Chapter 2

Jiang Chunzao thought about the two Little Brats at home. She couldn’t stay in the house for another moment, so she turned around, closed the door, and went out to look for the kids.

It was early summer, and at midday, most of the villagers in Lujia Village were resting at home, taking a nap.

Jiang Chunzao stepped out of the house and walked along the two rows of large banyan trees by the roadside, thinking about where the two little ones could have gone.

The banyan trees were full of cicadas, and the whole way was filled with the sound of cicadas chirping. Jiang Chunzao wandered around the village like a headless fly for a while before finally finding the kids by the creek at the village entrance.

The babbling creek flowed with a splash, and six-year-old Shitou, barefoot, held a fish spear, carefully watching the fish swimming in the water.

Suddenly, Shitou seized an opportunity, thrusting the fish spear into the water. He had speared a large fish.

“Wow, big brother is amazing!”

Xiao Moli, who was standing by the creek with her hands on her face, cheered, clapping her little hands when she saw her brother catch the fish.

Shitou, hearing his sister clapping for him, gave a shy smile.

But that smile quickly faded when he saw Jiang Chunzao standing not far behind Xiao Moli.

At that moment, the little one immediately became alert. Wasn’t this woman supposed to be napping at home? Why was she at the village entrance? Had someone angered her again, and now she was going to take it out on him and his sister?

As soon as Shitou thought of this, he dropped the fish spear and ran to the shore, shielding Xiao Moli behind him. With an unfriendly tone, he looked at Jiang Chunzao: “What are you doing here? Are you going to hit me and Xiao Moli again?”

Three-year-old Xiao Moli, seeing Jiang Chunzao, lost her earlier excitement. She timidly hid behind her brother, her little voice trembling with fear: “Mom, please don’t hit big brother. It’s because Xiao Moli is hungry, and big brother went to catch the fish.”

Jiang Chunzao stood there, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at the two little one, who were still wary of her not far away. Her throat felt like something was blocking it—her Shitou and Xiao Moli…

The little ones, Shitou and Xiao Moli, exchanged confused glances as they looked at Jiang Chunzao, whose eyes were reddened. Xiao Moli asked with a puzzled tone: “Brother, is Mom crying?”

Shitou pursed his lips and didn’t easily lower his guard. The unpredictable woman had been good to him and Xiao Moli at times, but whenever the villagers mentioned that they were burdens to her, she would get angry and go home to take it out on them.

Shitou silently reminded himself not to trust that woman; it was just crocodile tears.

At that moment, Xiao Moli, who had been hiding behind Shitou, saw her mom crying. Still just a three-year-old child, Xiao Moli noticed that Jiang Chunzao seemed a little different from before. Unable to hold back, Xiao Moli toddled up to Jiang Chunzao and said: “Mom, please don’t hit big brother. He caught the fish for Moli.”

Before Jiang Chunzao could react, Shitou, like a protective mother hen, spread his little arms to shield his sister, eyeing Jiang Chunzao warily: “I already caught the fish! We’ll eat the fish we caught, we won’t eat your food!”

Shitou’s words made Jiang Chunzao understand. The little guy was telling her that he could catch fish and take care of himself and Xiao Moli, so she didn’t need to be angry and hit Xiao Moli.

Looking at Shitou’s deep wariness and Xiao Moli’s timid face, Jiang Chunzao‘s heart broke.

This was all her fault!

In her past life, Jiang Chunzao wasn’t always the selfish, troublemaking stepmother.

In her previous life, she had been the long-awaited eldest daughter, born to her parents after they had been married for several years. Growing up, Jiang Chunzao was pampered by her parents, like a little princess who never had to lift a finger.

Unlike the children raised in the countryside, Jiang Chunzhao never had to work in the fields. While the neighbor’s children washed dishes, swept floors, or helped chop firewood, Jiang Chunzao‘s daily routine only involved going to school with her backpack and coming home to a hot meal.

Despite this, her parents were worried about their delicate daughter and made sure she didn’t face any hardship. To give her a better future, they worked hard to send her to school.

As it happened, Jiang Chunzao was a good student. She excelled all the way from elementary school to high school, and her achievements made her family proud.

Unlike the other girls in the village who just wanted to marry well, Jiang Chunzao had her own ambitions—she wanted to study, go to college, and leave the mountains to live a better life.

Because of this, she hadn’t been courting anyone, unlike the other village girls who were already looking for marriage at eighteen.

But sometimes, fate is cruel.

That weekend, as usual, Jiang Chunzao had returned home from the county town to pick up some supplies during the school break. When she passed the creek near the entrance of Lujia Village, carrying her backpack and walking quickly, she suddenly saw a child struggling in the deep water, shouting for help.

Jiang Chunzao had grown up in the countryside. Although her parents were strict, she knew how to swim. Seeing the child drowning, the eighteen-year-old girl didn’t hesitate for a moment and was about to jump into the water to save the child.

At that moment, a young man in military uniform came running from the village entrance. Without thinking, he dove into the water and rescued the drowning child.

The young man was Lu Lin, and the child who had fallen into the water was Shitou. At that time, Shitou was only three years old but had already become an orphan, with neither father nor mother.

Shitou’s biological father was a comrade of Lu Lin, and his biological mother had died during childbirth. Later, Shitou’s father also died in the line of duty.

After becoming an orphan, Shitou was adopted by Lu Lin and brought back to his hometown. One day, Shitou ran out to play by the creek and accidentally fell into the water.

When Lu Lin realized Shitou was missing, he searched the village. When he reached the village entrance, he saw Jiang Chunzao about to jump into the river to save the child.

Once Lu Lin rescued the drowning Shitou, Jiang Chunzao quickly rushed over to help. By this time, the villagers of Lujia Village had heard the news and were arriving one after another.

Grandma Lu also followed behind the villagers to watch the scene. At that time, Grandma Lu had never liked Lu Lin, who wasn’t her biological son. And now, Lu Lin had brought home this burden, Shitou.

Fuming with anger, Grandma Lu could do nothing but watch. When she saw Lu Lin and a strange young woman rescuing the child, her irritation only grew.

The way that young woman was speaking to Lu Lin didn’t seem like the behavior of a respectable girl!

Which good girl would act so casually with an unknown man in broad daylight?

Grandma Lu sneered and, in her mind, hatched an idea. Since Lu Lin had decided to adopt this “burden,” she had no intention of taking care of the child herself.

If Lu Lin wanted to take on this responsibility, why not make a big deal of it? She could take this opportunity to spread the word in the village that the girl was Lu Lin’s girlfriend. When word got out, the situation would escalate, and no respectable man would want to marry a woman involved in such gossip.

Then, Lu Lin would have no choice but to marry the girl, and that would ensure someone took care of the orphan.

Grandma Lu thought her idea was quite clever. She looked at Jiang Chunzao, still helping to rescue the child, and thought that the girl clearly wasn’t a proper one.

A match made in heaven, a “bad fish” with a “rotten shrimp,” seemed just right!

With that, Grandma Lu, standing in front of the entire village, raised her voice and loudly declared that the girl who had been helping to rescue the child was her son Lu Lin’s girlfriend and that they were about to get married.

When Jiang Chunzao heard this, she almost fainted. Lu Lin frowned and asked Grandma Lu to stop making such claims.

Seeing that her words were making such a stir, Grandma Lu raised her voice even louder in front of the villagers. Since there were people in the village who knew Jiang Chunzao, it didn’t take long for news of Lu Lin and Jiang Chunzao to spread across the nearby villages.

When Jiang Chunzhao’s parents heard about their daughter’s situation, they were furious and rushed to Lujia Village, giving Grandma Lu a harsh reprimand.

Realizing that Jiang Chunzao’s family was not to be trifled with, Grandma Lu regretted what she had done. But it was too late; no matter how much Lu Lin tried to explain, Jiang Chunzao’s reputation was now tied to his, and because of this, Jiang Chunzhao was forced to drop out of school.

Although Lu Lin and Jiang Chunzao were both victims in this situation, Jiang Chunzao still harbored deep resentment toward everyone involved, including Lu Lin.

Under the mocking and jeering of others, Jiang Chunzhao and Lu Lin were reluctantly married. After the marriage, Lu Lin treated her as well as he possibly could.

However, Jiang Chunzao’s bitterness still soured the Lu family’s life. Even though she dropped out of school, not long after, the nation went through a decade of turmoil, and universities nationwide stopped enrolling students.

Despite everything, Jiang Chunzao’s hatred for the Lu family members remained unchanged.

This hatred even extended to her biological daughter, Xiao Moli.

In her past life, Jiang Chunzao despised Xiao Moli, who carried the blood of the Lu family, as well as Lu Lin and her adopted son, Shitou. She hated them all to the core.

Jiang Chunzao lived her life consumed by hatred. She gave up on herself, nurtured her bitterness, and carried resentment throughout her life, never once considering that Lu Lin, Shitou, and Xiao Moli—just like her—were some of the most innocent victims of society.

None of this was their fault.

Jiang Chunzao blinked, forcefully pushing the tears back from her eyes. She gave Xiao Moli a warm smile, one she had never shown before: “Mom has steamed buns at home. Would you like to go home with Mom, Moli?”

When Xiao Moli, who was as thin as a kitten, heard that there were buns at home, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Can Moli really eat steamed buns?”

“Of course you can,” Jiang Chunzao said, suppressing the sour feeling in her heart. She smiled and took Moli’s small hand. Turning to Shitou, who was not far away, she said gently, “Shitou, let’s go home with Mom.”

Shitou looked at Jiang Chunzao’s outstretched hand. He hesitated for a moment, but just then, Xiao Moli, in her soft, babyish voice, spoke up.

“Brother, Moli’s tummy is hungry.”

When Shitou heard that his little sister was hungry, he silently picked up the fish spear from the ground and, holding the fish he had caught, silently followed behind Jiang Chunzao. Seeing him keep his head down, Jiang Chunzao, not wanting to wait, took the initiative to hold his small hand.

Shitou’s little hand was enveloped in her soft grip. The little guy stiffened for a moment but didn’t pull his hand away.

Jiang Chunzao smiled and, holding both children’s hands, led them home.

Once they arrived at the house, the aroma of steamed buns quickly wafted from the small courtyard of the Lu family.

In the neighboring old courtyard of the Lu family, Liu Hongyan’s son, Lu Mutou, was playing with mud. When he caught the scent of the buns, he poked his head toward the Lu family’s small courtyard and just happened to see his grandmother, Grandma Lu, handing a bun to Shitou, while Xiao Moli happily ate one too.

Lu Mutou became upset and shouted loudly: “Grandma, why does that burden get to eat buns?!

I want buns too!”