The Lin family had pooled all their resources to get Lin Dahai a job at the town’s textile factory. Despite the family’s efforts, he was still only a temporary worker and had never been promoted to a full-time position. These days, getting a permanent job required either strong skills, years of experience, or good connections and luck. Unfortunately, Lin Dahai had none of these advantages.

However, even as a temporary worker, his job gave the Lin family plenty to brag about in the village. They boasted about it so much that they practically had their noses in the air.

Who knows how much hard-earned money Heidan’s father had sacrificed to make this possible?

“Come to think of it, Lin Dahai might really not be Old Lin’s son. Maybe back then, Old Lady Lin got pregnant while messing around and had to marry Old Lin because of it.”

“Old Lin is such a pushover. He doesn’t act like a man at all. Old Lady Lin controls him completely—everything in that family goes her way.”

From the conversation, Song Wei pieced together more about the Lin family’s dynamics.

In the Lin household, Old Lady Lin was like an empress. Her word was law, and no one dared question it.

She doted on her eldest son, Lin Dahai, but had a cold, distant attitude toward her other sons. And because she nearly died giving birth to her third son, she treated him as if he were her enemy.

To Song Wei, Old Lady Lin seemed selfish to the core. Other than her obvious favoritism toward Lin Dahai, she seemed to see her other sons merely as labor to use and order around. When Lin the third was still around, he bore the brunt of her scolding. Now, with him gone, the rest of her sons were her targets—though none faced the harshness he had to face.

Because of her hatred for her third son, she also had little sympathy for his child, Heidan. Her cruelty extended to him, and she barely treated him like family.

Old Lady Lin didn’t seem to care about anyone else in the family—only Lin Dahai, who was likely not even Old Lin’s biological child.

Generally speaking, someone like her would definitely not like the son of the man who made her pregnant and then abandoned her, unless she really loves that man.

That would be interesting, indeed.

Though the villagers discussed it openly, these events happened long ago. Nobody had solid proof, so everything was mostly speculation.

When the ox cart finally arrived back at Brigade, everyone quickly scattered back to their homes. Song Wei and Heidan returned to the dormitory.

To her surprise, Gao Le and Zhao Su were already there.

“Hey, you’re back, Sister Song!” they greeted, sitting outside and snacking on sunflower seeds.

Ever since they started using Song Wei’s trick to earn three work points with minimal effort, they had been finishing their tasks early and coming home with plenty of time to relax. They seemed much happier, without the stressed looks they once wore.

Even their team leader, who knew what slackers they were, chose to turn a blind eye to it.

Song Wei gave them a nod and put away her things in her room before coming back out.

“You’re finishing up so early? But don’t just sit around. If someone reports you, there will be trouble.”

Skipping work now and then was one thing, but work was technically mandatory for both the villagers and the educated youth. Other than taking leave or in cases of extreme cold in winter, everyone was expected to stay in the fields until the official end of the workday. Educated Youth who left early without good reason risked being scolded for “lacking the proper spirit.” For villagers, unless the laziness was too obvious, most people let it slide.

“I know, I know. Once we finish this snack, we’re heading to the mountains,” Gao Le replied.

Song Wei didn’t press the issue. Instead, she went back to help Heidan sort through the goods she’d brought back.

Seeing so much food, Heidan’s eyes practically sparkled.

Like a pair of eager squirrels, the two organized their stash, each item sorted neatly into place. There was grain bought in town, walnuts and chestnuts gathered from the mountains, and dried mushrooms stored for the winter. As the collection grew, both felt an immense sense of satisfaction.

Song Wei set aside a corner for their supplies, with a stack of their latest additions alongside previous finds. Yet she wasn’t fully satisfied; she wanted to stockpile even more!

“When they finish collecting the public grain, we should go ask the team leader if we can buy some extra coarse grains and sweet potatoes,” Song Wei said.

“Let’s gather as many walnuts and chestnuts from the mountains as we can, too,” Heidan added. These were food, after all.

Song Wei nodded firmly; he was thinking just like she was.

But right now, there was the matter of housing their rabbits properly. The room needed more storage too, so she planned to see Auntie Ma about it.

Meanwhile, Heidan diligently fed the rabbits and cleaned up the mess they made. The smell was overwhelming, and Song Wei frowned. There was no way she’d let them stay inside much longer; she needed to get those cages made as soon as possible.

After securing the room, Song Wei packed up some sugar and the fabric she bought for Heidan’s clothes, along with a white bread bun, and set off for Aunt Ma’s house.

She didn’t know exactly where Aunt Ma’s house was, but Heidan did.

The little guy happily led the way in his new shoes, looking absolutely pleased with himself. He practically glowed with excitement, though he walked carefully, clearly not yet used to his new shoes.

“It’s here,” Heidan pointed to a nearby house.

Song Wei knocked on the door, which was opened by a timid girl around eight years old.

“Cuiya, is Aunt Ma home?” Heidan asked. “We came to see her.”

Although Heidan had few friends in the village, he still recognized most of the children.

Cuiya shook her head. “My mother’s not home, but she should be back soon to make dinner.”

Song Wei gave the girl a gentle smile. “Could we come in and wait for her? I really need to talk to Aunt Ma.”

Seeing Song Wei’s friendly smile, Cuiya blushed and nodded shyly.

Song Wei handed her a few pieces of candy. Though she looked tempted, the little girl politely declined at first.

“Go ahead and eat. I’ve got more here,” Song Wei reassured her, giving a few pieces to Heidan as well.

Seeing that Heidan accepted the candy too, Cuiya finally took it, visibly pleased.

Aunt Ma’s home was a simple mudbrick house like most in the village, but it was very neat. The yard was well-kept, with a small vegetable garden where Cuiya had been doing laundry.

Waiting in the yard, Song Wei struck up a conversation with Cuiya, and the girl gradually became more comfortable.

Suddenly, loud voices came from the neighboring house.

“Jiang Dashan, did you go see that widow Hu again?” shouted an angry woman.

Song Wei’s eyes widened, and before she knew it, she was sneaking over to the corner of the wall to eavesdrop, her curiosity piqued.

Heidan and Cuiya blinked, unsure what to do. After a few seconds of hesitation, they followed her.

“Hey, you two! Kids shouldn’t be listening to this kind of gossip,” Song Wei whispered as she motioned for them to step back. But then she herself brought over a stool to stand on, peeking just enough over the wall to catch a view of the neighboring yard.