“Come quickly, have some buns while they’re hot!” Qian Chunhua placed the meat buns on a nearby rock, gently lifting the lotus leaves as she warmly called everyone over.

“Wow! Meat buns!” Zhao Qingfeng ran over excitedly, his eyes gleaming at the fragrant, steaming buns—he was practically drooling.

In his memory, the number of times he had eaten meat buns in a year could be counted on one hand. And even then, he only ever got one.

Now, there was a whole pile of them right in front of him.

Zhao Xiaoling’s eyes also lit up as she stared at the buns.

However, Zhao Qingsong and Qian Xingshan hesitated, not quite believing that something as precious as meat buns could really be for them.

“Come on, there’s plenty for everyone,” Qian Chunhua, knowing what was going through their minds, walked over and pulled them both gently toward the food.

“Eat while it’s hot, don’t be shy,” she encouraged warmly.

Only then did Zhao Qingsong and Qian Xingshan start to believe that she truly meant for them to eat.

Though both tried to politely refuse, the tempting aroma and their gnawing hunger were too much to resist.

Embarrassed, they wiped their hands on their trousers and picked up a bun.

“So good! It’s delicious…” Zhao Qingfeng exclaimed between big bites, full of praise.

Zhao Qingsong and Zhao Xiaoling were also eating happily, nodding as they chewed, too busy to even talk.

In contrast, Qian Xingshan, being a little older, ate more politely—but even he devoured his bun in a few quick bites.

“Slow down, don’t choke,” Qian Chunhua reminded them.

She couldn’t take out water from her space right now, so she had to caution them to eat slowly.

After finishing his first bun, Qian Xingshan hesitated to take another, but Qian Chunhua handed one to him directly. “Go ahead, I know your appetite.”

When the three children finished their first bun, she handed each of them a second.

In the end, the three children each ate three buns, while Qian Xingshan stopped after five and firmly declined any more.

Qian Chunhua carefully wrapped the remaining buns in lotus leaves and handed them to Qian Xingshan.

“Take these home—let mother try them,” she said with determination.

Qian Xingshan quickly waved his hands and shook his head like a rattle-drum. “Sis, you haven’t eaten yet. And you still have to bring some back for Uncle and Aunt.”

Qian Chunhua smiled gently and replied, “I already had some when I bought them. Take these. I know what I’m doing.”

Without giving him another chance to refuse, she shoved the buns into his hands.

“Alright, it’s time for us to head back too.” She picked up Zhao Qingfeng and took Zhao Xiaoling’s hand, preparing to go down the mountain.

With no choice, Qian Xingshan put the buns in his basket and covered them with some wild greens.

“Sis, I’ll head off first,” he said as he hoisted the basket and hurried downhill.

Qian Chunhua looked at his retreating back and called out with a smile, “Tell Mother I’ll visit when I get a chance.”

Up ahead, Qian Xingshan waved his hand to show he’d heard her.

Qian Chunhua had already made up her mind—now that she was planning to separate from her husband’s family, she would need to keep close contact with her own maternal family.

In a rural village like this, a single woman with three children would easily be bullied without family support.

She understood that clearly.

As long as her mother’s side wasn’t full of selfish and greedy people, Qian Chunhua was willing to lend them a helping hand.

After walking a while down the mountain, carrying Zhao Qingfeng and holding Zhao Xiaoling’s hand, Qian Chunhua suddenly noticed something was missing—Zhao Qingsong hadn’t caught up.

She looked back and saw the eight-year-old boy struggling under a huge basket of pigweed that was nearly as tall as he was.

His steps were wobbly and unsteady, as if he might topple over at any moment.

Seeing this made Qian Chunhua’s heart ache unexpectedly.

She stopped, put down Qingfeng, and let Xiaoling hold his hand.

She walked over to Zhao Qingsong and softly said, “Qingsong, this basket’s too heavy. Let Second Aunt carry it for you.”

Zhao Qingsong was startled by her sudden concern and quickly waved his hands. “N-No need, Second Aunt, I can manage.”

Though his voice was quiet, it was filled with stubbornness.

Zhao Xiaoling also came over, her childish voice urging, “Qingsong-gege, let my mom help you. That basket is really heavy.”

She knew exactly how heavy the pigweed was.

Usually, it took both of them working together just to barely carry it home.

Qian Chunhua didn’t argue.

She reached out and took the basket from his shoulders.

The weight nearly made her stumble, but she adjusted just in time.

She noticed that Zhao Qingsong’s shoulders were red and chafed, with patches of skin rubbed raw.

In this freezing weather, the boy was still dressed in thin, worn-out clothing.

Qian Chunhua felt a deep pang in her heart.

She couldn’t understand what the eldest branch was thinking.

Why didn’t they care for their own child but instead wanted to take someone else’s?

She knew the reason—they had their eyes on Zhao Qingyun’s intelligence.

They figured he had the potential to become someone great one day, so they wanted to adopt Zhao Qingsong now, hoping to enjoy Qingyun’s future success and glory.

Qian Chunhua found this line of thinking utterly ridiculous.

She couldn’t understand why they were always scheming to take what belonged to others instead of working hard to create a good life for themselves.

With a sigh, she slung the heavy basket over her own shoulders, adjusted the bundle on her chest, and began making her way down the rugged mountain path.

Ahead of her, Zhao Qingsong and Zhao Xiaoling walked side by side, holding little Zhao Qingfeng between them.

Qian Chunhua’s eyes lingered on Zhao Qingsong—this small, skinny boy, even thinner and more poorly dressed than her own Qingyun.

Something flickered through her mind, but it passed too quickly to catch.

…

Despite his frail figure, Zhao Qingsong clearly cared deeply for Qingfeng and Xiaoling.

As they made their way down the mountain, he constantly reminded them: “Xiaoling, careful, there’s a hole up ahead.”

Or “Qingfeng, don’t kick the rocks. You’ll ruin your shoes.”

Zhao Qingsong nagged the younger kids the entire way, always attentive.

Qian Chunhua, walking behind, couldn’t help but smile.

He was even more nagging than she was.

What surprised her even more was how obedient the younger two were.

They listened to his every word without complaint.

In terms of caring for his younger siblings, Zhao Qingsong was even more like a proper big brother than Zhao Qingyun.

As they passed the Zhao family’s farmland on their way back to the village, Qian Chunhua suddenly asked, “Qingsong, why isn’t your mother working in the fields?”

It sounded like a casual question, but Qian Chunhua had her reasons for asking.

Zhao Qingsong tensed and glanced nervously at her.

“Se—Second Aunt, my… my mother, she…” He stammered, clearly struggling to explain, but he didn’t lie.

Qian Chunhua already understood. She smiled and said gently, “It’s alright. Second Aunt was just asking casually. Let’s go home.”

Hearing that, Zhao Qingsong finally relaxed.

He didn’t know exactly where his parents went every day, but he knew for sure it wasn’t to the fields.

The Zhao family only had five acres of farmland and three of dry land—no need to be out every day.

Qian Chunhua knew this all too well.

With so little land, the real issue was Zhao Daqing’s mindset.

He believed that silver should be hoarded, not spent on more land.

In his view, as long as the existing fields could feed the family, that was enough.