It was around 8 PM.

The night was quiet.

The north wind howled.

It was nearing the end of the month, and the snow that had fallen in Ji Province a few days ago had only just melted in the past few days.

Zhou Wanwan and Su Ze didn’t return to their own room.

They couldn’t bear to leave and were still nestled with their parents.

The couple sat by the kang (a traditional heated platform) watching their two sons happily learning shadow puppetry with their grandmother.

In the dimly lit room, a candle was placed on a stone that had been moved inside, casting light only on this small area.

Qiao Jiuru used her hands to shape a rabbit for her two cute grandsons with the shadow, then made it move, guiding the little rabbit to “kiss” the tiny faces of Da Bao and Xiao Bao reflected on the wall.

“Rabbit.”
“Bunny.”
“Kiss.”
“The rabbit kisses Da Bao, kisses Xiao Bao.”
“Grandma, me too, kiss bunny.”
“Bunny, cute.”
“The bunny thinks Da Bao and Xiao Bao are both obedient and cute.”

“Hahaha…”
“Heehee, cute, so well-behaved, the younger brother is well-behaved.”
“Gou Gou (nickname for the younger brother) is well-behaved, Da Bao is also well-behaved.”

Da Bao and Xiao Bao laughed so hard they nearly fell over, completely forgetting the events of last night and this morning.

They giggled and played, their voices sweet and childish.

When Uncle Jiu arrived with a pot of freshly made chicken soup, he could already hear the children’s laughter from far away, and his heart immediately lightened.

Soon, he arrived at the door.

With both hands holding the pot, he couldn’t knock, so he called out instead.

“Xiao Ru, Huai Yuan, open the door.”

The closest house to the village was his, and since their home was about a hundred to two hundred meters away from the other villagers, Uncle Jiu had no intention of lowering his voice.

When his voice sounded, the laughter inside quieted down, followed by footsteps and the sound of the door opening.

“Uncle Jiu, come in!”

Before the door was fully open, Su Ze had already smelled the rich aroma of chicken soup.

He knew it was Uncle Jiu bringing the soup.

Sure enough, outside the door, who else could it be but Uncle Jiu?!

“Uncle Jiu.”
“Uncle.”
“Granduncle.”

Su Huaiyuan and Qiao Jiuru had already stood up to greet him when the door opened.

Zhou Wanwan, who was a step behind, also stood up, calling out to him while keeping an eye on the two sons on the kang.

“Da Bao, Xiao Bao, call Uncle.”

Da Bao and Xiao Bao blinked their big, round eyes and tilted their little heads, looking at the elderly man entering.

They recognized him, as they had eaten eggs and millet porridge at his house earlier that afternoon.

“Granduncle.”
“Granduncle.”

Da Bao and Xiao Bao were very polite, swaying as they stood up from the kang and greeted the old man in their sweet, childish voices.

The old man was so kind to them, and they liked him very much.

“Hey, hey, Da Bao, Xiao Bao, Granduncle brought you some chicken soup. Drink it, and you won’t get sick anymore.”

Uncle Jiu’s heart nearly melted when he saw the two little ones.

They had only spent a short afternoon together, but he felt a special bond with them, an instant connection.

He finished speaking and handed the pot of chicken soup to Su Ze, urging him to quickly serve it to the children.

“Uncle Jiu, thank you.”

Qiao Jiuru invited Uncle Jiu to sit on the kang and apologized with a smile.

“We’re family, no need for formalities. What I’m worried about isn’t you, it’s Da Bao and Xiao Bao.”

Uncle Jiu waved his hand dismissively. He wasn’t concerned about them; he was just heartbroken for the children. This chicken soup was specially made for them.

Su Ze had already placed the pot of chicken soup on the ground and was quickly fetching the lunch box to serve it.

“Granduncle, you eat first.”

Naturally, the first portion was for Uncle Jiu.

The second portion would go to Da Bao and Xiao Bao.

Uncle Jiu was about to refuse, but Qiao Jiuru insisted.

Since he was the oldest here, he should be the first to eat.

“Next, Granduncle.”

“Yes, Granduncle, next.”

Da Bao and Xiao Bao drooled as they pointed to the soup, urging Uncle Jiu to eat first. At home, they were always taught to let the grandparents eat first.

“Alright, alright, Granduncle will listen to Da Bao and Xiao Bao. Let’s all eat together.”

Uncle Jiu felt warmth in his heart and was deeply touched.

But he wasn’t hungry and didn’t need to eat much, so he poured half of it back into the pot.

Zhou Wanwan waited until Uncle Jiu had taken a bite before she started feeding the chicken to the two sons.

Uncle Jiu was very thoughtful.

The chicken was chopped into tiny pieces, the meat separated from the bones, clearly shredded beforehand.

This made it easier and cleaner for Da Bao and Xiao Bao to eat.

While Uncle Jiu was there, Qiao Jiuru took the opportunity to discuss the plans for the next day.

Uncle Jiu nodded repeatedly, agreeing that the Su family had a good understanding of the situation.

“As for the work, we’ll do it as you discussed. As for the tables and stools, there’s still a lot of wood in the village. I’ll bring some over for you, so you won’t need to go searching for wood and stones.”

“Uncle Jiu, I think this isn’t good. We just arrived. If we have everything ready, how will others look at us? How will they look at you and Bai Gege?”

Qiao Jiuru firmly opposed.

They needed to live according to their status to avoid causing trouble.

If they didn’t stand out, it would prevent them from attracting jealousy and reports.

They didn’t want to end up in a worse situation.

Uncle Jiu might have thought a few pieces of wood were a small matter, but Qiao Jiuru insisted.

They should live according to their station to avoid bigger problems.

If Da Bao and Xiao Bao were older, she would take them to work in the fields tomorrow.

“Uncle Jiu, we plan to rely on ourselves. As long as we’re not beaten or scolded, we’ll be lucky. If we go too far, they might not even let us stay here. As long as Da Bao and Xiao Bao are fine, we’re not afraid of hardship or exhaustion.”

Su Huaiyuan also agreed that they shouldn’t accept too much help from Uncle Jiu and Bai Lianshan to avoid unnecessary trouble and jealousy.

Uncle Jiu wasn’t unaware of how the other relocated families were treated.

He knew if they were too well taken care of, it could lead to trouble.

“Alright, I’ll listen to you. Tomorrow, I’ll tell Lianshan that the others should be treated the same as they’ve always been. But you have to make sure Da Bao and Xiao Bao stay safe.”

No matter how hard life was, they couldn’t make it hard for the children. When Da Bao and Xiao Bao had high fevers earlier, it scared everyone.

Uncle Jiu couldn’t bear to see it happen again.

Qiao Jiuru and Su Huaiyuan readily agreed.

They couldn’t let anything happen to their children.

Da Bao and Xiao Bao were the heart of their family.