He didn’t even think about his mother being bullied; he just felt that the intense fire burning before his eyes grew even stronger.

His eyes were going blind.

Wherever she was, everyone else seemed like mere extras, and the entire world dimmed in comparison.

She possessed a strength that no one else had, a strength that made her shine brightly.

He wanted to grasp that strength; he wanted to possess that strength.

That way, the vast wilderness of his life would finally have a sun.

Someone noticed him and shouted, “Teacher Xu is back! Come quickly, your son’s foot has been scalded.”

Xu’s mother stood up, staggering as she reached out to Xu Shihua, “Huazi, it’s all my fault, I didn’t take good care of Yaoyao, and now his foot is scalded… They all say it’s my fault. I thought about it, and it really is my fault. Why was I afraid of him crying? Let him cry, it’s fine. If only I had known…”

Xu Shihua supported her, “Mother, it’s not your fault, you’re just too tired.”

The grievances Xu’s mother had bottled up after being scolded by Lin Shu and the others suddenly found an outlet.

She covered her face and began to sob.

Lu Hehuan, who had been holding the child all this time, turned to Xu Shihua and said, “Shihua, could you take over for a bit? My legs are going numb.”

Xu Shihua stepped forward to take the child, but Xu’s mother suddenly felt faint and collapsed onto the ground.

Xu Shihua was startled and turned around to help her.

Aunt Qiu quickly stepped in, grabbing Xu’s mother and giving her a hard pinch on the philtrum, causing Xu’s mother to cry out, “Ah—” and immediately regain consciousness.

Aunt Qiu reassured everyone, “It’s nothing, don’t worry.”

She called for some women from the neighboring village to help take Xu’s mother home. “Your health isn’t good; you should go home and rest. Don’t push yourself too hard. People might think you’re just trying to cause trouble.”

Xu’s mother felt both wronged and angry, trembling all over.

She was clearly worried about her grandson, but why did these people accuse her of causing trouble?

Was her concern for her grandson not genuine?

They were smearing her reputation.

She refused to leave.

Lu Hehuan said, “Mother, please don’t add to the chaos. Go back and rest. What if you faint again?”

Xu’s mother wiped away her tears, “Shihua…”

Xu Shihua urged her, “Mother, go lie down and rest for a while.”

With no other choice, Xu’s mother walked away, staggering with every step.

When Xu Yaoyao first got scalded, he felt a sharp pain and cried out, but then his foot went numb, and he couldn’t feel anything.

After soaking his foot in water for a long time and applying the ointment, he started to feel the pain again and began to cry loudly.

Hearing this halfway home, Xu’s mother suddenly seemed re-energized, “Ah, my dear grandson, it’s killing your poor grandma…”

Her precious grandson needed her! She had to go be with him and share his suffering.

But Lin Aidi’s Mother-in-law quickly grabbed her arm. “You’d better not go. Look at you—you’re so frail, a gust of wind could knock you over. But seriously, your son and daughter-in-law both have salaries, so their life should be better than ours. Why are you so hungry all the time? It’s not that Shihua isn’t filial and isn’t feeding you, right?”

In the past, when Xu’s mother complained about her daughter-in-law, Lin Aidi’s Mother-in-law believed her.

But she also saw that Lu Hehuan didn’t do any of the cooking; Xu’s mother took care of everything in the household.

So, it was impossible that Lu Hehuan was mistreating her mother-in-law by not feeding her.

The only other explanation was that Xu Shihua wasn’t giving her enough to eat.

“No, no way! My Hua Zi is the most filial. He buys me brown sugar to mix in my water and even malted milk.”

Lin Aidi’s mother-in-law replied, “Then why are you…”

Xu’s mother saw the doubt and pity in her eyes and felt deeply hurt.

She was starving herself for a few reasons: first, it was a habit left over from her childhood when food was scarce;

second, during the Great Famine, she’d gotten used to saving food for the children;

and third, she wanted people to praise her for being a good person, for sacrificing so much for her children, and to say how hardworking and caring she was.

She didn’t want people to think she was bringing it all upon herself.

When Xu Shihua came home carrying his son, with Lu Hehuan by his side, Xu’s mother lay on the kang (a traditional heated bed) looking like she had lost all hope.

Why had she suffered her whole life?

How could they say such things about her?

She heard her grandson crying, so she quickly jumped off the kang, crying as she went, “My dear grandson, does it hurt? Grandma’s hurting too. Let Grandma blow on it to make it better…”

She tried to pick up the child, but Xu Shihua put him down on the kang instead.

Xu’s mother turned and didn’t see Xu Xiaoyou, so she glared at Lu Hehuan with a fierce look. “Where is she? I need to take care of Yao Yao, so she should come back and cook.”

Lu Hehuan replied, “She’s so lazy, so clumsy, and so weak—what could she possibly cook? She’d probably fall into the pot herself.”

Xu’s mother looked at her in disbelief. Was she being bullied by her own family too?

This had to be Lin Shu’s doing, right?

Fine, if you all want to gang up on me.

Xu’s mother immediately started crying, “I know you all despise me. You think I’m old, useless, and just a burden now…”

Xu Shihua quickly said, “Mom, that’s not true! Didn’t you say Xiaoyou was too clumsy to do chores? I was worried she’d mess up and make you even angrier.”

Xu’s mother wailed, “Now even you won’t listen to me! You’ve got a wife and forgotten your mother, haven’t you? I…”

Suddenly, Lu Hehuan shouted, “Enough! Look at Yao Yao—everything’s already chaotic enough!”

This is so annoying!

She only had half a cornbread for breakfast because her mother-in-law hid all the dry food.

At noon, she ate only half of it again, and she hadn’t had dinner yet.

At this point, she was so hungry that her vision blurred, and her temper flared.

She didn’t even have the strength to act ladylike in front of Xu Shihua anymore.

Xu Shihua glanced at her, somewhat surprised.

Xu’s mother, frightened by Lu Hehuan, stammered, “W-What are you doing? Are you yelling at me?”

Xu Shihua suggested that she should rest well, as their son still needed someone to take care of him.

He then turned to Lu Hehuan and said, “Mother isn’t in good health. Could you take care of Yaoyao for the next few days?”

Lu Hehuan responded, “But I have to go to work.”

Xu Shihua dismissed her concern, saying, “It’s just a bunch of elementary school students. No one’s really studying seriously anyway. Just assign them some homework to keep them busy.”

Lu Hehuan lowered her voice, “That won’t work, the job is important…”

Xu Shihua countered, “So you want me to stay home and take care of Yaoyao? After all, he’s not your biological son. Fine, I’ll take leave from work…”

Lu Hehuan immediately gave in, “Okay, I’ll take care of him.”

Xu’s mother interjected, “I’m not dead yet, so it’s not your place to take care of my precious grandson. You should focus on your job; what if they dock your pay?”

Lu Hehuan, feeling faint from hunger, didn’t argue further and went to find something to eat.

A pile of raw white buns was left on the table, ruined beyond recognition.

There was no cornbread in the house, and Xu’s mother hadn’t steamed any.

Was this her way of telling her to starve tomorrow?

Her mother-in-law certainly wouldn’t let her eat the white buns.

For a brief moment, Lu Hehuan felt a pang of injustice.

Back at her parents’ house, she had never gone hungry for even a single meal.

Even if her parents didn’t ask, her third sister-in-law would always check if she was hungry and make her some egg custard.

How long had it been since she last tasted egg custard?

At that moment, Xu Shihua mentioned that he was hungry.

Xu’s mother immediately offered to cook.

Xu Shihua said, “Mother, you should rest.”

He couldn’t tell her to stop making things worse, as that would strike a sensitive nerve.

So he looked at Lu Hehuan.

Lu Hehuan then went to prepare dinner.

However, Lu Hehuan wasn’t very skilled at cooking.

She boiled some water and made a thin cornmeal porridge with a few lumps of white flour dumplings.

She and Xu’s mother drank the cornmeal porridge, while she served the white flour dumplings to Xu Shihua.

Xu’s mother began to lament over the ruined buns again, “They’re not spoiled yet. I’ll clean them up and steam a new batch.”

Lu Hehuan replied, “Mother, just leave it. I’ll steam them.”

Xu’s mother retorted, “By the time you steam them, they’ll have gone bad.”

So, Lu Hehuan went to wash the pot and steamed those buns covered in dust.

Luckily, they weren’t spoiled, but they had over-fermented, and the sour taste was overwhelming.