who didn’t understand anything.

“Old Nie… Old Nie…” After calling for a while with no response, Chen Lina finally realized, on their wedding night, this man had already fallen asleep so early.

The next morning, they each had their own tasks.

Chen Lina was responsible for packing the three children’s clothes and belongings.

Nie Bozhao went to the township to buy tickets for the bus to the provincial capital, then from there, he would take the train to Uyi Ma.

The train tickets were purchased with the help of some workers in the provincial capital.

Nie’s mother and his second daughter-in-law, Chen Qiaoqiao, came to help Chen Lina with packing.

The children’s clothes were clearly of decent quality, but they were all worn out—either torn at the elbows or with knees full of holes.

They could be patched up and still worn, but they were just bundled up and stuffed into a suitcase.

Chen Qiaoqiao, who had six daughters, kept saying, “Sister-in-law, look at this one, it’s too torn to fix, but maybe I can give it to my daughter. I think if we patch it, it could still work.”

“The boys wear their clothes out faster than the girls. Your whole family gets work points, so you should have enough fabric coupons. Just buy some new ones for your own family,” Chen Lina said, rolling up the torn clothes.

She hadn’t forgotten—this was the year 1970.

Tough times were just beginning, and they would continue for many more years.

With three energetic boys, clothes would wear out quickly.

“Mum! Mum!” A little voice called from behind, the youngest of the three, with snot all over his face.

Chen Lina turned around and saw that it was little San Dan.

He was only wearing a thin coat, and she realized why he was so cold.

In the countryside, children wore worn-out clothes that could keep them warm, but if it got too cold, their noses would run non-stop.

“Little one, why are you calling me ‘mum’? Are you hungry?” Chen Lina showed great enthusiasm for the first child to show affection for her.

“I want peanuts. I want candy,” the little boy said.

Yesterday, after the wedding, she had set out peanuts and candy on the kang, but she had put them away afterward.

She peeled a peanut for him, then wrapped him up in a thicker coat.

The child ran around her feet playing, and soon, his nose stopped running.

“Mother! Mother!” After a while, the little one called out again.

Chen Lina gave him another peanut.

He carefully peeled the shell, savored the nut inside, and let out a satisfied sigh before running off.

After finishing with the packing, there was only one big woven bag of clothes left.

Chen Lina felt like the children’s clothes should be more than this.

After thinking it over, she realized they were missing sweaters and thick winter coats.

How could the children survive the winter without proper warm clothes?

That evening, when Nie Bozhao returned after buying the tickets, he saw his new wife busy packing.

When he saw her, she immediately smiled and asked, “How was it? Did you get the tickets?”

“Yes, I got them. And what about you, packing clothes?” Nie Bozhao naturally sat down beside her and began watching as Chen Lina folded the clothes.

With the children playing outside, the narrow room was left with just the two of them.

Chen Lina stretched out her hand, coquettishly saying, “Give them to me, I’ll keep them for us.”

The moment her hand touched his, Nie Bozhao seemed to freeze.

He didn’t move away, didn’t retreat, because Chen Lina had leaned in, resting her chin on his neck.

Her soft, warm body, combined with the delicate scent of snow lotion, filled the air with the fragrance of youth.

This natural closeness could never happen between strangers.

Slowly, Nie Bozhao stood up, turning to leave the room.

For him, marrying a girl no one wanted was one thing, but to form a real marriage with her while she still had a few screws loose in her mind, that was something he couldn’t bring himself to do.

Especially since this girl, whose mind had been harmed, was extraordinarily beautiful—her big, bright eyes and fair skin like someone from the city.

He paused, then said seriously, “Comrade Chen, I think that even if we’re going to have a de facto marriage, we need to get your head sorted out first. When it’s all better and you still want it, we can be open about it. What do you think?”

“What if I don’t want it by then?” Chen Lina replied, pretending to act naive.

Only a fool would marry a man like him, so indifferent to her needs.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll let you go anytime,” Nie Bozhao replied firmly, almost like he was setting a boundary.

Well, she was still pretending to be a fool for now.

Chen Lina put on a forced smile, thinking, Oh, Nie Bozhao, you have such a noble spirit of sacrifice, don’t you?

She then decided to show him the clothes she had arranged for the three children. “These three kids, you sent them here from Wuyima last winter, but why didn’t you bring them sweaters and coats?”

Nie Bozhao opened the woven bag, took a glance, and turned to leave the room.

Soon, Nie’s mother started grumbling, “When you get to the city, you can buy as many clothes as you want. These few sweaters and coats, leave them for the second son’s girls. Why take them with you?”

“Mom, bring out the kids’ clothes, I’ll sort them out,” Nie Bozhao said.

Chen Lina looked out the window, and San Dan also leaned over to watch his dad.

After a bit of rummaging, Nie’s mother finally pulled out a large woven bag from the second branch’s room, full of the children’s sweaters and coats.

“Ah, this one’s too small, leave it for the second branch’s girls,” Nie’s mother muttered, pulling out item after item.

After sorting through half of the clothes, Nie Bozhao entered the room, and only half of the clothes remained in the bag.

Chen Lina raised an eyebrow. “This is it? These few clothes for the three kids for winter?”

“When we get back to Wuyima, there should be more,” Nie Bozhao replied weakly.

“Should be more? Does that mean there are or aren’t more?” Chen Lina gave him a pointed look.

Nie Bozhao was tall, handsome, like a movie star, but clearly, he didn’t have much experience with life struggles.

“Do you see the snot on San Dan’s face?” Chen Lina countered, with a slight twitch of her mouth.

Fine, she was still pretending to be a fool with a damaged mind.

She’d keep up the act until they were officially married.

“They’ve been like this since they were little,” Nie Bozhao said.

“Well, I’ll tell you, from today onward, they won’t be like this anymore.” With that, Chen Lina walked out of the room.

“Mom.” She called out directly.

Nie’s mother, holding a pile of sweaters and coats, was about to return to her room.

When she saw the new daughter-in-law coming out, she smiled and greeted her, “Oh.”

“Mom, I can make clothes,” Chen Lina said confidently. “Give me those clothes, I’ll take them apart and fix them. My kids will need them. Look, this one is too small for Da Dan, but Er Dan can still wear it, right?”

Without waiting for a reply, Chen Lina grabbed two sweaters, then snatched another coat. “Although this one’s a bit small for Er Dan, if we pinch the waist, it’ll fit San Dan just fine.”