At home, Old Lady Song had carefully placed a portrait of Liu Hulan and asked Qingyu to trim some hair.

Once the hair was cut, she touched it here and there, waiting for her son to return.

When Song Qingshan was alive, whenever the second son came back home, relatives and neighbors would all come to visit, talking to the eldest and then chatting with the second son.

The Song family was the pride of the neighborhood, with two soldiers in the family.

At the mention of this, Old Lady Song couldn’t help but bring up Su Xiangwan. “If it weren’t for her going to Dongfeng City, my eldest son would still be alive and well.”

“Your second brother, just like your eldest, is a very honest person. He can’t stand how we treat your sister-in-law, so these days, you should do more work, and let your sister-in-law do less. Understand?” she told Qingyu.

Qingyu frowned and replied, “I know, I know. Go rest on the heated kang, I’ll take care of the work.”

No one could deny that Qingyu was attentive and thoughtful. With her help, Old Lady Song’s house was always neat and tidy.

As the mother and daughter were talking, they heard Jinggui call out, “Mom, mom, is this a remittance slip?” The boy had entered Su Xiangwan’s room.

Yesterday, Su Xiangwan had brought back some oil circles, and the three of them had been sitting under the eaves eating them.

Jinggui thought to himself, “No one’s around, so I’ll sneak in and see. Maybe I can get my hands on an oil circle.”

When he entered, he saw a broken table with half an oil circle neatly placed on it, with a piece of paper covering it.

“What’s this? A loan voucher for three hundred yuan? This shameless Su Xiangwan! Not only did she kill my eldest son, but now she’s also using his name to get a loan?”

Old Lady Song, seeing the oil-stained loan voucher, was immediately filled with rage and stormed out to the fields.

“Su Xiangwan! Tell me, what loan did you take? Don’t you know that your eldest son is dead? If you take out a loan, it’ll be deducted from my account. It’ll come from my savings!” she shouted as she stepped on the golden bean field, the sound of beans cracking under her feet.

“Old Lady, let’s talk this through,” Tao Hongwu tried to stop her.

Sun Shufen also said, “Let’s just talk about it. She took out a loan. She doesn’t even have anywhere to spend it. Just make her pay it back, that’s all.”

But Old Lady Song’s fury was uncontrollable.

She grabbed a bean threshing tool from nearby and charged at Su Xiangwan.

“Auntie!”

“Old Lady!”

“Old Lady Song you can’t treat people like this.”

Old Lady Song’s voice rang out with a shout: “Three hundred yuan! A whole three hundred yuan! Su Xiangwan, I’m going to fight you today!”

Song Qingyu didn’t try to stop her anymore, instead, she was carefully looking at the loan voucher in her hands. “My sister-in-law is too unreasonable. I’ve been a widow too, and I’ve lived alone, but I’ve never done something like this.”

“Mom!” Someone suddenly shouted.

The once flat bean field was now filled with people.

A young man in military uniform, slender and fair-skinned, walked out from the crowd, carefully picking through the beans on the ground.

He asked, “What’s going on? Why are you hitting my sister-in-law?”

His face was a little dark, but he was handsome, with clear brows and eyes, and the military uniform made him look exceptionally dashing.

Ah, her son had returned.

But here she was, arguing with Su Xiangwan.

Looking at Su Xiangwan, she was tightly hugging little Zhi Zhi, surrounded by a group of women holding sickles, forming a protective barrier.

She was already beautiful, strangely beautiful.

No matter where she stood, everything around her seemed to turn black and white, and only she was in color.

But Old Lady Song had a point.

She took the loan voucher from Qingyu and, trembling, handed it to Song Lao Er.

“Look, your sister-in-law took out a loan for three hundred yuan in your eldest brother’s name, and your eldest brother is dead! Dead! How can I bear this?” she said.

Song Lao Er, a man with a prestigious name, frowned as he took the voucher and looked at it.

Old Lady Song kept shouting: “I’ve tolerated her hanging herself, I’ve tolerated her not wanting to live properly, but taking out a loan using your brother’s name…”

“Mom, I’ve tolerated you throwing dirt on me. I’ve tolerated how you always favor Jinggui and Song Fu. But what is this loan voucher? It’s an ironclad piece of evidence. You’re framing me, and then I’ll get beaten because of it. Song Tingxiu, do you see how your mother’s been trying to drive me away?” Su Xiangwan raised her voice, asking.

Everyone turned to look at Song Tingxiu.

“Mom, stop making a scene. My Elder brother’s real name is Song Qingshan, but this just says ‘Song Laoda.’ a nickname and there’s no stamp on it. Even if you’re faking it, you’re doing it too badly…”

“Is it too shocking?”

Su Xiangwan chuckled to herself.

The old lady, who always tried to drive away her daughter-in-law, probably never expected that the fake loan receipt was just a small test—there was an even bigger surprise waiting for her.

In fact, as far as Su Xiangwan herself was concerned, she didn’t have any particular issues with the old lady.

After all, as long as Song Laoda (her husband) didn’t come back, the old lady couldn’t erase the fact that her son had been “killed” by her in her mind.

She just wanted a separation, to take the money and raise her three children, living a good life where they could have enough to eat.

That was all she wanted right now.

The sky was darkening, and after Su Xiangwan returned, she first gave herself a quick rinse, then lowered the curtain to wash her body.

Seeing that Gou Dan and Lu Dan were circling around the door, she called them in and put them in a basin to give them a thorough wash.

Both kids were covered in dirt, and once they were washed, the basin was full of mud.

Her own coarse cloth clothes were also covered in mud, and she only had two sets of clothes in total. After washing both, she had nothing left to wear.

Fortunately, the two children were understanding. They carried the water out, emptied it, and fetched fresh water from the well, bringing her basin after basin of clean water.

She thought to herself, “I really want to move out.”

Today, Song Laosan, Song Guangguang, the mountain child from Song Guangguang’s family, Ershan, and several children from her mother’s side, the Cao family, all came to visit.

Of course, they were all there to visit Song Tingxiu.

If only they lived alone, it would be so much more comfortable. She could wear less and go out. But now, the house was full of guests, and she had to sit in the room, waiting for her clothes to dry.

At this moment, Zhi Zhi started crying, wanting more milk, pushing her head against her chest.

After Su Xiangwan returned, she had weaned this child.

As an older single woman, she just couldn’t get over the psychological barrier of nursing the child.

Zhi Zhi’s milk craving was strong, and the baby nuzzled, sniffing and sucking at her chest, letting out adorable sounds.

Unbeknownst to her, in her grandmother’s eyes, she was a “death-bringer” who had caused her father’s demise.

“Lu Dan, is the milk cold? Quickly bring it in for your sister to drink,” Su Xiangwan called out to Lu Dan.

Although like Song Qingshan and Song Tingxiu, they were twins, Lu Dan was more understanding and capable than Gou Dan.

At the moment, he was outside watching over little Zhi Zhi’s milk to prevent Xiao Jinggui from stealing any.

However, when the milk bowl was placed in front of Zhi Zhi, she refused to drink.

She was hungry, but when she sucked too hard, she would choke and cough for a long time before being able to take a second sip.

So, she didn’t like drinking from a bowl.

What she liked was the feeling of nursing from her mother.

Su Xiangwan sighed helplessly. “What should we do, Lu Dan?”

Lu Dan furrowed his brows, clearly troubled, unsure of what to do.

At that moment, Gou Dan came in holding a straw made from a wheat stalk.

He gently bent it and placed one end in the milk bowl, then the other end into Zhi Zhi’s mouth. “Mom, look, sister’s drinking now.”

“This method is really good. I never thought of it,” Lu Dan said, patting Gou Dan’s head. “You’re really my brother.”

Su Xiangwan gently patted Gou Dan. “You really are a smart, good child.”

Of course, it was also because he was smart that he had committed crimes in his previous life, leading to the brothers turning against each other.

Su Xiangwan focused on watching little Zhi Zhi suckle.

The baby’s round eyes were staring at her.

Gradually, she began to feel that breastfeeding was a fun thing.

Looking at Zhi Zhi’s face, she vaguely saw the image of her sister from her past life.

She felt an urge to kiss this delicate and adorable little face.

How was it possible for a face to be so beautiful, so exquisite like a porcelain doll?

Then, she heard Lu Dan softly ask, “Mom, are you really my mom?”

Su Xiangwan froze for a moment.

Lu Dan seemed to be asking innocently, but there was a depth to his tone.

He continued, “Last night, I had a dream. I dreamt that you were wearing a beautiful dress, lying on a soft big bed. I was crying, trying to pull you up, wanting you to come home, but you wouldn’t get up. You said this place was too good, and you would never return to Songjia Village.”

A soft big bed, a beautiful dress—did that mean the original body had come to the 21st century, taken over her life, and no longer wanted to return?

“I… I never wanted to return to Songjia Village,” Su Xiangwan said, gently rubbing Lu Dan’s fluffy hair and softly continuing, “But I thought, if I don’t come back, a silly boy will sit under the big willow tree at the village entrance all day, waiting for me, not leaving until he turns into a stone. So, I came back.”

As she spoke, she gently tapped Lu Dan’s nose.

Suddenly, Lu Dan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close.

In an exaggerated, sweet voice, he said, “Don’t worry, even if Songjia Village disappears, I’ll protect you for the rest of your life. I’ll never, ever let anyone hurt you.”

That day, when his grandmother had shouted at his mother, Lu Dan had been with his grandfather, building the field embankment.

If he had been in the fields, he would have protected his mother, flipping over his grandmother if necessary.

For this reason, Lu Dan was still blaming himself.

His boyish strength, his tender words, could melt anyone’s heart.

Su Xiangwan thought to herself, “No, no, I’m going to fall in love with this little guy.”

Men? Who cares.

Who was Song Qingshan? Just go away.

With these two little “gods” in my life, I’m living enough for this lifetime.

Finally, the men from the family and the relatives all left.

The room fell quiet.