Chapter 8: Bare Walls and Empty Home

After the village chief and Shanya Zi left, only the entire Huo family remained inside the shabby cowshed.

“Let’s go inside and take a look first,” Huo Jianguo was the first to speak. The more difficult the situation, the more he needed to take charge.

“Yeah, let’s go check it out. Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks,” Huo Xinyuan tried to stay optimistic.

But the moment they pushed open the two broken wooden doors, their last bit of hope was completely crushed.

Inside, the only way to describe the place was: bare walls and an empty home.

There wasn’t even a single bed—just a patch of straw piled up in the corner, clearly intended for resting.

Other than that, there was absolutely nothing.

Even Huo Jianguo couldn’t help but feel a tremor in his chest.

Su Miaomiao looked at the Huo family’s expressions, as if they had descended into the depths of hell, and calmly stepped forward to inspect the straw.

After driving away some small animals hiding within, she re-spread the straw neatly.

Then she rummaged through the Huo family’s luggage and pulled out a quilt, laying it over the straw pile.

It would barely suffice for one night.

“Grandpa, Grandma—tonight, the two of you can sleep here,” Su Miaomiao said after finishing her tasks, turning to the elder Mr. and Mrs. Huo.

“What are you all standing around for? Go fix up the straw—at the very least, make a place to sleep,” Old Master Huo finally spoke.

“Miaomiao…” Tang Chunlan snapped back to her senses. She hurried over and took Su Miaomiao’s hand, her eyes red again. “Why… why do you know how to do all this?”

And she was so skilled at it too—clearly, she had suffered before.

Her poor daughter…

“It’s not like this takes any special skill,” Su Miaomiao still wasn’t quite used to Tang Chunlan’s affectionate manner. She awkwardly pulled her hand away. “I’ll go check the room next door.”

With that, she headed to the other side. The two rooms were nearly identical—bare walls, straw, nothing else.

Just as Su Miaomiao stepped forward to tidy up the straw, a few figures beat her to it.

“Little Sis, you rest. Let us handle this,” it was Huo Zhenbo and his two brothers.

Su Miaomiao didn’t argue with them and instead walked over to the window to observe the surroundings.

Outside, it was pitch-black, with only a few faint lights visible in the distance.

That must be the village, and it was quite far away—a good thing, actually. It would make their lives a little easier.

After all, a rundown house could be repaired. But if they lived inside the village, they’d constantly be watched by others.

“Little Sis, the bed’s ready—you and Mom can sleep in this room,” came Huo Zhenbo’s voice from behind her.

Su Miaomiao turned around and saw that the straw pile had been tidied up neatly, with a quilt laid over it.

“Let Dad and Mom sleep here,” Su Miaomiao suggested.

“No need. Your brothers and I will go check outside,” Huo Jianguo declined firmly.

Su Miaomiao wanted to say more, but he had already taken the three boys and left the room.

“Miaomiao, let them go. After sitting on the train for so long, they must be tired. You should rest too,” Tang Chunlan gently pulled her toward the straw mat.

Her eyes were still red, but she forced herself not to cry in front of Su Miaomiao.

Back in Beijing, even their dogs lived in better conditions than this.

But now… her daughter had to suffer through all this with her.

It was all their fault.

“…Mm.” The moment Su Miaomiao met Tang Chunlan’s gaze, she felt a strange, indescribable feeling rise in her chest.

To stop Tang Chunlan from crying again, Su Miaomiao simply lay down on the pile of straw and closed her eyes.

Seeing her like this, Tang Chunlan assumed she must be utterly exhausted—imagine being able to fall asleep in such a place. Her eyes instantly grew even more sore with emotion, and she quietly sat beside Su Miaomiao, wiping away tears in silence.

Only when she was sure Su Miaomiao was asleep did she carefully leave the room.

What she didn’t know was that the moment she turned around, Su Miaomiao opened her eyes.

With someone watching her so closely, how could she possibly fall asleep?

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Outside.

As soon as Tang Chunlan stepped out, Huo Jianguo came over to her.

“Miaomiao’s asleep?” Huo Jianguo kept his voice low.

“Mm. She must’ve been really tired from the trip—she fell asleep the moment she lay down.” Tang Chunlan’s voice trembled.

“It’s our fault… we dragged her into this,” Huo Jianguo said, full of guilt as he looked at the room behind him.

“What’s the use in saying that now? We can’t exactly send her back,” Tang Chunlan replied, wiping away tears again.

“Oh, right—this is the food the village chief had someone deliver just now.” Huo Jianguo quickly changed the subject, terrified of seeing his wife cry. When they got married, he’d sworn before her father that he would never let her shed tears. Yet recently, her eyes had almost cried themselves blind.

“What kind of food did they bring?” At the mention of food, Tang Chunlan immediately perked up, pushing her tears aside.

After all, everyone had spent the last couple of days on the train and barely had a proper meal.

“The village chief gave us 20 jin of corn grits, three cabbages, and half a winter melon,” said Huo Jianguo.

“That’s it?” Tang Chunlan thought she must’ve misheard.

“That’s it,” Huo Jianguo replied, frowning deeply.

Not quite believing it, Tang Chunlan went to check for herself.

And sure enough—it was exactly as he said.

“What… how are we even supposed to eat this corn grits?” Her voice choked with emotion.

She was a born-and-raised Southerner, used to eating fine, white rice all her life. In her memory, corn grits were something fed to livestock, not people.

“We can cook it into porridge and stew the cabbage. As long as it fills our stomachs, we’ll get by,” Huo Jianguo said, having already accepted the reality.

“We can handle it, but your parents are old and not in great health. This stuff has no nutrition. And Miaomiao—she’s still growing and already so thin. How can she survive on this?” Looking at the meager food supplies in front of her, Tang Chunlan couldn’t hold back her tears any longer.

“It’s just the first day. We’re still unfamiliar with the place. Tomorrow I’ll ask around and see if I can find something else to eat,” Huo Jianguo reassured her, fully aware that his wife had never suffered like this in her life.

“I’m not worried about myself. I’m just worried about Miaomiao…” The moment she mentioned her unfortunate daughter, Tang Chunlan completely lost control of her tears.

“Mom, please stop crying. Little Sis just fell asleep—don’t wake her up again,” Huo Zhenbo comforted her.

As soon as she heard that, Tang Chunlan immediately choked back her sobs.

Huo Zhenbo sighed in relief. It seemed only their little sister could truly comfort their mother now.

What none of them knew was that Su Miaomiao had exceptional hearing and heard every word they said outside.

Worried about her?

At a time like this, they’d better worry about themselves first.

Su Miaomiao let out a silent sigh as if she hadn’t heard anything, then closed her eyes again.

After all, only by sleeping well could she gather the strength she needed for the hard days ahead.