After Qian Chunhua finished speaking, she ignored Li Cuihong and Zhao Qingyun and went straight back to her room.

“Mom!” Zhao Qingfeng and Zhao Xiaoling saw her enter and shouted happily.

Everything that had happened tonight—they understood most of it.

Even though they were only six and three years old, they knew enough to grasp the essentials.

When they learned that Zhao Qingsong was their biological brother, both children were visibly excited.

Compared to Zhao Qingyun, they liked Zhao Qingsong far more.

Zhao Qingsong looked at Qian Chunhua and smiled shyly, not daring to speak.

He was terrified this was all a dream that might disappear at any moment.

Qian Chunhua smiled and said, “Silly child, call me mom.”

Zhao Qingsong whispered,

“Mom.”

Qian Chunhua stepped forward and gave him a gentle hug, then stroked his head.

“Good boy.”

Realizing the kids hadn’t eaten enough dinner—especially Qingsong, who didn’t even get to eat at all—Qian Chunhua told them to wait a moment and headed next door to what had been Zhao Qingyun’s room.

She opened her space and took out ten meat buns, plating them nicely with dishes from the space, along with four cartons of milk, then brought everything back to the children.

“Come on, come eat buns,” Qian Chunhua beamed at the three children in front of her.

With the disgusting people like Zhao Yongqiang now out of her life, all she had to do was raise these three children well.

Living here was temporary.

Once the time was right, she planned to either move to the county or buy land in the village and build a new house.

“Mom, we’re eating buns again?” Zhao Qingfeng’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Qian Chunhua teased,

“What? Are you tired of them already? Don’t want them anymore?”

Qingfeng shook his head rapidly, his voice childish and sincere:

“How could I? I could eat them for a lifetime and never get tired!”

Qingsong and Xiaoling laughed and echoed,

“No way! Who gets tired of meat buns?”

The ten buns were quickly polished off.

Qingsong and Xiaoling each ate three, while Qingfeng and Qian Chunhua had two each.

After the meal, Qian Chunhua fetched water from the backyard well and helped the kids wash up.

Since they had already severed ties with the rest of the family, she no longer entered the shared kitchen. With no hot water, cold water would have to do.

Looking at the three children, Qian Chunhua cheerfully suggested,

“Shall the four of us sleep together tonight?”

Qingfeng: “Yes!”

Xiaoling: “Yes!”

Zhao Qingsong was even more excited,

“R-Really? I can?”

Qian Chunhua ruffled his hair.

“Why not? We’re family now.”

Together, she and Qingsong fetched the bedding from the other room.

While doing so, she also took the thick cotton quilt from her space, claiming it was already in the room.

The younger children didn’t notice, and Qingsong—being new to the household—was clueless.

Thus, the thick quilt was brought out and put to use openly.

She laid down the mattress.

Qingsong and Qingfeng shared the old quilt from the other room, and she and Xiaoling used the quilt from the previous night, with the thick cotton one layered on top.

Xiaoling snuggled in and sighed happily,

“So warm… just like in my dream last night.”

Qian Chunhua chuckled.

Girls really were more sensitive.

The four of them were so excited they couldn’t sleep.

Qian Chunhua said softly,

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to the clan and update the genealogy. From then on, we’ll have nothing to do with the main house anymore.”

She didn’t want to raise naive children.

Whatever they needed to know, she would tell them.

Qingfeng asked,

“Mom, what does it mean to have nothing to do with them?”

Qian Chunhua explained,

“You can still call them by their old titles, but no matter what they ask you to do, if you don’t want to, you can say no.”

Zhao Qingsong looked up, “Mom… does that mean they can’t hit me anymore?”

Qian Chunhua’s heart ached.

The pain this child had suffered was more than any child should.

“Yes. They can’t hit or scold you anymore. You’re my son. If they lay a hand on you, you tell me. I’ll make sure they pay.”

She pulled the blanket up to her sons’ chins.

“Cold?”

Qingfeng squinted happily: “Not cold at all!”

Qingsong finally relaxed. “Mom, this is the warmest day of my life.”

Qian Chunhua lay back down, pulled her daughter into her arms, and whispered,

“After tomorrow, once we’ve updated the genealogy and received our own household record, we’ll be our own family. I’ll make sure you’re always warm and full, and I’ll send you all to study.”

She went on and on about their future.

Whether or not they could understand it all didn’t matter.

She just needed to say it.

“We can really go to school?” Qingsong sat up, eyes wide.

Qian Chunhua hadn’t expected such a big reaction. She smiled and gently tugged him back down into the covers.

“You really like studying?”

“I do!” His eyes sparkled with resolve, glowing under the moonlight.

“Then it’s settled. If you love it, I’ll make sure you go.”

That night, the four of them slept deeply, wrapped in warmth and safety.

..

Next Day

From the west wing came a knocking.

“Who is it?” Qian Chunhua called from under the covers, too warm and cozy to get up.

“Sister, it’s me,” her brother Qian Xingshan replied outside.

She got up, dressed, and opened the door.

The moment she did, a rush of cold air hit her, and she shivered.

Qian Xingshan stood there grinning,

“Sister, Mom asked if you’d bring the kids home for breakfast.”

Qian Chunhua responded easily,

“Sure. Let me get them ready and we’ll come.”

Xingshan ran off happily to share the good news with their mother.

He was overjoyed.

His sister had been estranged from the family for years.

He never imagined she’d agree.

Her cheerful tone just now caught him completely off guard—but pleasantly so.

The usually steady young man was now bouncing down the road.

Qian Chunhua chuckled at the sight, then closed the door and went back to the bed.

Qingsong and Xiaoling had been woken by the noise.

They sat up sleepily, cheeks rosy.

“Get up, little piglets.”

She rummaged through the boxes, pulling out the warmest clothes she had for the kids.

Before dressing them, she checked Qingsong’s injuries.

The swelling from yesterday’s beating had gone down.

She sighed in relief—no signs of infection.

She reapplied medicine and ointment for the chilblains on his feet.

Then she let him dress himself.

Qingsong moved quickly and efficiently, the whole time with a smile on his face.

Last night wasn’t a dream.

It was real.

Meanwhile, Xiaoling stared at her clothes, worried.

The coat was thick and warm, but instead of comfort, it brought her fear.

Qian Chunhua finished dressing Qingfeng and noticed her daughter’s unease.

“Xiaoling, what’s wrong?”

She felt her forehead—no fever.

Xiaoling looked up, eyes full of anxiety.

“Mom… are we not living here anymore?”

“…”

“You said before… that coat was for New Year’s. If I wear it now and ruin it, we won’t have anything nice for the holiday.”

Her fear grew with every word.

Ever since their father died, her mother had changed.

She used to be frugal and never bought meat buns, but yesterday, they had so many.

And now she was giving her the best clothes.

“Are you going to leave me? Are you going to… sell me?”