Chapter 8

“It’s not, it’s for mom,” Daya quickly explained.

Su Qianqian was immediately touched. “You two go ahead and stoke the fire, I’ll cook the noodles. Be careful.” She knew the two sisters could handle the fire, even at such a young age; they were so capable.

“Where’s Erbao?”

“He went out to cut pig grass.”

Poor children grow up fast.

She finished cooking the noodles, served some for herself, and then gave some to the two sisters. At first, they refused to eat, but when she pretended to be upset, they finally ate.

“Mom, your noodles are so delicious!” Sanya had her mouth full, eating with a satisfied look on her face. She seemed less afraid of her now, and for the first time, showed her childlike innocence, smiling with her eyes curved up in a sweet, adorable way.

Su Qianqian could already imagine how good-looking the three children would be once they gained some weight and became a little fairer, though even now, they didn’t look bad at all.

“Eat more if it’s tasty.”

Sanya froze for a moment before shaking her head. “I’m full. Sanya doesn’t eat much, I’m very frugal.”

Su Qianqian didn’t say anything, just gently patted her head. She would prove to the children with her actions in the future that they could have enough to eat and live well.

“Daya, come here.” She couldn’t find any small hair ties or clips at home, so she found two red strings. “Mom will tie your hair.”

Since Daya couldn’t see what her hair looked like, she didn’t respond much. She just felt that her mom had become so gentle, even tying her hair without hurting her.

But Sanya’s eyes lit up. She stared eagerly at her sister’s hairstyle, filled with longing.

Su Qianqian tied two small puffs on each side of Daya’s head. Although she only used red string, it looked exceptionally cute, though the bangs were a little messy. “Daya, let me trim your bangs. Don’t be scared, okay?”

Since scissors were involved, she had to warn them first, or else the children might get frightened.

While trimming Daya’s bangs, Su Qianqian could feel how tense Daya was. The little girl was so nervous that she kept her eyes tightly shut. Su Qianqian sighed in her heart, hoping she could heal the childhood trauma these children had. Otherwise, they might easily grow up as people-pleasers, always trying to satisfy others and endlessly suppressing their own feelings.

“Sanya, does your sister look pretty?” Su Qianqian smiled and asked Sanya.

“She looks beautiful! So beautiful!” Sanya nodded eagerly, her face full of admiration.

Daya looked a bit confused.

“Go look in the mirror yourself. Mom will tie Sanya’s hair too.”

Sanya sat obediently on the stool, smiling with anticipation.

Daya, who went to look at herself in the mirror, was stunned. She had never seen anyone in Tianshui village with such a cute hairstyle—it was so pretty.

She quickly ran out to show Sanya. Sure enough, Sanya’s hair was tied in the same little puffs. With her larger eyes, the hairstyle made her even cuter.

“Do you like it?” Su Qianqian asked them.

“Yes!” Both girls said joyfully.

Has mom really become a good mom?

Heaven, did you hear my prayers?

Daya looked up at the sky and silently said, “Thank you.”

Su Qianqian noticed that Zhu Tianfang still hadn’t returned, probably busy and unable to come back in time to cook, so she decided to make lunch. She prepared some vegetables, made a sweet potato soup, and also cooked some wild vegetable rice.

She took Daya and Sanya to deliver the food to Cheng Youmin and Cheng Song.

Along the way, they attracted a lot of attention.

“Sister, are they looking at us?” Sanya asked shyly, her little face flushed.

“Yes, our hair looks great,” Daya held her sister’s hand, feeling a bit shy as well, since they had never looked this good before.

When they reached the worksite, Cheng Youmin and Cheng Song were already eating, but they were having hard black cornmeal cakes made from sorghum, which didn’t taste very good. It seemed that her mother-in-law had been busy and had to go out.

“Dad, Big Brother, here’s the food I made for you,” she said, taking the food from the basket and offering it to them.

The father and son were stunned, not reaching out to take it for a while.

“Grandpa, Uncle, this food is made by my mom. It’s really delicious,” Daya spoke up on behalf of Su Qianqian. Though she was small, she understood a lot.

“If you’re not sure about it, should I eat a little first?” Su Qianqian suggested, planning to eat some wild vegetable rice to ease their doubts.

Cheng Youmin took the food, “Thank you for your hard work.”

He gestured for Cheng Song to start eating.

Cheng Song was stunned: “Dad, are you really going to make me eat this?”

He hesitantly took a spoonful of the wild vegetable rice, still debating whether to swallow it or spit it out, but after tasting it, he was surprised to find it was actually very delicious. He was both shocked and pleased.

“Dad, here, take this cornmeal cake.” Cheng Song shoved the half-eaten cornmeal cake into Cheng Youmin’s hand, then started eating the wild vegetable rice. It was really good.

Cheng Youmin: … I really have a filial son.

“Dad, try this soup, it’s good too.” Su Qianqian quickly offered him the soup.

He tried it, and it was indeed good. The cornmeal cake tasted much better with the soup.

Has Cheng Yue’s wife really changed?

In the past, everything she made was either not tasty or not clean, but this food, clean and delicious, was something they never had the privilege of eating before.

“Daya, Sanya, your hair looks really nice today. Who did your hair?” Some local farm women teased the two sisters as they worked nearby.

“Mom did it,” Daya answered proudly.

She and her sister now had their mom do their hair, no need to envy others anymore.

Sanya secretly smiled beside her sister, noticing how the other kids who usually played with them were now admiring their little braids.

“Your mom did it? You’re not lying, are you?” The farm women didn’t believe them. They knew what Su Qianqian was like—she never punished the kids, but doing their hair? That was impossible.

“It really was mom,” Daya and Sanya said seriously.

Still, no one believed them, but they didn’t say much. Even though Su Qianqian wasn’t highly regarded, the three children were really admirable. They felt sorry for them and sometimes gave them a little food when they met.

Su Qianqian didn’t explain and took the two sisters to find Erbao.

“Mom, I couldn’t find Brother,” Sanya said, a little worried after searching around.

“Huzi said Erbao might be gathering firewood. Let’s go over there and check,” Daya pointed to a low hill nearby.

They all went to look for Erbao.

Su Qianqian was anxious in her heart. What would happen if something happened to such a young child? They needed to find him quickly.

In the distance, she saw a small figure holding dry branches, running to a spot to drop them, then running back to gather more.

The child was tying the dry branches with twine, and though he seemed to struggle, he was still able to pull it along.

“Erbao!” Su Qianqian called out.

“Mom!” Erbao was overjoyed. He quickly ran up and said, “Look, I gathered a lot of dry branches.”

“Great job!” She patted his head, but when she saw his hands were scraped and bruised, her heart ached. She quickly wiped his hands with a handkerchief dipped in the spiritual spring water.

“Mom, when I grow up, I’ll do even more work!”

“We will too,” Daya and Sanya chimed in.

They really were three little angels.

Su Qianqian took them to gather some more dry branches, and suddenly, her eyes lit up. She gasped, “Wild pheasant?!”