On the kang (heated bed), little Xu Yaoyao started crying again. He was in pain, and his wounds itched.

Xu Shihua tried to stop him from scratching and explained, “If you scratch, the skin will break and start oozing, and then you’ll get a scar. You have to be strong, you have to…”

But how could a little child understand such reasoning?

When something itches, not even a king can resist scratching it—how could a child manage?

Xu Shihua began to feel frustrated with his son.

Children were such a bother, and life felt like it was filled with endless, trivial annoyances.

He found it all so meaningless.

The discomfort made him want to write poetry, so he left his mother and son behind and went back to his room to focus on composing a poem.

Lu Hehuan steamed some buns, but when she turned to drink some corn porridge, she found only a small amount left at the bottom of the bowl—the rest had been drunk by her mother-in-law.

After the buns were done, she carefully picked them up to avoid breaking them.

Still, some bun dough stuck to her fingers and the edge of the pot.

She put the dough from her fingers into her mouth and found it had a sour yet sweet taste—it was delicious.

As she sucked on her fingers, silent tears began to fall.

Xu’s mother, still on the kang comforting her grandson, called out, “Daughter-in-law, don’t you dare eat those white buns—they’re for Shihua and Yao Yao.”

Lu Hehuan brought the buns to Xu’s mother’s room.

The old woman had to watch over them, afraid she might sneak a bite.

Feeling exhausted, Lu Hehuan climbed onto the kang but didn’t have the energy to listen to Xu Shihua recite his new poem.

That night, for the first time, Xu Shihua initiated intimacy, but Lu Hehuan refused.

She was too tired and uncomfortable, so she turned her back to him.

Usually, it was her who made advances and him who wasn’t interested, rejecting her.

This time, it was she who rejected him.

Xu Shihua felt a bit annoyed.

Lu Hehuan’s shoulders trembled slightly, hoping he might comfort her, but all she heard was a light snort from him as he turned his back to her and went to sleep.

In the darkness, Xu Shihua lay with his eyes open, thinking: What’s with the attitude? It’s not like I begged you to marry me, so why are you acting like a spoiled princess?

Comfort her?

Does she deserve it?

…

Meanwhile, at the Lu household, they were giving the children more safety lessons.

Even though Tian Tian and Pan Pan were well-behaved and didn’t play with fire or go near water, as they grew older, they would inevitably become more mischievous.

After all, they were still young, only five years old.

But when they reached the age of seven or eight, even the best-behaved children might start acting out due to the imbalance in their developing bodies, leading to a rebellious phase.

Lin Shu felt it was important to be prepared for this.

They couldn’t get angry or disappointed if the children suddenly became disobedient after being so well-behaved—that would hurt the bond between mother and child.

She wanted to be proactive and prepare before the kids entered their rebellious phase.

“Just love them well, give them plenty of guidance, and teach them self-preservation skills.

Even if they rebel later, they won’t do things that might cause harm.”

After Lin Shu spoke, Panpan repeated it, and Tiantian wrote it down in her notebook.

Xu Xiaoyou watched enviously.

Tiantian was so good at writing, and she wanted to learn too.

When Tiantian and Panpan fell asleep, Xu Xiaoyou leaned closer to Lin Shu and whispered, “Auntie, I have to go home tomorrow.”

Today, Grandma complained about Auntie’s family. If she stayed here, Grandma would resent Auntie and say bad things about her.

She didn’t want people to speak ill of Auntie.

Lin Shu knew that the little heroine in the original story was sensible, but she didn’t expect her to be so mature, understanding adult issues, and thinking like an adult.

No wonder she’s the heroine of the original story.

Lin Shu said gently, “You’re a child, you don’t need to worry about so much. Your grandmother can’t do anything to me.”

Xu Xiaoyou replied, “But… I don’t want to.”

Even though she was young, she knew Grandma’s temper and how harsh she could be.

Grandma would scold and say very mean things.

Xu Xiaoyou didn’t like it when Grandma scolded her stepmother or others so badly.

She had said that her stepmother mistreated her, but that wasn’t true.

It was Grandma who was unkind, but no one believed her because Grandma was an adult.

People said that no stepmother would treat children well and told her not to be afraid or deceived by her stepmother.

Lin Shu turned to face her.

Though it was dark, speaking face-to-face made her feel the words would be conveyed more clearly.

“Xiaoyou, if you go back, your grandmother will definitely take out her anger on you. She might hit you, scold you, or even not give you enough food.”

Xu Xiaoyou straightened her thin back and whispered, “I’ll… think of ways. Panpan said you have to use your brain. If someone hits you, you should run away.

Look at my uncle, even though Grandma is so strict, she can’t hit him.

Tiantian also said, the little books say that running away is the best strategy, and there are other strategies like surrounding the enemy to save Zhao…”

Maybe because it was dark and she couldn’t see clearly, she wasn’t as shy or nervous, or maybe because she trusted Lin Shu so much, she spoke very fluently.

She had been spending time with Tiantian and Panpan, and she had been learning from the little books.

The books taught methods for dealing with enemies, bad landlords, and harsh in-laws…

Lin Shu was quite surprised.

Normally, when she saw her kids reading picture books, she thought they were just having fun, mimicking battles and catching spies.

She never imagined they could actually learn something profound from them.

In this way, she and Pan Pan were similar, while Tian Tian was more innocent.

Perhaps because she had been pampered and protected since childhood, Tian Tian didn’t think about such things.

It’s also because the three children are so smart. Take Huzhi and Huahua, for example.

They wouldn’t understand a word even if you broke it down for them.

Xu Xiaoyou, however, managed to learn life wisdom from a picture book. No wonder she’s the protagonist; she was born intelligent.

It seems that books really can inspire wisdom.

Although society now promotes the idea that reading is useless, in reality, the notion that “reading changes lives” applies only to those who are wise.

Those who lack intelligence will reject learning even if you try to force it upon them.

A wise person actively seeks enlightenment.

Whether it’s from books, stories told by elders, or learning from others’ experiences.

Lin Shu didn’t go against Xu Xiaoyou’s decision.

Even though she was young, she had her own opinions, and those should be respected.

Xu Xiaoyou, as the original protagonist of the story, wasn’t a helpless child waiting to be rescued.

She was like a young eagle, and Lin Shu couldn’t treat her like a chick to be sheltered under her wings.

A young eagle needs to face the storms of life on its own to strengthen its wings.

All Lin Shu needed to do was watch over her from a distance.

The next morning, Lin Shu shared this with Fang Dihua.

Fang Dihua didn’t suspect that Lin Shu didn’t want to take care of the child anymore; she just thought her third daughter-in-law had something special planned.

She had a lot of confidence in Lin Shu now, viewing her through rose-colored glasses.

She didn’t show any strange emotions toward Xu Xiaoyou, just nodded and said, “If something comes up, head to the infirmary—your Grandpa Lu is there.”

Xu Xiaoyou sincerely thanked everyone one by one.

Tian Tian asked, “Youyou-jie, will you still come to play with us?”

Xu Xiaoyou smiled and replied, “Of course! If I’m free, I’ll come. I know the way, after all.”

Pan Pan hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly grabbed three pieces of candy and handed them to Xu Xiaoyou, saying, “Youyou-jie, hide these and don’t let anyone see. If your grandma scolds you, sneak a piece to make yourself feel better.”

Xu Xiaoyou smiled and said, “Just thinking about you all makes me feel sweet already.”

Lin Mother looked at the three children with fondness and said to Fang Dihua, “How did these three kids become so thoughtful?”

Compared to other children she knew, who were still clueless and silly, these three were remarkably mature.

Bao’er was always slow, just eating and sleeping all day, and even learning to speak was unusually slow.

And the kids on the street seemed like fools compared to that.

When Xu Xiaoyou said she was leaving, Sister Lu Er gave a mocking look, thinking that Lin Shu was just putting on a show and wouldn’t really care about other people’s children.

Lin’s mother helped Lin Shu with cooking, while Fang Dihua continued with the garden and other chores with her sons.

After dinner, Lin Shu went to take Xu Xiaoyou home.

Tiantian and Panpan had nothing else to do, so they naturally came along, and Huahua, Huzhi, and others followed as well.

So, the villagers saw Lin Shu leading a group of little kids like a preschool teacher.

Hua Hua sneakily watched Lin Shu and mimicked her walking.

When they reached the back village, Lin Shu went straight to Xu’s house.