“Dad, you’re not planning to find us a stepmother, are you?” The three children of the Nie family were sitting by the light as Nie Bozhao was washing their feet.

A pair of deep eyes, gazing up from under the dim light, raised an eyebrow. “Nonsense, I’m just finding you a nanny.”

“But you promised Mom that you wouldn’t marry a stepmother until we were grown up. And if you do, Grandma definitely won’t approve. She’ll make a big scene at the base, and everyone will laugh at us,” Nie Weimin said.

“Alright, enough talk. Finish washing and get to bed,” Nie Bozhao said, trying to end the conversation.

Though their clothes were clean, when the three children took off their shoes, their feet were covered in cracks and sores.

Nie Bozhao searched for a long time but couldn’t find soap, only finding a box of clam oil.

He used a little of it on each of the children’s feet.

“Dad, I’m hungry,” the second son, Er Dan, rubbed his small, empty stomach.

On the bed, he was pretending to eat a chicken drumstick with his fists, chewing noisily.

“The food’s all gone. Hold on a bit, tomorrow morning I’ll take you to the state-run restaurant in the town for a good meal,” Nie Bozhao said.

The three children were so thin it broke his heart.

Every month, he sent his biological mother 80 yuan, and this was how his children had turned out.

“I want to eat a big chicken drumstick, big pork ribs, and some big White Rabbit candy…” The little one’s mouth watered as he kept thinking of more things to ask for.

Just then, the eldest daughter of the second son’s family ran in. “Uncle, there’s a young lady outside looking for you.”

Nie Bozhao heard “young lady” and immediately suspected it was Chen Lili from across the river.

His mother had been cursing earlier, saying she would send Chen Lili to the police station.

Not daring to confront his biological mother, he left on his own.

…

Chen Lina didn’t show herself, standing in the shadows, but had sent Chen Lili out to speak on her behalf.

Why?

There was a clever reason behind it.

In her past life, Nie Bozhao had first been a senior engineer at the oil base, then a businessman who founded Zhao Real Estate.

He was rich, handsome, cultured, and had many admirers, but he never remarried until he met her fifteen years later.

When they first married, Chen Lina was quite happy because Nie Bozhao was a sought-after bachelor at the time, and she thought she was good enough to make him give up his plans to remain single and marry her.

However, after marriage, Nie Bozhao’s youngest son had said something that made Chen Lina upset.

He said: “Mom, you just met Dad at the right time. That’s why he married you. If he had met you a few years earlier, he definitely wouldn’t have married you.”

Chen Lina asked why.

The child smiled and shook his head, only firmly saying: “He doesn’t love you. He just met you at the right time, and you happened to be a suitable person to marry.”

Why was that?

Chen Lina was upset because of this.

No matter how much Nie Bozhao loved her, she would always oppose him, causing trouble, until he was on the verge of death.

Only then did she realize he truly loved her.

But by then, it was already too late to cherish him.

But in this life, after all these years, would he still be like his youngest son said, staying single and refusing to marry her?

It was to understand this that Chen Lina sent Chen Lili out to inquire on her behalf.

“Comrade Nie, are you only looking for a nanny and have no intention of remarrying?” Chen Lili asked directly, getting straight to the point.

By this time, the sky had darkened, and only the moonlight illuminated the riverside.

In the darkness, the man’s breath paused, and then he said, “Comrade Chen, I only want to find a reliable and hardworking nanny. If you’re asking about marriage, I’m afraid I have no such plans.”

At that moment, the man straightened his back even more, exuding an aloofness that seemed to push others away.

“Why not? Could you tell me?” Chen Lili asked again, as her sister had told her to ask two questions: one, whether Nie Bozhao planned to remarry, and two, if not, what the reason was.

Under the moonlight, the man’s brows furrowed slightly, clearly contemplating how to answer carefully.

After a long pause, he said, “The child is still young, and being a stepmother is not easy. Right now, I just want to raise the child safely. I have no intention of remarrying.”

After speaking, he turned and walked away.

“Sis, see? I told you this man has no plans to remarry. What do we do now? I think if you want to marry him, it’ll be really tough,” Chen Lili said, feeling defeated.

Chen Lina came out from behind a birch tree, looking at the distant figure of her man, and smiled. “Sister, I’m afraid you’ll have to go back to Nie’s family. Remember, make sure he comes to our house tomorrow morning. I think I’ve figured out what the issue is.”

It was clear that the man was still the same, but the timing was fifteen years too early.

His children were not yet grown.

He didn’t not want to marry; he was just afraid of bringing in a stepmother who might mistreat his children.

Wasn’t that easy to fix?

Chen Lina thought to herself, “Then I’ll act a little more naive, be hardworking and honest, and present myself as a silly woman. I’ll make sure there’s no threat to his children. That way, I’ll surely be able to marry him.”

Once married, she didn’t believe she couldn’t conquer this man.

To earn twenty yuan, there was no choice.

Chen Lili, with her thick face, headed to Nie’s village again.

The next morning, early at dawn, Chen Lina got up, swept the front yard, then the backyard, and when she was done, she saw that it was just getting light.

Leaning against the door frame, she was deep in thought.

The night before, when Chen Lili had returned to find the man, he agreed to come by today, as he was taking the children to the state-owned restaurant for a meal and would stop by their house afterward.

The children were coming, which was the perfect opportunity to show off her good side.

However, they only had five jin of fine flour left, which her mother had saved for the New Year.

What could she offer the children?

While thinking about this, she saw her aunt, He Chun’er, coming from a distance, carrying a small basket.

“Aunt, come in and sit?”

“Sit? No, I’m not sitting. Your mom sent me a lot of oil, rice, and flour for your wedding with Guozhu, but I’m not that kind of person. Now that the marriage is off, I keep hearing your mom complain that I’m using her stuff. Well, take these back, and we’ll call it even. My family is switching to army rations now, so I don’t need your family’s rice, flour, and oil.”

This meant that Nie Guozhu had found a job-holding woman in the army. Was he looking down on Chen Lina?

Army rations were a fresh topic, and it seemed that Nie Guozhu’s new partner would be sending oil, rice, and flour to He Chun’er from now on.

“Alright, we’re just about out of food ourselves, so I’ll accept it. Thank you, Aunt,” Chen Lina said decisively, grabbing the bag of flour.

“From now on, I’m afraid you’ll have a hard time finding a partner,” He Chun’er remarked.

He Chun’er wasn’t too generous.

He Lan’er had given her oil by the kilogram and flour by the bag, but here she was, bringing just two jin of flour and a piece of bacon, trying to settle their debt.

Chen Lina laughed. “It’s hard, but it’s not impossible. Aunt, take care on your way.”

He Chun’er wasn’t in a hurry to leave.

After all, they were sisters.

If He Lan’er caught her, there would be another round of crying.

The decision to end the marriage was swift and decisive.

Taking advantage of the early autumn frost, Chen Lina went to her family’s plot and harvested a batch of dewy cabbage.

As soon as she entered the house, she began chopping away.

“My good daughter, what are you up to?” He Lan’er had been busy with the production team all morning, and upon entering the house, she immediately smelled the rich aroma of oil.

To her surprise, her daughter was making dumplings with fine white flour.

“Lina, now is not the time for this. I’ve saved these five pounds of fine flour for the New Year. Why are you using it to make dumplings now?”

There was also some pickled meat, which Chen Lina had minced into filling and mixed with the fresh, green cabbage.

It made a large pot of dumpling filling.

“Mom, this flour and pickled meat were given to us by Auntie, since she’s helping with the marriage cancellation. Since the wedding is off, we might as well use the flour and eat a good meal. Let’s make some dumplings!” Chen Lina explained as she kneaded the dough.

When Chen’s mother Hu Lan’er heard that her sister had sent flour specifically to break the engagement, she was both angry and dizzy.

She stormed out of the kitchen.

“Hello, Mrs. Chen, I’m Nie Bozhao.” At the doorway, a man greeted with a smile, extending his hand to shake her’s.

She stood there in a daze, staring at him for a while, before she finally asked, “Who are you?”

“Nee Bozhao, I’m here to visit. Please come in, would you like some tea?” Chen Lili greeted, leading him in.

There was no tea at home, but outside under the grapevine, some stools were set up, and Nie Bozhao was invited to sit.

Behind him, a large group of children followed — the three boys were his, and the girls were from his second brother’s family.

“We’re going to the state-run restaurant in the town to eat some good food. Don’t worry about us,” the eldest girl called out.

“Actually, we’re making dumplings at home, with pickled meat filling. Smell how good it is? The state-run restaurant is eight miles away. Why don’t you just eat here with us?” Chen Lili grinned.

At this point, the issue of hiring a nanny was still unresolved.

If it weren’t for Nie Bozhao intervening, his mother, Huang Guilan, was planning to storm over to Chen’s house and demand money.

If they refused, she even intended to report it to the police, but Nie Bozhao had managed to stop her.

He certainly didn’t want to eat other people’s dumplings, so he politely declined. “No need for the dumplings. I’m just here to meet you all, and I’ll leave soon.”

Nie Weimin and his brothers were starving, especially Er Dan, who had eaten nothing but sour cabbage and noodles for a whole year.

His stomach was empty, and as soon as he smelled the dumplings, it growled loudly.

He immediately started shouting, “Dad, I don’t want to go to the restaurant. I want to eat here!”

Chen Lili quickly added, “The kitchen is just there. Nie Bozhao, you can go and see for yourself.”

With that, she turned to the children. “Come, sit down! Today, Auntie is making dumplings for you. Everyone gets a share, okay?”

In the kitchen, the quiet girl was swiftly rolling out the dumpling skins.

Nie Bozhao entered, observing her quick movements.

The dough was flying, and within moments, a small mountain of thin-skinned dumplings piled up.

However, the girl seemed somewhat impolite.

She didn’t even acknowledge his presence.

As she continued rolling and filling, she didn’t stop to speak or greet him.

She just kept pressing the dumplings onto the board.

Nie Bozhao only glanced at her before deciding to leave. “Weimin, take Er Dan and San Dan. Let’s head to the restaurant,” he said with a sense of professionalism.

“No, I want dumplings!” Er Dan firmly refused to leave.

The six girls from his second brother’s family were no better, almost like a flock of ducks quacking in unison. “We want to eat dumplings here!”

The state-run restaurant was far, but for the kids, nothing was more appealing than the smell of the dumplings right in front of them.

In no time, the girl in the kitchen had finished making the dumplings and placed them on a table by the fence.

The nine children devoured the dumplings like starving wolves.

Nie Weimin and his brothers, though accustomed to waiting for their food in the city, were still the first to take up their chopsticks.

The girls from his second brother’s family dived right in with their hands.

Hu Lan’er watched as the children devoured the dumplings, and though she felt sorry for them, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sadness for her dumplings too.

But she comforted herself, “Eat, eat, it’s fine. Everyone is full for now.”

With this meal, the marriage she had painstakingly sought for years had truly come to an end.

Her heart sank as she realized everything she had worked for was now gone.

Nie Bozhao returned to the kitchen and saw the Cheng Lina wiping down the stove.

She was scrubbing and wiping with great focus, a true worker.

“Would you mind introducing yourself?” Nie Bozhao asked. “Have you studied, or have you always been working in the countryside?”

The girl looked at him with a slightly confused expression.

She had fair skin, white like milk, and seemed young and cultured like a student, but her demeanor was somewhat awkward.

Nie Bozhao thought to himself, “Aren’t you here to work as my nanny? Why the attitude?”

“What’s your name?” he asked again.

“Huh? Oh, I’m Lina. My name is Chen Lina,” she replied, but didn’t stop wiping the stove, showing no intention of engaging in conversation.

Chen Lina was actually very excited, but she tried her best not to show it.

After he died, she cried day and night, not knowing how long it lasted.

Now, seeing him again, she was so moved that she couldn’t even speak.

However, she also understood in her heart that Nie’s mother appeared to be a very strong-willed woman.

She couldn’t just rush up and say ridiculous things.

She had to first meet the standard of a nanny, win his heart, marry him, and then slowly reveal their past lives to each other.

Nie Bozhao thought to himself that these two daughters of Chen’s family had quite fashionable names.

Of course, their father was a primary school teacher, so they were somewhat cultured.

Nie Bozhao asked, “Probably educated?”

“My dad is the principal, the principal of Chenjiahe Primary School,” she replied loudly, turning her head, looking at Nie Bozhao sideways, and smiling.

There seemed to be a tear in her eyes—was she crying?

Nie Bozhao couldn’t help but think that this girl was a bit silly, with a naive and silly appearance that was quite cute, but he also felt that perhaps her mind wasn’t quite normal.

So, he patiently asked, “The frontier, the Umai Desert, have you heard of it? Would you want to go there?”

“Go where? I can’t hear you!” She shouted, revealing that she was partially deaf.

Nie Bozhao couldn’t continue the conversation with her, so he turned to Chen Lili and asked, “Is there anything wrong with your younger sister?”

“Nothing at all. She’s a college graduate, very smart. Not only does she speak Mandarin, she can also speak other language. She’s really amazing,” Chen Lili said.

Nie Bozhao still felt something was a bit off with her, but he was impressed by Chen Lina’s hardworking and capable nature.

So he said, “It seems like she doesn’t understand what I’m saying. Could you call her out and explain to her? I’d like to talk to her more.”

At that moment, the youngest son, Er Dan, had finished eating dumplings and ran to the kitchen. “Aunt, are there any more dumplings?”

Chen Lina wiped away her tears, grabbed a piece of candy, and handed it to him. “No more dumplings, but there’s candy. Come, kid, Aunt will give you some candy.”

“I don’t want it. I can’t take candy from others.” The oldest son, Nie Weimin, walked in and saw the tall, fair-skinned aunt putting candy in his little brother’s pocket.

He immediately said, “We can’t take it.”

When he saw that Chen Lina had once helped him fight by the river, his face flushed, and he immediately stood up straight and said, “Hello, Aunt.”

Chen Lina smiled, “Good boy, it looks like your head is still swollen from yesterday’s fight. The place you were hit probably hasn’t healed yet.”

“Thank you, Aunt. But it doesn’t hurt anymore,” Nie Weimin replied.

“Then have a piece of candy?” she asked again.

Nie Weimin was clever and had long heard that his father wanted to hire a nanny.

He was coming here to check out the potential nanny.

Although he was tempted by the fruity scent of the candy in her hand, he still shook his head and said, “I don’t want it.”

However, he whispered, “Aunt, would you come and be our nanny? I don’t want my grandmother to come with us to the border.”

His grandmother was going to come, and along with her, a long line of girls from the second branch of the family would also follow.

Each one of them had an endless appetite.

When they had just eaten dumplings, they were all like tigers.

He, the slowest, had grabbed three dumplings, while Er Dan had grabbed seven or eight, and San Dan only had one.

Moreover, his grandmother was always scolding them, and Nie Weimin had really had enough of it.

With his big, pitiful eyes filled with tears, he looked so helpless.

Chen Lina, who wasn’t fond of children, felt her heart soften as she saw him looking at her like a helpless little fawn.

She was so moved that she was almost at a loss for words. “Aunt will go. Aunt wanted to go anyway. Good boy, have a piece of candy from Aunt?”

Nie Weimin stood there for a while, his eyes watery.

Suddenly, he turned around and grabbed Er Dan, running off.

At that moment, Chen Lili came in. “Lina, what’s wrong? Didn’t you ask me to call him over? Why are you so quiet now that he’s here?”

Chen Lina said, “Sister, didn’t you see? He brought a whole bunch of kids today. How can we talk about marriage with so many children around? Let’s pick a time tomorrow for a private conversation.”

The three kids were still so small, especially the oldest one.

Although he was stubborn, he looked so pitiful with his cold hands and feet.

If she was right, tomorrow, he would agree to marry her.